The third level of the Ancient Tower.
Lin Fan sat cross-legged on the ground and slowly exhaled a breath of stale air.
The fragment of the Immortal King's memory had completely dissipated, but within the shattered scene his fingertips touched, an extremely clear piece of information was imprinted deep within his consciousness, like a mark burned by a hot iron, impossible to erase.
He closed his eyes.
The mark was like a door that had been pushed open a crack, and the light shining through the crack had an extremely ancient quality, like the cold light of Qingtong that had been repeatedly washed by time under the moonlight.
He saw it.
It was a disc.
It is grayish-white in color and its surface is covered with dense, ancient patterns.
The patterns are arranged in an extremely complex ring structure, one layer inside another, like a spider web that has been compressed for countless years.
There is a very fine crack in the center of the plate, like an old wound that has not fully healed, extending from the center to the edge.
Even with that crack, it still exudes a chilling aura.
Reincarnation.
Lin Fan found it difficult to describe that aura in words.
The disc lay across the river of time, swirling with the rich Law of Reincarnation, like a forgotten ferry crossing at the end of time, waiting for some belated traveler.
It floated there quietly, as if it had been asleep for countless years, whispering to someone who had not yet arrived.
At the end of time, there stands an altar.
The altar was built of dark gray boulders, its surface engraved with patterns similar to those on the Reincarnation Disc, but more complex and intricate, like an ancient talisman that had been folded repeatedly.
Above the altar, a hazy mist slowly rotated, and something seemed to be sleeping at its center.
Lin Fan wanted to see more clearly, but the image started to blur.
Like a painting soaked in water, the ink is spreading outwards, and the outlines are becoming... increasingly indistinct.
"Buzz!"
His consciousness was pulled back from the image by an irresistible force, as if he were surfacing from deep water, and the light and shadow before him suddenly shattered.
Lin Fan suddenly opened his eyes.
He took a few deep breaths, a fine layer of cold sweat on his forehead. The shock from the scene hadn't completely subsided and was still slowly flowing through his veins.
Reincarnation.
"Ancient Pan..."
He repeated the name to himself.
That aura was by no means weaker than the two powerful Immortal Dao he had seen in the fragments of the Immortal King's memories.
It might even be stronger, possessing a quality far exceeding that of ordinary immortal Immortal Artifact, as if it itself were a manifestation of some kind of law.
It's very likely Immortal King's magical artifact!!!
Before he could think further, a warm sensation came from his dantian.
He looked down at his dantian.
The Immortal Seed was suspended in the center of the dantian. At this moment, the dark golden light membrane on its surface had completely cracked, revealing a layer of warm, water-like silver-white core.
The core was beating slowly, like a heart awakening.
With each pulse, a wisp of silvery-white Law of the Immortal Dao spread along his meridians, merging into his flesh and bones.
The Immortal Seed has transformed.
After visiting the fragments of the Immortal Ancient Memory, it seemed as if something was awakened within it; the dark golden outer shell completely peeled off, revealing its true core.
He then assessed his own cultivation level.
Late-Stage Quasi-Emperor.
The bottleneck had been crossed silently, like a dam softened by water, which was breached at an unexpected moment.
"This trip was quite fruitful."
Lin Fan stood up, stretched his limbs, and his bones emitted a series of crisp popping sounds.
He glanced in the direction of the tower gate, then looked down to feel the not-yet-completely-dissipated Reincarnation Disc mark in his palm, before stepping towards the tower gate.
"It's time to go out."
He pushed open the door to the third floor of the Ancient Tower and walked down the spiral stone steps.
Footsteps echoed through the empty Ancient Tower, each echo seeming amplified three times, colliding back and forth between the stone walls.
As he reached the ground floor and pushed open the first door, the outside light flooded his eyes, along with... a much more enthusiastic murmur of conversation than he had anticipated.
"They're out!"
He's still alive!
"Nonsense, they're going to seek enlightenment, not to die!"
"But how long did he stay on the third floor?"
