174: Longmen

The night passed quickly. Gu Yuchuan had slept very comfortably; every moment in the Secret Realm had been one of high tension, with his entire being wound tight. Now that he could finally rest, he was quite happy. Eventually, the sky brightened as the next day arrived.

The Demon Venerable arrived early in the morning and led them onto a flying boat. This flying boat did not look large, but it was incredibly exquisite, and its power seemed incomparable to anything he had seen before. Every carving and object upon it felt as though it possessed immense power.

This flying boat was the Demon Venerable's own exclusive collection. It was a top-grade magic treasure and a composite Magic Treasure at that; many of the ornaments on it were Magic Treasures in their own right if taken out individually. Using it to transport them this time was necessary because they had to traverse space; although the location of the dragon gate trial was within the Cloud Sea Marsh, it was not within this specific dimension of space.

The flying boat passed through a barrier, and everything before their eyes began to change. The sea of clouds vanished, and they arrived in a body of water. This current was extremely cold, like deep-sea water that had never seen the sun.

He looked up and saw a massive portal. This was the dragon gate. The dragon gate stood there, seemingly possessing infinite power. Just looking up at it made one feel their own insignificance, as if before it, any magic power or Bloodline was trivial.

The Demon Venerable looked at them and snapped his fingers, and everyone finally woke up from the shock of the dragon gate.

"This is the dragon gate. In a moment, you will turn into fish to undergo the dragon gate's trial. You are all Geniuses of my Yao Race, and I hope you can achieve excellent results in this trial. The dragon gate will grant you rewards based on the distance you cross, including Bloodlines, cultivation, Divine Abilities, and even treasures—it encompasses everything. Exactly what you get depends on your own Opportunity. So, work hard. Are you ready? It begins now."

He struck out a ray of golden light, and the twelve Prodigies all transformed into Carp. However, it was clearly visible that Gu Yuchuan and the Ink Scale Demon General were different; both had a Dragon scale near their gills. This was the advantage of Cultivators on the path of Dragon transformation when facing the dragon gate; a slightly stronger Physical Body could help them achieve better results.

Facing the surging waves, Gu Yuchuan began to swim. His speed was not fast; he knew this was a long process, much like a long-distance race where pursuing early speed was not a good strategy.

Finally, the climb up the dragon gate began. He could feel the resistance of the water in front of him suddenly increase; the water hitting his scales even began to feel painful. His speed slowed further as he focused all his attention on moving forward, having no time to check the progress of others.

In fact, the one with the fastest progress now was the Ink Scale Demon General, followed by him. This was, after all, an Opportunity of the Dragon Clan; those Cultivators walking the path of Dragon transformation had an advantage. Especially the Ink Scale Demon General, who was only a step away from the Jiaolong Bloodline and was almost considered an initiated member of the Dragon Clan. His path here was smoother; in the blink of an eye, he had covered a hundred meters of the thousand-meter dragon gate, while Gu Yuchuan had only covered seventy meters.

However, this process of Leaping the Dragon Gate was actually a process of tempering one's own magic power. Gu Yuchuan could feel that, faced with the pressure of the water, his magic power was becoming more condensed. This was clearly a process of building a Foundation. He was about to enter the Great Perfection of Foundation Establishment and touch the threshold of the Golden Core; a deeper Foundation would be of great benefit for his future promotion to the Golden Core.

He continued forward, and in a flash, half an hour passed. Everyone was still persisting. The twelve Cultivators here were already the Prodigies among Foundation Establishment Cultivators in the entire Cloud Sea Marsh. Their Aptitude and combat power were very strong. Even though the pressure from the dragon gate was immense, everyone persisted for the sake of their own Dao path; no one gave up, even though some Cultivators were already in great distress.

Now, the Ink Scale Demon General had covered four hundred meters, and his cultivation had actually made a Breakthrough to the Eighth Layer of Foundation Establishment on the spot. Gu Yuchuan had also reached over three hundred and sixty meters. The distance between them was not far. Among the Cultivators below them, not a single one had passed three hundred meters, and some had not even reached two hundred.

The pressure Gu Yuchuan sensed now was also very great; even his breathing had become somewhat labored. Another half hour passed, and Gu Yuchuan and the Ink Scale Demon General passed the five-hundred-meter mark one after the other. By this time, some Cultivators had already been eliminated. Gu Yuchuan felt a Divine Ability appear in his mind: Yellow Turban Strongman. It was a simplified and enhanced version of the Heavenly Stem Divine Ability, 'Sowing Beans to Create Soldiers.' If he had the Opportunity in the future, he might be able to learn the true Heavenly Stem Divine Ability, 'Sowing Beans to Create Soldiers.'

His heart was filled with drive. Holding his breath, he continued to swim forward. He discovered that his magic power was also constantly increasing under the impact of the water, and he was already very close to the Realm of Great Perfection of Foundation Establishment. He was very happy; he had only just become a Cultivator of the Ninth Layer of Foundation Establishment before entering that trial Secret Realm. Even before coming to the dragon gate, he was still far from the Great Perfection of Foundation Establishment. This saved him a lot of time in bitter cultivation.

By now, five had been eliminated, and only seven Prodigies were still persisting. Gu Yuchuan felt the pressure on his body was too great; the water was like dull knives, impacting his Physical Body bit by bit. Although it wasn't fatal, the pain was not diminished in the slightest.

However, this pain did not make him stop; he continued to swim forward incessantly.

At this time, the Demon Venerable and the Fox Immortal were still watching. The Fox Immortal's gaze remained fixed on them: "As expected, the Opportunity given by the Dragon Clan can only be better absorbed by Cultivators of the Dragon transformation lineage. The remaining ten can only obtain some scraps. It seems our Yao Race is about to gain two more Prodigies of the Dragon Kin."

The Demon Venerable also agreed with this view and nodded: "Correct. However, there is no way around it. This dragon gate was not found by you or me; it is a Legacy established here by a Great Power of the Upper Realm Dragon Clan when the world was born. They naturally wanted to nurture more of their own race; it's only human nature."

While chatting and laughing, they revealed this secret. Soon, an hour passed. Within the dragon gate, only Gu Yuchuan and the Ink Scale Demon General remained. They had both crossed the eight-hundred-meter mark and were very close to the end of the dragon gate. However, these final two hundred meters were a chasm they could not cross.

From the founding of the Qingyun Realm until now, no Prodigy at the Foundation Establishment Realm has ever crossed this dragon gate. It was unknown if the two of them had such talent and ability; clearly, many people were not optimistic about them.