You, a living person, are telling me I've served in the underworld for ten years?

The scene before us was indeed strange.

If they kill each other for the treasure, the treasure will disappear without a trace.

If the treasure has already been taken by the victor, then why did the victor also die here? Or was this simply a massacre without a victor, caused by illusion, inner demons, or some other bizarre reason?

"It seems the secret may be even higher up."

Chen Yang looked up at the stone steps leading to the fifth floor.

The black tower has seven floors in total. They have already explored four floors, leaving only the last three floors.

Logically, the most important things are often hidden at the highest point.

"We can only go to the top floor to take a look."

Liu Piaopiao also stood up and dusted herself off.

"Hopefully, it won't be another wasted trip."

Ignoring the corpses scattered on the ground, the two walked towards the stone steps leading to the fifth floor.

However, just as Liu Piaopiao stepped onto the first stone step, preparing to walk upwards—

A sudden change has occurred!

Above the stone steps, at the entrance to the fifth floor, a complex net-like light curtain composed of pale silver runes suddenly lit up in the void without warning!

On the light screen, an incomparably sharp and icy aura suddenly erupted, and several thin, light blue beams of light, as fast as lightning, shot towards Liu Piaopiao's vital points like venomous snakes emerging from their holes, silently yet ruthlessly!

"careful!"

Chen Yang reacted extremely quickly. The moment the light screen lit up, he sensed something was wrong. He let out a low shout and his figure flashed like lightning, pulling Liu Piaopiao backward before she could react!

"Chucky!"

The pale blue rays of light grazed past Liu Piaopiao's clothes, striking the stone wall and ground behind her, instantly condensing into a thick layer of ice crystals that exuded a chilling aura!
If hit, the consequences would be unimaginable!

Liu Piaopiao was still in shock, her face pale. She looked at the entrance light screen, which was gradually fading away but whose restrictive aura still remained, with lingering fear in her eyes. Her voice trembled.

"Wow...what a powerful restriction! I almost lost my life!"

Chen Yang shielded Liu Piaopiao behind him, his eyes fixed intently on the seemingly calm but actually dangerous stairwell.

The aura of this restriction is of the same origin as the restriction at the tower gate, but it is more intense, more aggressive, and extremely well concealed, showing almost no warning before it is triggered.

"This restriction is the same as the one at the Tower Gate, but it's even stronger."

Chen Yang said in a deep voice.

"It seems there is something strange about this top floor, otherwise such strong protection would not have been set up."

Liu Piaopiao calmed down, looked at the faintly visible rune screen, and nodded.

"Brother Chen is right!"
There must be something very important hidden here! But... this barrier is too strong; I can't withstand it at all, let alone break it. How do we get up there?

Chen Yang did not answer immediately, but instead focused on observing the energy flow of the barrier light screen.

At the same time, communicate with the mind and the gentleness of separation.

"Li Rou, can you break this restriction?"

Li Rou remained silent for a moment, seemingly analyzing and deducing carefully, before responding.

"It's worth a try, but it will take time."

This restriction is more complex and sophisticated than that of the tower gate, extremely aggressive, and seems to be more closely connected to the energy cycle of the entire tower.

It's not just a defense mechanism; it's more like a 'test' or 'screening' mechanism. Even if I were to attempt to infiltrate in my soul form, I would face a strong counterattack from the 'evil-repelling' and 'soul-suppressing' runes contained within, and success wouldn't be guaranteed.

Chen Yang frowned.

"Even you find this troublesome? Then the value of what's hidden inside is probably far beyond our imagination."

"There is definitely value, but the risks are also extremely high."

Li Rou affirmed.

"The skill level of the array setter is extremely high, far beyond what ordinary immortal sects can possess."

This black tower... may be more than just a relic of the 'Sunset Immortal Sect'.

"If we can't get in, are we supposed to forcibly break down the structure of this floor and go around to the side?"

Chen Yang looked at the sturdy tower walls around him and put forward a bold idea.

"Absolutely not!"

Li Rou immediately denied it.

“Master, formations of this level usually have ‘countermeasures’ and ‘self-destruction’ mechanisms to protect their key structures. If you forcibly destroy the tower, it could trigger an even more terrifying chain reaction, such as the entire restriction exploding, or permanently trapping us and banishing us to the spatial turbulence! The risk is too great!”

Chen Yang knew that this idea was somewhat reckless, so he stopped insisting.

He looked at the restriction, his mind racing as he searched for other solutions.

After a while, Li Rou's voice rang out again, carrying a hint of hesitation and a new idea.

