The Two-Storied Stone Tower

Time was the most merciless thing. A mortal sealed in a dark space for just a few days would feel mentally oppressed and suffering, and although the cultivators of the primordial age were mighty and unyielding, after being sealed for a hundred million years, their spirits could not bear the crushing weight.

The endless years of confinement had long since withered their forms and shattered their consciousness, driving them utterly mad. Thus, the moment the sealed lands broke open, they all became maddened souls.

Xiao Chen observed all this from behind, feeling regret and pity for them.

The female corpse advanced, already destroying seven or eight palaces, and seven or eight soul shadows turned into vital energy that merged into her body. Her skin was visibly more crystalline and lustrous, as if nourished.

Unconsciously, Xiao Chen had advanced dozens of li and climbed a towering peak, from which he could survey everything around.

Yet, compared to the terrifying stone prison at the island's center, this massive mountain was hardly majestic. Not that it was not tall enough, but in terms of the sheer aura emanating from it, the prison at the island's center was far more soul-shaking and terrifying.

Strictly speaking, the stone prison was not as tall as this mountain, yet it oppressed all the surrounding peaks into insignificance.

"Save me…"

The still relatively lucid voice rang out again, echoing continuously across this high peak.

"I have no great crime… Release me…"

Influenced by this, ethereal voices drifted from the various palaces on the surrounding mountains: "Kill our way out… Kill…"

Like the resentful thoughts of wandering souls, like the demonic tones of hell, they made one feel deeply unsettled on this island.

Xiao Chen slowly walked forward. He decided to act, to unleash his divine abilities to the utmost.

"Om, Ke, Ah, Hou, Mou, Duo…" The Eight Origin Sounds vibrated in unison. The grand palace before him instantly split apart, sending dust and smoke billowing into the sky.

These stone halls, eroded by the ages, could no longer remain imperishable.

Swoosh!

A soul shadow immediately rushed out, its eyes extremely sharp, emitting traces of baleful aura.

Xiao Chen was startled. Since these people were sealed here, they must have been great fiends in the primordial age. He formed hand seals with both hands, ready to strike with the Four Killing Moves at any moment.

The blurry phantom, very dim, swept its gaze over Xiao Chen for a moment before the fierceness in its eyes gradually faded.

"Who are you?" Xiao Chen asked with a solemn expression.

"I was an ordinary cultivator, imprisoned here for endless ages, and I am about to be utterly destroyed." The soul shadow seemed deeply regretful, its eyes flashing with ferocity. "If you had come ten thousand years earlier, I would have been safe…"

"Are you not already free now?"

"Too late. My consciousness has been repeatedly split; this is the last strand. My soul power is nearly dry…" The soul shadow was filled with indignation.

"At worst, start over from scratch."

"Start over? Easy to say, but will heaven give me another chance?" The soul shadow roared, its baleful aura overwhelming the sky. "This is an unbreakable cage. No one can escape. And here one cannot cultivate; one can only passively consume one's own essence. I am this weak—death is unavoidable…"

Hearing this, Xiao Chen's heart sank. He had already sensed something was wrong: it was very difficult to draw upon the energy of heaven and earth. If one always passively consumed their own essence, death was inevitable.

Xiao Chen asked about the origin of this place. Although the soul shadow had split into countless fragments and was left with only the last wisp of consciousness, it still told Xiao Chen some related secrets.

This place was indeed a terrifying prison from the primordial age, holding many felons. One could almost never leave once inside.

Suddenly, this powerful consciousness lunged at Xiao Chen, striking with unexpected speed.

"Bam!"

Xiao Chen's Four Killing Moves struck in succession, all pressing down on the black shadow, instantly shattering its last wisp of consciousness.

"I freed you; why attack me? Are all the felons here utterly vicious to this extent?" Xiao Chen demanded coldly.

"I did not wish to sit and wait for death…" Before shattering, the soul shadow twisted hideously. "Take this as my final warning: if you want to survive, you can only devour the soul power of others."

Xiao Chen was silent. If it was as the soul shadow had said, then devouring was indeed the only way.

But perhaps the demon shadow outside would come to receive him and the female corpse out. This could be an opportunity to grow stronger.

"What is suppressed in the stone prison at the island's center?"

Unfortunately, the soul shadow had already shattered and could no longer answer him.

"Cultivating a supreme body…" Xiao Chen muttered to himself. The demon shadow knew everything about this place—truly a fearsome existence.

The female corpse was about to disappear from his sight. She was not constantly destroying palaces, only occasionally shattering a few that blocked her way.

Her target was the massive stone prison at the island's center, and she was advancing toward it.

Xiao Chen's hair stood on end. Something extremely terrifying was definitely sealed there. Even the demon shadow seemed unable to deal with it. If the female corpse accidentally released it, a calamity beyond imagination would occur.

He quickened his pace and rushed over, carefully observing.

"Is the demon shadow of the Otherworld mad? Does it want to use the female corpse to deal with the thing in the stone prison? If that fails, would it not be like pulling open the iron gate and releasing the tiger…"

Suddenly, the mountains shook, and many palaces trembled violently. Not all the felons were on the verge of extinction; some still endured, still powerful. Sensing a living being approaching, they all rose in rebellion.

Xiao Chen was startled. These were felons from the primordial age. If they broke free and entered the myriad worlds, chaos would surely engulf the universe.

He paid them no heed, feeling no sympathy. Leaving them to live or die as they wished was the best choice; if necessary, he would even devour them.

The female corpse had already reached the central region of the island, her goal very clear. Like a lost soul hearing a summoning song, she drew ever nearer to the stone prison.

