After calculating where the gate of life was within the formation, Jiang Chen found the desired exit moments later.

Since experiencing the formation, he thoroughly respected the cultivator who’d set it up. If he hadn’t been an expert in the field, he would’ve had a much harder time here.

“I think this seventh trial will eliminate a majority of the candidates. Most people will need quite a bit of luck to pass through.”

It wasn’t a stretch for him to assume that Eternal’s Five Gentlemen would all fail here. After all, there was a time limit of fourteen hours to navigate the maze. Not a lot of time to mess around with, honestly.

When Jiang Chen had just broken through the seventh trial, Lu Mingye was doing the same with the fifth. Excitement was apparent upon his face; he wanted to roar to release some of his pent-up energy.

He felt that he’d done everything as perfectly as his abilities would allow. No time had been wasted, as far as he knew. His perfect performance surely meant that Jiang Chen was far behind him!

“Hmph. I got to the sixth trial really fast. Jiang Chen must still be dawdling around the third or fourth!” Lu Mingye was absolutely convinced of his superiority. The fact that he had no evidence that this was the case didn’t bother him.

Jiang Chen wasn’t interested in whatever the other geniuses might be thinking. Having set foot on the eighth island, he was only three trials from completing the gauntlet.

In other words, he was at the hardest segment.

The mission here wasn’t easy. Surprisingly, the eighth island was a volcanic one.

Jiang Chen’s job was to get past the guardian of the island. The only exit off the island required taking a walk through the guardian’s den. He had to get past the guardian by fair means or foul. Specifically, a volcano giant.

It was a creature that had formed from long term exposure to the land’s essence all around it. Though it was of questionable intelligence, its birthright and homefield advantage granted it tremendous destructive power. Jiang Chen dared not underestimate it.

However, he immediately remembered that he had Vermilion Bird bloodline in his veins. Moreover, the bird itself was with him. Wasn’t this volcanic island just as cozy for the sacred fowl as for the native guardian?

Jiang Chen summoned his feathered friend immediately. After he explained the situation, the Vermilion Bird burst out laughing.

“Young master Chen, volcano giants aren’t too remarkable aside from their size. Their scorching flames may irritate you during a fight, but my bloodline will guard you against their attacks.”

Jiang Chen was greatly relieved by the Vermilion Bird’s aid.

He reached the volcano’s core in only a moment or two. Magma spewed along the cavern’s winding path, as if countless beasts were trapped below the blazing liquid.

Jiang Chen was entirely at ease. The roiling lava alone was a test of most cultivators’ concentration and consciousnesses, but he was provided immunity to the heat thanks to his tempered body and sacred beast bloodline.

The exact location of the giant was much more interesting to him. 

Where is the exit?

He found out very shortly.

A resounding roar of fury echoed through the subterranean hollow. The stony walls began to shake.

Uooooh, uooooh!

Plumes of lava gushed out of the vents all around, shooting aggressively towards Jiang Chen. The young man smiled. A flash of gold called forth his tempered body, isolating the lava and rocks from flesh.

Still, though he wasn’t hurt by the boiling temperatures of the molten rock, Jiang Chen was pushed into a corner by the sheer force of the flows.

The ground of the cave began to crumble and fissure. A huge creature was rearing its head!

Its unfurling body was a rough humanoid in shape, but it was at least several dozen times larger than a normal man.

Standing, it occupied almost all of the available room in the cave; in fact, the ceiling was forcibly heightened to accommodate its stature.

Perhaps the oddest part about the giant was its magmatic armor. It was clad in chunks of black basalt, joined together by veins of sluggish red. It swept its enormous arm horizontally toward Jiang Chen.

Within this cave, it was extremely difficult to dodge anywhere, given the extreme lack of space. Jiang Chen could only duck to avoid the attack just in time. He was hardly excited about the work ahead.

The volcano giant was the opposite of a pushover. Asking the Vermilion Bird for help was the only thing that could ensure him an instant victory.

However, he didn’t want to rely on the bird’s aid. Instead, he wanted to see how strong the giant was for himself.

Jiang Chen began to maneuver around and against the giant.

The volcano giant was absolutely enormous, which meant even its smallest movements packed an incredible punch. 

For a time, the Eternal genius traded blows with the giant with great enthusiasm.

The methods of attack he typically employed against more ordinary opponents would have a hard time scratching the giant at all. Therefore, he mainly used magnetic storms to hamper his enemy and suspended runes to restrict its movements. The Taiji Pisces Swords were his weapons of choice, since they were the strongest weapons he had in his collection.

Though suspended runes were inferior to formations in some ways, their speed of deployment made them much more practical. Their power was not to be underestimated, and they caused the giant a considerable amount of annoyance.

The volcano giant could do little more than smash and pound. Sometimes, it mixed things up by trying to burn the human to a crisp.

Unfortunately, Jiang Chen’s body was too tough to be injured via these methods.

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