Cultivating for a hundred lifetimes to ascension Chapter 1440: 779: Veins of Mountains and Rivers, Entering the Tower as Promised (Part 2)

While he rested with his eyes shut, the Immortal Ruins Guests nearby threw occasional puzzling looks in his direction.

Yet, throughout it all, nobody had the nerve to approach and chat with him. Unbeknownst to them, they were letting a golden chance slip away without realizing it.

The moments in the Ruins flew by quickly.

High above the hallway, a huge form materialized out of thin air. Once it touched down, everyone could see it was a hideous burly warrior in crimson armor, bearing an aged visage and a lone horn sprouting from its snout.

Qi Wu Yan, his face etched with worry, made his way onto the walkway, staring at the throng near the forge. All of a sudden, he spotted a well-known silhouette.

In that split second, the gloom on his features melted away completely!

Overcome with delight, Qi Wu Yan tossed aside the Endless Tower's customs and blurted out, “Senior Zhao!”

His words still hung in the air when he summoned a fierce breeze, darting straight to Zhao Sheng's spot and crying out in sheer elation, “You’ve finally arrived. I… I’ve missed you terribly.”

Zhao Sheng lifted his eyelids, a touch of regret showing on his expression, “I’m sorry for keeping Taoist Qi waiting. I got so wrapped up in my cultivation that our deal slipped my mind entirely. Please accept my deepest regrets!”

“As long as Senior is here now, ten Ruins Years mean little; this junior can endure the wait. Plus, I managed to advance to Divinity Transformation in that time, boosting my power by leaps and bounds.” Though Qi Wu Yan harbored plenty of gripes inside, he put on a magnanimous front outwardly.

Zhao Sheng gave a faint smile, motioning for Qi Wu Yan to take a seat, before unleashing a barrier of intent to shield their talk from prying ears.

With Qi Wu Yan settling down cross-legged in excitement, Zhao Sheng started probing into the pertinent details.

Qi Wu Yan had volumes to unload and at last got the chance to vent freely, diving right into an elaborate recounting.

As it happened, botching that earlier chance had tanked Qi Wu Yan's standing in the family. The Ancestor flew into a raging fury, and it took Qi Wu Yan buttering him up with every flattering phrase to just calm the old man down a bit.

In the ten Ruins Years that followed, Qi Wu Yan showed up at the Endless Tower each time brimming with optimism, only to leave drowned in bitter disappointment.

Zhao Sheng, struck with profound remorse, kept offering his apologies over and over.

“A bit of hardship for me is trivial if it means reclaiming the ancestral bones successfully; it’s more than worth the price.” Qi Wu Yan declared with open-hearted grace.

Zhao Sheng inclined his head and then queried abruptly, “By the way, how are the other two Fellow Daoists faring these days?”

Qi Wu Yan's face fell, and he spilled his troubles right away: “Senior might not realize, but to keep those two fellow Taoists on board, our clan forked over a bunch of prized artifacts, and only then did they consent to stick around for another decade. Good thing Senior turned up just in time, or else when the deadline hit, the Ancestor could’ve stormed in himself, racing across All Heavens and Myriads of Worlds to cut you down, Senior.”

At these words, a cold shiver ran through Zhao Sheng.

From what he understood, the Pi Xi Clan's Ancestor wielded Sky-reaching cultivation, his might rivaling a Three Tribulations Great Venerable.

Should that powerhouse strike in person, Zhao Sheng dreaded he might not dodge this disaster.

With that in mind, Zhao Sheng let out a booming laugh, “Haha, luckily, I never planned to renege on our pact. And here I stand, true to my word.”

Qi Wu Yan grinned, nodding along, “This junior has full faith in Senior, or else I wouldn’t have handed over those two prized artifacts way back.

Moreover, the Sky-reaching White Tower reopens in under ten days or so. The other two Fellow Daoists will show up right on schedule too.

We can’t let such a priceless chance slip through our fingers!”

Upon hearing this, Zhao Sheng replied assuredly, “That’s exactly why I came. Taoist Qi, rest easy—I’ll give it everything to make your dream come true.”

Qi Wu Yan beamed with happiness, hastily clasping his hand to his heart in a bow, “Everything hinges on Senior Zhao now.”

Days zipped by in a flash, bringing a fresh wave of Immortal Ruins Guests to the Endless Tower.

The pair that Zhao Sheng and Qi Wu Yan had anticipated finally emerged, arriving one right after the other.

One was a Wood Spirit in humanoid shape, grotesque to behold, with a colossal frame resembling an age-old tree, six tendril arms dangling like vines, and a waist thick as several zhang, making the earth tremble under its strides.

The other wasn’t from the Human Clan either; it was actually a scarce Stone Demon out of All Heavens, no taller than a foot, perfectly carved and immaculate, akin to a White Jade infant sculpted by the cosmos itself.

