Chapter 204

Zhao Yi looked at the book in Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan's hand and licked his own chapped lips; the excitement and joy of having made the same bet as his "brother" had instantly been diminished by quite a bit.

He could accept that the "brothers" had chosen wrong together and died together, but it was hard to accept that after both had chosen correctly, the youth had managed to snag one more treasure than he had.

"Damn it, what a loss!"

Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan continued downstairs.

Now, the higher the floor, the greater the pressure exerted by the high tower; by heading down earlier, he could also feel a bit more relaxed.

Zhao Yi continued to chatter incessantly while heading downstairs:

"Why didn't you give me a heads-up? That way, I could have pried a treasure loose too."

There were only three people on the eleventh floor, and the tower's suppression was at its strongest, making it very difficult to get anything from their hands, but the suppression on the tenth floor was much weaker.

Zhao Yi himself was also proficient in formations, and relying on deductions from the seams of the Life-Death Gate, he could also attempt to drill a little mouse hole inside the high tower.

Taking a step back, even if he couldn't get anything from the tenth floor, he could go to the ninth or eighth floor; the value of a magical artifact sometimes depends on whether it suits oneself.

Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan: "I was hoping you would call for people."

The implication was: I was hoping you would court death.

Upon hearing this, the expression on Zhao Yi's Human Human Human Human Human Human Human Human Face eased quite a bit; for no other reason than that these words sounded heartwarming.

Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan: "Do you spend most of your time on useless hesitation and weighing pros and cons?"

Zhao Yi: "What effect does this book of yours have?"

Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan: "There are only two outcomes anyway; when you start hesitating, the probability ratio loses its meaning, which is the same as flipping a coin."

Zhao Yi: "This book couldn't be simple if it was still clutched in the hands of that person on the eleventh floor even after death."

Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan: "Who fasts for three days and bathes with incense before flipping a coin?"

Zhao Yi: "Alright, shut up!!."

Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan stopped speaking, and the chattering from the person behind him finally ceased as well.

The two arrived on the first floor; Yu Zeng Zeng Zeng Zeng Zeng Zeng Miaomiao heard the footsteps and turned to look, and the woman in the black dress beside her made the same movement.

Yu Zeng Zeng Zeng Zeng Zeng Zeng Miaomiao's gaze shifted upward, and upon discovering that no one was following behind the two, a flash of surprise appeared in her eyes.

Anyone with a bit of brains would have developed intense suspicion and unease at this moment—why didn't they call for people? —and thus started to feel anxious about their own choices.

But Yu Zeng Zeng Zeng Zeng Zeng Zeng Miaomiao was not an ordinarily smart person; she was a "big smarty."

The young girl let out a wanton laugh: "Hahahahahaha!"

This laughter made Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan's pace pause for a moment, and it made Zhao Yi's expression freeze, nearly causing him to start self-reflecting again.

Yu Zeng Zeng Zeng Zeng Zeng Zeng Miaomiao laughed and said: "Haha, you're killing me! Are you two trying to copy me, calling for people on the eleventh floor, only for them to ignore you, wasting all your time so that you didn't even manage to call anyone in the end?"

Her thinking had always started from her own perspective, with her own viewpoint as the center.

She truly had never thought that those who could emerge from the first round of the broken jade scramble, regardless of which clever method they used, should at least be treated as being on the same passing line.

No, she might have truly thought about it, and she had indeed been measuring others by her own yardstick all along.

Her sense of incongruity came from the fact that she was a River-Walker from the Long Wang Yu family.

But if the Yu family had truly suffered a disaster and the heavens had changed, then the current Yu family was nothing more than the nouveau riche of the nouveau riche; it was not strange for them to cultivate such a successor.

Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan ignored her, while Zhao Yi reached out and patted his own forehead, forcing himself not to waste any more brainpower on this silly girl; the two walked to the entrance very calmly and raised the tokens in their hands.

After they had entered the tower earlier, the tower gate had closed behind them, and the ghostly light that had originally fallen outside was now projected inside instead.

The tokens in the three people's hands all shone under the ghostly light, and the tower gate opened once again.

However, the green, hazy expanse outside was completely empty.

Yu Zeng Zeng Zeng Zeng Zeng Zeng Miaomiao shouted: "A-Brother Brother Brother Brother Brother Brother Brother Brother Yuan!"

