Chapter 148: Chapter 133: Please, Fellow Daoist, Go to Your Death

The third level of the ruined pagoda.

Snow Mountain Peak.

Three days after Fang Cheng and Feng Ling entered the fourth level, two streaks of Escape Light flew to this location.

One of them had a curvaceous figure and a black-veiled face. It was none other than Bai Su Yi, one of the three prodigies of the Flame God Palace’s Purple Qi Hall.

Beside her stood a young Daoist in robes whiter than snow.

He had a strong, straight nose and eyebrows that slanted up to his temples, his features both handsome and refined. A faint smile graced his lips, putting others at ease like a spring breeze, yet his eyes were like bottomless abysses, profound and inscrutable.

"Senior Brother Pei, this is the place."

Bai Su Yi said softly, pointing to the Purple Mist Vortex above the Snow Mountain Peak.

The young Daoist sighed. "This place is incredibly difficult to find. No wonder I couldn’t locate it! Thank you, Junior Sister."

Bai Su Yi smiled faintly. "You’re too kind, Senior Brother Pei. The Flame God Palace and Taihao Mountain have always been as close as brothers. Inside this ruined pagoda, Cultivators from the Yinluo Sect are slaughtering people indiscriminately. It’s only natural that we help one another."

The young Daoist smiled faintly, not taking the bait. Instead, he changed the subject. "Junior Sister Bai, I learned from my sect’s ancient records that one of our Supreme Elders came to this place three thousand years ago. There are a total of nine Divine Statues on this fourth level, and the power of each one is not to be underestimated."

Bai Su Yi nodded, a look of sudden understanding in her beautiful eyes. "No wonder you’re so familiar with the affairs of this Secret Realm, Senior Brother."

After escaping Fang Cheng’s pursuit, she had coincidentally met the young Daoist and immediately turned back. The two had conversed pleasantly on their journey, and she found herself captivated by his profound knowledge.

This young Daoist’s name was Pei Yuancheng. He was famous throughout the Yun Country as the son of Taihao Mountain’s current Sect Leader. His mother hailed from another major sect in a neighboring country, giving him an equally unfathomable background.

Pei Yuancheng seemed to bask in Bai Su Yi’s worshipful gaze. He smiled and said, "The Divine Statues on the fourth level are formidable, to be sure, but they can be pushed through with some effort. It’s the fifth level that’s truly difficult. The guardians there are comparable to Life Talisman Cultivators. This place is a Trial Pagoda for the Disciples of the Myriad Phenomena Immortal Sect, and when fighting the Divine Statues, one is forbidden from using any external items that surpass one’s own realm. Based on my strength alone, I fear I’ll have a hard time winning."

"Junior Sister Bai, your strength far surpasses that of your peers. If we join forces, we should be able to achieve something. What do you say?"

Bai Su Yi replied humbly, "It is my good fortune to be able to team up with you, Senior Brother."

Her words implied she held Pei Yuancheng’s strength in high regard.

A few years ago, many Sensing Realm disciples from Taihao Mountain had visited the Flame God Palace for an exchange. During the sparring matches between the two sects’ disciples, Pei Yuancheng single-handedly fought the three prodigies of the Flame God Palace’s Purple Qi Hall to a standstill.

After that, a rumor began to circulate between the two sects: Pei Yuancheng was the number one Sensing Realm cultivator in the entire Yun Country.

It was said that he could have condensed his Life Talisman and broken through to the next realm long ago, but he had deliberately held back, seemingly to build a deeper foundation.

Thinking about it now, Bai Su Yi realized, ’He must have been plotting to get the Myriad Manifestations Celestial Dew all along!’

Pei Yuancheng continued, "There are a total of nine Divine Temples on the fourth level, each containing Top-Grade Celestial Dew. If you help me obtain the Holy-Grade Celestial Dew from the fifth level, Junior Sister, then all the Top-Grade Celestial Dew from this level is yours."

A flicker of light passed through Bai Su Yi’s eyes as she said softly, "I will follow your arrangements, Senior Brother."

With that, the two of them flew into the Purple Mist Vortex.

...

「A few hours later.」

A streak of light shot across the horizon. It flashed and dissipated, revealing the figure of a silver-haired youth.

It was none other than Jiang Nian’an, a scion of one of Divine Pillar Mountain’s Noble Families!

He first glanced at the Purple Mist Vortex, not rushing to enter. Instead, he circled the Snow Mountain Peak once before slowly coming to a halt.

Within his sea of consciousness, the dignified, beautiful woman spoke. "That’s right. The aura of the Immortal Binding Rope lingers here. That person definitely stopped in this place."

Jiang Nian’an said in surprise, "I can’t believe he moved on so quickly. He’s quite lucky."

The beautiful woman advised, "Follow him quietly. Wait until he’s finished fighting a Divine Statue, then strike..."

A cold glint flashed in Jiang Nian’an’s eyes. Without a word, he flew straight into the Purple Mist Vortex.

...

「Not long after.」

Four more streaks of Escape Light arrived from the horizon. They were two men and two women, all dressed in magnificent robes and carrying themselves with an extraordinary air.

The one in the lead was Wang Yuntian, accompanied by Zhou Xueyu and two other Inner Sect Disciples from the Wang Family.

After flying closer and investigating briefly, the four entered the Purple Mist Vortex.

...

The fourth level of the ruined pagoda.

In the center of a large field of Golden Sword Grass, a Divine Hall lay in ruins. Atop the rubble, Fang Cheng and Feng Ling sat cross-legged, holding Upper-Grade Spirit Stones to recover their Magical Power.

This was the fifth Divine Temple the two of them had conquered.

Fang Cheng still had some power in reserve, but Feng Ling’s Magical Power was completely depleted, leaving her unable to continue.

They had no choice but to stop and rest.

Even if Fang Cheng found another Divine Temple, in his current state, he would have difficulty defeating its Divine Statue on his own.

So, he decided to recover alongside Feng Ling.

Both had achieved a profound mastery of their respective Cultivation Techniques. Thus, they could devote half of their attention to circulating their Magical Power while using the other half to keep watch on their surroundings and chat idly.

Feng Ling said, "According to the travelogue of one of my Feng Family ancestors, one can only refine a maximum of three bottles of Top-Grade Myriad Manifestations Celestial Dew. We already have five. If we can just get one more..." 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

Fang Cheng cut her off, stating coolly, "One more bottle, and Yan’Er and I will each have our share of Celestial Dew. Anything else we acquire after that will be yours."

Feng Ling’s eyes flickered, but she remained silent.

Fang Cheng, meanwhile, took out the storage bag he’d taken from Qiao Kui of the Flame God Palace and began to inspect its contents.

This young prodigy from the Flame God Palace had dressed simply, but the contents of his storage bag were anything but meager.

Over one hundred thousand Lower-Grade Spirit Stones were stacked neatly inside exquisite wooden boxes.

There were also two cases of medicinal pills and one case of Talismans, all first-order.

Aside from those, there was the Second-Order Magical Artifact: the Fire Crow Gourd!

The power of this treasure surpassed even Feng Ling’s Second-Order Magical Artifact, the Fire Cloud Cauldron. With this item in his possession, Qiao Kui had feared neither Tier Two Demon Beasts nor Life Talisman Loose Cultivators; he could even kill opponents a full realm above his own.