Chapter 476: The Pinnacle of the Martial Dao

Beneath the deep pool!

Li Yuan wore an iron mask and leapt into the cold pool after Old Han. His Mysterious Whale true Qi naturally radiated outward, parting the pool water three chi away!

Once underwater, the little mouse in his sleeve grew nervous, but the little tiger cub was very calm and even poked its head out of the sleeve!

"This true Qi…"

Han Han Chuijun had been watching Li Yuan closely. The moment he saw his true Qi, his eyelids twitched!

This kid's true Qi was not only vast and mighty, its purity actually surpassed even his own true Qi, refined to the second refinement of the Nine Heavens One Refinement!

He had just been worried that this kid had rushed ahead too fast, leaving his foundation unsteady. But looking now, if anyone was unsteady, it was probably himself who was more unsteady!

"This is unreasonable!"

Han Han Chuijun's teeth ached a little. He took a deep breath and dove down to the bottom of the pool!

Li Yuan followed unhurriedly. Soon they had reached a depth of two or three hundred zhang. The surrounding water pressure grew heavy, and the true Qi he radiated outward rippled with faint waves!

Hum!

When they had dived to a depth of three hundred zhang, Han Han Chuijun finally took out a token and crushed it!

Hum!

In an instant, the waters at the bottom of the pool churned. Li Yuan keenly sensed the change around him. It felt as though he had passed through an invisible barrier — the water pressure that had been shut out vanished in a flash.

Then… the dark currents of the pool water and the dim fish all vanished, replaced by a vast, open secret realm!

Stars glittered; the moon hung full in the sky!

Apart from there being only a single bright moon, it was almost no different from the world outside!

A tall tower stood upon the earth, so high no one could tell whether it was hundreds or thousands of stories tall. Upon its body were ancient characters as massive as mountains.

: "Eight Directions Tower!"

"This, is the Eight Directions Tower Secret Realm!"

Han Han Chuijun pressed the iron mask on his face. This was naturally not his first time seeing this giant tower, yet every time his heart stirred with emotion!

This was not built by craftsmen or laborers, but was a product condensed from the true Qi and soul-will of the Dragon Demon Daoist — containing unfathomable might!

"This is the pinnacle of the martial Dao!"

Li Yuan gazed into the distance at the Eight Directions Tower. He felt only that the mysterious light wove together like a waterfall, dazzling to the extreme, and all manner of characters floated before his eyes!

"Eight Directions Tower (Eleventh Grade)"

【???】

"Eleventh Grade!"

Li Yuan compared it with the Rending Sea Mysterious Whale Hammer and the Dragon Tiger Nourishing Furnace. Judging purely by the mysterious light, there was no difference at all!

At least, in the sensation of his Soldier Control, this giant tower's grade was in no way inferior to a Daoist Tianyun Daoist Tianyun Xuanbing!

"Legend has it that within this tower lies the inheritance of the Dragon Demon Daoist. For over a thousand years, no one knows how many have been coveting it!"

Han Han Chuijun transmitted his voice as he spoke… It was within this very tower that he, with the aid of Wan Wan Zhuli and others, had forced Chi Chi Zhuiyang and his companion out of this secret realm!

"Unbelievable…"

Li Yuan's heart was greatly shaken. As far as he knew, the Daoist Tianyun Daoist Tianyun Xuanbing was a divine weapon forged from the cores of stars, and its making might even involve the Great Sacrifice of Ten Thousand Gods, as well as the foundations of twelve sects stronger than even the Dao Sect at its peak!

Even though the Dragon Demon Daoist was a Supreme Grandmaster, what gave him the right to forge such a divine weapon?

Pang Pang Wenlong, also a Supreme Grandmaster, poured the strength of the entire world into it, and yet only forged nine tenth-grade Great Sun Surveillance Heaven Mirrors!

"Halt!"

At that moment, a low voice rang out!

Li Yuan gathered his thoughts and saw several figures striding toward them. All wore iron masks and carried weapons — all top-grade famous weapons!

"Don't speak!"

Han Han Chuijun transmitted a few instructions via voice, then went to meet them. He seemed quite familiar with those people, chatting amiably.

