He flew swiftly without stopping.
Along the way, he encountered all manner of ferocious beasts and even came across secret grounds similar to the thatched cottages. However, he never found another opportunity as good as the one with the red-tailed crane, so he never had a chance to strike.
Qin Sang avoided other cultivators as much as possible, and after several twists and turns, he finally had a clear view of Heaven Tower.
Surrounding Heaven Tower was a level open space resembling a square.
There were no structures on the open ground; only the solitary tower stood tall there. Before long, however, Qin Sang noticed numerous ruined walls and remnants of rubble on the mountains surrounding the square.
Lacking the protection of restrictions, they had all fallen into ruin.
Yet from the surviving traces, one could tell that ancient halls of staggering scale must have once stood there. In the past, this had surely been an important location in the Hall of Seven Kills.
The sight before him was identical to what he had seen in the crystal obtained from Du Han.
The only difference was that this time, no ancient corpses fell from the sea of clouds.
After fifty years of bitter waiting, he had finally returned to this place!
Back then, what exactly happened inside Heaven Tower? Why had he fallen from outside the tower and mysteriously appeared in the Western Frontier?
The two-headed hou had already returned to sleep inside the Concentric Ring. Standing on the mountain summit, Qin Sang looked at the scene at the base of Heaven Tower. The delight in his eyes suddenly faded, replaced by an expression of shock and suspicion.
On the open ground beneath Heaven Tower, dozens of cultivators had gathered, neither entering the tower nor leaving.
Some stood together in groups of two or three, while others sat alone in quiet meditation.
Qin Sang swept his gaze over the crowd, but did not spot Xiang Yi or his companions.
From time to time, they glanced toward the entrance of Heaven Tower, their expressions more or less tinged with anxiety, yet not one dared to charge inside.
At the entrance of Heaven Tower stood an elderly man, like a guardian deity.
Qin Sang shifted his gaze onto him. Judging from the man's attire, he was clearly a cultivator of the Witch Clan.
His aura was obscure and gave off no overwhelming pressure as he stood motionlessly before the gate.
Seen from a distance, he looked like an ordinary mortal old man without any cultivation.
The more this was so, the more vigilant Qin Sang became.
This person was very likely a Nascent Soul Patriarch of the Witch Clan; otherwise, so many cultivators would not be standing obediently outside, not daring to step out of line.
Never had he imagined that after enduring countless hardships to reach Heaven Tower, he would be met with such a scene.
Qin Sang's heart sank abruptly, filled with profound suspicion and surprise. *Is Heaven Tower also the Witch Clan's objective in entering the Hall of Seven Kills? Could they intend to monopolize Heaven Tower and prevent anyone else from entering? That's far too overbearing!*
Qin Sang looked at the crowd outside the tower and realized there was no shortage of Witch Clan cultivators among them.
Since these people could not enter Heaven Tower yet were reluctant to leave, matters were likely not so simple.
After a moment's reflection, Qin Sang darted down the mountain, soon arriving at the edge of the open ground. A few people in the square noticed Qin Sang, then disinterestedly looked away.
Qin Sang scanned his surroundings, walked over to a kindly-looking elderly woman, bowed in greeting, and asked, "May I ask, Senior... This one is surnamed Qin, and I wish to make a trip into Heaven Tower. Might I ask why so many Fellow Daoists are waiting here?"
"There is no need for such formality, Fellow Daoist Qin. This old woman is surnamed Su; you may simply address me as Fellow Daoist Su."
The old woman smiled genially and pointed discreetly at the figure by the entrance. "Like you, Fellow Daoist Qin, we all arrived late, so we can only wait. It is said that in the beginning, the Grand Shaman and the Demon Lord entered Heaven Tower one after the other without forbidding other cultivators from entering. Later, other Witch Clan seniors arrived and, for reasons unknown, blocked the main gate, refusing to let anyone pass. They also left this senior behind to stand guard, saying that people would only be allowed through after a while. Some refused to comply, only to be taught a harsh lesson and suffer quite a bit..."
Only upon asking did Qin Sang learn the truth.
