Martial Ascent to Divinity-Chapter 555 - 538: Rising Winds

"I know you won’t, because you are Zhou Leng’s friend. Zhou Leng’s friends won’t hate me, right?"

Rao Mingxian still remained silent.

Zhang Xiaoxiao rested her right hand against the wall, slightly raised her left arm, stretched out her crimson index finger, and pointed at that Magic Spirit Bag.

"Help me deliver the Headless God to Zhou Leng. If possible..."

Zhang Xiaoxiao paused, wiped the corner of her mouth with a wave of her hand, using only her index finger to gently wipe.

But blood kept oozing from the corner of her mouth, frothing with bubbles.

Her index finger couldn’t clean it, so she used her entire left hand to wipe the corner of her mouth, smearing half her face with blood.

The blood slowly dripped down her chin.

"Really, can’t seem to finish wiping..." Zhang Xiaoxiao murmured softly, without a hint of complaint.

In the end, she let her hand go, allowing the blood to flow from the corner of her mouth.

She exerted all her strength to raise her head, looking at Rao Mingxian outside.

She spoke slowly, while the blood flowed, "If possible, could you pass a message to Brother Zhou Leng and Brother Zhang Xinglie from Uncle Tong Tianxia, which I really, really like...

She spat out a mouthful of blood and continued, "Some winds, no matter where they start or when they end, will surely blow upon you."

Like bidding farewell to classmates after school, she slightly raised her small hand, waved to Rao Mingxian, closed her eyes, and leaned sideways against the wall.

Her body slowly slid down, softly landing on the ground.

Rao Mingxian stood for a long time, looking at Zhang Xiaoxiao’s body.

Bending down, he picked up the Magic Spirit Bag, secured it, took out the Demonization Combustion Agent, sprinkled it all over Zhang Xiaoxiao’s body, and set it ablaze.

The intense heat erupted, the demonized flames rapidly consumed the corpse.

Before long, the flames ceased.

As the wind blew, a clump of black ash slowly dispersed.

Only a shadow remained on the ground, with several bloodstains on the wall.

Rao Mingxian turned and left.

He looked up at the sky.

The clouds over the Great Battlefield seemed a bit sorrowful.

In the distance.

Zhou Leng led the team, fighting along the way, overcoming obstacles, heading toward the Perfect Garden.

The number of demons hunted increased, and the number of Trial Takers joining the team grew.

Unconsciously, they had already surpassed 200 people.

The light crown atop Zhou Leng’s head shone ever more brilliantly.

The curved blood-red dragon scales on his body became increasingly dense.

"That’s the Perfect Garden," someone pointed into the distance.

Under the dim clouds, amidst the blue and black earth, a radiant light shone brilliantly.

It seemed to be a land covered with gold and blooming flowers, bringing joy just by looking at it from afar.

"They say it’s incredibly beautiful, the most beautiful place in the Ten Realms."

"Yeah, some say it’s an illusion, but few can see through it."

"But, inside there are Flower Demons. If you encounter a good Flower Demon, you’ll reap great rewards. Encounter a bad one, and it’s over."

"It’s said that a few lucky ones can enter and receive the Flower Demon’s blessing."

"What happened to those who aren’t lucky, we never know, and they never tell."

The crowd buzzed with discussions.

A few people walked over.

"Zhou Leng, you’re strong and lucky. Entering the Perfect Garden, you’re sure to receive the Flower Demon’s blessing."

"We’re not going in; we’ll wait for you outside."

"I actually want to go in, but I’m afraid I’ll hold you back, so forget it."

"You guys are such cowards. I’ve heard that the Flower Demons are very beautiful, even more so than Elves. Don’t you want to have a taste?"

"Man-eating flowers are also flowers. Why don’t you have a taste?"

"Don’t move! There’s a monster!" a Demon Spirit Master suddenly warned, and the whole place fell silent.

Zhou Leng looked around, quickly approaching; not far from the Perfect Garden, a massive silver creature slowly moved.

