Chapter 209

After manipulating the scholar within the pagoda, Li Zhuiyuan placed the blank book back on him.

Previously, the old Taoist priest had a whisk and the woman in the black dress had a sword, both of which proved quite effective.

He couldn't very well let the scholar go into battle empty-handed.

At the same time, the young man was curious to see the effects of the scholar's "desperate study" of the book.

Indeed, there was an effect: the book was remarkably well-made and sturdy.

So much so that the scholar, by muscle memory, began to use the book to smash people.

Li Zhuiyuan sighed inwardly. Since it was being used as a weapon, he thought, the scholar shouldn't just think of it as a club. He should see if the pages could be torn out and used as a sword, or explore other weapon forms.

The fleshy ball rolled to the ground, and amidst its awkwardness, its body further materialized, finally revealing a clear human form.

This person was tall yet incredibly hideous, with skin that looked like countless pieces of rags sewn together. Even his facial features were askew, his mouth above and his eyes below.

He wasn't originally like this; his features had been distorted during his recent formation.

"Roar!"

A furious roar erupted from him, but due to the position of his mouth, it sounded like a lone wolf howling at the sky.

His body moved like a leopard, sprinting quickly as if eager to reclaim his territory, and the scholar also charged towards him.

The force of their mutual charge was terrifying; corpses in their path were shattered, and nearby ones were flung into the air.

Just as they were about to collide, he suddenly pushed off with his right leg, causing his massive body to twist, shifting his center of gravity to forcibly change direction. With virtually no pause, he circled past the scholar and continued to charge towards the pagoda gate at extreme speed.

However, shortly after the hulking figure changed direction and had only slightly closed the distance to the pagoda gate, he felt a powerful force lash out at him from the side.

The hulking figure was knocked down by the book once more.

"Thud!"

The scholar drifted down gracefully, his sash fluttering, hair gently swirling. Even the book, which had been tied, came loose and lay open in his hands, which he began to examine with a scholarly air.

This was not Li Zhuiyuan's manipulation; this posture was also part of the scholar's muscle memory.

The hulking figure steadied himself. The right half of his body, where he had been struck, was visibly caved in, but as he stood up, flesh churned and his body structure readjusted.

The man in black robes said, "You're quite the gambler."

The man in black robes was confident in the speed of his clone; after its rapid change in direction, the opponent shouldn't have had a chance to catch up. The fact that he did meant that during their initial head-on clash, the opponent had only feigned effort, not truly exerting himself, just waiting for the clone to turn so he could pursue it immediately.

If his clone hadn't turned and had instead charged straight into the collision, it would have caught the opponent off guard, likely deciding the outcome of the battle instantly.

Li Zhuiyuan replied, "An elder in my family once told me that if you can foresee the outcome, it's not gambling."

The man in black robes said, "I fear time is running out. This tree is quickly rotting away, and when the rules completely disappear, the disaster you wish to prevent will still occur. So, what's the point of your current obstruction?"

Li Zhuiyuan responded, "It has meaning. I'm quite happy to prevent you from achieving your goal."

Outside the pagoda, the enraged hulking figure began actively pursuing the scholar.

The scholar moved gracefully, letting the hulking figure leap and bound, deliberately avoiding contact.

Yu Miaomiao, seeing that the hulking figure was not coming for her, stopped approaching the pagoda gate. Instead, she used her sharp claws to clear away the surrounding horde of corpses, intending to hide in a corner of the platform. Since the corpses' target was the pagoda gate, the pressure on her would be much less as long as she didn't block their path.

To her surprise, the scholar seemed to purposely seek her out, landing in front of her.

With a sweep of the blank book in his hand, he first cleared the corpses in front of her, then with a fluid swing, helped her open a path to the corner of the platform.

Yu Miaomiao looked at the scholar's back in front of her, a smile appearing on her face, but her cat-like eyes held a well-hidden hint of mockery she thought no one could discern:

"Fool, do you think because I held Zhen Shao'an back for you earlier, I'm on your side?"

After completing his "good deed," the scholar left with a flourish.

Yu Miaomiao's face showed great alarm, for the hulking figure was now also descending towards her.

"Meow."

Yu Miaomiao dared not delay and quickly dodged.

After the hulking figure landed with a crash, he saw the scholar running off in another direction, then leaped up again to continue the chase.

As the chase continued, the hulking figure suddenly stopped.

As if he had suddenly understood something, he turned around, faced the pagoda gate, ignored the scholar, and charged towards the gate once more.

