Let's not talk about what's inside the Death Colosseum.
Those strong ones who lost in the flag capture battle, all of them died miserably in the dark vortex.
Xiao Yi and his group were treading on golden light, making their way to a river as vast as the sky.
This river was so wide that one couldn't see the other side, extending endlessly, with surging waves and sparkling ripples. The turbulent tides slapped the shores, splashing up water into gigantic waves hundreds of meters tall, and the howling winds made it difficult to distinguish whether this place was reality or an illusion.
Splash, splash, splash, splash!
Suddenly, a series of huge bubbles rose on the surface of the river. As the bubbles burst out of the water, they exploded, sending splashes in all directions.
A massive shadow emerged with its head poking out.
It was a giant black python, its head as big as that of a water buffalo, only countless times larger.
The long body was pitch black.
Across its body, scales like shields shimmered with a cold metallic luster.
Even though it rose dozens of meters above the water's surface, it was only up to its neck.
"Hea... Heavenly Blue Bull Python?"
"It's said that the Yunmeng Dynasty was a nation of ten thousand demons and under the Yunmeng Demon Emperor were ten Demon Marshals. The Heavenly Blue Bull Python is one of them."
"With a head like a water buffalo and a black body, each breath it takes spans a spring and autumn, each opening and closing of its eyes spans a sixty-year cycle... This is indeed the Heavenly Blue Bull Python, a legendary being... But wasn't it said that after the fall of the Yunmeng Dynasty, the Yunmeng Demon Emperor and the ten Demon Marshals all perished? How is this possible..."
Cries of surprise came from the crowd.
Everyone held their breath, staring at the enormous creature before them.
This was a being of legend.
The Heavenly Blue Bull Python let out a sky-shaking bellow, the eight-hundred-mile river boiled and surged with its roar.
Waves after waves crashed into the sky.
Xiao Yi stared at the Heavenly Blue Bull Python before him, his pupils slightly constricted. Everything before him was neither an illusion nor quite reality.
Especially this Heavenly Blue Bull Python, which exuded a strange aura all over.
Even Xiao Yi couldn't tell whether it was real or fake.
He glanced at Yue Shanchuan and transmitted a message secretly, "Be careful, I feel something weird about this place!"
Yue Shanchuan and the others nodded, staying alert.
The Heavenly Blue Bull Python stretched lazily, then spat out human words, "It's been a long time since humans have visited here. Welcome to my territory, Tianqing River. See that black bamboo forest behind you? What you need to do is to cut down the Black Jade Bamboo from there to build a raft, and then cross Tianqing River on the raft. Little ones, you have a total of six hours to cross the river. If you still remain on the shore after six hours, you will become my dinner. Likewise, if you haven't reached the other side within six hours, I will start hunting, and once I catch you, you will become a feast in my belly!"
The Heavenly Blue Bull Python fiercely opened its mouth, revealing two rows of sharp fangs like saw blades inside its gaping maw.
A foul stench came gusting forth like a hurricane.
Making one involuntarily furrow their brow and cover their nose.
It was truly unbearable!
At the same time, it made everyone understand that the Heavenly Blue Bull Python before them was not an easy adversary.
If one were to be hunted by this colossal beast on the tumultuous Tianqing River, it would truly be a cry for heaven with no response, a plea on earth with no listening!
At the command of the Heavenly Blue Bull Python,
Hu Junyi glared fiercely at Xiao Yi, his eyes full of resentment, and coldly said, "Xiao Yi, you should be thankful that this challenge is time-pressured and I don't have time to deal with you. Otherwise, letting you die on the banks of the Tianqing River and become fertilizer for the Black Jade Bamboo wouldn't be a bad choice at all!"
Xiao Yi just gave him a cold look and said nothing.
He always felt there was something strange about this challenge.
The Tianqing River was but a bit wider and the flow a bit fiercer — there was no other difference.
Not far away there stood pine trees that were thicker and larger, more suitable for shipbuilding; why then were they instructed to cut down the black jade bamboo here?
The placement of these black jade bamboos was extremely odd.
There were nine patches of black jade bamboo forest in total.
When Xiao Yi was flying from the Death Colosseum earlier, he vaguely remembered that these nine patches were arranged as the Nine Palaces.
Could all this really just be a coincidence?
That someone had intended it to be this way?
If it was deliberately arranged, why would the Heavenly Blue Bull Python specify they cut down these black jade bamboos?
"Xiao, we should also hurry up and start cutting the black jade bamboo!"
"I've heard that the black jade bamboo is exceptionally tough and very difficult to cut. We can't afford to waste any more time!"
Yue Shanchuan and Chai Yi looked at Xiao Yi with a hint of urgency in their eyes.
Hu Junyi and Ye Ling, among others, had already started cutting the black jade bamboo. Even with their strength, cutting down a fully-grown black jade bamboo would take more than an hour.
Under the watchful eyes of the group,
Xiao Yi no longer hesitated; choosing to trust his own instincts, he said sternly, "We won't cut the black jade bamboo. Follow me!"
The others were startled, not understanding what Xiao Yi intended to do.
The previous trials had instilled a sort of blind trust in Xiao Yi in them, and after a brief hesitation, they followed him as he ran towards the nearby woods.
Hu Junyi and the rest, noticing Xiao Yi and his group heading towards the woods, couldn't help but exchange confused looks: "What are they up to?"
"They seem to be going to cut down trees!"
"Are they fools? Didn't they hear the Heavenly Blue Bull Python say that only black jade bamboo could be used to make boats? What use would chopping wood be..."
All were utterly befuddled.
Ye Ling hesitated for a moment before saying in a deep voice, "Hu Junyi, do you think we should send a few people to learn from what Xiao Yi is doing?"
Hu Junyi waved dismissively, confidently saying, "No need to bother with him, as long as we do as the elder Heavenly Blue Bull Python said — to make rafts only from black jade bamboo. What Xiao Yi is doing is nothing but showing off. How could a being such as the Heavenly Blue Bull Python guarding this gate make any mistakes?"
A few strong individuals nearby nodded and said, "Brother Hu is right. With a powerful being like the Heavenly Blue Bull Python guarding it, there's definitely no chance of any mistakes!"
"He wants to take shortcuts; it's simply a fool's dream!"
Ye Ling, still hesitant, couldn't help but mutter, "You've said to ignore Xiao Yi in our previous encounters as well..."
Hu Junyi's face stiffened as he felt his wounds being ripped open once more, and to add insult to injury, as if someone had just slapped him hard across the face.
Hu Junyi took a deep breath, swearing solemnly, "Don't worry, this time I'm definitely not wrong. Let's focus on cutting down the black jade bamboo..."
Hu Junyi and the others were furiously chopping at the black jade bamboo, already halfway through.
With a series of thunderous roars, Xiao Yi appeared, carrying a hundred-meter-long, over ten-meter-wide hollowed-out log modified to serve as the hull of a boat, which slowly emerged on the Tianqing River.
Hu Junyi sneered, "Just watch, the Heavenly Blue Bull Python definitely won't let them get on the river!"
All eyes turned to the scene.
Amid the raging waves of the Tianqing River, the massive body of the Heavenly Blue Bull Python blocked the path of the wooden boat, its icy gaze fixed on Xiao Yi as it coldly stated, "I have decreed that only black jade bamboo rafts may pass through the Tianqing River. You openly defy my command; I sentence you all to death!"