Volume 1, Chapter 162 – The Myriad-Phenomena Tower Awakens a Spirit

The Myriad-Phenomena Tower, an ancient nine-story pagoda, had stood there since the founding of Yaochi Immortal Palace.

It had always been a sacred place where disciples cultivated, and nothing unusual had ever happened there.

But now, the tower doors were sealed tight, and an invisible barrier enveloped the entire structure, keeping everyone out.

Dozens of disciples who had been preparing to enter the tower to cultivate had gathered in the square outside. Anxiety showed on every face as they discussed the situation among themselves.

“What’s going on? Why can’t we enter the Myriad-Phenomena Tower all of a sudden?”

“I was cultivating inside just now, and then I was sent out!”

“Me too… I was just about to break through, but then I was suddenly sent out!”

“The Palace Master is here!”

The crowd parted on its own, opening a path for Gu Han as she approached at a measured pace in moon-white palace robes.

Yun Yun and Li Hanyi stood before the tower, their expressions grave as they tried to sense what was happening within. When Gu Han arrived, they both bowed slightly.

“Palace Master.”

Gu Han inclined her head, her gaze settling on the tightly sealed tower doors.

“What’s the situation?”

“About two hours ago, every disciple inside the tower was ‘sent’ out.”

Yun Yun frowned slightly as she reported,

“Afterward, the tower doors sealed themselves. The Grand Elder and I both tried to investigate, but our divine sense couldn’t penetrate the barrier at all.”

Li Hanyi added from beside her,

“The tower itself is intact, with no sign of damage. It seems more like… it deliberately shut itself down.”

Shut itself down?

A thought stirred in Gu Han’s mind, and she immediately called out to the System inwardly:

“System, what’s happening with the Myriad-Phenomena Tower?”

[Ding! Host inquiry detected! Scanning the Myriad-Phenomena Tower’s status… Scan complete!]

[Current status of the Myriad-Phenomena Tower: Advancement Dormancy.]

[Cause: After prolonged operation and energy accumulation, the Myriad-Phenomena Tower has amassed sufficient “spiritual essence” and is now nurturing a “tower spirit.”]

[Estimated incubation time: Unknown.]

[During dormancy: All functions are suspended. The tower has entered a self-protective state and will block all external investigation and interference.]

[Friendly reminder: Once the tower spirit has been successfully nurtured, the Myriad-Phenomena Tower will possess a rudimentary autonomous consciousness, allowing it to assist disciples in their cultivation more efficiently. Please wait patiently, Host.]

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So that was it.

Understanding dawned on Gu Han, accompanied by a flicker of anticipation.

If the tower spirit truly emerged successfully, the Myriad-Phenomena Tower would become even more beneficial to the Immortal Palace.

“There’s no cause for concern.”

Gu Han withdrew her attention from the System and addressed Yun Yun, Li Hanyi, and the nearby disciples who were straining to listen.

“The Myriad-Phenomena Tower hasn’t malfunctioned. It has merely entered a dormant period for a kind of ‘self-adjustment.’”

“It may last a few days or several months. Once the adjustment is complete, the tower will reopen on its own.”

Her voice was clear and calm, carrying a reassuring strength.

If the Palace Master said there was no problem, then there was nothing to worry about.

Most of the unease on the disciples’ faces immediately faded, replaced by curiosity and anticipation.

Self-adjustment?

Was the Myriad-Phenomena Tower about to become even more powerful?

“Yun Yun, Hanyi.”

Gu Han instructed,

“Post an announcement in front of the tower explaining the situation. Tell the disciples there’s no need to panic.”

“For the time being, they can cultivate in the Lingxu Blessed Paradise instead.”

“Yes, Palace Master.”

The two accepted the order.

News that the Myriad-Phenomena Tower had entered a “dormant period” soon spread throughout Yaochi Immortal Palace.

The initial unease quickly faded in the face of the Palace Master’s composure and the expectation that the tower would become stronger after its “self-adjustment.”

Although the disciples had temporarily lost access to the tower’s tenfold cultivation time, their enthusiasm remained undiminished.

Especially after the Deputy Palace Master formally announced the admission requirements and preliminary exploration plans for the Lingxu Blessed Paradise.

Everyone’s attention swiftly shifted to the newly opened secret realm.

The rules were clear and strict:

Disciples at the middle stage of Foundation Establishment or above could apply to enter the outer region for training.

Only disciples at the late stage of Foundation Establishment or above could explore the core region, and even then, only after being assessed by their teachers.

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Private fighting was forbidden. A portion of anything they obtained had to be turned over for communal use, but they would still keep the lion’s share of their gains.

There was also an additional incentive: those who performed exceptionally well in the secret realm or made outstanding contributions would receive extra rewards.

Applications soon came pouring in.

As personal disciples, Liu Ruyan and Gu Luoli were naturally included in the first group to enter.

Core disciples such as Li Zhiwei, Murong Xue, Zhao Ling’er, Wang Zhaojun, Wang Teng, and Xiao Ya were also raring to go, eager to prove themselves.

Even Liu Ruxue, who had only just joined the sect, followed her elder sister around every day, gazing longingly toward the secret realm’s entrance.

Ye Ling’er was also included in the first group.

Ever since she had witnessed the intimacy between Empress Qingxuan and her Master in the corridor of the Eastern Courtyard that day,

she had forcibly suppressed all her tangled emotions and turned them into an almost fanatical drive to cultivate.

If she couldn’t compete in other respects with those two Empresses, each of whom had lived for tens of thousands of years,

then she would push the talent and strength her Master valued most to their absolute limits!

For her, the opening of the Lingxu Blessed Paradise was the perfect opportunity.

