Chapter 200

"Thump..."

Perhaps because Yu Miaomiao's bone and muscle density far exceeded that of ordinary people, the sound of her head hitting the ground was particularly dull. It landed and stayed put, without even a roll. The young woman was dead, killed by the person she herself had chosen.

Zhao Yi gasped. Although death was common on the River Road, seeing the Dragon King's family member die right before his eyes was still quite shocking. Was this finally over, for now? According to the rules, since he hadn't called anyone, he had no opponent, which should count as a victory, meaning he had overcome this crisis.

At that moment, the woman in the black dress lowered her head, her left palm open and her right hand holding the sword downwards. As the sword tip swayed slowly, the emerald floor beneath her feet liquefied. The layer directly beneath her was Zhao Yi's.

Zhao Yi stood speechless. Young Master Zhao was panicking. Although Yu Miaomiao had fought while severely injured and clearly used some secret art in her final moments, exerting her full strength, she still ended up like a slaughtered pig, her body dismembered. His current state was many times worse than Yu Miaomiao's. If the woman above were to descend, he would have no chance of survival.

The next moment, the woman lightly flicked her sword tip, sending a puddle of green liquid flying into her palm. She applied this liquid to her injured face. The skin on her face, which had been peeled open by cat claws, began to writhe and quickly healed completely. She returned to her original appearance, sitting gracefully and ethereal on the couch on the eleventh floor. With a flick of her finger, the bell that had fallen beside Yu Miaomiao's remains flew back into her hand, its cord firmly grasped.

Zhao Yi breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, the woman wasn't coming down to kill him; she was just reapplying her makeup.

Zhao Yi looked down at the young man on the floor below him. The young man was also looking up. Zhao Yi placed a hand over his heart and mouthed: "That was really scary."

Li Zhuiyuan shook his head. Zhao Yi's eyes widened; he understood the gesture meant he had relaxed too soon.

"Click..."

The sound of three large doors opening simultaneously echoed from the three underground levels.

"Hum!"

The bell, however, rang out once more at that very moment. The tower doors, which had just opened a finger-width crack, stopped. This width was clearly insufficient for the three of them to re-enter the tower.

The face on the top floor of the tall tower revealed a smile. Although its appearance differed for each person, the smile was genuine, no longer silent like a departed soul, as it had been initially. Li Zhuiyuan couldn't see his smile because he had no face to the young man. Yet, the emotion he wished to convey was captured by Li Zhuiyuan.

What are you smiling about? Are you trying to create an atmosphere where this place is entirely under your control, and our fates are in your hands?

Earlier, when descending the floors, Li Zhuiyuan had mentioned the coin-toss analogy to Zhao Yi. In truth, many situations and events in this world, when you are forced to confront them, can be decided with a coin toss. The formation here was the most powerful, exquisite, and complete Li Zhuiyuan had ever seen, bar none. With his current level of formation mastery, he could only manage minor tricks; he hadn't even considered breaking it, as it was simply impossible. Its grand construction, the accumulation of ages, and even the wills of those who died here as sacrifices, including the powerful Xuanmen deceased within the tower, were all integrated into this formation. The person who designed this formation never intended to control it, and thus, left no backdoors or weaknesses to exploit. But the one on the top floor had now stopped the tower doors, which should have opened.

Two sides of a coin: Heads, he was powerful enough to easily manipulate and alter the rules here; Tails, he was forcibly breaking the rules. If it was heads, he could completely give up resisting. Therefore, if he wanted to struggle and fight back even a little, the coin could only land on tails.

"Ding-ding-dong..."

The bell in the black-dressed woman's hand jingled. Due to the obstruction of the wall, Li Zhuiyuan couldn't hear the bell, but because she was holding its string, he could see it swaying. The young man sensed that it wasn't just the bell in her hand that was making noise. Indeed, inside the tall tower, from the second to the eleventh floor, all the bells hanging before the deceased were now shaking and ringing. However, this commotion was isolated by the tower but clearly reached the ears of the person on the top floor.

