"Of course not. When have I ever lied to you?" Little One said, very displeased.
Hong Yu felt his heart pound violently.
He narrowed his eyes and looked toward the second floor.
A four-colored curtain of light shrouded the passage to the second floor. Hong Yu had heard that the Scripture Pavilion was protected by the Four Symbols Spirit Capturing Array. Each floor had a barrier, and without special permission from the family's upper echelons, it was impossible to advance to the next level.
Anyone who tried to force their way through, even a Celestial Soul Realm powerhouse, would be annihilated.
This was precisely why Hong Yu had been so dejected when he learned that Hong Tiande had set him up, leaving him stuck on the First Layer.
And yet, after entering the Scripture Pavilion, Little One had told him there was a way to bypass the barrier of the Four Symbols Spirit Capturing Array.
This ant that Hong Yu could move freely within the Scripture Pavilion!
Amidst his excitent, Hong Yu felt sothing was off. He asked suspiciously, "Little One, are you sure you're not setting up?"
'Based on my understanding of Little One, that little beast is a purely rcenary, scummy rchant who won't lift a finger without a reward. He'd rather play dead than do sothing for free. For him to be so proactive in helping today... it's impossible not to suspect his motives!'
Little One fell silent for a mont before letting out a compassionate sigh. "Sigh... Hong Yu, do you have any idea how much your words just wounded my heart? I have always upheld the principles of fairness and justice, making it my mission to help the needy and fight for the weak. How could you suspect of having ulterior motives?"
"Really? None at all?"
Hong Yu narrowed his eyes.
"Absolutely not!" Little One insisted. "Hong Yu, you have to trust my integrity!"
Hong Yu rubbed his nose. "Do you even have integrity?"
"..."
Little One exploded in fury, his gangster-like nature on full display. "The hell?! You ungrateful little brat! I've journeyed across the world and explored the Six Harmonies Cosmos in the na of honor and camaraderie! People call the absolutely dependable Tower God, yet you constantly suspect with your filthy thoughts! I'm so pissed!"
"Alright, alright, I'll take your word for it," Hong Yu conceded, exasperated.
Little One said indignantly, "You still don't believe ?"
"I believe you!"
Hong Yu had learned his lesson.
'Never, ever argue with Little One. My ears are the only ones that will suffer.'
Only then did Little One give a satisfied humph. Hong Yu imagined he was taking a long drag from that pipe taller than his own body as he spoke slowly, "If this were a Four Symbols Spirit Capturing Array set up by a Great Power from the Ancient Era, I couldn't crack it in my current state. However, your Hong Family's Grand Array is nothing but a crude imitation. Breaking through it will be no problem."
"Are you about to state your conditions?" Hong Yu asked warily.
Little One sounded deeply hurt. "Kiddo, you've wounded my fragile soul yet again..." After another round of pathetic whining, he continued leisurely, "Actually, I wanted to ask you: do you just want to go up a few floors and find so Secret Manuals? Or do you want to seize this opportunity to break through and open the First Layer of the Profound Celestial Tower?"
"Didn't you say I had to break through to the Earth Soul Realm before I could open the First Layer?" Hong Yu asked, confused.
Little One explained, "Normally, yes. But you got incredibly lucky and obtained the Nine Refinents of the Primordial Spirit. As long as you can break through to the Five Vortex Realm, I can use a few tricks to help you open the First Layer early. Besides, that little fellow's soul inside the tower only has a few days left. If we wait for you to reach the Nine Vortex Realm and enter the Earth Soul Realm, he'll have long since dissipated into nothing!"
Hong Yu was stunned.
He'd almost forgotten about the young man in the Profound Celestial Tower waiting to be saved!
Recalling what Little One had said that day about "surviving in another form," Hong Yu couldn't help but ask, "Little One, back then you said you could revive that boy in another form. What thod was that exactly?"
"I suppose I can tell you now. The revival thod I ntioned is called the Corpse Refining Technique. It involves refining him into an Execution Corpse," Little One said calmly. "Hong Yu, you must not underestimate the Corpse Refining Technique. If you can refine an Execution Corpse and evolve it into a Nine-Tribulation Xing Corpse, you'll possess a powerful ally on par with the Venerable Realm!"
"The Venerable Realm?"
Hong Yu was shocked.
He of course knew what the Venerable Realm represented!