Three months. A full three months.
"Three months?! Most cultivators can't even last three days on the first level of the ancient Ancient Tower, and he stayed on the third level for three months?"
"Then what he obtained... wasn't it more than we imagined?"
"Look at the aura of Immortal Qi surrounding him; it's become much more solid than before he entered the tower."
"His cultivation level has also increased, Late-Stage Quasi-Emperor; this is a genuine improvement."
"The third level of the Ancient Tower truly lives up to its reputation..."
"The people who truly live up to their reputation are not the tower."
The murmurs spread like wildfire from the square in front of the tower to the eaves of the houses on both sides of the street, and all eyes were fixed on the white-clad figure at the tower entrance.
Lin Fan stood on the stone steps outside the tower gate.
His white robes remained pristine, and he was enveloped in a layer of primordial light that had not yet fully dissipated, making him appear like a piece of jade that had been repeatedly polished in the morning light.
His gaze swept casually across the surroundings without lingering.
Then he walked down the steps.
A figure blocked his way.
The man was tall and imposing, his entire body enveloped in a dark red aura of law, like a cluster of ignited flames, strikingly conspicuous in the morning light.
The aura of Peak Quasi-Emperor was released without any concealment, like a hunting dog that had been unleashed and baring its teeth at its prey.
"You're Lin Fan?"
He spoke, his voice deep and hoarse, honed by countless battles, "I am Xie Tianhong of the Battle Blood Pavilion. I heard you killed Jin Zhen's clone and obtained the Ancient Tower Comprehension Token."
"I don't believe it."
Lin Fan glanced at him. "Oh. And then?"
Xie Tianhong didn't respond to that, but continued speaking to himself, "I've killed thirteen Quasi-Emperor level dark creatures and slain one Half-Step Great Emperor level dark vanguard on the Northern Frontier Battlefield."
"I don't believe that a Late-Stage Quasi-Emperor from Three Thousand Provinces can be stronger than me."
"I'd like to learn a few tricks from you."
His fighting spirit soared, and dark red laws surged around him, forming visible ripples that shook the stone slabs beneath his feet, creating fine cracks.
The surrounding crowd instinctively retreated several feet, their gazes shifting back and forth between Lin Fan and Xie Tianhong.
" Xie Tianhong of the Battle Blood Pavilion!"
"A battlefield slayer, a notoriously warlike figure among the Peak Quasi-Emperor!"
"They actually came to challenge the Lin Clan son?"
"He just said he killed thirteen Quasi-Emperor level dark creatures... that's a real feat!"
"But the Lin Clan prince possesses three strands of Immortal Qi..."
"The three strands of Immortal Qi are a trump card, not a get-out-of-jail-free card. After all, he's only at the Late-Stage Quasi-Emperor, while Xie Tianhong has survived countless battles. It's really hard to say who would win if they fought each other."
"I bet on Xie Tianhong. Battlefield experience is something talent can't compensate for."
"Then I'll bet on Lin Fan."
"You're betting on him again? You already lost a spirit stone last time you bet on Xie Tianxiong!"
"This time is different. I see something strange about the celestial aura surrounding him."
"Alright, two spirit stones, wanna bet?"
"Let's bet!"
Before the murmurs had even died down, the two people in the center of the square had already moved.
Buzz!
To be precise, it was Xie Tianhong who made the move. Without saying a word, he took a step forward, and the entire square trembled violently beneath his feet.
The dark red law, like a wild beast released from its cage, suddenly surged, condensing into a blood-red cone of light on his fist. It carried the killing intent of the battlefield and the full power of Peak Quasi-Emperor, and slammed fiercely toward Lin Fan's chest.
This punch was direct and fierce. Wherever the force of the punch passed, the air was compressed into a visible arc of air, which blew several stone slabs off the sides.
Lin Fan stood still.
There was no retreat, no dodging, and not even a defensive stance.
He merely raised his eyelids slightly just before Xie Tianhong's fist was about to touch his robes.
Double Pupils... open.