Chapter 349: Watch A Play
Everyone would be thrilled if Zen killed the red fire snake. After all, they wouldn't need to put a lot of effort into dealing with this huge monster. However, in their opinion, the chance of that happening was slim. There was a higher likelihood that the red fire snake would swallow Zen.
Zen had noticed this red fire snake while running. It was so huge that Zen assumed it would be more difficult to handle than the fiery evil spirits.
Because of its giant body, the snake moved slowly. Zen watched as the snake lifted its head from the lava and then its neck. Gradually, it raised its head.
Looking at the red fire snake's slow movements, Zen gritted his teeth and summoned the energy of the Phoenix Crystal on his right arm. He doubled his speed and shot out like an arrow as he made several virtual shadows on the stone pillars.
“Hmm? That guy wants to break through by force?” Adler sneered.
“Will the guy pass over the snake? I believe his speed is sufficient...” another disciple from the Brumous Sect frowned and asked.
“No way. The red fire snake looks slow because of its size. But the fact is that it is not slow!” Adler must have prepared well before entering Cloud Road.
Just as Adler said, after the huge red fire snake stretched its head and the upper part of its body emerged from the lava, it opened its big mouth and rushed at Zen.
Seeing the red fire snake dashing toward him, Zen increased his strength by 30 percent with every step, “Pass over it!”
“He can travel faster,” stated the shocked male disciple from Brumous Sect.
Adler laughed, “Heehee, he must have activated some secret skill. Even then, he is not quick enough! And this guy has no way back. If he can't avoid the snake, he will surely die!”
A horrible heat enveloped Zen as the red fire snake closed in. The huge snakehead grew bigger and bigger. He could even see two burning snake teeth!
'I am not quick enough! If I continue this way, I will probably head straight into the red fire snake's mouth!'
As this thought crossed Zen's mind, he activated all the dragon scales in his body. The dragon scales released a brilliant light, and all their power was channeled to Zen's legs.
“Jump!”
Zen commanded as he placed a foot on the stone pillar. Despite being shaky, the solid stone pillar had been standing in the Sea of Raging Fire for many years. Such was the force released by Zen that two clear footprints were left on the sunken surface of the stone pillar.
Since flying was forbidden on Cloud Road, Zen thought his only alternative would be to jump.
Zen looked like a shooting star as he shot across the sky and left a dark contrail. He managed to dodge the red fire snake's attack.
“How... can he jump so high? Is he a locust?” the male disciple from Brumous Sect asked in astonishment.
The two female disciples from Iridescence Sect couldn't hide their bewilderment as they watched Zen in midair...
After reaching the Illuminating Soul Realm, disciples could fly. And so, this height was not impressive. What surprised the disciples was that Zen couldn't fly, but he was able to reach this height only with the strength of his feet. How strong was his leaping ability? Could his legs bear it?
Adler turned ghastly pale. He wanted to distract the red fire snake by sacrificing Zen. Then, he and the other disciples would seize the chance to either pass over or jointly attack the snake. Unexpectedly, Zen jumped high and crossed the creature safely...
Even the red fire snake didn't expect Zen to sail past it. The red fire snake became agitated at having missed its target. It raised its massive head and roared. Then it opened its mouth and spat fire in Zen's direction.
Zen jumped again. He landed on another stone pillar safely. Although he could feel the heat from the fire released by the snake, he didn't look back. On the contrary, he continued to jump forward. With another high arc, he avoided the red fire snake's attack.
Seeing that Zen had escaped again, the red fire snake roared and then turned its head. It glared at Adler and the other three disciples with its eyes that were as big as beans.
Adler looked at the red fire snake and gulped. Such was his frustration that Adler wanted to scream.
Zen had not only escaped the red fire snake's attack, but he had irritated it as well. Now, he and the other three disciples would have to deal with this furious snake...
“Jump, jump...”
After evading the red fire snake, Zen continued to go forward by scaling the stone pillars ahead of him.
'The second phase of Cloud Road is so difficult. What is waiting for us next?' Zen thought as he continually jumped from stone pillar to stone pillar.
He didn't have long to contemplate the situation. As Zen jumped to another pillar, he noticed something unusual. He felt as though the sea level was rising.
'The tide comes so soon?' Zen became anxious. This was unreasonable. The tide came after he had traveled only a short distance. How fast did he need to be to cross the Sea of Raging Fire?
Zen thought that he might be mistaken. So he observed the stone pillar in the front. In no time, the lava sea level rose by two inches. It was the tide!
He wouldn't have sufficient time to cross the sea. If the tide continued at its present speed, all these stone pillars would be covered by the lava. Perhaps he had to swim in the lava after all...
Upon thinking a little more, Zen couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong. The other disciples walking on Cloud Road couldn't pass the Sea of Raging Fire like him. He had a special body and could resist the power of the lava, but the others including Rocher, Patrick, and the elite disciples from Cloud Hall wouldn't be able to survive in the lava.
How could they pass the fire sea? Were they supposed to die in the hot lava?
The lava in the Sea of Raging Fire continued to rise as Zen pondered over the issue. He estimated that it would take the lava ten or fifteen minutes to cover the stone pillars.
At this moment, a high platform appeared in front of Zen.
Zen's eyes widened in surprise. That was it...
The platform was the solution! The disciples could use the stone pillars to cross one part of the fire sea. Once the tide started to rise, the disciples needed to wait on the platform. After the tide subsided, they could continue.
Without hesitating, Zen jumped to the high platform and stood on it.
What surprised Zen was that several disciples from other sects were already on the high platform. They appeared to be injured. The skin on the disciples' bodies had turned black from being scorched by the fire. Some were healing their wounds while waiting on the platform.
They were astonished to see Zen, who was at the third grade of the nature level. They had not expected someone at his level to pass this part of the road. One of them asked in surprise, “How did you resist the attack of the three red fire snakes?”
“Three? I saw just one.” Zen was shocked. It turned out that there were more than one huge monster!
“Oh,” the warrior nodded. “Perhaps someone killed the other two red fire snakes. However, it is beyond our expectation that you have come this far since you are only at the third grade of the nature level.” The disciple glanced at Zen one more time before closing his eyes again and focusing on healing his injuries. Not only was dealing with burns troublesome for cultivators, these disciples knew that they had to heal before continuing. After all, their time on Cloud Road was limited, and they had several more challenges to face.
Zen wasn't injured. He stood on the edge of the high platform and looked around. The rising tide of the fire sea would come slowly. He wondered what happened to the four disciples from the Brumous Sect and the Iridescence Sect.
When he glanced down, Zen heard a loud explosive sound. He saw a huge flame rising to the sky. It was almost as if it were a mesmerizing fireworks display.
In the next instant, four small dots were dashing along the stone pillars.
Zen smiled. It seemed that the four disciples had wasted a lot of time trying to fight the red fire snake.
If the four disciples had cooperated with him earlier, they would have killed the red fire snake quicker. Even though Zen had not killed the snake, he had explored the way in the front. Now, the four disciples would follow him without doing anything. How could Zen let them take advantage? Did they really think he would be easily bullied?
Although he had dodged the red fire snake first, he left an angry snake for the four disciples to face. It was enough to slow them down.
Since they had wasted plenty of time, and the lava tide was rising, they would have nowhere to go...
However, the four disciples had almost reached the platform. That would show that they had activated secret skills to raise their speed.
Despite their skills, they couldn't outrun the lava tide that was inching closer to the stone pillars. Since the pillars were only three inches thick, the lava would cover them in no time. Then, they would have no place to step on.
Zen was not a philanthropist. These guys invited trouble, and he would be happy to stand on the edge of the high platform and watch the situation play out.