Chapter 112: Chapter 47 Demon Locking Tower Group Tour Package
Three days later.
At the peak of Leidongping, one hundred disciples from the Shushan Immortal Sword Ranking had already gathered at the entrance of the Demon Locking Tower.
Ling Yunpo stood within the group, occasionally glancing at Senior Sister An beside him.
Senior Sister is also taking the Sentiment Inquiry Path, yay!
Then I might be able to… huh?
Before long, another group of Golden Core True Persons arrived by Sword Control, led by a Nascent Soul Elder, their Sword Light drifting down like rain.
The trial in the Demon Locking Tower, though involving both Foundation Establishment Realm and Golden Core Realm, actually follows different paths once inside.
The goal for the Foundation Establishment disciples is to start from the inverted tip of the tower and ultimately reach the “Four Symbols Formation Eye” on the thirtieth floor.
The Golden Core True Persons, on the other hand, enter from the “Four Symbols Formation Eye” on the thirtieth floor and make their way down to the “Two Yi Formation Eye” on the fiftieth floor.
Thus, there would be no intersections between the two groups.
As he watched the Golden Core swordsmen descend into the valley, Jinghua True Person withdrew his gaze and looked again at the Foundation Establishment disciples before him.
This Jinghua True Person was a Direct Disciple of the Jade Capital Sect Leader of the Shushan Shangqing Faction and also the leader of the Foundation Establishment disciples for this trial.
His gaze swept over everyone as he said in a deep voice:
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“The trial in the Demon Locking Tower is different from the Shushan competition.”
“The demons imprisoned within do not care about stopping at a touch, nor is there constant protection and accompaniment by Nascent Soul Elders.”
“In the competition, having your Life-bound Sword Artifact severed just results in being sent out of the arena by restrictions; but in the Demon Locking Tower, the consequence of a broken sword often equates to death.”
“In the history of the Demon Locking Tower trials, the one with the highest death toll saw seventy-two perish, with a survival rate of less than thirty percent.”
“If you do not wish to participate in the trial, it’s still not too late to withdraw.”
Jinghua True Person kept a stern face and waited half a day, but no one stepped forward to quit.
After all, Shushan is such an intensely competitive sect. Using the words of Chief Linghu Chu from the Heavenly Craft Workshop, Shushan recruits ten times more disciples than Kunlun in every generation; and after several hundred years, fewer than one-tenth of them survive, yet those who do can defeat ten Kunlun Cultivators of the same rank…
Such exaggerated combat capability is built on a very high casualty rate. Those who can fight their way out in such an environment are the kings of competition; how could they possibly be scared away by the mere Demon Locking Tower?
To the kings of competition, whether it’s a ninety, seventy, fifty, or thirty percent pass rate, they’re not scared at all, okay?
Seeing that no one was reacting, Jinghua True Person turned his head away, stood silently with his hands behind his back, as if waiting for something.
It didn’t take long before a melodious flute sound suddenly came from afar, twisting and uplifting like the chant of dragons and phoenixes, instantly drawing the attention of the Shushan disciples present.
Chief Qiu Changtian of Kunlun, dressed in white robes and holding a jade flute, arrived on his sword.
None had ever seen a man whose entrance came with its own BGM before, so they were all stunned by this impressive display and fell utterly silent.
Qiu Changtian landed with Sword Light, stepped onto the ground, and the last note of the flute was played perfectly on cue. He stowed the jade flute on his waist and gave a salute to Jinghua True Person:
“True Person.”
“My esteemed nephew Qiu seems to be in good spirits,” said Jinghua True Person with a faint smile, a stark contrast to the cold face he had shown to the Shushan disciples.
“It was merely inspiration that struck upon first witnessing the strange wonders of Heavenly Mansion, its splendor and peerless beauty,” Qiu Changtian said modestly. He then turned to the Shushan disciples and bowed, “Chief Qiu Changtian of Kunlun, pleased to meet all the Shushan daoists here.”
“We’ve heard much about you,” the Shushan disciples hastily returned the gesture.
