Ling Luo snorted at the suddenly disappearing reply from the Yuting. She put away the jade token and turned to look at the figure busy in the kitchen.
“How much longer?” she asked.
Yue Liang Ze, who was tending the fire inside, said: “Almost done.”
Ling Luo stepped inside. Today she rarely had free time, so she had sneaked down the mountain to the outer sect to mooch a meal.
A small stove nearby was cooking porridge, and Ling Luo held her fan Yingxi, gently fanning the flames.
She tilted her head to look at Yue Liang Ze, with indulgent joy spreading across her face: “Have you heard about the recent events?”
“Hmm?” Yue Liang Ze also tilted his head to look at her.
“About me.” Ling Luo pointed at herself, reversing her fan.
Yue Liang Ze: “I’ve heard.”
Ling Luo: “Impressive, right?”
Yue Liang Ze nodded and said: “Impressive.”
In just half a month, Ling Luo’s extraordinary talent spread her reputation as the number one sword cultivator throughout the entire Tianji Sect.
The title “Number One Sword Cultivator” pleased her greatly.
Upon receiving this title today, Ling Luo’s first thought was to find Yue Liang Ze and show off.
Look, look!
You can’t beat me now, and this title is mine!
Ling Luo rolled her eyes, attempting to get Yue Liang Ze to acknowledge her as the number one sword cultivator. She patiently asked: “What’s impressive about me?”
Yue Liang Ze found her question strange but still answered honestly: “Cultivation.”
Ling Luo asked again: “What kind of cultivation?”
Yue Liang Ze said: “Sword dao.”
That’s already two words!
Ling Luo fanned with Yingxi, her eyes narrowed in a smile as she looked at him: “How impressive is my sword dao?”
Although Yue Liang Ze didn’t know what she was trying to do, he continued to answer: “Very impressive.”
Ling Luo thought to herself, can’t you use a bit of imagination and praise me more? With so many people calling me the number one sword cultivator, why can’t you just connect those two words and say them directly?
She covered her face with her fan and took a deep breath.
Calm down, don’t panic, don’t be impatient, this time it will work!
Ling Luo guided him patiently: “Impressive to what degree?”
Yue Liang Ze remained silent for quite a while without answering.
With a swoosh, Ling Luo put away her Yingxi fan and glared at him: “Hey!”
Her true nature is exposed.
A flash of amusement passed through Yue Liang Ze’s eyes before he slowly opened his mouth and said: “Your cultivation is very impressive; you are the number one in sword dao.”
After hearing this, Ling Luo felt extremely satisfied inside, with irrepressible joy spreading across her face. She was just short of humming a tune and dancing to celebrate.
Her Yuting lit up. Ling Luo took a look; it was a message from Xu Shen, asking if she wanted to join them in going to the Heaven-Devouring Tower for training.
Speaking of the Heaven-Devouring Tower, Ling Luo couldn’t help but turn to look at Yue Liang Ze: “Do you have anything to do this afternoon?”
Yue Liang Ze shook his head.
“Then come with me later,” Ling Luo said, while also sending a message to Xu Shen, informing him that she would bring Yue Liang Ze along.
Xu Shen indicated that it wasn’t a problem.
Theoretically, any Tianji disciple could enter the Heaven-Devouring Tower.
However, since the Heaven-Devouring Tower was in the inner sect, outer sect disciples couldn’t easily enter without someone bringing them. This resulted in only inner sect disciples entering the tower for trials.
After a full meal, Ling Luo took Yue Liang Ze to the Heaven-Devouring Tower in the inner sect.
It was a black tower, so tall that it disappeared into the clouds, making it impossible to see the top.
The number of times one could enter the Heaven-Devouring Tower was limited to three times a year. It was well known that only in the last few days of the half-year would the Myriad Demons Chaos be triggered, so usually there weren’t many people. Most gathered in the last few days.
At this time, only Xu Shen and two others were in front of the tower.
Song Yuan Yuan looked at Yue Liang Ze at the bottom of the steps and waved, calling out: “Little Daddy!”
