Chapter 273 - 201: Slaughter Tower 6
He felt as if he were back in the illusory space he’d experienced while comprehending the Black Celestial Book. The space inside this tower was quite similar, seeming to be half illusion, half reality.
Xie Yuan had a realization:
’Do all such ruins and strange spaces share this trait? They don’t exist in the real world. I’m exempt because I’m protected by the Eight Trigrams Lotus, which itself exists between illusion and reality. The others, however, weren’t so lucky.’
He deduced the truth, but his brow furrowed even deeper.
’This is clearly a ruin. Logically, entry shouldn’t depend so much on luck... Is it because it hasn’t officially opened yet?’
A flash of understanding hit Xie Yuan. The ruin hadn’t fully opened yet. His Thunder Bomb had blasted it into a liminal state—neither fully open nor fully closed. Anyone who wandered in became trapped in this half-dead state, except for him.
Now that he had pieced it together, his mind raced. How was he supposed to get Lin Zhen and the others out?
’If they’re still like this when the ruin officially opens... The very thought is terrifying.’
The ruin could open at any moment; he had no idea when.
A sense of urgency washed over Xie Yuan as he quickly began to think of a solution:
’Maybe I can try the Eight Trigrams Lotus?’
He summoned two lotus petals. After mastering the complete Eight Trigrams Lotus, he was now capable of this.
He brought the two petals close to Lin Zhen, even placing them directly on her. He waited for a moment, but nothing happened.
Xie Yuan’s brow twitched. ’It didn’t work?’
’Could it be that the Eight Trigrams Lotus wasn’t the reason?’
’No, it has to be.’
’Perhaps in her current state, she can’t absorb the petals. They’re just sitting on the surface, having no real effect.’
’What should I do? This is getting tricky.’
Xie Yuan’s expression grew solemn as his mind raced.
’Perhaps...’
An idea suddenly struck him.
’Use the Celestial Concealment Skill!’
The Celestial Concealment Skill could "veil heavenly secrets and shift fortune." His skill had reached Minor Success, which meant he could already intercept a portion of another person’s fortune, allowing him to perfectly disguise himself as them, like he had with Zhang Mountain.
’If I reverse its function and transfer a bit of the protection I have from the Eight Trigrams Lotus over to Lin Zhen, wouldn’t that work?’
Xie Yuan nodded. ’I’ll give it a try!’
He immediately took Lin Zhen’s hand and activated the Celestial Concealment Skill, linking the two of them.
His Celestial Concealment Skill at Minor Success lacked precision. Moreover, Xie Yuan didn’t dare transfer all his fortune directly, fearing he would instantly petrify himself. He had to proceed as if performing a delicate surgery, altering just a sliver of Lin Zhen’s fortune to match his own.
Dealing with something so esoteric and profound was difficult to explain, and even more troublesome to execute.
Xie Yuan poured a great deal of effort into the task, sweat nearly beading on his forehead, until he finally felt a shift within him that signaled success.
The next moment, as if being pulled from a swamp, Lin Zhen’s body slowly emerged from the stone wall. Xie Yuan carefully laid her on the ground.
The stone wall rippled like water for a moment before returning to normal. Xie Yuan instinctively reached out and touched it, discovering it was once again solid stone.
’What a strange world, caught between the cracks.’
Xie Yuan knelt to examine Lin Zhen. She was like an animated statue, showing faint signs of life.
However, no matter how he shook her, she remained unconscious. It was as if she was missing the final, animating touch.
’The time must not be right yet. I’ll have to wait for the ruin to open.’
Lost in thought, Xie Yuan stood up.
He looked around, pushed open the door to a nearby stone house, and cautiously investigated. Even if there were traps, they were likely frozen; nothing happened.
The stone house appeared to be an alchemy lab, with many medicinal ingredients and pills arranged on shelves.
Xie Yuan went inside for a closer look and saw many rare medicinal ingredients, including several he didn’t recognize.
However, he couldn’t find anything on the level of a Divine Pill or a miraculous elixir.
Seeing that the room was relatively safe, Xie Yuan carried Lin Zhen inside and laid her aside. He then hurried off to find his other sect-mates.
He circled the 1st Layer, spotting various horse bandits along the way. He successfully located Lin Cheng and the others, used the same trick to pull them out of the stone, and then tossed them one by one into the room with Lin Zhen.
Seeing the four of them lying side-by-side, Xie Yuan dusted off his hands.
"You’re all safe for now."
He glanced outside. It was still quiet, and a glint appeared in his eyes.
’Now I can explore this place.’
’I’m like a beta tester for a game before its official launch. How can I not take this opportunity to have a good look around?’
Xie Yuan had just completed a quick circuit of the 1st Layer, getting a feel for its layout.
A central plaza, surrounding stone pillars, and a ring of rooms along the perimeter.
The rooms included studies, living quarters, training halls, alchemy labs, and more. It had everything and was on an enormous scale, like a Major Sect.
But on this layer, Xie Yuan didn’t see anything particularly valuable.
After thinking for a moment, Xie Yuan went to a room in the corner and opened the door, revealing a staircase leading upward.
If he hadn’t already circled the entire area while searching for everyone, he likely would have never found the way up.
He glanced up into the darkness before stepping onto the staircase. A short climb later, he arrived in a room on the second floor.
After opening the door, Xie Yuan observed the scene outside and fell into thought.
It felt similar to the first floor, though slightly smaller. In addition to the stone pillars, the central area now had some training dummies.
He again made a circuit of the surrounding rooms and noticed this floor contained many more items related to the Martial Dao.
There was an armory and a Scripture Pavilion. The medicinal ingredients in the alchemy lab were also better; many were top-grade ingredients for External Training—
for example, Blood Dragon Pills. Here, they were stored by the bottle, with many bottles lining the shelves of a single alchemy lab.
’The External Training Layer...’
Xie Yuan had already formed some theories about this place. After finding the way up, he arrived at the 3rd Layer.
The 3rd Layer was just as he expected—smaller still, but with furnishings identical to the two floors below.
However, the training dummies in the center looked considerably more formidable.
On this layer, Xie Yuan found many coveted Spiritual Medicines in the side rooms. The armory also contained weapons that were no worse than the saber he had received from Landlord Lin.
Yet, Xie Yuan couldn’t take any of them.
He could look at these pills and weapons, even hold them in his hands. But the moment he stepped out of a room, they would dissipate like phantoms and reappear back where they were.
The Scripture Pavilion and the studies were even stranger. The books that filled their shelves were all completely blank, like wordless celestial tomes.
’I wonder if they’re meant to be this way, or if they’ll become real once the ruin officially opens.’
Xie Yuan shook his head. He gazed at the upward staircase, lost in contemplation.
This layer was the Qi and Blood Transformation Layer, so it was self-evident what lay above.
A glint flashed in Xie Yuan’s eyes as he stepped onto the staircase leading even higher.