"The spatial cracks are mobile!" He exclaimed out loud immediately upon opening his eyes, punching his own palm vindictively. Thankfully, his hand had recovered from the damage received during his Superman landing. Had it been otherwise, he would have had to forget about any more climbing for tonight.
Standing up, He started pacing back and forth energetically. Things were finally making sense now!
The rifts in the air were definitely moving around, carrying the paths to other sects with them everywhere. Back when the disciples of this unnamed sect had returned after robbing the Void-Hammer sect, the rift that led to the Void-Hammer sect was at one side of the island, just below the edge.
But later when he had led his minions down along the bamboo, the rift leading to the Void-Hammer sect had moved way lower, just a hundred meters above the sea.
More importantly, in the period between those two incidents, there had been three rounds of floods, which would be impossible unless some rifts within the seawater moved up above the island.
No wonder the water pressure of the leaks in the sky was so powerful! There had to be spatial rifts deep down the sea to spurt out such powerful bursts of water.
Han Xuhan glanced upwards. Every time he had travelled to other sects, he had fallen from above, an experience also repeated by his minions.
It could be taken for granted that there were spatial rifts in the sky as well, almost always at that too.
The picture in his mind gained a bit more clarity.
Taking the floating island as the center, countless spatial rifts or cracks were continually revolving in a specific orbit. The reason why the island managed to stay afloat could very well be these rifts! If the gravitational pull from the other side of the rifts remained active, then the floating island would obviously be pulled into all 4 directions because of the rifts.
This island was afloat by the pull of gravity canceling itself!
This immediately answered the question why his fall from the overhead rifts hadn't been fatal. Why had his fall slowed down halfway?
Because the gravitational pull of the overhead rifts had become active the moment he appeared, working furiously against his falling momentum. But the gravity at the bottom was negating it weakly too, which practically manipulated his fall into a slower descent than normal.
That meant that if he could detect the movement of the spatial cracks, he could easily predict when the next flood would hit. Not only that, but he could also predict the advance of a thunderstorm, tribulation lightning and other similar disasters. One could also keep an eye on the openings of the spatial cracks to guard against invaders too!
This was a vast, magnificent mechanism! Absolutely incredible!
"Hehehehe," Han Xuhan chuckled in deep satisfaction, proud of himself for figuring out such an intricate design by himself.
"Five seconds ago, I was but a blind man on a tightrope. Now, I know when the rope will get cut off." Muttering nonsense in excitement, Han Xuhan bent down and picked up two handfuls of weeds and pebbles from the ground.
Seeing his sudden activity, the curious Wangs and Lings chilling on the other end of the island jogged over to him.
"Big brother, did you truly discover something substantial? Congratulations!" Wang Three said, his tone torn between appreciation and curiosity. "What did you learn?"
"Can't say," Han Xuhan responded tersely. "Might break the rules if it ends up helping you somehow."
"Ai, those accursed rules!" Wang Four spat on the ground indignantly.
"Doesn't feel very good to be at the receiving end of that sentence, does it?" Han Xuhan said cheerfully.
All the Wangs and Lings emphatically shook their heads in agreement.
Right at that moment, the dim moon in the sky suddenly disappeared. All of them looked up in unison. The stars started blinking out one by one. Within a mere half minute, absolute darkness encapsulated the sky.
Yet even in the abyssal emptiness above, Han Xuhan glimpsed movements of something sinister. He could see it, but he could not describe what colour it was, or what its shape was, or which direction it was moving at. It was akin to the vision one would see upon suddenly closing their eyes.
"A sense tribulation!" Someone among the crowd hissed. The terrified shout dragged him out of the reverie he had unwillingly entered.
Sense tribulation?
Han Xuhan had no idea what that was, but he was not at all eager to find out.
Sprinting crazily, he slipped inside the nearest tunnel and huddled up in a corner while the other occupants of the tunnel worked seamlessly to block all entrances.
Spells after spells were cast, the earth moving in rhythm with the mobilized sea of qi flowing out of the disciples.
