Immortal of the Nine Realms

The majestic Saint Tower seemed to connect directly with the edge of the sky. Looking upward, one could see that a portion of the tower's structure was already shrouded within gray, hazy mists. Even with his Primordial Immortal Eyes wide open, Fang Chen could not see past it clearly.

According to Fang Ding, the Saint Tower was also a component of the Inner Domain. Over the years, Fang Chen had witnessed the sheer capabilities of the Saint Tower firsthand. It could be said that even if a Three Limit Breaking Steps expert hit a bottleneck, this Saint Tower could still offer a certain degree of assistance and utility.

"Old Ancestor."

Several people caught sight of Fang Chen and Fang Ding and bowed respectfully. Among them were those of the three stages of Foundation Building, as well as some in the ninth transformation realm, though their cultivations were only at first or second transformation.

The Saint Tower opened once a year. Those in the three stages of Foundation Establishment had to pay a sufficient amount of spirit stones to secure an opportunity to cultivate inside. As for those in the ninth transformation realm, they were required to pay immortal crystals to qualify for entry. The exact amount to be paid depended on cultivation stage.

Because of his unique status, Fang Chen had been granted special permission to enter without paying any fees whatsoever.

Furthermore, there was an incredibly mystical aspect to the place. No matter who entered the Saint Tower, they would always find themselves entirely alone, never crossing paths with anyone else. On top of that, if a person encountered mortal peril within the tower, they wouldn't really die. They would merely be ejected and sent out of the Saint Tower ahead of time. Naturally, the longer they endured inside, the greater the benefits. It also demonstrated greater talent.

Since the establishment of the Saint Tower, the record for the longest duration spent inside stood at 365 years. The holder of this record was a young clansman named Fang Han. He had set that staggering benchmark during his very first entry into the Saint Tower, back when he was only at the second stage of Foundation Building. That individual had remained inside for over three centuries. By the time he finally stepped out, his cultivation had skyrocketed from the second stage of Foundation Building all the way to the second transformation of the ninth transformation realm.

A few decades ago, this very genius had entered the Saint Tower once more, and he had yet to emerge from his secluded cultivation.

The first time Fang Chen entered the Saint Tower, he only managed to stay for six years. Within the Fang Clan, such a result could only be considered thoroughly ordinary, right around the middle of the pack. That was because anomalies like Fang Han were simply too rare. For the vast majority of highly talented individuals, enduring for ten to twenty years per entry was already deemed an excellent achievement. Many clansmen could only hold out inside for a mere two to three years.

However, what people didn't know was that the reason Fang Chen only stayed six years wasn't that the Saint Tower had ejected him. Rather, his cultivation had hit the absolute peak of the fifth transformation realm, leaving him with no further room for advancement. Consequently, he had no choice but to emerge so that Fang Ding could mobilize the Fang Clan's manpower to help him track down the sixth-transformation immortal herb for the Sword Immortal path, Primal Beginning Origin Milk.

It was worth mentioning that Primal Beginning Origin Milk also served as the seventh-transformation immortal herb for the True Immortal path as well. The Sword Immortal Path and the True Immortal Path exhibited a bizarre overlap of immortal herbs during this era. The difference was that the Sword Immortal Path used it for the sixth transformation, while the True Immortal Path used it for the seventh transformation. However, although both paths used the same medicine, the results were entirely different. There had to be some hidden reason behind it.

Fang Chen asked casually, "Fang Ding, is there any news regarding that specific spiritual herb?"

Fang Ding replied, "We have already mobilized our network of connections to hunt for it. The moment any lead surfaces, we will know immediately."

Fang Chen smiled. "Thank you for your trouble."

At that moment, the gates of the Saint Tower slowly ground open, and the Fang Clan members preparing to cultivate stepped inside in an orderly fashion. Seeing that, Fang Chen walked toward the Saint Tower along with the crowd.

