Chapter 423: Chapter 351: Taibai Phecda: Afraid to Open My Eyes, Hoping It’s All Just a Hallucination!

Opposite the nine-layer high tower in the plaza was a temporarily constructed audience seating area. The seats were arranged in tiers, extending from the ground into the sky, capable of accommodating up to ten thousand people.

Directly above the entrance of the high tower was an enormous virtual screen. When Xuan Haoran attempts to storm the tower, live broadcasting equipment will broadcast it in real-time.

Taibai Phecda sat in the best viewing spot with Long Bai and his daughter, waiting for the tower assault event to begin.

Compared to the excitement and anticipation of the two little girls, there was a hint of worry in Taibai Phecda’s eyes.

Not just him, many people sensed that something must have happened inside the tower.

The problem was too obvious; over the past fifteen days, only seventeen out of two hundred school team members were eliminated!

The expectation of eliminating one hundred ninety-one people and leaving only nine gatekeepers was far from reality!

No matter how you calculate it, the number of eliminated was off.

Especially on the Ninth Layer and the Eighth Layer, not a single school team member had been eliminated.

It couldn’t be that the one hundred eighty-three remaining members were all willingly controlled by the strongest of their respective tower layers.

The true nature of the situation could only be verified when the tower opened.

Logically, no matter what happened inside the tower, it shouldn’t concern Taibai Phecda, who only taught first-year students.

Could a mere freshman like Su Yuan really stir up trouble under the noses of twenty-two senior prodigies with complete Divinity Transformation Inheritance?

Yet there was unease in his heart.

It was all because of Su Yuan’s reputation.

This kid never fails to surprise in terms of unexpected developments.

Unfortunately, under the world’s gaze, Taibai Phecda could only helplessly watch the situation unfold.

A moment later, as the time for the tower assault approached, Xuan Haoran appeared at the high tower’s entrance.

Like half a month ago, he had those dead fish eyes, listless and looking as if he hadn’t woken up yet.

A camera, durable enough to withstand a Golden Core Cultivator’s full attack, hovered behind him, filming in real-time.

Under the gaze of the world, with a dull thud, the grand doors of the high tower slowly opened.

"It’s starting! I wonder who the Gatekeeper on the First Layer will be, I’m so excited!"

A spectator in the seating area eagerly said.

Then, in the next second, a terrifying stench of rot and evil burst from the crack in the door like a whirlwind, sweeping across most of the plaza and covering the entire audience area.

The black inside the door didn’t even allow light to penetrate.

In that endless darkness, for a fleeting moment, the audience seemed to see several crimson tentacles hidden in the shadows reaching out from behind the door, only to retract upon contact with the outside light.

So fast that it seemed like an illusion.

But the faint red sticky liquid left on the ground proved it wasn’t a hallucination.

Taibai Phecda’s expression suddenly froze.

This bloody scent... it’s the smell of the Corruption Divine Kingdom.

But wasn’t Guo Zhengyi and all the Evil Extermination University people on the Eighth Layer? Why would the power of the Corruption Divine Kingdom appear on the First Layer?

It makes no sense!

Xuan Haoran, standing at the entrance, who saw the scene inside the tower most clearly, also fell into long silence.

Time passed second by second, yet Xuan Haoran didn’t move an inch.

After a full three minutes, a tutor from the Observing Heaven Pavilion standing at a distance quietly reminded him:

"Celestial Calculation Divine Child, it’s time to enter the tower."

The silent Xuan Haoran suddenly chuckled, picked up a small stone from the ground, and lightly tossed it inside the door.

Snap—

A crisp sound rang out.

It wasn’t the sound of a stone hitting the ground, but rather the sound it would make if thrown into sticky mud.

And this stone seemed like the last straw that broke the camel’s back, causing the darkness inside the tower to start wriggling.

The darkness burst out from the high tower door with a swoosh, instantly covering a vast area of the plaza.

At this moment, everyone realized that the darkness behind the door wasn’t void, but composed of black mud clogging the high tower entrance.

But the high tower door was nine meters high; even a shallow lake wouldn’t be this deep!

There seemed to be some living creatures within the black mud, wriggling irregularly, exploring their surroundings.

What on earth happened inside the tower?

Taibai Phecda took a deep breath, slowly closed his eyes.

He dared not open his eyes, hoping all this was just his illusion.

Unfortunately, Taibai Phecda’s self-deception couldn’t stop the situation from unfolding.

Once the black mud clogging the door flowed out, Xuan Haoran lifted off the ground, hovering mid-air, and flew into the tower.

The broadcasting equipment followed him inside, relying on the camera’s super night vision, the virtual screen finally displayed the current scene of the First Layer of the high tower.

It was a world completely covered in tentacles, flesh, and black mud from top to bottom, where crimson and darkness coexisted.

The black mud leveled the uneven ground, with tentacles and bubbles occasionally emerging from the darkness.

In this world inside a tower, the size of a second-tier city, which should have been full of green water and blue mountains, despair and desecration now filled the air.