There was no response.

The pressure on Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan and Zhao Yi actually stopped increasing at this moment.

Instead, the pressure on Yu Zeng Zeng Zeng Zeng Zeng Zeng Miaomiao was growing greater and greater, and her Human Human Human Human Human Human Human Human Face began to distort.

Even though she had injuries on her body, it could not be denied that her physical fitness was far better than the non-martial-practicing Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan and the current Zhao Yi; she should have been the one among the three with the strongest ability to withstand the tower's pressure.

This meant that the high tower was applying pressure to her individually, wanting to force her to leave.

Yu Zeng Zeng Zeng Zeng Zeng Zeng Miaomiao could no longer hold on; she had no choice but to walk out, and the black-robed woman followed her out of the high tower.

After walking out, all the pressure on her body instantly vanished; she took a deep breath, became active again, and turned to look at the two who remained inside the tower.

It seemed she was waiting for the two to come out so she could properly deal with them; she had been holding back some anger the entire way, and it was time to settle the score.

However, Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan and Zhao Yi did not walk out of the gate and remained inside.

"You..."

Yu Zeng Zeng Zeng Zeng Zeng Zeng Miaomiao truly sensed that something was wrong this time; she could not understand—weren't the people called supposed to be helpers? Why put oneself and the helpers in a separate area? Then who was the opponent?

Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan reached out and pointed upward.

Yu Zeng Zeng Zeng Zeng Zeng Zeng Miaomiao looked up and said in astonishment: "Why are you guys up there?"

Yu Zeng Zeng Zeng Zeng Zeng Zeng Miaomiao was outside the tower, and what she could see, Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan and Zhao Yi could not.

But from her reaction, one could guess that the young girl's A-Brother Brother Brother Brother Brother Brother Brother Brother Yuan and Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan's partners should be up there at this moment.

The green, hazy expanse outside was the jade-like luster very common when they first came in; so, they were probably inside the jade now.

This high tower had twelve floors, but that was only twelve floors above ground; who knew how many were underground?

When they came in, this was the first floor, but when they went out, it had become the negative first floor.

The tower gate began to close slowly.

Yu Zeng Zeng Zeng Zeng Zeng Zeng Miaomiao looked up at A-Brother Brother Brother Brother Brother Brother Brother Brother Yuan, who was lying on the ground above, frantically pounding against the floor, then looked at the sword-wielding woman in the black dress beside her, and finally, her gaze fell on Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan and Zhao Yi inside the tower gate.

Blood-red light welled up in the young girl's eyes, and a frantic look appeared on her Human Human Human Human Human Human Human Human Face as she screamed and rushed toward them:

"No, don't!"

But the pressure of this high tower was something even Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan could not contend with, let alone her.

As soon as she attempted to rush in, she was swept away by the powerful air pressure and landed heavily in the distance.

She immediately scrambled to her feet, ignoring the blood spilling from the corner of her mouth, and continued to scream hysterically.

Zhao Yi: "It seems she finally understands."

Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan: "When a real survival crisis arrives, she will suddenly become very smart."

"Crack!"

The tower gate closed.

The previously paused pressure began to increase again.

Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan and Zhao Yi picked up their tokens again and placed them under the ghostly light.

The tower gate opened once again.

Outside, it was still a green, hazy expanse, and both Yu Zeng Zeng Zeng Zeng Zeng Zeng Miaomiao and the woman in the black dress were gone.

The pressure on Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan stopped increasing again, while Zhao Yi was subjected to doubled expulsion; his body was already in very poor condition, but he still used his last bit of strength to hold on, wanting to ask Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan a question at this moment:

"How were you able to place your bet so decisively?"

Although he had been mocked by the youth earlier for wasting time, Zhao Yi did not feel he was wrong; during that critical period, who could suddenly harden their heart and make a life-or-death decision?

He felt that he had been very bold to choose that less-than-ten-percent probability, but he hadn't expected the youth to have no hesitation at all, placing his bet immediately and then turning to do other things.

Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan said very calmly: "Because I don't believe in immortality, and even less in becoming an immortal."

All the arrangements and plans here were aimed at becoming an immortal.