They were supre beings from legends, capable of destroying heaven and earth!
It was said that a single drop of blood from a Venerable Realm powerhouse could transform into a vast Sea of Blood, and a single breath could annihilate a tropolis of millions. They could even fly into the Outer Domain Starry Sky, pluck the stars from the heavens to refine into toys, and tear continents apart into scattered islands with their bare hands.
"Little One, are you telling the truth?" Hong Yu asked, full of doubt and shock.
Little One replied with rare seriousness, "Of course it's true. But don't celebrate too soon. Refining an Execution Corpse is easy, but raising it to a Tier Nine Xing Corpse is more difficult than you reaching the Venerable Realm yourself. As far as I know, since the Corpse Refining Technique was created, only one person has ever successfully elevated their Execution Corpse to the ninth tier."
"Whether or not I can raise it to a Nine-Tribulation Xing Corpse can be worried about later. That boy died because of . Being able to bring him back would at least alleviate so of my regret and guilt," Hong Yu said.
"Mm."
Little One nodded.
Hong Yu returned to the main topic. "You said before that besides letting move freely in the Scripture Pavilion, I could also use the opportunity to break through. What did you an?"
Little One said, "The Four Symbols Spirit Capturing Array is an Array that gathers Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi and turns it into suppressive force. This Grand Array of your Hong Family has accumulated hundreds of years' worth of Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi; its reserves are imnse. If you use the Profound Celestial Tower and apply the Sea Absorption Technique to absorb the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi from the Array, you can easily reach the Five Vortices or even a higher realm."
After a pause, Little One added a warning, "However, given the terrifying demand your Nine Refinents of the Primordial Spirit has for Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi, breaking through to the Five Vortex Realm will likely drain three hundred years' worth of this Grand Array's reserves. Although the tricks I use won't be detected, people will inevitably grow suspicious of you. It's your decision."
Hong Yu imdiately beca hesitant.
He felt no particular loyalty to the Hong Family; his mories there were filled more with ridicule and hardship than anything else. His only concern was implicating the Third Elder. Even if the Third Elder had taken care of him only because he saw his potential, Hong Yu believed in repaying a drop of kindness with a gushing spring. He was not one to repay kindness with ill will.
'That's right, Hong Tiande is in charge of the Scripture Pavilion. If sothing goes wrong, he'll be the one to get punished!' Hong Yu suddenly recalled the crucial detail. 'That old dog has targeted and frad ti and again. This ti, if not for Little One and the Profound Celestial Tower, his sche would have left trapped on the First Layer. Dammit, I'm doing it!'
Having made up his mind, Hong Yu walked toward the second floor with Little One's help.
The Four Symbols Spirit Capturing Array sensed Hong Yu's approach and emitted a flash of light. The Profound Celestial Tower floated out of Hong Yu's body and hovered above his head, enveloping him in a faint dark light. Under the cover of this dark light, the Four Symbols Spirit Capturing Array seed unable to sense Hong Yu's presence and returned to its calm state.
Hong Yu slowly stepped onto the second floor.
The Secret Manuals on this second floor were mostly Middle Level and High Level.
Hong Yu made a circuit of the floor but found no particularly profound Secret Manuals, so he chose none and headed directly for the Third Layer.
The number of Secret Manuals on the Third Layer was much lower. Hong Yu found the Ten High-level Techniques and four Top Secret Manuals. He ignored the High-level Techniques and located the four top-level ones. With the Profound Celestial Tower's help, he easily bypassed the Scripture Pavilion's defensive Array, leaving the four manuals completely exposed.
"Shadow Martial!"
Using the Shadow Martial Space, Hong Yu committed the four Top-level Techniques to heart.
These four Top-level Techniques were "Frenzied Lion Palm," "Divine Wind Leg," the complete "Rising Dragon Fist," and "Demon Essence Body Refining Technique."
Hong Yu's gaze swept toward the fourth floor. 'The Third Layer has Top Secret Manuals. I wonder what's on the fourth floor?'
Hong Yu stepped onto the fourth floor.
The entire fourth floor was very simple, empty all around, with only a Brocade Wooden Box placed on a stone platform in the center.
'What's in here?'
Hong Yu walked toward the stone platform.
VMM!
