The Tip of the Third Claw, as it was named, was a peninsula in the sea of lava that was the Talon, connected to the rest of the land with a thin piece of land that spanned no more than a single kilometer wide.

This location housed the Blackland City that, until 3 decades ago, was nothing more than a backwater city considering its existence within the dead land that was the Talon.

And yet, when the Talon came active, its lands melting before their very eyes, this city became one of the biggest hotspots around the Sun's Talon realm.

Since then, the backwater city had been visited by so many other beasts from around the realm that it had grown bigger than anyone could've imagined.

The one who explained it all was an old feline beast that claimed to have previously been a servant of the White Tigers. Upon noticing Bai Jingshen, the beast had come to greet him and accepted to become their guide to the city.

"Was it the day when the teleportation formations stopped working?" Pearl asked the old beast.

"Yes, young master," the beast said. "Although that didn't matter to these beasts since there was no formation here to begin with."

"How did people know there was a trial here?" Alex asked. "Was there an announcement of some sort?"

"Hmm… kind of," the beast answered. "When the talon turned to lava, in all four talon tips, an island appeared out of nowhere. Before our very eyes, it floated from within the smog, moving to our land. A few brave souls decided to venture onto the islands. At first, nothing happened at all, but then the island began moving."

"I haven't been in the trials, so everything henceforth is my understanding of the situation based on the accounts I've heard from those that entered it."

"The floating island took them to another island in the middle of the lava. When the two islands met, a flaming bird appeared and explained to them that they had entered the Trial of the Five Talons. All those people would have to do was make their way through the many islands that were scattered around the lava, and depending on how far they went in, they would receive rewards accordingly."

Alex narrowed his eyes for a moment. "Trial of the Five Talons? Why five?"

The beast shook his head. "I do not know, young master. No one understands why it was called that. Everyone now merely calls it the Trial of the Talon."

"An island was floating in the lava?" Scarlet asked. "How does that work?"

"That too is unclear, my lady. It's hard to attribute it to the workings of some sort of Qi or formation as well, since the islands don't have any Qi to begin with."

Alex narrowed his eyes. "There is no Qi in the trials?"

"That's what the people say. The trials make them go through many dangerous islands apparently, which takes a lot out of them, and not once are they afforded the opportunity to absorb any Qi."

"What about spirit stones or pills?" Alex asked.

"Pills are known to work, but spirit stones won't. They just won't release their Qi inside the trial for some reason," the beast said.

Alex frowned slightly. This was much more strange than even Hell itself. And yet, from the corner of his eyes, he could see the Sun God's figure pointing toward the center of the talon yet again.

"What happens to the people that reach far into the Trial and fail? Do they die?" Scarlet asked.

"As far as I'm aware, they are teleported to the starting island that comes back here once again. Although, death is quite common within the trial as well. The mortality rate is higher than the survival rate. You should be very careful if you decide to enter."

After listening to the old beast, Alex made his decision. "I'm entering, obviously. What about the rest of you?"

"I'm going too," Pearl said.

"This is my first time being in a trial of any sort. I can't skip out now," Scarlet said with a smirk.

Surprisingly, Bai Jingshen hesitated. A moment passed before he turned toward Alex.

"We are more or less certain what is going on, are we not?" he asked.

Alex paused for a moment, a stern seriousness taking over him. He nodded. "This is most likely what we came here for." Just the Sun God's figure pointing at the Talon was evidence enough.

"Then I won't enter," Bai Jingshen said. "I am willing to help you with everything else, but not a trial this important. This is something you will have to do all on your own."

Alex stared at Bai Jingshen for a second, seeing the resolution in the decision he had made.

"Okay. Us three will enter," Alex said. "You should stay out here for us. Maybe Whisker will show up or send a message. Let us know when that happens."

"You cannot communicate when you are on either side of the Trial," the beast explained. "If you try, you will only end up wasting your talisman as they all burn away."

Alex froze. "What? The talismans burn away?"

The beast nodded. "It's just how it is. Talismans and formations don't work inside there. Even artifacts struggle to show their power within the trials. From what we've noticed, only pills appear to work."

Scarlet turned toward Alex. "Does that mean Whisker is inside the trial?"

Alex frowned. "He might be."

"Isn't that good?" Pearl asked. "We can enter and meet him there."

"It's not good. There are fire birds within the Talon that wounded me to a point where I took several seconds to properly heal," Alex explained. "If those birds have the capacity to delay my physique, there is a chance that they can do the same to Whisker, or maybe worse. If he is wounded in there, there is a chance that he will be permanently dead."

Scarlet gasped in horror and Pearl's face grew morose.

Bai Jingshen looked at the three. "Then there is only one thing you can do. Hurry up and enter the trial."

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