However, just as Yaochi Immortal Palace bustled with excitement over the secret realm and the disciples eagerly prepared for their first expedition,

the commotion in the outside world caused by the two Empresses’ successive arrivals in the Southern Region had not subsided. Instead, it continued to intensify.

In teahouses and taverns, sect squares, and even on street corners in marketplaces throughout the Southern Region, nearly everyone was discussing the matter.

“Good heavens! Three Empresses have gathered in our Southern Region! That’s never happened before in the entire history of the Southern Region!”

“Our Southern Region has truly made a name for itself this time! In the past, whenever anyone mentioned the Southern Region, didn’t they always sound a little contemptuous? Let’s see who still dares look down on us now!”

“Exactly! Empress Qingxuan of the Eastern Region and Empress Lingshuang of the Northern Region are both supreme beings who have awed the entire continent for tens of thousands of years!”

“And now they’ve both come to our Southern Region and even gone to Yaochi Immortal Palace! What does that tell you?”

“It tells us that the prestige and strength of our Yaochi Empress have earned their recognition!”

“That’s right! Given their status and temperaments, why else would those two come to the Southern Region, let alone appear here at the same time?”

“Heh, I heard Empress Qingxuan’s Black Phoenix Chariot and Empress Lingshuang’s Ice Jiao Chariot are both still parked in the Wanjue Mountain Range.”

“Her Majesty the Empress has truly done our Southern Region proud!”

Pride, excitement, and a shared sense of glory spread like wildfire among the cultivators of the Southern Region.

Whenever cultivators from the Southern Region spoke of the matter, they unconsciously straightened their backs, their faces glowing with pride.

Even the sects that had always harbored mixed feelings about the rise of Yaochi Immortal Palace

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had to admit that the Yaochi Empress’s existence had indeed raised the standing of the entire Southern Region.

Yet beneath this surging tide of pride and excitement,

a hidden, barely perceptible unease was quietly stirring in the hearts of many knowledgeable cultivators.

This was especially true of senior figures from sects with ancient legacies and extensive archives, as well as the ancestors of cultivation clans. Even amid their excitement, a trace of grave concern would invariably cross their faces.

The atmosphere in one teahouse was lively, but at a table in the corner, several clearly elderly cultivators with calm, steady auras spoke in lowered voices, worry shadowing their expressions.

“Three Empresses gathering in one place is certainly an unprecedented spectacle, but misfortune often lurks within good fortune…”

An old man with graying hair and cultivation at the Spirit Transformation stage stroked his long beard and sighed softly.

“Master, why do you say that?”

A somewhat younger boy beside him looked puzzled.

“Both Empresses have come to our Southern Region. Isn’t that a sign that our Southern Region is rising?”

“Not necessarily.”

The old man shook his head, a flicker of memory and lingering fear passing through his eyes.

“You’re still young. You haven’t lived through such events, nor have you studied those ancient records in detail.”

At the old man’s words, many people nearby pricked up their ears.

“When I was young, I once followed my Master to the ‘Great Wasteland’ along the border between the Eastern and Northern Regions.”

The old man paused and looked around at the crowd.

“Do you know how that Great Wasteland, which stretches for a million li and remains completely devoid of life to this day, came into being?”

Everyone shook their heads.

“It is the scar left by a clash between Empress Qingxuan and Empress Lingshuang roughly five thousand years ago.”

The old man’s voice was hoarse and filled with profound awe.

“According to records left by the seniors who survived, the heavens shattered and the earth sank during that battle. The devastation extended far beyond a mere million li.”

“That region was originally home to several great spirit veins, dozens of sects and cultivation clans, and hundreds of millions of living beings… Yet overnight, it was all reduced to scorched earth.”

“Hiss…”

Everyone nearby sucked in a sharp breath, their faces paling.

They knew Immortal Ascension experts were terrifying, but they had never imagined they could be this terrifying!

A single clash had devastated countless miles of mountains and rivers and brought calamity upon hundreds of millions of lives…

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“That… that wasn’t even the most terrifying part.”

The old man took a deep breath before continuing,

“Some ancient texts vaguely suggest that there seems to be an extremely deep… entanglement between those two Empresses.”

“By incomplete estimates, since they first rose to fame, they have clashed both openly and in secret no fewer than a dozen times!”

“A large-scale conflict erupts between them almost every thousand years!”

“Every time, mountains and rivers are shattered, and countless living beings suffer.”

“Their most recent large-scale clash occurred approximately fifteen hundred years ago in the Western Region.”

“That battle directly altered the landscape of the entire area and created the ‘Forbidden Realm of Ice and Fire,’ now famous throughout the continent.”

Everyone listened with pounding hearts.

A battle every thousand years? And each one shattered heaven and earth?

“Then… then what about our Southern Region…?”

A cultivator nearby spoke in a trembling voice.

“They’re both at Yaochi Immortal Palace now. What if… what if they start fighting again…?”

He didn’t finish, but everyone present understood.

Two Empresses who had nursed grudges against each other for tens of thousands of years and whose clashes could turn the world upside down were now both gathered at Yaochi Immortal Palace in the Southern Region!

If another conflict erupted, the consequences would be unimaginable!

“That’s why this old man feels both proud and worried.”

The old man heaved a long sigh and looked toward the Wanjue Mountain Range, the worry in his eyes deepening.

“Our only hope now rests with our newly risen Empress.”

“Let us hope… she can truly keep those two under control and prevent their old grudges from playing out once more upon the soil of our Southern Region.”

Similar concerns took root and spread through the hearts of many well-informed elder cultivators throughout the Southern Region.

On the one hand, they were thrilled and proud that the Southern Region had produced an Empress of its own and drawn two other Empresses there.

On the other, they were on tenterhooks over the devastating conflict those two Empresses, both with a long history of trouble behind them, might bring.

These tangled emotions seemed to cast an invisible pall over the skies of the Southern Region.