Chapter 777: The Universe Within the Tower

On the grey stone platform, all manner of incense offerings swirled around the Listening Wood Tallies, the various listenings weaving together into a single tapestry.

Since entering the Xuanhuang Great World, Li Yuan had almost never stopped listening, and naturally there was no shortage of listenings related to the Sin Realm—only those concerning the Tower of Heavenly Sins numbered but one.

Moreover, it was only after learning of the Tower of Heavenly Sins from the intelligence of Daoist Wushuai that he had heard it.

【…It is said that within that divine tower guarded by Jin Xian the Cutter of Sins are imprisoned, from antiquity to the present across the three thousand worlds of Xuanhuang, all heretical demons and devils who defied the Holy Dao, as well as demonic cultivators from beyond the realms…】

Li Yuan pulled out this listening, sorted his many listenings into categories, and once again increased the proportion of listenings.

Yet, another month-plus slipped by in the blink of an eye, and he still obtained no listening concerning the Tower of Heavenly Sins, let alone that River of the Underworld.

"Obscuring the heavenly mechanisms?"

Watching the streams of Qi Jing incense offerings dissipating atop the wood tally, Li Yuan understood in his heart.

And just as he was hesitating over whether to employ higher-grade incense offerings, the demonic shadow he had sent outside transmitted an unusual fluctuation.

"Mm?"

Li Yuan opened his eyes and focused his spirit; only with the augmentation of the Soldier-Sovereign Tally did he detect a wisp of an elusive, alien qi rippling silently from the void.

"Whoosh~"

The next instant, a Daoist clad in black-and-white Daoist robes stepped out from the void.

This Daoist's qi drifted like smoke, seeming both illusory and unreal, and he simply walked step by step toward the gate of the Tower of Heavenly Sins—yet astonishingly, the cultivators of the Three Saints Sect guarding the tower gate appeared utterly unaware.

"Not right!"

Li Yuan's heart jolted as he looked toward the tower gate.

He saw that the Three Saints Sect cultivators guarding the gate had at some unknown moment collapsed all over the ground—including those two Qi Jing great cultivators!

"It's a Dream Demon!"

Relying on the demonic shadow lurking in the shadows, Li Yuan 'saw' that Daoist in black-and-white robes.

This Daoist was ethereal as smoke, illusory and unreal—in truth, he was like a mass of black-and-white mist, appearing human in form yet devoid of human qi, and without a mouth, nose, or any features.

He looked exactly like the Dream Demon he had seen recorded in the Heavenly Demon Atlas…

"No wonder those two Qi Jing great cultivators fell so easily—this is at least a Qi Jing Dream Demon!"

Li Yuan steadied his spirit and breath, growing ever more cautious.

The grade of a Dream Demon far surpasses that of Ape Demons, Snake Demons, and the like; according to the records of the Heavenly Demon Atlas, Dream Demons can be classified among the 'Nine Great Heart Demons.'

It is an exceedingly terrifying demon that can silently enter a cultivator's dream and devour their cultivation and merit without a sound.

"Dream Demon!"

Relying on his many demonic shadows, Li Yuan could sense the agitation and wariness of the demons all around, yet not one dared act rashly—all were watching the Dream Demon's figure.

Within a few breaths, the Dream Demon had already stepped through the tower gate, encountering no obstruction whatsoever.

"That simple?"

Li Yuan frowned inwardly.

Though Dream Demons were indeed ferocious and bizarre, the Tower of Heavenly Sins was after all the central hub of the Sin Realm—could it really be without a Shi Jing giant guarding it?

Li Yuan remained vigilant in his heart, and the surrounding demons proved more composed than he had imagined; only after a long while did a few Wu Jing Ape Demons cautiously follow and enter the tower gate.

After that, the demons lurking in various places also began to move one after another—some transforming into wisps of black smoke, others into motes of dust or mustard seeds—and vanished into the tower gate in succession.

'There must be some special channel of communication between these demons…'

A thought flashed through Li Yuan's mind, but he did not act rashly; instead, he urged one demonic shadow after another to slip into the tower gate.

But to his frown, once those demonic shadows entered the tower gate, he lost contact with them—they seemed still alive, yet he could sense nothing.

"It's not just a Cang Xing Fa technique—it's likely a great formation, or perhaps the Tower of Heavenly Sins itself possesses a Gu Gu Shentong that severs inside from outside…"

Li Yuan split off part of his attention to monitor the Listening Wood Tally.

Sure enough, as this group of demons entered the Tower of Heavenly Sins one after another, among the listenings woven atop the grey stone platform several relevant ones also appeared.

【…Though the Dream Demon 'Yan Sansan' had been ordered by Daoist Wushuai and had no choice but to enter the Tower of Heavenly Sins, he was extremely wary of this divine tower said to have even suppressed Demon Lords; yet to his astonishment, the garrison here was far looser than he had anticipated…】

Six listenings in total, each corresponding to the demons he had just witnessed.