"Perhaps... there is another way we can try."

This restriction severely limits a pure soul like myself, but for beings with physical bodies, especially... beings with special 'divine duties' who can influence the rules to some extent, there might be loopholes to exploit.

Chen Yang's heart stirred.

"what do you mean……"

"Let me temporarily 'possess' you!"

Li Rou's tone became firm.

"I will rely on my spiritual insight and understanding of formations, and with the help of your physical body and the natural affinity or even suppression of Yin-attribute energy that your 'Yin General' divine authority may bring, we can combine our internal and external strengths to find a weakness and open a temporary passage!"

Possession?

Chen Yang pondered for a moment.

This is indeed a solution, but risks also exist. After all, Li Rou is an external true spirit, and possession would be a burden for both parties, especially since he holds the divine office of Yin Marshal, and has an instinctive tendency to suppress and reject souls.

"You can give it a try."

Chen Yang finally made a decision. "However, my Yin Commander's rejection of souls is an instinctive reaction, and it requires you and me to work together to control and suppress this rejection. I will try my best to relax and cooperate with you."

"I see."

Li Rou said solemnly.

"During the possession process, if you feel your soul instinctively backlashing, please try your best to restrain it and guide it to accept me. I will also try to be gentle and reduce the impact."

This process may be somewhat painful and uncomfortable.

"It's alright, let's begin."

Chen Yang said to Liu Piaopiao.

"Piao Piao, step back a bit and protect me. Keep an eye on anything happening down the stairs. I'm going to try to break this restriction. The process might be a little strange, so don't disturb me."

Although Liu Piaopiao didn't know exactly what Chen Yang was going to do, seeing his serious expression, she obediently nodded and retreated to the other end of the fourth floor, with her back to the stairwell, vigilantly watching the movements below, while also keeping an eye on Chen Yang.

Chen Yang sat cross-legged in front of the stairs leading to the fifth floor, about ten feet away from the barrier light screen.

He took a deep breath, slowly closed his eyes, relaxed his mind, and silently circulated the Qingwei Yuanjiang Great Technique to adjust his own state to the best, while actively suppressing the natural repulsion fluctuations within his body that belonged to the Yin Marshal's divine duty against Yin spirits and evil spirits.

"Master, I'm beginning."

Li Rou's voice echoed deep within his consciousness.

The next instant, Chen Yang felt a cool, condensed energy, carrying the aura of ancient stars, slowly flowing out from the pendant in his chest's Sumeru space, like a stream, beginning to try to merge into his body. At first, it went smoothly; the energy flowed through his limbs and bones, bringing a strange feeling, as if he were slowly merging with another consciousness.

However, when Li Rou's true spiritual energy attempted to penetrate and attach itself to his internal organs more deeply, especially when it tried to establish a deeper connection with his three souls and seven spirits, something unexpected happened!

Deep within Chen Yang's body, the divine mark belonging to the "Yin Marshal" seemed to have been "violated" and suddenly lit up on its own!

A powerful, majestic, and sacred aura that could subdue evil spirits and ghosts suddenly erupted, like an invisible barrier and spikes, crashing fiercely into the true spiritual energy that Li Rou was merging with!

"Uh!"

Chen Yang groaned, his face turning pale instantly. He felt as if his soul was being torn apart by a sharp pain, a manifestation of the intense conflict between his divine instincts and the external soul power!

Li Rou's true spirit also let out a painful groan. The process of merging was instantly blocked, and it even began to be repelled and driven away by that sacred aura!
"Master! The backlash is too strong! I can't hold on any longer!"

Li Rou's voice was filled with pain and anxiety.

"hold onto!"

Chen Yang gritted his teeth, veins bulging on his forehead. He forcefully concentrated all his will, using his mind to soothe and guide the turbulent divine power within him.

"This is my body, my will! Subdue it!"
Accept!

She's a friend, not an enemy!

He silently recited the mantra repeatedly in his mind, while simultaneously channeling the peaceful and pure power of the Pure Subtle Primordial Descent Technique to its fullest extent, attempting to neutralize the violent repulsive force of the divine authority.

This is a struggle with oneself, a duel between will and instinct.

Li Rou also sensed Chen Yang's efforts and struggles. She stopped forcibly attacking and instead made her true spiritual energy more gentle and ethereal, like the finest mist, slowly seeping in, trying to bypass the most intense points of repulsion and find a gap where they could coexist.

Time passed slowly in the stalemate.

Chen Yang was soaked in sweat, his body trembled slightly, and his face was sometimes flushed and sometimes pale.