That creature was about a hundred meters long, more than ten meters wide, with its back covered in a thick steel white shell, towering three to four stories high, with a slender form.

With many legs beneath it, resembling a centipede.

Its head was dragon-like, with four tails trailing behind, matching in color and shell, its skin gleaming silver.

At first glance, it seemed like a mechanical beast; upon closer inspection, it looked like a giant dragon carrying a rectangular fortress.

"What a peculiar creature."

"What is that?"

"Seems to be a Fortress Dragon..."

Zhou Leng stared at the Fortress Dragon, his eyes gleaming; he never expected to encounter a Fortress Dragon on the Great Battlefield.

According to the records in the Divine Script Ruins, the Fortress Dragon, even in High-Level Civilizations, is a highly coveted dragon species.

Many Divine Spirits would travel through the cosmos on a Fortress Dragon.

This Fortress Dragon, although only Innate, was already a hundred meters long; once it grew into a Void God, it would reach ten thousand meters long, like a slender space battleship, roaming the void.

The inside of its shell could be transformed into living quarters, enough to sustain human life in space.

Owning a Fortress Dragon was almost akin to possessing a mobile base.

Encountering such a top-tier dragon species, any bit of hesitation would be an affront to it.

"I’ll go ask; you guys carry on."

Zhou Leng charged toward the Fortress Dragon.

Before long, he arrived in front of the Fortress Dragon.

The Fortress Dragon strolled leisurely, raising its head to pick tender leaves from the trees, not even glancing at Zhou Leng.

In the entire Great Battlefield, apart from Divine Spirits, no creature could threaten him.

"Hello, Fortress Dragon, I am a human Martial Artist." Zhou Leng greeted with a slightly altered Divine Text.

"Hmm?" The silver Fortress Dragon slowly turned its head, with a beautifully streamlined shape; compared to regular giant dragons, it had an elegance tinged with a touch of delicacy.

"Would you be interested in forming a contract with me, leaving the Great Battlefield, and exploring the world? Blue Star will eventually ascend to High-Level Civilization."

"Oh." The Fortress Dragon understood his intention, turned its head back, and leisurely continued eating tender leaves.

As long as you can sign a contract with the fortress dragon, you will have this god-level mount, a mobile castle, and a powerful bodyguard.

However, he seems uninterested.

Zhou Leng tried his best to persuade, talking extensively, but the fortress dragon remained unmoved.

Finally, Zhou Leng sighed softly, thinking that he would have abducted it already if he could overpower it.

There was no way, the fortress dragon’s life level was too high, its strength too strong.

Don’t even mention himself, even if all trial takers were combined, they might not even scratch its skin, let alone that hard fortress shell.

"What a pity..."

Zhou Leng returned without success, unable to offer anything of value to attract the fortress dragon.

In high-level civilizations, only those with a strong background and elite talents might gain the friendship of a fortress dragon.

Thinking about it, it’s actually normal; with his current wealth, he probably couldn’t afford it.

The resources required for its growth could exhaust countless planets’ entire resources.

The team encountered various magical creatures along the way.

Some they killed directly, others they fought while retreating. When encountering unique magical creatures like the fortress dragon or Magma River King, they avoided them without even looking.

Before long, the team approached the Perfect Garden.

After brief discussions, everyone set up camp, and Zhou Leng entered alone.

The Perfect Garden is home to various extremely beautiful plants.

The starry sky-like Starry Sky Tree, the rainbow-filled Rainbow Flowers, the sun-like beautiful Big Sunflower, the mercury-flowing Mercury Grass...

Upon approaching, Zhou Leng became vigilant.

Although records always showed the Perfect Garden as a beautiful place, Demon Spirit Masters have always suspected it to be a perfect trap, as the name suggests.

Everything looks great, but it hides great danger unexpectedly.

Entering without sufficient strength is fatal.

There has never been any ordinary trial taker who entered and lived to tell about it.

Only strong individuals accidentally entering could return safely.

