Chapter 205: Entry

"Then let the spot go to Xue Qing!" Yang Yan said without hesitation after a brief pause.

Among the members of the Artificer Guild, Yang Yan was most familiar with Xue Qing. Over the years, this young woman had silently borne the immense pressure of the entire Feiyun Empire's Artificer Guild. Even for her, gaining the qualification to enter the Holy Spirit Tower was no easy feat. After all, while the tower possessed miraculous effects that could enhance one’s soul power, that power was generated only through the intricate formations within the tower, accumulating gradually in the mortal world.

"Alright, since the spot to enter the Holy Spirit Tower has been decided, let’s go!" Upon seeing Yang Yan grant the spot to Xue Qing, Frank smiled, unsurprised by the decision. Without another word, he led the group out of the hall, with the others quickly following behind.

Exiting the Artificer Guild hall, the group, led by Frank, headed towards the outskirts of Daling City.

The others seemed quite familiar with the destination, clearly not first-timers to this so-called Holy Spirit Tower. Yet Yang Yan found himself puzzled.

“The Holy Spirit Tower is a landmark of Daling City; why is it located so far out on the city’s edge?” he wondered silently.

Noticing his confusion, Xue Qing explained, “Although the Holy Spirit Tower is renowned throughout the empire, it is underground, resting atop countless restless souls. If the city’s main area were established here, knowing that the ground beneath was filled with corpses would unsettle many.”

She continued, “Besides, the tower contains seals set by a previous senior. Without the proper token, even a peak Soul Realm expert cannot force their way in.”

Hearing this, Yang Yan was both shocked and nodded in understanding.

“How much farther?” he asked.

“At our pace, about half an hour more,” came the reply.

“Is this where the Holy Spirit Tower stands?” Yang Yan looked at the desolate, barren lands ahead, uncertain.

After Xue Qing’s nod, though he had prepared himself mentally, a hint of amusement crept into his heart at the sight. To think that the sacred place revered by countless artificers was such an unremarkable, lifeless stretch of land.

Stopping, Frank no longer wasted words. He pulled out a simple, round jade talisman from his bosom. With a subtle hand sign, the sea-like, majestic soul power at his brow surged forth, flooding entirely into the jade.

Feeling the overwhelming soul force emanating from Frank, Yang Yan was slightly shaken. Though Frank’s reputation as a fifth-rank artificer was well known, Yang Yan had never witnessed his true power. Now it was clear that Frank’s soul cultivation far exceeded his expectations.

Beneath such vast soul power, Yang Yan felt like a tiny boat tossed on a stormy sea, perilously close to being swallowed by the raging waves.

“Such magnificent soul power—just using this alone, he could stand toe-to-toe with a peak Soul Realm warrior!” Yang Yan marveled inwardly.

Though Frank’s soul cultivation was only at the peak Soul Realm, this soul power effectively doubled his strength. Against opponents with weaker soul power, he would certainly hold his own.

Just then, the grass-covered ground began to tremble violently. The ancient round jade, infused with Frank’s soul energy, radiated a faint greenish light that spread out, enveloping tens of meters of the metal-covered earth.

As the earth shook, a hidden formation beneath the grass appeared before Yang Yan’s eyes.

The formation, though not large—only several dozen square meters—was densely inscribed with countless obscure and mysterious runes, exuding an arcane aura. These runes seemed to resonate with something corresponding.

As Yang Yan watched in astonishment, the jade’s faint green glow gradually coalesced into an eerie pattern. To Yang Yan’s shock, it slowly formed a rune matching the formation below, imprinting itself onto the ground.

Frank’s face began to glisten with fine sweat; clearly, activating the Holy Spirit Tower was no small effort for him.

Boom!

When the jade’s light combined with the ground’s formation, a muffled rumble came from underground. Amid booming sounds, cracks spread across the earth, widening steadily until a hole roughly half a meter wide appeared.

“It’s open. You may enter, but remember: your strength can only safely reach the third floor. If you push beyond, the pure soul power inside will overwhelm you, and one wrong step may leave you a mindless husk,” Frank warned, relief evident on his face as he wiped his brow.

