Ascending Floor by Floor

The killing intent was pure and pushed to the absolute extreme. Heaven knew what method the ancient cultivators had used to seal such sword intent within this ancient hall. Shaken by the sword intent, Qin Sang gazed at the ancient hall, his thoughts racing. There were tangled threads of connection between the Hall of Seven Kills and Ziwei Palace, but Qin Sang had never expected that such sword intent would be sealed within Heaven Tower, tied so intimately to the Origin Soul Sword-Nurturing Chapter. Could the Origin Soul Sword-Nurturing Chapter have been created by an ancient cultivator of the Hall of Seven Kills? The first five layers of the cultivation method had ended up in Ziwei Palace. If so, could the complete method be hidden somewhere in the Hall of Seven Kills? Whoever created the Origin Soul Sword-Nurturing Chapter had to be an ancient cultivator of immense power. There was no way this technique would hit a dead end at Core Formation; there had to be subsequent layers. Ancient teleportation arrays, cultivation methods... At this moment, Qin Sang had gained yet another goal. The two killing talismans left behind by Senior Qingzhu could only sustain him until the late Core Formation stage. If he could find the complete technique, he would no longer have to pin all his hopes on the senior. Moreover, Senior Qingzhu had vanished without a trace, his whereabouts entirely unknown. Over the years, not only had Qin Sang searched himself, but he had also asked Elder Zou and others to make inquiries. Yet they had failed to glean even the faintest whisper of information. Given Senior Qingzhu's talent and cultivation, it was impossible for him to travel the outside world without leaving the slightest clue. Qin Sang strongly suspected that some misfortune had befallen him. The cultivation world was fraught with unpredictable winds and clouds; anything could happen. "Fellow Daoist Qin, what are you looking at?" The elderly woman looked at Qin Sang with a puzzled expression. "Did you notice something unusual?" Snapping back to his senses, Qin Sang shook his head and said, "No. I merely found the restrictions on the Teleportation Hall quite peculiar and felt curious. Unfortunately, ancient restrictions are far too profound, and my humble abilities fall short of deciphering them." "Fellow Daoist Qin, there is no need to be discouraged. If the restrictions here were so easily unraveled, the secrets of Heaven Tower would have been cracked long ago. I hear that even Nascent Soul Patriarchs must follow the rules of this place and force their way through floor by floor. Since nothing is amiss, let us head inside the Teleportation Hall. After all, we have already waited outside for quite some time, so it is best to break through as quickly as possible..." the elderly woman reminded him. Qin Sang nodded and set his thoughts aside. The five of them leapt down onto the stone steps before the Teleportation Hall. As they approached the hall, a blast of biting chill struck them, accompanied by a heavy pall of deathly stillness and decay. The doors of the Teleportation Hall were tightly shut, and the interior was dead quiet. The cultivators who had arrived before them had already entered the hall and teleported to higher floors. Pausing briefly, the party quickened their steps and walked up. The Teleportation Hall had eight entrances distributed across its eight directions. Supposedly, every entrance led to the teleportation formation, though the puppets lurking behind each door differed somewhat. On the first floor, there was no need for extreme caution. They pushed open the door directly in front of them and stepped inside. *Thud!* The heavy door swung shut on its own, producing a dull thud. What appeared before them was a long, remarkably wide corridor extending straight ahead. Its walls were built of blue-gray bricks, devoid of any carvings or patterns. The group exchanged glances and strode forward. Along the way, green light flashed repeatedly across the walls as puppet after puppet broke out from the masonry. They came in all manner of bizarre, grotesque shapes, offering a feast for the eyes. The deeper they ventured into the corridor, the more puppets ambushed them. Unfortunately, these puppets were far too weak, unable to impede their advance in the slightest. The group swept swiftly through the corridor, leaving behind battered, broken puppets in their wake that melted away into the bluestone. Further ahead, intersecting paths appeared. The place resembled a labyrinth. Locating the ancient teleportation array was not difficult, but if one lacked sufficient cultivation, it was hard to say how