He Pengfei also mentioned some information about the Perfect Garden, but only knew a rough idea.

It’s only known that creatures named Brilliance Flower Demons reside here, moving slowly, but mastering illusion technique and poison magic, capable of communicating strangely with any life form.

Generally, they don’t attack strong teams, only ambushing those who are isolated.

But specific details are unknown.

It’s said that the Perfect Garden houses a kind of "Golden Flowers" which upon falling, can nurture a shiny lake full of life force.

These Golden Flowers belong to the Brilliance Flower Demons, and only by offering sufficient treasures to them can one trade for the Golden Flowers.

Because Demon Spirit Masters find the Perfect Garden suspicious, Zhou Leng remains alert, only wanting to find that Brilliance Flower Demon Grandmaster.

Kill if possible; if not, it shows the third layer of the Celestial Tier Trial is not something elementary civilizations can grasp, and quitting decisively isn’t bad.

After all, he already has one layer of the Celestial Ladder, and it seems it will appear soon according to his sensing.

After advancing for a while, he noticed traces of trampling on the grass ahead, upon investigation, found it was a team composed of demons, sea sirens, and beastmen.

About twenty to thirty heads.

At this time, gathering so many magical creatures is very rare.

After pondering for a moment, Zhou Leng decided to resolve the magical creatures first; since the Brilliance Flower Demon location is unknown, any path is the same, might as well kill some magical creatures along the way.

Using the magic spirit ring to transform into Rusted Iron General and pursue the magical creatures.

Soon, he was discovered by the accompanying demon spirit bird.

The demon spirit bird approached, asking about the situation.

Zhou Leng lied that his team was scattered, running everywhere, feeling the same clan’s aura, hurriedly pursued.

The demon spirit bird pointed the direction, Zhou Leng ran quickly.

Not long after, he saw a team of magical creatures jogging.

"Follow up, Rusted Iron General!" The leading Desecration Demon Scripture commanded.

"Yes, sir."

Zhou Leng quickly approached, joining the magical creature team.

First observe the magical creatures’ strength, then slowly approached the Desecration Demon Scripture, whispered: "Lord Desecration Demon Scripture, I found some situations on the road, wish to report to you alone."

"Okay."

The Desecration Demon Scripture approached.

Zhou Leng grabbed the book-like head and yanked forcefully.

Poof...

The Desecration Demon Scripture’s head separated from its body, blood splattered, dying without merging with the book.

Then, Zhou Leng unleashed a slaughter among the magical creature team.

First killed the sea sirens slow on land action, then killed the low-intelligence green-skinned orcs, finally the demons.

These magical creatures were strong, initially besieging Zhou Leng, finally realizing they couldn’t win, fled in all directions.

Ultimately, Zhou Leng only killed sixteen.

Checking himself, full of red marks.

These creatures who passed at least the first layer trial, with clearly enhanced strength, each surpassing the Dragon Blood Guard, even jointly breaking the Taiqing Sea Robe, leaving wounds on him.

Yet they had healed.

The Brilliance Flower Demon Grandmaster is hard to find, but magical creatures are easy.

So, Zhou Leng changed targets, hunting magical creatures while searching for the Flower Demon Grandmaster.

Like a lone wolf, traversing the Perfect Garden.

Continuously encountering magical creatures and continuously attacking.

Very soon, Zhou Leng felt something amiss, too many magical creature trial takers here.

Then left some alive for questioning, but they remained silent, dying without confessing.

Zhou Leng, experienced, necessarily related to Celestial Calamity Envoy.

Thus, no longer caring for magical creatures, thinking about their purpose here, while continuing to hunt.

No matter what the magical creatures are doing, killing them all can’t be wrong.

Following Fragmented Heaven Bone, Tujun Star Monument, and Dragon God Print Path, the Demon Alliance encountered its nemesis in Perfect Garden.

A day later, Zhou Leng discovered ahead, an unexpectedly mixed team of magical creatures and humans.

Shockingly led by Zhao He.