“Cough cough, this reminds me of how your Senior Brother Chen only reached the twenty-second floor when he was at the Qi Refining Eighth Stage…”
Jiang Cheng chuckled playfully.
Chen Sheng immediately grew anxious and covered Jiang Cheng’s mouth.
“What are you barking about? Didn't I just make a mistake back then?! Do you need to talk about it for so long?!”
A minor Realm generally corresponds to about three floors; usually, someone at the Qi Refining Eighth Stage should reach the twenty-fourth floor.
“I don’t care, anyway, I reached the twenty-fifth floor, unlike some people… Tsk tsk tsk!”
Chen Sheng’s face flushed, and An Chen saw him speechless for the first time.
It really hit his sense of shame.
“So, what did you two gain inside?”
Chen Sheng finally managed to change the subject and, after a moment of thought, replied:
“Several times, it was energy for Body Refining, and several times it was to improve my Realm. In between, some energy seemed to enter my Sea of Consciousness, strengthening my Divine Sense. Then there were some Medicinal Pills and Talismans. The rewards on the tenth and twentieth floors were exceptionally good. The tenth floor gave me a High Grade Magical Artifact for the Qi Refinement Stage, and the twentieth floor was a precious spiritual plant.”
At this point, Jiang Cheng burst into laughter again.
“You didn’t mention it, and I almost forgot. Where did you throw that hammer you got?”
Chen Sheng’s face darkened again.
“Who would have thought this idiotic Pagoda would reward me with a hammer Magical Artifact?! I’m a sword Cultivator! I sold that thing on the market ages ago!”
Jiang Cheng was so amused he slapped his thigh.
“Junior Brother, you don’t know, but when your Senior Brother Chen walked out with that big hammer, everyone around was discussing which family’s hammer Cultivator he was!”
An Chen also chuckled.
“Senior Brother, I never would have thought you were a hammer Cultivator back then!”
“Get lost!”
Chen Sheng glared at them both.
“Then, Senior Brother, are you interested in breaking your own record again? I’ve already applied to Grand Elder to descend the mountain. If possible, why don’t we go together?”
However, both Chen Sheng and Jiang Cheng shook their heads.
“No, no.”
Seeing An Chen’s surprise, Jiang Cheng quickly explained:
“It’s not that we Senior Brothers don’t want to accompany you, it’s just that we went when we were at the Qi Refining Eighth Stage. Although we’re at the Qi Refining Ninth Stage now, it hasn’t improved much compared to before. If we go again this time, we’ll at most clear three or four more floors, and the thousand Spirit Stone entrance fee won’t be worth it.”
A thousand Spirit Stones is a lot for Cultivators at the Qi Refinement Stage; it takes a long time to accumulate, so they can’t just spend it freely.
“It’s alright. Then I’ll go see what this so-called Pagoda of Spiritual Connection is like myself.”
After finishing his meal, An Chen bid farewell to his two Senior Brothers and immediately went to the large slingshot to be launched down the mountain without delay.
The old man at the foot of the mountain was no longer surprised and even greeted him with a smile.
An Chen quickly entered the city and, following the route from his memory, found the Tong Shen Hall.
The Tong Shen Hall should be the place with the most Cultivators in the entire Qingfeng City. Just by sensing at the entrance, one could feel the aura of a group of Cultivators. The auras of these people varied in strength, with some even making An Chen feel unfathomable.
Although most civilian Cultivators have lower Realms, it doesn't rule out the presence of some powerful hermits.
An Chen entered the Tong Shen Hall. This was his second time here; the first time, his Senior Brothers brought him to open an account, and he even deposited some Spirit Stones into his Tong Shen account.
An Chen took the opportunity to explore the Tong Shen Hall further. The Tong Shen Hall was very large and had many areas, not only trading places for various treasures but also various recreational areas, which dazzled An Chen for a while.
Finally, An Chen arrived at a large hall, which was the entrance to the Pagoda of Spiritual Connection.
In the middle of the hall was a teleportation Formation. As An Chen walked in, he saw a person step onto the teleportation Formation. The Tong Shen Hall staff member nearby immediately activated the teleportation Formation. A few seconds later, the teleportation Formation erupted in dazzling light, and the person on the teleportation Formation disappeared.
“Hello! Are you also here to challenge the Pagoda of Spiritual Connection?”
A beautiful female Cultivator walked over. She was also wearing the Tong Shen Hall uniform.
An Chen noticed that this female Cultivator’s strength seemed quite good, at least much stronger than his own.
But she was very respectful towards him.
He didn’t expect the Tong Shen Hall’s service attitude to be quite good.
An Chen muttered to himself.
Perhaps this was the reason they were able to grow and prosper.
“Yes.”
“Please follow me.”
Upon receiving a positive reply, the female Cultivator showed a sweet smile and extended her hand, leading An Chen to a nearby counter.
“Is this your first time at the trial Pagoda?”
An Chen nodded frankly in response to this question.
The female Cultivator took out a small booklet from under the counter and handed it to An Chen.
“You can read this first. This is an introduction to the trial Pagoda, which should help you in clearing the Pagoda. By the way, the fee for Cultivators at the Qi Refinement Stage to enter the Pagoda of Spiritual Connection is one thousand Spirit Stones.”
An Chen hummed, poured out a thousand Spirit Stones from his qiankun bag onto the counter, and then picked up the booklet to read.
The content inside was quite detailed, and An Chen had already understood most of it, only enriching some details.
For example, the trials appearing within the Pagoda of Spiritual Connection would generally be false “enemies” materialized by the Pagoda of Spiritual Connection. These “enemies” could be humanoid or in the form of Yao Beasts.
After carefully reading the booklet, An Chen threw it back onto the counter and looked at the Tong Shen Hall staff member.
“Can I go now?”
“Of course.”
The female Cultivator led him to the teleportation Formation in the center of the hall. An Chen slowly stepped onto the teleportation Formation, while the female Cultivator took out dozens of Spirit Stones and embedded them into the Formation base.
Many teleportation Formations have small Gathering Spirit Arrays that can absorb Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi to power themselves, but that takes some time.
Therefore, there are also grooves left on the Formation base for embedding Spirit Stones.
“Are you ready?”
An Chen nodded.
“Fellow Daoist, please do your best!”
Then, An Chen’s vision was enveloped by light, and he suddenly found himself in darkness.
An Chen suddenly felt this was somewhat familiar.
Isn’t this the feeling of Transmigration?
But before he could savor it, he found that the surrounding scenery was rapidly appearing, and he was already standing before a giant Pagoda.
This giant Pagoda was astonishingly large; looking up, he couldn’t see the top at all, and the footprint of the Pagoda’s base was also enormous. An Chen estimated it had to be as large as two or three stadiums combined.
Behind and beside him, Cultivators continuously appeared, walked past him, and then directly entered the giant Pagoda’s gate. The gate was open, but everyone disappeared after walking inside.
An Chen observed that some of them had expressions of joy and excitement, while others showed solemnity and nervousness.
An Chen took a deep breath and started walking towards the large gate.