Chapter 205 - 173: Spirit-Locking Tower

Chapter 205: Chapter 173: Spirit-Locking Tower

Time passed, and Zhang Ji began traveling between the Celestial Essence Realm and Origin Star more frequently.

He brought back many new curiosities and Spirit Stone resources.

On the fifth day of the first month, Zhang Ji finished refining the combat crystallization for [Earth-Suppressing Divine Gang].

With this, he now possessed eight top-tier Epic combat crystallizations for Cultivation Techniques and three for skills.

Although he had not yet reached S-class through a (Legendary) combat crystallization, he could already fight and defeat those who had.

Furthermore, he was only one Epic combat crystallization away—that of the Divine Wind Sect—from meeting the prerequisites for the Cosmic Four Source Attraction skill.

The resources from the Celestial Essence Realm were a massive boon for him. The Bodhi Tree alone shortened his cultivation time by about a third.

And that was not even mentioning resources like Spirit Pills.

They were an excellent supplement, containing high levels of beneficial energy that was easier to absorb. Their conversion efficiency was better than most supplements from Origin Star, and some could even increase his attributes.

The Alchemy techniques there were far more developed than the pharmaceutical technology on Origin Star. With molecular-level pill formulas and pills produced on dust-free assembly lines, you couldn’t find a single impurity, let alone pill toxins, before opening the box.

Before, without a Spirit Root, Zhang Ji would waste a great deal of Spiritual Power when consuming pills. But now, with the Spirit Root organ that came with his Flood Dragon bloodline, this Spiritual Power could also be absorbed and refined, becoming nourishment for his cells’ growth.

「Celestial Essence Realm.」

After the last incident, the Ascetic Order went quiet for a long time.

The blood fiends in Taiyin Heaven had been more or less cleaned up.

The Living Stele had also paid any price necessary to level the various materials in Taiyin Heaven, forcefully destroying it.

The Nine-Turned Quantum Furnace was still under repair, and it was estimated to take another three to five years before it was fixed.

Prices in the Floating City had skyrocketed during this period, and everyone was hoarding their Spirit Coins, refusing to spend them.

Everyone was also worried that the Ascetic Order would attack again.

Things were not easy in the Abyss of Eternity either.

The Celestial Dao Alliance had turned the place upside down. But aside from finding a few poor sods living hard lives and scraping by with illicit work, they failed to locate any core members of the Ascetic Order or find their way to the Jade Instrument Grotto-Heaven.

The Ascetic Order had drawn in on itself, cutting off almost all external contact, which naturally made them difficult to find.

However, this temporary retreat was in preparation for something much bigger.

Ling Xuzi had set his sights on the Illusion Realm in Void Heaven.

After cutting off their energy, he was now going to cut off their network.

However, Nine Nether Deep Technology was Mo Ye’s domain. Its forces were not weak, and stalling until the other Divinity Transformation cultivators from the Celestial Dao Alliance arrived would not be a problem.

But Ling Xuzi knew the Floating City all too well.

He planned to open the Lock-Spirit Tower.

Besides being the location of the server for the Void Illusion Realm—the Illusion Realm—Void Heaven was also home to the Floating City’s largest prison, the Lock-Spirit Tower.

The Lock-Spirit Tower had nine floors, each a separate folded space used to hold prisoners.

The lower the floor they were imprisoned on, the weaker they were.

The tower would drain the Spiritual Power from a person’s body. Thus, the prisoners were forced to cultivate, acting as human filters to convert Spiritual Qi into a purer form for the cultivators of Nine Nether Deep Technology to use.

This method was quite befitting of an Evil Cultivator.

But Nine Nether Deep Technology’s predecessor was the Profound Nether Sect, a bona fide demonic sect. Now that they had gone legit and joined the righteous path, acting in this manner was considered quite restrained.

On the highest floor of the Lock-Spirit Tower, a vast space held only a single prisoner.

The Elder Ancestor of the Profound Nether Sect, the Heart-Devouring Demon Lord, "Xiang Zhe," an ancient cultivator at the Divinity Transformation Peak.