long one could endure under the onslaught of so many puppets. Furthermore, the labyrinth here shifted continuously, changing with every entrance, making it useless to memorize the route. Agreeing on signals, they split up to search through the maze, and soon pinpointed the location of the teleportation formation. Before long, the group came to a halt. Ahead rose a three-tiered stone platform, atop which the teleportation formation rested, glowing with a faint white light. "Let's go." The man surnamed Di was the first to step onto it, and the others followed close behind. In a flash of light, they were whisked away. At the very last moment, Qin Sang's eyes deepened as he stared back into the corridor. Earlier, when they encountered the crossroads and split up, he had searched everywhere. Later, he had even summoned his ebony sword and vibrated the killing talisman upon the spirit sword, but had sensed nothing at all. *Could the secrets of the cultivation method lie on an even higher floor?* Harboring doubts, Qin Sang entered the second floor. The scenery on the second floor was largely similar to the first. Cooperating closely, the group operated with high efficiency, climbing sequentially to the third floor and promptly finding the teleportation formation within its Teleportation Hall. They kept their heads down and focused on traveling. Even when they spotted ancient halls or secret chambers along the way, they did not pry them open in search of treasure. Teleported to the fourth floor, they found that the puppets' strength had indeed grown noticeably greater. If an early Core Formation cultivator were besieged here, their only choice would be to fight a retreating battle. Taking up their formation, they divided the responsibilities. The group of five flew through the darkness. Floating above their heads was the bronze mirror, while a small silver shield circled around them. The small shield belonged to the male cultivator surnamed Wu, and the two magic treasures served as defense. For the time being, however, the elderly woman was more than capable of handling things on her own. The female cultivator surnamed Yin was shielded in the center, tasked with detecting the puppets' movements and weaknesses. Wielding his ebony sword, Qin Sang had already destroyed over a dozen puppets not long after entering the fourth floor. No one noticed that Qin Sang's gaze was quite peculiar, alternating between staring at his spirit sword and peering at the green light in the distance. Earlier, he could slaughter the puppets in an instant with a casual strike, making it entirely unnecessary to search for their weaknesses. Now, however, the situation was different; the puppets here had exceptionally tough bodies that could not be dismantled with ease. As a result, Qin Sang gradually detected a subtle oddity. He discovered that the puppets' weaknesses were not placed at random. Trading blows with the puppets, parrying their attacks, and striking back to destroy them once their weaknesses were identified—the entire process proved to be an exquisite way to hone one's swordsmanship, benefiting one's comprehension of sword dao realms! Qin Sang had long since comprehended Sword Qi Thunderclap on his own, so he was certain this sensation was no illusion! Because all five of them were fighting together, the impression was not as pronounced. Presumably, if one were to brave the trial alone and tangle in protracted combat with the puppets, the sensation would be vastly more intense. This was not merely a trial ground; for a sword cultivator, it was a veritable land of treasure. If one could undergo trials continuously within Heaven Tower, their swordsmanship would undoubtedly advance by leaps and bounds, making the comprehension of sword light differentiation an achievable prospect in the near future. Unfortunately, the window of time for the Hall of Seven Kills' opening was far too brief. In such a short duration, one could hardly reap substantial gains, and no one would squander precious time lingering here. Qin Sang let out a quiet sigh in his heart. Unaware of Qin Sang's thoughts, the others remained single-mindedly focused on pressing forward to find the Teleportation Hall. Before long, they successfully located it. The Teleportation Hall on the fourth floor was noticeably more dilapidated, with two of its doors already destroyed. Yet even this was far from the worst of it; rumors had it that on the sixth floor, not even the Teleportation Hall remained, leaving only a solitary teleportation formation floating adrift in the void. For them, this was a stroke of good fortune, as it meant they would not have to face a siege of puppets.