They eventually came to a very tall wall in front of them, behind which was a winding maze. This wall was so tall, its top was buried in the clouds someplace, obscuring any estimate of its exact height.
There were three entrances in the wall which they could use. They decided to enter the path that the previous group had gone through successfully, which was the middle way.
Three people had made it back taking this way, after all, even if they were on the brink of death when they did. They believed this would be their best course of action.
Mister Li pulled up a map and led everyone through the entrance.
Not long after, they found a dead body sprawled on the floor. Strangely, despite its haphazard placement, there were no obvious wounds or signs of injury.
"Is this guy from Outer Sky Shelter?" Zhong Sanxiao queried.
"Yes," Xu Yanmeng answered.
"How did he die?" Wang Zhao asked.
They assumed he had suffered a similar fate to their own compatriot near the tower, but they could not find any carvings or text on the walls. This was an even weirder death.
"The three people who made it out informed us that if you accessed the incorrect passage, you would be attacked by a strange force. Yet we have taken the right path. The presence of the body is disturbing, yes, but fret not. We are where we're supposed to be," Mister Li explained to the group.
"Maybe he triggered a trap and was killed. Strange-murder-force or no, we should still watch our step," Xu Yanmeng said.
They followed the map, and it wasn't long before they came to the exit that had correctly been indicated to them on the parchment.
Mister Li was leading them from the front, and just before they reached the end, something suddenly rose up out of the ground.
"What is this? Nobody mentioned anything about a wall prohibiting our passage," Mister Li said, with a frown.
"It looks like there is text on the wall," Old Qiu said.
The wall had two lines of text on it. The first consisted of four words, and it said, "The Wall of Destiny." The other line said, "Destiny reveals the way for the fortunate."
"Only the lucky ones can get by? What is that supposed to mean?" Wang Zhao said, with a frown. He wasn't sure what that meant.
"Perhaps it means something else," Mister Li said.
No one could offer up another explanation, however. And no one wanted to risk dwelling on the meaning behind any amount of text in that shelter. So, they planned to go back and attempt to venture another way.
As they walked, they soon realized they were lost. They were struggling to get back to the way they had come in, and the map offered no sound guidance.
"Mister Li, you have a map. How can you not navigate your way back?" Wang Zhao said.
Xu Yanmeng asked, "What are you trying to say?"
Zhong Sanxiao said, "What do you mean what are you trying to say? Is he speaking in tongues, man? Your precious Mister Li has a map, and yet the dunce has led us astray. Who voted this guy should be our leader, anyway?"
"And you have eyes and half a brain, don't you? The path has changed. We didn't come this way. We might not even be able to follow the map, anymore," Old Qiu said.
"We didn't come this way? We didn't come this way because he obviously can't read a map! The old man is blind and half senile, and thanks to him, we're now lost," Zhong Sanxiao said.
Mister Li finally spoke. He turned his head away from the map and turned around, saying, "There is nothing wrong with the map nor my ability to read it. It's this place; it shuffles and warps to misguide our way. A strange magic is at work here; stay vigilant."
The map was indeed useless now. Nothing marked on it corresponded to the way they were now traversing.
Still, nothing dangerous seemed to occur. They walked for a whole half an hour before Zhong Sanxiao suddenly felt the urge to exclaim, "Motherf*cker! Why are we back here?"
Everyone looked at him, and then saw what he was referring to. There was a wall with text upon it, one that read: "The Wall of Destiny."
"It looks like we have to go past this wall somehow," Mister Li said.
"This place is f*cking cursed! Game over, man! Game over!" Zhong Sanxiao spat on the floor, beginning to lose his composure to the nagging worry that gnawed on the minds of them all.
"Let's take a timeout for a minute. We need to figure things out a bit." Mister Li gestured for everyone to take a load off and relax for a bit.
Everyone sat down then, bringing out a bite to eat.
Han Sen brought out a sacred-blood geno fruit to munch on while he studied the wall.
When he was finished, an announcement played.
"Nine-Sky Fruit consumed; Sacred Geno Point +1."
Chapter 1402: Life and Death Stakes
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Han Sen brought the fifty fruits he had been given by Yu Xuan inside the shelter with him, bringing them along as food to sustain him.
Just one of those fruits could keep a man's belly feeling full for a number of days, so if they were to get trapped inside the shelter for any reason, Han Sen would be able to keep himself going for quite some time.
Han Sen munched on one while examining The Wall of Destiny, then he frowned. He remembered one of the creepy mural sides mentioned something about luck, destiny, and a cycle.
According to what that text said, it was not supposed to be difficult to determine whether or not a person was lucky.
"Do you need luck to find a path that bypasses this wall?" Han Sen wondered to himself.
After the break was over, Wang Zhao suggested he should take the lead—map in hand.
There were no grand objections, and Mister Li thought it best for him to see for himself that the map was of no help now. And that was exactly what came to pass. Before long, Wang Zhao's fruitless guidance had brought them back to exactly where they started: The Wall of Destiny.
They did this many times after that, and they didn't encounter any danger. The only thing that threatened them was frustration, for no matter which way they walked, they always ended up back at The Wall of Destiny.
