142: Everyone stand up, prepare to be upgraded.

Myriad Dao Divine Mountain.

On the Martial Arts Field at the mountain peak, the atmosphere was somewhat heavy.

Tens of thousands of Disciples, whether outer court, inner court, or miscellaneous laborers, were all looking up at the giant water mirror suspended in mid-air.

The water mirror was replaying that earth-shattering scene from Nine Heavens Divine City in an almost immersive way.

They saw Senior Brother Ye Chenfeng open the heavens with a single sword, striking down dozens of prodigies.

They saw Fourth Martial Brother Zhao Wuyou, the Dragon God descending into the world, sweeping through the army like a mat.

They saw Second Senior Sister Su Linger, an Ice Age, freezing a hundred miles with the flick of a finger.

They also saw Sixth Senior Brother Ye Wushang, moving like a ghost, reaping lives in the shadows.

Every scene made the Disciples in the Lower Realm feel their blood boil, sharing in the glory!

"Senior Brother is invincible!"

"Fourth Martial Brother is too fierce! That halberd, just looking at it makes my legs go weak!"

"Second Senior Sister is so beautiful, hehehe...!"

Bursts of excited shouts erupted on the Martial Arts Field.

But when the image on the water mirror finally froze on that giant hand reaching down from the Nine Heavens, gently wiping the Zixiao Dao Field from the world, all sounds disappeared.

Replacing them was a bone-deep, extreme shock and supreme reverence.

Sect Master.

That was the power of the Sect Master.

After the excitement, an invisible pressure shrouded the hearts of the few Personal Disciples who had not yet ascended.

Inside Pill King Peak, Gongsun Yan stopped the Alchemy hand seals she was performing.

She looked at the precious Medicinal Pill about to take form in the Pill Furnace, her delicate brows slightly furrowed.

"My Medicinal Pills can heal the illnesses and injuries of the mortal world."

"But Senior Brother and the others are fighting bloody battles in the Immortal Realm, and I..."

She whispered softly, a trace of powerlessness flashing in her eyes.

Inside the replica building of Jixia Academy, Bai Jinnian put down the spring and autumn brush in his hand.

He looked at the character 'Suppress' he had just written on the paper, which contained the Noble Spirit, and fell into deep thought.

"My Law-Following Speech can suppress the demons and evils of the Central Plains."

"But facing an Immortal Lord, facing an Immortal King, can my 'Reason' still hold up?"

In the most remote corner, inside a simulated shadow world.

Chen Qianhuan and Hua Ying had just finished an assassination drill.

They looked at the scene in the water mirror, their eyes complex.

"We are too slow." Chen Qianhuan's voice was hoarse and dry.

Hua Ying did not speak, only gripping the dagger in her hand that looked like withered bone.

She did not want to return to that past where she could only hide in the shadows, where even sunlight felt like a luxury.

They all felt the gap.

A gap like a chasm.

"Sigh."

A lazy sigh, seemingly capable of piercing through people's hearts, resonated leisurely throughout the entire Myriad Dao Divine Mountain without warning.

"Why is everyone looking so gloomy?"

"Anyone who didn't know better would think our Sect had been wiped out."

It's Revered Master!

All the Disciples stiffened their expressions and bowed in unison.

"Respectful greetings to Revered Master!"

Chu Xuanjin's figure did not appear.

Only his voice, carrying a hint of mockery, continued to echo.

"What? You watched a movie and feel your Rank isn't high enough to play along?"

"Or do you feel that your Senior Brothers and Senior Sisters are eating and drinking well up there, while you can't even get a sip of soup down here, and you feel unbalanced?"

These blunt words made Gongsun Yan and the others blush, feeling somewhat embarrassed.

"This Disciple dares not." Bai Jinnian responded as the representative, bowing.

"We only saw the Divine Might of our Senior Brothers and Senior Sisters and yearned for it, hating our own shallow cultivation for being unable to share the burden for Revered Master and the Sect."

"Hmm, this mindset is not bad."

Chu Xuanjin's voice carried a hint of a smile.

"Since you are so anxious to go to the Immortal Realm to get beaten up, then as your Revered Master, I will fulfill your wish."

"Everyone, gather at the Martial Arts Field."

"I'll give you a special training session."

As the words fell.

Within the Myriad Dao Divine Mountain, all Disciples, no matter what they were doing, instantly put down their tasks.

Streams of light soared into the sky from various Immortal Caves, converging like a hundred rivers returning to the sea onto the Martial Arts Field at the mountain peak.

In less than ten breaths.

Tens of thousands of Disciples were already lined up neatly, silent as the grave.

They looked at the empty space in the center of the Martial Arts Field, their eyes filled with curiosity and anticipation.

The Sect Master is going to... give a special training session?

"Hum—"

Space fluctuated slightly.

Chu Xuanjin's figure still did not appear.

But in the center of the Martial Arts Field, a tower appeared out of thin air.

A small black tower, built entirely from unknown black crystals, no more than nine stories high, with an ancient and somewhat crude design.

On the tower's body, there were no runes, no carvings, just bare, like a piece of clay molded by someone at will.

