Volume 6 Chapter 037: Carp Leaping Over the Dragon's Gate
With much difficulty, the four walked to the center of a cluster of mountains in the dragon's gate's area, arriving at a broad river.
They could not use their energy, only rely on the strength of their physical bodies.
There were layers of white mist around the river. One could only see the scene within after stepping into the river.
"This water is very turbid. How strange!" Chang Ming said, raising his eyebrows.
"This is feeble water. Even a goose's feather would not float on it. Regular fish cannot survive in it. Going in will make your body feel weak," Ao Shun said with a bitter smile.
A large waterfall seemed to pour down from the sky.
Everyone looked up. That waterfall was more than three kilometers high, with a humongous arched gate at the top and a glowing white ball above that gate.
"That's the dragon's gate?" Some doubt flashed in Shangguan Hen's eyes.
"Indeed. Who knows how many dragons this dragon's gate three kilometers above has stopped? That white ball is the Western Sea's dragon deity's divine nature. Perhaps it has already formed a dragon deity. One can only enter by leaping over the dragon's gate. Unfortunately, it is too difficult."
"I'll give it a try!" Chang Ming leaped up.
Boom!
Chang Ming immediately shot up like an arrow. However, he only reached slightly more than three hundred meters high.
Bang!
Chang Ming fell and splashed up plenty of water.
"Oh no! Oh no! I cannot float!" Chang Ming suddenly cried out.
Ao Shun suddenly turned into a humongous black dragon. Then, it swam over and dragged Chang Ming back.
After reaching the shore, Chang Ming said in confusion, "This feeble water is very deep. However, the most depressing part is the water itself. When I jumped, the water dragged me down, preventing me from jumping high."
"Then, how about you try again?" Ao Shun suggested with a smile.
Bang! Chang Ming avoided the feeble water and jumped once more.
He only reached a height of four hundred meters before falling. Since he could not float in the water, Chang Ming slowly made his way back by walking on the riverbed.
"I can't jump up; my body is too heavy. I can only reach so high. The dragon's gate? Your dragon race's inheritance is really stringent," Chang Ming said with a bitter smile.
"Indeed. I'll try as well." Ao Shun nodded with a frown.
Ao Shun stepped forward and leaped. His figure soared, but he only reached one thousand six hundred sixty-six meters before falling.
Bang!
The feeble water splashed everywhere. He accomplished nothing.
Ao Shun showed a faint, bitter smile.
"Let me give it a try!" Shangguan Hen yelled.
Bang!
Shangguan Hen leaped, and his figure shot up. However, after reaching six hundred sixty-six meters, he fell.
"Another failure. The dragon's gate? Indeed, it is not that easy to leap over." Shangguan Hen smiled bitterly.
"Is there no other way?" Chang Ming said, appearing slightly bewildered.
Nearby, a wisp of fog hid among the normal fog, staring at the group trying to leap up.
"Hehehe! Leap? Who can leap up there? None of the dragons could jump up except the Western Sea Dragon King of the past. The dragons' ancestors laid restrictions here. Trying to go up? In your dreams!" A sneer came from the fog.
Boom!
Just as the fog disdained the group trying to jump up, a loud sound rang out. The river water under Gu Hai's feet exploded, and he shot up like a cannonball.
"Your Reverence?" Everyone stared at Gu Hai in shock.
Gu Hai surpassed Chang Ming's four hundred meters, then Shangguan Hen's six hundred sixty-six meters, and finally, even Ao Shun's one thousand six hundred sixty-six meters. He soared increasingly higher.
Two thousand six hundred sixty-six meters, three thousand meters, three thousand three hundred thirty-three meters...
"Is he going to leap over the dragon's gate?" Chang Ming exclaimed.
His Reverence is going to succeed in one go?
"That's impossible!" the distant fog said in shock.
Gu Hai leaped over the dragon's gate and was about to touch that white light.
"Something's not right. His Reverence's speed is not decreasing?" Shangguan Hen cried out in shock.
