At the Jade Hollow Plains, the buzz of activity in front of the Conduit Tower had started to grow even more fervent when more factions arrived to challenge it.
There's the Lightning Amethyst Sect, who brought their core disciples that were strictly peak Spirit Condensation Stage to mid Foundation Establishment Stage.
The Ironclad Blood Sect also showed up, as they wanted to redeem their reputation after being humbled by the Sword Fairy the other day.
The Cerulean Cloud Sword Sect also sent people with the Sword Fairy as their leader again. When another elder of the sect made the trip to the Divine Convenience Store again, they returned with Viewing Jades.
The Sword Fairy, Jiang Jianxin, acquired one of them. The moment she got familiarized with the Viewing Jade, she absorbed every publicly available knowledge that came from the various threads posted, especially the ones about Conduit Tower.
Due to that, she wasted no time observing the tower. She stepped inside, thinking what she would experience inside might give her a clue about the underground hidden realm they were going to investigate in two days..
Meanwhile, within the tower, Yu Qingyan stood amidst the wreckage of shattered Crystal Reavers on Floor 2.
Her robe remained unblemished, but the wreckage on the floor told a lot regarding the intensity of the battle. Her flute was still glowing faintly from her latest [Verdant Resonance]. The six enemies lay in pieces, their crystalline blades scattered across the rough floor, each dissolving into shards of Dimension Essence.
[Dimension Essence Earned: 360]
[Total Dimension Essence: 6537]
She exhaled, brushing a strand of hair from her face as the panel updated:
[Current Wave: Cleared]
[Next Wave in: 10 Seconds]
"Huh? Now there are short breaks between waves," She noted, popping another Energy Replenishing Candy into her mouth. The sweet surge steadied her spiritual energy. However, she could feel that her mental strength was also gradually getting beaten since she needed to focus on her enemies. "This place really tests endurance."
Once ten seconds had elapsed, the walls rumbled again, and six fissures opened, releasing larger foes. Hulking figures with crystalline armor plating and glowing maces for hands.
Their energy signatures pulsed at mid to high Foundation Establishment strength. A notable setup of increasingly difficult challenges.
[Current Wave: 6 Crystal Enforcers]
Yu Qingyan raised her flute, her Verdant Wings flaring as she prepared [Tempest Serenade]. The vortex roared to life, slamming into the enforcers and cracking their armor, but they pressed forward, their maces swinging with devastating force.
She played a game of cat and mouse against them as she noticed that they may be huge, but they were too slow to catch up with her. Every time, she would chunk a few of their crystalline frames, cracking them bit by bit.
It took her a few minutes and a few injuries when their arms and maces would graze her, but she eventually found her opportunity.
She flew up to the ceiling, close to the light source, evading a blow that shattered the floor and countered with three consecutive [Jade Pulse], blasting a hole through three enforcers' chests.
They crumbled lifelessly as she accurately hit their already cracked frame.
[Dimension Essence Earned: 240]
The remaining three closed in, their coordinated strikes forcing her to weave through the air with [Verdant Steps], evading the rocks and maces they threw at her before playing [Binding Echo], rooting two in place and finishing the third with a precise barrage of [Verdant Fang].
The bound pair broke free just as she landed but a quick activation of [Windstrike Talisman] shredded them into shards.
[Dimension Essence Earned: 240]
[Total Dimension Essence: 7017]
The chamber stilled, and Yu Qingyan caught her breath, her gaze shifting to the walls. "Alright. If the pattern holds, next should be the guardian."
As if on cue, a single massive fissure split the far wall, and a towering figure emerged. Its crystalline body was studded with glowing spikes, its arms wielding twin flails that crackled with foreign energy. The Floor 2 Guardian loomed, its presence radiating peak Foundation Establishment Stage power. Not that much different from the previous guardian.
[Floor Guardian: Crystal Flailmaster]
[Objective: Defeat the Floor Guardian or Survive for thirty minutes]
Yu Qingyan didn't wait for it to charge at her as she slapped another [Spirit Embodiment Sticker Seal] onto her wrist. The Verdant Willow Crane flared to life once more, merging with her as her speed and power surged. "Let's make it quick… I don't have time to waste. It'll be bad for business."
The Flailmaster roared, its flails swinging in wide arcs. Yu Qingyan met it head-on, her flute's melody weaving a storm of verdant energy.
Outside, the crowd cheered as the tower's panel updated:
[Active Challenger(s): 42]
[Highest Floor Cleared: 1]
[Floor 1 First Clear: Yu Qingyan - Peak Foundation Establish Stage (9:27)]
Yan Wei emerged from the vortex, his robes slightly torn but his grin intact. "First floor down! Where's Zhou Rui?!"
Zhou Rui stumbled out moments later, his saber dripping with dark residue.
When he saw Yan Wei with his arms crossed and a smug expression, he couldn't help but frown. "Huh? You came out quicker than me? Did you fail the first floor?"
The young master of the Azure Gale Sect clicked his tongue before laughing boisterously, "Me? Fail? That's not in my vocabulary. Why don't you check my recording jade?"
Zhou Rui caught it before throwing his to Yan Wei as well. It was a clear challenge. To show each other how they dealt with the Floor Guardian and decide who's the better one.
While they're doing that, Little Spring also exited the tower. Her face appeared pale but triumphant. Noticeably, she was clutching something in her hand. The items she acquired from the Green Chest. "I… I did it! I left after the first floor. I got a feeling I might not be good enough for the next floor!"
Qianmeng approached Little Spring and congratulated her. Her resolve hardened. They're the first ones who exited the tower. Seventeen more to go before she'd step in.
Above, Yan Chen and Zhao Jianshi observed the three young disciples who triumphantly returned.
"Hmm. Twelve have already cleared the first floor but they're the only ones who stepped out."
Zhao Jianshi rubbed his chin. They're keeping an eye on those numbers. Before the other factions arrived, the 29 challengers dropped to 25. There's only one meaning to it: four challengers died inside.
"Indeed. A challenger cannot leave unless they clear a floor. Consequently, among the 12 who successfully cleared it, 9 proceeded to the next floor. How reckless."
Shortly after that, the panel was updated again.
[Active Challenger(s): 38]
[Highest Floor Cleared: 2]
[Floor 1 First Clear: Yu Qingyan - Peak Foundation Establish Stage (9:27)]
[Floor 2 First Clear: Yu Qingyan - Peak Foundation Establish Stage (15:48)]
A minute later, Yu Qingyan's figure reappeared outside the tower. But instead of getting spit out by the vortex, she seemingly appeared through a Portal.
She grinned and exclaimed, ignoring the cheers of congratulations around her, "It works! Shopkeeper Lin. Your [Emergency Escape Talisman] is effective! You owe me for this! I had to give up on Floor 3 and my potential First Clear reward!"