This was his second time entering the Saint Tower. Because he couldn't explain his situation to Fang Ding, and to prevent Fang Qianxue and the others from detecting his unique cultivation method as well as the fact that he was missing the nine traverse bones, he had no choice but to enter the Saint Tower once more without a solid, justifiable excuse. However, this time, he carried a small plan of his own.

The absolute instant he stepped into the Saint Tower, the scene before his eyes transformed entirely. Fang Chen found himself standing in the middle of a vast, gray plain. A faint gray mist blanketed the entire area. At the same time, a staggeringly powerful spiritual pressure seemed to weigh down from the heavens, causing the immortal essence within Fang Chen to deplete at an incredibly rapid pace.

The rate of consumption was over ten times faster than if he were fighting someone with all his might.

In that kind of environment, an ordinary divine ability user would have to resist this continuous depletion while simultaneously fending off the perils that manifested from time to time. Therefore, the longer one could endure, the easier it was to break through one's limits, trigger the mystical properties of the nine traverse bones, and unearth one's inner potential, ultimately achieving the goal of raising one's cultivation level.

"Roar!"

A faint, spectral roar echoed from within the gray mist. The next moment, an exotic beast lunged directly at Fang Chen. The beast's strength was roughly on par with a divine ability user who had just entered the fifth transformation realm.

After Fang Chen dealt with it with ease, he walked forward, waiting for the next exotic beast to appear.

At the beginning, those exotic beasts would only appear one at a time, and their strength would match the realm of the cultivator. However, as the number of slain beasts increased, the subsequent beasts would not only grow in number but also increase in strength. Eventually, they could even surpass the cultivator's limits, though they would not exceed a major realm.

During his first visit, Fang Chen had stayed for six years. Near the end, the beasts had started appearing in packs of twenty to thirty, and their strength was already nearing the peak of the fifth transformation realm. If he hadn't wanted to see if the Fang Clan could help him track down the Primal Beginning Origin Milk, Fang Chen would have liked to test the limits of this place back then.

Entering this time, Fang Chen's objective was simple. He planned to stay for ten to twenty years, only leaving on the day of the Saint Canon longevity celebration. He wanted to see just how strong the beasts would get by then, and whether there was a way for him to break through his limits without the nine traverse bones or the required immortal herbs.

Time flowed on quietly.

In the blink of an eye, six years passed.

Fang Chen did not know if this place had an end. He only knew that over these six years, he had traveled an immense distance. The exotic beasts appearing before him now possessed a strength comparable to the peak of the fifth transformation realm.

Fang Chen had compared these beasts to the core disciples of the Enlightenment God Palace. However, their strength was not quite on par with an Enlightenment God Palace's core disciple of the same rank.

Suddenly, over twenty exotic beasts let out a collective roar, bursting from the gray mist to launch a surprise attack on Fang Chen.

A brilliant flash of lightning arced and vanished in an instant. The beasts were immediately reduced to ash and blown away, leaving behind not a single trace.

"This is nowhere near my limit. Following the path of a normal divine ability user, there would already be a high probability of ascending to the sixth transformation realm by now, after which one would encounter beasts comparable to that realm and continue the previous cycle of cultivation. But I don't have the immortal herb, so I cannot ascend to the sixth transformation here. Still, if I stay long enough, will sixth-transformation beasts eventually appear to attack me?"

Fang Chen was highly curious about that point. After all, during the era of the Nine Realms, this Inner Domain still existed. If the Saint Tower was still there, he could use it to cultivate after he returned. Once he had the immortal herbs ready, he might be able to take a massive shortcut. The more he understood the Saint Tower now, the greater the help it would provide after he returned.

Another year went by. This was Fang Chen's seventh year inside the Saint Tower.

The exotic beasts he encountered this year did not increase in number, but their overall strength had clearly risen. They truly belonged to the peak of the fifth transformation realm. However, compared to an Enlightenment God Palace's core disciple who similarly possessed the strength to slay enemies above their rank, they were still a fraction weaker.