Chapter 369: The Last Chance

Chen Yuan was unwilling to hand over the Life Stone, and neither was Qingchen.

“My Yellow Court Temple has a grand-uncle who loves all sorts of oddities. Before I came to the Heaven-Reaching Tower, he even told me to bring him back some strange and peculiar items. I think this Life Stone would be perfect for him to study. If the master of Ling Yun Cave truly wants to demand this Life Stone, he can just go and ask my grand-uncle for it. He won’t be getting it from me, anyway.”

Qingchen smiled faintly, his posture completely fearless.

Everyone present knew of the grand-uncle he mentioned. He was Jingxuzi, the ‘Mysterious Immortal’—one of the ten supreme experts of the current age, an ultimate powerhouse who had surpassed the limits of the Ninth Realm Celestial Profound.

His cultivation of the Huangting Scripture had reached the level of Mastery. He had once sent his Primordial Spirit out from his body to summon a celestial phenomenon from a hundred li away, using it to slay the Demon Dao Giant Owl, Helian Bairen, the ‘Celestial Demon Star’ of the Ninth Realm Celestial Profound Realm. He was one of the living legends of the current Martial World.

However, Jingxuzi also embodied the typical style of the Yellow Court Temple. He preferred to focus on secluded, arduous cultivation and hadn’t been seen in the Jianghu for over a decade.

With him backing the Yellow Court Temple, even the master of Ling Yun Cave would have to think twice before trying to seize the Life Stone.

Just then, a sudden change occurred.

Before, only the space within the Endless Immortal Palace had been collapsing. Now, the entire palace, and even the surrounding space, was collapsing along with it.

It was as if an incredibly mysterious force had seized the entire Endless Immortal Palace and crushed it. Then, guided by a powerful suction, the innumerable fragments shot straight toward the heavens.

Watching the Endless Immortal Palace, which they had just been exploring, shatter before their very eyes, everyone present couldn’t help but sigh at such a grand and strange celestial phenomenon.

Although everything inside the Endless Immortal Palace was sinister and strange, the discoveries its people made in their endless quest for eternal life were all truly extraordinary.

Furthermore, their mastery of Array Dao, Artifact Refining, and Gu Dao was among the best in the world.

But now, with even the ruins of the Endless Immortal Palace shattered, this top-tier Sect had finally become nothing more than a legend.

Just then, Wen Rou suddenly received a message from another informant of the Celestial Wind Listening Rain Tower. Her expression shifted slightly as she said to the others, “Everyone, we need to head to the upper level of the Heaven-Reaching Tower immediately. Some of the ruins on the upper level of the Heaven-Reaching Tower have begun to experience spatial collapses, though not as quickly. Still, almost half of the level has already collapsed. Barring any surprises, by the time you all finish exploring the Heaven-Reaching Tower, its upper level will have vanished completely. In the future, it’s likely that even those at the Condensing Truth Realm won’t be able to get in. The entry requirements will probably be lowered even further. Our generation will likely be the last to explore the Heaven-Reaching Tower in its entirety.”

Everyone’s expressions changed. With no time to waste, they immediately rushed toward the upper level of the Heaven-Reaching Tower.

After the Endless Immortal Palace shattered, its fragments streamed toward the sky like a long river, heading for the upper level of the Heaven-Reaching Tower.

Along the way, Chen Yuan took out the Human Skin Evil Book and asked if it had ever heard of Ling Yun Cave or the Life Stone.

The Human Skin Evil Book hadn’t heard of Ling Yun Cave. All the knowledge it had accumulated came from things it had personally heard or experienced.

The master of Ling Yun Cave rarely appeared in the Jianghu, so even though the Human Skin Evil Book had existed for a very long time, it had never heard of the place.

“Then what about the nine high-ranking members of the Endless Immortal Palace? Do you know anything about them?”

A little stick figure appeared on the Human Skin Evil Book, shaking its head. “The Endless Immortal Palace is extremely mysterious. The ones I’m familiar with are all at the Hall Master level. In the very beginning, the Endless Immortal Palace had a Palace Master, but he supposedly discovered the secret to becoming an Immortal and disappeared to who-knows-where. After that, the Endless Immortal Palace formed an Elder Council to rule it jointly. At its peak, the Elder Council had twelve members, but its membership changed and dwindled over time due to various circumstances. When I left the Heaven-Reaching Tower, I remember the Endless Immortal Palace still had eleven Elders. Now there are nine, but I have no idea who they are.”

“What about the Life Stone, or the Reincarnation Stone? Have you ever heard of them?”

“I’ve heard a few things, but just as that Little Daoist from the Yellow Court Temple said, most of it is just hearsay. Some say the Life Stone doesn’t come from our world, but from the Immortal Realm. Others say it comes from the Underworld. In any case, no one has ever verified whether the Life Stone is actually useful.”

Chen Yuan nodded and put away the Human Skin Evil Book.

‘No matter what use this Life Stone actually has, it’s definitely a treasure,’ he thought.

The Life Stone had merged with the piece of Jade left by Qin Wuye. ‘I wonder if the item Qin Wuye left has anything to do with the Life Stone.’

The upper level of the Heaven-Reaching Tower was actually quite far away. Following the upward trail of the Endless Immortal Palace’s fragments, it took the group about a full day to arrive.

The entire upper level of the Heaven-Reaching Tower had now been completely transformed. It was surrounded by a boundless black void. At its center, a massive sphere of floating debris was intertwined with pockets of black, annihilating emptiness.

