Testing

Lonely Island.

Beneath the dim Sky Canopy, Shangguan Qin kept waving her arms and gesturing, despair gradually appearing on her face.

She seemed utterly drained of spirit and vitality. Her posture and eyes revealed nothing but overwhelming negative emotions.

Just then.

One after another, faint, ashen "Spirit Sha" quietly appeared around Wulan Lake, drifting soundlessly toward the island in the middle of the lake.

If the Heavenly Spirit Pagoda were still flying above the island, the moment the "Spirit Sha" entered the island, they would become its prey.

Within a certain range, not a single "Spirit Sha" could withstand the terrifying soul-targeting magnetic field released by the Heavenly Spirit Pagoda.

As long as the Heavenly Spirit Pagoda remained active, it could hunt the "Spirit Sha" on the island. That was why, while it had been roaring through the air, not one of the "Spirit Sha" lurking in the shadows had dared to show itself.

Only after Pang Jian entered the island, and it inexplicably began to sink, did the "Spirit Sha" emerge—once it had fallen in that strange way.

Before long, the "Spirit Sha" had scattered around the island, still deliberately keeping clear of the Heavenly Spirit Pagoda at the center of the low mountain.

"From Shangguan Qin's perspective, the one beneath the Pit Well would have no trouble dealing with the two of us."

Luo Hongyan pursed her lips. Holding a bright red flower in her hand, she plucked off its petals one by one and said, "Shangguan Qin is like this flower. There's no life left in her eyes, and the vitality inside her is faint."

"I'm guessing someone like Ouyang Duanhai, who suffered the Phoenix Marrow devouring his heart, is beneath the Pit Well right now."

She tossed aside the bare stalk and, stepping over the petals strewn across the ground, tugged Pang Jian backward. "Let's do as she wants and retreat. We shouldn't alert the one beneath the Pit Well just yet."

Pang Jian was dragged back by force.

Naturally, he didn't see that, as he left the mountaintop, a "Spirit Sha" had already appeared among the flowers near Shangguan Qin.

"Whoosh!"

Pang Jian had just turned around when he saw a cultivator loyal to He Rong heading toward the snow-white Heavenly Spirit Pagoda.

When he was still a dozen steps away, the man suddenly collapsed with a soft thud, never to rise again.

A wisp of an extremely faint shadow flew out through the crown of his head, then vanished in an instant into a window on the White Tower's highest level.

Su Yuntian and He Rong had been watching the man tensely. When he suddenly fell and his soul was wrenched from his body, their expressions turned grim.

Only then did they believe Luo Hongyan's words. This White Tower from the Yin Spirit Temple was indeed bizarre beyond compare.

Luo Hongyan sneered. "I warned you not to go near the White Tower."

He Rong had already been displeased with her. Hearing her taunt, he said in a low voice, "We know nothing about the Heavenly Spirit Pagoda. If we don't test it, how are we supposed to know whether what you said is true?"

"Fair enough. You really wouldn't learn your lesson without suffering a little."

The corner of Luo Hongyan's mouth curled in mockery. She said indifferently, "It's not my people who died, anyway. If you want to test it, why not send a few more?"

Her gaze swept over the servants loyal to both families, lingering on them with ill intent.

Those she looked at had just watched a companion die from Soul Separation. They instinctively avoided her eyes and didn't dare look at He Rong or Su Yuntian either.

They feared He Rong and Su Yuntian would use them to test the Heavenly Spirit Pagoda next.

"Ning, none of us know what makes the Heavenly Spirit Pagoda so strange. How did you find out?"

Su Yuntian couldn't help questioning her.

"Up in the Upper Realm, someone from the Galaxy Alliance took a liking to me and told me the secrets of the Heavenly Spirit Pagoda."

Luo Hongyan lied offhandedly. As she gazed at the seemingly sacred, snow-white Heavenly Spirit Pagoda, she too sensed the dense Profound Yin Power.

After a moment's hesitation, she suddenly said to Pang Jian, "The bottom level of the Heavenly Spirit Pagoda should have an array laid out with spirit stones, responsible for keeping the pagoda aloft."

She looked up at the White Tower's highest level, studying its four open windows, then continued:

"Another array is on the highest level. I don't know what kind of spiritual materials it's made from, but I do know that the array is what lets the Heavenly Spirit Pagoda suck the souls out of nearby living creatures."

"We don't know what the one beneath the Pit Well is doing right now. He probably hasn't realized that the Heavenly Spirit Pagoda has fallen."

"Before he comes out, we should destroy the array that poses the greatest threat to all of us. We have no way of knowing whether, after leaving the Pit Well, he'll be able to take control of the Heavenly Spirit Pagoda and send it skyward again."

She laid out her plan.

Pang Jian nodded. "Right. Shangguan Qin didn't dare make a sound because she didn't want to alert him."

"Shangguan Qin?"

"Is she on the island too?"

Su Yuntian and He Rong hurriedly asked. As they spoke, they headed toward the top of the low mountain, wanting to see for themselves.

Luo Hongyan said leisurely, "Earlier, she waved for us to hurry and flee the island. Beside her is a Pit Well that's been pierced into the island. Someone inside must have obtained a drop of Phoenix Marrow and become a Heavenly Phoenix Divine Guard."

"That person is definitely far stronger than Ouyang Duanhai. Shangguan Qin thinks going over there would be no different from walking to our deaths."

Though He Rong and Su Yuntian had heard her, they still went to the mountaintop to look around.

They saw Shangguan Qin too.

Beside the Pit Well that plunged deep beneath the island, Shangguan Qin anxiously gestured at them, urging them to leave at once.

Luo Hongyan's eyes flickered. Hesitantly, she said, "Pang Jian, I can't get close to the Heavenly Spirit Pagoda. Anyone else who goes near it will die."