Yue Liang Ze: “…”
He turned to leave but was quickly grabbed by Ling Luo and pulled up. She glared at Song Yuan Yuan: “What are you shouting about!”
“I keep my promises!” Song Yuan Yuan said rather proudly. “But since we’re about the same age, I had to add ‘little’ in front.”
Chang Fei rolled her eyes beside them: “Aren’t you afraid your father will beat you?”
“My birth father has long ascended to immortality and passed away, what am I afraid of!” Song Yuan Yuan shook her head and went over to Yue Liang Ze, saying, “Now I only have my little daddy whose agile movements can climb the Saha Realm mountain walls barehanded with extraordinary martial skills!”
Yue Liang Ze’s face remained impassive: “I’m not.”
“Hey, Daddy, don’t panic. I heard your spiritual power is weak. I’ll take you to the Heaven-Devouring Tower for some training to increase your cultivation,” Song Yuan Yuan said generously, waving her hand and walking toward the tower entrance.
Chang Fei and Xu Shen followed.
Ling Luo took two steps into the tower entrance, realized Yue Liang Ze hadn’t followed and looked back.
Yue Liang Ze stood at the entrance, his brows slightly furrowed.
“What’s wrong?” Ling Luo asked.
Yue Liang Ze shook his head, stepped forward, but as soon as he reached the entrance, he was pushed back several steps by an invisible wave.
Ling Luo: “…”
Yue Liang Ze stabilized himself and said calmly: “I can’t enter.”
Ling Luo: “Why?!”
Yue Liang Ze: “Spiritual power too weak.”
So weak that even the Heaven-Devouring Tower refuses to let you enter?
Is this useless?
Ling Luo furiously complained in her heart.
She couldn’t accept this. Today, no matter what, she was determined to bring Yue Liang Ze into the Heaven-Devouring Tower to train and increase his cultivation. So she went out, held Yue Liang Ze’s hand, secretly transferring spiritual power to him, and brought him into the tower.
“Little Daddy, Ling Luo, why haven’t you two come in yet? What are you doing back there?” Song Yuan Yuan, not seeing Yue Liang Ze and Ling Luo, turned back to look for them, only to see the two entering hand in hand, which shocked her.
Ling Luo handed Yue Liang Ze’s hand over to him: “How can a son abandon his father and run ahead by himself? Don’t you know your little daddy’s spiritual power is too weak to enter the Heaven-Devouring Tower? Hurry and transfer some spiritual power to your father!”
Yue Liang Ze’s serene expression finally showed a crack. He withdrew his hand and said: “I think I’d better not go.”
“Father, don’t give up! It’s your son’s fault for not taking good care of you! Rest assured, with me here, I will protect you!” Song Yuan Yuan held his hand, transferred spiritual power to him, and confidently led Yue Liang Ze forward.
Since they were now a team, they would clear the tower together.
The first fifty floors of the Heaven-Devouring Tower weren’t particularly challenging. It was merely about defeating low-level demons imprisoned there in specific locations. After the fiftieth floor, the demons were no longer single entities; their numbers increased. Since Ling Luo’s team had five people, the number of demons would increase by double their count.
But this still couldn’t stop them.
Ling Luo led the way with Yingxi, still easily passing through one hundred floors.
In the long corridor leading to the next level, Song Yuan Yuan held Yue Liang Ze’s hand and asked sideways: “Little Daddy, has your spiritual power increased?”
Yue Liang Ze shook his head.
“The first hundred levels are too low, and we have many people, so it’s hard to increase,” Chang Fei said. “I heard that after the hundredth floor, it’s completely different.”
Ling Luo, walking in front, saw the sealed gate and went forward to push it open. After a mist of white fog, the group appeared on a ten-mile-long street. Stars twinkled in the night sky, the market ahead was bustling with people coming and going, and flower houses and restaurants around were calling for customers.
“This, this, this…” Song Yuan Yuan’s eyes widened.
