Chapter 265: Thousand Layer Tower

"My young friend's strength has improved once again, but I have already found a way to counter it." The Wanren City Lord stood to the side and spoke in a deep voice; judging by the expression on his face, he was indeed very confident in himself.

It seemed he had truly found a way to counter Chen Mo; even if he had no chance of winning next time, he would not be defeated quickly.

As for this time, he had naturally lost quite thoroughly, but Chen Mo could also feel that the Wanren City Lord was constantly adjusting his own methods, searching for ways to target him.

Not only that, the opponent's rate of improvement could be called a thousand miles a day; he was now able to tangle with him for a while, and this speed of improvement could be considered quite fast.

But wanting to defeat him was still not an easy task.

In the face of nearly overwhelming power, technique was useful, but the actual effect it could exert was really not very great.

Chen Mo reached out to grab the Ruins Crystal and turned to leave the Hundred Weapons Forbidden Land.

The Wanren City Lord remained in place, constantly pondering and mulling over his previous shortcomings, seeking to defeat Chen Mo in their next encounter.

Chen Mo returned to the alliance's station to seek out Elder Ma; the elder on duty today was not Ma Bufan, but his older brother, Ma Sanwen.

Especially with the Ten Thousand Beast Alliance coveting it from the sidelines, such a secret place naturally had to be hidden more thoroughly.

Entering the valley and continuing to walk, this valley was extremely long; not only that, but inside there were thousands of stone pillars rising into the sky.

Chen Mo finally found the seventh exposed cave entrance, flashed and leaped into it, and in an instant, he only felt a glowing green light wrapping around his entire body.

With his footwork at full burst, it took only a moment to arrive at that valley; this valley was likewise a boundless stretch of desolation.

Perhaps there were better methods that could replace it, but since there was a ready-made method, no one would waste a large amount of time on this matter.

Chen Mo was not very familiar with him, but they had crossed paths before, so they could still be considered acquaintances.

Even Chen Mo sometimes had to ascend to high altitudes to confirm that his direction was correct.

Strictly speaking, this teleportation array was not an array, but a peculiar secret place similar to the Hundred Beasts Valley.

Therefore, no maps were kept; ensuring that those who knew of this matter would not leak it was enough to guard this secret place.

These matters seemed complicated, but for a Pulse-Opening Martial Artist, they were really not that difficult.

Ma Sanwen then explained to Chen Mo in great detail the method for reaching the deeper Return Ruins through this secret place.

From the outside, it looked withered and yellow, but looking carefully inside, one could actually see specks of emerald green.

If one only knew the location but not the method, then even knowing where the secret place was would be of no use at all.

Chen Mo spoke while taking out the Token that Zhang Qianlian had previously handed to him.

From afar, he saw that the secret place was different; an extremely massive ancient tree lay horizontally on the ground.

The method was not very difficult, but it was something that many Huantian Alliance Martial Artists had spent a long time researching and accumulating over the years.

Chen Mo walked around the ancient tree; there were many gaps on the outside of the ancient tree eroded by the Wind.

Having obtained the method and the location of the secret place, Chen Mo left the city directly and walked along the previous instructions.

It was precisely because of this point, ensuring one would not randomly arrive at some unknown, distant place, that Martial Artists could further penetrate the Return Ruins.

"Fellow Daoist Chen, I wonder what brings you here this time?" Ma Sanwen smiled in return and immediately asked.

Martial Artists enter and walk according to specific directions to further penetrate the Return Ruins.

Even now, while located in the Return Ruins and having endured long-term erosion by the Guixu Storm, its form was still able to be preserved.

A secret place that could allow one to further penetrate the Return Ruins was very important to any faction within the Return Ruins.

"Fellow Daoist Ma." Chen Mo stepped into the courtyard and bowed to Ma Sanwen, who was on duty to the side.

All information relied on word of mouth, the purpose of which was to prevent leaks.

To further penetrate the Return Ruins, besides relying on a Secret Technique, the only other way was the teleportation array that existed within the Return Ruins itself.

The Return Ruins were vast and boundless; without clear guidance, wanting to find this secret place was undoubtedly like looking for a needle in a haystack.

"I previously met the Alliance Leader in the Hundred Beasts Valley; he gave me a Token and told me to go back to the alliance's station on the third level of the Return Ruins, the Thousand Layer Tower, to find him."

"I want to know how to further penetrate the Return Ruins, where that teleportation secret place is, and what Secret Technique should be used to enter it." Chen Mo asked in a deep voice.

This ancient tree was originally at least a thousand zhang wide and over ten thousand zhang tall.

This was definitely a divine tree left over from the previous epoch; otherwise, it would not have been able to withstand the erosion of the long-term Guixu Storm.

These gaps connected to the interior of the ancient tree; the tree was massive, but the interior had long been heavily eroded, like channels drawing blood, constantly hollowing out the inside of the tree.

Walking for about another quarter of an hour like this, Chen Mo finally approached the secret place.

He explained it extremely carefully; this secret place was relatively important and was not marked on the alliance's maps.