Li Yuan was obedient. He stood right where he was, surveying this Ba Fang Mi Jing. In his mind flashed intelligence about the Star-Plucking Tower, as well as the Sound-Listening Talisman!

The Sound-Listening Talisman was highly random, but over the years, Li Yuan had accumulated quite a bit of intelligence!

The Star-Plucking Tower's inheritance could be traced back over a thousand years. At first, there were only the Dragon Demon Daoist, his reverent followers, or perhaps challengers defeated at his hands!

It rose because of the Dragon Demon Daoist, and it fell because of the Dragon Demon Daoist!

Its true transformation into an assassin organization, famous throughout the world, came a thousand years ago, after the great chaos in Shendu City — the Star-Plucking Tower's first assassination of a king!

Legend had it that the Star-Plucking Tower had plotted and launched the great Shendu chaos a thousand years ago, and was even deeply connected to the death of Pang Pang Wenlong!

"Not a friendly place!"

After surveying the area, Li Yuan muttered to himself:

"Come to think of it, that big brother of mine I have no real impression of — seems he's also in the Star-Plucking Tower?"

As these thoughts turned in his mind, Han Han Chuijun had also finished speaking with the guards on duty and led Li Yuan toward the foot of the Eight Directions Tower!

Beneath the Eight Directions Tower, buildings clustered in groups. With the giant tower at the center, they circled layer upon layer. From the inside out lived the Heaven-ranked and Earth-ranked assassins respectively!

In a small courtyard neighboring the central giant tower, Yu Ju lay in a rocking chair, gazing at the night sky — identical to the one outside — and listlessly counting the stars!

The Ba Fang Mi Jing had been awe-inspiring when he first arrived, but two years had flashed by. Now, looking again, he only felt sick of it, and even somewhat missed his days in Gao Liu County!

Inside the room, Wang Wang Wenyuan was organizing Juan Sect scrolls. After a long while, he rose and walked into the courtyard!

"The old master is in a good mood?"

Yu Ju flipped himself upright. In these two years, this was the first time he had seen a smile on Wang Wang Wenyuan's face: "Something good?"

"Mm, something good!"

The smile on Wang Wang Wenyuan's face faded: "An old friend has come. Go in my stead to welcome him. Settle him in properly, then bring him to see me!"

"An old friend?"

Yu Ju was slightly startled, but did not ask further. He simply took out a mask, put it on, and rose to head out!

"Li Yuan!"

Pinching the intelligence scroll in his hand, Wang Wang Wenyuan was in a very good mood — this was the first time in over two years that he had received news of Li Yuan!

A few years ago, he had only written a letter out of respect for Li Yue's face, introducing this kid to Long Xi Xiang; whether it worked out or not, he hadn't really held out much hope in his heart!

Who would have thought this kid would actually give him a great big surprise!

"Dragon Tiger True Transmission, Great Dragon Gate Dao Child, Divine Craftsman…"

Walking with his hands behind his back, Wang Wang Wenyuan felt quite emotional — in those years he had thought this kid's talent was inferior to his elder brother's!

This old man actually misjudged him, but then again, a mistake can be a blessing — if he hadn't entered Dragon Tiger Temple, this kid couldn't have grown so fast!

As his thoughts turned, Wang Wang Wenyuan suddenly frowned!

A gust of wind came, and the old man wearing a faceless mask arrived in a flash, his voice cold and harsh: "You actually sent people in and out of Mi Jing without consulting this old man?"

"Is Brother Faceless here to denounce me?"

Wang Wang Wenyuan's expression didn't change, he only gave him a faint glance!

This old fellow, named Mo Mo Yingxiong, known in the jianghu as Faceless, was a previous generation Heaven-rank assassin — speaking of seniority, he was considerably older than Wang Wang Wenyuan himself!

He was also one of the only two Grandmasters remaining in Star-Plucking Tower after Chi Chi Zhuiyang and the others defected!

"So what if I am?"

Mo Mo Yingxiong's voice was very cold: "Chi Chi Zhuiyang and the other aren't dead, the Jingping Office is still secretly watching and searching — if the location of Mi Jing is exposed, can you block them?"

