Chapter 777: Blocking the Door

Rain pattered on the bluestones.

He sped along the road, encountering not only various fierce beasts but also secret places resembling thatched huts. However, he never found an opportune moment like when he encountered the Red-tailed Crane, and thus had no chance to take action.

Qin Sang tried his best to avoid other cultivators. After several twists and turns, he finally clearly saw the Celestial Pagoda.

Around the Celestial Pagoda was a flat open space, like a plaza.

There were no buildings in the open space; only the pagoda stood solitary. However, Qin Sang soon noticed numerous broken walls and ruins on the mountains surrounding the plaza.

Lacking protective enchantments, they had all been destroyed.

But from the remaining traces, it was clear that these places once housed ancient halls of astonishing scale, undoubtedly important sites within the Seven Kills Hall.

The scene before him matched what he had seen in the crystal he obtained from Du Han.

The difference was that no ancient corpses were falling from the cloud sea this time.

After fifty years of bitter waiting, he had finally returned to this place!

What exactly had happened inside the Celestial Pagoda all those years ago? Why had he fallen out of the pagoda and inexplicably appeared in the Western Frontier?

The Two-headed Hou had returned to the Concentric Ring to sleep. Qin Sang stood at the mountain peak, observing the scene at the base of the Celestial Pagoda, when the surprise in his eyes suddenly faded, replaced by an expression of shock and uncertainty.

On the open ground beneath the Celestial Pagoda, dozens of cultivators were gathered, neither entering nor leaving.

Some stood in twos and threes, while others sat quietly alone.

Qin Sang's gaze swept over the crowd, but he didn't find Xiang Yi or the others.

They occasionally looked up at the Celestial Pagoda's entrance, their expressions showing varying degrees of anxiety, yet not a single one dared to rush in directly.

At the entrance of the Celestial Pagoda, an old man stood like a guardian deity.

Qin Sang's gaze shifted to him; from the man's attire, it was evident he was a Witch Clan cultivator.

His aura was subtle, displaying no powerful oppressive force, and he stood motionless before the entrance.

From a distance, he looked like an old man with no cultivation.

The more he appeared so, the more cautious Qin Sang became.

This person was very likely a Nascent Soul Grandmaster of the Witch Clan; otherwise, so many cultivators wouldn't be standing obediently outside, not daring to take a single step further.

He had never imagined that after so much hardship to reach the Celestial Pagoda, he would find such a scene.

Qin Sang's heart sank instantly, filled with shock and doubt. "Did the Witch Clan enter the Seven Kills Hall with this as their target too? Are they going to occupy the Celestial Pagoda indefinitely, preventing others from entering? That would be far too domineering!"

Qin Sang looked at the people outside the pagoda, only to find that there were many Witch Clan cultivators among them.

These people couldn't enter the Celestial Pagoda and were reluctant to leave, suggesting the situation might not be so simple.

After pondering for a moment, Qin Sang darted down the mountain, quickly reaching the edge of the open ground. Some people in the plaza noticed Qin Sang, then turned away, seemingly uninterested.

Qin Sang scanned his surroundings, then walked towards a kind-looking old woman, bowing as he spoke: "Excuse me, senior... my surname is Qin, and I wish to enter the Celestial Pagoda. May I ask why so many fellow cultivators are waiting here?"

"There's no need for such formality, Fellow Cultivator Qin. My surname is Su; you can just call me Fellow Cultivator Su."

The old woman smiled kindly and subtly pointed to the person at the entrance, saying: "Like you, Fellow Cultivator Qin, we also arrived late and can only wait. It is said that initially, the Great Witch Priest and the Demon Lord entered the Celestial Pagoda one after another, and did not forbid other cultivators from entering. Later, other Witch Clan seniors arrived and, for some unknown reason, blocked the entrance, preventing anyone from passing. They even left this senior to guard it, stating that entry would only be permitted after a while. Some who disobeyed learned a harsh lesson and suffered considerably..."

Only after asking did Qin Sang learn the full story.

In the beginning, the Demon Lord and the Witch Clan were in a standoff.

