“Brother Blood Cloud, I heard you have a ‘Golden Sand Poison Frog’ here? I specialize in witchcraft and happen to need this very creature,” the old man said with a chuckle.
“Easy enough,” the bald giant laughed, rubbing his head. “Fifty Meta Realm Stones, and it’s yours.”
The two began haggling.
In the end, the old man paid thirty-two Meta Realm Stones and left with the Golden Sand Poison Frog, smiling as he bid farewell.
The bald giant warmly escorted him out, all the way from the palace gates aboveground, before returning underground.
“Big Brother, how dare that witch cultivator come here?” a black-clad woman greeted him, sneering. “If not for hiding our identities, I would’ve devoured him in one bite.”
“All you think about is eating! A good disguise isn’t easy to maintain,” the bald giant scolded. “Right now, that Dongbo Xueying is hunting for us, and the Three Sacred Realms are fully backing him. If we slip up and get flagged as suspects, they’ll pass the intel to Dongbo Xueying, and he’ll come sniffing around soon enough. Though his strength is mediocre and no threat to me, if we’re exposed, our comfortable days are over. You better behave and follow my rules. If you mess this up, well… you can go beg another general for help.”
“Yes, yes, I understand, Big Brother,” the black-clad woman quickly replied with a forced smile.
The Kings had long since issued orders.
All peak eighth-level Golden Armor Fiends must operate under the guidance of a ninth-level expert. Judging by Dongbo Xueying’s capabilities, he couldn’t stop a ninth-level being. And this bald giant… was a ninth-level Golden Armor Fiend in disguise.
“Hahaha,” the bald giant suddenly turned his gaze to a nearby Tower of Life and Death. “The eighteenth floor is about to host another deathmatch. Looks like some lucky little one might walk out alive.”
—
Inside the Tower of Life and Death.
Eighteenth floor.
A young man and an old man were locked in a frenzied battle, both at the Void God Nascent Birth realm.
“Die!!!” With a roar, the young man finally tore through the old man’s chest with a punch, shattering his body. He followed up with relentless strikes, his fists ripping through the void until the old man was utterly annihilated.
“I won.”
The young man collapsed to the ground, utterly exhausted.
“Finally… finally, I’m going to leave this Tower of Life and Death alive,” he muttered, clenching his fists. “Father, Big Brother… I’m coming home. I’m coming back to see you.”
These past years had been a nightmare.
He’d left home to train and explore, only to pass through a tribe and buy some supplies. That tribe had offended the ‘Blood Cloud Tower Master,’ and its entire population was captured and thrown into the Tower of Life and Death. Fighting their way up from the bottom, floor by floor… out of countless cultivators, only one in eighteen floors ever survived.
The young man was exceptionally talented. He could’ve broken through to the Unity realm long ago but dared not.
Because battles in the Tower of Life and Death were fought within the same major realm—Nascent Birth against Nascent Birth, Unity against Unity. And the Tower simply didn’t have enough Unity realm prisoners to sustain eighteen floors of elimination. So anyone who reached Unity was doomed.
“Hum.”
A spatial ripple enveloped the young man.
He grinned.
Home…
Father, Big Brother, and the woman he’d pursued for so long—though she only ever saw him as a younger brother.
Just seeing her again would be enough.
“Whoosh.”
Space shifted.
He was finally out of the Tower, standing in a vast hall.
Seated on the throne at the center was the bald giant, who grinned. “Congratulations, kid. You’ve survived the Tower. Push open those doors, and you’re free.”
“Thank you, Tower Master Blood Cloud,” the young man bowed respectfully.
Though nearly every prisoner harbored hatred for the Tower Master, the Ancient Sacred World was a brutal place where the strong ruled. The young man didn’t dare show the slightest disrespect, lest he lose his life.
“Too bad you won’t get to open those doors,” the bald giant chuckled, his smile widening.
The young man froze.
“Let me share a secret.”
The bald giant smirked. “Every single person who leaves the Tower of Life and Death meets the same fate—being eaten by me!”
The young man’s face turned deathly pale.
No… no…
His family… the red-clad figure he longed to see again…
“Hahahaha!” The bald giant laughed heartily, relishing the despair that washed over the young man’s face.
“NO!”
The young man’s aura surged as he broke through to the Unity realm, bolting for the doors.
“You think you can escape?” The bald giant smirked. He was a ninth-level Destruction Fiend! Even a Chaos realm expert would be no match for him, let alone this brat.
Suddenly, everything fell silent.
The fleeing young man crashed dumbly into the doors, which shuddered from the impact. He collapsed onto the floor, completely unconscious.
Not just him—everyone in the castle, the prisoners in the Tower below, and even the attendants and servants—all stood frozen, trapped in an illusion.
Only two remained awake.
The bald giant and the black-clad woman.
“Dongbo Xueying!” The bald giant’s expression twisted in alarm.
“Big Brother!”
The black-clad woman rushed into the hall. “We’ve been found. We have to go!”
“Let’s move.” Though furious, the bald giant knew better than to underestimate Dongbo Xueying. With the backing of the Three Sacred Realms, the man’s survival skills were unmatched. Being discovered by him meant being exposed to the Three Sacred Realms.
They had to flee—now!
Whoosh!
The bald giant and the woman shot out of the hall.
A massive black flower bud with nine petals had already enveloped the entire castle. As they emerged, they found themselves trapped inside its translucent, crystalline petals, through which they could see the outside.
There, floating in the air, stood a white-robed youth—Dongbo Xueying.
“Swish, swish, swish.” Layer upon layer of black flower buds unfolded, each larger one encasing a smaller one, until seven layers surrounded them.
To wield such immense mental power, to manifest seven nine-petaled flowers at once…
It was thanks to the Vermilion Nightmare legacy’s boost to his soul and the twenty thousand Meta Realm Stones he’d consumed.
“You think you can stop me?” The bald giant sneered, charging at the nearest petal. His fist transformed into a swirling vortex of color, tearing through the first layer with difficulty. But by the second, his momentum stalled.
With a mere thought, Dongbo Xueying summoned another black flower bud, wrapping it around the outermost layer—maintaining seven layers in total.
“Impossible!” The bald giant couldn’t believe it. His full-force strike had only broken one petal?
He glared at the white-robed youth outside.
This shouldn’t be happening.
Dongbo Xueying was only known for his survivability, not his combat prowess. He should’ve been able to smash through effortlessly. Yet here he was, trapped inside these black flowers. Even if he dispersed into golden light to escape, the sealed petals left no way out!
“Big Brother…” The black-clad woman was stunned. Even a ninth-level Golden Armor Fiend couldn’t escape?
“He… he’s grown stronger.” A chill ran down the bald giant’s spine. He knew—this time, there was no escape.
Outside the black flower bud, hovering midair, Dongbo Xueying calmly sent word to the Cosmic Deities, informing them of the situation.
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