That person let out a sigh, then turned to face the large bell. The large bell was covered in dense, blood-red patterns, within which fate and destiny were condensed. These were the accumulated sacrifices, willingly or unwillingly offered by countless people over the years. Originally, only two strokes were left to fully complete this great bell; now, only one remained. The prophecy on the ground floor mural was meant to succeed; only one missing piece remained. If it could be completed, then it would be a choice of three, and the last surviving person with great fortune could ring this Bell of Ascension.

Now, something had gone wrong. It was supposed to be a choice of three, eliminating two; but only one had died, leaving one more to go. So he could only forcibly intervene to complete it. The commotion inside the tall tower continued. When the faceless man rang the large bell again, the commotion intensified. This was particularly true on the eleventh floor, where an old man in a Taoist robe saw the whisk on his lap stir without any wind. Across from him, the scholar with a youthful face and white hair, reclining on a couch, showed a slight tremor at his fingertips. His anger was undoubtedly greater, as his book had been stolen.

"Calm yourselves!" The faceless man extended his hands; his fingers were long, and his dark nails even longer. The commotion within the tall tower finally gradually subsided. The faceless man looked up through the window, gazing into the sky.

Ascension was indeed an act envied by the Heavenly Dao, but this minor disturbance was nothing significant. This place inherently possessed a mystical quality, naturally independent, capable of isolating the decay of the world. Furthermore, their ancestors, when designing this place, had already calculated how to guard against the Heavenly Dao's interference. Even the sudden eruption of mountain rock, a natural punishment, was within their ancestors' calculations. In fact, it was used to complete the last crucial step in the creation of this place. He had long known that the Heavenly Dao would intervene at the last critical moment, but he didn't care; this minor variation wouldn't affect the overall situation.

"Only one left. Do it."

"Ding-ding-dong..."

The bell in the black-dressed woman's hand continued to jingle. Her sword tip pointed downwards again. With a slight sway, the wall beneath began to melt. Unlike before, when she only took a scoop to restore her face, this time, the entire area beneath her feet began to dissolve. She was coming down.

Zhao Yi felt sick to his stomach again. In this critical moment, Young Master Zhao didn't look at the wall above, which was rapidly melting and falling away. Instead, he once again looked down at the young man on the floor below him. He desperately wanted to tell the woman in the black dress, "After you kill me, please continue to kill downwards and take the one on the ground floor with you, or else I'll be too lonely on the way." But he knew this was likely impossible; the mural on the ground floor of the tall tower depicted a choice of three. He had just made such a desperate gamble, yet he still couldn't escape this certain death. Is this truly how he was meant to die?

"Do you... want revenge?" A voice appeared in Ayuan's ears, who was seething with rage after witnessing his young mistress's horrific death. The voice seemed to possess a magical quality, completely suppressing his negative emotions. "Give your body to me. Give it to me willingly, because I need to unleash its full potential. My surname is Yu."

In fact, just those last three words would have been enough. But those three words were the ones Yu Zangteng least wanted to utter. From the bottom of his heart, he didn't believe Yu Miaomiao was worthy of the Yu surname. Fortunately, the human was useless, but this ape, however, was quite good. Even in the Yu family of the past, demon beasts like Ayuan were not unheard of, but they were extremely rare. Loyal demon beasts were actually numerous, but those that were both loyal and powerful enough to be assigned as companion beasts to excellent direct descendants were few and far between. This was because the greater a demon beast's potential, the harder it was to guarantee its loyalty.

Ayuan knelt, spreading his hands flat on the ground. He willingly offered his body to this ancestor of the Yu family, who had possessed him at some unknown point, all for the sake of avenging his young mistress. The next moment, the crimson faded from Ayuan's eyes, replaced by a profound depth.

Yu Zangteng stood up. A completely different aura emanated from him. This startled Tan Wenbin and the others on the same surface level. Their first reaction was that the teacher had suddenly decided to drop his pretense. The four immediately took up their stances, ready to face battle. Runsheng was in front, Tan Wenbin at his side, Yin Meng behind, and Lin Shuyou, whose body was still relatively weak, silently reached into his satchel and gripped a talisman needle.