Not only that, by using this method to penetrate the Return Ruins, although one could not accurately judge where one would appear, one would appear near that Thousand Layer Tower secret place.

Each stone pillar was several zhang wide and over ten zhang high; walking among them, one felt as if they were in a maze.

Ma Sanwen took the Token, looked at it carefully again and again, and finally returned it to Chen Mo, saying in a low voice, "Go west from outside the city for one hundred and ninety li, and you will find a towering dead tree about a hundred zhang high. Pass the dead tree and walk another seventy li to find a yellow earth valley; pass through the valley and head south for another one hundred and thirty li, and you will arrive at that secret place."

The location of this secret place was also a relatively secret matter within the Huantian Alliance; Chen Mo was now qualified to know, but he had never asked anyone else about it.

Furthermore, there was the most important point: the method to enter the secret place, as every secret place was completely different.

The interior of this massive ancient tree had long been eroded into countless side paths, and Chen Mo was also constantly choosing paths within these side paths.

He cautiously followed the method Ma Sanwen had explained, while extending his palms, circulating them around his body, and attempting to shift these green lights.

But if no one knew, wanting to explore these things by one's own power would be an impossible task.

Even for the Huantian Alliance, exploring the currently viable method had cost a great deal of time and manpower.

Chen Mo walked step by step, and the surrounding green light also constantly changed, from a thin, faint layer to finally becoming a cluster.

He even felt his body wrapped in a thick, viscous gel; moving through this gel, he had to use more strength with every step he took.

After walking another hundred steps or so, Chen Mo could perceive the greenness around him constantly diminishing.

And it disappeared completely at a very fast speed, and as he looked at this world, it was once again a desolate, lonely, and unfamiliar region.

Fortunately, he had already memorized the map and knew where the Thousand Layer Tower was.

The Thousand Layer Tower was another secret place controlled by the sect, different from Wanren City.

This secret place was built on a vast lake, and this lake spanned more than a thousand li in all directions.

The Thousand Layer Tower was a continuous series of water pavilions, with pavilions and towers everywhere.

Behind one layer of the tower are other layers; even if there are not a thousand, the difference is not far off.

Not only that, every pavilion has its own marvelous use; in fact, even now, the Huantian Alliance has yet to fully explore this secret place.

The total number of Huantian Alliance Martial Artists stationed here must be over two hundred; even with daily rotations, the Thousand Layer Tower can maintain sixty or seventy members in most situations.

Chen Mo arrived at the third level of the Return Ruins and immediately sensed that the restrictions on his own power had been further lifted.

From the original Tongmai Realm, it rose all the way to Xiantian Peak; an Innate Realm powerhouse can already ride the Wind to travel.

Therefore, even if the Thousand Layer Tower stands in the middle of a thousand-mile lake, an Innate Martial Artist can easily enter and exit it.

And if this secret place were placed on the first level of the Return Ruins, although a Martial Artist could still explore it, the difficulty would certainly be much higher.

Chen Mo leaped, riding the Wind to travel; a distance of a thousand miles was but an instant.

Before long, he caught sight of a vast ocean-like lake in the distance.

In the very center of the lake stood one pavilion after another, looking like a garden on the water.

These pavilions were all made of wood, and the quality of the timber was quite excellent; looking from afar, they actually had a somewhat crystalline and translucent feel, which was truly surprising.

Chen Mo approached this place at high speed, naturally attracting the observation of many Martial Artists.

But no one blocked him, because he was also wearing a white robe; this attire could be called the standard dress for Huantian Alliance Martial Artists.

Because this Absolute Law Treasure Garment can not only exempt one from most anomalies within Wanren City, it also has mysterious uses in other secret places within the Return Ruins.

Not only that, its inherent defensive capability can also be called quite strong.

Even though Chen Mo had arrived at the third level of the Return Ruins and his power restriction had been lifted to the Innate Realm.

He could also feel the power of the Absolute Law Treasure Garment rising accordingly.

This shows that this treasure garment is a rather good treasure even when used here.

Therefore, many Martial Artists within the Thousand Layer Tower, upon seeing the attire on Chen Mo, did not take it to heart and continued their own cultivation.

Martial Artists who can enter the Return Ruins are mostly there for their own cultivation; except for Martial Artists from the same world as themselves, in most cases, they do not care about much else.

As for whether Chen Mo could be of the demon race, having merely snatched a treasure garment from some alliance Martial Artist to come here.

This possibility was directly ignored by them, because no demon would be that stupid.

Even if there is a gap in strength between Martial Artists of the Innate Realm, it will not be too large, as they are all in the same great realm after all.

Furthermore, those who can enter the Return Ruins mostly have their own cultivation suppressed to a certain extent.

Even if an Innate Martial Artist is very strong, it is impossible to fight more than sixty Innate Martial Artists at the same time.

Even if there were a demon who luckily obtained an Absolute Law Treasure Garment, it would be impossible to swagger here; that is almost no different from seeking death.