These voids of annihilation expanded slowly, but they were steadily growing, devouring the fragments of the Sect ruins.

Everyone’s expression grew grim.

Under these conditions, the upper level of the Heaven-Reaching Tower had become even more dangerous.

Once inside, one could easily be surrounded by the encroaching void and trapped to die.

However, the void’s expansion was visibly slow. In a single hour, it would only consume a distance the size of a palm, so there was still a chance to enter and explore.

Hundreds of Martial Artists stood frozen in place, gazing at the remaining ruins of the Heaven-Reaching Tower’s upper level, unsure of how to proceed.

Wen Rou went to scout out the situation. When she returned, she told the group, “There’s only one way forward into the upper level of the Heaven-Reaching Tower—that path made of countless shattered White Jade Steps.”

Everyone looked up. Among the massive cluster of debris in the void, the end of nearly every fragment was enveloped by the annihilating emptiness. Only a single path composed of innumerable fragments of White Jade Steps led to the center, but no one dared to set foot on it.

“Those White Jade Steps might look harmless, but they are likely the location of some Sect’s Mountain Gate Array, and they’re covered in Killing Arrays. Even though the White Jade Steps are shattered, the Killing Arrays on them are surprisingly undamaged and their power is immense. A Martial Artist’s attacks can’t trigger the Arrays or destroy the steps. Only when a body of flesh and blood steps onto them will the Arrays activate, and only then can they be broken. That’s what makes this so difficult. Over the past day, more than ten people have already died on those Arrays, including a prodigy of Loose Cultivator origin who was ranked in the top thirty of the Hidden Dragon Rankings.”

Hearing Wen Rou’s explanation, everyone present felt a sense of regret.

To rank in the top thirty of the Hidden Dragon Rankings as a Loose Cultivator was no easy feat. To come all the way to the Heaven-Reaching Tower only to die on an unremarkable Array, rather than at the hands of another prodigy, was a true shame.

“I’m going to try breaking the Array. Brother Cui, care to join me?”

Qingchen looked toward Cui Xuanye.

Cui Xuanye nodded and followed Qingchen into the Array to begin their attempt.

Both men were experts in the Array Dao, with skills on par with some Array Dao Grandmasters.

But after tinkering with it together for a while, they both shook their heads.

Qingchen sighed. “I have no idea which Sect left this Array behind. Its methods are marvelously cunning. Only a body of flesh and blood can trigger it, and only once it’s triggered can it be broken. Therefore, the best way to cross these steps is to have several Martial Artists with tough physiques take turns stepping into the Array. They would have to use their own bodies to withstand the initial impact, allowing others to attack and break the Array. But there are over a hundred steps. Even if Zhong Li and Master Ming Chong were to work together, I doubt they could withstand the Array’s full force.”

Hearing Qingchen’s words, everyone present fell silent.

The upper level of the Heaven-Reaching Tower was right in front of them, yet they could only look, not enter. The feeling was agonizing.

Just then, several streaks of light descended as more Martial Artists arrived.

It was Ji Man and his group, as well as Jiang Mu.

This time, however, Jiang Mu had four guards with him, each with an aura no weaker than that of Flying Shadow.

Ji Man’s eyes filled with resentment as he stared at Jiang Mu. Judging by his expression, he had clearly been rebuffed after trying to trade for the Life Stone with him as well.

Seeing these two arrive, the crowd began to whisper amongst themselves, their gazes sweeping toward Chen Yuan and his group.

Many of the Martial Artists present had witnessed the battle in the Longevity Hall—a fight that had completely upended the Hidden Dragon Rankings.

The most shocking development was undoubtedly Chen Yuan.

Before, he hadn’t even broken into the top ten of the Hidden Dragon Rankings. Yet outside the Heaven-Reaching Tower, he had fought five opponents at once, and inside, he had defeated Ji Man, the heir of the Ji Family from Celestial Bright City, in a direct confrontation. His combat prowess was terrifying.

Furthermore, he had been able to trade blows with Jiang Mu, the Heir of the Divine King ranked second on the Hidden Dragon Rankings, without falling behind. His true combat strength was even more frightening.

Besides Chen Yuan, Qingchen was also drawing a lot of attention.

Qingchen had always been low-key, leading everyone to speculate about his true strength and wonder who the top prodigy of the Daoist Sects truly was.

Now, however, there was no more suspense. Qingchen was, without a doubt, the top prodigy of the Daoist Sects.

In contrast to Qingchen, Zhong Li’s expression was dark. He could just imagine what everyone was whispering about.

Just then, two more people arrived, one from the south and one from the north.

One was Si Bai, the Saint Heir of Divine Light City, followed by several powerful guards.

The other was Tan Wujie, the ‘Buddha’s Son’ of the Longshu Zen Temple.

With the arrival of these two, nearly all the top-ranking prodigies from the Hidden Dragon Rankings inside the Heaven-Reaching Tower were now present.

After Si Bai learned about the Array, he suddenly chuckled and said lightly, “Getting to the top level of the Heaven-Reaching Tower is actually simple. There are so many useless Martial Artists here. They weren’t going to find any opportunities in the tower to begin with. They’re nothing more than cannon fodder. Just throw them into the Arrays to activate them. Then we can break them. Simple as that.”

As he spoke, Si Bai turned his gaze to Jiang Mu. “Jiang Mu, what do you think?”