Liu Piaopiao watched from a distance, her heart pounding with fear, but she dared not approach to disturb them. She could only clench her fists tightly and pray silently in her heart.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, the intense feeling of rejection began to gradually subside.

Chen Yang's will temporarily overwhelmed his instinctive divine reaction, and Li Rou also found a relatively "harmonious" way to coexist with Chen Yang's body and soul—not a complete fusion and control, but a "symbiotic assistance" state, as if she were giving Chen Yang a special "outer armor" made of her true spirit.

When the last trace of rejection disappeared and Li Rou's true spirit completely stabilized, Chen Yang slowly opened his eyes.

His gaze was subtly different from before. It was still clear and sharp, but deep within his eyes, there seemed to be a profound depth that had weathered the vicissitudes of time, and a strange, inhuman indifference.

His aura also changed, losing some of the upright and peaceful demeanor that belonged to the Qingwei Sect Leader, and gaining a more unfathomable and mysterious feeling, as if he had merged with the surrounding darkness.

"Brother Chen... are you... are you alright?"

Liu Piaopiao approached cautiously and asked with concern.

She could clearly sense that Chen Yang's aura had changed, making her feel somewhat unfamiliar and uneasy.

Chen Yang turned his head to look at Liu Piaopiao, a slightly stiff smile appearing on his lips.

"I'm fine."

I just used a special method. Piaopiao, keep an eye on what's happening below; I'm about to break the seal.

His voice also carried a peculiar, ethereal quality, as if it were echoing.

Although Liu Piaopiao was full of doubts and worries, she nodded and returned to her original position, paying even more vigilant attention to the movements below the stairs—just when Chen Yang and Li Rou were struggling to climb up, she seemed to vaguely hear some indistinct sounds from downstairs that did not belong to them, as if someone had entered the tower!
This made her heart tighten.

Chen Yang ignored Liu Piaopiao and turned to face the pale silver barrier. He slowly raised his right hand, and a faint blue light, like stardust, began to gather on his palm.

This was not Chen Yang's Qingwei magic power, but rather a special power that was closer to the origin of heaven and earth and was particularly adept at analyzing energy structures, triggered by Li Rou mobilizing her own true spirit to combine with Chen Yang's physical body.

He gently pressed his palm against the light screen, and the faint blue light, as if alive, began to spread and permeate along the patterns of the runes on the screen, attempting to analyze its structure and energy nodes.

At first, progress was relatively smooth. The faint blue light successfully "attached" to the light screen and began to feed back a complex stream of information.

However, as the analysis deepened, when Li Rou attempted to activate a key energy circuit within the core of the restriction—

"Buzz!"

The entire barrier light screen suddenly trembled!
A terrifying pressure, more than ten times stronger than when Liu Piaopiao triggered it before, suddenly erupted!
The pale silver light instantly became blinding, and countless more complex and ancient rune phantoms flashed and recombine wildly on the light screen!
At the same time, an indescribable, immense pressure, seemingly emanating from heaven and earth themselves, like an invisible shackle, suddenly descended upon Chen Yang!

Chen Yang felt a sudden heaviness in his body! It was as if an immense burden was pressing down on every bone, every muscle, and even every cell!
That's not just simple oppression by force, but a kind of "imprisonment" and "rejection" from the level of rules!
The flow of magical power within his body instantly became extremely sluggish, and the faint blue light controlled by Li Rou was also stuck in a quagmire, unable to move an inch!

Even more terrifying, he felt as if his soul consciousness was being "squeezed" out of his body by this pressure, and both his possession state with Li Rou began to become unstable!

"This is... spatial confinement? And... law repulsion?"

Li Rou's horrified voice rang out in Chen Yang's mind, filled with disbelief.

"This restriction... actually triggered some of the underlying rules of the trial grounds to provide protection?!"
What...is hidden at the top of this tower?!

However, as time went by, the intensity of the pressure seemed to be slowly increasing! Like the pressure at the bottom of the deep sea, silent yet powerful enough to deform steel.

Chen Yang felt that not only his body was imprisoned, but his thinking was also becoming sluggish, as if his soul was about to be peeled off and crushed from his body by this force of rules!
A groan of unbearable strain emanated from his internal organs, his bones emitted a faint, teeth-grinding grinding sound, and the flow of magical energy within his meridians nearly ceased. The faint blue light that had condensed while Li Rou was possessing him had long since dissipated, and even maintaining the possession state had become extremely difficult. The combined consciousness of the two was like a candle flickering in the wind, on the verge of being completely crushed and torn apart by this invisible force at any moment! (End of Chapter)