"What is a sense tribulation?" he asked one of them as soon as they finished sealing themselves in.
The girl thought for a while before replying, "I suppose this won't break the rules since you'd know about it anyway once your cultivation reaches a bit higher."
Han Xuhan listened carefully, feeling joyous that this too wasn't information to be kept a secret.
"One of our seniors underwent three consecutive breakthroughs in a life and death battle a few days ago, reaching the peak of the physique transformation realm and attracting the heavenly tribulation on the spot.
"That senior didn't realize it was a heavenly tribulation in the heat of the battle since master never taught him about transcending a major tribulation at that scale. He was crippled as a result. From then on, Master has been teaching us about all sorts of tribulations. The sense tribulation happens to be one of those.
"Amidst the set of tribulations we must transcend to reach the soul reformation realm, the sense tribulation is a tough one. I cannot recall the details right now, but it's one of the few that can actually kill you on the spot if you fail."
Han Xuhan let her finish without interruption. He didn't need a lie detector to confirm that she had avoided giving away any crucial information concerning the tribulation. He wasn't so ungrateful as to hold that against her.
Thanking her, he settled down inside the tunnel and prepared for the tribulation to pass. He was determined to see the sunrise tomorrow from his own mountain peak.
The trial took up an entire hour to pass. The Wangs and Lings sharing the tunnel with Han Xuhan chatted together, their demeanour as relaxed as ever. Someone suggested playing Immortal Slayer to pass the time.
Soon, all of them were sitting in circles of threes and fours, trading cards in battles of qi and strategies.
Han Xuhan decided he needed to get back to work as soon as the trial ended. It had absolutely nothing to do with his terrible eleven-time losing streak. He was not salty at all. He most certainly did not rage quit with gritted teeth, suspicious of his opponents' gaming ethics.
Outside, the moon had revealed itself once more, accompanied by the sea of stars. Most of the mouths of the tunnels were still sealed, their occupants either resting or cultivating inside.
Swinging the chainhook, Han Xuhan surveyed the entire periphery of the island using his stone-dropping method, looking for any new spatial crack that might have moved close during the last hour.
He found only one by the time he completed the tour. After sending in little Tian, he came to learn that it led to a small sect that was in complete disarray after being repeatedly ravaged by the trials. Only a handful of disciples were despondently guarding a few tents.
"You should've seen their faces when I appeared above them, hahaha! Oh, the clear fear in their eyes was such a scrumptious treat!" Tun Shi Tian screeched demonically, flying around in high spirit.
"What was the name of the sect? Did you see any emblems?"
"There was a white tortoise drawn on each of the tents. I also saw a bunch of patterns on their uniforms. No idea if those meant anything. Looked like a foreign language."
Han Xuhan nodded approvingly at the owl's thinking process. It felt good to work with someone whose intelligence could be relied upon.
Done with the peripheral region of the island, he visited Wang Three's hole once more and climbed down the colossal bamboo. This time, he didn't stop even after discovering that the spatial cracks he had discovered earlier had moved up by a hundred meters.
On his way down, he threw pebbles in all four directions, sometimes even upwards just in case one might have shifted there.
Every time he discovered a crack, he sent down a minion to investigate what lay on the other side.
Constantly counting seconds, summoning, unsummoning, absorbing rich qi to replenish his meridians...it all became nearly too extreme an excursion to handle with his early fourth layer cultivation.
Sects after sects were discovered by the three of them, only to disappoint them every time. He even found the spatial crack that led back to the Sunrider Sect. But there was no sign of the Crimson Snow Sect amidst the dozens of new discoveries.
Twice, he had to scurry back up to the island after realizing that his pebbles were suddenly hitting the sea directly regardless of the directions he threw them in.
Both times, fierce columns of seawater had followed in his wake as if targeting him specifically.
After making countless adjustments and changes on his route, he was finally able to reach the surface of the seawater. For half a minute, Han Xuhan stared at the blue expanse all around, tiny waves caressing his feet as he hung from the lowest visible node.
