Stepping out of the cultivation room, perhaps due to the previous bell chime, Xiao Yan noticed that the entire tower was in a state of intense activity, with people coming and going. Many doors of previously closed cultivation rooms were now open, and a large crowd of people surged out, rushing towards the exit of the tower. From their eyes, Xiao Yan could see faint traces of red light.
Standing outside the cultivation room, Xiao Yan hesitated for a moment before squeezing into the crowd, quickly heading towards the center of the tower. The entrance to the next level should be there. Clearly, he could only stay on this first level for one day; it seemed that if he wanted to continue his cultivation, he would need to go down a few more levels.
Pushing against the flow of people, Xiao Yan’s agile form swiftly made its way through the tight spaces. In less than ten minutes, the crowd blocking his path gradually thinned. With a quick turn, he completely squeezed out of the mass of people.
The feeling of being squeezed disappeared, and Xiao Yan let out a sigh of relief. Just as he was about to look around for the entrance to the next level, a figure suddenly appeared in front of him. A slightly annoyed, deep voice rang in Xiao Yan’s ear: “You, how can you be so unaware of the rules? Don’t you know that when the ancient bell rings, you are forbidden from wandering around the tower?”
The sudden appearance of the figure made Xiao Yan stop in his tracks. Lifting his gaze, he saw a middle-aged man, similar in age to Hou Hu. He wore a mentor badge on his chest, indicating that he was likely also a mentor responsible for maintaining order within the tower, like Hou Hu.
“Teacher…”
Since the person was a mentor, Xiao Yan dared not continue to intrude. However, just as he was about to explain, the stern-faced mentor waved his hand and said, frowning, “Don’t bother. Since your cultivation is over, you should go back and rest. After resolving the invisible fire poison tomorrow, you can come back to the tower for cultivation. The tower will soon begin its inspection. If you’re still here, you’ll lose fire energy.”
Invisible fire poison must be what Hou Hu referred to as the flame’s rampage factor. Although the terms were different, the meaning was similar.
Seeing the stern face of the mentor, Xiao Yan felt a headache coming on. However, it didn’t last long as another voice intervened, diffusing the tension.
“Hey? Xiao Yan? Why are you still here?”
Hearing this voice, Xiao Yan felt a surge of joy. He quickly turned around to see Hou Hu striding towards him, and he hurriedly gave him a meaningful glance.
Noticing Xiao Yan’s signals, Hou Hu felt a bit confused. He walked up and smiled at the middle-aged man who was blocking Xiao Yan, saying, “Qin Li, let me handle this. You go about your business.”
Upon hearing this, the mentor hesitated, looked at Xiao Yan, and then nodded, “Alright, but you need to get him out of here quickly. If we’re discovered during the inspection, we’ll be scolded by Elder Liu.”
“Sure,” Hou Hu smiled and nodded.
Seeing him agree, the mentor named Qin Li turned and left.
As Qin Li disappeared around the corner, Hou Hu turned to Xiao Yan, puzzled, “Little Brother Xiao Yan, your cultivation is over? Why are you still wandering around here?”
“Hehe, Big Brother Hou, I have something I need your help with,” Xiao Yan said, leaning in closer.
“What is it?” Hou Hu blinked and asked.
“Hehe, Big Brother Hou, as you know, with my current strength, cultivating on the first level won’t yield much effect. I want to go down to the lower levels for cultivation. Is there any way you can make an exception?”
“Go down to the lower levels?” Hou Hu was startled and then shook his head, lowering his voice, “Little Brother Xiao Yan, I understand that the first level doesn’t offer much benefit for your strength. But according to the rules, regardless of how strong a new student is, they must cultivate on the first level for a week before moving to the lower levels. The heartfire roasting, no matter how strong you are, will always mix a bit of fire poison into your qi. This is not a joke. Over the years, many students have suffered irreparable damage from the accumulation of fire poison.”
“Moreover, adapting to the heartfire roasting takes time. Each lower level of the Heavenly Flame Refining Tower has increasingly powerful and intense heartfire. You haven’t even adapted to the first level yet, and going down further would be too risky.”