Four beams of light suddenly shot out from around the stone platform. The four phantom beasts—Cyan Dragon, White Tiger, Vermilion Bird, and Black Tortoise—appeared around the platform, their eight cold eyes staring intently at Hong Yu.
'The Array Spirit of the Four Symbols Spirit Capturing Array? What in the world is inside this wooden box to warrant being guarded by an Array Spirit?'
Shocked and uncertain, Hong Yu activated the Profound Celestial Tower again.
The dark light flared. Hong Yu, who had been unable to take a single step, easily broke through the Array Spirit's guard and arrived before the stone platform.
As he opened the box, a brilliant light surged forth.
VMM!
A bright, dazzling tallic luster flashed past, and Hong Yu finally saw the treasure inside the box clearly. It was a disassembled Long Spear?
'What a peculiar fluctuation... This Long Spear seems even more powerful than the Blood Slaughter Great Saber,' Hong Yu thought in amazent.
Little One clicked his tongue in praise. "Kiddo, your luck is so heaven-defying it's making even envious. To think a Divine Weapon like this exists in such a backwater place!"
"You recognize this Long Spear?"
Little One said proudly, "I have road the heavens and the earth; my experience is boundless. How could I not recognize a simple Mortal-Grade Primordial Weapon?"
"Primordial Weapon?"
Little One explained, "Just as Cultivation Techniques have divisions like Mortal Level and Spirit Level, weapons are graded similarly. For instance, that Blood Slaughter Great Saber you saw is at the very peak of ordinary weapons, just one step away from becoming a Mortal-Grade Primordial Weapon. This Long Spear before you, however, is a genuine Mortal-Grade Primordial Weapon. And while it's only a Mortal-level Middle Grade Primordial Weapon, in a minor place like the Fengyue Kingdom, it's an exceptionally rare Treasure. This must be your Hong Family's heirloom!"
"Hahaha! That old dog Hong Tiande could never have dread that all his ticulous scheming to screw over would end with getting my hands on the family's Supre Treasure!"
Hong Yu laughed heartily, exceptionally pleased with himself.
'I can't wait to see the look on Hong Tiande's face when he finds out this Mortal-Grade Primordial Weapon has vanished without a trace.'
VMM!
Hong Yu lifted the Primordial Weapon from the box and gave it a few twirls. It felt perfect in his grip. 'What a powerful weapon! With this and my Destruction Strike, I bet I could even injure a Mid-stage Earth Soul Realm Powerhouse!'
With a flip of his hand, Hong Yu stored the Long Spear in the Profound Celestial Tower!
As a supre and miraculous artifact, the Profound Celestial Tower naturally wouldn't lack a storage function.
"Kiddo, leave a 'Spiritual Eye' here. When you get back, you can go into seclusion, and I'll help you draw the Spiritual Qi from the Four Symbols Spirit Capturing Array!" Little One's excited voice echoed in his mind.
Hong Yu nodded, equally excited.
The mont Hong Yu left the Scripture Pavilion, all traces of excitent and elation vanished from his face, replaced by a long, disappointed expression.
Seeing this, Hong Tiande showed a smile of a successful conspirator and offered false comfort, "Hong Yu, don't be disappointed. You couldn't choose a higher-level Secret Manual this ti, but there will be other opportunities in the future! Hahaha..."
'Old dog, your ti to cry is coming.'
Hong Yu laughed inwardly, but on the surface, he put on a dark face, gave a cold snort, and left the Scripture Pavilion.
Watching Hong Yu's retreating figure, a cold light glinted in Hong Tiande's eyes. 'Little bastard, you dare oppose ? The day will co when you despair. Hmph. I'll let you be smug for a couple more days. As soon as you leave Shishui City... Hehehe...' His sinister cackle was thick with killing intent.
Pathetic Hong Tiande had no idea that his ticulous plotting had inadvertently played right into Hong Yu's hands; even the family's Supre Treasure had been casually taken by him.
Having struck it rich on the quiet, Hong Yu sprinted all the way back to the Rain Listening Pavilion. He greeted Yun ngyao before entering the secret chamber underground.
Sealing the secret chamber's door, Hong Yu leaped onto the stone bed, sat cross-legged, and summoned the Profound Celestial Tower to float before him. His expression was faintly excited...
"Little One, let's begin!"
P.S. Hong Yu is about to open the First Layer of the Profound Celestial Tower. What surprise awaits him inside? Stay tuned!
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