They had obviously been trapped there, and there seemed to be no way out except one that involved flying.
However, they did not dare fly. That seemed like an obvious way to skip the challenge, and they might be subject to punishment if they attempted to cheat in such an obvious fashion. But that meant they were stuck, and it seemed as if they lacked the luck needed to escape.
Most people who had come to this shelter had been forced, after all. That in itself was brought about through misfortune and being plain unlucky.
Yu Zhiyou's death still hung over them, stoking the fires of their fear.
"Wait a minute; it's a wall! Why don't we just smash through it and bring it down?" Xu Yanmeng said.
"Don't be reckless. That might seem like an obvious way to get through, but do you think the creator of this wretched place didn't think of that? You might get yourself killed!" Mister Li stopped him, and then he asked Han Sen, "Little Han, do you recall what was written on that mural we went to look at?"
"I remember excerpts of it, yes," Han Sen answered.
The others leaned in closer to hear what was spoken between the two, as they had all been absent for what was now being discussed.
Mister Li cleared his throat before addressing the others, and he said, "Destiny and a cycle, including the need for luck in its breaking. We seem to be in some sort of loop, so if luck is what we need, it should not be difficult for us to discern which one of us has the most."
"Wait, are you suggesting we find the luckiest amongst us and have them open the wall?" Wang Zhao asked.
Mister Li nodded and said, "We can't get out via any other means, so for now, it seems like a sound suggestion."
Zhong Sanxiao then balked, but asked, "And how do we find out who the luckiest amongst us is? Toss a coin?"
"The text said a person with much luck can obtain stuff others usually cannot. It's sort of like the lottery," Mister Li explained.
"Did you see any lottery ticket vendors in this maze of doom?" Zhong Sanxiao scoffed.
"No, but we can do it ourselves," Mister Li said.
"Okay. We're stuck in here no matter what we do, so we might as well try this," Xu Yanmeng said.
"If this is the only way, then sure," Wang Zhao said. He then proceeded to pull out a notebook and tear eight pages from out of it. He wrote the word luck on one of the sheets of paper and said, "Whoever gets the one with the word luck can open the door. Everyone else pick, I'll choose whatever is last."
After that, Wang Zhao placed the eight folded pieces of paper in a bag and shuffled them. Then, he said, "Who wants to go first?"
The person who went first would have the slimmest chance, but everyone doubted this method would work, anyway.
"If no one wants to try, then I'll go first." Old Qiu went to the middle and picked up a piece of paper.
There were no words on it, so the chances had been reduced to one-in-seven now.
"I'll go second," Xiao Liuyu said. After grabbing a sheet of folded paper, his face changed.
The paper had the word luck written on it.
"Liuyu..." Liuyu was Wang Zhao's best friend.
"This is fate; I am sure it will let me live," Xiao Liuyu said, with a wry smile.
"Just... be careful, with whatever you have to do," Wang Zhao said.
It was impossible for him not to go forward, as they had all seen him beat the odds and take the winning piece of paper. He seemed like the luckiest, and as such, the prime candidate to try to access the way forward.
Even those from Sacred Shelter would have forced him to go, and being best buds wouldn't change this. If Xiao Liuyu didn't go, then someone else eventually would, anyway. And their luck might not have been as fair.
Xiao Liuyu nodded and pulled out his geno core, which was a jade sword.
Xiao Liuyu's body glowed with a protection that accompanied him on his way towards the door.
"Don't do it; you'll die!" Han Sen exclaimed.
Xiao Liuyu looked at Han Sen, thinking it to be a strange thing to suddenly call out.
"If he doesn't go, will you?" Xu Yanmeng asked.
Han Sen coldly said, "He picked the paper, and he is now going to risk his life. You guys have got it backwards; that would give him the worst luck."
Xiao Liuyu's eyebrows touched the sky, and he began to produce a cold sweat. That logic made a lot of sense.
Everyone could understand where Han Sen was coming from, but someone had to try the door. They couldn't differentiate between good luck and bad luck when it came to this.
There were no other alternative ideas or plans they could consult and enact, anyway.
"You're saying whoever gets that paper is unlucky, yes? Because they have to then risk their life, correct?" Xu Yanmeng said, to confirm.
Everyone else started to become of this opinion now, but if Xiao Liuyu didn't commit to trying the door, then that meant the lottery was pointless.
Chapter 1403: The Man That Opened the Wall of Destiny
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
"If you can promise me one thing, I can go," Han Sen said.
There was a certain sternness in his voice, to the surprise of the others in the expedition. They all turned to look at him, confused why a person with only a bronze geno core would and could say such a thing.
"Little Han, these are no joking matters," Mister Li said.
"You are correct, but if you can promise me this one thing, I will try it in his stead." Han Sen paused, having achieved the focus of everyone's ears, before proceeding to explain, "It's because I'm lucky. I always have been, and I believe I have what it takes."
"Okay, then what would you like to get promised? We can do what you ask, provided it's nothing ridiculous," Wang Zhao said, willing to give the boy a chance.
