Chapter 679: Danlu Front

The majestic Nine Refinement Pagoda had an entrance a hundred miles wide.

Meng Chuan and the old man with the turtle shell walked through the entrance passage, appearing like two tiny specks.

“Meng Chuan, walk further ahead, and you’ll be inside the Nine Refinement Pagoda,” the old man with the turtle shell said, standing in the entrance passage and pointing towards the pagoda’s interior. The inside was a vast, chaotic expanse, with a cauldron resembling a small mountain at its center. “Once you enter the pagoda, keep walking straight until you reach that cauldron. That will signify you’ve passed the First Refinement.”

“Reach the cauldron?” Meng Chuan nodded slightly.

“Don’t underestimate this First Refinement,” the old man with the turtle shell chuckled. “In your era, even the most powerful figures like the White Bird Pavilion Master and the Myriad Star Heavenly Emperor, both half-step Eighth Tribulation realm experts, only managed to pass the Fifth Refinement. For someone at the Sixth Tribulation realm like you, even getting through the First Refinement will be extremely difficult.”

Meng Chuan was secretly astonished.

Patriarch Cang Yuan from his homeland had passed the Fourth Refinement, while the White Bird Pavilion Master and the Myriad Star Heavenly Emperor had only passed the Fifth Refinement, barely making it halfway.

“Senior Bei, how many have reached the Fourth Refinement in our era?” Meng Chuan asked.

“In this era, most Seventh Tribulation realm mighty figures have been here, but only three have managed to reach the Fourth Refinement before stopping,” the old man with the turtle shell replied. “They are Patriarch Realm, Wind-Thunder Walker, and the Medicine Palace Master.”

Meng Chuan nodded slightly.

There were seven recognized top Seventh Tribulation realm experts in the current age. The Demonic Eye Society Master was not included because he hadn't displayed his peak Seventh Tribulation realm strength since recovering from severe injuries.

These seven were Ancestral Witch King, Blood Phoenix Palace Master, Lord of Shadows, Prime Realm Leader, Patriarch Realm, Wind-Thunder Walker, and Medicine Palace Master.

“Has the Ancestral Witch King never been here?” Meng Chuan asked.

There was a period when the Ancestral Witch King was considered the strongest among physical body Seventh Tribulation realm experts, and Patriarch Realm was the strongest among Essence Soul Seventh Tribulation realm experts.

Even now, the Ancestral Witch King’s influence remains powerful.

“He is ultimately somewhat lacking in his cultivation,” the old man with the turtle shell said casually. “He only gained such power by chance, inheriting the ‘Witchcraft Legacy’ left by an Eternal existence.”

“What about the Demonic Eye Society Master?” Meng Chuan asked. He had encountered the Demonic Eye Society Master up close; the Society Master had once stood at the very peak of the River of Spacetime long ago.

“Also somewhat lacking,” the old man with the turtle shell stated. “None of them have as profound foundations as Patriarch Realm and those other two.”

Meng Chuan sighed inwardly.

The outside world widely spoke of ‘seven top Seventh Tribulation realm experts’ and rumored the Demonic Eye Society Master to be unfathomable.

But in the eyes of this formation spirit of the Nine Refinement Pagoda, there was clearly still a hierarchy.

Patriarch Realm, the oldest Seventh Tribulation realm expert of the current age.

Medicine Palace Master, the most low-key and reclusive Seventh Tribulation realm expert of the current age. Yet, his mastery of medicine and poison had reached an incredible level, making no force willing to become his enemy. Even the White Bird Pavilion Master and the Myriad Star Heavenly Emperor were unwilling to provoke him.

Wind-Thunder Walker, a solitary Seventh Tribulation realm expert, spent long periods exploring various ruins, solely focused on cultivation. Battles only arose when his discovery of treasures in ruins prompted other Seventh Tribulation realm experts to contend for them. But in every battle, Wind-Thunder Walker had never suffered a loss! The Myriad Star Heavenly Emperor, a half-step Eighth Tribulation realm expert, had once directly clashed with Wind-Thunder Walker over a relic treasure. Remarkably, Wind-Thunder Walker was the victor, successfully escaping with the treasure while the Myriad Star Heavenly Emperor gained nothing.

“Regarding that conflict between Wind-Thunder Walker and the Myriad Star Heavenly Emperor, the outside world claimed Wind-Thunder Walker was merely lucky, suggesting the Myriad Star Heavenly Emperor, as a master of time and space, must have been careless. But now, it's clear that escaping with treasure from the Myriad Star Heavenly Emperor’s grasp indicates Wind-Thunder Walker’s true strength,” Meng Chuan mused to himself.

Indeed, Patriarch Cang Yuan had passed the Fourth Refinement, putting him on par with Patriarch Realm, Medicine Palace Master, and Wind-Thunder Walker.

