42: Chapter 42 Nine Heavens Tower

Jiang Changge reached out and took the purple bamboo leaf. It felt cool to the touch, with a texture as fine as silk.

He could feel an ancient and vast Dao aura contained within it; it was the essence of what Immortal Zizhu had realized throughout his life.

"In that case, I shall accept it without modesty." Jiang Changge tucked the bamboo leaf into his sleeve, his expression calm.

Seeing this, Immortal Zizhu sat back down, his gaze fixed on the void outside the bamboo house, as if looking at something far away.

"I do not know when we shall meet again after you depart, Fellow Daoist." His voice was distant and calm.

"This remnant soul of mine likely cannot hold on for much longer."

Jiang Changge was silent for a moment before slowly rising to his feet.

"Gathering and dispersing are fated. Since you have already attained the Dao, you should let go of your attachments and let nature take its course."

Upon hearing this, Immortal Zizhu nodded slightly, a trace of relief appearing in his cloudy eyes.

"What you say is true, Fellow Daoist." Immortal Zizhu bowed deeply.

Jiang Changge waved his hand and turned to walk out of the bamboo house.

His figure passed through the Formation that had already dissipated, disappearing into the rain of purple light.

Immortal Zizhu stood before the bamboo house, watching Jiang Changge depart, a flash of emotion passing through his cloudy eyes.

"This person's Dao is unfathomable," he muttered to himself. "Even I cannot see through his origins. Could he be from the Upper Realm?"

He shook his head, withdrew his thoughts, sat cross-legged again, and looked through the bamboo house at the entire Purple Bamboo Forest.

Everything within the Secret Realm was within his perception.

All living beings, in all their myriad forms.

Immortal Zizhu's gaze swept over the various Cultivators, as if watching an entertaining play.

"I wonder how many in this batch will be able to make it to the end."

He withdrew his gaze, closed his eyes, and his remnant soul slowly fell silent within the bamboo house.

In the Purple Bamboo Forest.

Lu Jinghan led the three of them out of the cave and continued to advance toward the depths of the bamboo sea.

The four walked through the bamboo forest, their footsteps absorbed by the thick bamboo leaves; the surroundings were so quiet that only the rustling of the wind through the bamboo leaves could be heard.

"Senior Brother, where are we going now?" Qin Muchuan couldn't help but ask.

Lu Jinghan did not stop, his gaze fixed on the depths of the bamboo sea.

"We are going to a place that holds one of the greatest Opportunities in the Purple Bamboo Forest."

Upon hearing this, a flash of curiosity crossed Zhou Tianchen's eyes. "What Opportunity?"

Lu Jinghan was silent for a moment before slowly spitting out three words: "Alchemy Hall."

"Alchemy Hall?" Zhou Tianchen's eyes lit up, and his breathing quickened slightly.

He had been obsessed with Alchemy for many years and had an instinctive sensitivity to the words "Alchemy Hall."

Lu Jinghan nodded and explained as they walked, "The Purple Bamboo Forest was originally the Daoist field of an ancient mighty figure, Immortal Zizhu."

"This Immortal not only possessed heaven-reaching cultivation but also had extremely high attainments in Alchemy."

"After he passed away, his Daoist field transformed into a Secret Realm, which contains an Alchemy Hall. It is said that it holds his life's insights into Alchemy and a portion of his Legacy."

The light in Zhou Tianchen's eyes grew brighter as he listened, and he couldn't help but urge, "Then what are we waiting for? Let's go!"

Qin Muchuan and Su Fuguang exchanged a glance and both smiled helplessly.

Their Third Senior Brother was usually calm and composed, but whenever Alchemy was mentioned, it was as if he had become a different person.

Lu Jinghan quickened his pace, leading the three of them through the bamboo sea.

In his past life, he had obtained many Medicinal Pills in the Alchemy Hall, and those pills had been a great help on his later path of cultivation.

More importantly, the Alchemy Hall also contained the Alchemy insights left behind by Immortal Zizhu.

