196: The terrifying Tower of Babel

Shen Xi was unaware of the discussions outside.

Even if he knew, he wouldn't take them to heart.

At this moment, Shen Xi's attention was entirely on the sentence left by the mechanical voice.

The Tower of the Heavens was not created by Zhu Feng Ao, so who created it then?

And who could place the Tower of the Heavens within the Chasing Wind Secret Realm right under Zhu Feng Ao's nose?

With these questions, Shen Xi arrived at the Ninth Level.

"You're here!"

A figure, hidden in the darkness, casually greeted Shen Xi.

Seeing this, Shen Xi couldn't help but show a hint of suspicion.

Although the figure's face was obscured by the darkness, it gave him a sense of déjà vu, as if he had seen it somewhere before.

"Defeat me, and you can pass the Ninth Level."

As the figure finished speaking, it launched an attack.

It held a long sword, and Sword Intent of the Fourth Heaven instantly permeated the air.

The next second.

A sword strike!

"This is One Sword Eight Desolations!"

Shen Xi immediately recognized the essence of this sword strike as One Sword Eight Desolations.

He quickly brandished his Qingying Sword, responding with the same Move.

The identical One Sword Eight Desolations clashed in mid-air, neither able to overcome the other, and vanished without a trace.

"You cannot defeat me; it would be better to give up and leave the Tower of the Heavens. Being able to clear the Eighth Level, your achievement is already quite good."

The figure spoke again.

As it spoke, it emerged from the darkness and appeared before Shen Xi.

The figure looked exactly like Shen Xi, as if carved from the same mold.

"The test of the final level is for me to defeat myself, which is why you are so confident that I cannot possibly defeat you?"

Shen Xi quickly understood what was happening.

No wonder the figure also used One Sword Eight Desolations; the opponent was a perfect replica of himself.

It was precisely because of this that the figure was certain Shen Xi could not defeat himself.

After all, who could challenge themselves and emerge victorious?

"That's right, so you should decisively give up! Don't waste your time; anything you can do, I can do too. You cannot break my Moves, nor can you harm me."

The figure displayed a smile identical to Shen Xi's.

Calm, composed, unperturbed even if Mount Tai were to crumble before it.

"Since you are me, then you should know my personality. Do you think I will give up?"

Shen Xi replied calmly.

"You're right, how could you give up so easily!"

The figure's expression became a bit more serious.

He knew that a battle was inevitable!

"Then let's fight!"

"Come! Fight!"

Shen Xi and the shadow engaged in battle.

However, just as the shadow said, anything Shen Xi could do, it could do too; the two were evenly matched.

"Illusory Void Scripture!"

Shen Xi released his Illusion Intent and cast the Illusory Void Scripture.

Illusions combined with sword techniques further enhanced his combat power.

"I told you, anything you can do, I can do too. Illusory Void Scripture!"

The shadow used the same method, and the two still couldn't overcome each other.

"Then do you have this thing?"

Shen Xi's heart stirred, and he thought of the Huan Xu Pearl.

But no sooner had he spoken than a pearl appeared in the shadow's hand, and it preemptively said, "You're not talking about the Huan Xu Pearl, are you!"

The opponent had this too!

Shen Xi was utterly shocked.

The Huan Xu Pearl was a Profound-grade weapon, a treasure that would incite even Secluded Factions to fight over it in the outside world, yet the shadow had an identical one!

The creator of the Tower of the Heavens was indeed not Zhu Feng Ao!

Although the opponent's strength was profound and had once annihilated a Secluded Faction, he was, after all, a Martial Dao Five Realms-level expert.

For experts of this level, Profound-grade weapons could still Move them.

It should be known that Huan Xu, throughout his entire life, only left behind one Huan Xu Pearl, which shows the significance of Profound-grade weapons to Martial Dao Five Realms-level experts.

Yet the Tower of the Heavens could replicate an identical Huan Xu Pearl, with no difference in aura or power.

This was enough to prove that the origin of the Tower of the Heavens was not simple; with Zhu Feng Ao's strength, it would be absolutely impossible to achieve this.

Who exactly created the Tower of the Heavens?

And what was the meaning behind its creation?

Shen Xi was utterly confused and couldn't figure it out for a while.

But he knew that the one who created the Tower of the Heavens was definitely more terrifying than he had imagined.

Could it be that he had already surpassed the Martial Dao Five Realms?

Thinking of this, Shen Xi couldn't help but gasp.

The Martial Dao Five Realms were already an existence countless factions could only dream of; reaching the Detachment Realm allowed one to become the ruler of a Secluded Faction, let alone the two higher Realms, which were existences that could overshadow the heavens.

And what kind of existence would transcend the Martial Dao Five Realms... Shen Xi couldn't imagine!

"Being distracted during battle will only lead to your complete defeat!"

The shadow said with a sneer.

The next second, it appeared before Shen Xi like a ghost.

With a sword strike, the outline of the Nine Provinces appeared behind him.

"One Sword Sweeps the Nine Provinces!"

Shen Xi responded with the same Move.

But soon, he noticed something was wrong.

This sword strike was not simple.

On the surface, the shadow used One Sword Sweeps the Nine Provinces, but in reality, within the sword light, there was also a hidden trick from the Illusory Void Scripture.

The sword Move was fake, the illusion was real.

Shen Xi was caught off guard for a moment, and various illusions appeared before his eyes.

There was the illusion of Blue Star before his Rebirth.

There were also his experiences studying at the academy after his Rebirth.

And there was the scene in the Outer City where he was ambushed by Zhao Minsheng, followed by the appearance of the Two-Headed Sheep.

All these scenes made Shen Xi somewhat lost.

If it weren't for his Illusion Intent's timely warning, bringing him back to his senses, he would have been completely engulfed and unable to extricate himself.

Shen Xi regained consciousness very quickly.

But no matter how fast, he was still half a beat too slow.

The shadow's true killing Move had already arrived.

With Sword Intent of the Fourth Heaven fully unleashed and One Sword Sweeps the Nine Provinces fully activated, the shadow delivered its strongest sword strike!

"Break for me!"

At the moment of life and death, Shen Xi went all out.

He endured the sword strike, attempting to forcefully break through.

This was a desperate struggle.

"Hmph! Even if this sword strike cannot kill you, it can severely injure you. By then, I'd like to see how you can still fight me!"

The shadow spoke with full confidence.

He knew that even his strongest killing Move could not instantly kill Shen Xi.

Their combat power was equal, and their understanding of sword Moves and the height of their Sword Intent were identical; overcoming the opponent was simply too difficult.

If the shadow hadn't suddenly ambushed Shen Xi while he was distracted, causing him to fall into the illusion, it wouldn't have been so easy to severely injure Shen Xi.

However, even this was enough.

The shadow only needed to injure Shen Xi, widen its own advantage a little, and then it could seize the opportunity to snowball.