Apotheosis – Ascension to Godhood

Chapter 417: The Golden Opportunity

In the presence of the three masters of Internal Elixir Realm, no one dared to move. It was as if everyone's body had been frozen.

Anyone who dared to offend the masters would suffer the same fate as the Illuminating Soul Realm practitioner. That man was punched so hard that his whole body appeared to have been crushed.

Even Zen who was always ready to risk his life had not moved. From his assessment, he had a slim chance of successfully escaping from the power of the three masters. It was a chance he wasn't willing to take yet. He remained quiet but unsettled. He could sense that something terrible was about to happen!

“You! If you move, you'll die!” one of the masters of Internal Elixir Realm said nonchalantly. His creepy eyes looked around.

There was no option but to heed the order of these masters. Everyone remained quiet and still. After quite some time, more than a thousand practitioners appeared on the town road. Most of them were on the nature level. It appeared that they were all tied with ropes with no chance of escaping.

They had caught so many people this time! It wasn't just a small number, but an alarming number of captives. At this rate, they could wind up all the nature level practitioners in no time. Did they intend to go to the Moon Mountain to get the purple thunder bamboo?

The troop of captives was being guarded by some practitioners who was walking along the two sides of the road. These practitioners suddenly tossed dark yellow ropes at Zen and all his fellows.

Zen and his fellows could not dare to defy the three masters of Internal Elixir. So, against their will, they heeded the orders from the guards.

They were also tied by the ropes and then joined the rest of the captives.

As he made his way to join the captives, Zen's mind got clouded with thoughts. He was confused as to why they caught many practitioners. Zen knew that acquiring the purple thunder bamboo was quite a challenging task. And the purpose of capturing practitioners was to use them as guinea pigs. Their captors would force them to acquire the purple thunder bamboo on their behalf. But it would entail the risk of losing their lives. However, for their captors, it would give them the hints on how to successfully acquire the bamboos. But the number of captured practitioners here was too high. As Zen estimated, it was beyond what was needed. So, what on earth were they planning to do?

In the middle of his deep thoughts, Zen was interrupted by a sudden noise. A young man in purple, about 29 years old, approached their flock. He appeared to be also a master of Internal Elixir, but on a higher level than the other three.

As the newly arrived master of the Internal Elixir joined them, the three other masters of the Internal Elixir saluted and greeted,“Young Master!”

The young man in purple acknowledged their salutations, and directly asked,“Are they enough?”

“Sir, we have captured a total of 1, 036 people!” One of the masters confidently answered.

“Great! You've done a great job in finding so many people in such a short time. I will sure to reward your good work and loyalty once we get back to the sect.” The young man praised the three masters. He was smiling as he looked at the flock of captives.

“It's our honor!” One of the masters of Internal Elixir Realm replied with great joy.

The other two of the masters of Internal Elixir moved to command the captives. The captured practitioners were treated like pigs. They had been pushed around and bullied by the masters. They were even asked to walk forward in a straight line.

Meanwhile, Zen took it as an opportunity to concentrate. Though he was held captive, he tried to recalculate his chances of successfully escaping.

'There are now four masters of Internal Elixir. Two of them are on the primary level, and one is on the intermediate level, but their leader is on the senior level! Dang it! I should have done it earlier when there was only three masters of Internal Elixir. And what's with so many captives? It doesn't matter now! No matter what they will do, I have a feeling that it's not going to be pleasant!

So, I must escape. But how?' Zen had thought harder. The dark yellow rope tied to him was not the problem. In fact, he could easily get away from it. However, after he got away from the rope, he would have to face the wrath of the Internal Elixir masters. One wrong move could be the end of him. Zen's power was nowhere near the masters of Internal Elixir. One snap, his body could be crashed. He had to rethink his options. There was no use in escaping if he was already dead. Or could death be his only escape?

In Zen's estimate, the troop could be made up of more than one thousand people tied together, which restricted their moves and made them advance slowly. After walking for nearly half a day in the almost endless road, a dark mountain finally came into view. The mountain that resembled a huge elephant was called the Moon Mountain.

The breathtaking view almost made Zen forget that he was held captive. Upon arriving at the foot of Moon Mountain, the young man in purple took out a jade pendant that looked like a small dragon. He held it up and shook it. The jade pendant seemed to tell which way they should go.

Zen looked at the dragon jade pendant. It looked familiar but he couldn't tell where he had seen it. Suddenly, he felt a quiver in his head.

“Hey! What's the matter?” Zen was taken by surprise by the quiver in his head and thought that it came from the cyan dragon. He concentrated his mind on the cyan dragon and asked him,“What's wrong?” 𝙍𝖆ＮΟ𝐛Ë𐌔

A moment later, Zen could hear the cyan dragon laughing in his mind.

Zen got a little annoyed by the insensitive gesture of the cyan dragon at this time. He scolded,“What's wrong with you? Can't you see that I'm in great trouble right now? Does that make you happy?” He was a little irritated now because he couldn't think of a way to escape. He felt hopeless with his situation and the cyan dragon's insensitive remark was not helping him at all.

“What do you mean you're in great trouble? I don't think so. From how I see it, this can be your golden opportunity!” The cyan dragon said calmly.

