Chapter 496 - 324: I’ve Been Waiting for You for a Long Time (Part 2)

Chapter 496: Chapter 324: I’ve Been Waiting for You for a Long Time (Part 2)

But where was he supposed to find a cat for her now?

His mind went blank, and he subconsciously reached into his robes.

And what do you know, he actually pulled out a small, pure-white kitten.

"Come here, little one. Come to me."

Jiang Ling, as if performing a magic trick, took out a fragrant cat treat and waved it at the kitten.

Unexpectedly, the moment the kitten saw the treat, its eyes seemed to become enchanted, unable to look away. It immediately forgot its master and, as if being pulled by an invisible force, scurried into Jiang Ling’s arms.

Jiang Ling held the soft, fluffy kitten in her arms and tucked the Glowing Spirit Crystal from her hand into its paws for it to play with.

Then she stretched out her slender fingers and stroked the kitten’s small body.

Meow~~~

The kitten happily licked the treat, its big eyes narrowing into crescent moons.

A moment later, Jiang Ling stopped petting it, her brow furrowing slightly.

"Its power is a little weak. Why is it only at the Awakened Level?"

"..."

"???"

"What are you talking about? It’s just a little kitten. How can it have a Level like a Soul Beast?"

...

The meal left Han Ning utterly bewildered.

Amid his bewilderment, a gently smiling young lady came over with a warm towel and wiped the food crumbs from the corner of his mouth.

As he walked out of the hall, he couldn’t help but keep looking back at the young lady who had wiped his mouth.

As if sensing his gaze, the young lady, who was clearing the dishes, looked up and gave him a warm smile.

’So cute...’

"Kid, what are you looking at?"

Just then—

SLAP~

A light slap from Teacher Jiang landed on Han Ning’s shoulder, interrupting his reverie as she asked in a teasing tone.

"Ahem, nothing!"

Han Ning quickly tried to act serious.

"Got your eye on her? I’m afraid you’re in for a disappointment."

Master Jiang gave a mysterious smile.

"Let me tell you, they’re all taken... but your teacher, on the other hand, is single."

"Han Ning..."

A sweet fragrance washed over him...

Warm breath tickled his face.

"Ahem!"

Just as Teacher Jiang’s lips were about to touch Han Ning’s cheek, a hand blocked the space between them.

Han Ning gently pushed Teacher Jiang’s face away and sighed helplessly. "What a bewitching dream. Does this mean... I’ve really had such wicked thoughts before?"

"The Desire Realm? Heh."

The next second...

BOOM!

The Illusion Realm shattered violently. The mist ahead swirled into a vortex, leading to an unknown space.

A faint, almost negligible stream of cold flowed into his mind.

’So that’s how it is. Clearing the Illusion Realm on the first floor of the Heaven-Reaching Tower replenishes your Spiritual Power, basically bringing it to the level of a Tier One Beastmaster. Further on... the difficulty of the Illusion Realms should gradually increase.’

With Han Ning’s current Tier Four Spiritual Strength, clearing the first floor was indeed simple.

Considering his companions were waiting outside, he didn’t continue challenging the tower but followed the prompt to return to the entrance of the first floor.

Bobo Man was spinning in circles, utterly bored.

"Han Ning! You’re finally here! So, what’s the verdict?"

"Hmm..." Han Ning thought for a moment. "Let’s have Bobo Ka take us to the top floor to have a look first. We’ll decide what to do after that."

"Alrighty!"

Bobo Man slapped Bobo Ka’s Spiritual Body and pointed to the Spiritual Energy channel on the right, shouting,

"Bobo Ka, let’s go!"

"Woomoo~"

Despite being just a Spiritual Body, Bobo Ka suddenly absorbed a massive amount of free-floating Water Elements from the void. It deployed a defensive Shield hundreds of meters wide, protecting everyone in the center as it charged into the channel.

"Everyone, keep up!"

...

The scene inside the Spiritual Energy channel was slightly different from that of the spiritual channel.

All sorts of Spiritual Creatures roamed here.

The Spiritual Creatures on the first floor were basically at the Entry Level, exceptionally weak.

Bobo Ka went all out, like a full-level player returning to a Newbie Village to slaughter their way through a Newbie Dungeon, carving a straight path through.

Soon... everyone arrived at the 35th floor of the Heaven-Reaching Tower—the Yuqing Realm of Qingwei Heaven.

Soft white clouds drifted by, celestial mountains floated in the air, jade springs splashed, and immortal cranes circled around.

Farthest ahead, the doors of a massive palace glowing with golden light stood wide open, as if waiting for them.

Han Ning walked to the palace gates and, on the corridor at the entrance, finally saw the Relief Painting Bobo Man had shown him earlier.

The relief roughly depicted the story of The Investiture of the Gods.

Shen Gongbao was one of the villains in the story of The Investiture of the Gods.

