Chapter 1713 – Climbing the Divine Seal Altar
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The 33 stone platforms each resonated with each other like chords of music in a strange sympathetic harmony. Countless runes flashed and wove together, stretching to the ends of time, emitting a fearful, heart-stopping pressure.
Compared to this massive Divine Seal Altar, the largest mountain in the fourth level was nothing but a little stone.
It was like every step of this Divine Seal Altar was its own ancient world.
However, what shocked Lin Ming the most was that he could faintly see large phantoms on every step. The aura of Laws emitting from these phantoms were all different, but they fused together flawlessly with the Great Dao Laws of the stone platforms, perfectly harmonious.
As for the peak of the Divine Seal Altar, the giant space crack there released endless beams of energy and arcs of lighting. The flashes of light carried with them a terrifying strength, one able to tear through space and reach into the far off distances.
Giant tornados emerged from the pitch black abyss that had been dug out from the earth. The surrounding martial artists found it hard to remain steady.
“Divine Seal Altar… it’s really the Divine Seal Altar…”
Lin Ming could already confirm that every step of the 33 levels of this Divine Seal Altar contained different Laws. It could be said that within this entire vast world, the only one who possessed the ability to create something so magnificent was the Asura Road Master.
But what about Empyrean Divine Seal’s Divine Seal Altar?
Could it be that… Empyrean Divine Seal was the Asura Road Master’s reincarnation within the Divine Realm?
Lin Ming immediately thought. The Asura Road Master had reincarnated 33 times. One life one Empyrean, one life one Divinity. According to the preface of the Asura Sutra, the Asura Road Master had used 100 million years during each reincarnation to become a True Divinity powerhouse. Afterwards, he had fused all 33 reincarnations together and surpassed the boundaries of a True Divinity.
If this were true, then Empyrean Divine Seal was unlikely to be the Asura Road Master’s reincarnation. This was because the Asura Road Master had lived 10 billion years ago. 10 billion years ago… that was a time when ancient races filled the universe, each one striving for supremacy. At that time, the Asura Road Master should have already experienced his 33 reincarnations and established the Asura Road.
As for Empyrean Divine Seal, he had only existed 3.6 billion years ago. During that era, the three races of humans, saints, and spiritas ruled the 33 Heavens. The difference in time was far too great.
Moreover, Empyrean Divine Seal was a tragic story. He seemed to have perished because of humanity’s calamity. If he really was the reincarnation of the Asura Road Master then perhaps he wouldn’t have died saving humanity.
Even his Divine Seal Altar seemed to have shattered. The reason Empyrean Vast Universe had been able to create an imitation of the Divine Seal Altar was because he had obtained a fragment of the True Divine Seal Altar. Otherwise, Lin Ming wouldn’t have seen the phantom of Empyrean Divine Seal when he climbed up the 33 steps of the Divine Seal Altar.
Thinking of this, Lin Ming came up with his own hypothesis. 3.6 billion years ago, Empyrean Divine Seal should also have come to the final trial, and he saw this same scene as he tried to go from the fourth level to the fifth. After climbing the 33 steps, Empyrean Divine Seal had relied upon the comprehensions he obtained here to create his own Divine Seal Altar.
Afterwards, that Divine Seal Altar became one of Empyrean Divine Seal’s lifetime magic weapons.
Lin Ming found it hard to keep his calm. He never thought that 3.6 billion years ago, Empyrean Divine Seal also climbed up this ancient 33 step altar.
Lin Ming took a deep breath and turned his head to look at Soul Empress Sheng Mei. He only saw her staring at the Divine Seal Altar, he eyes shining with a splendid light as she too found it hard to remain calm. From her expression, this was clearly the first time she had seen the Divine Seal Altar.
The tests one faced in the final trial were ever changing and not every situation would be identical. During the last final trial that Soul Empress Sheng Mei attended, she had probably experienced something else when she went from the fourth level to the fifth.
“What large stone steps! Are we supposed to crawl our way up?”
Many martial artists were left utterly speechless as they stared at the incomparably gigantic Divine Seal Altar.
“It looks like that’s what we will have to do. It’s impossible to reach the fifth level by flying. We’ll have to crawl up, and this stone altar doesn’t look easy to crawl up at all.”
“Heh, every trial from here on out is far, far harder. Let’s rush up and get as much as we can completed!”
Many martial artists looked at each other, their resolves steeled. It wasn’t easy for many of them to arrive this far. As for the fifth level of the final trial, that would undoubtedly be far more difficult than the fourth!
Unless there was some major upset, they would likely be stopped here.
“Go!”
For a time, numerous trial challengers shot up towards the Divine Seal Altar, climbing up high!
