Volume 3 Chapter 86 - Bramble Sea (1/2)

Chapter 86: Bramble Sea

This was a plain covered in waist-high, deep red brambles. The branches of these brambles were very thin, just a few fractions the thickness of a little finger so they could ripple gently in the gentle breeze.

Yet, these thin deep red brambles were covered in hard and brittle long thorns. Having fallen, Xie Changsheng had many wounds, and there were countless thorns which had broken inside of his skin.

Maybe because of the formation, this bramble plain looked endless like a deep red ocean. Only on the horizon, in a place that appeared to take days to reach, could he make out some tall green palaces.

The sunlight was blinding, warm when it fell onto his body and very realistic.

While Xie Changsheng had fallen in the dark, rain and mist, unable to see the surrounding scenery, he was certain he had fallen from a tall height, going along a passageway or hole until he fell to this place.

It had not taken long.

So this plain should be a certain secret part of Skyscraper, or many an empty valley at the base of the mountain. But his intuition said that this was likely within Skyscraper.

In many cultivation records, many powerful sects would first choose for spirit veins when choosing their sect location. Over time, they would carve their mountain like jade, setting up formation along the winds and waters, or hollowing out the mountain to create underground palaces or palins.These places could be used to accumulate spirit energy, act as practice grounds, used for farming or storehouses. After many sects were destroyed, these places could occasionally survive over time, and become the remains and secret hoards that cultivators spoke of.

A place like this to all cultivators of Changling was a great shock. But what irritated and angered Xie Changsheng was there was a winding stream flowing through the pains, less than ten feet from where he had fallen down.

Falling from the air, landing in the stream was naturally better than landing among the thorny brambles.

Yet, the organizer caused him to land directly in the thorny brambles.

“So evil. Just like seeing a person extremely thirsty and not giving them water, but putting the water in front of him and then tying up his hands and feet. Evil!”

Looking at the quietly flowing stream full of soft grasses in front of him, Xie Changsheng cursed the organizer of the trials. But in the end, he could not endure the pain of the small thorns in his skin and started to pluck them out, his writhing face a proof of his agony.

Having a thorn stuck in a hand was an experience many people would have. If one took the thorn out, the pain would quickly disappear and the person would forget. But if the thorn was not plucked out, this kind of pain would continue, especially when one touched that place and caused heart-aching pain. Over time, the flesh around the thorn would even swell and get infected. This was why one had to take a nail out of the eye and the thorn out of the flesh.

Yet, after landing in this brambles, countless thorns had stabbed into Xie Changsheng’s body all over. How could he pluck them all quickly?

After about fifteen minutes, Xie Changsheng chose to give up and gave a furious howl. .”Do you know how painful this is! You thought of such an idea. Why don’t you try!”

Xie Changsheng’s angry shout spread far in this sea of brambles but did not echo.

Ding Ning, Zhang Yi and the others should have also been sent into this deep red bramble sea, yet they seemed to have been completely consumed and were not present.

There were no signs. Where should he go next?

Based on ordinary thinking, the distant green palaces should have an answer, or maybe they were the exit for this test.

Yet, what if those green palaces were red herrings and one could not follow ordinary ways of thought?

Moving through this bramble sea was not easy.

Xie Changsheng quieted down after his shout. He looked quickly at the surrounding brambles. These brambles should be nothing unusual. Also, because the red brambles covered everything on the plains, it wasn’t possible to even see if there were paths. Even the stream in front of him disappeared among the red brambles after winding for a while in his sight.

Xie Changsheng never lacked bravery so he quickly made a decision.

He walked towards the stream ahead.

“So ignorant.”