"Nope, no more saltwater baths. NOT VOLUNTARILY!"
Shaking his head at the very thought of getting wet again, he started climbing back up, occasionally throwing pebbles above to ensure his path was still secure.
On his journey upward, he ended up racing against the first rays of sunlight where he lost once more. By the time he climbed out of the hole, sunshine had long marked the flat island with its warm presence.
"Should we check the sky for spatial cracks?" Tun Shi Tian asked, sounding tired.
"Even if we find anything in the sky, how are we going to enter it? You're the only one capable of flight here, little Tian." Han Xuhan shook his head and stared at the rising sun for a long time, internally debating his next decision.
"At this point, there is only one other strategy left for us to take."
Han Xuhan took a good look around him. The tunnels were still silent, their inhabitants occupied with their own business. He was tempted to go bid all of them a hearty farewell. But that would probably take up too much time.
"Oh well, I'll see them in the upcoming rounds anyway. Why am I getting all emotional at a temporary goodbye?"
He dived back into Wang Three's hole, sliding down the bamboo smoothly. This time, he knew exactly where he had to go. Other than ensuring his route was safe on the go, he didn't stop for once.
It had been way too long since the next trial. Any moment now, something troublesome could appear.
He came to a stop just 50 meters above the sea. Taking out his last pebble, he threw it at a familiar region in the air.
The pebble disappeared.
"Tun Shi Tian, check what's on the other side again," he ordered.
The owl flew in. He went through the routine. Wait fifteen seconds, cancel the summon, reactivate the summon, and finally, interrogate the minion.
Tun Shi Tian reappeared behind him soon and reported without waiting for the question.
"It's that blue castle again! You're not thinking about going back in there, are you?"
"Yep."
His reply succinct, Han Xuhan took one last look back at the floating island above before kicking the node he was standing on with all of his strength.
For the third time, he entered the spatial cracks of the Titanfall archipelago. However, this time he knew what lay on the other side.
"The spatial cracks are mobile!" He exclaimed out loud immediately upon opening his eyes, punching his own palm vindictively. Thankfully, his hand had recovered from the damage received during his Superman landing. Had it been otherwise, he would have had to forget about any more climbing for tonight.
Standing up, He started pacing back and forth energetically. Things were finally making sense now!
The rifts in the air were definitely moving around, carrying the paths to other sects with them everywhere. Back when the disciples of this unnamed sect had returned after robbing the Void-Hammer sect, the rift that led to the Void-Hammer sect was at one side of the island, just below the edge.
But later when he had led his minions down along the bamboo, the rift leading to the Void-Hammer sect had moved way lower, just a hundred meters above the sea.
More importantly, in the period between those two incidents, there had been three rounds of floods, which would be impossible unless some rifts within the seawater moved up above the island.
No wonder the water pressure of the leaks in the sky was so powerful! There had to be spatial rifts deep down the sea to spurt out such powerful bursts of water.
Han Xuhan glanced upwards. Every time he had travelled to other sects, he had fallen from above, an experience also repeated by his minions.
It could be taken for granted that there were spatial rifts in the sky as well, almost always at that too.
The picture in his mind gained a bit more clarity.
Taking the floating island as the center, countless spatial rifts or cracks were continually revolving in a specific orbit. The reason why the island managed to stay afloat could very well be these rifts! If the gravitational pull from the other side of the rifts remained active, then the floating island would obviously be pulled into all 4 directions because of the rifts.
This island was afloat by the pull of gravity canceling itself!
This immediately answered the question why his fall from the overhead rifts hadn't been fatal. Why had his fall slowed down halfway?
Because the gravitational pull of the overhead rifts had become active the moment he appeared, working furiously against his falling momentum. But the gravity at the bottom was negating it weakly too, which practically manipulated his fall into a slower descent than normal.
