Chapter 212
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Chapter 212: The Fourth Floor of the Illusion Heart Tower
The five of them arrived at the entrance of the Illusion Heart Tower and noticed the effects of the second and third floors.
"A cultivation place, a place for understanding the Dao, all for one hundred thousand spirit stones a day," Xu Gang said, reading the sign at the entrance.
"Isn’t that a bit pricey?" Xiong Li commented, as he hadn’t brought many spirit stones with him.
"I can’t even afford a single day here," Xiang Yun added.
"Don’t worry about it. Since I brought you all out, the sect will cover all your expenses," Xu Gang assured them as he led the group into the Illusion Heart Tower.
Just then, a young servant approached to greet them.
"Is this your first visit to the Illusion Heart Tower?" the servant asked politely.
"Yes, we’re here to experience the place for understanding the Dao. Where do we pay the spirit stones?" Xu Gang inquired.
"Just hand the spirit stones to me, senior," the servant said, producing five crystal jade pendants from his space ring.
"Each floor has private rooms; these pendants are the keys to access them."
"One crystal jade pendant grants access to one private room for a day, and it costs a hundred thousand spirit stones," the servant explained.
"Give me five," Xu Gang said, handing over a storage bag containing five hundred thousand spirit stones.
"Here are your crystal jade pendants; please keep them safe."
"The cultivation rooms are on the second floor, and the understanding the Dao rooms are on the third floor," the servant added.
"What about the higher floors?" Xu Gang asked, curious.
"If you’re curious, you’ll find out once you go up," the servant replied respectfully.
"Got it."
Xu Gang then led his four curious companions up to the third floor.
They weren’t particularly interested in the cultivation place, as it was clearly just a training area, and the disciples of the Hidden Spirit Sect no longer found such places appealing, feeling that the spiritual energy density in their own sect was already quite high.
Upon reaching the third floor of the Illusion Heart Tower, they found it filled with numerous private rooms.
"One room for each of you; we’ll regroup after a day," Xu Gang said, distributing the crystal jade pendants to everyone.
"Thank you, Sect Leader," Xiong Li and the others expressed their gratitude.
"Thanks, Dad," Xu Lingtai said.
Xu Gang casually picked an unoccupied private room and used a crystal jade pendant to enter.
As soon as he stepped inside, Xu Gang felt as though he had entered another world.
"Please choose your current understanding the Dao room."
Around Xu Gang, numerous miniature worlds appeared, each depicting various scenes ideal for understanding the Dao, accompanied by hints of the laws of heaven.
"Land of the Five Elements, World of Swords, Shadow Realm, Thunder Punishment Land, Hurricane World…."
Looking at the many options, Xu Gang bypassed the Land of the Five Elements, which was most suitable for him, and instead selected a place called the World of Collapse.
In an instant, the private room Xu Gang was in began to transform.
Soon, Xu Gang appeared in mid-air and looked around, realizing that the world had already begun to collapse completely.
The wind howled, volcanoes erupted, and massive waves from the distant sea crashed mercilessly against the land.
The ground shook violently, and countless streams of magma erupted from the earth’s fissures, covering everything in its path.
The world was in ruins; the spiritual energy in the atmosphere had turned chaotic, with countless energies mixing to form a disastrous and chaotic aura.
Xu Gang gazed at the crumbling world below, feeling the chaotic spiritual energy around him, experiencing a strange sensation.
"Is this what a world in destruction looks like?" Xu Gang clearly sensed a hint of the path of disaster present in this world.
He slowly closed his eyes, beginning to attune to this path of disaster.
In another private room, the four others also connected with paths that suited them.
In the World of Swords, Xiang Yun immersed himself in the Sword Tomb, listening to the mournful cries of countless swords.
In the Five Elements World, Xu Lingtai grasped the essence of the Five Elements path.
In the Body Refinement World, Xiong Li understood what power truly meant and what body refinement entailed.
In the All Origins World, Zhou Tong saw the most essential version of himself.
A day later, the five emerged from the Illusion Heart Tower, feeling both fulfilled and yearning for more.
"With a month remaining until the competition begins, if you all have nothing else to do, train in the Illusion Heart Tower during this month."
"Consider it a reward for participating in the competition," Xu Gang said.
The four of them instantly brightened with joy.
On Hidden Spirit Island, in the underground space, Xu Fan was controlling the Five Elements Spirit Fire to craft an accessory.
"It will take another three months to successfully finish this. Once this big guy is completed, our Hidden Spirit Sect will not fear Core Formation stage beast race anymore."
"If that dark snake dares to attack Hidden Spirit Island again, it will surely have no way back."
Feeling a bit bored, Xu Fan started chatting with Sha Diao, though it was mostly Xu Fan doing the talking.
Sha Diao attentively focused on Xu Fan as he crafted the artifact.
"Brother Sha, we’re only in the initial stages of crafting this weapon; there’s not much to it, so you don’t need to be so serious," Xu Fan said, noticing Sha Diao’s earnestness.
"Grand Elder, others seek the techniques and experience to craft artifacts often without success. Why is it that you have so little to say?"
