The First Watch

  "Alright, Xingdi, let's not talk about anything else. Tell me about the Huangji Fengtian Tower. That giant statue just now was so precious, and it's made of Chi Hong Crystal Stone. Even if only a small piece of Chi Hong Crystal Stone, as big as a fingernail, is infused into a magic treasure, it can greatly increase the treasure's quality. Not to mention such a large amount of Chi Hong Crystal Stone."

  Qin Lingyun continued: "Since it's so precious, why didn't the person who came in earlier put the entire statue into a storage bag?"

  Xing Di floated in mid-air, his starry eyes fixed intently on the front as he listened to Qin Lingyun's inquiry. He replied slowly, "That statue is the reward given by the Huang Ji Feng Tian Tower. Once you enter the tower, each level poses a great danger, and the higher you go, the greater the danger becomes. Therefore, every time you reach the transmission array that leads to the next level, the Huang Ji Feng Tian Tower will give you a certain reward."

  Qin Lingyun said: "That is to say, at the moment I arrived at the transmission array, the statue was placed here by Huangji Fengtian Tower? Then if it wasn't just me alone, but many cultivators entering together, wouldn't Huangji Fengtian Tower have to release many rewards simultaneously? In that case, wouldn't the cultivators fight a life-and-death battle among themselves to protect their own rewards and snatch others'?" Qin Lingyun instantly thought of the cruel aspect of this.

  The Star Emperor's eyes gleamed with a hint of approval, "I've discovered that your thinking ability is extremely strong. Although your innate talent isn't great, having such thinking ability can make up for the deficiency in talent."

  "What you said is right, the Huangji Sealing Heaven Tower is indeed cruel. Ten thousand years ago, I personally entered the Huangji Sealing Heaven Tower..." A hint of reminiscence flashed in Xingdi's eyes...

  "At that time, the Great Moon Star Xianjie was even more prosperous than it is now. All kinds of geniuses emerged one after another. In order to compete for the treasures inside the Huangji Fengtian Tower, more than 5,000 top alchemy cultivators and Jiaoshi entered the tower. As a result, only over 200 cultivators came out alive, and only three people entered the fifth floor, including me."

  Qin Lingyun was shocked, more than 5,000 cultivators entered the Huangji Fentian Tower, but only over 200 cultivators survived. Such a high elimination rate and mortality rate were too high. If so, why did these cultivators still rush to enter the Huangji Fentian Tower? Didn't they really fear death?

  To speak of it, cultivators should be the most afraid of death, more so than ordinary people. If they weren't afraid of death, why would they go to great lengths to embark on the long and arduous path of longevity?

  To cultivate into a true immortal, the goal seems grand and complex, but its true essence is simple: to live on, the longer the better, ideally to be as long-lived as heaven and earth, and shine with the same radiance as the sun and moon.

  But why are these monks so desperate?

  When Qin Lingyun asked such a question, Xingdi sighed and said: "We cultivators are all a group of people who go against the sky. The Heavenly Way is originally to let us have birth, aging, illness, and death. This is the natural law. However, cultivators want to break through the obstacles of the Heavenly Way through their own efforts. In this process, they will naturally experience danger. Whether it's past or present, cultivators who want to constantly break through themselves must obtain better resources."

  "The Huangji Tower is perilous, but cultivating outside isn't easy either. Whether it's fighting fierce beasts or venturing into the wilderness, there are enormous dangers. As long as there's sufficient gain to drive them, cultivators can be quite crazy."

  "You never mentioned the Huangji Fengtian Tower before. I suppose you were afraid that I would encounter danger inside?" Qin Lingyun said with a smile.

  Xingdi said: "This is just one aspect, and after I tell you, it's also very likely that you won't be able to come in. Ten thousand years later and ten thousand years ago are the same, without a background or identity, loose cultivators have very little chance of entering."

  "But you didn't think that I would still end up coming in after all. This is the arrangement of fate, and it's indeed unavoidable."

  Xingdi smiled wryly and nodded: "This is one thing I didn't expect."

  Qin Lingyun walked all the way without stopping, and the icy cold breath did not hinder her movements but instead had a very strong enhancing effect on her ice spirit power.

  The icy ground under her feet was very slippery, and if she wasn't careful, she would slip and fall. Along the way, Qin Lingyun didn't feel any sense of danger, but this long corridor of ice seemed endless. She had already walked for more than an hour, yet still couldn't see the end point.

  "This is the second floor of the Huangji Pagoda, it's definitely not something that can be passed through easily."

  Qin Lingyun thought to herself, at this moment the small golden beast sitting on her shoulder suddenly transformed into a golden light and flew forward. It landed on the ground not far away, drew a few strokes with its paws, then pointed towards the ice wall on the left side.

  Qin Lingyun immediately understood its meaning: "You mean the road ahead is a trap and has no end, the left wall is the real road, right? Don't jump over."

  The golden beast nodded, and Qin Lingyun immediately stopped advancing and walked in the direction pointed by the golden beast.

