After a long time, Kato eventually condensed his Original Spirit successfully and stabilized his realm.
The chaotic intent domain was retrieved as crushed stones and dried tree branches fell. Ka Tuo opened his eyes, still sitting in the center of the chaotic mess. His aura had become ancient and reserved like the deep sea.
After his breakthrough, Leylin could feel that not even someone like the second sky of Original God Realm Weerlig could suppress him wilfully. The evilness and overbearing nature of Chaos Upanishads can’t be underestimated, it’s not unimaginable for Kato to fight across his realm.
Kato along with everyone else flew forward as quickly as a blinding meteor.
After entering they encountered a vast unending and depressing illusory formation.
All pirates, including leaders, released their energies to hurry towards the centre but they were without any direction.
Thankfully for them, Leylin helped Kato and relayed the direction to him, clearing the path forward. If not for his help, the pirates might have spent decades inside the illusionary formation going round and round.
After a year of flying at the speed of the King God Realm warriors, without knowing how far they had crossed.
One day, Kato became the first person to get out of the thick ivory mist. He then landed on bright land.
His eyes brightened. All of a sudden, he was stunned, unable to say a word.
Weerlig and the group of pirates arrived as well. They landed on the stone ground and became perplexed.
“What’s going on?!?” Barrette screamed in fright, his face worried. “My soul altar is bound. I can’t move. I can’t urge my powers!”
“Not good! The same is happening to me! My soul altar stopped!”
“Damn! Where the heck are we? This place is restraining our souls. None of our energies can be urged!”
“Are we in hell now?”
Pirates landed on the stone ground, shouting at first sight of the place. They felt a cold air flood their hearts as their powers were restrained.
No matter which realm they were in, even Weerlig at his Second Sky of Original God Realm couldn’t use his powers anymore. They fell from the sky and simply stood on the stone ground.
Normally, warriors with the God Soul rarely encountered a situation where their God Soul and soul altar were restrained.
As Weerlig was at the Second Sky of the King God Realm, a really intimidating realm, unless the attacker was one realm higher than his, no one should be able to restrain his soul altar.
However, as soon as he had landed, his soul altar stopped spinning. He couldn’t release his energy anymore.
In people’s eyes, it was a shoreless stone ground, which was unusually smooth. The stones under their feet were icy cold as if they were cut by sharp weapons.
In an extremely far area, they could see vague stone steles hundred meters tall. They stood on the ground like the flags.
This area could tie soul altars. The unknown force covers the entire area. For the people who land, their powers are unable to be used. They can only use their physical strength.
“This is the centre of the forbidden land. There is definitely some astounding power here or a secret, so huge that even we are but mere ants witnessing it.” Weerlig spoke while glancing around.
Kato, Jashin Barrette, and Jester were also stunned, scanning the area.
“How can we be sure that we are in the centre of the forbidden land?” Barrette asked.
“There is no doubt.” Kato said coldly. He was the one who lead the path, and it was Leylin who guided him. To doubt him is to doubt his master’s judgement and ability.
“The star map is reacting to this place, it’s really the centre from where the whole formation is created.” Weerlig chinded in before Barrette could retaliate.
“Let’s check the situation.” Weerlig took a deep breath then continued, “Everybody stays close. Do not wander.”
Everybody nodded in agreement. Soon the pirates moved heading towards the stone steles in front of them.
After one hour.
As they had arrived around the stone steles, they all changed their faces as they were very frightened.
Stood there were thirteen stone steles around one hundred meters tall. Each stele had a complex formation with detailed and exquisite lines carved on it naturally. Those who looked at it would receive desperate feeling as if they were being dragged to hell.
Kato stared at the stone stele for a while. His face paled badly. Sweat beaded his forehead as his consciousness became hazy.
Kato felt a deep chill invading him after staring at a stone stele for a while. The desire to slaughter rose from the bottom of his heart.
Just then, a warm and jerking energy invaded Kato’s sea of consciousness and a soft voice sounded, “Don’t look at the stone stele!”
An old voice ran directly into his head.
Kato was shaken hard. He woke up as blood trickled down the corner of his mouth. “Don’t look at the steles! There is some evil power inside it corrupting your mental status!”
