Godking Ascending The Heavens 114 Underworld Labyrinth

"From now on, we will all be separated. It is all up to your own ability now. Take care."

The Cedar Sect disciples showed signs of apprehension but smiled gratefully at Van, "The reason we have come so far is thanks to you, Van. We will not forget!"

Van smiled, "No need to flatter. I naturally want our Cedar Sect to do well. You must remember what I have taught you over these last few days and keep calm in the face of danger. If you can find each other and fight together, that is the best. Do not trust those from other sects no matter how sweet their words seem. I wish you all luck."

Van saw Samuel's teary face and felt a sour feeling in his nose. Ai, over the last few days of fighting together it seemed this annoying little monkey had become a little brother in Van's heart. Next to Samuel, Johnathon was staring with reddened, unblinking eyes at the air next to Van's face as if this would prevent the tears from falling.

Van shook his head but felt warm in his heart. If he was able to find these two guys in the Underworld Labyrinth, he would definitely do his best to protect them until the end.

"Captain," Samuel sniffed out, "I learned a lot from you these days. I will try my best in the next waves to do you proud!"

Johnathon, a honest and straightforward character, just stared at Van with intense eyes. His eyes expressed the same feelings that Samuel did.

Van smiled, "I understand."

Van felt that these two had indeed gained a lot of fighting experience under his tutelage. If they were able to find some treasures and rank up in the next days, they would be able to get a good score.

Shuah!

One by one, the partic.i.p.ants in the second battlefield entered the Netherworld Gate.

______

Klaus descended from the sky and found himself standing in front of a large, twisted forest full of dark auras. The spiritual energy within the forest held an evil tinge but was thick and powerful.

A small smile lifted the corner of his lips. His eyes flashed.

"Not bad," the prideful aristocrat murmured.

He extended his senses and could not find any cultivators nearby. Satisfied, Klaus turned his attention back to the forbidding forest in front of him. There was definitely a powerful treasure in there, otherwise the spiritual energy would not be so strong!

[A monster wave will try to kill me at the end of each day. However, it seems that the dangers in the Underworld Labyrinth are already abundant. It will not be good to fight the monster wave within the forest, lest I attract the attention of the beasts within. This means I can only explore for a few hours of each day.]

The youth's elegant silver eyebrows slightly hooked up. He gazed at the tall and twisted trees with a satisfied smile.

[Testuya was only temporarily able to suppress me with his Art of Transient Thought. With the treasures in here, let's see who suppresses who in the end!]

______

w.a.n.g Hao fell through the air and landed in the middle of a vast desert wasteland. The howling wind tore through the dark grains of sand, bringing with it a menacing feeling.

w.a.n.g Hao gripped his sword tightly and straightened his back. However, doing this aggravated his internal injury and he coughed violently.

[Yun Hai!]

w.a.n.g Hao grit his teeth when he remembered how his internal energy came about. Yun Hai had 'magnanimously' blocked a dangerous blow from a 8th ranked Flame-Spitting Cobra while actually shooting a needle of concentrated power into w.a.n.g Hao's side. Unprepared for such an event, and not realizing that the Star-Cutting Sword Sect had the gall to take such underhanded methods, w.a.n.g Hao could not evade the needle. He had reacted quickly and tried to force the spiritual needle out with his own spiritual power, but had still sustained a severe internal injury as the concentrated spiritual energy in the needle disrupted the flow of his own spiritual power. Yun Hai somehow knew the position of the monitoring bug in the battlefield and actually angled his body in such a way that an observer would not be able to tell any foul play had occurred.

Coughing, w.a.n.g Hao's grip on his long silver sword tightened.

It did not matter how unfavorable the conditions where he would persevere. Surpa.s.sing all obstacles with a single sword – this was his martial way!

With this staunch determination between his brows, this youth straightened his back once more and staggered through the s.h.i.+fting sands.

The spiritual energy here was too thin, if he tried to heal his internal wound here it would take days.

He needed to find an alternative quickly before the day ended.

______

Cordelia landed in a patch of twisting demonic vines and her shriek was so loud that it nearly pierced the heavens.

"Disgusting thing!" She spat. Powerful blades of wind emitted from her palm, quickly slicing the 7th rank demonic vines to pieces. Those pieces wriggled on the ground before finally dying.

