Using his Insightful Eye, Tianming stared at the wall inside the Prime Tower. He suddenly discovered white heavenly patterns on the walls, ceiling and floor. They weren’t saintly heavenly patterns, but were similar to the dark gold heavenly patterns on the Grand-Orient Sword, and beyond the scope of his understanding.
They were incomparably mysterious. Tianming stretched out his left arm and gently felt the patterns. They seemed to contain a lot of information. Although it wasn’t Imperial Will, it seemed beneficial to him. For more details, he would have to explore further.
For the time being, there were other things in the Prime Tower that had attracted his attention. Two of them were located in the center of the first layer. To be precise, they were two identical Prime Towers—one purple and one red. Except for the difference in color, the two towers were exactly the same as the Prime Tower in all aspects.
One was on the left, and the other on the right. Aside from the wondrous white heavenly patterns, they were the only thing on the first layer.
Tianming walked up to them. But before he approached them, there were changes in the two towers and they slammed right into his body.
The purple one moved downward into the location of his dantian and saint palace, sweeping through him and providing a sense of complete protection. The red tower disappeared. When it reappeared in Tianming's consciousness, it seemed to completely blend with it, protecting his soul and Imperial Will. That was how he knew what they were called.
The purple one that protected his saint palace was called the Purple Tower, while the red one that protected his sea of consciousness was called the Soul Tower. Obviously, they were both part of the Prime Tower.
"What a bargain!" Tianming couldn't help but laugh. He felt that both his saint palace and sea of consciousness had become extremely strong.
"The consciousness is the foundation of the soul, and the Soul Tower is part of this divine artifact. Since it guards my consciousness, it’ll certainly be able to block any attacks on my soul. My saint palace is the foundation of my cultivation. With this Purple Tower, perhaps no one will be able to destroy my saint palace. ”
He wasn’t sure how strong the two towers were. This was good fortune he had obtained after opening the first layer of the Prime Tower, so it was safe to assume they were both powerful items, wasn’t it?
"I’ll ask Feng to help test the power of the Soul Tower. ”
The Prime Tower had once protected Tianming against Ye Lingfeng's lethality. That effect was likely to have originated from the Soul Tower.
"As long as I confirm the power of the Soul Tower, I’ll know how strong the Purple Tower is. Killing me will be easier than destroying my saint palace. ”
This was undoubtedly a huge surprise for Tianming. The white heavenly patterns on the Prime Tower could be slowly studied in the future.
Once he was done searching the tower’s first floor, he left. The first thing he saw was Feiling standing outside, staring at him bewilderedly.
"Big Brother, is that the Prime Tower?” she asked blankly.
"Yes ”
"Did you just take control of it? ”
“Perhaps it’s due to breaking through to Sky Saint.”
"That’s amazing. I wanted to enter, but I couldn’t,” said Feiling.
"Really? Try attaching your spirit to me.”
"Ok.”
Feiling's acquired godchild separated and merged with Tianming.
They were successful when Tianming tried entering the tower in the state of Spiritual Attachment, but Feiling’s innate godchild had to remain outside.
"That’s strange. I’m guessing only my lifebound beasts and I can enter the tower,” said Tianming.
"Doesn’t that prove that you’re the master of the Prime Tower?”
"Most likely. After all, I’ve managed to open the first level. There’s two more levels that may open in the future. I wonder what's inside." Tianming looked forward to finding out.
He found Ye Lingfeng and asked him to attack with all his might. But no matter how he attacked, Tianming's consciousness was impregnable and indestructible.
"This means your sea of consciousness is off-limits and no one can enter,” said Ye Lingfeng.
"That’s great!”
That proved that the Purple Tower was powerful as well.
Over the next few days, Tianming continued contemplating the last move of the Ninesilver Astral Art—Nine Stardust. At the same time, he accelerated his integration of Invincible Sword Ki. After achieving a sky saint physique, Tianming discovered he could bear more strands of Invincible Sword Ki. Even his Invincible Sword Body was stronger.
"The first is coming. I’m afraid that’ll be the day of the decisive battle. Before that, I must become stronger so I can control the overall situation.”
Time was of the essence, and Tianming would never ease off.
...
Dazzling City.
It was the end of the month and the night was murky, lit only by the crescent moon in the sky. The Moonseeker Pavilion was completely silent, devoid of light. In the dark, a tall man wearing red imperial robes descended upon the upper floor of the Moonseeker Pavilion.
“Autarch Beast, why have you called me here so late at night? Now that the Imperial City is threatened by rebels, I can't leave. Speak, if you have something to say.” The man in red seemed rather dissatisfied.
"Open the door and go in,” said the giant beast laying in front of the door.
"Go in?” Startled, the man in red narrowed his eyes and said, "Autarch Beast, it seems you’ve grown in ki and blood.”
"Enough with the nonsense,” said the gigantic beast.
As if aware of something, the man’s eyes turned blood red. He took one step at a time, walking with much difficulty, as if it took him a lot of effort. Then, gently pushing open the door, he walked in.
By the window stood a man in gold and black robes, staring into the distance. The faint moonlight illuminated him.
The man in red fell to his knees and kowtowed repeatedly. He didn’t stop until the man by the window spoke.
"That’s enough,” he said.
"Father!” The man in red lowered his voice, concealing the complex emotions and fear within.
"Are you upset that I’m still alive?” he asked.
"Father, I rejoiced upon becoming autarch. Only now that my rule has proved so dismal have I realized my lack of ability. What I see today is the greatest joy in my life! All the frustrations in my heart are gone,” cried the man in red.
