915 Illusion

Pievrov had been observing the human above him throughout the entire journey. He felt that this human was a very powerful Heroic Soul. It could even be said that he was the strongest expert among all the human Heroic Souls and Octopus Great Swordsmen Pievrov had ever seen. However, the human had not advanced to the Heavenly Soul Stage and did not pose a huge threat to him. It would be a dead-end for this human. Everything was under control.

Pievrov was very calm and walked slowly as if he was taking a leisurely stroll. Although he was anxious, these were the heavenly stairs. The more anxious he was, the more likely something bad would happen, even to a Sword Saint. The human might have collapsed by the time he reached the other side.

But the human above him surprised him again and again. At first, he was sure that the human would collapse very quickly, and all he would have to do was to slowly pick up his corpse. He did not expect that not only had the human finished the journey, he had walked very quickly as well. He thought that the human would not be able to complete the last 100 steps that made even Heavenly Souls change their expressions. As expected, the human seemed to have reached his limit and was fatigued, but he endured and eventually succeeded in reaching the top.

Pievrov felt that this was already shocking enough. No weakling of his level had ever been able to complete the Heavenly Soul trial in the history of the Octopus people, but this human had done it. However, Pievrov was in for an even greater surprise. Somehow, this human had passed the bloodline identification at the peak and opened up the road to heaven!

At that moment, there was shock and disbelief on his face.

Only Mizobudapi who had been acknowledged by the phoenix had the right to enter this restricted area. Furthermore, even among the Mizobudapi people, only the most loyal servants who served the Phoenix God would have the right to enter! Thus, besides relying on their bloodline, the royal Mizobudapi family could only use secret techniques to get in. However, even Sword Saints and Warlock Saints would suffer heavy backlash from using these secret techniques. Although their level would not drop completely, they would still drop down to a mid-leveled Sword Saint.

This human… What in the world was he?!

There were gasps of astonishment from the foot of the mountain. Pievrov could sense that a Sword Saint and a Warlock Saint had stepped on this flight of stairs. They had all seen that human open up the road to heaven at the top of the mountain. The halo was too large for the flames in the mountain to conceal.

Pievrov's body suddenly emitted a gold ray of light. He no longer strolled leisurely; instead, he increased his pace significantly. He could not imagine what would happen when this human stepped into the restricted area.

Wang Zhong could no longer see what was happening outside while in the column to heaven. This path was very unusual. He could not even sense that his body was ascending. Instead, it felt as if the space around him was changing. There was fog all around him, blocking his vision and senses. He felt anxious as he did not know what was happening. After three or four minutes, the fog dispersed, and Wang Zhong found himself in another foggy world.

Even though he called it a foggy world, there was no fog in reality, only emptiness. His surroundings were as red as fire, but he could not see any flames. This space seemed boundless, and he could not see the end. However, it also felt as if there was only enough space beneath his feet to stand, making it difficult for him to move his legs. It felt as if he would fall out of this world if he took a step in any direction and fall into an endless abyss. Furthermore, a majestic aura filled this space as if there was an extremely powerful prehistoric creature outside a glass dome observing him, an experimental mouse, with an indifferent gaze.

This place felt solemn, yet extremely oppressive.

"What a strange place." Wang Zhong clicked his tongue in astonishment. There were many wonderful places in the Fifth Dimension. He had seen many powerful creatures, but this was his first time encountering a creature so powerful that it was transcendent. Even his sense of distance in this space was blurry.

But Wang Zhong did not care. After all, he had never believed in deities. Although he could sense the powerful aura in this space, he knew that this was simply a carcass and that the true Phoenix God was not here, except for a bit of its aura. Thus, he completely did not care. Even the blurry sense of distance did not stop Wang Zhong's willpower. He went against the warnings from his own body and stepped forth onto the non-existent ground.

The ground underneath his feet was stable, and there was nothing to worry about. As expected, his senses were just playing tricks on him. However, he could feel that his abilities were being suppressed by this strange space as if the space would not allow him to exceed certain limits. Perhaps the remains of the phoenix's will did not allow any force that could destroy this space to exist in order to protect this space. At the same time, the phoenix's will formed a second protective layer, causing Wang Zhong's sense of distance to be blurry. At the same time, the surroundings blocked out the real world.

It was all an illusion.

Wang Zhong glanced at his surroundings. Tatamu was paralyzed on the ground with its seven legs spread out. All of its seven legs constantly trembled. To Tatamu, the aura of the expert who filled this space was far too terrifying. If it did not consider itself righteous and devout and thus would not be attacked by the Phoenix God, it might not have been able to last for even one second here.

