At the same time, the map on the Crimson Mirror shifted again, now displaying the layout of the fifth floor of the Stone Demon Tower—its passageways and hidden chambers all revealed.
"Both of the treasures that Jiuli Venerable Master got from entering the inner region of the Great Void Realm are connected to this place..." Wei Tu muttered in surprise.
What he didn't know was that those two treasures Jiuli Venerable Master once took had both come from a Nascent Soul cultivator who died in the inner region of the Great Void Realm.
That cultivator had been the final Grand Elder of the Stone Demon Sect.
The reason this Grand Elder left behind the tools to open the Stone Demon Tower and locate the "Spirit-Awakened Plants" in the inner region was because the direct bloodlines that left the Stone Demon Sect weren't just one or two. Giving the treasures to any single bloodline would have provoked resentment from the others.
In the end, not only would the sect fail to rise again, but the last remaining descendants would probably tear each other apart over the inheritance.
But more importantly, the inner and outer regions of the Great Void Realm had already been set up with dangerous barriers—the outer region had the seven great demon checkpoints, and the inner region was plagued by the Seven-Star Begonia Poison.
If he added any more difficulty, the legacy of the Stone Demon Sect might really vanish into history forever.
Still, despite all that careful planning, the Grand Elder never imagined that when the inner region was finally breached, not a single descendant of the Stone Demon Sect would be among those who made it.
The sect's fate had run its course.
…
The Stone Demon Tower had a total of five floors. Its layout was similar to the Pagoda Towers Wei Tu had seen in the Three Great Tribes of the Kang Kingdom.
The first three floors were sect facilities and cultivation areas for core disciples and elders.
The fourth floor stored sect resources and was divided into four main areas: the Pill Room, the Artifact Hall, the Transmission Pavilion, and the Spiritual Herb Garden. These held pills, magical tools, cultivation manuals, herbs, and other precious materials.
The fifth floor was reserved for the highest-level elders of the sect—Nascent Soul cultivators—and held their closed-door cultivation chambers.
"Even if the pills in the Pill Room were well-preserved, it's been ten thousand years. Most of them have probably decayed and lost their potency."
"As for magical tools... I already have enough third-tier ones. And I don't have the power to use fourth-tier tools properly, so I probably won't gain much from the Artifact Hall."
Thinking this through, Wei Tu set his sights on the Transmission Pavilion, the Spiritual Herb Garden, and the closed cultivation chambers on the fifth floor.
Like most sect secret grounds, every critical location in the Stone Demon Sect had protective restrictions and formations to prevent hostile cultivators from breaking in.
So Wei Tu wasn't too worried about Gui Luo and the others quickly sweeping through the tower. The barriers would buy him time to move freely.
"I'll go to the fifth floor first," Wei Tu decided after a brief pause.
Aside from him, eight others had entered the Stone Demon Tower.
If he guessed right, Gui Luo was likely after the sect's cultivation techniques and would head straight for the Transmission Pavilion on the fourth floor.
Hu Shan, Qi Chengchu, Lady Lan, and Ancestor Ning Yan—all peak Golden Core cultivators—cared more about Spirit-Awakened Plants. Their target was definitely the Spiritual Herb Garden.
As for Gong Shulan and the other two weaker Golden Core demon cultivators...
"Gong Shulan's goal might be the same as mine—avoid the strong and head straight to the fifth floor to scavenge treasures from the Nascent Soul chambers..."
Wei Tu thought.
Gong Shulan always put profit first. Although there had been tension between them, it wasn't to the point of no return. Even if they crossed paths, there was a decent chance they could come to an agreement.
What Wei Tu didn't know was that Gong Shulan had gone to war with Hu Shan and Qi Chengchu in the Blood Slaughter Sea because of him.
"Besides, with the Crimson Mirror, I can escape easily even if I run into a tough enemy."
At the end of the first floor's passageway, Wei Tu pulled out the Crimson Mirror. Pouring in spiritual power, he aimed it at a green stone wall.
Just like in the small garden, the Crimson Mirror released a beam of red light, which melted a dark tunnel into the wall.
By now, using the first floor's layout as a reference, Wei Tu had figured out the Crimson Mirror's special function.
It could open backdoors through all the inner region's barriers and formations—just like the Xumi Tablet.
It was another key to the Great Void Realm's inner region.
…
He moved through the first three floors quickly.
When Wei Tu reached the fourth floor, while navigating through the restriction-filled passages, he heard faint noises outside the formation.
Controlling the Crimson Mirror, he created a small crack in the barrier and peeked out.
It was a large pill room. At the center stood a white jade cauldron about one zhang wide. Several storage shelves sat nearby.
At the room's entrance, Lady Lan's body was glowing brightly with spiritual light. She was using a green flute-shaped tool, repeatedly striking the door's barrier.
Before long, she was panting, soaked in fragrant sweat.
"At this rate, she'll break the barrier in about half an hour," Wei Tu judged with a glance at the barrier's glow.
"I wonder what she'll find in there." He looked longingly at the pill room and its empty shelves, then prepared to leave.
However—
Just as he was about to withdraw the red glow of the Crimson Mirror, Wei Tu suddenly heard a deep male voice coming from Lady Lan.
"What's this? You're waking me up already? There's no sign of that old bastard Jiuchuan in this pill room."
