WHOOSH!
The cultivation session passed quickly. Before he knew it, Hong Yu had spent a full ten hours in the Quiet Chamber, using up his allotted time for the month.
HUMMM!
Hong Yu's eyes snapped open, a flash of ecstasy in them.
After ten hours of practice, his cultivation had advanced once more. He had finally broken through the barrier of the Peak of the Sixth Layer and reached the Seventh Layer of the Essence Realm.
He looked up and saw only a few minutes of his session remaining. Hong Yu shook his head helplessly. 'If I had enough money to cultivate in here every day, my training speed would increase by at least thirty percent. What a pity...'
A thirty percent increase in speed was not to be underestimated; it was a rate countless people could only dream of achieving.
After leaving the Quiet Chamber, Hong Yu didn't run into Sister Qin again, which he found a little disappointing. Shaking his head, he walked toward the exit of the Underground Alliance, a thoughtful expression on his face. His mind was now entirely consumed with how to make money. Even an Earth Soul Realm expert could die fighting a Red Yin Poison Scorpion, and Hong Yu wasn't about to be the least bit careless.
'That's right! Maybe I can try my luck there!'
An idea flashed through Hong Yu's mind.
He sprinted out of Shishui City and headed east.
About half an hour later, Hong Yu arrived in a valley. The valley was surrounded by lush, sprawling woods, making it quite serene. Hong Yu carefully recalled the path he had stumbled upon by chance. It was a well-hidden trail that zigzagged through the thickets like a maze.
After walking for another half hour, he finally reached his destination: an exceptionally dense patch of climbing ivy. The tightly packed vines covered the stone cliff, giving it an eerie feeling.
'Good, I remembered correctly.'
Hong Yu breathed a sigh of relief. He carefully parted the ivy and stepped through, revealing a deep stone cave inside.
This cave was Hong Yu's secret base; no one knew about it but him. There was a story behind its discovery.
Over two years ago, at a family gathering, Hong Yu had offended Hong Lin while protecting Yun Mengyao. As a result, Hong Lin and his men had chased him relentlessly.
A battered and desperate Hong Yu had fled here and, by a stroke of luck, discovered this quiet grotto.
It was also because of that escape that Hong Yu had accidentally discovered the Profound Celestial Tower's first function—nurturing his Primordial Vein!
A blessing in disguise, he supposed. That was probably the best way to describe it.
'Good, no one else has found this place.' Hong Yu glanced at a few markers he had placed at the cave entrance. Seeing no signs of them having been moved, he heaved a great sigh of relief.
The first time he entered the cave, he had found a Three-Flower Three-Leaf Grass growing inside.
"Three-Flower Three-Leaf," as the name implies, means it grows for three years and blooms for three years. When Hong Yu first saw it, a flower bud had just appeared. Now, more than two years later, it should be time for it to fully bloom.
The Three-Flower Three-Leaf Grass was a First-Grade Spirit Medicine, and a single stalk could easily sell for over ten thousand.
Hong Yu sniffed the air and exclaimed in delight, "What a rich medicinal fragrance! It seems the Three-Flower Three-Leaf Grass is about to mature!"
Hong Yu quickened his pace and soon found the blooming Three-Flower Three-Leaf Grass deep inside the cave. To his disappointment, however, the flower bud was still slightly furled. It would fully mature in a few days, but it wasn't quite there yet.
He shook his head helplessly and sighed, "Picking an immature Three-Flower Three-Leaf Grass would be a terrible waste. What a shame."
He had come full of hope, only to leave disappointed.
This left Hong Yu feeling rather dejected.
However...
Just as Hong Yu was about to turn and leave, the Profound Celestial Tower hidden against his chest suddenly grew warm. Hong Yu froze for a moment, then took out the Profound Celestial Tower. He saw the small tower gleaming with a black light, seemingly coveting the Three-Flower Three-Leaf Grass.
"What's going on?" Hong Yu wondered aloud in surprise.
The Profound Celestial Tower had been in his possession for many years, and all this time, the thing had been like a stone Buddha, uninterested in anything. Even when Hong Yu had stumbled into the cave two years ago and found the Three-Flower Three-Leaf Grass, nothing unusual had happened. But now...
Hong Yu thought for a moment and analyzed the situation. 'The Profound Celestial Tower hasn't changed, and I haven't changed much either. The only possibility is that the Three-Flower Three-Leaf Grass is about to mature. But I've come across plenty of herbs and Spirit Plants over the years, and the Profound Celestial Tower never reacted like this before.'
On second thought, Hong Yu realized what was different.
'If there's any real difference, it's that all the Spirit Plants and herbs I encountered before were common-grade, not reaching the level of a Grade-Entering Spirit Medicine. The Three-Flower Three-Leaf Grass was also a common herb before it matured. Now that it's on the verge of maturity, it's slowly transforming into a Grade-Entering Spirit Medicine.' Hong Yu's eyes widened as he stared at the small black tower in his hand. 'Could it be... the Profound Celestial Tower is only interested in Grade-Entering Spirit Medicine?'
At this thought, Hong Yu could no longer resist moving the Profound Celestial Tower closer to the Three-Flower Three-Leaf Grass.
The closer they got, the more intensely the light around the Profound Celestial Tower glowed.
SWOOSH!
A black light shot out from the Profound Celestial Tower, sucking the Three-Flower Three-Leaf Grass directly toward it. It was too late for Hong Yu to stop it. He could only watch as the plant was pulled up by its roots, shrank continuously, and was swallowed whole by the Profound Celestial Tower.
When the black light vanished, the cave fell silent once more, but the Three-Flower Three-Leaf Grass was gone.
"Damn it, you wasteful piece of junk..." Hong Yu cursed, pointing at the Profound Celestial Tower.
"Screw you! You're the wasteful one! Your whole family is wasteful!"
Hong Yu had just finished cursing when a somewhat childish voice came from within the tower, leaving him stunned. He stared at the Profound Celestial Tower in his hand, full of doubt and suspicion. There was no reaction. He tapped it with his finger, producing a cold PONG PONG sound. Hong Yu rubbed his eyes and muttered in confusion, "Strange. Was I just hearing things?"
Still no response.
Hong Yu patted his chest and sighed in relief. "I knew it. How could a lump of metal like this talk? I must be under too much stress lately. I need to go back and get a good night's sleep to unwind..."
"Screw you! You're the lump of metal! Your whole family is lumps of metal!"
The childish voice clamored again.
"Holy crap!"
Alarmed, Hong Yu immediately tried to throw the Profound Celestial Tower away, but the thing was stuck fast to his palm. No matter how hard he tried to shake it off, it wouldn't budge.
Seemingly sensing Hong Yu's alarm and disbelief, the owner of the childish voice let out a smug "geh-geh" laugh from within the tower and continued to crow, "Now you know how amazing I am, huh? Screw you! Making this great one wait for so long... how hateful, how detestable! If I don't give you a taste of my power, you'll never learn how incredible I am."
"..."
Cold sweat beaded on Hong Yu's forehead. He asked, uncertainly, "A-Are you the reinforcements the monkey sent for?"
"Monkey? You're the monkey! Your whole family are monkeys..."
The person in the tower let loose a stream of curses that left Hong Yu completely dumbfounded. Only then did it slowly and smugly declare...
"I am the Tower God!"