The young girl wiped the sweat under her bangs. As she inspected the area around her, she heard a shrill scream from somewhere maybe one kilometer away.

Her eyes brightened. Daphne was near!

_____

"Wah!" Samuel said with delight, eyes s.h.i.+ning as he took in the meadow in front of him full of fragrant and swaying flowers. Saliva dripped out of his mouth.

"What luck! This meadow is full of spiritual herbs!"

After a moment of thought, the young boy decided that this must be due to the abundance of spiritual energy here. Samuel dashed forwards, excited to collect the treasures. His luck was actually extremely good as he had already found a place filled with treasures.

______

All the partic.i.p.ants that had landed in the Underworld Labyrinth had met something good or bad, or neutral. Some, like Samuel, encountered great fortune right away. Many were eliminated the moment they appeared. The majority found themselves in a predicament similar to w.a.n.g Hao, landing in a s.p.a.ce that contained no fortune.

At the bottom of a deep canyon, a red-haired youth stood with a calm expression on his face. The canyon was at least 5km deep, with sheer and steep walls. The light in the Underworld Labyrinth was dim, emanating from a sickly-looking sun in the sky. This sickly light cast sharp angles onto the youth's face, making him seem like a vengeful wraith.

[How unlucky!] Jet exclaimed.

Van inspected his surroundings critically. There was no way to get out.

Van walked to over to the walls of the canyon and touched the rock. Faint heat sizzled his fingertips. He drew back, surprised.

"This… this is not an ordinary canyon," Van muttered.

 [It is a naturally-formed entrapment array] The black ring explained.

Van's ears perked up. He had never heard of this mysterious thing before.

"What's an array?" He enquired.

The black ring spun as it explained.

[An array is created when natural or man-made elements are arranged and combined with spiritual power to produce a certain result. Arrays can be defensive, illusive, for attacking, for creation. Natural arrays are the most difficult to detect as they are formed from the spiritual energy of the environment. They can only be created with extreme luck and the right environmental conditions.]

Amazed, Van looked over the canyon walls again.

Jet continued to speak.

[This canyon is one such natural array, and its purpose is to trap and contain those that fall within it. It compels those that fall within to climb up its walls but no matter how far you climb you will never reach the top. Due to the acc.u.mulation of spiritual energy over hundreds of years the level of this array is not low. With your cultivation, your chance of breaking through with force is zero.]

The red-haired youth became anxious. Being trapped in this canyon was the equivalent of giving up on all the treasures in the outside world. There was no way he would be satisfied with this!

Van's mind raced as he sifted through the information. Something Jet had said before stuck in his mind and Van brightened.

 "You said that breaking through with force would be impossible. But what if I don't use force?" Van asked.

The black ring in his mindscape hummed with approval.

[Correct. All arrays have a unique solution that can neutralize its effects. If your rank exceeds the array's rank significantly, then naturally breaking it with force is most effective. Otherwise attempting to use force will cause a rebound effect that will harm your cultivation.]

Van sucked in a cold breath.

[While it sounds simple, solving an array is not that simple. It requires focus, sensitivity and intuition. Those who are unskilled and attempt to solve high ranked arrays will find themselves adrift. At the highest levels, the complexity and profundity of an array can cause even the most powerful of ancients to lose their minds and be turned into mindless fools.]

Van clenched his fists, "What if I neither attack it or attempt to solve it. And if I simply ignore it and wait out the remaining days?"

Jet hmphed.

[If you ignore the array, then you will have to deal with all the monster waves in this tiny crack in the ground. Besides, are you willing to give up the treasures and opportunities inside the Underworld Labyrinth?]

"Guess I just have to solve it correctly then," Van said with a cold smile. Actually, he had never intended to ignore the array. He scanned the walls of the canyon trying to find a clue about the array but could not see anything apart from the natural lines and cracks in the rock.

Seeing Van's tension, Jet chuckled softly.

[This kind of low-level array, it is actually quite simple to solve.]

Van raised an eyebrow. An incredibly powerful natural array with the power to trap and suppress talented geniuses was dismissed as 'low-level' by this arrogant little black ring.