126: Chapter 127 Ultimately, people must pay the price for their folly.

Boom.

As Jiang Feng stepped into the Seven-Story Stone Pagoda, the heavy stone door behind him slowly closed, sealing off all sounds from the outside world.

The first floor of the tower was vast, with walls carved full of ancient totems.

In the very center stood a Stone Puppet over two meters tall, holding a giant axe.

The moment Jiang Feng stepped inside, the Puppet's eyes flashed with red light, locking onto this intruder.

Expecting it to be somewhat troublesome, Jiang Feng took a stance, but upon sensing the opponent's Aura, he realized it was only about the same as the First War Slave he had slaughtered earlier.

"Is that it?"

He curled his lip, feeling somewhat disappointed.

Sensing the disdain in his gaze, the Stone Puppet let out a muffled roar and took a heavy step, cracking the ground with every stride. It swung the stone axe, creating a gust of wind, and chopped down at his head!

Jiang Feng casually raised his right hand and extended his index finger.

Just as the stone axe fell, he flicked it lightly.

Ding!

A crisp sound rang out.

The next second.

Crack... crack, crack...

Dense cracks, centered on his fingertip, instantly crawled across the entire stone axe!

Immediately after, Jiang Feng charged up a punch against the Puppet.

Before the fist arrived, the force of the punch hit first.

Boom!

The imposing Stone Puppet was instantly covered in cracks, collapsing with a roar into a pile of rubble.

The light gate leading to the second floor appeared.

Jiang Feng shook his head and ascended to the second floor.

The moment his figure disappeared, the scattered stones on the first floor gathered together again, restoring it to its original state, even the stone axe returned to normal.

...

Meanwhile, outside the Seven-Story Stone Pagoda.

Jiang Feng had entered the tower for no more than a dozen breaths.

Hum!

The originally dim Seven-Story Stone Pagoda suddenly emitted a dazzling white light from its bottom floor, illuminating everyone's faces.

"It... it lit up!"

"The first floor has been passed! Heavens! How long has it been?"

"The previous warrior who challenged the tower spent three days and three nights on the first level alone, and ended up being carried out with broken legs!"

The crowd exploded instantly, everyone stretching their necks, staring fixedly at the lit-up first floor of the Seven-Story Stone Pagoda.

Old Chieftain Shangguan Xuanyi, Shangguan Wuqing, and Young Mistress Shangguan Wulei stood frozen on the spot.

It was too fast.

"Mother, what is the strength of the gatekeeper Puppet on the first floor..." Shangguan Wuqing couldn't help but ask.

Old Chieftain Shangguan Xuanyi's lips trembled, and it took a long while before she squeezed out a few words: "A sliver stronger than the First War Slave."

Once these words were spoken, a sharp intake of breath echoed around them.

Stronger than the First War Slave?

Although the First War Slave was killed by Jiang Feng before, it shouldn't have been this fast; that was the Chilian Tribe's First War Slave!

Just like that... was he insta-killed?

Before anyone could digest this fact, even more exaggerated exclamations erupted from the crowd.

"Look! The second floor! The second floor has also lit up!"

Everyone looked up abruptly.

Indeed.

No more than thirty breaths after the first floor lit up, the second floor of the Seven-Story Stone Pagoda also bloomed with the same brilliant light!

At this, even Old Chieftain Shangguan Xuanyi couldn't steady herself, swaying; had Shangguan Wuqing not supported her in time, she would have nearly collapsed to the ground.

"The strength of the Puppet on the second floor is twice that of the first floor... This... how is this possible..."

No one could answer her.

Because immediately after.

Hum!

The third floor, lit up!

Hum!

The fourth floor, lit up!

The speed at which the Seven-Story Stone Pagoda lit up was absurdly fast, one floor after another, with almost no pause.

The Holy Tower that deterred countless Chilian warriors was, in front of Jiang Feng, so vulnerable!

The noisy discussions outside the tower vanished.

Everyone was silent, just looking up, mouths agape, staring blankly at the tower being lit up layer by layer.

"The fifth floor... the fifth floor has also lit up..."

Young Mistress Shangguan Wulei's last line of mental defense was completely shattered; she had tried her best previously and only reached the fourth floor, and she couldn't even take a single punch on the fifth floor.

And Jiang Feng, was it this easy?

What kind of monster had she calculated against?