"Simba," shouted Wang Zhong. He wanted to settle the annoying illusion in front of him. "Transform into a mask."

Simba also knew that the situation was urgent. He immediately appeared and did not speak any nonsense.

With the clown mask, Wang Zhong's sense of his surroundings immediately became much clearer. To be honest, the stronger he became, the more he felt how mystical Simba was. For example, the abilities of the clown mask did not reach a limit as Wang Zhong grew stronger. Back when Wang Zhong was much weaker during the Casted Soul Stage, the clown mask was able to expand the range of his senses by three to four times. But now, even as he approached the Heavenly Soul Stage, the clown mask still grew more powerful, and his senses grew even sharper. Although he still could not see any weak points or fabrications in this space, he could sense that a soul was calling for him in the darkness.

It was very strange. This space seemed to be very approving of him, including the spatial pathway that had formed from his blood. He thought about the legends surrounding this space and recalled that he had met the Sovereign of Flames once in the Fifth Dimension. While there might be a possibility that they were the same, Wang Zhong felt that they were two different beings. The Sovereign of Flames was a shocking presence, but Wang Zhong felt that he was not as terrifying as a god. On the other hand, the presence in front of him could create a world out of a carcass. What kind of presence was this?

Wang Zhong's intuition told him that there might be some connection to the Sovereign of Flames and the Fate Stone… and even his identity!

When he sensed that this space had approved of him, the powerful pressure that discerned him slowly disappeared from his surroundings. The empty sea of flames around him also slowly dispersed, revealing the true appearance of this place.

The ground around him was white and vast. In the distance, a white and lofty mountain range stretched from the ground all the way to the sky. It was surrounded by clouds and could not be seen clearly. Many small red and green lights were scattered on the ground as they shone faintly.

They looked like crystals. Or were they the śarīras[1] of the Phoenix God? They had completely integrated with the surface of the ground. Wang Zhong could feel the massive energy from within them and thought about the energy that was contained in his divine cells. However, this energy leaked into the surroundings. Wang Zhong did not hold back and slashed at the lights, causing all the energy within the lights to instantly disperse. It was no use slicing them apart.

In the end, Wang Zhong gave up. Treasures were not important now. It was more important to find an escape route before the Octopus people caught up with them. Wang Zhong looked up. He saw a large and magnificent palace several hundred meters away.

Rather than a palace, it was more like a lofty gate. Two massive, bright red pillars were neatly arranged and pierced through the clouds as if they were reaching for the heavens. It was like a sign that welcomed visitors.

The two pillars were densely covered with countless rune engravings that were as small as flies. These engravings were simple and sacred. There was something majestic about these engravings that made them extremely exquisite. To Wang Zhong, who was very familiar with rune engravings, these massive red pillars were gorgeous. There were millions upon millions of engravings. Wang Zhong looked at the engravings and realized that no two engravings were the same. Every single rune engraving was unique. He could not bear to take his eyes off the pillars.

As far as Wang Zhong knew, from the dark era to the present age, humans had only mastered less than a hundred thousand runes from various Faculties. However, all the engravings here were related to fire, and there were no repeats. There were millions of flame runes, and this was only a safe estimate. Wang Zhong could not see the top of these pillars and could only see the lower half. The upper half of the pillars were in the clouds. No one knew how many new flame rune engravings there would be above!

Humans were like frogs in a well. If Old Potter heard about this, he would be excited for three days and three nights. He might not even be able to sleep.

The rune engravings were simple and unsophisticated, yet solemn and grand. The Octopus people did not have the ability to do this. Had the actual Phoenix God left this for the Octopus people? Runes? Was this related to the black holes? Did these have anything to do with humans, the Holy Land, or the Octopus people? What about the Fifth Dimension?

Whatever was inside was like a web that shrouded all intelligent creatures.

Wang Zhong shook his head. He was thinking too far. Now, he had to think about how he would leave this place. He could only say that he had been too ignorant and ill-informed. No wonder so many Heroic Soul Stage soldiers were not willing to return to Earth. When they reached the Heavenly Soul Stage, they would wander about the Fifth Dimension. The boundless obscurities spurred humans to continuously explore the mysteries within. Their curiosity and desire surpassed everything. This was the source of human power and the basis for their constant evolution.

[1] Śarīra - pearl/crystal-like bead-shaped objects found among cremated ashes