Phi-Fic Chapter 174 Dragon Gate
Chapter 174 Dragon Gate
Soon, the night passed, and Gu Yuchuan slept very comfortably. Every moment in the secret realm, his mind was highly tense, and his whole body was taut. Now, he could finally rest, and he was very happy. Finally, the sky brightened, and the next day arrived.
The Demon Lord arrived early in the morning and led them onto a flying boat. The flying boat didn't look very big, but it was very exquisite. Its power seemed to be incomparable to anything they had seen before. Every carving and object on it seemed to possess immense power.
This flying boat is the Demon Lord's own exclusive collection. It is a top-grade magic weapon, and a combination magic weapon at that. Many of the ornaments on it can be taken out as magic weapons on their own. This time, using this to take them there will actually require traversing space. Although the location of the Dragon Gate Trial is in the Cloud Sea Marsh, it is not in this space.
The airship passed through a barrier, and everything before their eyes began to change. The sea of clouds disappeared, and they arrived in the water. The water was extremely cold, like the deep sea that had never seen the sun.
As soon as he looked up, he saw a huge gate, which was the Dragon Gate. The Dragon Gate stood there, seemingly possessing endless power. Just looking up at it, he could only feel his own insignificance. It was as if in front of it, all magic power and bloodline were insignificant.
The Demon Lord looked at them and snapped his fingers, finally snapping everyone out of their shock at reaching the Dragon Gate.
"This is the Dragon Gate. You will soon transform into fish to undergo its trials. You are all geniuses of my demon race, and I hope you will achieve excellent results in this test. The Dragon Gate will reward you based on the distance you traverse, including bloodlines, cultivation levels, supernatural powers, and even treasures—a wide variety of rewards. What you will receive depends on your own destiny, so do your best. Are you ready? It's about to begin."
He unleashed a golden light, and the twelve prodigies transformed into carp. However, it was clear that Gu Yuchuan and the Ink Scale Demon General were different; both of them had a dragon scale near their gills. This was the advantage of cultivators who had mastered the path of dragon transformation when facing the Dragon Gate—a slightly stronger physical body could help them achieve better results.
Facing the surging waves, Gu Yuchuan began to swim. He was not fast; he knew it was a long process, like a long robe, and that chasing speed was not a good decision.
Finally, he began to climb the Dragon Gate. He could feel the resistance of the water in front of him suddenly increase, and the water even hurt when it hit his scales. His speed also slowed down. He focused all his attention on his own progress and had no time to check on the progress of others.
In fact, the one making the fastest progress right now is the Ink Scale Demon General, followed by him. After all, this is an opportunity for the Dragon Clan. These cultivators who are on the path of dragon transformation have an advantage, especially the Ink Scale Demon General, who is only one step away from the bloodline of the Flood Dragon. He will soon be considered a member of the Dragon Clan. He is progressing more smoothly here. In the blink of an eye, he has walked a hundred meters of the thousand-meter Dragon Gate, while Gu Yuchuan has only walked seventy meters.
However, this process of leaping over the dragon gate is also a process of tempering one's own magical power. Gu Yuchuan could feel that his magical power had become more solid in the face of the pressure of the water flow. This was obviously a process of laying a foundation. He was about to enter the Great Perfection of the Foundation Establishment stage and was about to touch the threshold of the Golden Core stage. A deeper foundation would be of great benefit to his future advancement to the Golden Core stage.
He continued forward, and in the blink of an eye, half an hour had passed. Everyone was still persevering. The twelve cultivators here were already the most outstanding Foundation Establishment cultivators in the entire Cloud Sea Marsh. Their aptitude and combat strength were very strong. Even though the pressure from the Dragon Gate was immense, everyone persevered for the sake of their own path to cultivation. No one gave up, even though some cultivators were already feeling very uncomfortable.
Now, Mo Lin Yao has walked four hundred meters, and his cultivation has actually broken through to the eighth level of Foundation Establishment. Gu Yuchuan has also walked more than three hundred and sixty meters. The distance between them is not far. None of the cultivators below have walked more than three hundred meters, and some have even walked less than two hundred meters.
Gu Yuchuan was now feeling immense pressure; his breathing was becoming labored. Another half hour passed, and Gu Yuchuan and the Ink Scale Demon passed the 500-meter checkpoint one after the other. By this time, some cultivators had already been eliminated. Gu Yuchuan felt a divine ability appear in his mind: the Yellow Turban Warrior, a simplified and enhanced version of the Heavenly Gang Divine Ability, "Scattering Beans to Create Soldiers." If he had the opportunity in the future, he might be able to learn the true Heavenly Gang Divine Ability, "Scattering Beans to Create Soldiers."
His heart was filled with enthusiasm. Holding his breath, he continued swimming forward. He found that his magical power was also constantly increasing with the impact of the water. He was very close to the Great Perfection of Foundation Establishment. He was very happy. Before entering that trial realm, he had just become a cultivator at the ninth level of Foundation Establishment. Even before coming to Dragon Gate, he was still far from the Great Perfection of Foundation Establishment. This saved him a lot of time in hard cultivation.
Now, five have been eliminated, leaving only seven prodigies still persevering. Gu Yuchuan felt immense pressure. The water was like dull knives, slowly pounding against his body. Although not fatal, the pain was considerable.
However, the pain did not stop him; he continued to swim forward.
At this moment, the Demon Lord and the Fox Fairy were still watching. The Fox Fairy's eyes were fixed on them: "Indeed, the opportunities given by the Dragon Clan can only be better absorbed by cultivators of the Dragon Transformation lineage. The remaining ten can only obtain some scraps. It seems that our Demon Clan will have two more dragon-type prodigies."
The Demon Lord agreed with this view and nodded: "That's right, but there's nothing we can do about it. This Dragon Gate wasn't found by you or me. It was established here by a powerful figure from the Upper Realm Dragon Clan when the world was born. They definitely wanted to nurture their own race more, which is only natural."
As they chatted and laughed, they shared this secret. Soon, an hour had passed. At this point, only Gu Yuchuan and Mo Lin Demon General remained in the Dragon Gate. They had already traversed 800 meters and were very close to the finish line of the Dragon Gate. However, the last 200 meters were an insurmountable chasm for them.
Since the establishment of the Azure Cloud Realm, no genius at the Foundation Establishment stage has ever crossed the Dragon Gate. It is unknown whether these two have the talent and ability to do so. Obviously, many people are not optimistic about them.