The audience members with weaker tolerance huddled together with their companions, trembling.

"Is the cultivation technique of the Ten Great Immortal Sects so dark at the end? Will I become like this in the future? I don’t want that to happen!"

A new student from the Top Ten Preparatory Classes, brought here by a mentor for sightseeing and learning, murmured in a trembling voice.

Taibai Phecda: "..."

Su Yuan, I should really thank you on behalf of the admissions office.

Your small performance alone has set back the reputation of the Ten Great Immortal Sects by at least a hundred years.

The admissions office now has work to do.

Tentacle after tentacle, sensing Xuan Haoran’s aura, shot towards him like whips.

But for some reason, without seeing any evasive actions from Xuan Haoran, he calmly advanced, causing all the tentacles to miss him entirely.

Soon, he flew before the spiral stairs leading to the next layer.

As expected, the stairs were also covered with black mud, leaving nowhere to step.

And in this extremely evil environment, a girl with pure, flawless wings stood quietly on the stairs, her crystal-clear eyes gazing at Xuan Haoran.

The gatekeeper of the first layer had appeared.

It was none other than Zhu Tianqing.

In the audience seats outside the tower, Zhu Tianqing’s father, the director of the Beast Taming Department at Myriad Beasts University, Demon Refining True Monarch, silently lowered his head.

He had almost guessed whose handiwork this was.

Seeing his daughter’s clean and untainted appearance, Demon Refining True Monarch realized that his daughter had already colluded with the mastermind behind the scenes!

Her body was pure, but her heart had been thoroughly corrupted by Su Yuan.

While this pained the old father, he also worried whether his daughter’s reputation would be irreparably damaged.

Su Yuan, that brat, truly deserves to die!

"Celestial Hunting Saintess? Why are you the gatekeeper of the first layer? I remember you were on the Eighth Layer?"

Xuan Haoran curiously looked at the holy girl in front of him.

Zhu Tianqing remained silent for a few seconds before saying:

"This matter is relatively complicated to explain, and for now, all you need to know is... this tower no longer belongs to you."

"From this moment on, no matter whom you see on any layer, please don’t be surprised."

"Su Yuan doing this shouldn’t count as cheating, right..."

Xuan Haoran scratched his face:

"Is Su Yuan the mastermind? I remember Senior Wu Luo asked me to keep an eye on him, so indeed, he is quite an extraordinary figure."

"Alright then, I won’t dwell on these for the time being. I’ll focus on climbing the tower for now."

"So, Celestial Hunting Saintess, what methods are you planning to use to stop me? Could it be that Su Yuan could enhance his teammates?"

Zhu Tianqing nodded slightly:

"Yes, by Su Yuan’s special alchemy method, I have temporarily mastered the complete Divinity Transformation Inheritance of three schools."

"This is also my limit. Any more inheritances would be beyond my ability to handle."

"And my task is quite simple, to force you to reveal methods other than foreseeing the future. It would be best if you can be forced out; if not, there will be stronger people waiting for you afterwards."

Xuan Haoran nodded in realization:

"Right off the bat with three complete Divinity Transformation Inheritances, that’s certainly upping the intensity."

After a brief explanation, Zhu Tianqing spoke no more and activated the first divine technique she mastered, the complete Divinity Transformation Inheritance from the Beast Taming Department of Myriad Beasts University, the Ten Thousand Beasts Melting Furnace.

The girl pointed remotely at the black mud beneath her feet, and one Spirit Beast after another rose from within the black mud that had tainted them.

Each Spirit Beast had been carefully selected, possessing cultivation levels of Foundation Establishment Late Stage to Foundation Establishment Peak, each excelling in complementing areas, totaling a hundred.

Accompanying the activation of the ’Ten Thousand Beasts Melting Furnace’ divine technique, the bodies of these hundred powerful Spirit Beasts overlapped and fused.

The shortcomings of each Spirit Beast were concealed, their strengths revealed.

With the advantages of the hundred Spirit Beasts converged together, a nearly invincible monster, with combat power rising to Golden Core Level, standing ten meters tall, emerged before Xuan Haoran.

This beast was majestic in appearance, with necks bearing the heads of a crane, tiger, and serpent, each head possessing the traits of various birds, beasts, and reptiles.

Its body was deformed to an eerie degree, complementing the black mud flowing throughout it.

"Go."

Zhu Tianqing uttered softly, and the monster’s body lunged forward suddenly, the innate abilities of various Spirit Beasts erupting in unison, directly targeting Xuan Haoran.

Facing these layered attacks formed by claws, bites, and the divine techniques of the Demon Race, Xuan Haoran moved forward instead of retreating, traversing the gaps between each attack effortlessly, easily bypassing the monster and arriving directly before Zhu Tianqing.

"Saintess Zhu, with Su Yuan’s help, you are indeed formidable, and your current combat power is among the top even in Myriad Beasts University, but unfortunately for you, you encountered me."

"Besides the ability to foresee the future, I also have the power to control others’ destinies."

"To oppose me is in itself a mistake."