"Land of the Dead. The living may not enter. Those who do will have their flesh devoured, their bones gnawed, their blood drunk."
Jiang Zuo said coolly, "Cross the line of the Abyss, and you've entered the Land of the Dead. It's a battle to the death."
"Couldn't you have told us that sooner?" Xu Dong roared. "If you'd said something, would any of this have happened? Your Cultivation is only 1.1. Do you honestly think you'd survive if we decided to kill you?
Do you want to see if I'll kill you right now?"
Jiang Zuo's expression turned frigid. "You can't kill me, but I can kill you. Don't mistake my patience for weakness. It makes little difference to me whether you live or die."
"Hah!" Xu Dong's rage boiled over. "A mere Tier One, where do you get off being so confident? I'll take one of your arms as payment!"
But Jiang Zuo moved first, appearing before Xu Dong in an instant. Xu Dong was no fool; he wasn't about to let some 1.1 upstart act so brazenly.
Yet just as he prepared to counterattack and kill Jiang Zuo, he suddenly found he couldn't move.
Jiang Zuo's sword had already swept across his arm.
His arm dropped, falling into the Abyss.
"AAAAAH! You... I'll kill you!" With that, Xu Dong charged at Jiang Zuo, ready to risk it all.
Jiang Zuo raised his sword, his eyes cold as he stared at Xu Dong. That icy gaze sent a shiver through Xu Dong, shocking him back to his senses. He was scared. He was actually scared—scared of this 1.1 rookie.
Jiang Zuo lowered his sword. "Get in my way again, and I won't mind sending you to your graves ahead of schedule."
Despite his words, Jiang Zuo sighed to himself in frustration.
He had only dared to brave this place because he had a trump card up his sleeve: the Innate Two Qi.
The Innate Chaotic Qi came with a natural Skill.
Sealing.
Against those of the same Realm, the Seal was nearly unbreakable. Its power weakened against higher Realms, and when crossing a Great Realm, it lasted for only a single moment.
But for someone with his skills, a single moment was more than enough.
However, the Seal had a major drawback. Each use consumed one strand of Innate Qi, and it took anywhere from one to three days to recover.
Without the Innate Two Qi, he couldn't practice his Cultivation.
That's why he was completely unwilling to use it unless it was absolutely critical.
He'd only used it now to shut these people up.
He couldn't afford any distractions from them later on.
Water Qilin Yaya stared at Jiang Zuo in surprise. It hadn't quite seen what happened either, but it was certain this man had a secret.
Ximen Linglong had also seen the look in Jiang Zuo's eyes, and it frightened her.
She could only go over to Xu Dong and the others. "I have some medicine that will help you heal faster," she said.
The three of them were still in shock. They were all Tier Two Cultivators, yet they had been completely cowed by someone at 1.1.
If word of this got out, they'd be a laughingstock.
But since even Xu Dong had backed down, they didn't dare say anything more.
After all, if Jiang Zuo hadn't held back, it would have been Xu Dong's head on the ground, not his arm.
'How can a 1.1 be this strong? Have we been practicing some phony form of Cultivation?'
Water Qilin Yaya asked, "So how do we get across now?"
"We walk," Jiang Zuo said plainly.
He then took out a coin and tossed it into the air.
When pushed to an extreme, things swing in the opposite direction. The Land of the Dead was also a type of Array, and no Array presents a situation of certain death. A path of "ten deaths and no life" might be true, but that doesn't hold for a hundred deaths, a thousand, or even ten thousand. A path to survival always exists; the odds are just terrifyingly low.
It was nearly impossible to even spot that path, let alone seize the opportunity. That was a whole other level of difficulty.
In his current state, Jiang Zuo lacked the power to seize it either. But what he lacked in power, he made up for with his ability to find things—an ability akin to luck. And luck... was a profoundly mysterious thing.
It could turn the impossible into the possible. Just like now.
The coin landed, rolled forward, and tumbled over the edge of the Abyss, where it came to a stop.
The others, who had been watching Jiang Zuo as if he were a fool, now stared with eyes wide enough to pop out of their sockets.
The coin was hovering in midair above the Abyss, completely untouched. 'Is it because the coin is an inanimate object?'
Jiang Zuo ignored them. He stepped out, his foot landing on the air next to the coin, and then picked it up.
He turned to the Water Qilin. "Keep up. If you're not with me by the time I cross the Abyss, you're on your own."
Then, to their horror, they watched as Jiang Zuo walked across the open air, heading for the other side of the Abyss.
Ximen Linglong looked to the Water Qilin, but it too was hesitating. The memory of the skeletons was truly horrifying.
"We have to follow," Kun Tai said finally. "Otherwise, we'll all die here. We have no other way out."
It was only then that they realized the path behind them had vanished, as if this place had been the starting point all along.
Jiang Zuo continued forward, but the farther he went, the more alarmed he grew. 'I can't stay here. I have to get out, and fast.'
'For some reason, this place is starting to be absorbed by the Ancient Battlefield. It must be because the qualifying Spiritual Talisman was taken. Has that person already gotten what they came for and left?'
Jiang Zuo couldn't be sure, as he had never taken one of the qualifying Spiritual Talismans himself.
But if that person were still here, this sort of change shouldn't be happening, in theory.
'I need to pick up the pace.'
Jiang Zuo called back to the others, "I'm picking up the pace. Anyone who can't keep up will be stuck here forever."
With that, Jiang Zuo began to move rapidly.
Ximen Linglong and the others were startled at first, afraid they wouldn't be able to keep up. However, they found it surprisingly easy.
After all, he was only at 1.1 Cultivation. There was a limit to how fast he could be.
Ximen Linglong's Cultivation was 1.4, after all.
And that was to say nothing of the others, who were all Tier Two.
Xu Qing glared at Jiang Zuo with hatred. If she could, she would kill him right here and now.
Jiang Zuo glanced back, his face devoid of expression. Xu Qing flinched and quickly looked down, fuming with humiliation. 'To think I'd be scared off by a 1.1...'
But Jiang Zuo hadn't been looking at Xu Qing at all. His gaze was fixed on the path behind them, which was rapidly vanishing.
'Looks like I'm really out of time. A pity. I was hoping to swipe a Spatial Treasure, but now survival is the top priority.'
Having made his decision, Jiang Zuo wasted no more thought on it. He crossed to the other side at his top speed, intending to leave immediately.
This was a massive stone pillar, a sort of transit point.
Just as Jiang Zuo set foot on it, a figure burst forth from the opposite direction.
Jiang Zuo froze for a second, and his opponent clearly did as well. The proverb says when two adversaries meet on a narrow path, the bolder one prevails. Jiang Zuo instantly charged, just as the other man launched a fatal strike against him.
Without a moment's hesitation, Jiang Zuo's Innate Qi wrapped around the man. He then swung his sword, aiming straight for his vital points.
BOOM!!
Jiang Zuo was thrown backward by the impact, while the man's Life-Protecting Treasure shattered instantly.
At that moment, the Water Qilin and the others made it across.
The newcomer was now under immense pressure. As long as he didn't attack, Jiang Zuo wouldn't either.
He knew he could no longer defeat this man.
The man was handsome, and he stared at Jiang Zuo with palpable fear. He had been a hair's breadth away from death.
'And the guy was only a 1.1. Since when were 1.1s this freakishly strong?'
"Don't be rash, everyone," the man said hurriedly. "We can talk this through. This place is disappearing! If we waste any more time, none of us will make it out. Look behind you if you don't believe me!"
Only then did the others realize that the path behind them was steadily vanishing.