198: Gathering at the foot of the tower

Completing the ritual and failing to complete it were two vastly different outcomes;

At this point, Chu Yuan also somewhat understood why those from the Western Continent were keeping this news under wraps yet taking no action.

Judging by Kun Mo being forced to open the Ascension Tower and the number of Desolate Demons in the Desolate Demon Secret Realm... the chances of completing the ritual were likely not very high;

Wasn't this just like Lord Ye's love of dragons?

While flying, a figure of an abnormality suddenly emerged ahead;

Feng Zhao was about to go on alert when he saw the abnormality speak: "Master."

"Mm." Chu Yuan nodded. "What about those two kin of yours?"

"They fled."

Fled... that was normal; those two Desolate Demons had no way of dealing with the abnormality;

However, Chu Yuan was somewhat conflicted about how to handle this abnormality.

Keeping it by his side would indeed provide an assistant, but he didn't really need its combat power... and it would bring many troubles... "What is your name?"

"Master, my name is Hua Kong."

"Hua Kong, go track your two kin. If you get the chance, kill them!

Even if it means mutual destruction... do you understand?"

"Yes."

"Take these Medicinal Pills; they will be useful to you." Chu Yuan grabbed a handful of spirit nurturing pills and threw them to Hua Kong;

"Thank you, Master!"

The abnormality's figure dissipated. Feng Zhao swallowed hard and looked at Chu Yuan. "Chu Yuan, if people find out you have the ability to enslave abnormalities... it will be very troublesome!"

The abnormalities themselves were masters of Soul techniques, yet Chu Yuan could enslave them in return. Just how powerful was his attainment in the Soul Law?

If this news leaked out, who knows how many people would target him!

Just as Kun Mo had said, many races did not want to see a second Soul Master emerge from the Human Race... Elder Zhao Zheng alone had planted countless moles among various races and enslaved many foreign tribes;

If a second Zhao Zheng, or even someone surpassing him, were to appear, Great Qin's infiltration of the various races would reach a terrifying level!

Although the Nightmare Insect Clan also possessed methods of Soul enslavement, the nature of their Souls made it easy for truly top-tier experts to distinguish who had been affected;

Creatures enslaved by the Nightmare Insect Clan would undergo subtle changes in habits, becoming more inclined toward the Nightmare Insect Clan. Over time, even those close to them would notice something was wrong.

Whereas the foreign races enslaved by Elder Zhao Zheng... only an expert of the same rank inspecting them in person could discover the enslavement mark deep within their Souls;

This was a widely accepted fact;

As for abnormalities, they did not go around enslaving other living beings' Souls;

They usually devoured Souls directly or used possession... After all, they held a unique status in the Outer Heaven Battlefield and had almost no direct hostility toward any race... Previously, the situation had been urgent, so Feng Zhao hadn't thought much about it;

But now that things had calmed down, he instantly realized the gravity of the problem.

However, Chu Yuan had long since considered this issue. He spoke up, "Then we just won't let anyone know, right?

Everyone on the scene is dead. Aside from you, there are only those two abnormalities... and they won't go around spreading this news."

"Why?"

"...They just won't," Chu Yuan replied perfunctorily;

It would be the same for him; if he discovered some enticing treasure and lacked the ability to obtain it for the time being, he would at most gather people within a limited scope rather than telling the whole world.

Besides, Hua Kong had also gone to track them... "What about Dikin? Did he notice anything?"

"Perhaps he at most thinks we're together?" Chu Yuan speculated. "Besides, he's never been to the Outer Heaven Battlefield;

I can't exactly just kill him, can I?"

If it were yesterday, he would have just killed him;

But since Dikin had come to help, burning bridges would be a bit too dishonorable... "As long as you know what you're doing." Feng Zhao ultimately had nothing left to say. He wasn't stronger than Chu Yuan, and the other didn't seem like a fool;

Having given the warning was enough; as for anything else, it wasn't his place to worry... The two flew very fast, but the Desolate Demon Secret Realm was different from the other Secret Realms Chu Yuan had visited before; its area was immense;

So they dutifully flew for half an hour before finally arriving beneath that blazing sun.

Looking at it from up close, Chu Yuan also saw the true form of that blazing sun;

It was a massive disc covered in mysterious runes, forged from some unknown material;

A heavy pressure surrounded the disc, making one instinctively want to submit and prostrate in worship.

Directly beneath the disc stood a spire as tall as a mountain range;

The tower's body was ancient and heavy, also covered in runes, which were currently glowing slightly as if it were operating... However, Chu Yuan and his companion were not the first to arrive;

Around the spire, groups of Martial Artists had already gathered in clusters of three to five, including those of the Sixth Realm and the Seventh Realm;

They were closer, which was why they were able to arrive at the first opportunity.

But arriving early was useless... the group was just watching from here, no one daring to enter... even though the spire appeared completely harmless and its doors were wide open;

Chu Yuan was somewhat surprised. "Are there really this many people who know about the Ascension Tower?"

"Not necessarily." Feng Zhao shook his head. "It's just that with such a huge commotion suddenly appearing, wouldn't you also want to come and take a look if it were you?"

"Makes sense..."

"Commander Feng, the Zhenwu Bureau is well-informed. Do you know what this thing is?" a chubby Martial Artist asked with a smile;

He was draped in jewels and his ten fingers were covered with rings, looking extremely vulgar;

He didn't look like a Martial Artist but more like a merchant... "Heh, you're actually asking?" Chu Yuan was amused. In the Western Continent, aside from the Zhenwu Bureau, other Martial Artists didn't exactly have the best reputations;

The two sides were naturally in a state of opposition; was this fat guy really this familiar?

A flash of seven-colored light quietly appeared around the fat man!

In the next moment, the fat man's expression changed as one of the rings on his hand silently shattered... "Commander Feng! What is the meaning of this!?"

Feng Zhao seemed to realize what was happening and said nonchalantly, "Forget it, Chu Yuan. He's from the Golden Bear Merchant Guild..."

"From the Golden Bear Merchant Guild?" Chu Yuan was stunned for a moment. "A stinking merchant acting so arrogant!?"

Immediately, another burst of Divine Sense attacked;

However, this time the fat man was already on guard and retreated at high speed!

He then stared at Chu Yuan with an unfriendly expression. "So this is Inspector Chu? We have no grievances or enmity. If you want to use our Golden Bear Merchant Guild to establish your prestige, you've likely picked the wrong target!"

"So you know who I am?" Chu Yuan looked surprised. "You know me and yet you didn't greet me first?

What, do you look down on me?"

The ink shadow quietly darted out from beside him...