"Can't block them!"

Wang Wang Wenyuan answered honestly!

Let alone the fact that a blade was lodged in his chest and he had been heavily wounded for decades — even at his peak, he couldn't defeat Chi Chi Zhuiyang or Murong Qing, let alone the head of the Jingping Office!

"Then you?"

Seeing him in this state, Mo Mo Yingxiong caught on: "Tower Master?"

"This old man not only sent people in and out of Mi Jing, but also temporarily suppressed the contingency left behind by the Tower Master!"

Wang Wang Wenyuan looked into the distance, toward the direction of the Mi Jing entrance: "It's just that I don't know whether those two, Chi Chi Zhuiyang, will collude with the imperial court…"

"You…"

Mo Mo Yingxiong's brows knit tightly, he lowered his voice: "Is this the Tower Master's order? Where is she?"

"Don't know!"

"

Wang Wang Wenyuan shook his head, and without waiting for the latter to flare up, he pulled out a letter and tossed it over: "See for yourself!"

"It's the Tower Master's handwriting!"

Mo Mo Yingxiong's heart eased at first, then his brows furrowed greatly: "Li Yuan? Who is this? The Tower Master sent a letter and only mentioned letting this person ascend the tower?"

"That's all!"

Mo Mo Yingxiong flipped through it — this letter clearly only mentioned this one matter!

"Only this one letter?"

If he weren't familiar with his own Tower Master's handwriting and the aura she left behind, Mo Mo Yingxiong would have suspected this letter was a fake!

Wang Wang Wenyuan nodded — it wasn't just Mo Mo Yingxiong; when he had first seen this letter, he had also been quite doubtful!

The Tower had been besieged by the imperial court for three years, and the Tower Master, who had vanished for years, sent a letter — and it only mentioned this one completely unrelated matter!

"You sent people out just to pick up this… Li Yuan?"

"Yes!"

Wang Wang Wenyuan didn't hide it — mainly because Star-Plucking Tower had barely a handful of usable people left!

"Not right… very not right…"

Mo Mo Yingxiong's brows knit tightly: "What is the Tower Master after?"

He could understand the Tower Master not showing herself — it was nothing more than waiting for Chi Chi Zhuiyang and the other to appear again so they could be caught in one net!

Or perhaps secretly waiting for the head of the Jingping Office to appear!

But sending a letter just to deliver a person into the Eight Directions Tower, and an unknown one at that — he truly couldn't figure it out!

"Don't know!"

Wang Wang Wenyuan just spread his hands — he had some guesses in his heart, but those guesses, even he himself felt were impossible!

Even if that kid were a once-in-a-generation genius, he had only been practicing martial arts for a few years in total — could he possibly guard the Eight Directions Tower?

"What does Brother Wang think should be done?"

Mo Mo Yingxiong's tone softened!

Wang Wang Wenyuan didn't mind his change in attitude, he just took the letter back and said: "She is the Tower Master, so naturally what she says goes — does Brother Faceless dare to defy orders?"

Mo Mo Yingxiong immediately fell silent!

If it were the old Tower Master, he would really dare to talk back a few times, but this lady — at the slightest disagreement she really hits people!

"Since Brother Faceless has no objections, then shall we follow the Tower Master's instructions?"

"Mm!"

Having persuaded Mo Mo Yingxiong, Wang Wang Wenyuan sat down on the reclining chair, and in the Xu Xu night breeze, picked up the unfinished Juan Sect scroll!

Not long after, led by Yu Ju, Li Yuan, who had set his bundle down in the room, met this old gentleman Wang!

After not seeing him for years, Wang Wang Wenyuan looked even more aged, but fortunately his spirits were good!

"Kid Li, long time no see!"

Wang Wang Wenyuan rose to greet him, a smile on his face, while in truth also sizing Li Yuan up and down!

At one look, he couldn't help but be startled!

No other reason — this kid hid himself too well; if not for that letter, he probably wouldn't recognize him even face to face!

"Is Master Wang well?"

Li Yuan clasped his hands in return. Seeing Wang Wenyan again, this old scholar who had once seemed unfathomable in his eyes, was no longer so mysterious!