Chen Mo stepped steadily into the Thousand Layer Tower, his figure drifting down into a water pavilion; as soon as he raised his head, he saw a Martial Artist looking at him coldly.

"I am Chen Mo, also a Martial Artist of the Alliance, coming from Wanren City." Chen Mo did not hesitate and immediately stated his identity and showed his Token.

Seeing Chen Mo's Token, the expression on the face of the Martial Artist in green robes eased slightly, and he cupped his hands in a salute.

"I am Qing Xuanyi, serving as a deacon here. I wonder what business brings you here this time?"

"Some time ago, a beast tide broke out in the Hundred Beasts Valley. I once saw the Alliance Leader there, and the Alliance Leader gave me a Token, telling me to come here to find him."

Chen Mo immediately showed the Token that Zhang Qianlian had previously given him.

"Oh!" Qing Xuanyi's eyes lit up, and he hurried forward to examine the Token in Chen Mo's hand.

"This Token indeed comes from the Alliance Leader, but he is not here right now. However, he gave instructions before he left: if you came, I should take you to the Hundred Star Pavilion."

Qing Xuanyi carefully examined the Token, then returned it to Chen Mo, and immediately added.

"Hundred Star Pavilion?" Chen Mo asked with curiosity; he was a newcomer here and knew absolutely nothing about the situation in this place.

"The Hundred Star Pavilion is the residence of the successive Alliance Leaders of the Alliance. Within it remain Star Law from hundreds of millions of epochs. The interior is even more mysterious and incomparable, with endless starlight washing over it."

Qing Xuanyi explained carefully to Chen Mo, then continued, "Since the Alliance Leader gave these instructions earlier, I think he must have said to wait until you break through to the True One Realm before coming. I wonder if you have broken through now?"

Qing Xuanyi clearly knew some things and asked directly.

"I luckily broke through some time ago, so I did not dare to delay and came directly here." Chen Mo did not hide his own cultivation; he knew that if he did not say he had broken through to the True One Realm, the other party would absolutely not let him in.

Because only by breaking through to the True One Realm is one qualified to know these secrets; otherwise, it is highly likely to be seeking death.

"Please follow me, fellow Daoist." Qing Xuanyi nodded and led Chen Mo toward the depths of the Thousand Layer Tower.

The Thousand Layer Tower covers an extremely vast area, at least a hundred miles in radius, with water pavilions connected inside.

The main thing is that these pavilions really all look about the same; some are even completely identical, so even if an Innate Martial Artist looks, they cannot tell the slightest difference.

If there is no one to lead, then walking here alone is very likely to result in getting lost.

Chen Mo followed closely behind Qing Xuanyi and soon arrived at a three-story small building.

"Senior Old Ghost, a True One Martial Artist has arrived; please come and take a look." Qing Xuanyi called out softly toward the small building, while turning his head to look at Chen Mo with a slightly apologetic smile.

"It is not that I do not trust you, fellow Daoist, but that the Hundred Star Pavilion is very dangerous to enter rashly without True One strength.

Even though our cultivation is suppressed here, the understanding of the Dao and the world by a True One Martial Artist will not be suppressed.

Therefore, when facing certain remnants of Heavenly Law, only a True One Martial Artist can investigate them."

Chen Mo nodded and had no objection to this; he knew that the other party doing this was also taking responsibility for his own life.

Although it is said that Martial Artists who can enter the Return Ruins should all be very cautious and know the difference between the light and the heavy, the urgent and the slow.

But it is hard to guarantee there are no people who do not value their lives, so doing some investigation is not excessive.

"Creak..."

The sound of an old wooden door being pushed open rang out, and Chen Mo followed the sound to look.

From that small building, an old man walked out; the other party's figure was extremely withered and thin, truly skin stretched over bones.

Looking closely, Chen Mo could even see the blood vessels on the other party's body.

Not only that, in his perception, this old man seemed not to exist from the very beginning.

Although his own cultivation is now suppressed and his sensory ability is also suppressed to the Innate Realm.

But under normal circumstances, it is impossible for him not to perceive an Innate Martial Artist of the same realm, especially in such close proximity.

Yet now, not only could he not perceive the other party, he could not even detect the other party's cultivation aura.

This was the even more bizarre matter.

The reason for this could only mean that either the cultivation technique the other party practiced had extremely strong concealment properties.

Or the other party possessed no cultivation at all, otherwise Chen Mo could not possibly fail to perceive it.

Besides this, there was one other possibility, which was that the other party was not a Martial Artist at all, but a residual consciousness from the previous epoch within the Return Ruins.

Only in this way could everything be explained; otherwise, under the circumstance where everyone was suppressed to the Innate Realm, it would be impossible for the other party to confirm whether their own cultivation was truly the True One Realm.

"He has indeed already broken through to the True One Realm, take him there."

Old Ghost scanned Chen Mo up and down, then spoke in an indifferent tone before turning to leave, casually closing the wooden door once more.

Qing Xuanyi seemed to have grown accustomed to the old man's attitude, offered a smile, and then led Chen Mo away.

(End of chapter)