The trees on either side of the road grew denser and denser until they nearly formed a natural arcade. Overhead, branches and leaves intertwined, blocking out the sky until only scattered patches of blue remained.
After walking for about fifteen minutes, the trees suddenly receded to both sides. The view opened up before them, revealing a vast clearing paved with smooth blue-gray rock, scrubbed exceptionally clean by the seawater.
Directly ahead of the clearing stood the towering stone pillar that rose from the center of the island and pierced the clouds.
It was even more oppressive up close than from afar. The pillar was as thick as a small mountain, its gray-white surface covered in dense patterns identical to those on the Sea Horse Sacred Pillar, only hundreds of times larger in scale.
A broad flight of stone steps connected directly to the base of the pillar, stretching upward one tier at a time. Each step was wide enough for five or six people to walk abreast.
The top of the staircase vanished into the clouds, its end completely out of sight.
A faint golden halo floated across the steps, like thin gauze soaked in the glow of the setting sun.
The radiance was gentle, even rather beautiful to the naked eye, but Bing Yekong could sense that the energy density within it was frighteningly high.
"This is Sea God's Light." Feng Xiaotian looked up at the seemingly endless staircase and muttered, "Doesn't look all that intimidating."
"You'll know once you step onto it," Bing Yekong said.
He walked to the staircase first and stepped onto the first tier.
In that instant, a gentle yet irresistible pressure rose beneath his foot and spread upward through his sole, ankle, and calf. It felt as though he had stepped into shallow water,