This man had lived for over eighty thousand years; he was a true living history book.

In his era, he was someone with neither a Spirit Root nor any particular talent.

But what he did have was a ruthlessness that no one could match.

The "Heart-Devouring Demonic Art."

It was a type of Gu-nurturing method from that time.

Eating nine human hearts would grant him one "heart aperture," greatly enhancing his comprehension.

Eating nine one-aperture hearts would grant him a second aperture, putting him on par with geniuses, and so on.

The final form was the "Nine-Aperture Exquisite Heart."

It could vastly accelerate cultivation and extend one’s lifespan.

The efficiency of absorbing and converting Spiritual Qi would increase dramatically. He could understand all kinds of Spirit Skills at a glance, and with a little deduction, arrive at the optimal result. It could turn one into a monstrous genius, more than ten thousand times greater than a top-tier one.

It also granted a lifespan of over one hundred thousand years.

Because it was such a flagrant offense against the natural order, no one had ever cultivated this technique to its peak since its creation.

But he succeeded.

Xiang Zhe cultivated a Nine-Aperture Exquisite Heart.

In that era, he was known as the Heart-Devouring Demon Lord, a top figure of his time.

Later, when the Celestial Dao Alliance was established, he didn’t fit their new public image. The four major sects joined forces to suppress him in the Lock-Spirit Tower.

It wasn’t that they didn’t want to kill him; they couldn’t.

His physical body was comparable to a Tier Six Spiritual Artifact.

It couldn’t be broken by force or harmed by Refinement.

They only managed to suppress him after draining most of his Spiritual Power.

Inside the Lock-Spirit Tower, he was sealed within an enclosed space, having fallen into a deathly stillness, his presence extremely withdrawn.

He used this method to reduce consumption and extend his life, while also denying the Lock-Spirit Tower any opportunity to drain his Spiritual Power.

He had persisted like this for 3,570 years.

Suddenly, his eyelids twitched.

’Spiritual Qi...’

Of the Lock-Spirit Tower’s nine floors, the other eight all had some Spiritual Qi, more or less. Only the ninth floor was completely devoid of it.

They wanted to grind Xiang Zhe down to death.

But at this moment, Xiang Zhe sensed the presence of Spiritual Qi.

In a single gulp, Xiang Zhe swallowed this surge of Spiritual Qi. Then, he greedily craved more.

"More, give me more..."

His wish was granted. More Spiritual Qi wafted in from the outside, its volume growing ever larger.

Xiang Zhe didn’t know what was happening outside, but he knew that he might finally be able to escape.

His body, long starved of sustenance, began to revive from its deathly stillness under the nourishment of Spiritual Qi. Immense power surged through countless particles within him.

’Soon, very soon, I will see that beautiful world again.’

...

Outside the Lock-Spirit Tower, Pink Maiden left with a prisoner in tow, acting as if she were simply there to pick up one of her disciples.

No one knew that she had already used a Charm Skill to confuse the guards, used her Void Illusion Realm privileges to shut down the surveillance, and personally modified the Spirit Patterns of the array inside the Lock-Spirit Tower, just as Ling Xuzi had taught her.

Pink Maiden didn’t look back, but a hint of terror showed in her eyes.

The aura that had leaked out for just a single instant was enough to make her heart tremble with unease.

’That ancient demon is actually still alive. I wonder if releasing him will be good or bad for the Celestial Essence Realm...’

...

「Abyss of Eternity.」

「Jade Instrument Grotto-Heaven.」

Ling Xuzi summoned Zhang Ji, Yan Jiulin, Huo Chuan, and Cui Wei.

He began to discuss a certain matter.

"The Nine-Turned Quantum Furnace has fallen. One of the Floating City’s three legs has been broken. Next, we just need to destroy the Spirit Net and seize control of the Void Illusion Realm. They will be unable to stand on their own, and the Floating City will descend into chaos. Furthermore, the Celestial Dao Alliance will lose most of its information control over the city..."

Ling Xuzi explained the purpose of gathering them.

