Chapter 2151

Two people passed a small tree, and He Lingchuan exposed an opening, leaving his left chest vulnerable.

The original self hesitated not, slashing with a blade; He Lingchuan dodged, and the blade struck the tree trunk.

Though the trees here look sickly and weak, their trunks are astonishingly hard.

The original self's blade sank into the bark and could not be pulled out for a moment.

He Lingchuan turned behind the trunk, and the Floating Life Blade slipped out from under his arm, piercing straight into the heart!

Fierce and ruthless, with no hesitation.

This slash drew little blood; the original self stared at him with resentful, desperate eyes and said: "You cannot leave, you will never leave!"

"No need for trouble." He Lingchuan sheathed his blade and said: "You are nothing but a clumsy impostor."

The original self breathed his last.

But before he could fall, his body began to vaporize, vanishing into nothing within ten breaths.

Only the serpent-ring necklace remained on the ground.

He Lingchuan picked it up and examined it closely—it was indeed the one He Yue had sent him, with the two black wooden dots behind the serpent's head unchanged.

He murmured: "Now I have swallowed the former me."

In this unknown world, the original self is the "former me," while he, who has taken over the body, is the "present me."

He Lingchuan killing the original self is merely what happened in reality, now reenacted here.

Moreover, that was not the original self.

He Lingchuan is certain: after entering the Panlong Ancient City for the second time and fulfilling the original self's final obsession, it truly vanished—completely, utterly, thoroughly.

The so-called "original self" now appearing here is merely a fabricated shell.

He Lingchuan asked how long he had been here, but the other could not answer.

Perhaps because there is no concept of "time" in this place.

Why was he dragged into such a place?

"Is this a trial ground?" He looked around, asking: "After passing this trial, where can I exit?"

The Lu family's relic is too overpowered—under the watch of the Great Vessel, it can still drag him into an unknown trial. Speaking of which, why would the Lu family's immortal ancestor leave such a terrifying heirloom for descendants?

Moreover, the meaning of this trial is deeply obscure; without the serpent-ring necklace, without the incantation spoken by the Great Shaman Puman, relying solely on He Lingchuan himself, he does not know how long it would take to figure out the solution.

He has already noticed that part of the serpent-ring necklace's shape resembles the bronze fragment.

As early as nearly twenty years ago, did the Great Shaman Puman give a hint?

He also noticed that the two most important words in the Great Shaman's incantation are actually:

Fate.

Is the Lu family immortal ancestor's relic related to "fate"?

This makes sense—no wonder the Lu family produces a child of destiny every few generations; it must be due to the relic's influence.

But He Lingchuan is preoccupied with real-world affairs and anxious to leave this place.

He wandered the valley twice.

Though this place seems boundless, no matter which direction he goes—even if he loops midway—he always soon passes that small pond.

If he were to stay here endlessly, who knows if he would go mad like the original self?

If the trial is not yet over… He Lingchuan looked again at the serpent-ring necklace in his hand, brows furrowed, secretly feeling something amiss.

The trial seems not so simple.

At that moment, a strong wind suddenly swept through the valley, and the thin mist shrouding it was blown away in an instant.

He Lingchuan felt something, turned his head toward the direction of the wind.

There stood a green tower, soaring into the clouds!

The Heaven-Reaching Tower has appeared again.

Without hesitation, he sprinted toward the tower.

The original self once said the only way to leave this place is to retrace one's steps—enter from the tower, return to the tower.

In just over ten breaths, he had run back to the tower's base.

The Heaven-Reaching Tower is exactly as before, but the small white flower on the door seam, which was previously a tight bud, has now half-bloomed, revealing dark red patterns within.

Most importantly, the tower's previously tightly shut great door is now open!

He Lingchuan rushed forward two steps, saw the interior still pitch black, no light penetrating, so he casually picked up a stone from the ground and tossed it inside.

Clatter-clatter— the sound of the stone falling and rolling.

The tower's interior is pitch black, like a monster's gaping maw, always giving He Lingchuan an ominous premonition.

But he has nowhere else to go, so he took a deep breath and strode forward.

Five zhang, two zhang, one zhang!

As his front foot was about to step onto the threshold, a faint light suddenly flashed in the darkness ahead.

The light was weak, carried no killing intent, but swift beyond compare—like lightning splitting the night sky.

What is more deadly is the opponent's blade draw: clean, sharp, cold—He Lingchuan is all too familiar with it.

When he charged into the tower, he was already fully focused and on guard. After all, the tower's door does not open for no reason; it seems always to be sending someone in.

So there will likely be something coming out from within.

Last time, the Heaven-Reaching Tower sent him in and ended the original self.

This time, who will the tower deliberately send in?

The light flared, he tapped his toes and sprang backward like a grasshopper.

Within his ability, he had done his best, yet his waist and abdomen still felt a chill, and upon landing, a sudden sharp pain struck.

He looked down and saw his abdomen slit open, nearly one cun deep.

Fresh blood surged and flowed.

He retreated quickly, and the opponent's weapon hadn't truly touched him.

What cut him was gang qi!

He Lingchuan looked up and saw a black shadow walk out from within the door, and the first thing to pierce the darkness was the saber gripped in the enemy's hand.

A few drops of blood still clung to the blade's edge, falling along with the momentum and dripping onto the sandy ground.

Upon seeing this saber, He Lingchuan's jaw tightened.

It was too familiar, yet he had never imagined this saber would be in someone else's hands, would be aimed at him from this angle, would become the sharp weapon that wounded him!

This was the Fusheng Saber.

The Fusheng Saber inlaid with the Dayan Heavenly Pearl on its hilt!

The supreme treasure that became the Nine Nether Great Emperor's sole exclusive matched saber.

He Lingchuan could finally experience the feeling of the enemies who had been pointed at by this saber in the past:

His whole body, top to bottom, was locked on; the next instant, Lei Ting would descend with overwhelming force.

The saber's owner, also unhurried, walked out of the darkness, walked out of the wooden door.

Clad in a full suit of Xuanjin War Armor, a blood-red cloak behind him, a black dragon mask on his head.

In the past, this appearance only struck great terror into others. He Lingchuan only felt the air he inhaled into his lungs was cold.

No wonder the Qianglong War Armor wouldn't answer no matter how he summoned it; turns out it was worn on the opponent's body!

The aura of the opponent wearing the Qianglong War Armor truly seemed to come from the nine springs of the netherworld below—

The Tongtian Tower actually sent over the Nine Nether Great Emperor this time.

Not He Lingchuan's Nine Nether Great Emperor.

He Lingchuan retreated step by step, and the opponent pressed closer step by step, killing intent gradually rising.

He Lingchuan hurriedly waved his hand: "Wait! If you're as smart as me, you'd know the Tongtian Tower is the only passage in and out of this ghost place. Before it disappears, how about you and I jump in together to escape?"

The reply he got was a snow-bright saber gang.