Cultivating for a hundred lifetimes to ascension Chapter 1441: 780: Blood-Written Death Omen, Weak Water World

Upon examining the blood-written inscriptions, Zhao Sheng creased his brow faintly and couldn't resist turning to Qi Wu Yan nearby, where he observed the man's features twisting in profound astonishment.

"...This can't be happening? It...it's shown up once more. This is disastrous!" Qi Wu Yan whispered under his breath, his complexion ashen, his words laced with utter hopelessness.

Zhao Sheng's eyes scanned the bloody script on the eastern gate, revealing: "I am Zhao Wuming. When these words reach your eyes, my life has already ended."

Meanwhile, the western gate bore: "Kuimu Xiao perished in flames of self-destruction."

On the remaining two gates, the messages declared: "You shun the path to heaven, forcing your way into a hell without exit" and "Stone Jade met his end by drowning today."

From a distance, every blood inscription radiated a bone-chilling intent to kill, brimming with taunting eeriness and scorn.

Zhao Sheng pulled back his stare and inquired gravely, "Fellow Daoist Qi, what exactly is this 'it' you referred to—a god or what?"

At those words, Qi Wu Yan steadied his look and prepared to respond, only for a fit of manic chuckling to cut him off.

Nearby, Stone Jade tumbled on the floor in hysterical laughter, jeering while he rolled: "Haha! This old man’s about to split his sides. Everyone knows I’m a tough rock, right? How’s a rock supposed to drown? What nonsense! Hahaha..."

Stone Jade's outburst lightened the heavy mood right away.

Regaining his poise, Qi Wu Yan started detailing: "I've pored over every ancient record from our forebears. Just one obscure passage in a stone tablet mentioned it vaguely: 'The White Tower harbors a spirit, in eternal slumber or awakening, where life and death prove equally treacherous!'"

Zhao Sheng followed up without pause: "Anything more?"

Qi Wu Yan shook his head somberly: "Nothing else—just that lone phrase. Yet right after it, a huge section lies blank, likely once packed with details on the matter, but wiped clean by some mysterious power as if it never existed."

Suddenly, Kuimu Xiao interjected: "Hmm... so which gate do we pick next?"

Its tone cut sharp and grating, resembling a metal blade endlessly scraping against timber—small wonder it rarely uttered a sound.

At that, Stone Jade sprang to his feet from the ground with a mocking grin: "Haha, why even deliberate? Go for the northern one. This old man was never one to buy into curses—let's see how I end up drowning here!"

This left Zhao Sheng momentarily taken aback, a deep worry stirring within him as he pondered inwardly: "Ever since we stepped into this realm, why does Stone Jade act like he's gone mad? In the face of such perilous unknowns, how can he charge ahead so boldly?"

"Still, this works out better than opting for the eastern gate."

With that in mind, Zhao Sheng voiced his support: "I agree with Brother Shi's idea—let's head through the northern gate."

Observing this, Qi Wu Yan gave a nod in agreement: "Then no time to waste; we'll move out at once."

Kuimu Xiao coiled its enormous form, offering no resistance whatsoever.

"Hehe, this old man leads the way." With a chilly snicker, Stone Jade morphed into a beam of swift light and vanished into the northern gate in an instant.

Right then, Qi Wu Yan swiveled to regard Zhao Sheng.

Zhao Sheng dipped his head and declared solemnly: "I'll enter next, then you, Fellow Daoist Qi, with Brother Kui last."

Saying so, he advanced a step, his form blinking out of sight beyond the gate.

The instant after, a haze clouded Zhao Sheng's vision, and he plunged straight into liquid.

The encircling seawater bit with intense cold, piercing straight to the marrow while remaining pitch-black and bottomless, visibility near zero.

Alarm surged through Zhao Sheng as he swiftly deployed his will field, golden radiance erupting around his frame.

In a heartbeat, terror gripped him—the freshly expanded will field got swallowed whole by the ambient seawater.

No matter how often he summoned the will field, anything extending beyond his skin dissolved entirely into the ocean depths.

Then, something far worse unfolded!

Zhao Sheng thrashed his limbs, desperate to rise toward the top, but despite every effort, his form dropped like leaden weight, plummeting toward the murky bottom.

This surrounding sea lacked any lift at all?!

In a sudden realization, Zhao Sheng remembered an old text's account: "The Northern Netherworld encircles weak water, where not even three thousand feathers can buoy, traversable solely by true immortals!"

"Is it possible... this is weak water?!" In dread, Zhao Sheng fought again, but his descent persisted into the infinite void beneath.

"Thank goodness..."

On that note, Zhao Sheng triggered Space-Time Teleportation abruptly, his silhouette materializing high above without warning.

Two hundred zhang below stretched an immense, endless sea, its waters shadowy and devoid of vitality, barren of any life forms.

Extending his will field anew, Zhao Sheng enveloped himself in crackling thunderous glow, hovering steadily in the sky.

Yet Zhao Sheng reeled in horror upon noticing his will field draining away at a terrifying pace, hundreds of times swifter than normal.

Should this persist, despite his strength, he'd endure barely an hour.

After a few breaths, the waters underneath erupted in fury, as if some behemoth ascended from the abyss.

The very next moment, a verdant tree burst through the waves, swelling and stretching skyward at breakneck speed.

Before long, its crown reached Zhao Sheng's height, and midway down the trunk, a massive visage began to take shape, details sharpening into lifelike clarity.

Hmm?!

Zhao Sheng's Divine Eye pierced like a bolt, spotting instantly a quaking form latched to a limb in the treetop—who but Qi Wu Yan?

Taking in the sight, Zhao Sheng drifted downward, alighting on a branch a few zhang off, and asked: "Fellow Daoist Qi, are you okay?"

Qi Wu Yan, still rattled, answered with a quiver: "I'm alright, but... I'm concerned about how Senior Shi fares now?"

To this, Zhao Sheng peered down at the sea and shook his head: "Brother Shi's a spirit stone—hard to destroy. We ought to focus on escaping this domain."

Afterward, he surveyed the area, finding no trace of gates anywhere.

Now composed, Qi Wu Yan affirmed steadily: "Those four gates must lurk beneath the waves."

With that, he touched the adjacent trunk softly and requested: "I’ll have to ask Senior Kuimu to scout for Senior Shi and the gates."

"Sure!" The enormous face on the trunk gradually unveiled its eyes and uttered one word.

The following instant, the colossal tree quaked fiercely, and abruptly, myriad emerald tendrils spilled from the canopy's heart, coiling thickly like serpentine greens writhing through the breeze.

Myriads of tendrils extended swiftly, plunging into the sea and instantly whipping up a tremendous swell.

The ocean boiled in chaos, as if legions of huge silhouettes thrashed below, upheaving the depths entirely.

Witnessing such, Zhao Sheng narrowed his eyes, quietly elevating his view of Kuimu Xiao.

Moments later, the waters settled abruptly, vines pulling back en masse from the brine.

"Found… it…!"

Kuimu Xiao uttered once more, though its tone strained, as if exhaustion weighed heavily.