He would also prefer risking the life of another, if it meant his best friend might have been spared.
Han Sen responded, saying, "The shelter must have offered you a lot to come here. If you can pool together to provide me sixty sacred geno fruit, I will go."
Sixty was not a small number. There were seven others in the expedition, and each of them had around ten.
"I have sixteen right here with me. I'll give them to you," Xiao Liuyu immediately answered, seeing as it was his life currently on the line. Then, he presented the fruit.
Discussions broke out amongst the rest, as they all wondered and tried to gauge whether or not it was a worthy bargain. They eventually decided to go along with it, and they amassed the tally of sixty geno fruits they could give Han Sen upon his completion.
"Little Han, I must repeat; this is no laughing matter. The stakes are high, but there's always the chance we might find an alternate route," Mister Li pleaded. He had come to like Han Sen, and he was worried about the young man's wellbeing.
Han Sen smiled in return, telling him, "It's nice of you to be so considerate, Mister Li. But me and Lady Luck have tangoed a number of times. The fortunes frequently smile on me."
Han Sen accepted the fruit and approached The Wall of Destiny; their door and way forward.
He had everything to live for, even a baby on the way. Han Sen wasn't going to risk everything unless he was 100% certain he'd succeed.
This wasn't because Han Sen believed himself to be stronger than the others, or because he actually had more luck. It was because he had a theory he had kept private.
Han Sen had examined the text on the tower and mulled over it well. He recalled that there was no mention of explicit instructions, and no statement that in order to tackle the door you'd have to be the luckiest.
Everyone had luck, but good luck and bad luck were all tinged measures coming from the same pool.
Han Sen had already read the text of Life Door, and that gave him a keener insight into the words he had espied on the mural. It helped him understand one thing that was the crux to this entire issue.
To open the door of destiny, one must have already opened their Life Door.
Han Sen had secretly cast Life Door previously, and he felt his body metaphysically connect with The Wall of Destiny. It beckoned to Han Sen, calling out for him to come forward.
It brought ease to Han Sen's mind, and without an urgent need to open it, he thought of a way in which he might net a few extra goodies in the service of others. He really wasn't risking his life.
Han Sen believed that those who had ventured into the shelter before hadn't even seen the wall.
And Han Sen believed that was because no one in the previous expedition possessed Life Door. If the wall had shown up, they would have been trapped there forever; it at least proved the shelter wasn't a deliberate gauntlet meant to torture and slay all intruders. Or at least, that's what Han Sen now hoped.
But this also led Han Sen to believe that they'd end up elsewhere, once the wall was removed. Perhaps the others, without Life Door, had been led to their doom. With Han Sen amongst them, they might make greater progress than the other team did.
Han Sen did not hate the people on his team, and he would prefer to help them rather than not. He just didn't see a problem with extracting a few gifts while doing so.
His connection to the door increased and became more voluminous as he approached The Wall of Destiny. He could sense its tangible aura, and it tingled Han Sen's fingertips.
Han Sen then summoned his Bulwark Umbrella, as he drew near it.
The Dongxuan Sutra did not tell him there was any danger ahead, but he still summoned it on the off-chance there was.
Everyone watched Han Sen, and their attention was particularly drawn to his left hand, with which he pushed against The Wall of Destiny.
His hand was brimming with the power of Jadeskin, and when it came into contact with the wall, electricity suddenly surged through him.
Han Sen quickly pulled his hand away and took cover behind his umbrella.
Everyone summoned their geno core for protection, expecting a fight or some sort to have been initiated.
Boom!
The Wall of Destiny let out a deep sound, as if something had been unlocked beneath the earth. And then it began to sink, receding into the ground it had originally emerged from.
Nobody there had expected the process to be that simple. They had half-suspected that Han Sen wouldn't be alive to enjoy the fruit they had all given him.
"Brother Han, you are a man of good fortune indeed!" Xiao Liuyu proclaimed, upon witnessing his success.
The others all looked at Han Sen differently. More than anything, they were just bewildered to see it was he the weakest of their team, yet he had solved and sorted out their biggest issue in the shelter thus far.
There was the sneaking suspicion amongst a couple of them, though, that the entire wall obstacle had been a bluff. And that guts, rather than luck, were needed to near it, touch it, and open it.
"Yeah, it was all luck," Han Sen said, as he marched forward to the exit of that maze.
Han Sen wasn't going to tell them the true reason he was able to remove the wall.
The electric shock he had received from the door, however, seemed to have a lasting effect. It did not hurt, but he sensed it had modified his Life Door somewhat. Han Sen checked out his body, and he confirmed there was no permanent harm, but still, it was a strange sensation.
Everyone followed Han Sen towards the exit, which was somehow obscured by a blinding white light. What awaited them, none could guess.
Han Sen was not concerned with this, having been in situations similar to this in the past. His feet did not relent, and onwards he went. When he breached the veil of white, his eyes cleared to reveal what lay beyond.
But what he saw sent chills down his spine. He immediately wished to retreat, but an invisible barrier prevented him from doing so.
The team could no longer see Han Sen, but thinking the way was safe, they followed in after him.