  The frozen wall looked solid and impenetrable, with no way out, but Qin Lingyun trusted the Golden Beast's judgment, which had a true eye, and such a scene could definitely be seen clearly.

  However, Qin Lingyun still wanted to give it a try. She flipped her palm and an ordinary low-grade spirit stone appeared in her hand. Then she spun her fingers and the low-grade spirit stone flew forward.

  More than ten feet ahead, the inferior spirit stone flew out directly and landed on the ground. Along with a loud crashing sound, huge ice thorns suddenly emerged from underground.

  Ice pierces and collides on the lower-grade spirit stone, immediately a powerful force acts on it, the lower-grade spirit stone is pierced and explodes, spiritual energy scatters everywhere.

  "What a formidable attack power, if I'm not careful and walk past it, even with my Guardian Technique and White Jade Shield, I may still suffer heavy damage. Each ordinary icicle has the attack power of a mid-grade spiritual artifact, this second floor of the Imperial Extreme Heaven Tower is indeed a grand layout. It's not easy to get through."

  Qin Lingyun secretly cursed to herself: "If the group of cultivators behind us rush in, I'm afraid there will be many casualties... The group of cultivators ahead is also unknown as to where they've gone, my speed is already quite fast, yet I still haven't caught up to them."

  At this time, outside the Huangji Fentian Tower, in addition to several Yuanying-stage cultivators, there were many other cultivators who had not been able to enter the tower. Among these cultivators, there were low-level Qi Refining cultivators, as well as Foundation Building and Core Formation cultivators. They all focused their attention on the empty space outside the Huangji Fentian Tower.

  Outside the Heavenly Closure Tower, in mid-air, there are two to three thousand names floating like projections. All the names are arranged in a downward sequence according to their upward climbing progress. The black font is dancing in the air with great tension. Moreover, behind each name, there is also the number of floors that have been broken through.

  At the very top is Mo Binglan, who has actually reached the third level. Second is Qian Yi, that black dragon, who has also reached the third level. Third is Wei Tianwei, who has similarly reached the third level.

  And below are all the masters on the second and first levels, occasionally some of the names of the masters flash for a moment before disappearing, representing that the master has died.

  Every time a monk's name disappears, among the many monks, there will be some people who are disheartened. These monks who come to the Huangji Fentian Tower can be said to be the elites of different families and different sects, and have been under the spotlight since childhood. However, in the Huangji Fentian Tower, their identity cannot bring them any effect.

  Insufficient ability will be eliminated, and bad luck will also be eliminated. Cultivators originally value both luck and ability. Those with high cultivation but poor luck will inexplicably fall.

  Miao Yi'er gazed at the topmost name, Mo Binglan's, and a hint of a smile played on her lips as she said in a soft, sweet voice, "Our Tianxuan Realm will ultimately be the strongest."

  Miao Yi'er originally thought she would hear Dugu Xue's voice from not far away, sitting on the Chiyan Qilin beast, but she didn't hear the expected words. Turning her head around, she saw Dugu Xue's eyes as deep as the starry sky looking at a certain place above, and a hint of smile overflowed from the corner of his lips.

  Miao Yi'er followed Du Gu's gaze upwards.

  Qin Lingyun?

  "Isn't that the loose cultivator woman from not long ago? Why would Dugu Zhe pay attention to a lowly and humble woman like her?"

  Miao Yi'er recalled what Dugu Jue had said, that he and that woman had known each other for a long time.

  "When did they get to know each other? If their relationship was ordinary, Dugu would not have paid so much attention to that woman!" Miao Yier's mind was filled with doubts, and she felt a growing sense of rejection and inexplicable hatred towards Qin Lingyun.

  Miao Yi'er's mouth curled up in a cold smile: "A loose cultivator at the Refining Qi stage, a woman as lowly as an ant, also wants to deliberately show off her purity to attract Dugu Big Brother's attention?"

  Miao Yi's jade-like hand clenched tightly, a thread of murderous intent surging up in her mind: "If that woman hadn't died inside the Huang Ji Feng Tian Tower, I must eliminate her. Even if it's just an ant, I won't let any potential danger grow and develop. I will strangle everything at its budding stage. Ultimately, the one who will become Dugu Big Brother's dual cultivation partner will definitely be me."

  Miao Yi'er didn't know that Qin Lingyun had never thought of dual cultivation with anyone else, she just wanted to work hard on her cultivation and see what the end point of this universe was.

  Qin Lingyun stepped towards the left side of the ice and snow wall, her fingers pinched a certain point on the golden small beast's finger, and a small whirlpool appeared on the surface of the ice and snow wall, rapidly rotating like a tornado. The whirlpool grew larger and larger, gradually expanding to over a person's height, stabilizing into a dark doorway.

  Qin Lingyun stepped forward, entering the dimly lit doorway. A dizzying whirlwind later, she found herself standing in a breathtaking landscape of pristine white snow - an enclosed ice and snow valley.

  It is by

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