The scholar, who had been avoiding contact, had no choice but to descend and appear in front of the hulking figure.

"Boom!"

The two first collided, then exchanged blows like a whirlwind, each impact producing a muffled, suppressed thud.

In the area where they fought, any corpse daring to pass through or even approach would be shredded by the escaping shockwaves.

At the bottom of the pagoda, Li Zhuiyuan, holding a chess piece, pondered briefly.

The man in black robes said, "What's wrong, can't you focus on the game anymore?"

Li Zhuiyuan placed his chess piece.

His previous hesitation was because the hulking figure clearly wanted to engage the scholar head-on but had been kept at a distance for a while.

Logically, attacking what the enemy must defend is a simple strategy. The opponent could have chosen to keep charging the pagoda gate from the start, forcing the scholar to confront him directly in a battle of attrition.

Was that foolish "chase" earlier because the man in black robes actually had insufficient control over his clone?

Connecting this to the faceless man at the top of the pagoda, Li Zhuiyuan understood:

The opponent's "clone technique," though seemingly profound, had quite obvious side effects. If the clones created possessed their own will and weren't fully under control, then what was the point of having them?

"Hmm, this technique is no good, not worth learning."

Zhao Yi had activated the defensive formation, and the others could finally rest.

In the distance, the fight between the hulking figure and the scholar created a huge commotion. Earlier, those two had dealt with the corpses as easily as sweeping fallen leaves, partly because of their immense strength, and partly because the tide of corpses wasn't targeting them.

If the corpses had truly targeted them, even a swarm of ants could bring down an elephant.

The ones truly bearing the brunt of the corpse tide, constantly fighting and unable to kill them all, were their own group.

Zhao Yi's gaze fell upon Runsheng, revealing unconcealed greed.

From his initial encounter with Xu Zhenrong, Runsheng had stood at the forefront, enduring the most pressure. Later, during the counterattack, he even clashed twice with the masked man who had all his Qi gates open, sustaining injuries. Yet, every time it seemed he was exhausted, he would gasp for breath and wield his shovel again.

"This is truly the cornerstone of a team," he thought. "With him present, all other roles are easy to fill."

Just then, Zhao Yi noticed a brief glance from the scholar that landed on him.

He knew this was a reminder, or even a warning, from Li.

Zhao Yi immediately turned his head to look at Yu Miaomiao in the distance.

"Hum! Hum! Hum!"

The pagoda began to shake.

Zhao Yi nervously looked at Li Zhuiyuan, who was standing on the threshold. Seeing that Li Zhuiyuan had purposefully gripped the doorframe beside him before entering his shadow state, Zhao Yi finally let out a sigh of relief.

The rules were being further broken, and the restrictions here were diminishing.

Outside the defensive formation, the original corpses were emitting an even denser resentment, and their power grew stronger accordingly.

"Crack... crack... crack..."

Cracks on the formation flags became denser and denser, unable to hold much longer. The situation was becoming increasingly perilous.

Lin Shuyou licked his chapped lips. He was fine, but he could feel that the boy was about to give out.

If they invoked the spirit again, the boy would likely descend once more, and he, Lin Shuyou, would likely become the first spirit medium in the history of the Guan Jiang Shou to exhaust the Yin God to death.

Yin Meng was still diligently cooking. In the pot were severed hands and feet, and blackened hearts, livers, and lungs.

Their own provisions had run out, so they had to use what was available on site.

However, even though it was boiling "gurgle-gurgle" and looked terrible, made from even more horrifying and foul ingredients, it felt vastly different from when she cooked normal food before.

Tan Wenbin, shivering, leaned over and asked, "Why does it feel like the poison isn't strong enough?"

Yin Meng shook her head. "I don't know."

Zhao Yi asked, "Was she always like this when she cooked?"

Tan Wenbin recalled their first meeting in Fengdu and replied, "At first, when she tried to cook anything a bit complicated, it just caused food poisoning. Later, it gradually became more absurd."

Zhao Yi nodded. It seemed that after encountering Li, Yin Meng's Yin family bloodline had been stimulated and awakened.

He had previously observed the entire cooking process through the crack of the life-and-death gate. The ingredients were fine, the seasonings were fine; the problem must be with her personally.

As the only living blood descendant of Emperor Fengdu in this world, it was normal for her to exhibit certain unique traits.

For example, if you ate a meal she personally cooked, you'd go straight to meet King Yama. Or, if King Yama himself cooked for you, would you dare to eat it?

