Chapter 587

Chapter 587: Empty

Ye Yun stood quietly, letting the chaotic space power swirl around him as he observed its fluctuations, searching for a pattern to carve a path forward.

His grasp of spatial laws gave him confidence. Having refined his comprehension to purity and absorbed the minor cosmic light array, his mastery now surpassed nearly all cultivators below the Earth Immortal realm.

Though the space power seemed random, it swerved around Ye Yun each time it neared him. Even when he shifted positions, not a single strand struck him.

“Ancestor, any insights?” Ye Yun murmured.

“Your spatial understanding now matches this one-third fragment of my soul. If you can’t solve this, neither can I,” the Ancestor of the Sword Path replied gruffly, his spirit perception scattering only to find disorder.

Unshaken, Ye Yun kept still. If even he couldn’t unravel this spatial array, what cultivator beneath the Earth Immortal realm possibly could?

Meanwhile, at the Ice Tower’s base, a new group arrived. Leading them was Master Hei Xu of the Xuan Yuan Sect, trailed by Nascent Soul elders far weaker than his Fourth Level cultivation.

“Why are you whelps loitering here?” Master Hei Xu barked, unfazed by the first layer’s icy essence.

A peak Golden Core disciple hastily bowed. “Greetings, Master Hei Xu!”

To these disciples, Master Hei Xu—though inferior to the three major powers’ true Ancestors—remained an untouchable figure who could erase them with a flick.

“Ancestor, this first layer’s completely empty!” blurted a blue-robed Golden Core disciple.

“You,” Master Hei Xu eyed the youth’s Misty Sect attire, “why are you alone? Where are your hundreds of sectmates?”

“This junior is Yu Changfeng, peak Golden Core of the Misty Sect,” the disciple answered, bowing deeper. “We scattered upon entering the Saint’s Secret Vault. I barely broke the restrictions to reach here.”

Master Hei Xu scowled. “The stone tablet promised treasures in every layer after solving the array eye. Yet it’s barren. Did you maggots hoard the loot?”

“We’d never dare!” Yu Changfeng protested. “It was already empty when we arrived. Except…” He pointed to a faint imprint on the left floor. “Something large was here.”

Master Hei Xu studied the mark. “A sizable object. Has someone beaten us here?”

“Impossible!” Yu Changfeng insisted. “Finding the Ice Tower requires solving the array eye per the tablet’s clues. We came immediately!”

“So you claim nearly two thousand Golden Core entrants died, leaving only you?” Master Hei Xu sneered.

“N-no! That can’t be!”

“Exactly. The Secret Vault has multiple paths. Your array eye was merely one of six entry points. Five other treasure areas likely exist.”

The disciples nodded eagerly—this reasoning spared them imagining a 99% death toll.

Master Hei Xu’s eyes narrowed. The barren first layer’s lone imprint gave no clues about when its contents vanished. Abruptly, he fired a light beam at the wall.

A crystalline ice staircase materialized with a groan.

“To the second layer!” Master Hei Xu ascended in a flash.

But upon reaching it, his face darkened with lethal intent.

Yu Changfeng’s group gasped. The second layer too was empty—yet stranger still, its icy essence felt weaker than the first.

How could this be? Shouldn’t things get stronger as they went higher?

Yu Changfeng and the others exchanged glances, their hearts filling with dread.

Had someone really entered the Ice Tower before them?

"The icy essence in this second layer isn’t evenly spread—it’s been absorbed or disrupted. Feel how the left side still holds faint traces, while here there’s almost nothing. This wasn’t how it naturally formed. Someone tampered with it," Master Hei Xu growled, his face stormy. As someone at the pinnacle of the Nascent Soul stage, he’d waited impatiently for Golden Core disciples to break the first layer’s array. He’d expected treasures, only to find the Ice Tower empty.

"But the remaining icy essence here still feels potent. At its peak, even I might’ve struggled to endure it. If someone got here first, how powerful must they be?" argued a peak Golden Core disciple, shivering slightly.

Yu Changfeng shot him a look. "What if they mastered the Ice Element Law and cultivated Ice Spirit Qi? If they’re at the sixth or seventh level of the Golden Core stage, couldn’t they take the treasures?"

The disciple flushed. "I… didn’t consider that."

"Enough talk. Find the third layer’s path. They couldn’t have taken everything," Master Hei Xu snapped, murderous intent flashing in his eyes.

The group tapped walls searching for hidden mechanisms. After the time an incense stick takes to burn, a crystalline staircase materialized.

They rushed up to the third layer—and froze.

No spiritual energy. No icy essence. Nothing.

"Ancestor Hei Xu… has it all been drained?" Yu Changfeng’s voice trembled.

"Even a peak Nascent Soul couldn’t absorb every drop. This layer was likely always empty," Master Hei Xu muttered, though uncertainty colored his words.

