Chapter 284: Training Room (Request Monthly Tickets)

Deep within the Nine Swords Academy.

A spire, its tip seemingly stained with blood, stood proudly against the horizon.

As Fang Xing drew closer, he realized the spire was terrifyingly vast—at least ten thousand meters tall, like a colossal mountain range.

And the nearer he approached its pitch-black surface, the stronger the pressure became.

Fang Xing glanced at Nan Gong Xue beside him and saw that, unsurprisingly, this doctoral candidate of the Seventh Realm could easily keep pace no matter how fast he moved.

"I wonder if you're a doctoral student who entered through the social exam… or direct admission?"

He didn't know why this woman was interested in him, so he cautiously asked.

"I was already a graduate student at the Nine Swords Academy, and barely passed the doctoral entrance exam in my final year…"

Nan Gong Xue replied with a faint smile.

Though her attire looked rustic, she had once been a prodigy.

Like Gu Zhen, who lacked the confidence to break through to the Jin Gang realm even during her graduate studies.

She could only hone herself in society or the military after graduation, hoping to break through to the Seventh Realm before fifty.

Only then would she have a chance to apply for the Nine Swords Academy's doctoral program.

In other words, Nan Gong Xue's talent was even greater than Gu Zhen's!

The Federation held one national exam per year—geniuses were worthless.

After a few casual words, the two arrived at the base of the spire.

Before them stretched an endless expanse of black.

【Ding, access confirmed. Permission granted.】

A sense of danger arose, then vanished swiftly.

Fang Xing's heart stirred—he reached out and touched the cool surface of the spire.

A rough, gritty sensation came to his fingertips.

Cold, slick… as if touching the skin of a scaled creature, with an inexplicable life and vitality pulsing beneath his touch.

In Fang Xing's perception, the black-topped spire seemed… alive.

'No! Not just that…'

His mind stirred—he turned to his attribute panel.

The rune representing the Gate of All Realms was trembling faintly!

'The Gate of All Realms is reacting!'

'Could this spire… serve as a power source for the Gate of All Realms to absorb?'

Fang Xing's heart surged with shock: 'Could this… be connected to the Void Gate?'

His Great Sun Tathagata Mantra accepted anything related to demonic gods without hesitation.

But the Gate of All Realms was always picky—only showing interest in the Void Gate.

This forced Fang Xing to make connections.

'That makes sense—the alien race is said to be tied to demonic gods; perhaps they worship a manifestation or aspect of the Void Gate…'

'Besides… it's also possible that the items I've encountered before were too low-grade to interest the Gate of All Realms… Could this spire be linked to a special demonic god? One of the other two pillars of the Triad?'

…

His mind churned with thoughts; his face showed stunned awe.

Nan Gong Xue watched him with a serene smile, as if accustomed to outsiders' astonishment.

"Let's go… the training rooms are inside the spire; time spent there must be paid for with academic credits…"

She smiled and produced a sleek, jet-black card from her hand.

After swiping the card lightly across the spire's surface, a door automatically opened.

"Academic credits?!"

Fang Xing nodded and immediately called Han Han Chunfeng: "Professor Han… I've run into a small problem…"

After fifteen minutes, a streak of golden light shot toward them—it was Gu Zhen, using his Jin Dan spiritual domain to travel.

He handed Fang Xing a black card: "The teacher originally planned to show you this place in three days, but since you came early, go ahead and try training here… Only Jin Gang martial artists can enter these rooms—they're inherently dangerous… Also, one academic credit equals one day of training. This is a special temporary card with a thousand credits, usable only within the spire…"

"Thank you."

Fang Xing accepted the black card and bowed politely.

Gu Zhen finally exhaled, then turned to Nan Gong Xue beside him: "Senior Nan Gong…"

"Oh? You two know each other?"

Fang Xing smiled.

"We're from the same school."

Gu Zhen hesitated, as if wanting to say more but holding back.

Don't be fooled by Nan Gong Xue's gentle, rustic appearance—she was infamous within the Nine Swords Academy for her madness.

She followed the 【Sword Saint】 path, had passed all Seven Sword Trials, and even voluntarily replaced her bloodline with a demonic god offspring's during her Jin Dan stage—nearly transforming into a demonic entity.

She'd also proposed several experiments to breed demonic god offspring; though all were shot down, they made her legendary in the academy.

She was especially obsessed with researching ancient demonic gods, and her tastes were likely similar—rumor had it she only took interest in things deeply tied to demonic gods.

Even the academy had used her insights to capture deeply hidden demonic god worshippers.

"Then… I'll be going."

Too embarrassed to speak openly in front of a senior, he quickly took his leave.

…

"Weird."

Fang Xing watched Gu Zhen depart, then stepped into the spire.