Golden opportunity? Zen was more confused than he was earlier. He couldn't see the golden opportunity that the cyan dragon was referring to. And even if there was, he couldn't comprehend how he could make use of that opportunity in the presence of four masters of Internal Elixir Realm. Zen was still annoyed at the blabbering cyan dragon. He said,“I don't have time for mind games. Can you be more specific?”

Though the cyan dragon could be irritating at times, Zen knew that he had a broader horizon at the world. It was one thing that Zen admired from the cyan dragon. Everything that Zen valued the most was nothing in the eyes of the cyan dragon. This included the Perfect Brushwork, the consummate sword intent, and all the treasures that Zen acquired through a great deal of effort.

So, if the cyan dragon said that it was his golden opportunity, then Zen could not argue with that.

“As I said, this is your golden opportunity. But of course, you will need my help! Don't think of running away. Just bear with it a little longer. If he can really find that place, with my help, you can reach the level of Illuminating Soul Realm instantly!” The cyan dragon said. After a pause, he continued, “I think I know what he is looking for.”

'Reach the level of Illuminating Soul Realm!' Zen got lost upon hearing these words. He didn't seem to have heard what the cyan dragon was saying. He was now more curious about what could happen and the purpose of the young man in purple for leading all of them to the Moon Mountain.

Zen originally thought that they would be used as baits in the Moon Mountain. But contrary to what he initially believed would happen, two of the masters of Internal Elixir Realm looked for the way themselves and killed all the beasts they encountered so all their captives wouldn't be hurt.

The beasts in Moon Mountain could be cruel and strong, but the power of the masters of Internal Elixir Realm was far greater. Hence, killing beasts was a piece of cake.

The young man in purple would occasionally take out the dragon jade pendant to determine the way they needed to go. Afterward, he would ask the troop to follow him. But as they moved farther, it became clear that their destination wasn't the top of the Moon Mountain. They were being led to somewhere else.

“Hey, cyan dragon, do you know where he's taking us? Please tell me!” Zen asked the cyan dragon again. He was growing more impatient since all his calculations were wrong from the start. If the cyan dragon hadn't appeared, he would have decided to escape and wouldn't know what the man in purple was up to.

But the cyan dragon didn't say a word. He just smiled and then added, “You'll know once we get there. If you can make it there alive, I will help you reach the level of Illuminating Soul Realm. And there can be more benefits that you can ever imagine!”

Zen sensed that the cyan dragon wouldn't give him more details even if he asked. So, to save him from getting more annoyed, Zen stopped asking. But he knew that the cyan dragon and the other “things” inside his body wouldn't surely do something harmful to him.

Another half an hour of walking had passed. As they were all taking the twisty mountain road, a sunken mountain creek suddenly emerged with a fancy tower magically glittering in the middle of it.

The tower was about 100 feet high, full of strange lights, with a huge monster sitting on top of it. There was no mistaking, and it–it was a winged dragon!

The winged dragon with an embossed forehead twined on the tower. Its sharp teeth were showing as it waved its claws.

“I found you at last!! You may look like a purple thunder bamboo from the sky, but you aren't. You are Dragon Soar Arena! Now, I will have all my dreams come true! Ha ha ha!” The young man in purple laughed crazily. His eyes were glistering in a strange way.

The three masters of Internal Elixir were happy to have reached the conclusion of their journey and tried to flatter their lord, “Congratulations! My lord, you finally found the Dragon Soar Arena!”

Upon hearing the young man's laughter, the winged dragon stretched its neck and roared at the troop.

“Roaaar!”

It was so loud that all the practitioners of nature level were frightened. In fear, they all knelt down and covered their heads with their arms.

“Go and take everyone there! It's time to feed the dragon!” The young man in purple said as he waved his hand. He seemed to be delighted at the sight of the Dragon Soar Arena.

The practitioners guarding the troop started driving the troop by waving their whips. They yelled at the captured practitioners; however, no one moved. Even Zen didn't dare to take a step.

In the minds of each captured practitioner, they would eventually die no matter what they chose. But they wouldn't willingly obey the last order and be eaten by that dragon.

Some of the captured practitioners were enraged and started cursing, “You're all cowards! You won't make us kill ourselves! I would rather die here than be eaten by that monster!”

“I would rather die than help you in your purpose!”

Upon hearing the commotion, the two masters on the primary level of Internal Elixir rushed to the troop. They caught several practitioners and forcefully threw them into the mountain creek. The practitioners rolled down the creek like rocks, but before even hitting the ground, they were bitten and swallowed by the winged dragon. It happened so fast that those eaten didn't have the chance to scream for their lives.

The unfortunate fate that those practitioners met had frightened the rest. They initially thought the winged dragon wouldn't eat people. But upon seeing it with their own eyes, they became helpless.

The captured practitioners of nature level were thrown to the mountain creek one by one. The rest could not do anything but wait for their own fate. The two masters on the primary level of Internal Elixir kept on throwing the practitioners into the creek, while the ferocious winged dragon ate all them all without any hesitation.

Now, there were only eight practitioners that stood in front of Zen. It would eventually be his turn. He grew anxious and could not think straight. Finally, he asked the cyan dragon, “Now, tell me what to do! I believe you won't let me be eaten by that dragon!”