"It is not decreasing?" Everyone felt surprised.
Indeed, Gu Hai's speed did not decrease. Three thousand six hundred sixty-six meters and going. Four thousand three hundred thirty-three meters...five thousand meters...six thousand meters.
Gu Hai stopped rising only after reaching six thousand meters high, pausing in midair.
Ao Shun: "..."
The fog: "..."
Shangguan Hen: "..."
Chang Ming: "..."
Gu Hai started falling from six kilometers high, heading slowly towards that glowing white ball.
"To think that His Reverence's physical body is so strong?!" Chang Ming said in shock.
From his earlier experience, Chang Ming understood that this was a test of the physical body. Every extra meter was extremely hard to attain. However, Gu Hai reached six kilometers in one jump. Furthermore, Gu Hai jumped from the water. Not only would there be no buoyancy from the water, but it would even drag one down. Nevertheless, Gu Hai overshot the dragon's gate by so much.
"Imperial Emperor Gu?" Ao Shun's eyelids twitched wildly.
Ao Shun's father had previously said that although Gu Hai cultivated very quickly, Gu Hai's foundation was solid. The only person who could compare in his memory was Long Zhanguo. Back then, Ao Shun had not thought much about it, but now... Imperial Emperor Gu is only in the Middle Heavenly Palace Realm, right? To think that I, as an Upper Heavenly Palace Realm cultivator..."
"He touched it!" Shangguan Hen's eyes lit up.
Gu Hai extended his hand and touched the glowing white ball. Could he bring down the Western Sea's dragon deity?
Whoosh!
Gu Hai grabbed nothing in the air.
"How can that be?" everyone said in confusion.
Whoosh!
Gu Hai dropped.
Boom!
When Gu Hai landed in the river, the water splashed everywhere.
"Your Reverence, what happened?" Chang Ming asked, feeling puzzled.
Gu Hai frowned. "I couldn't touch it."
"Huh? You couldn't touch it?" Shangguan Hen looked at Ao Shun with doubts.
Ao Shun smiled bitterly. "It seems that only my dragon race can touch it. According to the rules of the past, the dragon must personally get up there with their own ability to gain the acknowledgment of the dragon deity."
"Then, what should we do? You can't get up," Shangguan Hen commented worriedly.
"We can toss you up!" Gu Hai said after some thought.
"Huh?" The expressions of everyone turned stiff.
Toss up?
Is Gu Hai that strong?
If it were another, there would not even be a need to think about it. How would one toss a person so high? Furthermore, it was not just one's body that suffered from the restriction. Everything seemed to experience the one million times increase in gravity.
"Imperial...Imperial Emperor Gu, you are joking, right?" Ao Shun said in confusion.
"Come on, don't dawdle. Long Shenwu and Di Shitian will be entering soon," Gu Hai called out.
"Uh! Al...Alright, then!" Ao Shun nodded, showing a conflicted expression.
When Gu Hai extended his hand and raised Ao Shun, Ao Shun's expression turned stiff. It seems that I will be the first dragon to be tossed up the dragon's gate in the annals of history. How would the ancestors feel if they knew about it?
The dragon's gate is for tossing at?
"Go!" Gu Hai shouted.
Boom!
Ao Shun got tossed out like a cannonball, soaring into the sky.
Six hundred sixty-six meters...one thousand six hundred sixty-six meters...two thousand sixty-six meters...three thousand three hundred thirty-three meters...
"He reached the top!" Chang Ming said in shock.
The nearby fog had already fallen silent. Where did this monster come from? Tossing a dragon up the dragon's gate? This must be a joke, right?
As Ao Shun flew up, he still felt very conflicted. He only stopped feeling conflicted when he reached the top of the dragon's gate, nearing the glowing white ball.
Buzz!
Ao Shun tried to grab but grabbed nothing as well.
Whoosh! Bang!
When Ao Shun fell from the height and landed in the river, the water immediately splashed.
"What happened?" Gu Hai asked with a frown.