As for why her unique traits manifested in such a peculiar way... it was probably because her original talent was simply too poor.

If her initial aptitude had been excellent, or even just normal, the awakening of her bloodline wouldn't have manifested in this particular way.

However, if not for this, she likely wouldn't have met Li, nor would she have followed him on the River Journey.

And Li was quite generous to her, even managing to invite another of the Liu family's own to teach her poison arts, effectively putting her inexplicable bloodline talent to use.

Zhao Yi was very familiar with Aunt Liu, because during his first "wave," he had almost burned incense and prayed that the person sent by the old madam to demand an explanation would be Uncle Qin and not Aunt Liu.

Uncle Qin had failed his River Journey, but at least he had once been a figure on the river. Zhao Yi could survive three cuts and six punctures in front of him. But if that woman came, no matter how grandiosely he acted out a tragic song, she would still take his life.

"Let's try it," Zhao Yi said. "The alcohol stove is almost out."

"Okay," Yin Meng nodded. She once again coiled the pot with her demon-dispelling whip, flung it high into the distance, and then overturned it.

Food splattered and scattered, but this time, though there were a few wails and screams, the effect was nowhere near as potent as before.

"It's no good," Yin Meng said, picking up her demon-dispelling whip. Next, she would have to join the front-line battle.

Zhao Yi chuckled twice and said, "Thank goodness that when I first met you, Li didn't have you cook for me."

Tan Wenbin asked, "How much longer can the formation hold?"

Zhao Yi replied, "Half the time we expected."

Immediately, Zhao Yi gritted his teeth and looked at Yu Miaomiao again.

As the rules further weakened, the corpses not only grew stronger but also developed a hint of sentience. While attacking the pagoda remained their primary goal, they no longer ignored "outsiders" as they had before.

The scholar and the hulking figure were fighting intensely. Initially, some corpses would stumble in bewilderedly and be crushed along with them, but now they actively avoided the combat zone of the two.

As for Yu Miaomiao, she became the relatively softer target. Since only so many corpses could gather at the pagoda, the subsequent ones, unable to squeeze in, began to actively swarm around her.

The small corner she thought would offer safe refuge unexpectedly turned out to be as dangerous as the pagoda gate itself, if not more so, on the entire platform.

"Meow!"

Although her claws were still sharp, Yu Miaomiao found the corpses in front of her increasingly difficult to kill.

Some corpses had grown long nails, others oozed pus, and their aggression had increased.

Zhao Yi continuously waved his arms towards Yu Miaomiao's direction, urgently shouting, "Miaomiaomiao!"

Just then, a low voice inexplicably echoed in Zhao Yi's ear:

"Help me, and you'll get twenty percent."

Zhao Yi's eyes narrowed. He quickly asked inwardly, "Who are you?"

"You should be able to guess who I am. That young man is currently sitting opposite me, playing chess with me."

"Twenty percent of what? The opportunities here?"

"Yes. Help me, and you will live, gain good fortune, and survive this wave. If you are willing to light a lamp a second time and concede, I can grant you a position of honor in my Heavenly Kingdom."

"What if I refuse?"

"This young man is willing to die here for this calamity. Are you willing to die?"

"Of course I want to live."

"Then you should know what to do."

"I've been to the eleventh floor, but I didn't see the twelfth."

"The stairs to the top of the pagoda have long since descended."

Zhao Yi nodded silently.

Just then, Yu Miaomiao, fighting her way through the distant horde, also came surging towards them, seeking refuge there.

A smile appeared at the corner of Zhao Yi's mouth: "It seems you also heard that voice."

"She's here."

Runsheng, holding his shovel, stood up.

Tan Wenbin and Yin Meng also looked with wary eyes at the approaching Yu Miaomiao.

Zhao Yi said, "We're all in the same boat. At a time like this, an extra pair of hands means extra strength."

With that, Zhao Yi voluntarily opened a section of the defensive formation and welcomed Yu Miaomiao inside.

Yu Miaomiao had injuries, none serious, but numerous, all from being scratched by the corpses.

After entering, she collapsed onto the ground, panting and recovering, seemingly in a state of exhaustion.

Tan Wenbin frowned. "Your dead body can still breathe?"

Zhao Yi said to Yu Miaomiao, "You rest well for now. Once the formation breaks, you'll need to contribute too. Don't forget, we're all in this together now."

Yu Miaomiao nodded at his words.

In the distance, the duel between the scholar and the hulking figure intensified, reaching a fever pitch.

The scholar had multiple indentations on his body, no longer possessing his former refined elegance.

