Chapter 264: The Immortal’s Molted Shell

With just a flick of the old man’s finger, Chen Fei’s body instantly became rigid.

Thankfully, the Void Heaven Cauldron trembled gently, and Chen Fei quickly broke free from the paralysis.

The old man looked at him with some surprise. “Interesting! Truly interesting! How long has it been since I’ve encountered a genius like you?”

As he spoke, he danced around gleefully in a strange, manic manner.

Chen Fei kept his gaze locked tightly on the man. “Who exactly are you?”

“Who am I?” the old man echoed. His expression grew pained. He clutched his head tightly with both hands, face contorting under the pressure of his own grip.

“Yes… who am I?! Why can’t I remember anything? Who… who the hell am I!?”

He howled in agony, then suddenly lunged at one of the frozen figures nearby. With terrifying strength, his bony fingers wrapped around the figure’s neck and snapped it clean off.

Blood and flesh scattered.

Unfazed, the madman darted toward another figure, his movements as swift and eerie as a ghost.

Chen Fei took a deep breath. Even with trump cards at his disposal, the eerie spectacle before him made his heart clench.

The old man was truly deranged—completely lost in madness.

He tore through figure after figure, reducing them to mist and gore as he howled in anguish and confusion.

Just as Chen Fei braced himself for the worst, the madman suddenly stilled.

“Oh, right… I remember now. You may call me Tongling Zhenren.”

Raising his head, his eyes locked onto Chen Fei’s, now gleaming with a penetrating, otherworldly force—like they could pierce through the soul.

“You really are an unusual one… not bad. Not bad at all.”

Now wearing the expression of a benevolent elder, Tongling Zhenren looked nothing like the crazed lunatic from moments before.

“How many years has it been? How many centuries have I been trapped here? Young man, can you help me?”

A pained look crossed his aged face.

“I’ve left all of my treasures behind in this place. If you can escape, I too can finally be freed!”

With a wave of his hand, the familiar staircase leading to the next level emerged.

Chen Fei frowned slightly.

Tongling Zhenren’s expression remained kind. “Go on. If you succeed, you’ll inherit everything I’ve learned—my life’s legacy.”

As his words faded, the space around Chen Fei began to twist and blur.

By the time he came back to his senses, all the strange scenes had disappeared—leaving only the staircase before him, as though it had all been a dream.

Chen Fei exhaled slowly. This time, he clearly saw the layout of the floor.

It resembled a living space more than a trial ground. To his left was a dressing table, beside which sat a bamboo bed for cultivation. Extending further was a bookshelf, lined with numerous scrolls and books.

After a brief pause, Chen Fei walked toward the bookshelf.

This was an ancient relic. The knowledge within these books could be even more valuable than rare treasures—maybe even contain secrets capable of shaking the world. After all, those who truly understood secret realms often did so because they had read texts like these.

Tensing his spirit, Chen Fei picked up the first book. The cover read “Tongtian Record.”

Opening it revealed historical texts documenting the geography and culture of the ancient cultivation world, including dates of beast outbreaks and secret realm appearances.

Though the content was diverse and at times chaotic, many terms were unfamiliar to Chen Fei—things he’d never encountered before.

Fortunately, his photographic memory allowed him to absorb the information quickly. After reading, he casually stowed the book in his spatial ring and picked up the next one.

Rather than rushing upward, Chen Fei remained patient and continued reading through the entire shelf, storing each book after finishing it.

“So this was the Ancient Cultivation World… definitely far different from today. Especially the concept of ascension…”

He glanced down at the book in his hand—it contained a detailed account of ascension. Apparently, in the ancient era, ascension to the higher realms was far easier than it was today.

After skimming through all the books, he noted that none of them were cultivation techniques—more like leisure reading collected by the room’s owner.

Once the bookshelf was organized, Chen Fei turned toward the next staircase.

Glancing back one more time to confirm there were no hidden dangers, he took a step upward.

As he ascended, the mirror on the dressing table suddenly fell with a loud thud.

The polished bronze surface revealed a scene—figures reflected within it had faces identical to those seen earlier: Chu Linghe and the others, frozen in fear.

But Chen Fei no longer saw this—he had already reached the sixth floor.

The moment he entered, he was struck dumb by the sight before him.

“Spirit Qi droplets? Free-floating spirit liquid droplets?”

Chen Fei couldn’t help but exclaim in astonishment.

These droplets alone would be enough to help a Yuan Realm cultivator push for a breakthrough!

Breaking through the Yuan Realm required vast quantities of spirit energy. And for those focused on profound Dao insights, the energy needed could be terrifying. That’s why so many cultivators remained stuck at the Yuan Realm.

Safe cultivation environments could never provide such abundant energy—not unless one entered a secret realm.

Chen Fei reached out, and a droplet landed in his palm.

He tried to absorb it with a thought—but to his surprise, the droplet resisted him, almost as if repelling his very being.

He looked up and saw a vague silhouette sitting calmly ahead.

“Someone’s here?” Chen Fei instantly became vigilant.

The strange events on the fourth floor had already proven not to be illusions. So this figure before him could very well be Tongling Zhenren himself.

And if that were true, then even just the corpse of such a being was enough to warrant the attention of experts at the Dao Path Realm.

This was no ordinary remnant—it was the molted shell of a true ancient immortal! Its research value was immeasurable!

Chen Fei paused and tried to sense for any danger through the Void Heaven Cauldron. Detecting none, he cautiously stepped forward.

Everything remained calm.

Eventually, he got a good look at the seated figure.

It was identical in appearance to the crazed old man from before—Tongling Zhenren—minus the madness.

“Is it really him?” Chen Fei narrowed his eyes, carefully examining the body.

All signs pointed to it being genuine, but something still felt… off.

In front of the figure was a small table, upon which sat three jade pendants.

Rather than grabbing them outright, Chen Fei continued his close inspection.

Even with the protection of the Void Heaven Cauldron, he dared not let his guard down. This place was simply too bizarre.

His priority now was clear: find a way out—before the strange tower made its next move.