"Lin Feng, the clouds and mist on Cloudcrest Mountain really are strange. Maybe if you break through them, the entrance to the Divine Battlefield will appear. But right now, the key is to find out what’s causing these clouds and where to break through. You’ll need to use your divine sense to investigate." Luna, the Sword Spirit, reminded him.
"Luna, just help me look, will you? My divine sense isn’t nearly as strong as yours—you know that!" Evan Chu said.
"You just want the easy way out, huh? This time you’re checking for yourself—I'm not in the mood to help you. Cloudcrest Mountain is weird all over. I’d advise you not to use your divine sense lightly, or you’ll regret it." Luna said sharply.
"Seriously? Not only won’t you help me check with your divine sense, you won’t let me look either—so how am I supposed to break through these clouds?" Evan said, sounding a bit dejected.
"That’s your problem. Maybe this is a test Venerable Solus set up for you. You should know, he’s from the same place as I am, and there are plenty of things I can’t do anything about. Back then, he was a Da Luo Golden Immortal while I was just a Ninth-Heaven Arch-Immortal—there’s a huge gap between our levels." Luna said helplessly.
Evan Chu didn’t want to argue with Luna anymore. At this point, all he could do was keep flying upward. He didn’t believe Cloudcrest Mountain could be endless. At first, he didn’t feel anything odd—the pressure was weak, and even Lin Ruoxi and the others could easily handle it.
But as time went on, Evan’s flying speed—already extremely fast even without using teleportation—brought him higher, and he started to feel pressure building on his body. There was a heavy resistance pushing against him, making it harder and harder to ascend.
Gradually, Evan’s speed slowed. He started having trouble breathing, sweat pouring down nonstop as a tremendous pressure pressed on him. The force was so great that even he felt a flicker of fear.
Finally, Evan couldn’t fly any higher. If he wanted to maintain his current altitude, he had to go all out—otherwise, the crushing pressure would instantly force him down dozens, even hundreds of meters, like rowing upstream: stop for a second, and you’re swept backward.
But just holding out like this wasn’t a solution. Whether it was Chaos Dragon Force or mental power, the drain was enormous. Evan had to find a way to relieve the pressure on his body.
Looking up at the clouds overhead, Evan Chu realized they almost seemed solid—like you could actually stand on them if you flew up there. But he couldn’t try it himself; the pressure was so intense he couldn’t gain another meter of altitude, and the cloud layer above was still about a hundred meters away.
Evan had no idea what to do next. As he struggled, Luna said, "Try transforming into your Golden Dragon true body. Dragons can swallow clouds and spit mist, and your defense will be much stronger in that form. You might just find a way to break through."
Hearing Luna’s suggestion, Evan’s mind shifted. A thunderous dragon roar shook the sky, startling Roxanne Lin and the others on the mountainside. The roar was full of anger and urgency—clearly, Evan was in trouble.
"Evan’s in danger—I have to go check on him!" Roxanne Lin said, her face anxious.
"I’d advise you not to make things worse," Ryan Ouyang said. "His strength is way beyond ours. If he’s in danger, then going up there is certain death for us. But I’m sure he’ll be fine—he’s not like normal people. He’s a monster, a downright scary one."
"But what if he really does need help? We can’t just stand here and worry!" Roxanne protested, a bit flustered.
"Women are always trouble—lose their cool the moment something happens. Don’t forget, we just went through a near-death ordeal. The pressure up there isn’t something we can handle. Judging by Evan’s voice, he’s at least ten thousand meters up. If we tried that, we’d be flattened in no time," Ryan Ouyang grumbled.
"Enough, you two. Let’s just keep an eye on things for now. We can try flying up and stop if we hit that heavy pressure. That way, we’ll get a clearer idea of Evan’s situation," Ethan Fenn, the Soaring Feather Young Lord, suggested.
Roxanne thought Ethan’s idea made sense. She flashed forward, a blaze of crimson light bursting from her body as she transformed into her Vermilion Bird true form—far tougher than her human body.
A phoenix cry rang out from her mouth as she shot upward. To her astonishment, the crushing pressure vanished completely.
Ethan Fenn and Ryan Ouyang didn’t sit idle either. Both transformed into their sacred beast forms and soared skyward. With Evan absent, the two of them had to do their best to protect Roxanne Lin—if anything happened to her, Evan would definitely blame them.
When Roxanne reached the altitude where she could see Evan, a powerful pressure slammed into her, making her massive body tremble. She couldn’t help but let out a pained cry.
The sound quickly reached Evan’s ears. He looked down and saw Roxanne below him. Evan immediately dove, arriving at her side in a flash. Ryan and Ethan caught up as well, but stopped about ten meters below Roxanne—they too felt the pressure was overwhelming and couldn’t ascend any further.
"Roxy, it’s dangerous here—you all need to go back. Wait until I break through the cloud layer, then I’ll call you up. The clouds on Cloudcrest Mountain are seriously weird—the higher you go, the stronger the pressure. With your current defense, you can’t help me at all. Just go!" Evan said, his dragon voice coming out harsh and guttural.
"Evan, it’s so dangerous here—I really think we should find another way into the Divine Battlefield. If anything happened to you, I don’t know what I’d do," Roxanne said.
"Don’t worry. This is a test meant for me. Once I pass it, the pressure will disappear. What, you don’t trust me now?" Evan replied.
Roxanne knew that once Evan set his mind to something, not even ten oxen could drag him back. "Alright, just be careful!"
So Roxanne, Ethan, and Ryan descended several dozen meters, all watching Evan anxiously as he continued to climb. He was now within forty meters of the cloud layer, but this was his absolute limit—any higher, and the pressure might crush him from within.
Just as Evan was feeling helpless, a voice—familiar yet strange—suddenly echoed from within the clouds. It was ancient, and Evan felt sure he’d heard it somewhere before…