For Zhou Tianchen, who was obsessed with Alchemy, that was absolutely a priceless treasure.

Lu Jinghan led the way in front, his steps steady and his direction clear.

They passed through one Purple Bamboo Forest after another and crossed several spiritual spring streams.

After walking for about two hours, Lu Jinghan suddenly stopped.

He stood on a huge bluestone, gazing into the distance, his brows slightly furrowed.

"What's wrong?" Zhou Tianchen sensed his abnormality and asked in a low voice.

Lu Jinghan did not answer, only staring fixedly ahead.

In his past life, the Alchemy Hall had been in this location.

But now, what he saw was no longer that ancient hall.

In its place was a tall tower.

A massive, jet-black tower stood tall above the clouds.

The tower was cast from an unknown black meteorite iron, looming in and out of the purple spiritual mist, exuding a cold and heavy aura.

The tower was covered in profound runes, with light faintly flowing through them, and the entire tower exuded an indescribable extraordinariness.

Lu Jinghan's pupils constricted slightly.

He turned to look at Zhou Tianchen and the others, whose gazes were also fixed on the black tower.

"Senior Brother, what about the Alchemy Hall you mentioned?" Qin Muchuan couldn't help but ask.

Lu Jinghan was silent for a moment, then shook his head.

"It's gone, replaced by this tower."

A feeling of familiarity rose in his heart.

The rules of the Purple Bamboo Forest had changed; the illusion had changed, and the Yao Beast guarding the heart-cleansing bamboo had also changed.

Now, even the Alchemy Hall had disappeared, replaced by a completely unfamiliar black tower.

He took a deep breath, suppressing the shock in his heart.

"Let's go, let's go take a look."

Lu Jinghan led the three of them off the bluestone and walked toward the black tower.

The bamboo sea gradually receded behind them, and the ground beneath their feet changed from soft bamboo leaves to hard bluestone.

There was an indescribable sense of oppression in the air, which became more pronounced as they approached the tower.

It was as if the tower itself represented some kind of Law of Heaven and Earth.

Upon getting closer, they were able to see the full appearance of the tower.

The tower was divided into nine levels, with flying eaves separating each level, and bronze wind chimes hanging from the corners of the eaves, emitting a low ringing sound in the spiritual wind.

At the base of the tower stood a stone tablet.

The stone tablet was about a zhang high, entirely grey-green, and covered in moss, clearly having endured the baptism of endless years.

On the front of the stone tablet were carved three large ancient seal characters: "Nine Heavens Tower."

The strokes were vigorous, like iron brushstrokes and silver hooks, as if someone had used their finger as a brush and the heavens and earth as paper, carving it stroke by stroke.

"Nine Heavens Tower." Qin Muchuan whispered these three words, a sense of awe inexplicably arising in his heart.

Lu Jinghan lowered his gaze to the few lines of small text below the stone tablet.

The handwriting of the small text was identical to the three characters of "Nine Heavens Tower," clearly from the same hand.

"Nine Heavens Tower, nine levels in total."

"For levels one through five, each level climbed yields one Profound Rank treasure."

"For levels six through eight, each level climbed yields one Earth Rank treasure."

"Reaching the ninth level yields one Heaven Rank treasure."

"Treasures are random, vary from person to person, and depend on one's Opportunity."

"The tower is filled with heavy Restrictions and inhabited by Yao Beasts; you are responsible for your own life and death."

These few short lines of text caused all four of them to gasp in unison.

In the Xuanhuang World, a single Advanced Profound Rank Magical Artifact was enough for Golden Core Cultivators to fight to the death over.

An Elementary Earth Rank Cultivation Technique was enough to make a small clan exhaust all their resources to trade for it.

As for Heaven Rank treasures, those were existences that even those Undergoing Tribulation would be tempted by!

However, for Lu Jinghan and the others, these rewards could be completely ignored.

After all, everything bestowed by their Revered Master, Jiang Changge, was of Heaven Rank.