"You’re right. Not everyone can sit in this position; neither the twelve brothers before you, nor the many brothers after you. Among all your descendants, only Fengchen was qualified. Unfortunately, Fengchen died in an accident,” he said.
"Father, I deserve to die for failing to protect him!” said the man.
"Let’s not talk about the past. Life and death is fated. Since his life was short, he wasn’t meant to be the Autarch. ”
"My child, I ask you this: do you understand why I put on such an act, deceiving you and your ninth brother and allowing the imperial family to destroy itself, even allowing you to go so far as to destroy the Divine Capital created by our ancestors?" The man’s voice was as sharp as a blade.
"I had my doubts before, but I finally understand. It turns out that the Cyclic Mirror is still your hands, and Li Muyang has long been dead! Father's act was to completely remove the malignant tumor in the Divine Capital. If you didn’t feign your death, the malignant tumor wouldn’t stir. When it’s ready to move and leave its lair, that’ll be the day the Theocrats completely remove it! Father, you’re a hero for the ages. I truly admire you! For tens of thousands of years, the Theocrats have failed to remove the Decimo Dao Palace. But now, the crucial moment is here.” The man’s eyes burned with fervor.
"You’re right, the time is now. But you’re required to take that last step. I’m afraid there’s a risk of death. Can you do it?” he asked.
"For the foundation of the Theocrats and for Father's great cause, I’m willing to die a hundred thousand times! My children are dead and gone. I must see the Decimo Dao Palace come to a tragic end. The Divine Capital will be the place they descend into hell!” roared the man in red.
"Yes. I’ll draw out the Dao Palace. When the time comes, you must play along with me.”
"Yes!”
The older man walked up to the man in red and caressed his head.
"My child, I understand your pain. Our inheritance cannot come to an end. This is an endless nightmare for the autarch. From the time I turned two hundred, the thing I feared most was death, followed by the destruction of our nation. Once our malignant tumor is removed, the Theocrats will continue ruling for generations to come!”
...
In the blink of an eye, it was the last day of the month. Tianming had merged six thousand strands of Invincible Sword Ki, and wasn’t far from the Myriad-Demise Sword that Weisheng Yunxi had mentioned. Apparently, with the Myriad-Demise Sword, his strength would take a qualitative leap. It was a miracle that no one had ever accomplished.
At the same time, Tianming had basically mastered the last move of the Ninesilver Astral Art. On this day, he was ready to attack the Imperial City and completely destroy Dongyang Yun's descendants.
"Big Brother, Dad has arrived at the dao palace. I think he’s in the Decimo Sacred Hall. Let's go!” Qingyu walked over excitedly.
"So he couldn’t wait any longer and came to the Divine Capital to show off?” Tianming laughed.
For the Decimo Dao Palace, Li Wudi’s arrival was good news. Without another word, Tianming headed to the Decimo Sacred Hall with Qingyu.
"Father hasn’t come to see me. It looks like there’s an urgent matter, so he rushed to the Dark Hall,” said Qingyu.
"Did something happen? ”
Filled with doubt, Tianming entered the Decimo Dao Palace. Since it wasn’t convenient for Qingyu to enter the palace, he went in alone. As soon as he stepped through the door, he laid eyes upon a red-haired man standing before Weisheng Yunxi. Beside him was a tightly-bound woman in a cage.
"Palace Lord, here’s the result of what you asked me to investigate,” Li Wudi said solemnly.
Weisheng Yunxi rose to her feet.
"We must head to Dazzling City now! ”
Following her were the ten Hall Kings and seven Astral Kings of the Decimo Dao Palace, plus Li Wudi.
"I’m coming as well,” said Tianming.
"Alright.” Weisheng Yunxi nodded.
They urgently set off. Before Qingyu could ask anything, they disappeared before her eyes.
"What the hell happened?” Qingyu was confused.
...
On the way there—
"You reached Sky Saint?” Li Wudi patted Tianming’s chest.
"Yes.” Tianming looked at the man. Although he hadn’t seen Li Wudi for some time, the latter was still the same, his eyes domineering and lawless.
"How dare you hide the fact you have ten bane-rings from me? When we get back, I must give you a whooping!” Li Wudi glared at him.
"Godfather, what on earth happened?” Seeing how serious everyone was, Tianming’s mind was fixated on the matter.
"A few days ago, I caught the pavilion lord of the Dazzling Pavilion, Meng Tingyu, who suddenly appeared at the Bloodbane Formation. Just after that, the palace lord asked me to help investigate the disappearance of people within the Theocracy. Thus, I took her on my investigation and questioned her purpose for entering the Grand-Orient Realm. After two weeks, I discovered that three hundred thousand people had recently gone missing in the Earthorigin Realm, and the sect master of the Earthorigin Sect was involved in the matter. I captured the sect master and tortured him. At first, I couldn't determine who he was in contact with, because the other party was very careful.
“However, just a few days ago, upon seeing Meng Tingyu, the Earthorigin Sect Master could no longer bear the torture and confessed that she was the one who’d forced him into trafficking humans. Thus, I quickly brought her back to the Divine Capital. Unfortunately, Meng Tingyu is one tough cookie. She won’t speak a word, regardless of how badly she’s tortured. If it weren’t for the Earthorigin Sect Master, no one would know she was behind this!" Li Wudi said.
"So three hundred thousand people were transported to Dazzling City, and the Cyclic Mirror is most likely there?” Tianming’s voice was hoarse.
"That’s right."