Chapter 1716
In the face of a trial like this, assault system Soul Masters had the highest chance of passing. Tang Wulin and A'Ruheng definitely wouldn't have any issues, and Sima Jinchi and Yuanen Yehui would most likely succeed as well. However, there was no way that Xu Xiaoyan would be able to pass the trial without assistance as the downside of her exceptional control abilities was that her combat prowess was very mediocre.
"So what do we do now?" Xu Xiaoyan asked.
Tang Wulin smiled, and replied, "There's nothing to worry about; nothing is an obstacle for me underwater. Everyone, follow me."
Having already ascertained the situation up ahead, Tang Wulin was a lot more relaxed and began to advance faster than before.
Under the illumination of the holy light being released by Yue Zhengyu, everyone soon discovered that the current of the water around them was clearly growing stronger and stronger; even the area that they were situated in, which was devoid of water, seemed to be traveling along with the current, and it would only stop when Tang Wulin did.
All of a sudden, the visibility decreased in the distance up ahead, and they had reached the exit, but outside the exit was a massive underwater vortex.
Everyone's expressions changed slightly as they sensed just how powerful the vortex was, and they could hear an incessant dull rumbling, which was created by the current crashing into the surrounding rock faces.
What a terrifying vortex!
Ling Zichen suddenly observed, "It looks like this vortex is the source of the suction force acting upon this river. There's no way a phenomenon like this can be artificially created, so the Battle God Hall must've taken advantage of the natural setting."
"Make sure to not stray far away from me," Tang Wulin said as he released a series of Bluesilver Emperor vines, which wound themselves around the bodies of his friends to ensure that they remained close to him.
Immediately thereafter, a golden trident symbol lit up on his forehead, and he transferred his Golden Dragon Spear into his left hand before summoning the golden trident in his right hand amid a flash of golden light.
In the instant that the golden trident appeared, the entire area suddenly fell silent, and the aggressive current abruptly subsided. The violent vortex seemed to have also been influenced by this, and the speed of its rotation slowed drastically, as if it were pledging its subordination to Tang Wulin.
Meanwhile, a layer of bluish-golden light emanated from Tang Wulin's body, and he pointed his golden trident forward, upon which the water up ahead instantly parted. A staircase constructed from water that was leading upward appeared at his behest, and Tang Wulin led the way as he strode onto the staircase.
Everyone else was stunned by this phenomenon, but they hurriedly followed along without any hesitation.
Only after entering the vortex were they able to truly sense just how fearsome it was. The entire vortex had a diameter of over a kilometer, and there were no signs of life within it.
However, despite the terrifying nature of this underwater world, the trident-wielding Tang Wulin was like its ruler. He strode up the staircase while continuing to give off bluish-golden radiance, and all of the surrounding currents accompanied his advance as if they were revering their king.
After walking up several hundred steps, the water up ahead finally parted, and the surrounding area brightened considerably as a path leading to the outside world appeared up ahead.
Tang Wulin stowed his golden trident away, but the surrounding water remained parted while he and his friends emerged from the vortex.
They rose up into the air before appraising their surroundings to find that there was a massive lake below them, but the entire lake was a terrifying funnel-shaped vortex.
What was even more alarming was that the current at the center of the vortex was moving so quickly that it was causing the air to screech and howl.
The wonders of nature were truly unfathomable.
On the shore in the distance, there was a patch of flat ground, and it was also there that the only path out of the 16th level was situated.
Everyone flew over and descended onto that area, and they couldn't help but heave a collective sigh of relief as they finally arrived on land.
A giant inky-black vortex was situated up ahead, and even though the majority of the group was comprised of Titled Douluos, they still couldn't help but be fearful of such a fearsome natural phenomenon.
As expected of the 16th level of Battle God Hall! It was certainly an unimaginably stern trial.
Tang Wulin couldn't help but wonder what other trials were awaiting them up ahead.
Instead of continuing onward right away, Tang Wulin sat down with his legs crossed, and everyone else also took a seat around him. All of them were somewhat taxed from their battles, so it would be wise to rest before continuing.
The 16th level was already this perilous, what was going to await them on the 17th and 18th levels?
Around half an hour later, everyone awakened from meditation in quick succession.
There was only one path available to them, so it was clear that this was the way to the next level.
They adopted the same formation as before, and Tang Wulin, Yuanen Yehui, and Yue Zhengyu led the way from the front as the group entered the passageway.
The ground in the passageway was very flat and smooth, and there were clear signs of artificial digging. The surrounding area didn't appear to be abnormal in any way, and it seemed that this was just a natural underground passageway. However, the group was relying on Yue Zhengyu's holy light to illuminate the area. Otherwise, they would be shrouded in complete darkness.
As they advanced, everyone could sense that the air temperature was steadily rising.
Tang Wulin's eyes narrowed slightly upon detecting this. They had just faced a trial of water, could it be that the next trial was one of fire?
Light began to appear in the distance, and in the beginning, it was only a very faint red glimmer, but as the temperatures continued to rise, so did the brightness of this red light. Soon, the entire surrounding area was illuminated into a bright red color, and the temperatures were so high that everyone had to release their soul power to oppose it.
Finally, they reached the end of the passageway, only to be stunned by what lied up ahead.
At the end of the passageway was a massive fiery red world, within which was a lake, but as opposed to water, it was filled with lava.
The reddish-golden lava was bubbling incessantly, and the air here was so hot that even breathing would become extremely difficult for the average person.
What was even more terrifying was that the reddish-golden lava seemed to be filled with some type of enormous energy that felt as if it were about to overflow at any moment.
Due to the excessively high temperatures, the air above the lava lake was completely warped, thereby significantly impacting visibility. However, this was the conclusion of the passageway, so if they wanted to continue onward, it was clear that they would have to pass through this lava lake.
To Tang Wulin, the most puzzling aspect about all of this was that the trial seemed to be too simple.
Of course, the lava was of an extremely high temperature, but as long as they didn't bathe in it for long periods of time, it would pose no threat to Soul Masters of their caliber. Couldn't they just fly over it?
There had to be some other type of danger present here, and the most lethal of perils were always concealed behind shrouds of mystery.
They had no idea what they were going to face next, so Tang Wulin could only turn to A'Ruheng. "There's most likely more to this place than meets the eye. Senior Disciple Brother, we'll be counting on you."