"The difficulty of crafting this artifact alone is beyond what an ordinary master craftsman can achieve," Sha Diao replied.
"Just your crafting techniques as the Grand Elder can keep countless artifact masters who linger at the doors of master craftsmen at bay."
In Sha Diao’s eyes, Xu Fan’s seemingly unremarkable methods of crafting artifacts were what he desired but could not attain.
"You exaggerate, Brother Sha," Xu Fan laughed.
As soon as the component was completed, Xu Fan pushed it into the furnace far away using spiritual energy.
Xu Fan was now in a state of multitasking, simultaneously crafting the basic component while controlling the temperature of the spirit fire in the furnace.
Within the furnace, a wondrous liquid magma enveloped all the components, keeping them in a continuous state of crafting, preparing for their final assembly.
As Xu Fan tossed the component into the furnace, Sha Diao’s gaze shifted along with it.
Whenever Xu Fan looked at the tool puppet parts in the furnace, he felt a sense of unreality. He had seen his master crafting artifacts, where the materials would blend together and form a complete piece before the runes were engraved.
Even if there were multiple components, they usually kept it to three or fewer.
But for Xu Fan, starting with hundreds of components and using more than a thousand types of spirit ore for this artifact was something he had never seen before.
"Brother Sha, you can stop staring at the furnace. This is just a small trick to maintain the component’s state; it’s nothing special," Xu Fan said.
Sha Diao opened his mouth and then closed it again, as he couldn’t find any word to describe Xu Fan’s recent actions.
"Actually, I would prefer to complete it as a single piece, but the function of such an artifact would be too limited, having only the most basic attacking capability."
"I, Xu Fan, would never craft such a useless artifact," Xu Fan declared.
"Grand Elder is amazing," Sha Diao praised, feeling like he had nothing left to critique.
"Haha, thank you for the compliment," Xu Fan laughed.
Then, Xu Fan exchanged insights about artifact crafting with Sha Diao.
After some discussion, Sha Diao reached a conclusion: Xu Fan’s artifact crafting skills as the sect’s Grand Elder were going very smoothly, and he encountered hardly any obstacles along this path.
While others labored under the weight of countless difficulties and dangers, shedding blood and tears along their journey, Sha Diao felt that the path of artifact crafting seemed too easy for Xu Fan, as if it wanted to carry him straight to the finish line.
While Sha Diao’s thoughts wandered, Xu Fan’s first clone entered the room.
Looking at Xu Fan crafting the artifact, he said, "I’ve just finished crafting the Giant Shield; let me rest a moment, and I’ll come help you."
Hearing his clone’s words, Xu Fan felt a pang of guilt. Such a considerate clone should not be overworked.
"No need; you can rest before continuing with the Giant Shield. It won’t speed things up if you join me now," Xu Fan replied.
Although the first clone inherited Xu Fan’s artifact crafting knowledge, there were slight differences. If it were graded on a scale of 100, the first clone’s ability only scored 80.
The Precious Artifact Satellite he was currently crafting was the most intricate creation Xu Fan had ever made; even a slight deviation in the refinement or purity of the spirit ore could lead to problems.
While Xu Fan wanted to involve his first clone, he knew he had to handle this artifact crafting alone to ensure its success.
After the first clone left, Xu Fan completed another component and tossed it into the refining furnace.
Xu Fan glanced at the mountain of materials, retrieved a spirit ore in order, and continued crafting.
………………….
In Heavenly Refining Fairy City, within the Illusion Heart Tower.
Xiong Li ascended to the fourth level and found an empty private room to enter.
"Please select your desired enemy," a mechanical voice echoed.
"I choose myself at the peak of my abilities," Xiong Li replied confidently.
The fourth level of the Illusion Heart Tower, known as the Battle Holy Land, could simulate any enemy, including oneself.
When the five of them learned about this level’s function, they immediately abandoned the third level.
Unlike the previous level, this one cost five hundred thousand a day.
The private room where Xiong Li was located began to transform, eventually forming a vast grassland under a clear blue sky with cattle and sheep grazing in the distance.
Another Xiong Li emerged from a swirling mist.
"What? Isn’t the abuse enough for you?" the simulated Xiong Li remarked.
During his first challenge against himself, Xiong Li had come dangerously close to doubting his own strength.
Later, a guardian told him that the simulated version of oneself typically had at least three times the fighting strength of their actual body.
If one could match or even defeat their simulated self, it proved they had refined all their techniques of the Dao and combat skills to the peak of their realm.
"Last time I was careless; this time, I will reclaim my honor with blood," Xiong Li said coldly.
In past battles, he usually only displayed eight layers of strength, using his full power only when necessary.
Last time, the beating he endured happened because the simulated Xiong Li had seized the initiative with his full strength right from the start.
"Bronze Battle Body!"
Xiong Li unleashed his ultimate move immediately upon arrival, wielding a pair of enormous hammers and charging towards the simulated Xiong Li, intent on crushing himself.
At the same time, in another private room on the fourth level, Xu Gang was caught in self-doubt.
"I can’t even last half an hour fighting against myself."
Xu Gang’s battered body was being repaired by a mysterious force.