The hulking figure was no better off; his body, once like a ragged sack, was now covered in bursting flesh buds, resembling cotton erupting from a padded coat.

At the bottom of the pagoda.

In his shadow state, Li Zhuiyuan, who was playing chess, appeared much more translucent.

This was not a disguise, but his true current state.

Although he was controlling the scholar to fight the hulking figure outside to a standstill, the continuous head-on clashes, coupled with the further weakening of the pagoda's rule-based power, caused more and more "threads" on the scholar's body to snap.

Like a marionette, the fewer the strings, the higher the skill required of the puppeteer to make it appear lifelike.

The man in black robes asked, "Are you still going to hold on?"

Li Zhuiyuan replied, "Let's see if I break first, or if this pagoda collapses first."

Upstairs in the pagoda, the eleventh floor was empty, but from the second to the tenth floor, all the deceased members of the Xuanmen sect had risen and were numbly striking the pagoda walls.

They were not far from losing control.

Inside the pagoda, blinding cracks were everywhere.

The man in black robes said, "There's truly no point in us dragging this out."

Li Zhuiyuan replied, "You should know that I cannot be persuaded by you."

The man in black robes said, "Indeed, which is why I chose to persuade others."

Li Zhuiyuan's body trembled, and the chess piece in his hand slipped to the ground. His already translucent figure suddenly became much more faded.

"What's happening? Why so suddenly?"

Seeing this, the man in black robes smiled, "I can understand your persistence. Perhaps this is what differentiates those who can become Dragon Kings from others."

"But unfortunately, there is only one Dragon King in each generation."

"Therefore, not everyone possesses such conviction, nor is willing to sacrifice their life for it."

The young man standing on the threshold began to bleed from his nose.

"Little Yuan?" Tan Wenbin pulled a ball of paper from his pocket.

"The formation is about to break, you stay here and guard it," Zhao Yi said, taking the paper ball. "I'll go help him."

After helping the young man stop his nosebleed, Zhao Yi spoke to Li Zhuiyuan, who was standing before him:

"It seems you're tired. Let me lend you a hand!"

Zhao Yi placed his fingertip on the young man's forehead.

The others, seeing this, thought Zhao Yi was going to lend his mind to Little Yuan, just like in their previous teaching session.

But who would have thought that as soon as Zhao Yi's finger touched him, a look of pain appeared on Li Zhuiyuan's face, and tears of blood flowed from his eyes.

In the distance, the scholar, who had just exchanged blows with the hulking figure and rebounded, had his blank book fall to the ground. His arms hung limply at his sides, and he stood there, head bowed, eyes closed, motionless.

Zhao Yi burst into laughter: "Hahaha, Li, you always say I'm afraid to gamble and afraid to lose. You're right, I am afraid to lose, because all I want is to live!"

Runsheng, Lin Shuyou, and Yin Meng immediately looked over. Tan Wenbin stepped in front of them, questioning Zhao Yi:

"Zhao Yi, what the hell are you doing?!"

Zhao Yi said, "I advise you to be practical. If the rules continue to weaken, those things outside will only get more terrifying, and the truly horrifying guys inside will also come out."

"If we don't surrender, we'll all die here. I can get you out of here alive. There's no need to follow Li and be buried with him here!"

Tan Wenbin spread his arms, blocking all his companions behind him. "If you dare betray us, I'll kill you!"

Yu Miaomiao, witnessing this sudden internal conflict, first showed excitement in her cat-like eyes, then it turned to astonishment:

"He, he actually heard that voice too?"

"He's going to complete the agreement with that voice before me and get that promised one-tenth of the opportunity!"

Yu Miaomiao couldn't help but feel a little regretful. The reason she had chosen to come over earlier was, first, that it was temporarily safe and she could seek shelter, and second, she had also heard that voice that suddenly appeared in her ear.

But she hadn't acted immediately, fearing the voice might deceive her, deciding to observe the situation further, as she was such a clever and cautious person.

But now, because of her hesitation and indecision, someone else had gotten there first!

At that moment, the hulking figure suddenly charged at the motionless scholar. He intended to tear him apart while the body was incapacitated, then rush into the pagoda!

The hulking figure plunged both hands directly into the scholar's chest. The scholar showed no reaction, but just as the hulking figure was about to stretch his arms and tear the scholar in half...

Zhao Yi closed his eyes.

At the bottom of the pagoda, the man in black robes watched as Li Zhuiyuan, who had been almost translucent, suddenly solidified.