"Prepare yourselves. We move tonight. We will infiltrate Void Heaven together, destroy the Spirit Net, and steal the Illusion Realm."

This operation would not be like the large-scale destruction from before.

Instead, it was a special operation.

Although it was still a blitz, it wasn’t about causing widespread destruction.

Ling Xuzi would also participate in the operation.

He would be responsible for attacking the Lock-Spirit Tower and releasing all its prisoners. This would force the law enforcement departments to hunt down the fugitives, diverting the Celestial Dao Alliance’s attention.

With that, it would be much easier for Zhang Ji and the others to steal the Illusion Realm.

The meeting concluded, and Zhang Ji’s group left to make their own preparations.

He noticed that Yan Jiulin, who had always been chummy with him and maintained a good relationship, was acting a bit strange this time. He was being distant, which didn’t fit the persona he projected.

Normally, he loved playing the part of the senior "big brother," making an effort to get closer to promising newcomers.

Although Zhang Ji wasn’t particularly fond of his overly familiar attitude, this new coldness made him pay a little more attention.

When he thought of Nine Nether Deep Technology, the first thing that came to Zhang Ji’s mind wasn’t actually the Illusion Realm.

It was a person: Xiang Zhe, the high-ranking demonic cultivator from back when Nine Nether Deep Technology was still the Profound Nether Sect.

He was a rather pure villain—he had ideals, goals, and above all, ruthlessness.

In the original storyline, after being released, he escaped to recover his strength. After the fall of the Floating City, he emerged to rule the Celestial Essence Realm. He even used countless lives to cultivate a "Heart-Devouring Guard" to prepare for an assault on Origin Star. In the end, he was crushed to death by the Celestial Intent Seal, which was activated by the Celestial Dao Alliance, led by Linghu Yao, in cooperation with the remaining members of the Ascetic Order. After that, the Celestial Dao Alliance and the Ascetic Order reached a temporary truce.

The poor sods from the Abyss of Eternity didn’t care about their past exploitation by the Floating City, and the Celestial Dao Alliance let go of the Ascetic Order’s role in the city’s fall.

Everyone came together to sing Kumbaya and build a new Celestial Essence Realm.

But it was only temporary.

The conflict was eased in the face of an external enemy, but it was never truly resolved.

However, Zhang Ji felt that with him around this time, there would be no need for any Kumbaya.

He would rule this world, make a huge cake, and eat ninety percent of it himself. The leftovers would be more than enough for everyone else to share.

...

...

After the collapse of the Nine-Turned Quantum Furnace, the checkpoints between the various districts of the Floating City had become much stricter.

But it was ultimately impossible to completely stop people from moving about.

And where there were people, there were bound to be loopholes.

Ling Xuzi walked in front, taking a levitating stairway straight up. No one noticed anything unusual along the way.

No one could have imagined that the dignified Blood Chief of the Ascetic Order would lead people into the Floating City in such a manner.

Especially after the spectacle of their previous high-profile appearance, everyone assumed their next arrival would be a direct assault, blasting straight through the Xuanji Array of Ten Thousand Transformations.

Soon, the group arrived at Void Heaven.

A massive, square-shaped structure glowing with blue light floated in the center of this heaven. Countless Spirit Patterns were visible on its surface, shimmering with blue Spiritual Power as it slowly rotated.

That was the Illusion Realm.

The purpose of their trip was to destroy the surrounding arrays and steal the Illusion Realm directly.

Stealing something this large would not be easy.

It was especially difficult because it was interconnected with the foundation of the Xuanji Array of Ten Thousand Transformations. Simply severing its connection to the grand array was no easy task; it wasn’t something you could accomplish with just a rudimentary understanding of arrays.

However, Ling Xuzi had given each of them several hundred Spirit-Suppressing Needles and told them the locations of the array eyes. With this, the task was no longer so difficult for them.

After getting off the levitating stairway, Ling Xuzi concealed his presence and quickly departed, heading for the Lock-Spirit Tower.

Meanwhile, Zhang Ji and the others proceeded toward the Illusion Realm as planned, waiting for the next command to begin their part of the operation.