“Stay calm, don’t make a fuss,” Xu Shen raised his hand to pat his shoulder. “Inside the Heaven-Devouring Tower, things are both real and illusory. Training isn’t just about fighting demons; it also includes thousands of worldly wonders for us to experience firsthand.”
Hearing this, Chang Fei couldn’t help but burst into laughter, making faces as she said: “I saw a senior brother in the Disciple Hall before who said that after five hundred floors, the experience is no longer from a bystander’s perspective, but makes you become a character within. That’s truly first-hand experience.”
Ling Luo listened and turned her head, “I’ve seen that too. Wasn’t that senior brother assigned the role of a female courtesan by the Heaven-Devouring Tower?”
“Yes, yes, yes, that’s it! Hahahahaha!” Chang Fei laughed so hard that tears almost came out. “That senior brother didn’t enter the Heaven-Devouring Tower again for three years after that!”
“Too tragic, how can it be so cruel!” Song Yuan Yuan sighed.
Ling Luo’s lips curved slightly as she recalled her previous tower-climbing experiences. Over six thousand floors, she had indeed experienced a lot.
“What’s happening now?” Song Yuan Yuan looked around. “Have any of you seen this place before?”
“Never seen it, it’s not East Sea City,” Chang Fei passed by a restaurant and was pulled by a waiter who called out, “Would this guest like to come in and taste our newly released dishes today?”
“Can we eat things inside here?” Chang Fei walked toward the restaurant.
The waiter nodded with a smile: “Of course you can eat!”
“Hey!” Chang Fei glanced at the price tag at the entrance and immediately stopped, turning back, “Three silver coins for a cup of tea? Are you robbing people? Black shop!”
After hearing this, the waiter’s smiling face instantly changed. His form expanded violently, his head transformed into a green snake demon lunging at Chang Fei: “Don’t call my shop black!”
After a burst of black mist, the group returned to the sealed gate.
Chang Fei: “…”
He exploded: “Damn it, this dead snake demon dares to bite me! Let me have a death match with it!”
Chang Fei angrily pushed open the gate and entered the illusion again.
The waiter once again smiled and pulled him, asking: “Guest—”
“Die, black shop!” Chang Fei drew his sword and slashed. The waiter’s head transformed into a snake demon again and lunged, and after another burst of black mist, Chang Fei and the others were sent back to the gate.
Chang Fei: “Ahhhhhhh!”
He went crazy.
Xu Shen patted his shoulder, asking him to calm down: “You can’t kill him. Once the waiter reveals his true form, we will be kicked out of the illusion and have to start over.”
“Let’s try again. Hold back! Don’t provoke the waiter!” Song Yuan Yuan told Chang Fei. “If a cup of tea is three silver coins, then it’s three silver coins. It’s not like we’re paying money anyway.”
Ling Luo pushed open the door and entered the illusion once more.
This time she walked in front. When passing by the restaurant, the waiter pulled her and smiled: “Would this guest like to come in and taste our newly released dishes today?”
“Sure,” Ling Luo smiled with narrowed eyes and followed him in.
The restaurant was very lively; at a glance, there wasn’t a single empty seat. The waiter led them up to a private room on the second floor and enthusiastically arranged for them.
He said: “First, let me bring each guest a cup of tea to warm up!”
Chang Fei: “…”
One cup each?
Fifteen silver coins?!
He slammed the table, about to shout in anger, but was pulled down by Xu Shen and Song Yuan Yuan, who covered his mouth and desperately signaled him to hold back.
Shortly after they were seated, the waiter brought up plates of aromatic and appetizing dishes, smiling: “These are the new dishes from our shop today. Please enjoy, guests. I’ll be right here, at your service whenever you call.”
The group looked at the dishes on the table in silence.
Who would dare eat food from a restaurant run by a snake demon?
Seeing that they weren’t picking up their chopsticks, the waiter said again: “Why aren’t the guests eating?”
Ling Luo picked up her chopsticks and said: “You’ve served us a plate full of snake meat. Who would dare eat this?”