Each stele was connected to an arm-sized iron chain, which had many, rusty carved symbols on its surface.
This place had thirteen steles that were hundred-meter-tall stone. Each stele had strange and complex patterns, which bloomed like bizarre flowers. Thirteen chains extended from the pistil of the flowers, congregating at an ice crystal stone platform.
The platform was crystal clear and smooth as if it was made of jade. One end of the thirteen rusted chains had hooks with dried bloodstains. They all fell on the ice crystal stone platform.
The thirteen stone steles surrounded the round ice crystal stone platform, connected to the platform by thirteen chains. One end of the rusted chains had odd, wicked hooks and bloodstains.
Standing under the stone steles and the ice crystal stone platform, everyone felt tiny. The one-hundred-meter-tall steles were like small mountains with lots of pressure, sending a chill down everyone’s spines.
From their point of view, the thirteen stone steles and the ice crystal stone platform were connected by the iron chains, which looked like a massive spider web that hid something intimidating.
“What kind of stone platform is this? It looks magical.” A pirate mumbled then walked forward, touching the ice crystal stone platform.
“Ahhhhh!”
Someone shouted immediately.
Everybody exchanged looks in fright.
They then saw the other’s God Body become frozen at a speed that naked eyes couldn’t observe. With just one breath, he had turned into an ice sculptor. He exploded right after, pieces of ice scattering on the ground. His soul and body perished instantly.
All pirates reacted as if they were confronting ghosts. They backed off immediately.
One of them had accidentally stepped on a rusted chain. As soon as his foot touched the chain, his God Body withered like a dead flower. Shortly after, his vitality had all but gone. His soft skin bag fell on the ground while his flesh and bones had seeped through the chain, pouring into the stone stele on the other end of the chain.
The pattern carved on the stone that looked like a demonic flower became brighter with a flash of light.
The rusted spots on the chain disappeared evilly when the warrior’s blood and flesh was sent through. It became oddly shiny.
“Don’t touch anything!” Alchemist Jester couldn’t help but shout. His voice was filled with fright and anxiety. “This place is like a cell in Purgatory. The ice crystal stone platform once confined someone before! Thirteen chains tied his body, preventing him from struggling. They also drew his Blood Qi and energy from his God Body. The extremely cold energy of the ice crystal stone platform tortured him and drained his power. He didn’t have any energy to resist the powers of this prison! If you don’t want to die, don’t touch anything!”
Jester’s shout stopped people, making them uneasy as they weren’t so sure how to arrange their limbs.
After they stood baffled and scared, the pirates crept around the rusted chains on the ground.
After two hours, they made a circle around this area.
Not every prison had thirteen steles and thirteen chains. There are only two prisons made of thirteen steles. The other places have only twelve or eleven. There are thirty-two prisons in total.
Kato moved by himself followed by his crew and eventually he saw more stone steles on the way. Those grand stone tablets had complex drawings that looked like a flower whose center was connected with a chain. On his way, he found more similar prisons.
Most of the prisons had only twelve or eleven steles surrounding them. At the furthest area from the first thirteen-stele prison was another prison with thirteen stone tablets. These two prisons were pretty far from each other, as if they were designed to keep the two prisoners from communicating with each other.
Kato walked near a similar ice crystal stone platform. However, the platform was shattered, and ten out of thirteen chains were pulled off their steles. Pieces of chains were scattered on the ground. Many pirates were standing between the chains, trying not to touch them.
“Master!” After looking at the shattered platform Kato’s eyes flickered vigorously as he couldn’t help but communicate Leylin.
‘What happened?’ Even after calling for a while Leylin didn’t react but instead the same old voice who warned him sounded.
‘Where is Master? Who are you?’
‘That boy is with me, because of the restrictions of this place he can’t communicate with you. But he can still listen, you can speak freely like usual. If he has any orders or instructions I would relay them to you.’
“Master, It’s him! He was the one who got chained here!” Kato didn’t argue with the stranger despite the odd situation. He had a gut feeling that the old voice could be trusted, instead he shivered in thrill, looking shocked.
“…. ”
“The one who gave me the inheritance was here! I’m sure it’s him!” Kato took a deep breath. “Chaotic energy had broken the chains and the ice crystal platform here. I’m 100% sure!”