The ground beneath their feet shattered from the recoil force. Using all sorts of secret techniques, they were like fish diving through the dragon gate, soaring towards the top of the Divine Seal Altar!
Beneath the space crack leading to the fifth level, one could still fly up to around a thousand feet. But the further one went, the greater the pressure would be.
Many martial artists flew up around a thousand feet and weren’t able to withstand the dreadful pressure anymore. They fell onto the walls of the Divine Seal Altar and were forced to grab the rough stone cliffs. Then, with their grip on the stone cliffs, they propelled themselves upwards once more.
Again and again, these trial challengers would jump up hundreds of feet at a time; they were considerably fast.
Beneath the Divine Seal Altar, Lin Ming watched all of this occur from the corners of his eyes. He soon discovered that the pressure falling down from the Divine Seal Altar affected different people in different ways. Martial artists with higher cultivations experienced a suppressive force far more intense than those with lower cultivations.
“The higher one’s cultivation, the more pressure there is?”
It wasn’t just Lin Ming that discovered this, but many other trial challengers also. The pressure coming from the skies above the Divine Seal Altar revolved according to some strange Laws. The higher one’s cultivation, the greater the repulsing force was. Thus, martial artists with higher cultivation had no advantage here at all.
If one only had a high cultivation but was a complete mess in every other aspect, they would truly suffer climbing upwards.
In other words, the Divine Seal Altar was a test of one’s foundation.
“How interesting… the Gate of Laws’ difficulty was dependent on my skeletal age, but the difficulty of this Divine Seal Altar is dependent on my cultivation. When I broke through into the half-step Holy Lord realm on the third level, it seems that it made this Divine Seal Altar more difficult for me to climb instead…”
In this final trial, an endless variety of methods could be brought out to test a trial challenger. Their talent, absolute strength, foundation, comprehension of Laws, all sorts of qualities could be tested here without end.
Lin Ming immediately thought of all this and increasingly anticipated just what the last levels of the final trial would be like. But, he didn’t immediately climb up the Divine Seal Altar. Within his heart, he felt faintly restless.
So much time had passed and yet he hadn’t seen a hint of Xiao Moxian.
Although Lin Ming felt that with Xiao Moxian’s strength and destiny, it was impossible for her to meet some calamitous danger in the fourth level. But, worry was irrational to begin with. If he didn’t see Xiao Moxian, Mo Brightmoon, and the others appear, he couldn’t help but find it hard to remain calm.
On another side, Sheng Mei also didn’t move. She floated 100 feet higher in the air, her blue clothes fluttering about her, her eyes as deep as moons and her black hair as soft as snow.
There was a man standing behind Sheng Mei. This man had a naked upper body and his entire chest was covered with strange mysterious tattoos. His muscles were thick and overlapping, as if they had been shaped by the endless washing of water. He emitted a deeply masculine but magnificent atmosphere.
When Sheng Mei requested three spots from Soul Emperor Divine Void, the two extra spots were for her followers.
This man was one of them. Throughout this entire time he had kept an extremely low profile, not revealing the least bit about himself. Even Lin Ming wasn’t able to judge his strength.
“Lady Soul Empress, this level seems disadvantageous to us…” The tattooed man looked at the Divine Seal Altar, frowning as he spoke.
Sheng Mei lightly shook her head. “It’s far from being disadvantageous. This is a fair test, one that doesn’t look at age and only at one’s foundation. From here on out, the trials we face will not discriminate. Cultivation will not bring one any advantages, but… I never needed those advantages to begin with.”
Sheng Mei said with supreme confidence.
The final trial’s nondiscriminatory trials were the most basic of trials. In these tests where trial challengers would obtain greatly different results from each other, everyone would be placed at the same starting line.
The Gate of Laws was this way and so was the Divine Seal Altar.
The fifth level of the final trial would also be like this.
Towards these things, Sheng Mei had already mentally prepared herself.
“Dragonscar, let’s go.”
As Sheng Mei spoke she flew towards the Divine Seal Altar. Behind her, Dragonscar followed closely.
As Sheng Mei flew up into the skies, because her cultivation was far too high, the pressure she had to withstand was far greater. As her true essence fiercely collided with the pressure of Laws, the friction emitted a dazzling divine light!
Chi chi chi!
Underneath the impact of this divine light, the layers of ice crystals that floated around Sheng Mei began to shatter in abundance, freezing the void!
The momentum with which Sheng Mei climbed the Divine Seal Altar was one that no other martial artist could compare with.
For a time, many trial challengers slowed their pace to look at Sheng Mei, their eyes full of awe and praise.
Even beneath a pressure that far surpassed what anyone else was experiencing, Sheng Mei was still able to rise like a rising beam of light, her speed far faster than the rest!