Everyone nodded, but Yang Yan was deeply surprised. Was the soul power below really so pure and potent?

Xue Qing and the others stepped forward, descending into the opening. Yang Yan followed without hesitation.

Five people had qualified to enter the tower: Yang Yan, Xue Qing, Ying Lingsi, and two young artificers from the empire who had forged the Glimmering Starfall Blade during the previous artificer competition.

Along the way, the group was somber and serious, likely due to the solemnity of the occasion. Upon entering the Holy Spirit Tower, Ying Lingsi and the other artificer from the Tianlong Empire immediately ascended to the second floor, ignoring the others. Xue Qing paid no mind, descending slowly with Yang Yan.

Inside, the tower’s layout was not grand as imagined. A winding path led downward, lit by moonstone embedded on the walls, with a faint, thread-like soul power drifting through the air.

Yang Yan inhaled deeply, feeling a refreshing clarity rush to his mind, as if icy water had been poured over his head—an indescribable sensation of comfort and exhilaration.

“This Holy Spirit Tower truly is mysterious,” Yang Yan thought quietly.

This was only the outermost passage, yet it already held soul power imperceptible outside, pure enough to be absorbed almost effortlessly by the body. In just a few minutes, Yang Yan noticed a slight increase in his long-stagnant soul power.

Sensing the tower’s benefits, Yang Yan quickened his pace, with Xue Qing following, smiling.

After descending several dozen meters, a spacious hall appeared.

Though large, it was bare except for several dusty meditation cushions, suggesting no visitors for a long time. The cushions seemed more recent, likely brought by previous entrants.

Within the hall, Yang Yan sensed a far stronger soul power than before—it was the first floor of the tower.

Xue Qing and the young artificer showed no pause, heading straight for the next floor.

Yang Yan was momentarily stunned, then followed.

The tower only opened rarely, so time was precious; the first floor’s soul power, though intense, was still bearable.

The floors weren’t dark tunnels but stair-like steps. Each step down brought a slight pressure on Yang Yan’s soul, while the ambient soul power grew denser.

With fortune always intertwined with hardship, the pure soul power came with pressure on the soul.

Soon, they arrived at the second-floor hall.

Its layout matched the first floor, empty save for the stronger soul power, which sometimes took on a faint, misty, tangible form.

“Senior sister Xue Qing, senior brother Yang Yan, the second floor is my limit. You two go ahead; don’t wait for me,” the young artificer said, turning to Yang Yan and Xue Qing.

Yang Yan was momentarily taken aback by the “senior brother” address—he still hadn’t gotten used to it.

Xue Qing nodded, signaling Yang Yan to continue downward.

“The soul power here is so dense!” Yang Yan exclaimed upon reaching the third floor.

The soul power had grown into a cloudlike, tangible mist, far more intense than the second floor. His mind felt compressed, as if his soul and consciousness were being squeezed.

Through the mist, he saw Ying Lingsi and the Tianlong artificer seated in a corner, absorbing soul power—likely making the most of their time since they hadn’t secured the tower’s usage rights.

“Let’s begin too!” Xue Qing smiled at Yang Yan.

Nodding, Yang Yan eagerly took the opportunity to perform the Lingxi Visualization Technique recorded on a scroll, accelerating his absorption of soul power.

As he breathed, pure soul power streamed into his body through his nose, mouth, and pores, circulating intricately before converging at his brow.

With the first soul power refined, Yang Yan felt his soul strengthen, and the pressure in his mind eased.

“This Holy Spirit Tower is truly the sacred place for all artificers in the empire. Such miraculous effects—hard to find anywhere else!” he thought.

Absorbing greedily, his soul slowly grew stronger.

Time passed unnoticed. After nearly an hour on the third floor, Yang Yan opened his eyes. Xue Qing remained in meditation, so he silently rose and moved toward the fourth floor entrance.