Listening to Hou Hu’s words, Xiao Yan felt dizzy. After a while, he shook his head helplessly and pointed to his eyes, saying, “Big Brother Hou, though my cultivation method isn’t very high-level, it has a special feature. It provides some resistance to fire poisons and other toxins. So, you don’t need to worry about me getting damaged by the fire poison. As for adaptation, don’t worry. I heard that in the inner courtyard, students with the strength of a five-star Grand Battle Master can enter the third level. I’m just planning to go to the second level, so it shouldn’t be a big problem.”
Staring at Xiao Yan’s pitch-black eyes, Hou Hu was taken aback. Having worked in the tower for many years, he was very familiar with fire poisons. Just by looking at someone’s eyes, he could tell if they had been affected by fire poison. Looking at Xiao Yan’s eyes, it seemed he hadn’t been affected.
“Okay, I believe you have some resistance to fire poison, but it’s still against the rules…”
After a long pause, Hou Hu sighed and nodded, still seeming a bit hesitant.
Seeing Hou Hu’s indecision, Xiao Yan stepped forward and discreetly slipped a jade bottle into Hou Hu’s hand, smiling, “Big Brother Hou, you often work in the tower. Though you are strong, the fire poison you absorb daily is hard to eliminate. This pill, ‘Ice Spirit Pill,’ may not be of high rank, but it can suppress fire poison.”
Feeling the jade bottle slip into his hand, Hou Hu’s heart skipped a beat. After Xiao Yan explained the pill’s effects, his grip on the bottle tightened, afraid it might disappear. As Xiao Yan said, those who often work in the tower are more severely affected by fire poison than students. Sometimes, lack of rest makes it even harder to completely resolve the poison, leading to occasional heartfire surges, causing mistakes in cultivation.
Everyone knew the danger of making mistakes in cultivation. Hearing that the pill could suppress fire poison, Hou Hu was filled with joy and satisfaction. After a moment’s thought, he sighed and looked at Xiao Yan with a strange expression, “What you give is always hard to refuse. Sigh, alright, I’ll take the risk for you today. Follow me!”
With that, Hou Hu quickly scanned the surroundings, grabbed Xiao Yan, and rushed through the corner, heading towards the central location.
Following Hou Hu, Xiao Yan breathed a long sigh of relief. The “Ice Spirit Pill” was somewhat complex to make but not difficult. He hadn’t expected it to be so effective for bribery. It truly was putting good steel to good use.
After walking for about five minutes, Xiao Yan felt Hou Hu slow down. Looking ahead, he saw a spiral staircase, which should be the entrance to the next level.
“Luckily, I’m on duty today, or I couldn’t have let you down. Hey, don’t move, be careful. There’s a spatial mirror here. If you barge in, you’ll be bounced back by its power, and the result could be serious injury.”
Reaching the staircase, Hou Hu warned Xiao Yan, then stopped him from stepping forward.
Xiao Yan noticed that the space at the entrance did indeed have a slight distortion. Cold sweat broke out on his forehead. The Heavenly Flame Refining Tower was indeed full of traps and mechanisms.
After warning Xiao Yan, Hou Hu carefully removed his badge and placed it in a hidden recess on the wall. As the badge was placed, the space in front of them fluctuated, and the distortion disappeared.
“Can I go in now?” Xiao Yan asked cautiously.
“Yes, the spatial mirror is deactivated. Go down now. After you enter, I’ll re-activate it. It will only open again when the tower doors open tomorrow.”
“Thank you, Big Brother Hou.” Hearing this, Xiao Yan was overjoyed and bowed gratefully to Hou Hu. He cautiously touched the air in front of him and then stepped down the stairs.
“Remember, if you can’t withstand the heartfire roasting on the second level, find a place to rest. Come back after the tower doors open tomorrow,” Hou Hu reminded.
“Understood, thank you, Big Brother Hou.” Smiling, Xiao Yan nodded, bowed again, and then disappeared into the spiral staircase.
Hou Hu tossed the jade bottle in his hand, carefully stowed it away, and watched Xiao Yan’s disappearing figure, sighing softly, “Little guy, cultivating on the lower levels is faster, but it requires being able to withstand the heartfire… I hope you can endure it…”
Tai Sui Yellow Amulet Paper FuLu Taoist Love Talisman Traditional Chinese Spiritual Charm Attracting Love Protecting Marriage