The scholar also opened his eyes. The blank book on the ground "whooshed" as pages flew out, piercing the hulking figure's body from bottom to top.

The scholar reached out, grabbed a page, and with a swift upward pull—

"Pfft!"

The hulking figure was vertically sliced into two halves.

Even so, the two halves of the body still showed a tendency to re-form.

The scholar grabbed one half with each hand, pressing both parts of the body onto the ground.

Black karmic fire erupted from his palms, burning on the two halves of the body.

The two halves of the body struggled desperately, but it was useless. Corpse energy was continuously vaporized and dissipated into nothingness.

At the bottom of the pagoda.

The man in black robes exclaimed, "Where is this fire from? It can burn my corpse energy!"

Li Zhuiyuan replied, "This is karmic fire from Fengdu."

"Karmic fire from Fengdu?"

The man in black robes clenched his fists. The purple chains above the stone seat rattled loudly, betraying his current fury.

His goal was to become an existence like Emperor Fengdu, to be the supreme ruler in his own kingdom.

Therefore, when he sensed Yin Meng, a bloodline descendant of Emperor Fengdu, he displayed his "enthusiasm."

But he hadn't expected that the Emperor's bloodline had, from beginning to end, never used the Emperor's inherited techniques, only continuously used poison and cooked.

And the Emperor's methods actually appeared on this young man before him!

The man in black robes said, "I didn't expect you to be more like a Liu than a Liu, and more like a Yin than a Yin."

Li Zhuiyuan neither confirmed nor denied, simply continued to place his piece. The game was almost over, and his loss was not far off.

The man in black robes said, "He actually didn't betray you."

Li Zhuiyuan replied, "Indeed. The reason I chose to stand on the threshold before entering my shadow state was because I was afraid he wouldn't be able to enter the pagoda, so he could lend his mind from outside."

The man in black robes asked, "You weren't worried at all?"

Li Zhuiyuan said, "No worries. He's smart enough, not that foolish, and he didn't read his ancestor's notes for nothing."

"Hahaha! That's hilarious, he actually tried to win me over!"

Zhao Yi burst into laughter.

Lin Shuyou also started laughing along.

Zhao Yi immediately glared at him. "What are you laughing at? I saw it. If Tan Wenbin hadn't deliberately stopped you just now, you truly would have stabbed me to death with that trident."

Lin Shuyou stammered, "I... I didn't."

Zhao Yi: "You did. My third eye saw it. You wanted to settle both public and private grievances at once."

Lin Shuyou: "..."

Tan Wenbin asked, "Ah You and you have a personal feud?"

Zhao Yi: "That's a long story. But that guy is truly insane, telling me to betray you. Where would I hide after betraying you? I'm not like Li who can enter this pagoda; I can't even touch the pagoda gate."

"So, if I betray you, will I just wait for that hulking figure to come kill you all and rescue me? Before that hulking figure even gets here, I'd probably already be dead by your hands. You'd definitely avenge Li."

"Also, do you know how much he offered me? Only twenty percent!"

Tan Wenbin: "Twenty percent? That's just an insult."

Yu Miaomiao: "Twenty percent?"

Zhao Yi: "Exactly! If I could get inside, everything in there would be mine. Why would I need him to give me twenty percent? Damn it, I just can't get in, otherwise, I'd really want to betray you."

At the bottom of the pagoda.

Li Zhuiyuan: "All right, you can continue projecting power now. This time, how much percentage will you send out?"

Black energy began to rise along the purple chains, ending quickly.

Li Zhuiyuan: "Ten percent isn't enough."

The man in black robes: "It's enough."

Li Zhuiyuan: "If you had offered me forty percent at the beginning, I might genuinely have been tempted."

The man in black robes: "Are you mocking me?"

Li Zhuiyuan: "No, I'm pitying you."

Outside, in the sky, black clouds gathered once more.

Soon, the black clouds descended. One mass split into two during its descent, falling onto the two halves of the body being incinerated by the scholar. The two body parts, which had been nearly burned dry and were about to fall apart, regained some vitality. They no longer tried to re-form but instead each extended a hand and grabbed one of the scholar's hands.

The scholar was burning them, and they, in turn, seemed to transform into two chains, binding the scholar in place.

At this point, the pagoda's shaking intensified.

Outside, the resentment emanating from the horde of corpses deepened further, and each one's aura grew increasingly powerful.

Correspondingly, the emerald firmament above was becoming thinner and thinner. Countless hands had already reached through the barrier, and the vast number of dark figures inside were about to break through.