That meant that if he could detect the movement of the spatial cracks, he could easily predict when the next flood would hit. Not only that, but he could also predict the advance of a thunderstorm, tribulation lightning and other similar disasters. One could also keep an eye on the openings of the spatial cracks to guard against invaders too!
This was a vast, magnificent mechanism! Absolutely incredible!
"Hehehehe," Han Xuhan chuckled in deep satisfaction, proud of himself for figuring out such an intricate design by himself.
"Five seconds ago, I was but a blind man on a tightrope. Now, I know when the rope will get cut off." Muttering nonsense in excitement, Han Xuhan bent down and picked up two handfuls of weeds and pebbles from the ground.
Seeing his sudden activity, the curious Wangs and Lings chilling on the other end of the island jogged over to him.
"Big brother, did you truly discover something substantial? Congratulations!" Wang Three said, his tone torn between appreciation and curiosity. "What did you learn?"
"Can't say," Han Xuhan responded tersely. "Might break the rules if it ends up helping you somehow."
"Ai, those accursed rules!" Wang Four spat on the ground indignantly.
"Doesn't feel very good to be at the receiving end of that sentence, does it?" Han Xuhan said cheerfully.
All the Wangs and Lings emphatically shook their heads in agreement.
Right at that moment, the dim moon in the sky suddenly disappeared. All of them looked up in unison. The stars started blinking out one by one. Within a mere half minute, absolute darkness encapsulated the sky.
Yet even in the abyssal emptiness above, Han Xuhan glimpsed movements of something sinister. He could see it, but he could not describe what colour it was, or what its shape was, or which direction it was moving at. It was akin to the vision one would see upon suddenly closing their eyes.
"A sense tribulation!" Someone among the crowd hissed. The terrified shout dragged him out of the reverie he had unwillingly entered.
Sense tribulation?
Han Xuhan had no idea what that was, but he was not at all eager to find out.
Sprinting crazily, he slipped inside the nearest tunnel and huddled up in a corner while the other occupants of the tunnel worked seamlessly to block all entrances.
Spells after spells were cast, the earth moving in rhythm with the mobilized sea of qi flowing out of the disciples.
"What is a sense tribulation?" he asked one of them as soon as they finished sealing themselves in.
The girl thought for a while before replying, "I suppose this won't break the rules since you'd know about it anyway once your cultivation reaches a bit higher."
Han Xuhan listened carefully, feeling joyous that this too wasn't information to be kept a secret.
"One of our seniors underwent three consecutive breakthroughs in a life and death battle a few days ago, reaching the peak of the physique transformation realm and attracting the heavenly tribulation on the spot.
"That senior didn't realize it was a heavenly tribulation in the heat of the battle since master never taught him about transcending a major tribulation at that scale. He was crippled as a result. From then on, Master has been teaching us about all sorts of tribulations. The sense tribulation happens to be one of those.
"Amidst the set of tribulations we must transcend to reach the soul reformation realm, the sense tribulation is a tough one. I cannot recall the details right now, but it's one of the few that can actually kill you on the spot if you fail."
Han Xuhan let her finish without interruption. He didn't need a lie detector to confirm that she had avoided giving away any crucial information concerning the tribulation. He wasn't so ungrateful as to hold that against her.
Thanking her, he settled down inside the tunnel and prepared for the tribulation to pass. He was determined to see the sunrise tomorrow from his own mountain peak.
The trial took up an entire hour to pass. The Wangs and Lings sharing the tunnel with Han Xuhan chatted together, their demeanour as relaxed as ever. Someone suggested playing Immortal Slayer to pass the time.
Soon, all of them were sitting in circles of threes and fours, trading cards in battles of qi and strategies.
Han Xuhan decided he needed to get back to work as soon as the trial ended. It had absolutely nothing to do with his terrible eleven-time losing streak. He was not salty at all. He most certainly did not rage quit with gritted teeth, suspicious of his opponents' gaming ethics.
Outside, the moon had revealed itself once more, accompanied by the sea of stars. Most of the mouths of the tunnels were still sealed, their occupants either resting or cultivating inside.