“Where did those two go? Could they not bear the pressure and returned to the second floor? Or did they enter the fourth?” Yang Yan wondered, noticing Ying Lingsi and the other artificer had vanished.

“Doesn’t matter. Frank and the others guard outside; those two won’t cause trouble,” he decided, heading toward the fourth-floor hall.

There were twenty-one steps between each floor. At the eighteenth step down, Yang Yan felt an invisible pressure—not physical, but spiritual. It was as if trapped in an unseen prison; even slight movement was uncomfortable, and his mind felt ready to explode under the soul power’s compression.

But Yang Yan was not one to be deterred. With a thought, he unleashed the soul power at his brow, forming an invisible shield around him that eased the pressure.

With this protection, he continued down smoothly.

The fourth floor’s soul power was staggering—thick, milky-white mist that tempted Yang Yan to absorb it all.

Scanning around, he still saw no sign of Ying Lingsi or the other.

“They probably went back to the second floor,” he guessed.

He didn’t believe they had the strength to reach the fifth floor. Not out of arrogance, but even he struggled here; the soul power compressed his spirit, and his internal energy flow was sluggish.

If the fourth floor was this intense, the rumored fifth floor was unimaginable.

From the artificer competition, Ying Lingsi and the other were weaker than Yang Yan and unlikely to reach the fifth floor.

“Forget them,” he thought, shaking his head, dispelling distractions to meditate deeply.

Milky soul mist seeped into his body through every pore and was absorbed, transforming into the purest soul power at his brow.

Compared to spiritual cultivation, soul power cultivation had fewer stages—just four: Spirit, Earth, Heaven, and Emperor, each divided into minor, major, and complete phases.

Yang Yan estimated his soul power was at the minor completion of the Spirit realm.

Though the first stage was harder to reach than the spiritual realm’s initial stage, only upon reaching Spirit realm could one claim true mastery of soul cultivation.

Even Frank’s soul power was likely at the major completion of the Spirit realm. Such strength allowed him to contend with peak Soul Realm warriors. If one reached the legendary Emperor realm, they could reshape seas and lands with a mere thought—possessing godlike power.

For now, that stage was distant for Yang Yan, who was just beginning his soul power journey.

Focusing his mind, Yang Yan plunged back into cultivation. Due to the artificer competition, the white energy seal in his spiritual core had been reinforced with his primordial spiritual power to prevent internal energy rebellion. Without techniques to divide attention, cultivating both soul power and spiritual power simultaneously was crazy.

Within the Holy Spirit Tower, Yang Yan sat like a meditating monk. Two days passed. The tower opened for five days each time, after which occupants were automatically expelled. Exiting early was also possible.

On the third day, Yang Yan remained alone on the fourth floor, seated like stone.

Suddenly, the Yang Pearl in his lower abdomen trembled sharply, subtly drawing him deeper into the tower.

“What’s going on?” Yang Yan was shocked. Since receiving the Yang Pearl, especially after Yang Lao fell into slumber due to spiritual depletion, it had never reacted like this—until now.

“Could there be some scorching, extreme-yang object here?” he speculated.

Before his sleep, Yang Lao said only by finding such supreme hot and yang treasures could he be awakened. Perhaps something below had caught Yang Lao’s attention.

With this thought, Yang Yan hesitated briefly, then stepped toward the fifth floor entrance.

Yang Lao was like a teacher and friend to him. Without him, Yang Yan might still have become a renowned powerhouse of Feiyun Empire, but his path was uncertain. With Yang Lao’s guidance, however, the outcome would be vastly different. For instance, without Yang Lao, Yang Yan would never have discovered the secret of his Taiyin Flame.

Thus, he constantly sought to help Yang Lao regain consciousness. Now, with the Yang Pearl’s stirring, Yang Yan grasped this opportunity. Such rare treasures were extraordinarily difficult to find; he had spent much time in the hall searching without any leads. Now that the pearl reacted, he could not afford to miss this chance.

Unaware, the vast soul power around him rapidly flowed into his spiritual core.

(End of chapter)

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