Chapter 3553 — Ascending Cloud Terrace Island (Part 2)

Of course, setting aside Wufa the Boxer and Xiao Ran, whose ties with Wei Zhao were not especially close, the only ones here with a deep grudge against him were Kang Zhaoming and Dongfang Badao.

Zhong Yongliang was Wei Zhao's current underling, so he could at least be counted as an ally—but where had everyone else gone?

Where was Tianchan? Where was Song Lingrui? Where was Zhang Naipao? Where was Ancestor Xuanchen? Where were Bingtang Xueli, Wang Xinyan, and Han Jingyi? They had all vanished together in the teleportation array tunnel before Cloud Terrace Island—so how had they all disappeared?

Still, the high platform Wei Zhao now stood on was surrounded on all sides by sheer cliffs, with nothing on it to serve as cover. A single glance told how many people were present; there was simply nowhere to hide.

"What the hell kind of godforsaken place is this? This is Cloud Terrace Island? Why is there nothing here?" Kang Zhaoming came back to his senses and could not help but curse furiously. "Damn it, have we been played?"

"Leader Wei Zhao, what do you make of this?" Zhong Yongliang was puzzled too. This was Cloud Terrace Island? But there was nothing on the island—what kind of lousy Cloud Terrace Island was this? And where had that brat Zhang Naipao gone?

"The heaven-and-earth spiritual qi here is quite abundant, that much is true. But we are all alone here, with no sect or people in sight—that is very strange indeed." Wei Zhao had never been to Cloud Terrace Island either, so the place left even him somewhat baffled.

Everyone had imagined Cloud Terrace Island as a wondrous place, full of masters who would help them break through the heavenly dao. But now that they had arrived, there were no masters to speak of—only a sheer cliff and nothing else. How were they supposed to cope?

Gazing farther out, white mist wrapped all around the high platform, making it impossible to see whether anything lay in the distance. The only thing visible was the abyss beneath the platform—a bottomless chasm plunging down beyond the limits of sight, and below that, the mist grew so thick that nothing could be seen at all.

Dongfang Badao was one of the most eager of the group. Upon arriving and finding things so different from what he had imagined—and with so many others nowhere to be found, three-quarters of their number gone in an instant—who could possibly be pleased?

Could it be that when those people came through, they had failed to steady themselves on the platform and fallen straight into the abyss? At this thought, everyone broke into a cold sweat.

But once he calmed down, Wei Zhao did not think so naively. What he felt was this: if the teleportation array of Cloud Terrace Island could send all these people over, surely it would not allow some of them to die? Those people must have been teleported as well—only perhaps to other, similar places.

This reminded Wei Zhao of the trial at the Xuandan Sect, when everyone had been randomly teleported across the Five Evils Wasteland. The environment here resembled that wasteland somewhat; though there was no Five Evils aura here, it was a kind of intuition.

"Wufa the Boxer, what do you think?" Dongfang Badao could not help asking. Wufa the Boxer was the grand elder of the Divine Fist Hall. Because of Li Ciba, the Divine Fist Hall had not opposed Wei Zhao before, though neither could their relationship be called especially good.

"I cannot tell for now." Wufa the Boxer shook his head. "But since Cloud Terrace Island is reputed to be so extraordinary, I doubt it means to do us harm. We should wait a while. Look at Young Hero Lin over there—he is not anxious at all."

"Hmph, we are all on the island now, and everyone is equal. Young Hero Lin, indeed—he is nothing but a junior!" Dongfang Badao snorted coldly. Before they opened Cloud Terrace Island, everyone had agreed at the Heaven Rank Assembly that their goal was to ascend Cloud Terrace Island safely, and that therefore no one was to strike at another during the opening process.

So for now Dongfang Badao did not provoke Wei Zhao, and Wei Zhao could not kill him either, which left him somewhat unrestrained.

Of course, this pact might become void once they were on the island and people began to form factions—but for the moment, at least, it still held.

The group lingered on the platform for over half an hour, and inevitably some grew puzzled and anxious. What was the meaning of this? Surely Cloud Terrace Island was not just a platform where everyone would grow old in solitude?

There was not even a single woman here. They could not reproduce; two men together could hardly carry on the next generation.

"Is anyone there? My god!" Kang Zhaoming finally ran out of patience and shouted at the top of his voice. His voice echoed across the sky, yet no one answered him.

"Leader Wei Zhao, could it be that the seniors of Cloud Terrace Island are testing us?" Zhong Yongliang had the memories of Ancestor Kuanglong in his mind, so he understood something of the customs of these ancients. After thinking it over, he asked.

"A test? I would not rule out the possibility..." Wei Zhao nodded. "But there ought at least to be some hint. Let us wait and see."

Zhong Yongliang nodded, then wandered off to one side, presumably to search the platform for any hint.

Another ten minutes or so passed, when suddenly a long cry came from the sky. The crowd, whose tempers had been fraying, fell silent at once and looked up.

A flying spirit beast had appeared in the distant sky!

It was only a spirit beast, yet it thrilled them all—because it at least meant that living creatures existed nearby, and that this was not a lonely dead island.

Then, as the flying spirit beast drew nearer, their excitement grew even greater—for a person was seated on its back. Though age and sex could not be made out, anyone who could appear here must surely be a peerless master!

"Senior, Senior, wait!" Kang Zhaoming shouted loudly. Of them all, he was the most desperate to leave.

"Here, over here!" Dongfang Badao shouted too. He had come here to break through the heavenly dao, not to waste time on this platform.

But there was no need for their calls; the flying spirit beast was coming this way regardless. It descended lower and lower, and the person on its back became visible to all.

It was a man of about thirty—or rather, he looked thirty, for his true age could not be known. After all, the masters here might well be above the heavenly dao; even Heaven Rank cultivators could preserve their youthful looks forever, let alone masters of the heavenly dao.

The flying spirit beast halted at the edge of the platform without landing, and the man upon it cast a cold glance at Wei Zhao and the others, then curled his lip. "The people who came to our North Island this time are nothing but the old, the weak, the sick, and the crippled. What a disappointment!"

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