Chapter 2002 - 1982:

Chapter 2002: Chapter 1982:

Hu Batian snapped his eyes open and found the entire interior of the tower in an extremely oppressive state. He immediately frowned slightly, shrinking his original form to reduce his consumption of Spiritual Energy inside the tower.

At the same time, all the Demon Beasts above the Sixth Level did the same, and the sky inside the tower, which had been an unchanging azure for a thousand years, actually turned gloomy.

This was an anomaly, the heavens had changed—what did that signify?

...

Luo Qianqian on the Fourth Level also sensed the fluctuation of Spiritual Energy in the sky and slightly knitted her brows. This was clearly out of the ordinary—what on earth was going on?

Moreover, those Demon Beasts that had looked so relaxed and in control a moment ago suddenly went berserk. They not only struck without mercy, they even started actively attacking other nearby Demon Beasts.

This made Luo Qianqian realize something was wrong. She understood the problem was coming from above, but she was powerless to do anything about it.

The pressure here had already been enough for her as it was, and now that the sky suddenly grew so oppressive, the burden she was bearing increased by several degrees.

She decisively found a secluded corner with no one around and placed several Spirit Stones engraved with Formations around her. She absolutely couldn’t gamble with her own future.

Especially now—if she didn’t pull back her edge, she might get injured here, or even die here. She could not die here; she couldn’t even afford to be hurt, otherwise her brother would sense it...

...

Mo on the Sixth Level also opened his eyes. Looking at the ever-changing sky, he slightly raised an eyebrow. "So there really is another agenda at play, huh?" He couldn’t go further up, but that didn’t mean others couldn’t, right?

Especially Long Tu—he understood this place so well, it should be him who went up there and triggered this mutation in the Demon Suppression Tower, shouldn’t it?

It seemed this Demon Suppression Tower should be at the level of a Divine Artifact.

It opened up its own small world and even carried the profundity of time. That wasn’t something a normal Weapon could accomplish.

But if it wasn’t his, even if he snatched it, it would be useless. He had known that since he was a child, so he’d long become indifferent to things that "only the destined may possess."

Thus even now, at this very moment, he remained calm. After all, if it wasn’t his, he couldn’t seize it.

Just like the Emperor of Fire’s legacy back then.

His father had said it was because he lacked the ruthless ambition of one who must win, while his mother said his brother obtained that chance because he needed to protect him.

Only he knew—he had long known—that it simply wasn’t his.

Those things, he could let go precisely because he never cared that much whose they were.

But there are some things he will never let go.

...

Huangfu Yihui was sitting on the Third Level. The Demon Beasts around him had already been defeated, and he was seated on the spot adjusting his breathing. As long as he didn’t go elsewhere next, the Demon Beasts from other areas wouldn’t come actively seek him out. That was something to be quite thankful for.

Otherwise, with the state his body was in now, wouldn’t he be at the point where he could be one-shot effortlessly?

Standing here, he inexplicably thought of his older brother. He wondered whether his brother was here or not.

Perhaps because the fight had been quite satisfying, his mind drifted to the time he and Huangfu Yanyao had gone into seclusion to spar on the mountain above Freedom Town...

Back then, it had been unbelievably exhilarating, and it hadn’t harmed their relationship at all.

If only everyone could fight like that—stopping just short of going too far, yet still fully enjoying the clash.

...

Di Jun sat blankly on the Seventh Level. All the way up, he hadn’t been attacked; he had even treated the wounds of several Demon Beasts. The reason he stopped on the Seventh Level wasn’t because he’d been attacked, but because the pressure there left him unable to move an inch.

His powerful spiritual power was the foundation of his healing, but right now it was being crushed until he was almost lying flat on the ground. All he could do was form a Hand Seal and begin Cultivation.

...

Hu Batian suddenly felt as if he had some kind of new sense. He subconsciously looked toward the stairway and saw Long Tu slowly walk out. The aura on Long Tu carried a faint pressure that made Hu Batian feel instinctive reverence, something he couldn’t ignore, a kind of urge to bow down and worship.

The last time he felt this way had been when he was first taken into the Demon Suppression Tower by the previous owner. He had felt exactly this toward that person.

It was obvious... The Demon Suppression Tower was now in this man’s hands...

Yet the sky hadn’t really changed; it remained just as gloomy.

He also sensed the Spiritual Energy in the Demon Suppression Tower surging violently, though he had no idea why.

"Master..." Hu Batian instinctively called out to Long Tu.

"Spiritual Energy isn’t enough. I thought I could ride the current trend to let the Demon Suppression Tower repair itself." Long Tu sounded rather regretful. "So we can only set up a Spirit Gathering Array. Big Fox, do you have any Spirit Stones? Or Inner Pills from Demon Beasts that died in this Demon Suppression Tower?"

"We have both Spirit Cores and Inner Pills, and Spirit Stones as well, but most of them are used to sustain the consumption of the small world," Hu Batian replied respectfully.

Long Tu nodded. "Go get me some Spirit Cores and Inner Pills—one hundred and eight pieces, preferably of your grade." He looked at Hu Batian and gave a thoroughly lewd grin.

Hu Batian shuddered, and in the next second vanished at high speed.

Very soon he came back carrying a cloth sack. "Everything from the Eighth Level is in here."

"I’ll go down and bring the Suppression Stele up as the array’s core." Long Tu nodded, flashed away, then appeared back in the same spot a second later, holding a stone stele—the very one they had seen before entering the Demon Suppression Tower. The stele now displayed: one person on the Seventh Level, two on the Sixth.

Long Tu was quite surprised by that. As for himself—he was the master of the Demon Suppression Tower, so of course he wouldn’t show up on it.

He carried everything up to the Ninth Level. Before long, Hu Batian sensed that the Spiritual Energy within the entire Demon Suppression Tower had become extremely abundant, leaving him utterly stunned.

Long Tu slowly walked down, slightly frowning. "This dragon vein is probably about to run dry. To think the Five Emperors even managed to find a dragon vein to nourish the Demon Suppression Tower. Otherwise, over such a long time, the living beings inside the tower would’ve turned to dust ages ago."

Hu Batian, however, didn’t find that surprising. He had always known the Demon Suppression Tower sat atop a dragon vein.

This had originally been his Cultivation ground, so of course he knew what was here. Initially there had only been a Spirit Stone Mine. The dragon vein was brought from elsewhere by the previous owner to nourish that Spirit Stone Mine.

In his view, the previous owner had a sense of greater good. At least he hadn’t diverted the dragon vein for his own use, but had chosen to let it nourish the Spirit Stone Mine. After being tempered by the dragon vein, the Spirit Stone Mine would gradually produce High-grade Spirit Stones, which in turn would feed back into the dragon vein. Only through that mutually reinforcing cycle could it have lasted until now.

"But there’s still a High-grade Spirit Stone Mine here. Come mining with me?" Long Tu looked at the big fox with a face full of temptation. "Let’s see if there are any foxes around nearby."