Zhao Yi dropped his joking demeanor. "The formation is about to break, everyone get ready. Runsheng to the front, Lin Shuyou and Yin Meng on Runsheng's flanks, Tan Wenbin, you take the rear!"

Following that, Zhao Yi looked at Yu Miaomiao and said very seriously:

"Yu Miaomiao, you will follow my specific commands. Wherever the defense is breached, you go and deal with it."

"Don't worry, I promise you, now that we're working together, I'll protect your safety. Although the situation is very dangerous, we will definitely get through this wave."

Yu Miaomiao nodded, "Meow."

"Snap!"

Without a change in expression, Zhao Yi preemptively and deliberately deactivated the formation just before it could be shattered.

After losing the formation's barrier, the already fiercer horde of corpses immediately charged forward, baring their fangs and claws.

Upon the first contact, a clear, wave-like pressure was immediately felt.

Runsheng, though still vigorously wielding his shovel, found that these corpses no longer shattered with a single strike as they had before.

Just then, three ghostly figures, transformed from dancers, leaped up and lunged towards them.

Zhao Yi: "Yu Miaomiao, go!"

Yu Miaomiao leaped out, but instead of heading towards the three dancing ghosts, she turned towards the pagoda gate.

Zhao Yi shouted, "What are you doing?!"

Tan Wenbin, in charge of the rear, protected Little Yuan, who was standing on the threshold beside the pagoda gate, preparing to use his ghost-controlling technique.

However, Yu Miaomiao didn't spare the young man a glance and charged directly into the pagoda gate.

The remaining rules within the pagoda began to exert pressure on her, but firstly, she was currently using the body of the woman in the black dress, who was intrinsically qualified to return to this pagoda. Secondly, the rules were severely broken now, so the pressure was naturally much weaker.

Having entered the pagoda, Yu Miaomiao immediately began ascending the floors!

At the bottom of the pagoda.

The man in black robes didn't pick up a chess piece; instead, with a touch of his fingertip, a wisp of extremely pure corpse energy transformed into a black piece and landed, ending the game.

The man in black robes chuckled, "Heh heh, I won."

Li Zhuiyuan nodded. "Yes, I lost."

With that, Li Zhuiyuan ended his shadow-walking state.

The young man standing on the threshold opened his eyes.

Zhao Yi immediately reopened the formation he had preemptively closed, isolating the horde of corpses outside.

Although the formation was already crumbling and wouldn't last more than a few minutes, it at least bought them enough time to exchange a few words.

Zhao Yi: "Thanks, Li. I owe you my life."

Li Zhuiyuan didn't reply. Instead, he turned his head to look at the murals on the first floor of the pagoda. From his angle, he could clearly see the painting at the very end.

The painting depicted a "fated one" and a chosen native of the pagoda, their figures merging as they struck the great bell, initiating the ascension ritual.

Li Zhuiyuan descended the steps and exited the pagoda.

"Alas, it was a failure in the end. I don't blame you; you did your best."

The faceless man stood inside the pagoda gate, exuding a profound sense of desolation.

Li Zhuiyuan didn't look back; he simply waved his hand lightly. "You can go ring the bell now."

The faceless man: "That bell is still missing its final stroke; it hasn't been completed."

Li Zhuiyuan: "The final stroke has already gone up."

The faceless man: "She already had one stroke absorbed; her fate and luck were drawn out at the very beginning."

Li Zhuiyuan: "She has two souls in one body."

At that moment, on the top floor of the pagoda, Yu Miaomiao stood before the great bell. She could feel the immense fortune contained within it, and intense greed gleamed in her eyes.

She extended her claws, ready to scrape off the fortune from the bell.

Just then, the faceless man suddenly appeared.

Giving her no time to react, the faceless man slammed directly into the bell!

"Dong!"

Each time the bell rang, the intricate patterns on its surface would all light up simultaneously, and the missing final stroke appeared particularly conspicuous at that moment.

But just then, all the remaining rule-based power within the pagoda pressed down upon Yu Miaomiao.

In an instant, Yu Miaomiao lost control of the body, for this body inherently belonged to the pagoda, merely having been forcibly stolen by Yu Zangsheng using the method of borrowing a corpse to revive a soul.

Yu Miaomiao uncontrollably opened her mouth, and her fate and luck were instantly drawn out, integrating into the great bell.

The last missing stroke of the pattern on the great bell was filled in at that moment.

A brilliant ray of light descended from the dome above, shining upon the pagoda.

Ascension, commenced!