The tower stashing the Cultivation manuals was built on top an antiquated platform, which had a foundation made of a semi translucent, white rock. The surface was smooth as a mirror. It seemed as though the foundation was carved from a single piece of jade. Etched on the platform was countless mysterious rune words and symbols. Zheng dashing on the seemingly fragile jade under Destruction didn't leave a dent at where he stepped. Neither did he leave any scuff on the etchings. The jade was tougher than any metal.
Zheng was only a hundred meters from the gate of the tower by the time he stepped onto the platform. He feared turning around to look at his team. Could they fly off before the land fell into the lava? Could they manage to find a way when the land broke apart?
(Damn it. Xuan always turns into a fanatic when alien knowledge stands before him. How could he shoot me away like a human cannon? It’s so urgent too and he’s thinking about the Cultivation manuals.)
Zheng ranted but he also lusted for the Cultivation manuals himself, especially after he witnessed Luo YingLong’s strength and Tiger’s Soul’s true power. The genetic constraint required both talent and luck to unlock. However, grasping the correct methods of utilizing Tiger’s Soul would instantly drive its power up exponentially. He had the confidence to rival his clone once he obtained these methods!
Zheng crossed the hundred meters in the blink of an eye and dashed into the tower like a bolt of lightning. Suddenly, he felt a pool of water crash onto his body. Movements became as difficult as moving under water. This sensation came and went fast. The water vanished after it washed over his body. Air returned to normal once more.
(Is this the seal set up by the Cultivators to test the race of those who enter?)
It was the only possibility Zheng could think of. At this time, his eyes were captivated by the marvel in front of him.
The Sky Tower appeared antiquated from the outside but the inside looked like it came from a science fiction world. Yet, the things here felt so familiar to Zheng.
The tower had three floors and each floor was split into four sections enclosed in lighted 3D runewords symbolizing the Azure Dragon, the Vermilion Bird, the White Tiger, and the Black Turtle. The holographic beasts appeared lively. Zheng felt if he wasn’t a descendent of the yellow race, the beasts would have attacked him.
Floating in the centre of the four beasts was a spinning symbol of the eight trigrams. The 3D lights were more surreal than actual sci-fi movies. Translucent palm size crystals were arranged neatly within the symbol, each one reflecting the light off the symbol.
Zheng lost his mind as he stared at the scene. The image of Cultivation was supposed to be antiquated. All the manuals, flying swords, and abilities were supposedly ancient. Those who practiced Cultivation should live in bamboo cottages, drink aromatic tea, and wear traditional clothes. Technological advanced was not enough to describe the inside of the tower. He noticed even the floor was etched with runewords and symbols forming a three by three grid. Glowing energy traveled among the runewords like liquid.
“Shit. Is this Cultivation or advanced technology? It’s almost too advanced.”
Zheng couldn’t pull his mind away from the scene like a farm boy who visited the city for the first time. A loud thump that came from behind finally woke him up from the shock. He charged into the White Tiger’s image and raised the Na Ring at the crystals. Yet, the ring could not draw the crystals into its dimension. Zheng gave up after two more tries. He was hoping he could grab several thousand manuals using the ring and storage bag with one wave of his hand. However, with his plan failing, how else could he take these crystals without a few thousand arms?
“No time to think! Just grab as many as I can.”
Zheng tore off the few pieces of ragged clothes still clinging to his body and began to stash the crystals naked. Suddenly, he remembered he was still on the first floor. The most valuable items would be placed at the higher floors by logic. If he could only grab a limited number of crystals, why should he take from the bottom section?
He threw away the crystals and charged at the stairs using Soru and Geppo. A few seconds later, he reached the second floor. This floor was split into two colours like the Tai Chi symbol. There was a spot on the black side brighter than anywhere else and a spot on the white side darker than any other place. Zheng could faintly sense refined Qi coming from the white side and Magic from the dark side. The two energies were circulating in peace unlike the energies in his body.
There was no more crystals on this floor. Finger sized diamonds floated in the space. The Magic side had sparkling white diamonds. The refined Qi side had sparkling black diamonds. These diamonds were like the stars floating in a pool of energy.
The sound coming from outside was growing louder. Zheng had no time to inspect the scenery. He heard roars that travelled from far far away. They were not the sound of human. Zheng grabbed a few diamonds of each colour on his way and dashed toward the stairs leading up. Yet, what he saw upon stepping on the third floor wasn’t containers of knowledge anymore. Magic relics laid out neatly in front of him.
The land the Sky Tower was standing on had broken into multiple pieces. They were falling faster and faster. At the same time, Imhotep’s trips were getting longer. On the land below, only Xuan, Heng, WangXia and YinKong were still behind. The land they were standing on was a thousand meters away from the lava. No one person here could survive the lava without defensive items.
The sea of meat had grown to an unbelievable degree. It would be over a thousand meters tall if he had a humanoid form. A disgusting and terrifying squirming sea of meat covered the land.
Heng no longer had any strength to lift his bow. Normal people would be exhausted after ten shots using a metal bow. He had fired hundreds of arrows already, with some of those shots being abilities. If he were still fighting at this point, his power level would be astonishing. Heng released the last volley of energy arrows and collapsed. WangXia quickly stepped in front of him and the three people remaining guarded him.
WangXia adapted to this kind of battle much better than Heng. The bombs he used were actual objects. He only expended Demon Energy to control and enhance the bombs, which didn’t take that much stamina and energy while causing destructive damage to the flesh. The tactical nukes were what held the flesh back from growing for a while. Of course, once he used up all the tactical nukes, the growing started again. It would be big enough to cover the whole land and devour the people still here in perhaps another minute, or they would all fall into the lava beneath.
Xuan had been using the power of the Lambda Driver for some time. He didn’t cause as much damage to the flesh but the force transformed into an invisible wall that stopped the flesh from advancing toward them. The flesh eventually crushed this wall. They would have been goners long before if it wasn’t for this wall. With continued use of the Lambda Driver, Xuan’s hair was turning white. Wrinkles started to appear on his face, which indicated he was overdrafting his life. This could continue until he died of age.
As a close range fighter, YinKong was unable to do anything against this growing flesh that was also corrosive. The only ranged attack she had was Excalibur’s built in ability and she used it along with the Shining Air Waves when the invisible wall shattered. The attack pushed the flesh away then the last tactical nuke held it off for a moment, stabilizing the situation. However, she also became useless at this point.
With the flesh looming near and both Imhotep and the lava a thousand meters away, the Sky Tower suddenly gave off a blazing light and split into two pieces. The land carrying the Sky Tower also started to fall apart.