CHAPTER 563: CHAPTER 239 JADE SCENERY TOWER

Walking within the Celestial City, one can occasionally spot segments of fragmented Jade Bridge within the mist-like glow, or a collapsed corner of a palace, like the corpse of a beast emerging from the fog.

"Isn’t the Heavenly Gate one of the Four Major Forbidden Zones? It’s extremely difficult to even enter. Who could have destroyed it to this state?" Li Xiu asked, following behind Li Qingyi.

Li Qingyi replied, "Since the Heavenly Gate was discovered, it has always been like this. Even in the Demon Kingdom’s historical records, the Heavenly Gate has always appeared this way. When it was classified as one of the Four Major Forbidden Zones by the Demon Kingdom, it was already in this state."

After a pause, Li Qingyi continued, "Although this city seems to lack any complete structures, even a single broken brick or piece of corridor tile possesses incredibly terrifying power. Once, someone picked up a Jade Brick from this Celestial City and secretly took it out. In less than a week, their entire family mysteriously died. Afterwards, everyone who had come into contact with that Jade Brick couldn’t survive. During the mysterious deaths in the city, an investigation was conducted, yet no cause was found. Dozens of people continued to die until the Jade Brick was finally discovered. Investigators who touched it also died mysteriously. It wasn’t until an elder returned the Jade Brick to the Heavenly Gate that the wave of deaths was quelled, but that elder disappeared without a trace, dead or alive."

Listening to this, Li Xiu felt terrified: "Just a single Jade Brick is so terrifying. We’ve stepped on countless Jade Bricks along the way. Does that mean we’ll die with no burial place?"

"You don’t need to worry so much. As long as you don’t take anything out of the Celestial City, just touching these Jade Bricks is fine," Li Qingyi reassured. Suddenly, there was a sound, like an ox’s bellow or a lion’s roar, coming from deep within the mist-like glow.

"Magic Spirit!" Li Xiu’s heart leapt.

Encountering a Magic Spirit in such a place isn’t anything good. He’d heard from Old Dao that there isn’t a single Magic Spirit inside the Heavenly Gate below a Super Spirit level, at the very least a Super Spirit.

Even though Li Xiu had a Jedi Knight on him, his own level was too low. He feared encountering a Magic Spirit that could attack over a wide range, and by then, the Jedi Knight might not be able to block all the attacks.

"It seems to be a Magic Spirit, but there’s no need to worry. In the past, when I followed elders to the Heavenly Gate, you could often hear this roar. The elders said every time they visit the Celestial City, they hear this roar, but have never seen the roar’s owner appear," Li Qingyi recalled. "Rest assured, as long as we follow this route, it won’t be too problematic. This route was explored by countless predecessors and strong individuals, so it shouldn’t pose too much risk."

"What if we don’t follow this route? What might happen?" Li Xiu asked curiously.

"It’s hard to say. You might encounter terrifying Magic Spirits that could kill us instantly, or you might end up not knowing how you died and perish within this Celestial City. The Heavenly Gate is unfathomably mysterious, and too many people have died inside. Not just you and me, but even the Trial Takers at the Light Base level tread carefully here, not daring to be careless in the slightest," Li Qingyi explained while walking. Suddenly, a Jade Bridge appeared in the misty glow ahead.

The bridge was about two or three meters wide, made entirely of white jade. Strange patterns were carved on the railings, depicting clouds, rain, thunderstorms, and mythical beasts and birds.

Beneath the Jade Bridge, the misty glow churned, hiding whether there was water below. Beyond three meters, nothing more of the bridge could be seen, and its destination remained unknown.

"Once we cross the Cloud Bridge, we’ll almost reach the Execution Platform," Li Qingyi said, not walking directly onto the bridge but heading toward the side of the bridge end.

Li Xiu followed her for a few steps and saw a small shrine-like building beside the bridge end.

The structure was very small, only half a person’s height, about waist-high to Li Xiu, and roughly the size of a doghouse, but its carved beams and painted rafters were extremely exquisite.

Inside the shrine’s arched entrance, there was a similarly small, miniature shrine offering table, behind which was a divine platform with a jade-made tablet.

The tablet had a few characters in Demon Kingdom’s script, which Li Xiu recognized at a glance, reading "Position of Earthly Grandma."

Li Qingyi stood before the shrine, respectfully bowing three times to the divine platform’s tablet.

Something strange happened. Li Xiu saw some simple lines emerge on that Jade Token, resembling a smiling face pattern.

The pattern appeared briefly and disappeared. If Li Xiu hadn’t been sharp-eyed, he might have thought it was just his imagination.

Seeing the smiling face pattern, Li Qingyi breathed a long sigh of relief: "The Earthly Grandma can ensure safety. Her smiling face indicates there is no danger ahead, and we can pass smoothly. You should pay your respects too."

Li Xiu nodded, stepping into the spot Li Qingyi made for him, and imitated her, bowing to the Earthly Grandma’s tablet.

When Li Xiu raised his head to look at the tablet, he was suddenly stunned.

He saw streaks of blood-like marks appear on the white-jade-like tablet, resembling traces left by teardrops of blood.

After Li Qingyi’s bow, the smile had briefly appeared and vanished, but the blood marks seemed like congealed bloodstains on the tablet, showing no sign of dispersing.

"What is this situation?" Li Xiu rose and looked toward Li Qingyi beside him.

Li Qingyi, with a strange expression, said, "I’ve only heard from elders that if the Earthly Grandma’s tablet shows a smiling face, it indicates that the path ahead is safe. However, if the Earthly Grandma shows an unhappy face, it suggests there are calamities ahead and the possibility of encountering things like Magic Spirits. Such a situation, I’ve never heard of before, and I don’t know what it means, but it doesn’t seem like a good omen."