Yu Zangteng glanced at them, then opened his palm, facing downwards. The section of wall beneath him began to flow, then rapidly expanded into a large hole. He dropped through the opening. His speed was much faster than the woman in the black dress. After all, having been a teacher here for so many years, he was more familiar with the rules, especially with this emerald barrier. And now that the rules were loosened, he could act with even greater ease.

Tan Wenbin said, "Let's go down too." Without hesitation, the four jumped down through the opening. By this time, the emerald beneath the black-dressed woman's feet had almost completely melted, and her body descended.

Zhao Yi began to retreat. Immediately, a hole appeared above his head, and Ayuan's figure emerged, blocking the space between the woman in the black dress and Zhao Yi. Soon, Runsheng, Tan Wenbin, and the other two followed, jumping through another hole and arriving on Zhao Yi's level. Zhao Yi felt much more at ease seeing Tan Wenbin and his companions.

Tan Wenbin tapped the ground with his foot and politely addressed Yu Zangteng, who stood ahead: "Teacher, would you trouble yourself to open another level for us?" Their little Brother Yuan was still down below. Although they knew the place was dangerous, with an irresistible strangeness everywhere, they still wanted to stay with little Brother Yuan.

Yu Zangteng heard them but did nothing.

Zhao Yi said, "He's actually safest staying at the very bottom right now." This statement sounded reasonable but made no sense at all. Opening another hole, whether to let them go down or bring little Brother Yuan up, would add a powerful helper to their side. If they lost the fight here, little Brother Yuan being alone below would still lead to the same outcome, so what was the point? Yu Zangteng's refusal to open this level only indicated one thing: the enemy of my enemy is not necessarily my friend, and their positions were not aligned. Zhao Yi gave Tan Wenbin a look, clearly indicating that Zhao Yi also understood this point. Tan Wenbin immediately feigned realization, saying, "Yes, that's right, it is indeed so. I overlooked that."

Li Zhuiyuan, standing on the floor below, couldn't hear the conversation above, but when Tan Wenbin's gaze fell upon him, the young man pointed in a direction. From Tan Wenbin's perspective, that direction pointed to Zhao Yi. Tan Wenbin understood. "Runsheng, Yin Meng, Lin Shuyou, get ready. Listen to Young Master Zhao's command." Runsheng raised his Yellow River shovel and stood in front of Zhao Yi. The others formed their usual protective formation for little Brother Yuan, shielding Zhao Yi in the center.

Zhao Yi called out, "Listen to my command, be ready to enter at any time!" "Ready to enter" meant not entering, but rather watching the tigers fight from the mountain. Seeing Tan Wenbin and the others follow his suggestion, Li Zhuiyuan relaxed. The young man trusted Young Master Zhao's capabilities, and this was currently the most suitable method. His team had a characteristic: without a central command, their full strength couldn't be unleashed.

Then, Li Zhuiyuan looked up at Yu Zangteng again. He was deliberately not letting him out, intentionally keeping him trapped here. Li Zhuiyuan wasn't surprised by this; everyone had their own interests, and these interests determined their positions.

At that moment, Li Zhuiyuan sensed Zhao Yi's gaze directed towards him from above. The young man turned his gaze to meet it. Zhao Yi intentionally opened and closed his mouth rapidly, while simultaneously making a "three" gesture with his left hand, pointing downwards. Li Zhuiyuan knew Zhao Yi was silently cursing, expressing his dissatisfaction.

Zhao Yi also realized that the black-dressed woman killing Yu Miaomiao and then coming down to his floor to kill him was an abnormal, rule-breaking act. But this deviation from the rules was definitely not spontaneous. He, Zhao Yi, had descended the floors without calling anyone, just like the young man, and this surely wouldn't have escaped the notice of the person on the top floor. Yet, when the floors were arranged, Yu Miaomiao was on negative one, he was on negative two, and the young man was on negative three. Zhao Yi felt that if Yu Miaomiao had been placed on negative three, then the young man would have been on negative one. In any case, he was destined to be on negative two, serving to separate the two and acting as mere filler!