When you can negate it from the source—that is, from the very top—then all the mechanisms and traps below are stripped of their filters in front of you.

Zhao Yi: "I actually don't believe in it either."

Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan: "You actually believe in it a little bit."

Zhao Yi hesitated for a moment, unable to refute, and finally crawled out of the tower gate.

After getting out, he felt relieved; he turned to his side, sat on the ground, and faced Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan:

"Let's have a good talk after we get out."

The tower gate began to close again.

Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan: "It's still too early to talk about getting out."

The Human Human Human Human Human Human Human Human Face that had appeared on the top floor should be the person who entered A Li's dream; he spoke of the whole clan ascending, but he had only seen the "ascension" preparation phase, hadn't seen the "whole clan," and hadn't seen the real ascension either.

The tower gate closed.

The pressure increased again; Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan raised his token, the tower gate opened again, and he walked out.

"Phew..."

The feeling of the pressure on his body suddenly vanishing made one feel comfortable.

Everything around him was empty, and apart from the somewhat piercing green light, there was nothing else.

Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan looked up and saw a layer of translucent green rock wall above.

Zhao Yi was lying Human Human Human Human Human Human Human Human Face down on the ground, his Human Human Human Human Human Human Human Human Face pressed against it until it was distorted, waving his palms and making faces.

Affected by the pressure he had endured inside the tower earlier, the bandages on his chest had come loose, and that incomplete, damaged black heart was mostly exposed, still stubbornly pulsing.

Looking through this layer of Zhao Yi's, and continuing his gaze upward, Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan could see the floor where Yu Zeng Zeng Zeng Zeng Zeng Zeng Miaomiao and the woman in the black dress were.

This place really looked like a multi-story glass house that wasn't perfectly transparent.

At this moment, Yu Zeng Zeng Zeng Zeng Zeng Zeng Miaomiao was deliberately keeping a sufficient distance from the woman in the black dress, staring at her with a vigilant expression.

The helper the young girl had gone to great lengths to call, sparing no expense in using her family's reputation, was about to become her most terrifying enemy.

Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan also saw the top floor; although he could only see blurry figures, he could still tell their identities from their forms.

That tall figure who had separated from the group and was standing alone above Yu Zeng Zeng Zeng Zeng Zeng Zeng Miaomiao's head, waving his arms incessantly, should be A-Brother Brother Brother Brother Brother Brother Brother Brother Yuan.

As a loyal servant, he was feeling worried for his young mistress and wanted to break through this wall to protect her.

The other group, gathered above Zhao Yi and also above himself, consisted of Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Runsheng, Tan Tan Tan Tan Tan Tan Wenbin, Seeing Yin Meng, and Lin Lin Lin Lin Lin Lin Lin Lin Shu You.

They had originally been waiting anxiously outside the tower, but who would have thought that as they waited, green liquid would seep out from the ground beneath their feet.

Fortunately, this green liquid did not possess any danger; it merely soaked the ground, turning it into an emerald hue.

Next, they saw Yu Zeng Zeng Zeng Zeng Zeng Zeng Miaomiao and the woman in the black dress walk out from the floor below, then Zhao Yi on the floor below that, and finally their own Little Brother Brother Brother Brother Brother Brother Brother Brother Yuan Ge.

Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Runsheng took out his Yellow River Shovel, preparing to start digging, and Lin Lin Lin Lin Lin Lin Lin Lin Shu You took out his trident, wanting to follow along and chisel.

Even Seeing Yin Meng took out her few poison jars to see if she could help them corrode the strata first.

But these actions were all stopped by Tan Tan Tan Tan Tan Tan Wenbin.

"You all look at him first."

As Tan Tan Tan Tan Tan Tan Wenbin spoke, he also pointed toward Brother Brother Brother Brother Brother Brother Brother Brother Yuan in the distance.

Brother Brother Brother Brother Brother Brother Brother Brother Yuan's injuries were already very severe, and at this moment, as it continuously struck the wall, the yellow fur on its body grew longer and longer, even causing its Human Human Human Human Human Human Human Human Face to gradually become beast-like.

It looked more and more like an ape.

Amidst the continuous, forceful smashing, what splattered was not just fresh blood, but also bits of flesh and bone fragments.

Lin Lin Lin Lin Lin Lin Lin Lin Shu You: "Even if our stances are different, this kind of loyalty is truly moving."