"This is..."

All the Disciples looked confused.

Just this?

Is this the special training the Sect Master spoke of?

"This tower is called the [Myriad Dao Reincarnation Tower]."

Chu Xuanjin's voice sounded again, with a casual introduction.

"There is nothing good inside."

"It's just the remnant souls of some Immortals, Demons, Buddhas, and Monsters that I killed casually when I traveled through the heavens back then."

"And some scrap metal I picked up."

"Whatever you can get inside depends entirely on your own ability."

"There are no rules, the only rule is that you can die inside, but you won't truly die."

"Do you understand?"

The words were spoken lightly.

Yet it made all the Disciples' hearts shake violently!

Immortals, Demons, Buddhas, and Monsters killed casually?

Scrap metal picked up?

If these words came from anyone else, they would only think it was a madman talking nonsense.

But the one saying this was the Sect Master!

The Sect Master who could slap the lair of an Immortal Realm overlord into dust!

What Rank would the 'scrap metal' in his mouth be?

"Understood!"

Tens of thousands of Disciples shouted in unison, their voices shaking the clouds!

Everyone's eyes ignited with raging flames!

"Hmm, then go in and play."

Chu Xuanjin's voice became increasingly lazy.

"Right."

"The flow of time inside the tower is different from the outside."

"It's about one hundred to one."

"I'll give you... hmm, ten days of outside time."

"After ten days, everyone must come out."

As the words fell.

The tower door of the small black tower opened silently.

Inside was a deep, bottomless darkness.

As if it connected to an unknown, terrifying world.

"Charge!"

I don't know who reacted first, roaring and turning into a stream of light, rushing into the tower door first!

Immediately after!

The second!

The third!

Like a bursting flood!

Tens of thousands of Disciples rushed towards the plain-looking small black tower!

Opportunity!

This is a huge Opportunity bestowed by the Sect Master!

Gongsun Yan, Bai Jinnian, Chen Qianhuan, and Hua Ying, the few Personal Disciples, looked at each other and followed closely, stepping into the tower.

When the last Disciple disappeared behind the tower door.

That door closed silently once again.

The entire Martial Arts Field returned to silence.

...

Inside the small courtyard of Myriad Dao Divine Mountain.

Chu Xuanjin lay on a rocking chair, crossing his legs, tossing a gray, unremarkable stone in his hand.

[Ding! Host gifted Disciple trial reward [Low Grade Immortal Stone * 1], triggering a 100 million times critical return!]

[Congratulations to the Host for obtaining [Great Dao Origin Stone * 1]!]

His words just now were half-true and half-false.

This tower was indeed created by him.

The time flow inside was also indeed adjusted by him.

But the things inside...

That was not any 'remnant soul' or 'scrap metal'.

Rather, it was something he had just molded using various top-tier treasures returned by the System.

The main body of that tower was an Acquired Divine Artifact called the [Chaos Dao Evolution Instrument].

Inside it contained a small Chaos World that could freely evolve scenes of the heavens and myriad worlds.

And those so-called 'Immortal, Demon, Buddha, Monster' remnant souls.

They were all the purest energy bodies he simulated using the [Great Dao Origin Stone] combined with his comprehension of the 'Dao'!

Each one contained a complete Great Dao Law!

As for that 'scrap metal'.

It was even more so; he had shattered countless Immortal Artifacts and Emperor Weapons returned to him, kneaded them up, and scattered them casually like sesame seeds in every corner of that small Chaos World.

"Sigh, I really worry too much to make these little brats grow up faster."

Chu Xuanjin sighed, wearing an expression of 'I have sacrificed too much for this family'.

"System, connect me to the monitoring screen of the [Chaos Dao Evolution Instrument]."

[Understood, Host.]

A huge light screen slowly unfolded in front of him.

On the light screen, it was divided into countless tiny images.

Each image corresponded to a Disciple who had entered the tower.

...

[Myriad Dao Reincarnation Tower], First Floor.

Gongsun Yan found herself in a desolate, deathly silent plain.

The sky was gray.

The earth was scorched black.

The air was filled with a rotten, desperate, deathly aura.

Before her lay rotting corpses.

Thousands upon thousands.

Boundless.

"Plague?"

She knelt down to carefully examine a corpse and quickly drew a conclusion.

This was a domineering plague she had never seen before.

It not only eroded the Physical Body but could also wipe out the Divine Soul.

At this moment.

At the end of the plain, a small village appeared.

There was smoke rising from the village.

But the smoke was black.

Gongsun Yan did not hesitate and immediately flew towards the direction of the village.

She saw that everyone in the village, regardless of age, had black, eerie patterns all over their faces.

Their eyes were hollow and numb.

As if they were a group of walking corpses.

"Save... save us..."

A little girl who looked no more than five or six years old reached out a withered hand and grabbed the corner of Gongsun Yan's clothes.

Her voice was as weak as a candle in the wind.

Gongsun Yan's heart twitched fiercely.

She immediately took out a [Nine-Turn Rejuvenation Pill] she had refined herself, which was enough to cure all poisons in the world, and fed it into the little girl's mouth.

However.