“One more reminder: when challenging the Nine Refinement Pagoda, you must not use any external treasures. You must rely solely on your own power. Otherwise, I will have no choice but to expel you, and you will never be allowed to enter again,” the old man with the turtle shell stated from the entrance passage.

“Understood.”

Meng Chuan greatly valued this opportunity in the Nine Refinement Pagoda. According to Patriarch Cang Yuan's records, challenging the pagoda could help one identify shortcomings in their cultivation, and if proficient enough, the pagoda would even bestow treasures.

Meng Chuan stepped inside the pagoda.

The pagoda’s interior was vast and chaotic, with only the central cauldron standing out. The moment Meng Chuan took his first step inside, an immense, heavy pressure enveloped him.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

Within this chaotic, empty space, an invisible wind blew against Meng Chuan. Each wisp of wind was far heavier than a sun, striving to penetrate and impact every single microcosm.

“Such immense pressure, enough to crush a normal Sixth Tribulation realm expert,” Meng Chuan thought. Although this was merely his Essence Soul avatar, he was ultimately specialized in Essence Soul cultivation. He had even developed nascent forms of his self-created Essence Soul techniques, which had further transformed, especially after his seventy-three thousand li journey through the Demonic Mountain.

His entire Essence Soul avatar endured the impact and pressure, yet it possessed an indestructible quality, remaining completely unshaken.

Meng Chuan walked step by step towards the cauldron.

The wind inside the pagoda grew heavier, and the impact intensified.

“Ugh…”

An eerie wailing sound echoed in Meng Chuan’s mind. Illusionary eight-tentacled creatures appeared in his Sea of Consciousness, assailing his consciousness. Meng Chuan’s consciousness condensed into a human form, with a blade forming at his waist—a blade of will.

Meng Chuan swung his blade, shattering these illusionary eight-tentacled creatures one by one.

In terms of mental fortitude and will alone, Meng Chuan was no less formidable than a Seventh Tribulation Essence Soul expert, so naturally, these external forces couldn’t shake him.

He continued to advance, step by step.

The pressure grew stronger, and the illusionary eight-tentacled creatures surging into his Sea of Consciousness became more solid and powerful.

“For a Sixth Tribulation realm expert, getting through the First Refinement is too difficult,” the old man with the turtle shell remarked, watching with interest from the entrance passage. “Perhaps not even one in a hundred can do it. This young Meng Chuan is still too green.”

“Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!”

The wind’s oppressive force grew even more terrifying. Meng Chuan felt the very heavens and earth shaking, and his Essence Soul trembled.

Even with his Essence Soul, which had even formed nascent techniques, he was beginning to struggle against the impact.

“Could I really not even pass the First Refinement?” Meng Chuan wondered, startled.

“Bang!”

As long as he advanced, the wind’s pressure only intensified. Finally, Meng Chuan’s Essence Soul completely burst apart with a bang.

“He failed,” the old man with the turtle shell said, preparing to stand up, but then his eyes suddenly lit up. “Oh? This is interesting.”

The disintegrated Essence Soul now existed in the form of a swarm of microcosms.

They were invisible to the naked eye, being the smallest ‘microcosms.’

Countless microcosms formed a collective, with Meng Chuan’s consciousness commanding the swarm.

His powerful mental fortitude and will further controlled the entire swarm of microcosms. The swarm transformed at will, flowing and shifting like water, constantly deflecting the impacts. Clearly, this ‘microcosm swarm’ form was much more effective at resisting the wind’s assault.

“Perhaps the ‘water flow layer’ of the Essence Soul I previously comprehended would be more suitable if evolved as a swarm of microcosms,” Meng Chuan thought. He continued to advance in his ‘microcosm swarm’ form. Only two or three tenths of the wind’s oppressive force could truly affect the microcosm swarm, making it much easier for Meng Chuan.

However, as he continued to advance...

The eerie “woo-woo-woo” sounds, as he drew closer to the cauldron, finally coalesced into a visible black eight-tentacled creature.

This black eight-tentacled creature lunged at Meng Chuan, who was still in his microcosm swarm form.

It clashed with Meng Chuan’s consciousness.

“Kill, kill, kill…” Each of the black eight-tentacled creature’s slimy tentacles exuded an evil aura, stirring up various distracting thoughts in living beings. It coiled around Meng Chuan’s mental fortitude and will.

“Cut!”

Meng Chuan’s mental fortitude and will, imbued with an ‘indestructible’ quality, drew out a blade of will. It severed the black tentacles one by one. After seventeen consecutive slashes, he finally annihilated the black eight-tentacled creature.

As he annihilated it, Meng Chuan, still in his microcosm swarm form, finally reached the cauldron.

The wind ceased, the eerie wailing vanished, and everything returned to calm.

“Whoosh.”

The microcosm swarm condensed, reforming into Meng Chuan’s black-robed, white-haired appearance.

“This was only the First Refinement?” Meng Chuan looked at the mountain-like cauldron before him, feeling as though he had almost been forced to exhaust all his methods.