At the very beginning, the Demon Lord and the Witch Clan had been locked in a confrontation.
The Grand Shaman dispersed the other Nascent Soul experts and entered Heaven Tower alone, with the Demon Lord following closely behind.
However, the other Nascent Soul experts had not had it easy either; word was that they had been intercepted by human Nascent Soul experts.
The human Nascent Soul experts likely took their orders from the Demon Lord and had been arranged to monitor the movements of the Witch Clan's Nascent Soul cultivators. Battles had erupted in several places, producing shocking commotion.
As for whether any casualties occurred, no one knew for sure.
Later, for unknown reasons, those Witch Clan Nascent Soul cultivators returned one after another and entered Heaven Tower in unison, followed closely by several human Nascent Soul experts who rushed in as well.
Yet the Demon Lord and Grand Shaman, who had been the first to enter Heaven Tower, had not shown themselves from start to finish.
No one knew what was happening inside Heaven Tower. After witnessing so many Nascent Soul cultivators enter the tower, some were actually glad to see the entrance sealed.
In a battle between Nascent Soul masters of the two races, even the slightest aftershock could claim their lives. Waiting until the situation stabilized before venturing inside was not necessarily a bad thing.
Having thanked the old woman, Qin Sang walked to the edge of the square, frowning inwardly.
He was different from the others. Heaven Tower involved the secrets of the ancient teleportation array; no matter how perilous it was inside, he could not turn back.
Yet with a Nascent Soul cultivator guarding the gate, no matter how anxious he felt, he had no choice but to endure.
There was still some time before the Hall of Seven Kills closed, and it remained uncertain when they would be let through.
*To think I rushed here in such haste, only to be blocked before the entrance. Had I known, I would have lingered longer on the way and searched thoroughly; perhaps I could have found some more spirit herbs.*
Qin Sang sighed inwardly.
Going back now was unrealistic, so he could only continue to wait.
Pondering for a moment, he recalled that having been busy all this time, he had not yet had the chance to subdue the newly acquired Jinyao Lock. He might as well seize this opportunity to complete the refining of this treasure, gaining an additional means of self-defense for when he entered Heaven Tower.
With that in mind, Qin Sang darted into the mountain forest. Once out of the other cultivators' sight, he left behind a baleful corpse to monitor the situation, found a secluded spot, and laid down an isolating spirit array.
First, he took out the Gold Glow Armor.
The Gold Glow Armor was covered in dents. With his attainments in artifact crafting, repairing it would not be difficult, and he had spirit materials in his Qianjun Ring. However, it would require a certain amount of time, which he could not spare at the moment.
He sat cross-legged, turning his attention inward to examine the Jinyao Lock.
Inside his dantian, the Jinyao Lock was enveloped by core fire. Under the fire's continuous refinement, the youth's marks had been completely wiped clean, turning it into an unowned treasure.
Qin Sang quickly familiarized himself with the magic treasure's characteristics, then channeled his spiritual sense and true essence to carry out the refinement.
Time trickled by.
Before long, Qin Sang suddenly opened his eyes, stowed away the Jinyao Lock, and stood up.
At that moment, at the edge of the mountain forest, the baleful corpse was facing off against two people.
One was the old woman Qin Sang had spoken to earlier, while the other was a middle-aged man.
The baleful corpse possessed merely Foundation Establishment cultivation, something Qin Sang had refined casually; the two of them could have snuffed it out at will. Yet they had not done so, instead waiting patiently outside as though to demonstrate they harbored no ill intent.
Sensing this, Qin Sang pondered for a moment, stowed his array disk, and slowly walked out.
"Fellow Daoist Qin."
Seeing Qin Sang emerge, the old woman looked delighted.
"Fellow Daoist Su."
Qin Sang nodded, then looked toward the other person. "And this is?"
To his surprise, he discovered that the middle-aged man was actually a cultivator of the Witch Clan.
The middle-aged man took a step forward and spoke up of his own accord: "Fellow Daoist Qin, this one is surnamed Di. Please forgive us for the intrusion. Fellow Daoist Su and I have come to invite you to join forces with us to enter Heaven Tower."
Chapter 777