The Great Witch Priest dismissed other Nascent Soul experts and entered the Celestial Pagoda alone, with the Demon Lord closely following.

However, the other Nascent Soul experts didn't have it easy either; it is said they encountered ambushes from human Nascent Soul experts.

It's highly probable that the human Nascent Souls were all acting under the Demon Lord's orders, tasked with monitoring the movements of the Witch Clan Nascent Souls. Battles had reportedly occurred in several locations, creating astonishing commotions.

As for whether there were any casualties, no one knew.

Later, for some unknown reason, those Witch Clan Nascent Souls all turned back and entered the Celestial Pagoda in unison, followed by some human Nascent Souls who also rushed in.

However, the Demon Lord and the Great Witch Priest, who had entered the Celestial Pagoda first, never reappeared.

No one knew what exactly had happened inside the Celestial Pagoda. After seeing so many Nascent Souls enter and then the entrance being sealed, some even rejoiced at the situation.

The conflict between the Nascent Souls of the two clans meant even minor repercussions could cost them their lives. Waiting for the situation to stabilize before entering might not be a bad thing.

After thanking the old woman, Qin Sang walked to the edge of the plaza, frowning inwardly.

Unlike others, the Celestial Pagoda involved the secrets of an ancient teleportation array, and no matter how dangerous it was inside, he could not retreat.

But with a Nascent Soul guarding the entrance now, no matter how anxious he was, he could only endure.

There was still some time until the Seven Kills Hall closed, and it was unclear when entry would be permitted.

"I never expected to rush here so eagerly, only to be blocked at the entrance. If I had known, I would have spent more time on the road, searching carefully; perhaps I could have found some spirit herbs."

Qin Sang sighed inwardly.

Returning now was also unrealistic; he could only continue to wait.

After a moment of contemplation, he remembered that he had been busy and hadn't had time to subdue the recently acquired Golden Jade Lock. He might as well use this opportunity to complete its refinement, adding another means of self-defense for when he entered the Celestial Pagoda.

With this thought, Qin Sang flashed into the mountain forest. After getting out of sight of other cultivators, he left behind a Fiendish Corpse to observe the situation, found a secluded spot, and set up a spiritual isolation array.

He first took out the Golden Radiance Armor.

The Golden Radiance Armor was covered in dents. With his skill in artifact forging, repairing it wouldn't be difficult, and he had spiritual materials in his Thousand Pounds Ring. However, it would take some time, which he didn't have at the moment.

He sat down cross-legged, withdrawing his consciousness inward to examine the Golden Jade Lock.

Inside his Dantian, the Golden Jade Lock was enveloped by Dantian Fire. Under the continuous refinement of the Dantian Fire, all traces of its previous owner had been completely erased, making it an unowned treasure.

Qin Sang quickly became familiar with the magic treasure's characteristics, then activated his spiritual sense and true essence to refine it.

Time slowly passed.

Not long after, Qin Sang suddenly opened his eyes, put away the Golden Jade Lock, and stood up.

At that moment, at the edge of the mountain forest, the Fiendish Corpse was in a standoff with two people.

One was the old woman Qin Sang had spoken to earlier, and the other was a middle-aged man.

The Fiendish Corpse was merely at the Foundation Establishment stage, casually refined by Qin Sang. These two individuals could easily crush it, but they didn't. Instead, they patiently waited outside, seemingly demonstrating they held no ill will.

Sensing this situation, Qin Sang pondered for a moment, then put away his array plate and slowly walked out.

"Fellow Cultivator Qin."

Seeing Qin Sang emerge, the old woman's face lit up with joy.

"Fellow Cultivator Su."

Qin Sang nodded, then looked at the other person. "And this is?"

He was surprised to find that the middle-aged man was a Witch Clan cultivator.

The middle-aged man stepped forward and offered: "Fellow Cultivator Qin, my surname is Di. I apologize for the disturbance, and I hope you don't mind. Fellow Cultivator Su and I came here to invite you to join forces with us to enter the Celestial Pagoda."