After rising another five zhang or so, the two finally stopped. Before them, the trunk, which had run straight upward until now, split into two massive branches stretching left and right.
They followed the fork in the trunk and soon came upon a wall woven from countless flowers and vines. At its center stood a stone door, five zhang high and three zhang wide, embedded deep in the trunk. Vines and flowers engulfed its edges, leaving only the massive central slab exposed. Four characters in ancient seal script were carved upon it.
"The Heavenly Emperor's Treasure Vault!"
A sound like a great bronze bell seemed to echo across the sky, shaking them to the core.
Before long, others arrived. Gui Li, Qin Wuyan, and Jin Yi were locked in fierce combat with Faxiang of the Heavenly Sound Temple and Li Xun and Yan Hong of Incense Valley.
At the height of the battle, a roar shook the heavens. It sounded like a savage beast howling at the sky, and its invisible shock wave became a raging wind that surged upward, whipping everyone's clothes.
Amid the roar came a strange hissing, like a venomous snake slithering or ropes rubbing together. It echoed between heaven and earth, growing louder and closer.
A rank scent appeared in the air. As the hissing grew louder, each sound seeming to tread upon their hearts like a demon's footsteps, the stench thickened.
Then an overpowering reek struck them, and a colossal creature appeared.
"The Black Water Mystic Snake! It's actually the Black Water Mystic Snake! How did he get here?"
Qin Wuyan cried out in astonishment as he watched the giant beast emerge.
"That brute must be after the treasure inside the Heavenly Emperor's Treasure Vault too."
At that moment, sunlight fell upon the topmost stroke