Half a month is neither a long nor a short time.
For those old monsters in the Emperor Pass who often secluded themselves for a hundred years, half a month was nothing more than a nap.
But for Lin Fan, these two weeks were enough for him to take his strength to the next level.
He sat cross-legged in a quiet courtyard.
The area around him was filled with spirit-gathering array patterns that Lin Chen had prepared for him.
The rich and complete laws of heaven and earth from the Emperor Pass surged into his body like a tide, merging, refining, and purifying with the Dao principles he had comprehended and supplemented on the Dao Comprehension Stele.
"Buzz!"
A Chaos Qi surged around him, while three streams of immortal Immortal Qi, like three tamed dragons, slowly swam deep within his dantian.
With each lap he swam, his breathing became more concentrated.
Half a month later, when Lin Fan opened his eyes again, he felt as if every pore on his body had opened up, as if he had stepped out of a cramped cage and into a vast world.
"The laws of the Emperor Pass are indeed far more complete than those of the Three Thousand Provinces."
Lin Fan sat cross-legged under the tree, surrounded by a layer of pale golden immortal light. The light was not intense, but it had an extremely smooth texture, like the surface of jade that had been repeatedly polished.
"Give me a few more months to cultivate, and I'm afraid I won't be able to stop him from reaching the Late-Stage Quasi-Emperor."
He slowly opened his eyes.
Two streaks of purple-gold light flashed briefly in the depths of his pupils before returning to calm.
He stood up, stretched his shoulders and neck, and his bones made a series of crisp popping sounds, like a tightly wound string finally being loosened.
He has completely integrated into the laws of the Emperor Pass.
The Dao Comprehension Stele had already been completed, so integrating it now was not difficult; it was simply a natural and logical process.
Three streams of Immortal Qi flowed slowly in his dantian, becoming more solid than they had been half a month ago, like three dragons that had been repeatedly forged, each carrying a sense of profound weight and near perfection.
He looked down at his palm, clenched his fist slightly, and a muffled thud echoed through the air, like a boulder falling into deep water.
" Late-Stage Quasi-Emperor... not bad."
He stepped out of the courtyard, took out the dark gold Ancient Tower Comprehension Token from his pocket, and twirled it between his fingers.
The token felt slightly warm in his palm, like a heart being awakened.
It's time to go see the Ancient Tower. If I keep this on me, someone will always want it; I might as well use it first.
He pushed open the courtyard gate and stepped out.
The streets of Emperor Pass remain wide and ancient, with dark gray stone slabs gleaming with a warm luster in the morning light.
But Lin Fan had only walked a short distance out of the courtyard when he sensed a subtle change in the surrounding air.
Several pairs of eyes swept over from different directions, like a school of fish startled and swimming in the shadows.
Some leaned against the stone pillars at the street corner, some sat by the windows of the teahouse, and some monks who were setting up stalls quietly raised their eyelids.
All eyes were on him.
They paused for a moment at the faintly visible Ancient Tower Token at his waist, then moved away as if nothing had happened.
"It's out."
"Half a month! He spent a full half month inside meditating!"
"I heard that three streams of Immortal Qi entered the pass; in these past two weeks, they've probably thoroughly mastered the laws of the Emperor Pass."
"Look, he's heading towards the Ancient Tower!"
The token in his hand was the qualification to comprehend the first level of the Ancient Tower.
"That was something left behind by the Immortal King... Why should he, someone from the Three Thousand Provinces, have it?"
"Keep your voice down, have you forgotten how that Quasi-Emperor of the Demon Race died?"
"I haven't forgotten, but that's what I'm saying..."
"Go ahead and rob it if you dare."
"Never mind then."
The whispers were low, like the buzzing of mosquitoes flapping their wings, rising and falling on the street in the early morning.
Lin Fan didn't stop walking, nor did he even turn his gaze away.
He walked calmly down the middle of the street, seemingly unaware of the gazes around him.
Countless covetous gazes converged from all directions, but no one dared to actually step forward and block their path.
The Ancient Tower is located on the west side of the Emperor Pass, about half an hour's walk from his courtyard.
Along the way, he passed through several streets and alleys, crossed several small squares, and went through a somewhat old-fashioned market.
The market was filled with all sorts of stalls, some selling fragments of magical artifacts, some selling elixirs, and some selling strange minerals whose names I couldn't recall.
The stall owners stopped what they were doing as he passed by, their eyes lingering on him for a moment before quickly looking away.
"Is he Lin Fan?"
"Yes, the one who killed Jin Zhen's clone."
"He was holding the Ancient Tower Token... wasn't that something the Jin Clan had been eyeing for a long time?"
The Jin Clan? The Jin Clan hates him to the core, but they can't do anything about it.
"Haven't you heard? Half a month ago, three Great Emperor blocked him at the city gate, but Lin Chen came out and turned them away."
" Lin Chen? The leading figure of the younger generation in the Lin Clan?"
"That's him."
"Just how powerful is the Lin Clan in Emperor Pass?"
"You're asking me? Who should I ask? All I know is to stay away from him."
The murmurs faded into the distance behind Lin Fan.
The Ancient Tower is getting closer.
The tower is made entirely of ancient stone with a pale golden luster. It rises from the ground and soars into the sky, like a giant sword piercing the firmament.
The surface of the tower is covered with dense ancient runes.
Each rune flowed slowly, like a star map being ignited, exuding a heavy and ancient aura.
In front of the tower is a wide plaza, with several broken stone pillars standing around it, like the remnants of some long-forgotten portico.
A considerable number of people were already standing in the square.
Some leaned against stone pillars, some sat on the stone steps at the edge of the square, and some hung in mid-air, all their eyes fixed on the white-clad figure walking from the end of the street.
"It's quite impressive."
Lin Fan stood in front of the Ancient Tower, looking up at the towering Ancient Tower that shimmered with a thin golden halo in the morning light.
The tower gate was a single, dark blue boulder with no decorations on its surface, except for a very thin crack that ran straight from top to bottom, like an elongated line.
Lin Fan walked to the tower and placed the token in the groove on the tower door.
Buzz!
The moment the token was embedded, the entire Ancient Tower trembled slightly. The runes on the tower, like an awakened river, lit up one level at a time from the bottom. The gray-white ancient stones shimmered with a pale golden light, spreading upwards layer by layer until they finally stopped at the third level.
The tower gate slowly opened.
An extremely ancient aura of law surged from within the door, so dense it was almost tangible, like a sleeping behemoth yawning. Lin Fan stood at the doorway, his robes fluttering in the wind from the aura.
He stepped inside.
The tower gate behind them closed, completely cutting off any outside sounds.
The first floor of the tower was spacious and empty, with a huge law compass hanging overhead, slowly rotating and evolving thousands of laws from the Sage Realm to the Great Emperor Realm. But as soon as Lin Fan stood firm, an old voice rang out in the tower, devoid of any emotion, like a cold stone speaking.
Three strands of Immortal Qi... Chaos Gods and Devils Body...
"Test complete."
"Possessing the qualities of Immortal Emperor, one qualifies to automatically skip the first and second levels."
"Go directly to the third floor."
Before he finished speaking, a crack of light suddenly appeared in the ground beneath Lin Fan's feet, and he was lifted upwards by a gentle yet irresistible force, passing through layer after layer of tower walls, and finally landing on the ground of the third floor.