The Medicinal Pill entered her mouth, but it was like a clay ox entering the sea, with no reaction at all.

The black patterns on the little girl's body instead spread even faster.

"It's useless..."

An old voice came from the side.

The village chief walked over, trembling, leaning on a cane.

"Immortal, this is a heavenly punishment, a curse."

"We have all been abandoned by the 'God of Death'."

Gongsun Yan raised her head and saw a wisp of black energy hovering over the village.

That black energy formed a vague, hideous ghost face.

It was greedily sucking the last trace of life force from the villagers.

"God of Death?"

Gongsun Yan stood up, and a flash of unprecedented determination appeared in her gentle eyes.

"I don't care what kind of god you are."

"As long as I am standing here."

"No one can take away any life in front of me!"

She sat cross-legged and formed seals with her hands.

The [Shennong Hundred Herbs Classic] operated frantically!

Behind her, a huge, heaven-reaching phantom of a medicinal herb emerged!

Rich, pure life energy radiated from her as the center, turning into green ripples, spreading throughout the entire village!

...

On another floor of the tower.

Bai Jinnian arrived at a magnificent academy.

Inside the academy, countless students were arguing loudly.

But what they were arguing about was not any sage's principles.

"The sky is square!"

"The earth is round!"

"No! The sky is round! The earth is square!"

"Water flows to high places!"

"Fire is cold!"

Sentence after sentence of 'fallacies' that turned black and white upside down and distorted common sense seemed to become unshakeable truths here.

A young man in a black robe with an arrogant face stood on a high platform.

He held a black bamboo scroll and said loudly.

"I say, let there be light!"

And so, the whole world fell into darkness.

"I say, let there be sound!"

And so, the whole world fell into dead silence.

Law-Following Speech!

But it was a reversed, distorted Law-Following Speech!

"See that? Bookworm."

The black-robed youth noticed Bai Jinnian who had just entered, and a look of contempt curved on his lips.

"Reason is never debated out."

"It is defined by the strong!"

"Here, I am the Reason!"

Bai Jinnian looked at him, his expression calm as water.

"Crooked paths and evil ways."

He slowly spat out these four words.

Then, he took out his spring and autumn brush.

"I will only ask you one question."

He raised his eyes, and his clear eyes seemed to contain the most original Noble Spirit in the world.

"One plus one equals how much?"

...

Chen Qianhuan and Hua Ying returned to the place they were most familiar with and hated the most.

They saw countless young versions of themselves.

Fighting each other for half a steamed bun.

A tall, one-eyed instructor who looked like an iron tower stood high above, looking at all this indifferently.

"Survive."

"Or become the nourishment for others to survive."

"This is the only rule of the 'Shadow'."

Chen Qianhuan and Hua Ying looked at each other.

They saw the same cold killing intent in each other's eyes.

"This time."

Chen Qianhuan slowly drew the long blade from his back.

"It is our turn to set the rules."

...

Inside the small courtyard.

Chu Xuanjin looked at the Disciples on the light screen who had fallen into their respective 'Reincarnations' and nodded with satisfaction.

These scenes were all tailor-made based on each Disciple's Dao Heart and past.

Only by breaking through their own 'tribulations' could they achieve true transformation.

[Ding! Disciple Gongsun Yan has an Epiphany on the [Great Dao of Life and Death], her state of mind sublimated, cultivation broke through to the Early Integration Stage!]

[Triggered a 10,000 times critical return! Congratulations to the Host for improving your comprehension of the [Great Dao of Life and Death]!]

[Ding! Disciple Bai Jinnian broke through the [Great Dao of Truth], his Dao Heart is clear, cultivation broke through to the Late Integration Stage!]

[Triggered a 100,000 times critical return! Congratulations to the Host for obtaining the Divine Ability [Law-Following Speech · Edict of Truth]!]

[Ding! Disciple Chen Qianhuan slashed away his Heart Demon, his Dao Heart reached Perfection, cultivation broke through to the Middle Integration Stage!]

[Ding! Disciple Hua Ying...]

The System's notification sounds rang frantically in his mind like a screen refresh.

The smile on Chu Xuanjin's face became increasingly brilliant.

"Not bad, not bad."

He could feel the aura of the Disciples in the tower soaring madly at a rocket-like speed!

...

Integration!

Mahayana!

Only two and a half years had passed inside the tower.

Outside, it was only ten days.

All the Personal Disciples had actually broken through to Mahayana Perfection!

Just one step away, they could ascend to the Immortal Realm!

"Alright, the heat is just about right."

Chu Xuanjin stretched and his thoughts moved.

Inside the [Myriad Dao Reincarnation Tower], his lazy voice rang in the ears of all the Disciples.

"Game over."

"Everyone, come out."

The next second.

The tower door opened wide.

Figures with auras a hundred, a thousand times stronger than before filed out!

Their eyes became more determined.

Their auras became more solid.

Their Dao Hearts, having been baptized by Reincarnation, were already as firm as a rock!

"Congratulations."

Chu Xuanjin's voice carried a hint of approval.

He looked at the remaining Personal Disciples.

"You have graduated."