Chapter 55 Fuel

The Soul Tower, fourth floor. Here, there was finally space within the tower proper, while countless crisscrossing ravines etched the ground. The staircase leading to the upper level lay right in the very center of this floor.

Even knowing in advance that this floor was filled with burning oil, figuring out how to cross it remained a major problem.

The moment one took the first step inside, the burning oil would overflow, igniting the existing soul fires. The so-called soul fire, alternating between freezing cold and scorching heat, possessed a destructive power fatal to all living beings.

The three of them stood together at the top of the stairs, none of them planning to step forward immediately. How to cross was a matter that required careful deliberation; however, what they needed to fight for most right now was time. The Soul Lord’s power was recovering from its weakened state, yet this towering, heaven-reaching pagoda might prove to be the hardest obstacle of all to ascend.

"Can we cross without our feet touching the ground?" Duan Hen asked.

Dong Yunpo frowned and replied, "Only on this floor."

Duan Hen smiled. "Then let's get through this floor first!"

With that, he drew the archaic broken saber from his back and violently hurled it upward. Watching its slow, spinning trajectory, he sprang into the air. Meeting the falling saber mid-flight, he stepped fiercely upon its blade, launching himself upward once more. Turning gracefully in mid-air, he landed on the gray spiral staircase in the center.

Upon landing, he reached out his hand, palm open. Guided by his inner Qi, the broken saber flew back into his grasp, and he slung it once more across his back.

Dong Yunpo looked on and could not help sighing, "As expected, crossing this place is hardest for me."

Shen Ling, the [Courage Soul] who wore her hair in double buns and looked like a girl of sixteen or seventeen, also drew the curved saber from her back. The blade gleamed with a chilling light as she uttered a sharp cry: "Leap!"

She sprang fiercely into the air, driving her saber directly into the ceiling of the fifth floor. With a swift and athletic swing of her arms, propelling her body like a leaping carp, she landed right beside Floating Feather Duan Hen, then sheathed her weapon.

Dong Yunpo glanced at the two of them, unable to shake the thought that they actually seemed quite well-suited for each other. Yet this was merely a fleeting thought that flashed through his mind in an instant. Tossing away the cigarette in his hand, Dong Yunpo walked straight toward the gray ground.

The moment his foot touched the floor of the fourth floor of the Soul Tower, burning oil suddenly spilled out from every crevice and ravine. Freezing and scorching soul flames surged upward instantly—such flames were the nemesis of all living things.

Nevertheless, Dong Yunpo continued forward step by step. Beneath his feet, invisible souls shrieked continuously, but those blue-and-white soul fires dissipated into nothingness before they could even ignite.

Across this circular floor, a distance of some dozen meters from the edge to the center, lay gray ground and leaping soul fires. Unbeknownst to most, this was a torture of the mortal realm: one either leaped across or found a way to charge through.

It took a tremendous exertion of willpower for Dong Yunpo to finally walk across it.

Reaching the central staircase, Shen Ling could not help forming a slight smile at the corner of her lips. "Big Brother Linghui, there are still two floors left, and they won't be easy to get through~"

Her words made Dong Yunpo's heart twitch, but upward he had to go.

Following the spiraling gray staircase upward from the center, the three finally arrived at the fifth floor of the heaven-reaching Soul Tower!

This floor was still filled with [Burning Oil], but this time, all three of them frowned. According to past memories, the twin Soul and Corpse Towers had never activated their internal mechanisms before.

Such a feat was only possible for the Soul Lord or the Corpse Lord, who had the ability to manipulate the twin towers. Yet the Corpse Lord lacked normal consciousness, meaning the only one capable of controlling them now was the Soul Lord.

By now, the most vital treasures of the Soul Suppression Hall had all fallen into the hands of the Soul Lord, and she was the root of this current chaos!

Having burned her soul power to sustain the burning of the Soul-Corpse Heart Lamp, she had previously fallen into an extremely vulnerable state; yet at this moment, she had become their greatest enemy!

Even the Corpse-Serving Emissary had fallen under her command at some unknown point.

The true name of the Soul Lord was:
Meng Xian

The fifth floor of the Soul Tower was the Realm of Falling Fires. All soul fires cascaded downward from the ceiling of the sixth floor, and the ground was already entirely blanketed in soul fire. A waterfall of blue-and-white soul flames blocked the path forward, and the staircase leading to the upper level was nowhere to be seen.

"Big Brother Linghui," Shen Ling, whose expression was usually frivolous, was now tinged with worry. "Can you sense where the staircase to the next floor is?"

".........."

Dong Yunpo shook his head. "I tried, but the soul power here is far too fierce. I can't sense anything, and even ordinary souls are hard to control."

"Then I'll try my saber qi," Duan Hen said. "It should work. As long as I split them apart, clearing a path ought to be enough."

The archaic broken saber hummed with a ringing vibration, and a smile broke out at the corner of Duan Hen's mouth. "I invented this technique out of sheer boredom when I was chopping wood in the mountains back then. Who would have thought it would come in handy now?"

"Moving out!"

Duan Hen gave a soft cry, then swung the archaic broken saber violently. He struck merely four times, but this time, a rectangular tunnel of airflow was forcefully carved out right through the soul fire!

"Only five seconds!"

Duan Hen declared, already leaping forward. Shen Ling followed closely behind, while Dong Yunpo was left trailing at the very back. Yet, to their despair, upon reaching the far side of the airflow tunnel, they discovered only the black wall of the Soul Tower—no staircase had appeared.

"What the hell!"

Even Duan Hen cursed out loud, hurriedly slashing his blade four more times to carve open another passage. However, the burning oil from behind was already cascading down, and the surrounding freezing and scorching heat made them feel as though they were dying.

Yet this time, the hasty strikes still failed to find the staircase exit. The three of them were left miserably opening passages here like headless flies, darting through them within a mere five seconds. If one calculated the probability, finding the true path out did not seem so easy.

Perhaps, during that very first path-clearing attempt, they should have considered where the ultimate staircase leading to the upper level was located.

Meanwhile, Li Fengyin once again arrived before the kowtowing elderly monk. Tendrils of fear and lingering dread gradually welled up in Li Fengyin's heart. He did not understand, because he still remembered nothing and had no idea what would happen next, just as when he first arrived here.

Yet his memories had also entered a cycle; this was merely the ability of [Earth] You Wei, activating the power of the Hell Reincarnation. You Wei had already warned Li Fengyin long ago, but whether he could escape or not still depended entirely on himself.

A hell that fed on panic and fear seemed to hold an even greater geographical advantage here.

Li Jingshen looked at the motionless man and smiled. "As expected, he's fallen for it."

However, Li Jingshen paid no mind to Li Ziye. According to his calculations, the Soul-Corpse Heart Lamp should be right beside the Corpse Lord at this moment. The Soul Lord was utilizing the burning of dead souls to recover her power, and only [Earth] You Wei should be guarding this place. If so, this would also be his opportunity.

To obtain the [Soul-Corpse Heart Lamp]!