The aura coming from the guards deterred everyone from approaching even a single step towards the staircase that was leading to the next floor.
This made Shun Long suspect that if one wanted to step foot on that staircase, then that person needed to be at least a Dao King realm expert whose strength was nearing the peak of the Dao King realm.
At the same time, he was also extremely surprised that there were actually 2 rank 9 Dao Kings inside the 'White tiger chamber of commerce', guarding the entrance of the next floor.
Even in the Holy sect, the 2 white-robed Elders who were guarding the entrance of the sect were just peak rank 9 Dao Kings as well.
Although the guards' aura wasn't at the same level as the 2 Elders of the Holy sect, making it obvious that they weren't peak rank 9 Dao Kings just yet, just the presence of these 2 rank 9 Dao Kings acting as guards was enough to scare anyone below the Dao Emperor realm.
''This 'White tiger chamber of commerce' must have a very deep background to be able to employ 2 rank 9 Dao Kings and have them work for them like this!''
Although Shun Long didn't know how strong this famous chamber of commerce really was, he could guess that their strength was probably not too inferior compared to the Holy sect! After all, even the most powerful families and clans within the Holy sect's territory wouldn't be able to use rank 9 Dao Kings to work as guards.
Seeing that there was nothing else left for him to buy from this floor, Shun Long turned around and walked back towards the first floor.
Of course, although he too wanted to enter the fourth floor and have a look at the items there, he had already noticed how everyone else on the third floor was staring at the fourth floor's entrance with the same excited looks on their faces.
However, a single look from the rank 9 Dao Kings who were guarding it quickly made those people change their minds, as they realized that that would be impossible for them to enter unless they reached the peak of the Dao King realm.
Walking out from the 'White tiger chamber of commerce' Shun Long remained standing for a few moments, as he turned his gaze towards the enormous black tower in the distance that he could clearly see even from his current location, before he walked straight towards it.
Since both the 'White tiger chamber of commerce' and the Dao Tower were located at the heart of the Holy city, it only took a few minutes for Shun Long to reach the colossal black tower. Just like the last time, as soon as he arrived here, Shun Long once again saw the huge queue in front of the Dao Tower, as hundreds of cultivators waited to enter.
Half an hour later, it was Shun Long's turn to enter the tower. This time, he didn't need any help from the receptionists at the entrance, as he headed straight towards the third floor, since every single room in both the first and the second floor seemed to be already taken.
After choosing a random room and placing 5.000 middle-grade spirit stones inside the holes on the door, a deep rumbling sound was heard as the door started to automatically open by itself.
A room that was filled with nothing but darkness once again appeared in Shun Long's eyes, as he entered inside without any hesitation.
At the same time that he entered inside, the door of the room was closed, completely isolating Shun Long from the outside.
Waving his hand, he then took out a small orange token from the 'Stone of Time' and placed it by his side, before a small smile was formed on his lips.
Shun Long knew that he was just a step away from entering the red rank and he probably could reach it with just a few more wins, however, his goal wasn't the red rank but the opponents at the peak of the Nascent Soul stage and even the early stage Dao Kings as well.
Although he didn't know how he would fare against Dao King realm opponents using just his own comprehension of the Dao just yet, since he already knew that entering the Dao King realm meant a qualitative change especially in one's Dao, Shun Long was still eager to face a Dao King realm expert and see where he stood and how big the difference between them really was.
And yet, to fight against late-stage and even peak stage Nascent Soul stage opponents as well as Dao Kings, Shun Long had already guessed that he would need to reach at least the peak of the red rank if not the purple rank!
Right now he was still at the peak of the orange rank, and Shun Long had already noticed that the difficulty to rank up increased with every rank that he advanced.
''It doesn't matter how many fights I will need to fight. I doubt that it will take more than a week to reach the purple rank! There are still 16 days left until I return back to the Holy sect, so it should be more than enough!''
With these thoughts in mind, Shun Long sat down cross-legged on the ground and first scanned the room with his soul sense to make sure that he was alone.
Then, he closed his eyes and sent his soul sense towards the bright orange token of the Dao Tower that he had placed next to him, voluntarily connecting his consciousness with it.
The moment that his soul sense entered the token, Shun Long could feel his surroundings rapidly changing, as just like the last time, the feeling of losing control of his own body once again sprouted in his heart.
This time however, Shun Long was already prepared so he didn't feel startled by this change.
Finally, a couple moments later, he opened his eyes as he found himself inside a familiar, huge palace hall, while the figure of a young woman that was dressed in red robes was standing opposite to him.