The Terrifying Gatekeepers

He traveled onward, making his way from the outskirts toward the city center.

Eventually, he reached the bustling downtown district.

Amid the clamor of the crowds, Yang Yu arrived before a skyscraper.

Wanhe Department Store!

That was the name this skyscraper presented to the public.

It was a famous, large department store in Shangjing City, where shoppers could buy anything they needed for everyday household use. Different floors also sold all kinds of appliances and clothing.

The lower thirty-two floors were all open to ordinary shoppers.

Cultivators, however, had to take a special elevator straight to the thirty-second floor!

Above the thirty-second floor was where the Ten Thousand Layers Tower conducted its real business.

That area was open to cultivators, specializing in precious treasures that were rare and hard to find in the ordinary world... even a random item there cost at least a hundred thousand yuan.

Prices of several million, tens of millions, or even hundreds of millions were perfectly normal for many of its treasures!

This was the world of cultivators.

Its extravagance went far beyond anything ordinary people could imagine!

The street teemed with people. Amid the bustling noise, Yang Yu followed the crowd straight toward Wanhe Department Store, looking just like an ordinary tourist from out of town.

Wanhe Department Store was holding a promotional sale that day, drawing an especially large number of shoppers.

At a glance, the crowd looked like a sea of people. There were probably no fewer than ten thousand gathered in the large plaza outside the store... and people kept coming and going.

The flow of people remained astonishingly heavy at all times.

"So many people." Yang Yu threaded his way through the crowd. His movements did not look fast, yet he possessed an agility far beyond that of an ordinary person.

Even with people packed shoulder to shoulder, he slipped through the sea of bodies without brushing against anyone.

The two large suitcases trailing behind him might as well not have existed.

Weaving left and right, Yang Yu wandered through the first floor of Wanhe Department Store... about five minutes later, he finally reached an area that looked like an emergency exit passage.

The passage looked ordinary, but on a level invisible to the naked eye, a layer of cosmic force rippled around it!

Any cultivator could easily recognize what made this place special.

This was the passage reserved for cultivators.

At that moment, three burly men stood at its entrance, casually surveying the distant crowd.

Yang Yu sensed murderous intent emanating from all three!

It was a bloody killing aura so thick it seemed to choke his nose and throat!

Only someone who had truly killed could carry such an aura... Yang Yu made only a cursory assessment of the three burly men before his heart lurched.

Their strength astonished him!

Two were at the acquired human rank, while his sense of the third was hazy and indistinct.

Clearly, that man's strength had already surpassed the acquired human rank.

He was very likely an expert at the acquired earth rank!

These three men were gatekeepers.

Their sole duty was to guard this cultivator-only passage... if an ordinary person wandered in by mistake, they would drive that person away. Still, a special barrier had been set up here. Any ordinary citizen who approached would become disoriented, making it unlikely they would ever reach this spot.

"Even the gatekeepers are outrageously strong. That's the Ten Thousand Layers Tower for you."

"It really is a terrifying cultivator organization that stands above the rest." Marveling, Yang Yu took a deep breath, then approached with his two large suitcases in tow.

Pop—

As Yang Yu came within ten meters of the passage, he sensed something like an invisible membrane being pierced in the air.

A cool stream of power immediately washed through every part of his body.

The next instant, an immense pressure bore down on him as three menacing gazes landed on his body!

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

Those gazes felt almost tangible, like the cold edges of blades pressing against his skin!

The sensation was unbearably uncomfortable, enough to drive someone mad!

Yang Yu stopped in place, every muscle tensed, ready to fight back at any moment.

Under the stares of the three powerful gatekeepers, he broke into a cold sweat.

A moment later, just as Yang Yu was growing increasingly distressed, the slightly shorter man among the three spoke.

The short man's voice was low. "What are you here for? Are you a cultivator from out of town?"

Yang Yu looked back at him and affected an indifferent tone. "Independent cultivator. Yang Yu."

"I came to the Ten Thousand Layers Tower to sell some goods and pick up a few everyday cultivation supplies."

The three exchanged glances. Yang Yu felt a force probe him once again, and finally, all the pressure enveloping him vanished.

"Mm, understood." The short man spoke again, apparently accepting Yang Yu's explanation.

"Go inside. Don't cause trouble."

"You should know the Ten Thousand Layers Tower's rules... as long as you conduct legitimate business, we can guarantee your absolute safety when selling or buying goods."

"For customers who spend fifty million or more on supplies in a single transaction, we even provide personal protection for a week after their purchase."

"I know the rules." Yang Yu maintained an aloof demeanor, his face betraying no surprise, as though he had known all of this already.

"Go on." The three burly gatekeepers stepped aside.

Behind them, a pitch-black passage came into view.

At its far end stood a sturdy, heavy-duty elevator made from a superalloy!

It was the special elevator leading exclusively to the floors above the thirty-second floor of Wanhe Department Store.

The material it was made from was extraordinary. It could even withstand a fierce battle between acquired earth rank experts inside without sustaining damage...

Thump, thump, thump!

Trying to steady his pounding heart, Yang Yu stepped into the private elevator, filled with excitement.

Beep—

After Yang Yu entered, the elevator gave a soft chime.

Hum!

Then came a slight shudder, and Yang Yu felt a faint sensation of weightlessness... the elevator had started moving, speeding toward the floors above the thirty-second.

A few dozen seconds later, the elevator doors opened.

Hiss—

A bustling clamor reached Yang Yu's ears. He lifted his head and looked from side to side.

The first thing he saw was a vast, open space!

It resembled an enormous plaza!

Around its perimeter stood shops divided by category, selling all sorts of goods.

Each shop had staff with powerful auras handling the sales. Meanwhile... a great many cultivators wandered around the area.

This thirty-second floor did not look like a typical shopping mall, and its interior was remarkably spacious... with just one glance, Yang Yu was certain that some kind of spatial expansion technology had been used here.

The plaza covered at least several mu of land.

Such an enormous space was far beyond what the Wanhe Department Store skyscraper could accommodate... this was the building's thirty-second floor, yet it held such a massive area. Recalling the Immortal Spirit Ghost Market he had discovered earlier, Yang Yu reached a conclusion.

"It's huge."

"So many cultivators..."

"And so many treasures!" Yang Yu's eyes shone. Like a country bumpkin visiting the city, he greedily swept his gaze over the shops around the distant plaza.

Through the perception of his fate soul's power, the earth-shaking fluctuations of cosmic force over there had already seized his full attention.

Yang Yu stepped out of the elevator. As he greedily breathed in the air of this place, a beautiful woman in a purple, vintage-style qipao approached him.

The woman was clearly a sales assistant for the Ten Thousand Layers Tower.

"Welcome to the Ten Thousand Layers Tower, honored guest."

"May I ask whether you'd like to buy or sell?" The beautiful sales assistant in purple looked at Yang Yu and asked softly, her voice sweet and silky.

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