A young maid murmured to herself, and as she spoke, she actually fell to her knees with a "plop," kowtowing piously in the direction of the Seven-Story Stone Pagoda.

One, two, three...

More and more maids, and even some female warriors, couldn't help but kneel down.

At this moment, there was no so-called gender hierarchy in their hearts, no rules of the Yunmeng Marsh, only awe for the absolute powerhouse and reverence for the Holy Tower.

They looked up at the radiant Seven-Story Stone Pagoda as if looking up at a god walking on earth.

On Old Chieftain Shangguan Xuanyi's aged face, a trace of ecstasy and excitement slowly emerged.

She grabbed Shangguan Wuqing's hand, trembling continuously.

"Ancestors protect us! My Chilian Tribe is going to produce a true King!"

"As long as he can reach the top, wield the chilian staff, and command the Seven Guardians, never mind one Snake-Person Tribe, even if the eight major tribes joined forces, what would we have to fear!"

Old Chieftain Shangguan Xuanyi seemed to see the figure who had unified the eight major tribes a thousand years ago.

Shangguan Wuqing looked at the Seven-Story Stone Pagoda lit up to the fifth floor, then looked at her elderly mother, who was so excited she was incoherent, and then at the tribe members kneeling in the distance, her heart filled with complex emotions.

Perhaps, letting him be this King was truly the best choice for the Chilian Tribe.

It was also at this moment that Young Mistress Shangguan Wulei looked up abruptly, looking at her sister and mother, a look of determination appearing on her face.

"Mother, Sister, when he comes out, I am willing to take my own life to apologize! I only ask that you... for the sake of our shared Bloodline, spare the tribesmen who once followed me."

This time, she had truly admitted defeat, convinced and subdued; all her schemes and probings seemed so vulnerable in the face of true strength.

Old Chieftain Shangguan Xuanyi looked at her youngest daughter, a flash of complexity in her eyes, just about to speak.

Suddenly!

A piercing horn sound rang out from the outskirts of the tribe without warning, sharp and urgent!

"Woo—woo—"

A female warrior in charge of lookout scrambled down from the watchtower, her voice filled with fear.

"Enemy attack! It's the Snake-Person Tribe! The Snake King has personally led the team to attack!"

What?!

Everyone, who had just been immersed in ecstasy and hope, turned pale instantly.

Everyone turned to look.

They saw that on the wasteland outside the tribe, a black mass of countless ferocious Snake-Person warriors holding scimitars were surging over like a tide.

At the very front of the army, riding a black python over thirty meters long, a woman wearing a crown and holding a snake-headed staff was overlooking the entire Chilian Tribe.

The King of the Snake-Person Tribe!

A cold, deathly silence instantly enveloped the entire tribe.

It's over.

These two words popped into everyone's heart.

After the internal strife, the elite forces were gone. Now there were fewer than thirty people capable of fighting, and many of them were heavily injured. How could they block the Snake-Person army?

Old Chieftain Shangguan Xuanyi looked at the approaching Snake-Person army and smiled bitterly.

Was it, after all, a step too late?

Indeed, people must eventually pay the price for their own stupidity, it was just that this price was too high!

She took a deep breath, pushed away Shangguan Wuqing beside her, and her hunched back actually slowly straightened at this moment.

"Wuqing, Wulei."

The old woman's hoarse voice carried unprecedented determination.

"In a moment, I will hold back the Snake King. You... take the tribe members, guard the Holy Tower, and try to hold out until Jiang Feng comes out of the tower."

"Mother!" The two sisters exclaimed at the same time.

Old Chieftain Shangguan Xuanyi just looked at the Seven-Story Stone Pagoda that was still glowing, her eyes filled with endless regret and a trace of expectation.

"Tell Jiang Feng, the Chilian Tribe... is entrusted to him."

The moment her words fell, she slammed a palm onto her own chest!

A massive amount of life essence erupted with a roar!

Her silver hair turned black at a speed visible to the naked eye, her aged skin regained its firmness, and her hunched body became tall and straight again.

In just a few breaths, the dying old woman disappeared, and in her place was a Peak powerhouse standing proudly.

She had restored the Peak combat power of her youth!

The rejuvenated Old Chieftain Shangguan Xuanyi soared into the sky, her voice resounding through the clouds.

"Snake-Person Tribe! If you want to destroy my Chilian, step over my corpse first!"