The terrifying prison stood a thousand zhang high, yet it was shrouded in a sinister yin aura. The sound of iron chains clanking echoed as the entire prison shook.

"Chi!"

Suddenly, a rainbow beam shot out and pierced straight through the female corpse, sending a large spray of blood splashing from her chest. A horrifying blood hole appeared there.

The female corpse's power was enough to subdue all gods. She had faced the Stone King's phoenix-winged stone halberd without fear, tearing apart stone weapons with her bare hands—truly an indestructible body, invulnerable to all weapons in the myriad worlds. Yet now, a rainbow beam had pierced her flesh, a truly horrifying sight.

Drops of blood scattered on the ground. The female corpse staggered back more than ten steps. Between her towering breasts, the blood hole slowly healed on its own, her lifeless eyes staring woodenly ahead.

Above the main gate of the colossal stone prison hung a stone sword. It was that sword that had shot the rainbow beam and wounded the female corpse.

She advanced again, extending her jade-like fingers, raising a light shield to block in front of her.

But as she drew near, the stone sword hanging at the prison gate once again shot dazzling beams of light. The rainbow radiance was blinding, piercing through the light shield before her and clashing against her jade fingers with a metallic ringing.

Xiao Chen was close enough to see clearly. The rainbow beam was not a sword beam at all—it was a beam of condensed Dao law and order.

So thick—this was terrifying! Previously, he had seen the order constructed by Stone Man Kings, the golden lines very fine and intricate, but their intensity was far inferior to this beam.

In the end, the rainbow beam from the stone sword once again drove back the female corpse. This was truly astonishing.

The female corpse's hair flew wildly, her white robes fluttering. She advanced once more, instinctively forming hand seals. Her jade hands changed in a complex and profound pattern—a profoundly mysterious divine seal.

Xiao Chen gasped in astonishment. It looked very familiar—not the same as the mystic arts of the Heavenly Steles, but somewhat similar!

Could this woman have some unknown connection to the one who inscribed the mystic arts on the Heavenly Steles? These extremely profound divine seals were too similar; they must be related.

"Roar…"

The island trembled, mountains shook, and roars erupted from many palaces. They sensed the disturbance here.

Xiao Chen's expression changed. There were more primordial felons on the island than he had imagined. Many had endured until now and were still very powerful. Such a force was terrifying. If the prison were broken, it was hard to imagine what these beings would do together.

The divine seals the female corpse formed were supremely powerful. Even before she struck, the entire island was shaken, and the stone prison ahead quaked violently.

Iron chains clanked loudly, and a huge chain extended from inside, lashing against the massive stone prison, as if trying to shatter it.

"Thud! Thud! Thud!…"

The female corpse advanced, each step heavy with a thousand jun. At that moment, she pushed forward with the divine seal.

"Boom!"

Blazing light condensed into a seven-colored lightning bolt. The divine seal's power was world-shaking, smashing directly onto the stone sword. The entire stone prison rocked violently.

"Crack!"

The stone sword made a piercing sound and snapped instantly!

Then came a rustling sound, a shower of yellow sand drifting down. The stone sword crumbled into dust, destroyed in an instant by the mighty divine seal!

One could not help but marvel: what force could stop this female corpse? The divine seal just now was too powerful. Even kings would show fear at the sight.

But what happened next astonished Xiao Chen. Within the stone gate, light swirled. A blinding radiance suddenly shot out, blasting the female corpse away!

"This stone prison…"

Xiao Chen was greatly alarmed. Only now did he notice that the shape of the stone prison was a bit unusual, resembling half a stone pagoda.

Yes, the more he looked, the more it seemed so!

The stone prison had an upper and lower chamber, a thousand zhang high. If several more levels were added, would it not look exactly like a stone pagoda?

Heavens!

Xiao Chen's heart shook. Could this be a part of the Five Emperor Tower? The more he thought about it, the more likely it seemed!

Two levels of the Five Emperor Tower had been left here, used as a prison to suppress something. This was simply shocking.

The female corpse subconsciously formed seals again. Xiao Chen's eyes lit up. Her starting gesture was actually a very profound move from the Heavenly Stele Profound Art.

But the complex divine seal that followed was beyond his recognition. It changed a thousandfold, impossible to comprehend, unfathomable, overflowing with Dao rhythm!

Xiao Chen held his breath. This woman's origin seemed more mysterious than ever. He earnestly observed that supremely profound divine seal, committing it to memory.

Bang, bang, bang…

The female corpse struck four times with divine seals, colliding with the brilliant light surging from the pagoda's main gate.

In the fierce collision, one black vortex after another was torn open, directly enveloping the surrounding space.

Xiao Chen was caught off guard and was swallowed by a black vortex. The next instant, he found himself inside the Five Emperor Tower!

For there, just outside the stone door, he could see the female corpse attacking, trying to enter.

Xiao Chen's hair stood on end. This ancient pagoda was a prison, sealing some unknown, terrifying thing. He too had entered, and the situation could not be more dangerous.

"It should be sealed on the second level…" Xiao Chen comforted himself, but for the first time felt a sense of unease, deeply unsettled.

Amid his tension, he looked around.

The interior of the first level of the stone prison was very empty. Suddenly, his gaze froze. On the surrounding stone walls, he saw five engraved images—five figures.

Their postures were all different. Xiao Chen vaguely felt that they represented a supreme mystic art.

"The Five Emperor Tower…"

His heart shook violently. Now he could almost be certain: this was undoubtedly the Five Emperor Tower!