"The dragon's gate seems to be able to judge me. Since I did not leap up with my own ability, I could not touch the Western Sea's dragon deity. However, I saw it earlier. It truly is a dragon deity. It has successfully formed," Ao Shun said anxiously.
"What should we do? You can't get up with your own ability," Shangguan Hen said worriedly.
"The group outside should be breaking the barrier soon," Chang Ming added anxiously.
"I'll try again!" Ao Shun said, his anxiety peaking.
"Wait! Wait!" Gu Hai called out.
"What's wrong?" Ao Shun asked in bewilderment.
"Earlier, we saw that you could swim in the feeble water when rescuing Chang Ming the first time?" Gu Hai asked.
"Huh? Yes," Ao Shun replied, still confused.
"Then, why don't you try striking the water flowing down the waterfall to go up?" Gu Hai suggested.
"Going up the waterfall? How can I do that? The water is going down!"
"No, your speed of striking the water should be faster than the speed of the water going down. If you can strike the water fast enough, you can keep using the force to go up," Gu Hai said.
"Strike the feeble water faster than it is going down? However, my dragon form is too big and too long. It is somewhat difficult. I can try in my human form. Perhaps...," Ao Shun said somewhat worriedly.
"We will give you another Eight Nines Profound Technique Pill. You can try transforming into a carp. We recall that a carp strikes water extremely hard. You can give it a try," Gu Hai said.
The carps leaping over the dragon's gate. Gu Hai had heard of this story back on Earth. Could it be that Earth's dragon's gate was also like this?
[TL Note: There is a Chinese myth that says that carps swim upstream and try to swim up a waterfall. Those that succeed would turn into dragons. Here is the Wikipedia entry on this story: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Longmen_(mythology).]
"That's right. Aside from having a smooth and round body, a carp has a powerful tail. Perhaps this might work!" Shangguan Hen's eyes lit up.
Gu Hai took out another golden pill and handed it to Ao Shun.
Ao Shun nodded and immediately swallowed it.
The eyes of Shangguan Hen and Chang Ming filled with curiosity. Does the Eight Nines Profound Technique Pill truly have such miraculous effects?
After Ao Shun consumed the golden pill, he thought about the appearance of a carp.
Bang!
Ao Shun transformed into a large black carp. The carp's tail flailed in the river, splashing water.
Chang Ming goggled. "He really transformed?"
"The Eight Nines Profound Technique? It is truly mysterious!" Anticipation flashed in Shangguan Hen's eyes.
"Start accelerating from a distance, then leap up by following the waterfall and striking the water," Gu Hai instructed.
The black carp immediately swam downstream. Then, it started accelerating from a great distance.
Whoosh!
The carp shot forward like an arrow, accelerating as it swam towards the waterfall.
Upon reaching the bottom of the waterfall, the large carp slammed its big tail down.
Boom!
The carp shot up like a cannonball. This impact allowed it to reach two kilometers high, about three hundred thirty-three meters more than Ao Shun's earlier attempt.
At two kilometers up, the carp slammed its tail against the waterfall.
Smash!
The carp soared an additional thirty-three meters.
"It is effective!" Shangguan Hen's eyes lit up.
Smash! Smash! Smash! Smash!
The carp frantically swung its tail, repeatedly striking the waterfall at a rapid pace. Its figure moved increasingly higher. Soon, it reached three kilometers high.
At this height, Ao Shun could already clearly see the top of the dragon's gate. It now excitedly swung its tail increasingly faster.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Ao Shun reached the foot of the dragon's gate in the blink of an eye.
"Ascend!"
Boom!
The black carp swung its tail hard one final time and leaped above the dragon's gate to the large, glowing white ball on top.
Boom!
After the carp leaped over the dragon's gate, it transformed into a gigantic dragon and entered the glowing white ball.
"Roar!"
"Roar!"
Two dragon roars suddenly came from the glowing white ball. One was from Ao Shun. The other had to be from the Western Sea's dragon deity.