CHAPTER 669: SIX HUNDRED SIXTY-NINE BOUNDARY TOWER

"In the end... he has gone after all!"

Near the entrance of the Jade Pot Sect, a hidden place, a melancholic voice suddenly came through, exceptionally clear amid the darkness before dawn.

If Yun Xiao and his peers were here, perhaps they could tell that this voice was indeed that of Yu Shu, the Sect Master of Jade Pot Sect. Even at such an early hour, he had already been waiting here.

Yu Shu had only taken Yun Xiao as his disciple a few short years ago, but the impression the young man had made on him was extremely deep. He had never had children and had come to treat Yun Xiao as his own.

Young eagles must always grow up. Yu Shu knew that this day would inevitably come, yet when Yun Xiao actually left, he still felt a sense of melancholy.

"Yes, they’ve all gone!"

Just as Yu Shu’s nose tingled slightly with emotion, another voice reached him, startling him, but he quickly recognized who it was.

The one who spoke next was the Great Elder of the Jade Pot Sect, Lu Zhan. Apart from Yun Xiao and his son Little Dragon, Mo Qing and Spiritual Pill Moqing were his disciples. How could he not be concerned about them?

When Yun Xiao went to call for Mo Qing with Spiritual Pill Moqing and Little Dragon earlier, Lu Zhan, with the power of his soul, naturally hadn’t missed a thing. He had heard their conversation, and thus he didn’t reveal himself.

Mo Qing feared the melancholy of parting, and so did Lu Zhan. As for Spiritual Pill Moqing, well, that was that, but over the years, Lu Zhan had also come to regard Mo Qing as his own daughter and nurtured her with care, only for them to inevitably part ways in the end.

"Who knows what sort of extraordinary events these youngsters will encounter after they go to Tenglong Continent?"

Yu Shu did not turn around and kept staring at the place where the group had vanished. However, when he mentioned this, his melancholy was swept away, replaced with a strong sense of anticipation.

"I believe that with their talents, even in Tenglong Continent, they will shine brightly!"

Lu Zhan also brightened up at the thought, recalling the astounding feats Yun Xiao accomplished on Hidden Dragon Continent. He suddenly felt the urge to visit Tenglong Continent himself; perhaps one day, he would hear news of those few becoming famous all over Tenglong.

"Sect Master, it seems you are about to break through to the Qi Seeking Realm, aren’t you? After your breakthrough, will you also leave the Jade Pot Sect?"

After reflecting for a moment, Lu Zhan suddenly asked this question. It seems he had not neglected any sensation regarding Yu Shu lately.

"It should be soon, thanks to the things Miss Yun Wei left behind!"

Yu Shu did not deny it; he was much younger and far more talented than the other elders of the Jade Pot Sect. Plus, with the heavenly materials and earthly treasures left by Yun Wei, he had already begun to show signs of a breakthrough after recent attempts.

"After I leave, the Jade Pot Sect will be in your hands!"

Having said this, Yu Shu didn’t stay any longer, leaving only Great Elder Lu Zhan, who took a long time to come back to his senses, wondering what thoughts were going through his mind.

...

Two months later!

This is the most central area of Hidden Dragon Continent, where a city called "Boundary City" can be found. It doesn’t belong to any empire in Hidden Dragon Continent but is an extremely special place.

Inside Boundary City, there is a soaring "Boundary Tower", which is said to have existed since the formation of Hidden Dragon Continent, a special connection that leads to the Middle Five Realms.

Countless cultivators who have reached the Spiritual Vein Realm and wish to ascend to higher planes can come to try their luck in the Boundary Tower. If they can reach the top, they will be transported to a higher plane.

The realms above Hidden Dragon Continent are naturally the Middle Three Realms, and Hidden Dragon Continent is managed by the Tenglong Continent under the Middle Three Realms. Therefore, when cultivators from Hidden Dragon Continent travel to the Middle Three Realms, their destination can only be Tenglong Continent.

The standard for taking on the Boundary Tower challenge is not high; anyone who has broken through to the Spiritual Vein Realm is eligible to try the tower. However, whether one can reach the top depends on their individual fortune.

Many young talents and older powerhouses, tired of staying on Hidden Dragon Continent, come to challenge the Boundary Tower, but very few can pass through the Boundary Tower to enter the Middle Three Realms. One can only imagine the difficulty level.

Moreover, it is said that the Boundary Tower can even judge the age of the cultivators. In a nutshell, the higher one’s talent and the younger they are when they reach the level of the Spiritual Vein Realm, the higher the chances of successfully reaching the top.

On the contrary, if a cultivator only reaches the Spirit Vein Realm at over a hundred years old, then the difficulty of tackling the trials within the Boundary Tower will correspondingly increase.

For instance, like Xuanyue Country’s Xuan Haoran of old, whose talent was not bad, yet it took him nearly two hundred years to reach the peak of the Spirit Vein Realm. People like him who come to challenge the tower, despite being much stronger than the younger generation of geniuses, have a much smaller chance of success.

In short, the Boundary Tower is a magical place where some effortlessly reach the top, while others, aged and dimmed by countless attempts, fail to pass, a fate that must be acknowledged.

Thanks to the presence of the Boundary Tower, Boundless City has stood at the center of the Hidden Dragon Continent for countless years, making it arguably the busiest and most bustling city across the entire continent.