"But I don't know why, yet I think you're the only one who can approach it without dying. If you can get close enough to break the soul-absorbing array with the spear in your hand, it'll stop working."

She looked at him expectantly.

Pang Jian was dumbfounded. He pointed at himself. "Me?"

Luo Hongyan nodded seriously, trying to tempt him. "There should be a great many spirit stones laid out on the White Tower's lowest level. And the spiritual materials used to create the strange Soul Array on the highest level must be quite valuable too."

Pang Jian shook his head. "I'm not going."

The way the man had died made him wary of the White Tower. He didn't want to approach it recklessly.

Luo Hongyan was secretly annoyed. Her gaze swept over his chest. She wanted to say that with that miraculous Bronze Plate and the drop of Phoenix Marrow he had refined, his soul would surely stay in his body.

But if she said that aloud, her identity might be exposed, so she could only swallow the words.

After a long while.

"Forget it. I'll try it myself."

Seeing that she couldn't persuade him, Luo Hongyan sighed helplessly and suddenly headed toward the White Tower.

The moment she approached the White Tower, Pang Jian felt the frigid Profound Yin Power emanating from it grow much denser.

The Void.

The alluring blood-red shadow that Luo Hongyan revealed abruptly flared with dazzling red light, immediately alerting the real Ning Yao.

"Whoosh!"

The red-robed figure hidden in Ning Yao's mind was clearly being drawn in by the Heavenly Spirit Pagoda, twisting and swaying inside her head.

At the same time, Ning Yao clearly felt the power that had been imprisoning her all along begin to warp.

The restraint Luo Hongyan had placed on her was also being pulled by the Heavenly Spirit Pagoda. It seemed on the verge of loosening.

Ning Yao, who longed for freedom, was instantly thrilled.

"Heh. If even I get sucked away by the Heavenly Spirit Pagoda, do you think you'll survive?"

Luo Hongyan chuckled. In a relatively quiet voice, she said, "Before I came onto the island, I had no idea this White Tower would fall. I dared to come because I thought that as long as I didn't enter the White Tower, I could keep my soul anchored inside you."

"If even I get sucked into the Heavenly Spirit Pagoda, with your fragile soul, wouldn't you be torn to shreds in the blink of an eye?"

Those words doused Ning Yao's excitement like a bucket of cold water, and she immediately fell silent.

In front of the White Tower.

Luo Hongyan suddenly turned around, two streams of blood running from her nostrils. She seemed to be struggling with all her might against the White Tower's pull on her soul.

Terror and despair flashed in her eyes. She reached out to Pang Jian like a drowning person grasping at the last lifeline, her lovely face stricken as she screamed, "Pang Jian, save me! Pull me back! Get me away from the Heavenly Spirit Pagoda!"

It was as if she were being corrupted by some terrifying evil force. Unable to pull herself away from the Heavenly Spirit Pagoda, she could only wail in despair and beg Pang Jian to save her.

Su Yuntian, He Rong, and everyone else were stunned by the scene, their scalps crawling with horror.

She had already passed the corpse of the He Family servant. She was less than ten steps from the White Tower!

"Stay away from the Heavenly Spirit Pagoda!"

He Rong not only made no move to help her, but ordered all his subordinates to keep even farther away from the evil pagoda.

"Dad!"

Su Meng cried out.

Su Yuntian's face was set. He shook his head calmly and shouted, "The two of us are at the same cultivation level as her. We're only at the Pulse-Opening Realm. If she can't hold on, we'll die if we go over there too. Don't do anything foolish!"

Seeing Su Meng's expression of sympathy, Su Yuntian grabbed her by the arm, afraid she might act rashly.

Held back, Su Meng could only stare helplessly at Luo Hongyan, wanting to help but unable to.

"You're the one who went looking for death. Why are you dragging me into it?"

Just then, Pang Jian cursed through clenched teeth and took a step toward Luo Hongyan.

After the first step came a second, then a third.

Pang Jian felt no discomfort at all!

In the next instant, Su Meng's vision blurred, and Pang Jian was already standing in front of Luo Hongyan.

This time, he didn't bother to keep his distance. He wrapped an arm around Luo Hongyan's slender waist and quickly carried her back through the air.

"Pang... Brother!"

Held back by her father, Su Meng twisted around and cried out excitedly. Her round, apple-like face was flushed with joy.

He Rong, Su Yuntian, and all the servants from both families stared wide-eyed at the two of them.

Pang Jian's soul had not left his body. He had not been sucked away by the Soul Array inside the White Tower.

Luo Hongyan, tucked awkwardly under his arm and looking up at him, had an unusual light shining in her beautiful eyes.

In the mindscape of the real Ning Yao, Luo Hongyan, dressed in red, let out a smug "giggle."

Her laughter was full of delight and joy, but only the real Ning Yao could hear it.

"Whoosh!"

Pang Jian returned in an instant. After steadying Luo Hongyan, he set her on the ground. His angular face was hard and impatient as he said coldly, "Next time you want to get yourself killed, don't call me to save you."

Luo Hongyan's face was pale, as if she had been badly frightened. There was still blood beneath her delicate, straight nose.

She casually wiped it away. Her bright, starry eyes settled on Pang Jian's face, gazing deeply at him without a word.

She completely ignored Su Yuntian, He Rong, and the servants at the Qi Refining Realm from both families, as though they were all dead.

After a long while, seeing that her gaze was making Pang Jian uncomfortable, Luo Hongyan finally said softly, "You're perfectly fine, aren't you? See? My instincts were right. The Heavenly Spirit Pagoda has absolutely no effect on you."

Pang Jian remained silent. From beginning to end, he hadn't felt the slightest discomfort, nor had he felt any evil force tugging at his soul.