Tap. Tap.

The heavy footsteps echoed through the vast corridor.

Inside the spire, the space was unnervingly empty, even disorienting—he felt one step might carry him a thousand meters, or land him behind himself.

Simultaneously, a strange force descended, carrying the weight of sealing and suppression.

"Suppression… demonic god corruption?!"

Fang Xing was startled.

He turned and saw black scales emerging on Nan Gong Xue's body, her eyes now vertical slits—she resembled the serpent-woman of legend.

But the next instant, everything returned to normal.

'Of course… most Nine Swords Academy cultivators are abnormal, especially those on the 【Sword Saint】 path…'

Fang Xing mentally grumbled, yet his face turned solemn: "What happened?"

"Nothing—just my demonic god bloodline was passively activated…"

Nan Gong Xue adjusted her glasses and flashed a wide smile: "Every time I come here, I feel so much more at ease…"

The 【Sword Saint】 path requires internalizing demonic gods, fully absorbing and digesting them…

In other words, they constantly battle demonic corruption.

Both mentally and physically!

Within this spire, which suppresses demonic corruption, one could indeed find peace.

Even those on the verge of madness could temporarily retain sanity.

But in Fang Xing's mind-sea, the Great Sun Tathagata Mantra flowed steadily, and a crimson sun rose.

He touched his own third eye—the Great Sun Relic—and felt everything normal.

'Either this spire is broken… or I am. Definitely the spire.'

Fang Xing mentally scoffed and followed Nan Gong Xue into an elevator.

"This is still just inside the spire—we haven't reached the training rooms yet…"

Nan Gong Xue explained to Fang Xing: "There are nine levels of training rooms, one per floor… For outsiders at the Jin Gang stage, I recommend starting at Level One…"

"Hmm, I'd like to see it."

Fang Xing stepped out of the elevator into a long, empty corridor.

Every few kilometers stood a massive door.

Each door was carved from black stone, radiating an ancient, mysterious aura.

The corridor was dim, yet every line on the doors was sharp, flawless.

'Feels like demonic god architecture…'

Fang Xing pulled out his temporary black card and swiped it lightly across the door.

Whoosh!

The door burst open, revealing a training room beyond.

The room was tiny—barely ten square meters—completely mismatched with the towering door outside.

'Another spatial distortion…'

Fang Xing turned and saw Nan Gong Xue waiting outside, not entering.

The pitch-black door slowly closed.

In an instant, the training room plunged into utter darkness.

Endless black surged toward him, evoking the same suffocating void that had descended during the Moon Goddess's attack!

'No…'

'Not an illusion—this is really it!'

'But the intensity is controlled, and the danger is greatly reduced... Could the Moon God's corpse lie beneath the obelisk?'

In Fang Xing's Lower Dantian, a speck of golden light emerged, forming a golden sun that rose behind him.

Then, like a blazing sun in darkness, it illuminated everything!

In the void, countless shadows ignited, only to surge forth endlessly.

The 'darkness' here seemed to possess life, surging like a tide to drown that single point of gold.

'If this were an ordinary Wu Dao Golden Core, he'd likely have collapsed by now...'

'No matter how strong the Golden Core, against this weakened version of demonic corruption, it's no more than a candle in the wind...'

Fang Xing sat cross-legged, his expression utterly unmoved.

Countless shadows were ignited and worn away by the golden radiance—none could approach within three zhang.

He stirred in thought and retracted his Golden Core's domain.

Crack! Crack!

The darkness fell upon him, emitting a horrific sound of gnawing.

As if countless hellish demons were devouring his limbs and bones!

Fang Xing's entire body was wreathed in golden light, like a golden Arhat, even as he fell into hell, standing firm and unshaken.

'So it is...'

After a moment, a look of sudden understanding appeared on his face: 'The principle behind the obelisk's body refinement... is destruction. By controlling the intensity of corruption, it erodes the Wu Dao Golden Body...'

'Those with low-grade Golden Bodies, under this darkness, would be continuously worn down... Like refining a raw jade, blowing away the sand until the gold remains?'

'But for me, this corruption is far too weak... At least eight layers of corruption are needed to feel anything.'

'If you want real results, you should go to the ninth level—to forge the Great Golden Body...'

'This Nine Sword Academy truly understands demonic corruption inside and out.'

Fang Xing felt a deep sense of awe.

For him, this place was a decent cultivation ground.

But for ordinary Jin Gang cultivators, a moment's inattention could land them in the same fate as Pan Xiong and Wei Wei Shentong!

'Wait—Wei Wei Shentong is a Great Jin Gang; he'd be fine even on the ninth level...'

'It's Pan Xiong who probably won't survive past the eighth level...'

(End of Chapter)