Chapter 339: Space Windstorm
As Zen's experience got deeper, his mind gradually became stronger and more tranquil. Evidently, he was not as impulsive and irritable as before.
He was distressed about Yan's departure, but he quickly buried the emotion in the deepest recesses of his heart.
A few days later, Zen, Rocher, and Patrick gathered at the Cloud Palace. The time for the Cloud Road trial had finally come.
It was a most important day for them. The mindsets?of all three were different. Rocher?was looking forward to it as he had been wanting to?go to the Central Region since long. He was eager to hone his sword in the outside world. And Patrick, as?the reincarnation of?Acalanatha, hoped to acquire?a greater inheritance.
To Zen, however, this felt inevitable. He was as if a toddler taking his first step.
“You three, come with me!” Kenneth?walked out of Cloud Sect. With a roll of his sleeves, he took the three of them with him, flying in a certain direction.
They had mused that their path to Cloud Road would be similar to Yan's travel, that was to say, a ride on a giant flying chariot to the Central Region.
The location was too far off from the Eastern Region... It would take half a month for a giant flying chariot to cross the vast mountains situated halfway.
However, Kenneth flew with them in the opposite direction.
Before long, a mountain appeared in front of?them, the one inside?Cloud Sect. It was not a well-known mountain. It seemed that Cloud Sect had not made use of it—no construction was done on it. It had no buildings. All in all, it was ordinary.
But as they flew to the front of the mountain, Kenneth lowered all of a sudden, instantly landing at the foot of the mountain.
Doubt climbed on the faces of the three disciples. They had no idea what Kenneth was up to. Was it possible that the legendary Cloud Road was hidden inside the mountain? The mountain was shrouded in much mystery. What secrets did it hold?
“Follow me,” Kenneth said without further explanation, leading the way.
Trailing behind him, the disciples soon reached the front of the mountainside. Kenneth waved his hand and the shadow in front of them slowly dissipated, revealing the wide, gaping hollow of a cave.
The four entered the cave. They walked down a long corridor that ended in a vast and circular space.
In the middle of the circular space, they found a platform about ten feet wide and two feet high. On this platform were various carved runes that Zen, Rocher, and Patrick did not recognize. They also found six crystals around the platform.
“What kind of crystals are they? They seem to contain such pure life vitality! Could they be...” Rocher said with enthusiasm, his voice trailing off as he considered the possibility.
Patrick too was shocked at the pure and rich life vitality emanating off the crystals. A surprised look flashed across his usually calm eyes.
Zen smiled wryly and said, “Those?are?life vitality crystals. They are?supreme crystals!”
“They have the highest grade?” Rocher asked, taking in a deep breath. He had wished to go to the Central Region, so he had a thorough understanding of what he would find there. He was aware that?the Central Region was rich in life vitality crystals, but he did not expect to find that these were, in reality, supreme life vitality crystals.
“Yes, those are supreme crystals,” Zen said, confirming once again. “It is said that the value of a supreme life vitality crystal?is equivalent to that of one million cubic crystals. So, the value of these six must be six million cubic crystals. Are the supreme crystals?required to start the magic array?”
“You're correct. We ask for one million points for a test in Cloud Road is because two million cubic crystals?are the cost to open the Cloud Road,” Kenneth responded with a smile. “However, Zen?was a bit wrong. The supreme crystals are not required to start the magic array. That only needs the consumption of the cubic crystals. This is a transmission array, capable of transporting us one hundred thousand miles to the Cloud Road.”
“Transmission array?” At Kenneth's words, the three disciples were taken aback.
According to the legends, the world's most powerful ones could transmit in space. They could?exert enough force required to move in the wide universe, sending themselves or a thing a million miles away in an instant.
It was the skill of some of the most powerful people on the planet. Now, there stood a transmission array in front of them, which was capable of transporting them to a hundred thousand miles away!
Seeing the surprise on their faces, Kenneth continued, “This kind of transmission array may be rare?in the Eastern Region, that's why you are surprised. In fact, in the Central Region, it is quite common. A transmission array depends on solid runes and can only transfer people to the corresponding location. There is a fundamental difference between this and the 'instantly transporting' that some powerful people use.”