It wasn’t just because of Jinghua True Person’s affable attitude towards him, but also Qiu Changtian’s own aura and poise that impressed them, prompting these usually haughty Immortal Sword Ranking disciples to suddenly become courteous.
Even Duan Fenhai, who had been distracted the whole time, made a symbolic gesture of clasping his fists.
“This Qiu Changtian is the Chief Disciple of this generation from the Kunlun Taiqing Sect, a Direct Disciple of the Ziwei Master,” Jinghua True Person said again. “He will participate in the Demon Locking Tower trial with us. Make sure you don’t lose your manners, lest Kunlun looks down on our Shushan.”
“Absolutely not,” the Shushan disciples promptly responded in unison.
Of course, what they truly thought was another matter.
However, the title of Kunlun’s Chief Disciple was certainly intimidating.
Especially since many Shushan disciples weren’t aware of Kunlun’s distinction between ‘junior chief’ and ‘senior chief’. They subconsciously applied the rules of the Immortal Sword Ranking, assuming Qiu Changtian to be “the foremost beneath Golden Core” in Kunlun, and their gaze inevitably shifted to An Zhisu.
One wondered, who was more powerful, the Weed-Cutting Sword Immortal of Shushan, or Kunlun’s Chief Qiu?
An Zhisu, however, paid no mind to their stares. Having returned the salutations with everyone earlier, she turned her head back around to continue gazing at the imposing Demon Locking Tower piercing into the valley.
“Once inside the Demon Locking Tower, you must work in groups and follow my commands,” Jinghua True Person continued. “When to move forward, when to stay put, and when to scatter and act on your own will all be directed through specific instructions.”
“Those who disobey will be left behind by the group, killed in a sneak attack by demons, or if I’m in a bad mood, I might just slay you myself with a single sword strike, and don’t expect anyone to come save you.”
The Shushan disciples remained silent.
“Let’s go!” Jinghua True Person said coldly, sweeping his long sleeves.
So, the Shushan disciples roughly lined up in four columns and followed Jinghua True Person one by one into the entrance of the Demon Locking Tower.
The top five ranks of the Immortal Sword Ranking were at the front of the team, closely following behind Jinghua True Person, while Qiu Changtian was pulled to his side for special protection.
Ling Yunpo walked beside An Zhisu, sneaking glances at Qiu Changtian, only to find that Qiu Changtian was also stealthily looking his way.
Then, the future him withdrew his gaze, continuing to look intently ahead.
The passageway into the Demon Locking Tower was a corridor wide enough for four people to walk abreast, with a depth beyond the reach of sight at first glance.
As Ling Yunpo moved forward in the corridor, he suddenly realized that this place was very similar to the crevice passageway that led to the secret realm of the Queen Mother of the West.
The sense of déjà vu was incredibly strong.
“Ah Jing,” Ling Yunpo asked quietly, “is there a secret realm ahead?”
“Yes,” Kunlun Mirror said after a moment of silence, “And just now, Qiu Changtian sent me a message through the future Kunlun Mirror.”
“A message?”
“Yes,” Kunlun Mirror replied. “He said he has come to avert a deadly calamity that you will soon face.”
Ling Yunpo: ?????????
What, is it time to cheat again?
“Anyway, he doesn’t plan to make direct contact with you this time, lest you have to remember what he said, what he did, and then demonstrate it all over again to your past self in the future,”
“Fair enough,” Ling Yunpo nodded. “It should have been like this all along.”
“Also, he has a message for you,” Kunlun Mirror added.
“Speak.”
“No matter what,” the voice of Kunlun Mirror hesitated slightly, “you must trust Senior Sister An.”
“What’s that supposed to mean!” Ling Yunpo blurted out angrily. “As if I would betray my senior sister!”
“Wake up, do you really consider yourself a Shushan disciple?” Kunlun Mirror said helplessly. “Didn’t you join Qingluo Peak and become a disciple of Su Jian to seize a piece of the Heaven-Mending Stone?”
“Cough, how can saving the world be considered a betrayal?” Ling Yunpo argued.