After Qi Wu Yan presented each in turn, Zhao Sheng, the Wood Spirit, and the Stone Demon gradually built a rapport.

The Wood Spirit named itself “Kuimu Xiao,” a manifestation of a millennium-old Kuimu, its cultivation surpassing Twelfth Rank, granting power on par with a Returning to Void Half-Immortal.

Unlike the reserved Wood Spirit, the Stone Demon proved far chattier, introducing itself as “Stone Jade,” hailing from some Spirit Realm—though who could verify that claim?

Through Zhao Sheng’s Eye Power, he couldn’t gauge this demon’s true Daoist prowess, only vaguely detecting its awesome might, which surely matched or exceeded his own, perhaps by a wide margin.

Time slipped away like a river, and another two days vanished in no time.

With the Sky-reaching White Tower on the verge of reopening, wave after wave of deep Immortal Ruins Guests showed up successively, turning the Endless Tower into a scene tenfold busier than usual.

Zhao Sheng, Qi Wu Yan, and their two companions claimed a spot in the hallway's corner, keeping a wide berth clear around them.

Noting how formidable the quartet appeared, the rest of the Immortal Ruins Guests steered clear from a distance, soon clustering into their own little circles.

The forge's vibe turned thick with tension and weight, where hardly anyone bothered setting up shops for treasures, and folks lost all interest in browsing.

As the heavy mood thickened further, at one precise instant, the grand White Tower blazed with brilliant radiance.

The blinding glow swallowed up the scene, in a flash “submerging” endless levels along with hordes of “Immortal Ruins Guests.”

Vast white brilliance overwhelmed Zhao Sheng’s sight, and in a stupor, he glimpsed a immense, timeless Sky-reaching “gateway” materializing at the light’s far edge.

The instant the Sky-reaching “gateway” formed, an impossible-to-describe pull erupted, yanking Zhao Sheng skyward against his will and hauling him toward the gateway.

Moments later, the white glow faded away.

Zhao Sheng blinked awake and discovered he stood in an expansive, spotless white realm.

Everywhere, the barriers and ground gleamed pure white, as if forged from some odd stone or maybe woven from utterly refined energy.

Set into the nearby walls stood four matching gateways, each towering three zhang tall and spanning about two zhang wide and deep.

Beyond the gateways lurked pitch blackness, hinting at mysterious paths ahead.

Zhao Sheng scanned the area and caught sight of Qi Wu Yan, Kuimu Xiao, and Stone Jade’s forms.

Zhao Sheng faced the nearing Qi Wu Yan and inquired, “Taoist Qi, which way do we head from here?”

Qi Wu Yan eyed the four gateways, a flicker of concern crossing his features, “Per our ancestors’ annals, the White Tower’s first activation spawns myriad gateways, forcing us to pick one blindly. What lies beyond them? I have no clue.”

Zhao Sheng’s brow creased at this, ready to press for details.

Out of nowhere… Stone Jade leaped a full three feet, yelling at the top of its lungs, “No, Qi, you’re lying. If you don’t know what’s back there, how will you track down the ancestral remains?”

Kuimu Xiao, catching the outburst, swung its limbs a couple times, seemingly backing Stone Jade’s point.

All those gathered had endured millennia, sharp as foxes, so spotting the hole in Qi Wu Yan’s story was child’s play.

Qi Wu Yan lifted his chin and rubbed his nose tip, offering a helpless clarification: “The three Seniors might not grasp it, but this Sky-reaching White Tower holds bizarre secrets, kicking off with endless gateways. Yet, after we chain through several in a row, it funnels us into a strange domain.

Our old tomes skip the nitty-gritty, just noting that these odd domains link together, and conquering specific ordeals lets you shift to the next one. The ancestral remains hide in one such domain.

To lay it bare, I wield a bloodline technique that lets me feel out the ancestral remains’ spot.”

With Qi Wu Yan’s account laid out, Zhao Sheng’s look softened a tad.

Still, Stone Jade shot back, “Then quit yapping, Qi? Hurry and choose a gateway—let’s step through!”

At this, Qi Wu Yan bobbed his head fast in consent. He then scanned the four gateways and swiftly selected the one facing east, striding toward it ahead of the group.

As he advanced, he stressed sincerely, “The Ancestor divined it himself before I left, and the signs pointed to massive luck in the east. That’s my pick for the eastern path.”

Zhao Sheng dipped his head in acknowledgment and trailed after. Stone Jade bounced right on his heels.

Kuimu Xiao lumbered with its enormous bulk, steps deliberate, but each covered zhangs, keeping pace effortlessly.

The four quickly crossed the gateway, landing in yet another broad, immaculate white expanse.

This chamber mirrored the last almost perfectly, save for the lines of crimson script hovering over the four gateways.