"I'm not sure either. Let's go take a look." Goldwing shifted into his human form and led the way ahead.
From the mountaintop to the Guardian Ground, there was a natural winding path, and walking it wasn't all that strenuous.
Soon, a huge cave appeared before Evan Chu. "This is the Guardian Ground you mentioned?"
"That's right. The Thousand-Year Fire Lotus is inside this cave. Boss, you need to be extra careful—hot streams and cold blasts pop up in here from time to time, and both are seriously dangerous." Goldwing's face was grim, clearly showing he'd suffered plenty in here before.
"Let's go!" After entering the cave, Evan Chu realized it was a natural karst cavern, filled everywhere with bizarre stalactites. After walking about ten meters in, he stopped.
Evan Chu stared in shock at the rocks underfoot. "This really is a gravity zone. I feel like I can barely breathe—how can a place like this exist?"
"This weirdness has been here since I was born. The gravity gets even worse deeper inside, and honestly, Boss, I'm worried you won't be able to get the Thousand-Year Fire Lotus. It's just way too dangerous." Even Goldwing looked unsettled now.
"If no one can get in here, why do you bother killing anyone who comes? Isn't that just pointless?" Evan Chu felt Goldwing's actions were unnecessary—no one could get the lotus anyway, even if they tried.
"It's different. My job is to guard the Thousand-Year Fire Lotus—no one is allowed near it. Of course, you're an exception, Boss, but even for you, getting close isn't easy."
Evan Chu didn't reply. He could feel a stab of pain in his chest with every word he spoke—better to stay cautious in this kind of environment.
After slowly circulating the star power in his dantian, Evan Chu felt a bit better. Gritting his teeth, he forced himself another five meters forward—those five meters felt like five hundred, five thousand, and sweat was pouring off him.
The gravity here was even heavier than the pressure in the Stellar Cultivation Chamber. If he took ten more steps, Evan Chu felt he'd be crushed flat on the ground.
Goldwing, in the form of a middle-aged man, was doing much better than Evan Chu. "Boss, looks like we can't get this treasure after all. There's still fifty meters to go before reaching the Thousand-Year Fire Lotus, and every ten meters the pressure doubles. Even I can only enter in my true beast form—my human form can't handle it."
Evan Chu was a bit unwilling to give up. "There's really no other way? There must be a reason for this gravity—if we find the problem, we can get rid of it, and then the Thousand-Year Fire Lotus will be ours."
"That's impossible. I've stayed near here for hundreds of years and entered more times than I can count, but I've never found anything strange. It's like this pressure is just naturally here—Boss, your idea won't work." Goldwing said seriously.
Evan Chu just stood there, sweat soaking his back and shirt, carefully thinking through the features of this place. That was when Luna, the Sword Spirit, spoke up.
"You could rack your brain and still not figure it out. The gravity here is actually caused by a pearl, but with your current strength, breaking through it would be tough. You'd better leave now. The Fire Lotus Seeds won't disappear as soon as they mature—wait until you're stronger, then come back and take both the lotus and the pearl."
"A pearl? Is it a Spirit Pearl? There's really a Spirit Pearl here?" Hearing Luna's voice, Evan Chu grew excited—every time she appeared, she solved his problems.
"It's an Earth Spirit Pearl. If you get it, you'll be able to comprehend the earth element and finally cultivate the first transformation of Ninefold Stellar Transformation—Earth Transformation! But with your current strength, forget it. There's no way you can do it yet."
"Earth Spirit Pearl? So the gravity here is caused by the Earth Spirit Pearl?" Evan Chu was utterly shocked—the Spirit Pearl he'd dreamed of was right here, how could he not be excited?
But Luna's last words were like a bucket of cold water dumped over Evan Chu's head—he felt dizzy and frustrated, as if a cooked duck had been snatched away right at his mouth.
"There's a restriction here. The person who set it up must have been at least third-layer Heaven Martial Realm. If you had that kind of attack power, you could break it. But the array is old, so maybe first-layer Heaven Martial would be enough. The question is, do you have that strength right now?"
Right now, Evan Chu obviously didn't have first-layer Heaven Martial strength. Even if he used Lion Spirit Fist, he could only reach eighth-layer Earth Martial power—this was just wishful thinking.
"No other way?" Evan Chu asked, still unwilling to give up.
"No. There are plenty of Spirit Pearls in every realm, and this one is no exception. But getting a Spirit Pearl is always incredibly hard—the places where they appear are all extremely harsh environments.
Take this Earth Spirit Pearl—it's in a gravity zone. The Fire Spirit Pearl will be in a blazing or high-temperature environment. Thunder Spirit Pearl? Expect tons of lightning. Without real strength, you can't get any of them." Luna's tone carried a hint of disappointment.
Goldwing saw Evan Chu just standing there, sweat dripping nonstop from his brow, and couldn't help but ask, "Boss, are you okay? If not, let's come back next time. They say the Fire Lotus can be stored for a while after it matures—some energy will be lost, but not much. Wait until you're stronger, and it'll be fine!"
Evan Chu forced a bitter smile. "Let's go back. When I get the chance, I'll come here again. For now, let's finish the task—everyone's still waiting on me."
Evan Chu wanted the Fire Lotus badly, but compared to the Earth Spirit Pearl, it was insignificant. Yet he couldn't get either—coming to a treasure mountain and leaving empty-handed was a bitter feeling.
Once outside the cave, Evan Chu immediately felt light all over, his breathing easy again. This really wasn't a place for people to stay—though training here could help his physique, maybe even break through to the third layer of Starforge Body, there just wasn't time for that right now.
"Boss, you go up first—I'll seal up the cave entrance so no one finds it." Goldwing said.
Evan Chu was puzzled. "It's impossible to move inside—no need to be so careful, even if someone finds it."
"Boss, when a thousand-year spirit herb matures, there are always signs. That'll attract strong spirit beasts. In this Monster Beast Forest, there are three other beasts about as strong as me—one of them has even reached ninth-rank. If they find out, they'll come to snatch it, and we'll end up with nothing."
"About as strong as you? What kinds of spirit beasts?" Evan Chu grew more and more surprised. He wondered what Heavenly Dragon Academy was thinking, sending students here for a competition—did they just want to weed out the weak, or were they really trying to temper their will and strength?
Goldwing suddenly shot a beam of white light from his hand at the cave entrance. "Boom!" The ground shook, dust filled the air, and countless rocks tumbled down, sealing the entrance shut in an instant.