Chapter 145: Xuanying Treasure Pagoda [2]

"Welcome, Challenger, to the Xuanying Treasure Pagoda."Atlas was greeted by the disembodied voice of someone who seemed to be a great expert.

He looked around and was immediately stupefied by his environment.

By his assumptions, he should have been inside of the pagoda, but the amount of space was preposterous.

The current room was already large enough to hold tens of thousands of people easily. If every floor was of this size, the fact that it was all compressed into a meter-tall physical form was nothing short of mystical.

The floor was made of marble with many murals of gold, silver, and other valuable metals decorating it. The ceiling was surprisingly domed and also covered in beautiful etchings of the world, the people, and the heavens.

It was hard to believe that such a thing was naturally created, but it also made sense. Regardless of how Atlas looked at it, he couldn't see living beings creating a structure so intricately detailed with the secrets of everything.

He stood still as he wasn't sure what he was supposed to be doing. At most, other than thoughts about the environment, the most he thought about was the way his hair fell over his face when he wasn't wearing a mask.

It was a strangely new feeling despite being natural, so he had to pay at least some attention to it.

Unbeknownst to him, his test had already begun. In those few moments, the pagoda had already scanned his entire being.

Nothing in his mind, body, or soul could be hidden from it.

"Welcome, Atlas Vaun."

Another greeting was given by the disembodied voice, but this time, it knew his name.

"You possess the preliminary qualifications to claim this pagoda. Now, prove your worth."

Atlas' eyes narrowed.

'Regardless of its identity, it remains true that this is the treasure my own treasure and soul seek. It is bound to be beneficial to me as long as I can hide its aura, but I will only know if that is possible after I claim it.'

The most Aeon explained to him was that this was a nine-layered pagoda. Each layer could be opened at a new stage of power. Currently, Atlas was in the Sage Realms, so he had technically already missed the first of the nine floors.

'However, the remaining eight are bound to have amazing rewards if even Heavenly Immortals covet them. Aeon is at a level where she only has three or four floors of the pagoda left, but I am still able to take advantage of most of it.'

The pagoda told him to prove his worth. He didn't quite understand what it meant at first, but it became clear soon enough.

The floor under him dropped away in many places. It stayed where it was under him, but the small piece of flooring was turned into an island surrounded on all sides by massive pits filled with lava.

There were puzzle pieces of the floor still strewn about at the same altitude as Atlas. Some of them were floating in place, some were spires rooted into the ground below the lava, and others were home to mysterious beasts that salivated as they stared at their new prey.

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In all four cardinal directions, there were large openings that led into new areas. Clearly, Atlas was to make his way there.

After taking a quick moment to assess the strength of the various enemies in his path, he moved.

[Lightning Shadow Steps]

Whoosh!

Atlas dashed and jumped continuously across three different platforms spanning several tens of meters. When he stepped on the fourth, his heart skipped a beat as it gave out beneath him.

He used the little momentum he had to push off of it and grab the nearest ledge, climbing back onto a safe platform.

'Luckily, I was expecting it.'

The path he saw was too easy if something like that didn't happen.

'That piece was not floating. It was rooted and it still fell.'

He couldn't just assume that floating pieces would fall and rooted pieces were not. That simply was not true.

'A trial that tests my mind, reflexes, and battle ability all at once.'

After all, Atlas was forced to confront at least one of the mysterious beasts if he wanted to reach the end.

[Intrinsic Foresight]

Though the entire structure had a mystical air, the materials used in its creation all existed in the world.

And, on this layer of the pagoda meant for Sage Realm cultivators, those materials fell into the realm of knowledge Atlas entered through the Formation Spark.

'The next six will all fall. If I want to get to the next pattern, I must cross them before they all collapse.'

Atlas prepared himself and once again activated his movement technique. His steps were light and feathery while still carrying enough force to boost his momentum.

The second he stepped on the first platform, it crumbled beneath him. He dashed forward to the second before he fell, repeating the same thing until he made it to the next safe piece.

The qi control required to make full use of the momentum was difficult to manage. Every time his feet touched the ground, he had to send a small pulse through them to maintain his stride while also staying light enough to not immediately fall with the platforms.

Atlas was slightly panting by the time he got to the end, but he didn't stop. Drawing his chain sickles, he continued across the patterns he saw with [Intrinsic Foresight].

'Rank 3 beasts. They are mysterious as I do not know their species, but it should not be difficult.'

Atlas charged into the air and attacked.

The beast had the appearance of a great lion that had been fused with a snake. It had the same dexterity as the slithering serpent, yet had the fury and strength of a lion.

[Flame Lance]

Atlas first shot a burst of flame at it in order to grab its attention.

[Twin Serpents' Dance]

His chain sickles blitzed forward, filled with great speed and power.

And, of course, as he was in an environment where he did not need to worry about hiding his cards…

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His body turned into a light that moved at the same speed as his chain sickles. The two blades, the flame, and Atlas all landed on the lion serpent at the same time.

BOOM!

The flame lance struck it in the eye and made it rear in pain. The chain sickles then cut through its throat and left it vulnerable so that in the next second, when Atlas landed, his single strike was enough to sever its head.

He turned around and kicked the two halves of the beast's body into the lava in case it had a power of regeneration and then immediately continued on his way.

The lava beneath was dangerous and the fall was sure to kill him. If he made a mistake, those beasts could absolutely push him into the abyss and force him to an early death.

This trial was definitely dangerous, but that was the end of it.

It was dangerous, but it was incredibly doable.

And since it was doable, Atlas was going to pass this trial with flying colors.