"The Guardian’s place is just ahead. Once we go in, we’ll have to face Calorius’s attacks. Han Ning... do you have a plan?" Bobo Man stared at Han Ning, his face full of expectation.

As for the others, having never been to such a unique place, they were busy observing their surroundings and studying the murals on the palace walls.

"I..."

Han Ning opened his mouth. On their way here, aside from the very Xia Country-style environment, he hadn’t actually discovered anything particularly special.

Let alone any clues on how to enter the 36th floor and defeat the Guardian.

"There is one way... but it will consume a massive amount of Spiritual Energy."

’Looks like I’ll have to rely on the panel again.’

"Spiritual Energy? Spiritual Energy is the one thing I, Bobo Man, don’t lack! Tell me, how many Soul Beast Crystal Stones do you need!"

Bobo Man’s eyes lit up when he heard this. As long as it was a problem money could solve, it wasn’t a problem for him at all!

"Probably around 300,000 Lord Level Soul Beast Crystal Stones? As for the conversion rate to Monarch or Emperor Level, I’m not too sure," Han Ning said cautiously.

"300,000? That is a considerable number, but for me, Bobo Man, it’s still nothing!"

Bobo Man grinned, and just as he was about to pull out his treasures, he realized he was in his Spiritual Body form. He immediately said with great impatience,

"Let’s go back first. I’ll get the Crystal Stones for you."

"Oh... okay."

...

「Beneath the Southern Four Islands.」

Several flashes of light flickered.

Han Ning, whose eyes had been tightly shut, snapped them open.

The moment Bobo Man returned to his physical body, he flicked his dense mass of tentacles, tossing out one polygonal Crystal Stone after another from a flashing ring on one of them. They all radiated a terrifying Spiritual Pressure.

"Emperor Level Water Type compressed Crystal Cores. Each is forged from six Middle Emperor Water Type Crystal Stones using the Wangchao Family’s special Soul Artifact forging techniques. Take these and give them a try."

Bobo Man tossed a total of six identical Crystal Stones in front of Han Ning.

’Damn, this guy is loaded. He just hands over Emperor Level Crystal Stones like it’s nothing.’

Han Ning was once again stunned by the Octopus Head’s immense wealth.

He took one Crystal Stone and, for show, pulled out a Spiritual Pen and a blank medium. On it, he began to write the unique Spiritual Energy Circuit from his panel’s heritage.

He had no choice. If he simply absorbed the Energy out of thin air to unlock the Heaven-Reaching Tower, it would be far too miraculous. He had to at least pretend to be researching something.

He appeared to be writing on the surface, but in reality, he was using the panel to absorb the Energy within the Crystal Stone.

A surging vortex of Spiritual Energy flickered from within the Crystal Stone.

For the first time, the panel began frantically absorbing Energy at a Jingtun-like speed.

[Energy +569,000,000]

[Energy +500,000,000]

...

The six Emperor Energy Cores provided the panel with a total of 3.6 billion Energy!

"It’s still a little short. One more, a lower-grade one will do," Han Ning said urgently.

CLINK~

Another Crystal Stone shimmering with Spiritual Light was tossed over.

[Energy +76,450,000]

Han Ning stopped his pen and commanded inwardly, ’Unlock the Thirty-Six Celestial Trial Towers!’

[Beep... Unlocking in progress...]

[The unlocking process is too massive. The panel must first be upgraded before proceeding with the phased unlock. Please wait.]

[Estimated unlock time: 3 hours]

"Hold on. My clan’s Heritage Soul Artifact is at work. It will take about three hours to show any effect," Han Ning continued his act.

"Oh..." The others, while curious about the human’s Heritage Soul Artifact, could only wait patiently.

「Three hours later...」

[Unlock Progress: 99.9%]

[Unlock Successful!]

BOOM!

In an instant, the space trembled.

The crack that had appeared in front of them suddenly expanded.

A small, quaint-looking tower, which had a full 36 stories yet stood only about a meter tall, slipped out of the crack and appeared on Han Ning’s palm.

"Alright, His Highness Prince Bobo Man, and everyone else, let’s go in."

A flood of information appeared in Han Ning’s mind. With a wave of his hand, everyone’s Spiritual Bodies were instantly transported to a space filled with radiant light.

Saffron-colored clouds filled the sky.

A 36-step ladder of clouds appeared at their feet.

At the top of the ladder crouched a strange beast covered in white cloud patterns, shaped like a lion.

Behind the strange beast floated a jade-colored door.

It sensed the group below and fixed its gaze on Han Ning. It then leaped down from its cloudy perch and prostrated itself before him, respectfully conveying a Spiritual Message that everyone could perceive: "Welcome, my master."

The "voice" had barely faded when a long, narrow black seam bizarrely tore open in the sky full of radiant light.

A giant pupil, shot through with crimson veins, swiveled around before finally locking onto Han Ning. A wild, strange laugh echoed out: "I’ve been waiting for you!"