Alex stepped onto the island, feeling as though he had passed through a barrier of some sort. The heat inside the island was much weaker than it was outside, while at the same time there was a complete absence of Qi altogether.

Pearl and Scarlet walked next to him, looking all around. They were both quite excited regarding what they were going to come up against in the next few days.

The island that had appeared before them was nothing worth mentioning at all. It was a few kilometers wide, with rolling hills covered in short grass. There was nothing else of note on the island, not even a single tree or a misplaced rock.

Alex waited with the two, watching as the many beasts got onto the island, walking around to familiarize themselves with the lack of Qi. They also noticed their inability to fly.

Surprisingly, however, their spiritual senses weren't suppressed at all. There were only some islands where they were suppressed apparently, leaving it be for the rest.

An hour or so passed when the island began moving again.

Alex, Pearl, and Scarlet walked on top of a hill, looking at Bai Jingshen as they moved away. Before long, the smog filled the gap between the island and the shore on the other side, making it impossible to see.

Alex then turned, looking at the island that moved through the lava. The last time he had tried to enter the lava, the fire birds within the lava had attacked him.

He had guessed them to be some sort of defensive constructs, so he could only imagine that he had taken the 'wrong' way into the lava the last time. And the correct way was through the trial.

So he would hopefully see what was at the center of the Talon this time around.

Alex made plans with Pearl and Scarlet on what they wanted to do.

"If you can't continue for some reason, will you two enter my Soul Space?" Alex asked.

"Wouldn't that mean we've failed?" Pearl asked.

"Most likely," Alex said.

"And what if whatever created this trial retaliates against us when we reemerge?" Scarlet asked.

Alex shrugged. "You'll likely have to stay inside my Soul Space until the very end in that case," he said. "What do you think?"

Pearl looked toward Scarlet, who gave a reluctant nod. "I don't think we have a choice. If we fail, then we can only hide in your Soul Space."

With the decision made, Alex felt a lot better having the two around. Should something happen, they could just give up.

The island moved at quite the speed, heading to the next destination. Like a boat treading through water, it sped through the lava at a speed that just wasn't normal.

After a while, the island began decelerating, and the beasts became alert as they had finally arrived at the first of the many trials.

Murmurs filled the area as they caught sight of the next island, the first trial. As they closed in on the island, a brilliant light shone from in between the two islands as a massive fire bird of no discernible feature appeared before them all.

"Welcome to the Trial of the Five Talons. Your challenge, here and forever, will be the same. Enter the island and make your way to the center while maneuvering around all obstacles. There will be additional constraints based on the trial itself, but getting to the center will always be your primary objective.

"For this trial, you'll need to reach the platforms within the center of the island within the hour. Those who pass enough trials will receive certain treasures as rewards. I wish you all the best."

The bird disappeared into motes of light and the two islands connected, allowing everyone to cross. Hardly anyone waited at all. They all rushed into the island immediately, making their way toward the center.

"We should hurry too," Alex said. "It's unsure how long it might take us."

Alex and the other two walked from one island to the other, feeling the same lack of Qi all throughout. Numerous beasts rushed out around them, making them think they should probably run as well.

But it seemed unnecessary.

The island wasn't that big, and their spiritual sense had already covered the entire island the moment they crossed through. Alex could see that the entire island was nothing much, with almost no obstacles at all. And it was a short enough distance that they could surely cross it in just an hour.

Other beasts still rushed, trying to make their way to the center as quickly as they could. Not even a minute had passed when everyone noticed something strange that they hadn't noticed before.

"Oh…" Alex said, slowly feeling the weak pressure on his body. "Looks like heading toward the center won't be so simple."

Pearl and Scarlet started feeling it as well.

"It's getting stronger the further we move in," Pearl said.

They continued walking, the weak aura doing little to stop them. It grew as they tread forward, but it was still too weak to do anything.

Alex looked around at the other beasts that were continuing on, showing little sign of being pressured. He noticed a particularly weak beast at the Immortal Ascendant realm, finding it strange that the beast could continue under this much pressure.

The pressure on Alex was weak, but he had a Divine realm body cultivation. Unless this beast was the same, it should've been struggling more than him.

"Unless… it's a different pressure for each person," he realized. What he was feeling wasn't exactly the same thing an Immortal Ascendant was feeling, which was different from what a Divine realm beast like Wu Tanglan must've been feeling.

Alex couldn't help but be a little impressed at the forethought of whoever it was that had created this trial, which likely was the Sun God himself. Even though the purpose still eluded him, he could appreciate a good trial.

He couldn't wait to find out what the rest of the trials were like.

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