So that was what it was...
Rocher nodded in agreement. This was one of the reasons why he wanted to go to the Central Region. The region was so prosperous. Comparatively speaking, the cultivators of the Eastern Region looked like country bumpkins next to those of the Central Region.
It was just like the time when grassroots cultivators in the counties of the Burning Sky Empire walked into the?Imperial Capital. Flying chariots were almost extinct in the counties, but they thrived everywhere in the Imperial Capital.
“Well, it's about time. Step inside!” Kenneth took the first step up the stone platform, placing his feet on its runes.
Zen, Rocher, and Patrick followed?him.
“There is some discomfort the first time one makes use of the transmission array. You should stay as close to me as possible!” Kenneth told them.
Truthfully, what Kenneth wanted to say was that this particular transmission array was pretty old, a bit shaky and run down. The establishment of the channel was not very stable. Getting through it might pose some dangers.
The Eastern Region was remote, and the Cloud Hall hardly paid attention to it. The original construction of the transmission array happened because of the Cloud Sect. But after its construction, the lack of maintenance meant that now it was somewhat dilapidated.
Upon hearing Kenneth, the three shuffled closer to him. Kenneth?waved his hand and the six supreme crystals around the platform burst into pure light, and that was evidence of their burning life vitality.
The pure energy was dazzling, but it did not make the eyes uncomfortable. Rather, it gave the onlookers a very intimate feeling.
The life vitality of these supreme crystals could be directly absorbed by the cultivators.
Rocher himself could not help but absorb the life vitality of the crystals. Kenneth hurriedly stopped him, shouting, “Hey! Stop that! This life vitality will drive the transmission array.”
Startled, Rocher halted in his action. Giving an embarrassed smile, he wiped his forehead uneasily.
Zen and Patrick smiled at each other. Actually, they too had wanted to do just that and had hardly restrained themselves.
All of a sudden, the light got brighter. The four?of them entered the channel...
“Is this a space channel?” exclaimed Zen as he floated in the air, glancing down at his surroundings.
The space channel?was surrounded by a blue mass. They moved toward the front ceaselessly and with high momentum. Zen couldn't detect what the speed was. Under such circumstances, his concept of space seemed to have completely disappeared. He was only aware that they were moving very, very fast.
Rocher and Patrick?too were curious. It was a novel experience for anyone who stepped into the transmission array channel for the very first time.
Suddenly, about five minutes later, a bright blue light appeared in the front.
“What's that?” Rocher asked eagerly.
As Kenneth looked down to see, his face changed. “Stay behind me!” he shouted. “That's space windstorm!”
The three were not sure what the space windstorm was, but from the looks of it, they knew that the power would be too great to withstand.
Even Kenneth did not want to encounter the space windstorm. It didn't occur every time. This time, they had not been as lucky.
Facing the space windstorm, Kenneth's giant body bulged up, tiny spots of yellow life vitality?gathering on its surface, spreading quickly.
“Ha!” Kenneth roared loudly, yellow life vitality expanding to something ten times larger. It morphed into a giant shield to protect the group of four. At the same time, the space windstorm swirled, making its way to them.
Sizz, sizz...
The space windstorm tore apart Kenneth's?life vitality incessantly. A peculiar sound, like that of an electric current, echoed through the channel.
Kenneth's life vitality did not stop flowing, still wanting to resist the space windstorm.
As Kenneth fought it, Patrick and Rocher?seemed to be holding their breaths. This was horrible. A slight mistake from Kenneth, a moment of lost concentration, and they would get rolled into the storm, their bodies turning to ashes!
Zen's emotionless eyes, however, were fixed on the space windstorm.
“Zen, what are you looking at?” Rocher whispered to him.
Patrick looked at Zen strangely. Although the space windstorm was a sight to behold, any pair of eyes would exhaust themselves looking at it for a long time.
As?Zen?watched the space windstorm, a bright-blue storm penetrated?Kenneth's life vitality shield like lightning, shooting directly into Zen's eyes!