Of course, engaging in sneaky activities requires a target, and the thief who slipped into the Thousand Mechanism Pavilion had their sights set on the facility known as the Black Tower.

A Thousand Mechanism Cultivator with an ordinary appearance entered through the pavilion's front gate, moving as if he owned the place.

Soon, he found himself standing in the center of an empty open space.

The Black Tower stood before him.

At this moment, the area was deserted; the patrolling Sword Spirits had been summoned elsewhere, and the gaze of the Elder overseeing this place had wandered away momentarily.

Under the coincidence of these factors, for fourteen breaths, this place fell unnoticed.

The ordinary-looking cultivator did not linger, transforming into a puddle of black water and sinking down.

He entered the Black Tower.

...

Serving as the core of the Thousand Mechanism Pavilion, though referred to as the Black Tower, it was, in fact, an inverted black well extending straight into the underground.

Not even many Thousand Mechanism Cultivators knew what lay within, but the origin of the name Reversed Heavenly Gang was no secret. 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

It wasn't called a black well, but a black tower, because its predecessor was indeed a tower—seven layers above ground, and eighty layers underground.

The above-ground portion was completely dismantled last year.

The dismantled above-ground portion held no special significance; it was simply a shell, devoid of anything inside.

Its removal posed no inconvenience to anyone other than Lily.

The reason this useless structure existed was purely due to Lily's abuse of authority.

At the time, she was compelled by a fever to create a spectacle, dreaming to build a tower just for fun, hence the Black Tower came to be.

In principle, the evil Lady Lily wielded undeniable power within the Thousand Mechanism Pavilion, making the Black Tower destined to endure through the ages.

But unfortunately for her, there was someone above her.

That was Zhang Ze.

On a certain bright night, Zhang Ze felt the urge to create a spectacle too.

Acquiring such a desire, he built another taller, though equally useless, solid white tower behind the Black Tower.

Once the white tower was finished, Zhang Ze found the dark lump standing in front of his white tower quite unsightly, so he abused his authority with a flourish, dismantling the ground portion of the Black Tower for being an eyesore.

The Black Tower became the Black Well.

However, due to the habit of using the name, laziness prevailed, and it continued to be called the Black Tower henceforth.

...

Below the thirty-eighth layer of the Black Tower.

Zhang Ze and Chen Qin stood before a grand door.

The door was tightly shut, sealed with Space Spell, a Golden Lotus blooming upon it, inscribed with innumerable array inscriptions, marking it as a supreme Holy Object.

Only a few designated individuals could pass through soul verification, paired with a code, to open or inspect the contents within.

Standing before the door, Zhang Ze gestured a spell, a strand of Spiritual Light bloomed from his forehead, transforming into a Golden Lotus and merging with the door.

Moments later, a ripple spread, the golden door turned illusionary and clear, revealing the true form of what lay sealed behind it.

It was Emperor Xiaojing's severed body parts.

Eyeballs, the right hand, a hairy leg—all suppressed by multiple arrays, sealed within golden Crystal Stone, completely motionless.

Seeing nothing amiss inside, Zhang Ze sighed in relief.

"What's the matter? Why are we here?" Chen Qin asked in confusion.

"I suspect something's gone wrong with Little Walnut. The recent message wasn't from Senior Sister Xiaoxue." Zhang Ze frowned.

"How did you figure that out?"

"You know Senior Sister Xiaoxue doesn't favor Magical Artifacts. She's only used Little Walnut twice during Qinghe Association, and that was to secretly photograph Shi Xiu in women's clothing; then it got misplaced, how could one hit connect now?"

"A few days ago, I asked Tang what happened in Chang State, and his response was unusual.

"Tang doesn't speak so little, even when idle he'll share ghost stories for half a day."

As Zhang Ze spoke, he tapped his forehead, retracting the Golden Lotus he'd sent into the door.

"Something's wrong with Little Walnut… you think it's Emperor Xiaojing's doing?" Chen Qin realized this.

"Exactly, I suspect he's meddled again." Zhang Ze nodded.

The fact that Little Walnut was copied was no secret within the Thousand Mechanism Pavilion.

Its predecessor was the Hundred Demons Sect's Black King Order, though now severely altered beyond recognition, encrypted with multiple cipher reversals during transmission, some core aspects remain unchanged.

Thus, Little Walnut's abnormality is inherently tied to the true mastermind behind the Hundred Demons Sect.

"I…"

But just as Zhang Ze was about to say more, he suddenly felt an emptiness beside him; Junior Sister was nowhere to be seen.

Zhang Ze turned around and spotted an unfamiliar Thousand Mechanism Cultivator standing not far behind him.

Behind this person floated an ice coffin, in which Chen Qin was sealed, eyes closed, life or death unknown.

Upon witnessing the unfamiliar Thousand Mechanism Cultivator, Zhang Ze felt the surrounding Spiritual Qi solidify, almost freezing everything in place, like being thrown into the starry sky.

At some point, black chains had wrapped around Zhang Ze's entire body, rendering him immobile.

Seeing his success, the unfamiliar Thousand Mechanism Cultivator laughed as he approached Zhang Ze. With each step, the ordinary face gradually began to change, chaotically twisting.

Eventually, it took on the form of Emperor Xiaojing.

This time, it was not a mere projection, but a Dharma Body bolstered by Divine Thought.

"Smart, but sadly, you're still too weak."

Emperor Xiaojing, confident in victory, stood before Zhang Ze with his hands behind his back.

"I know what you're thinking, hoping to use the Innate Dao Body to stall, then call for your elders…"

He mocked Zhang Ze with his gaze, "Go ahead, try and see if anyone comes to save you this time."

Despite his words, he did not undo the chains restraining Zhang Ze.