Swinging the chainhook, Han Xuhan surveyed the entire periphery of the island using his stone-dropping method, looking for any new spatial crack that might have moved close during the last hour.
He found only one by the time he completed the tour. After sending in little Tian, he came to learn that it led to a small sect that was in complete disarray after being repeatedly ravaged by the trials. Only a handful of disciples were despondently guarding a few tents.
"You should've seen their faces when I appeared above them, hahaha! Oh, the clear fear in their eyes was such a scrumptious treat!" Tun Shi Tian screeched demonically, flying around in high spirit.
"What was the name of the sect? Did you see any emblems?"
"There was a white tortoise drawn on each of the tents. I also saw a bunch of patterns on their uniforms. No idea if those meant anything. Looked like a foreign language."
Han Xuhan nodded approvingly at the owl's thinking process. It felt good to work with someone whose intelligence could be relied upon.
Done with the peripheral region of the island, he visited Wang Three's hole once more and climbed down the colossal bamboo. This time, he didn't stop even after discovering that the spatial cracks he had discovered earlier had moved up by a hundred meters.
On his way down, he threw pebbles in all four directions, sometimes even upwards just in case one might have shifted there.
Every time he discovered a crack, he sent down a minion to investigate what lay on the other side.
Constantly counting seconds, summoning, unsummoning, absorbing rich qi to replenish his meridians...it all became nearly too extreme an excursion to handle with his early fourth layer cultivation.
Sects after sects were discovered by the three of them, only to disappoint them every time. He even found the spatial crack that led back to the Sunrider Sect. But there was no sign of the Crimson Snow Sect amidst the dozens of new discoveries.
Twice, he had to scurry back up to the island after realizing that his pebbles were suddenly hitting the sea directly regardless of the directions he threw them in.
Both times, fierce columns of seawater had followed in his wake as if targeting him specifically.
After making countless adjustments and changes on his route, he was finally able to reach the surface of the seawater. For half a minute, Han Xuhan stared at the blue expanse all around, tiny waves caressing his feet as he hung from the lowest visible node.
"Nope, no more saltwater baths. NOT VOLUNTARILY!"
Shaking his head at the very thought of getting wet again, he started climbing back up, occasionally throwing pebbles above to ensure his path was still secure.
On his journey upward, he ended up racing against the first rays of sunlight where he lost once more. By the time he climbed out of the hole, sunshine had long marked the flat island with its warm presence.
"Should we check the sky for spatial cracks?" Tun Shi Tian asked, sounding tired.
"Even if we find anything in the sky, how are we going to enter it? You're the only one capable of flight here, little Tian." Han Xuhan shook his head and stared at the rising sun for a long time, internally debating his next decision.
"At this point, there is only one other strategy left for us to take."
Han Xuhan took a good look around him. The tunnels were still silent, their inhabitants occupied with their own business. He was tempted to go bid all of them a hearty farewell. But that would probably take up too much time.
"Oh well, I'll see them in the upcoming rounds anyway. Why am I getting all emotional at a temporary goodbye?"
He dived back into Wang Three's hole, sliding down the bamboo smoothly. This time, he knew exactly where he had to go. Other than ensuring his route was safe on the go, he didn't stop for once.
It had been way too long since the next trial. Any moment now, something troublesome could appear.
He came to a stop just 50 meters above the sea. Taking out his last pebble, he threw it at a familiar region in the air.
The pebble disappeared.
"Tun Shi Tian, check what's on the other side again," he ordered.
The owl flew in. He went through the routine. Wait fifteen seconds, cancel the summon, reactivate the summon, and finally, interrogate the minion.
Tun Shi Tian reappeared behind him soon and reported without waiting for the question.
"It's that blue castle again! You're not thinking about going back in there, are you?"
"Yep."
His reply succinct, Han Xuhan took one last look back at the floating island above before kicking the node he was standing on with all of his strength.
For the third time, he entered the spatial cracks of the Titanfall archipelago. However, this time he knew what lay on the other side.