"Slap!"

Tan Tan Tan Tan Tan Tan Wenbin slapped the back of Lin Lin Lin Lin Lin Lin Lin Lin Shu You's head and said irritably:

"My point is that since he has been striking so desperately for so long and not even a single dent has appeared on the wall, let's not waste our energy in vain."

"Hum!"

The bell at the top of the high tower rang once more.

That Human Human Human Human Human Human Human Human Face poked out again.

His gaze first fell upon this layer of the surface.

Having had the experience once before, everyone very deliberately avoided making eye contact, but they could still perceive his gaze sweeping over them, like a broom lightly touching them.

Seeing Yin Meng was swept over a few extra times.

Finally, that person's gaze fell heavily upon Brother Brother Brother Brother Brother Brother Brother Brother Yuan.

Brother Brother Brother Brother Brother Brother Brother Brother Yuan stopped its striking, raised its head with some confusion, and looked toward the top of the high tower.

The white ape with its skull opened was looking at it.

With a "thump," Brother Brother Brother Brother Brother Brother Brother Brother Yuan knelt down in the direction of the white ape and kowtowed incessantly, seemingly wanting to use this method to plead with it.

Unfortunately, what that "white ape" was looking at was not him, but the one inside his body.

The white ape's gaze fell downward, sweeping over the woman in the black dress; the woman in the black dress had drawn her sword after the bell rang.

Yu Zeng Zeng Zeng Zeng Zeng Zeng Miaomiao felt something and wanted to raise her head to meet that gaze.

But that gaze did not sweep toward her at all!

The white ape turned into Old Man Uncle Tian.

Zhao Yi sensed the gaze from Old Man Uncle Tian; he stood up, clutched his chest, and coughed incessantly, putting on the appearance of a sickly young master.

He was a young master to begin with, and a sickly one at that, so he didn't need to pretend at all.

This counted as a form of obedience, a form of bowing one's head, and even more so, a way of striving for something for himself.

After the gaze lingered on Zhao Yi for a moment, it finally fell to the lowest level.

Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan sat on the ground with the wordless book on his knees; since he was idle anyway, he might as well look at the newly acquired book.

This book was actually quite nice; the paper was fair, the texture felt like silk, it carried a faint, secluded fragrance, and even the sound of turning the pages was very pleasant.

After perceiving that gaze, he had no interest in making eye contact; rather than looking at that blank Human Human Human Human Human Human Human Human Face, it was better to look at the blank book in his hands.

Yet that gaze lingered on Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan the longest.

It seemed to be telling the youth in this way that he was the person who had entered his dream that day.

The descendant of his former enemy and rival had arrived, so he ought to look after him for a while longer.

The woman in the black dress made her move; she still did not open her eyes, but her sword danced like flying petals.

Yu Zeng Zeng Zeng Zeng Zeng Zeng Miaomiao screamed shrilly: "It's not like this, you have to help me kill them, not come to kill me, it's not, it's not!"

Even with the facts laid out before her, she was still unwilling to believe all of this.

Recalling the words she had said to those two inside the high tower, they now felt like slaps across her Human Human Human Human Human Human Human Human Face; she could not accept that in the eyes of those two, she was a fool.

Unfortunately, although the gaze could penetrate here, the sound was isolated; otherwise, Zhao Yi would not have minded comforting her, telling her that before entering the tower, in the eyes of the two of them, she was just a big silly girl.

The figure of the woman in the black dress vanished from where she stood, and Yu Zeng Zeng Zeng Zeng Zeng Zeng Miaomiao's figure vanished along with her.

Zhao Yi clicked his tongue in the spectator seats below; the silly girl's brain might not be up to par, but her skills were truly real, reacting so quickly.

The woman in the black dress appeared in the position Yu Zeng Zeng Zeng Zeng Zeng Zeng Miaomiao had previously occupied, while Yu Zeng Zeng Zeng Zeng Zeng Zeng Miaomiao landed in the distance.

Only, the woman's precious sword was dripping with blood.

Yu Zeng Zeng Zeng Zeng Zeng Zeng Miaomiao lowered her head and glanced at her chest; a terrifying sword wound had already appeared.

The woman was strong; it was her own choice.