Numerous cultivators from all the great empires dream of trying their luck here because once they pass the trials of the Boundary Tower, they can advance to the Middle Three Realms, a much vaster continent with richer Heaven and Earth Energy, allowing their Meridian Qi Cultivation to rise much more swiftly.

It was under these circumstances that, two months after departing from the Jade Pot Sect, Yun Xiao and his companions finally reached the southern gate of Boundless City, looking somewhat travel-worn.

This time, Yun Xiao did not bring along the Blood Winged Fire-Eyed Lion. After all, it originally belonged to the Meridian Refining Master Guild of the Lingtian Empire and had provided him enough help over the past year or two. It was time to return it to the Meridian Refining Master Guild of Lingtian.

Moreover, as he was parting, Yun Xiao wanted to experience the culture and customs of the Hidden Dragon Continent one last time. Over the past two months, he had indeed gained insights into the various empires.

It is worth noting that, within these two months, both Mo Qing and Ling Wan had broken through to the middle stage of the Spirit Vein Realm. Undeniably, with one being a Pure Yang Immortal Body and the other a Mixed Element One Qi Body, neither was an ordinary genius, and their cultivation speed was truly fast.

As for Yun Xiao himself and the Fire Cloud Rat Chi Yan, neither had made any breakthroughs, as one was already at the peak of the Spirit Vein Realm and the other at the advanced sixth rank. To break through further would mean reaching the Earth Rank Third Realm.

Little Dragon chattered all the way, avoiding any sense of loneliness. Fortunately, news of the events that had taken place in the Xuanyue Empire had only just begun to spread recently, otherwise, cultivators from various empires who encountered Yun Xiao in this state would probably be shocked to their core.

Arriving at Boundless City without incident, when Yun Xiao saw the city sprawling on the ground before them, like a giant beast, he couldn’t help but be deeply moved.

Of course, Yun Xiao’s sentiment wasn’t about the enormity of the city itself, but about the tower rising sky-high at the city’s heart. Even from such a distance, he could feel an immense and overwhelming aura.

"Is that the Boundary Tower?"

During their journey, Mo Qing had already informed Yun Xiao about the details of Boundless City and the Boundary Tower, letting him understand what it would take to journey from the Hidden Dragon Continent to the Tenglong Continent, although he was already exceptionally familiar with the Nine-layered Dragon Cloud.

However, Yun Xiao had great confidence in himself. If even some cultivators in the early stage of the Spirit Vein Realm could succeed in the trials, there was no reason he, at the peak of the Spirit Vein Realm, would fail.

Having not broken through for several months, Yun Xiao was eager as he knew that the Heaven and Earth Energy of the Hidden Dragon Continent was too thin; to break through, it was essential to reach a higher plane.

"The Boundary Tower has stood for tens of thousands of years on the Hidden Dragon Continent, I wonder if I can succeed this time?"

Excitement filled Mo Qing’s eyes, but with her words, there was also a tinge of conflict. After all, the Boundary Tower was so well-known, she didn’t have absolute confidence.

Indeed, this was one of the reasons laid down by the two major powers of the Tenglong Continent—that one must reach the Spirit Vein Realm before they could proceed. Even the big shots from Tenglong Continent had to abide by this rule without reaching the Spirit Vein Realm, one wouldn’t even qualify to challenge the Boundary Tower.

"Since we’re here, let’s make the best of it; even if it’s a dragon’s lair or a tiger’s den, we have to give it a shot!"

Ling Wan, fearless as a calf that does not fear tigers, didn’t share Mo Qing’s complexities. Seeing him speak, he patted Little Dragon’s shoulder and chuckled, "It’s just that this little guy probably won’t pass the Boundary Tower’s trials, Big Brother, what do you plan to do?"

Ling Wan knew that to enter the Boundary Tower, one must at least be at the Spirit Vein Realm or a low-level sixth rank Vein Demon. Even the Fire Cloud Rat Chi Yan was qualified to enter the Boundary Tower.

But Little Dragon’s aura was peculiar, seemingly not even reaching the Meridian Rushing Realm, which worried Ling Wan. Yet, upon second thought, since Brother Yun Xiao brought Little Dragon along, he must have some method.

With Ling Wan’s blind adoration for Yun Xiao, he believed there was nothing Big Brother couldn’t do; perhaps he had his own way?

Of course, Yun Xiao had his own method, but this wasn’t the time to reveal it. He couldn’t say that Little Dragon was a Dragon Guiding Tree Spirit, which he could store inside his Waist Storage, right?

That would be too shocking and unconventional. Not wanting Little Dragon to face discrimination, Yun Xiao kept even Mo Qing and Ling Wan—his closest confidants—in the dark to prevent unnecessary trouble.

"Little Fatty, you better worry about yourself first, don’t end up failing at the Boundary Tower and crying there!"

Little Dragon and Ling Wan had bickered a lot along the way. Although they were quite close, he still referred to him disrespectfully as "Little Fatty." Hearing Ling Wan’s words, Little Dragon retorted immediately.

Indeed, as Little Dragon pointed out, even though Ling Wan had reached the middle stage of the Spirit Vein Realm, his chances of failure at the Boundary Tower were high. Sometimes, one’s level of cultivation doesn’t necessarily correlate with the likelihood of success; there are other factors involved.