By common sense, Yu Miaomiao called someone and deserved death; the young man even pried a book down, which was a huge disrespect. Shouldn't the young man have been placed on negative two instead? Furthermore, the black-dressed woman was now blocked. Shouldn't the correct course of action be to continue to the next level and try to kill the unprotected one? Why did she have no further action, choosing to stay on his floor and insist on killing only him? Therefore, this floor arrangement was definitely not random; it must have been manipulated, and the manipulator didn't want the young man to die.

"Li, you said you had no relatives here, but your relatives are living on the top floor!" It was only because both of them were very clever that they could convey and understand their meanings through such minimal gestures. But the young man knew that the person here was not a relative, but an ancestral enemy. As for why he was arranged this way, it was also easy to understand. Ascending to immortality in front of an enemy's descendant must be an extremely satisfying experience. They were treating him as a source of pleasure. "You received invitations pushed by the river water, but I got an invitation personally delivered by the opponent."

The bell in the black-dressed woman's hand continued to ring. However, after confronting Yu Zangteng, the woman in the black dress herself made no further moves. Tan Wenbin and Zhao Yi couldn't see this because they were tightly shielding Yu Zangteng in front of them. Li Zhuiyuan could move freely, so he walked a short distance forward, then looked up, able to see Yu Zangteng's face. Yu Zangteng's eyes glowed with a grayish-white sheen, which was why the black-dressed woman hadn't moved. Li Zhuiyuan immediately looked at the woman in the black dress: Yu Miaomiao, not dead yet?

"DING-DING-DONG!!!" The bell rang even more frantically. The black-dressed woman's body began to tremble, and she forcibly began to perform sword flourishes. Using the same move she had used to kill Yu Miaomiao, her figure instantly vanished from its spot. But Yu Zangteng did not dodge; he raised his hand.

"Thwack!" The black-dressed woman's sword pierced Yu Zangteng's right hand. But quickly, Yu Zangteng clenched his palm, grasping the sword blade. His right hand emitted a shrill vibrating sound, its flesh long since scattered, and the white bone rapidly turned to powder. Only Ayuan's physique could withstand such torment; even Yu Zangteng in his prime wouldn't have dared to block this sword in such a manner. The distance between the two was momentarily fixed.

The grayish-white glow in Yu Zangteng's eyes instantly intensified. The black-dressed woman opened her mouth, and a piercing shriek escaped her throat. Li Zhuiyuan couldn't hear the sound, but in Zhao Yi and Tan Wenbin's ears, it seemed as if they once again heard Yu Miaomiao's vocal tone. Blood streamed from Yu Zangteng's eyes, while pus oozed from the black-dressed woman's eyes. Finally, the woman's head drooped. The frantic ringing of the bell also ceased at that moment.

At the top of the tower, the faceless man sighed, "It's been hard on you, hiding here for so long."

Below, the black-dressed woman slowly raised her head. Her eyes, which had been closed, slowly opened. Although she was an adult woman, her gaze held a youthful, maiden-like quality. Previously, when Yu Miaomiao was killed, her essence and destiny were absorbed. But Yu Miaomiao had two souls in one body; only one had been absorbed, and the other still remained in this body. The woman in the black dress herself didn't possess much self-awareness; she simply followed the rules: kill a person, absorb them, and then return to the tall tower.

Yu Zangteng stared at the black-dressed woman with his blood-streaked eyes, hoping that the absorbed soul was the cat demon's, and the one remaining belonged to the Yu family.

"Who are you? Why am I here...?" The black-dressed woman opened her mouth, uttering a frail, frightened sound.

Yu Zangteng pressed a finger to his throat and asked: "Are you human or cat?"

The black-dressed woman looked bewildered, as if she had just performed a self-assessment, and said with surprise: "Where did that cat go? It was always suppressing me, making me sleep."

Yu Zangteng nodded, a look of relief on his face. "Very good," he said. He thought to himself: "Such an exaggerated performance. What an idiot."