The woman in the black dress danced her sword flowers again.

Yu Zeng Zeng Zeng Zeng Zeng Zeng Miaomiao let out a sharp shriek; this time, she did not intend to dodge, but to launch a counterattack.

Sharp claws grew from the ten fingers of her hands, her figure moved like lightning, and she lunged out; where her claws passed, they carved out murderous streams of light and a piercing sound of tearing through the air.

"Swish!"

The figures of both sides crossed, and each landed on the ground.

On the Human Human Human Human Human Human Human Human Face of the woman in the black dress, a claw mark appeared, and following that, half the skin on her left cheek was sliced off; only, no bright red blood flowed from inside, but rather murky pus.

The people inside the high tower, even if preserved as they were before death, were ultimately dead people.

Yu Zeng Zeng Zeng Zeng Zeng Zeng Miaomiao smiled at the corners of her mouth; she saw a glimmer of hope: You are strong, but you are not as strong as I imagined; when you were alive, I certainly would not have been a match for you, but now, how much of your strength from when you were alive do you still retain?

Only, just as she had re-energized herself and summoned her courage, the next moment, she felt a lightness at her wrists.

She raised her hands, but her hands fell off at this moment, leaving only two bare, bald wrists.

That heart that had just become active was instantly smashed into the abyss!

The woman in the black dress waved her sword flowers once again; she seemed to only know this one move, or perhaps, this one move alone was enough.

Zhao Yi, in the spectator seats below, watched with great relish, thinking to himself that if he could have such a woman under his command, how much easier would it be to walk the river?

Of course, this was just a thought; once he made such a request to a person like this, he feared the woman's first sword would be thrust toward him.

Yu Zeng Zeng Zeng Zeng Zeng Zeng Miaomiao began to flee, emitting miserable cries, vaguely mixed with the sound of a cat.

Only, the speed at which the woman thrust her sword did not slow down in the slightest.

Yu Zeng Zeng Zeng Zeng Zeng Zeng Miaomiao, whose figure had originally been like the wind, collapsed onto the ground; her feet also detached from her ankles.

She was like a silkworm cocoon, curled up on the ground, surrounded by a pool of blood formed from the fresh blood on her body.

The woman in the black dress did not step forward to check the situation, but coldly continued to wave her sword flowers.

Yu Zeng Zeng Zeng Zeng Zeng Zeng Miaomiao was in despair; she opened her mouth, and a tuft of gold, silver, and white fur flew out; this was something her grandmother had specially bestowed upon her before she lit the lamp to walk the river, to be used at the most critical moment to save her life.

She knew whose fur this was, but she had always been unwilling to truly acknowledge it.

At this moment, when the fur was spat out, it transformed into flames, burning toward the front.

Originally, this move was intended to be used against the woman in the black dress when she came to check her injuries, but the woman in the black dress had not come over.

The fact was, when this terrifying demon fire was spewed out, the woman in the black dress appeared on the other side of Yu Zeng Zeng Zeng Zeng Zeng Zeng Miaomiao, completely contrary to the direction of this flame.

There was no extra teasing or playful intent, not even the pleasure of battle, only the simple goal of killing the opponent, so naturally, she would not fall into this crude and ridiculous trap.

"Clatter..."

Yu Zeng Zeng Zeng Zeng Zeng Zeng Miaomiao's head was severed by the sword's edge.

Above, Brother Brother Brother Brother Brother Brother Brother Brother Yuan was furious to the extreme, blood and tears flowing from its eyes, emitting roars and howls.

The woman in the black dress held up Yu Zeng Zeng Zeng Zeng Zeng Zeng Miaomiao's head with her long sword, placing it in front of herself.

The woman opened her mouth, and wisps of vital energy were sucked out from Yu Zeng Zeng Zeng Zeng Zeng Zeng Miaomiao's skull, merging into the woman's mouth.

The Life and Death Gate on Zhao Yi's forehead perceived a strong stimulation, because what was being absorbed was not just vital energy; what was being stripped away and absorbed along with it was Yu Zeng Zeng Zeng Zeng Zeng Zeng Miaomiao's fate and fortune.

Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan closed the book, raised his head, and looked upward.

"Is this your path to immortality?"

(End of chapter)