As disciples scattered to search, the Nascent Soul group advanced cautiously. "No arrays. No walls visible in this darkness," Master Hei Xu observed.

The purple-robed sect leader nodded. "This place feels wrong."

"Remember," Master Hei Xu warned, "our strength is capped at the Fifth Nascent Soul level here. Overstep, and the array attacks."

When Yu Changfeng reappeared before them later, confusion reigned.

"Senior, why are you ahead of us?"

"Don’t spout nonsense. We never turned back," Master Hei Xu retorted.

Then they all saw it—the staircase entrance still at their backs. Though they’d walked forward, they’d never left the starting point.

With Master Hei Xu and the others’ speed, even after slowing their pace, they’d walked for the time it takes an incense stick to burn. By all logic, they should’ve covered over a hundred miles.

Yet they suddenly found themselves still lingering near the third floor’s stairway entrance, having barely advanced two steps.

"An array? A spatial array?"

Master Hei Xu and the others exchanged stunned glances. These were all Nascent Soul stage Ancestors, and even Yu Changfeng was a peak Golden Core genius disciple deeply versed in spatial laws.

Despite their cultivation levels, they’d failed to detect the spatial magical array in this third layer, blindly wandering until Yu Changfeng approached. Only then did they realize their predicament.

As they looked around, figures began materializing from thin air. Dozens now crowded the stairway entrance, gaping at each other with undisguised disbelief.

A spatial magical array!

This empty third layer lacked even a wisp of spiritual energy. Their spirit perception detected no restrictions. Yet beneath their very noses, someone had hidden a spatial array they’d all missed. What terrifying skill did this require? Master Hei Xu stood at the pinnacle of the Nascent Soul stage, someone who might reach the Earth Immortal realm within decades. Yet even he couldn’t sense this array.

"Can any of you perceive the spatial laws?" Yu Changfeng finally asked after prolonged hesitation.

Golden Core disciples around him frowned before shaking their heads in small groups. Clearly, none could sense them.

Yu Changfeng’s gaze instinctively shifted to Master Hei Xu. As leader of the Xuan Yuan Sect and the most powerful present, surely he…

Master Hei Xu’s face darkened as he closed his eyes. The third floor’s emptiness churned his mind – no laws, no spiritual energy. Even his perception found nothing.

"How…?"

Fury and shock warred within the Ancestor. The array existed, yet eluded detection. Worse, dozens now stared at him expectantly.

"Can’t find the spatial array? Simple – shatter it with one sword!"

A cold voice echoed from the stairwell. A handsome youth in white sword robe descended, pristine sword strapped to his back.

"Who are you?" Yu Changfeng demanded coldly.

The youth spared him a glacial glance. "Treasure hunter."

He walked past Yu Changfeng as if the latter were roadside gravel.

"Fifth Level Golden Core?" Yu Changfeng sneered. "You haven’t even endured heavenly tribulation, yet dare enter Ice Tower? Seeking death?"

The white-robed youth didn’t turn. "Surviving tribulation? One sword would end you regardless."

Yu Changfeng’s face flushed crimson. First Master Hei Xu’s intrusion, now this Fifth Level brat’s insolence! As Misty Sect’s top-ten elite disciple destined for Nascent Soul, such disrespect burned.

"Then show us how your sword breaks this array!"

The youth turned, disdain dripping. "Pity. I thought you’d challenge me instead. Breaking this?" He snorted. "Child’s play."

Yu Changfeng snapped. Ignoring Master Hei Xu’s presence, he clapped sharply. Invisible force coalesced into a killing move streaking toward the youth’s back.

Murderous intent flashed in the swordsman’s eyes.

A sidestep. His right hand formed sword fingers.

A sword arc brighter than moonlight shot forth, bisecting Yu Changfeng’s attack effortlessly before piercing his right chest.

Yu Changfeng staggered, coldness spreading from the wound. Sword energy erupted from his back, blood arcing like crimson rain.

His soul trembled as weakness flooded him. "Wh-who…?"

Clutching his chest, the Misty Sect disciple barely slowed the bleeding.

"Such trash boasting?" The youth’s voice held winter’s edge. "Even surviving tribulation wouldn’t save you. Die and spare us wasted training resources."

Another finger thrust. The sword arc blurred.

Before anyone blinked, it pierced Yu Changfeng’s forehead, obliterating his consciousness. The Misty Sect’s elite disciple collapsed, spirit extinguished.

Master Hei Xu observed coldly throughout, though Yu Changfeng’s instant death made his eyelids twitch. Such ruthless efficiency spoke of formidable backing.

"Your name?" the Ancestor finally asked as the youth turned.

The white-robed swordsman met his gaze, eyes glinting like unsheathed blades.

"Du Jianyin."