The voice was low, almost inaudible unless you really listened closely.
"The Stone Demon Tower's barrier will take me at least another half hour to break. If we get there too late, someone else will snatch the Spirit-Awakened Plant hidden by the Stone Demon Sect."
Lady Lan's expression was cold and a little annoyed.
Still, her words made it clear—she wanted that male cultivator's help to break the barrier.
"Madam, the power I infused in this incarnation is limited. If I waste it here, it'll be harder to deal with that old demon Jiuchuan later," the male cultivator said after a pause.
Hearing this, Wei Tu immediately realized who the man was—he was almost certain it was Jiuli Venerable Master, Lady Lan's Nascent Soul Dao companion.
But what caught Wei Tu off guard was how affectionate the two were. Even when Lady Lan was giving him attitude, Jiuli Venerable Master didn't seem the least bit annoyed.
"Your true body is still in the Southern Desolate Wastes. Jiuchuan wouldn't dare lay a hand on me. Besides, our goals aren't the same," Lady Lan said coldly. "Spirit-Awakened Plants are useless to him."
"That's reasonable," Jiuli Venerable Master replied with approval.
As soon as he finished speaking, a man in a star-patterned robe stepped out of Lady Lan's body. His expression was calm, his bearing refined and effortless.
The man's figure was slightly translucent. He raised a single finger, and the pill room barrier that had been blocking Lady Lan instantly dissolved like melting snow.
"So this is a Nascent Soul cultivator?" Wei Tu was stunned. This was the first time he'd ever seen one make a move.
And just an incarnation was enough to easily dismantle a barrier that even a peak Golden Core cultivator had struggled with.
'No wonder Bai Zhi lost so badly,' Wei Tu thought.
Even someone like Bai Zhi—late Golden Core stage and trained in both body and technique—was close to her limit. But she still wasn't anywhere near the level of a Nascent Soul incarnation.
The pill room door opened. Without hesitation, Lady Lan darted into the hallway, heading straight for the Spiritual Herb Garden.
Wei Tu also picked up his pace and rushed toward the fifth floor where the Nascent Soul chambers were.
Now that he had seen what a Nascent Soul cultivator could really do, he couldn't afford to waste time.
If Gui Luo found the transformation technique inheritance he wanted in the Transmission Pavilion, his next target would undoubtedly be the Nascent Soul chambers.
…
About half a quarter hour later, Wei Tu reached the fifth floor.
Compared to the spacious first and second floors, the fifth floor was clearly more compact. There were only three cave residences.
"She's fast too?" Wei Tu frowned when he saw Gong Shulan already working on the restriction of the middle cave.
Unlike Lady Lan, Gong Shulan wasn't relying on her own power. She was using the strength of an old man holding a sword.
With every slash of the sword, the barrier around the cave flickered wildly. It looked like it could collapse at any moment.
"A Nascent Soul puppet?" Wei Tu narrowed his eyes. "And it can still use divine powers from when it was alive?"
He had seen human-shaped puppets before, and had even received a second-tier puppet inheritance from Gong Shulan, but he'd never heard of a Nascent Soul puppet that retained its former divine abilities.
'Could it be related to her spiritual constitution?' Wei Tu wondered.
After all, even the same technique varied in power depending on the user.
Some could only bring out eighty percent, while others could push it to one hundred twenty percent with ease.
And one of the biggest factors in that difference was physical constitution.
'She's about to break into the center chamber. I need to check the other two now.'
Wei Tu didn't have time to figure out Gong Shulan's secrets. Unless he could capture her and study her thoroughly, he wouldn't get any real answers.
Right now, what mattered was reaching the other two chambers to search for treasures and inheritances.
He went first to the chamber on the left—it was closer to the passage leading up from the fourth floor.
With the Crimson Mirror's help, Wei Tu slipped inside effortlessly.
Unlike the chambers for ordinary disciples on the first floor, this Nascent Soul cave was spotless, as if it had just been cleaned.
Still, it was only meant for closed-door cultivation, not for daily living. There were no side rooms like pill or beast chambers.
There were only three rooms—a meditation chamber, a reception room for visitors, and a storage room.
The reception room had nothing but a few chairs and tables made from expensive wood.
Wei Tu scanned it with his divine sense and moved on. He stepped into the meditation chamber.
Inside, there was just a cushion, a book, and a jade slip.
Without wasting a second, he swept them up with a flick of his sleeve.
The storage room held more items. It looked like a wine cellar, with several large wine jars and some ornate wine vessels.
"That jar..." Wei Tu's gaze landed on a small green jar sitting on a high pedestal.
It was no bigger than his palm but sealed with several layers of spirit-restraining blue talismans.
Just as his hand touched the jar, the restriction in the room flickered.
"Someone's attacking the barrier?" Wei Tu's face shifted. He quickly swept all the jars into his storage ring with his sleeve and fled the room, heading for the next chamber.
Not long after he left, a middle-aged man in scholar's robes appeared in the room. He scanned the furnishings and immediately frowned.
It was Gui Luo, the Demon Lord.
"Who could've taken the items without triggering the barrier?" Gui Luo muttered in surprise.
But then, an image flashed in his mind—a young cultivator wearing a forehead jade ornament.
"Qi Chengchu! Only he has the skill to bypass the formation and steal the treasure," Gui Luo narrowed his eyes and thought.