407: Chapter 407 Sword Pierces Golden Armor

Gao Feng was about to step forward when Situ Lan reached out to stop him. "Let me do it." She looked at the dark-gold metal Puppet inside the tower, her fingers pressing onto the hilt of the azure phoenix sword. "I will use Sword Intent to simulate the power of the Metal element."

Gao Feng glanced at her, asked no questions, and stepped aside. Situ Lan walked through the tower gate.

The internal space of the first floor of Wanfa Tower was much larger than it appeared from the outside.

The dome was about five zhang high, and the four walls were covered with Metal element Talismans. On the ground was a circular Formation three zhang in diameter, with dark-gold light surging through the Formation lines.

In the center of the Formation stood a metal Puppet ten feet tall, its entire body covered in heavy dark-gold armor. Countless runes flowed across the armor, and it held a long saber in each hand. The Puppet's eyes were two dark-red crystals; when it looked at Situ Lan, the crystals lit up, and a sharp wave of Killing Intent rushed toward her.

Situ Lan was in no hurry to draw her sword. She closed her eyes and released her Sword Intent, sensing the surrounding Metal element Origin Qi. The first floor of Wanfa Tower was filled with extremely dense Metal-attribute spiritual energy, which swirled and sliced around her like countless invisible sharp blades. If an ordinary Cultivator did not have enough cultivation to protect their body, the Metal element Origin Qi would directly damage their Meridians. But to Situ Lan, this Metal element Origin Qi felt familiar instead—a sword is, after all, metal.

Master Lieyang activated the second layer of the Restriction from outside the tower. The runes on the Puppet's body suddenly brightened, its armor thickness doubled, and a layer of dark-gold light covered its twin sabers. Elder Xuanqing noticed the change in the Restriction and frowned slightly, glancing at Master Lieyang, but Master Lieyang remained expressionless.

Situ Lan opened her eyes and drew her sword.

The moment the azure phoenix sword left its scabbard, a sharp Sword Intent surged from within the tower, creating a strong resonance with the Metal element Origin Qi inside. It wasn't rejection or confrontation, but a kind of resonance—Sword Intent and Metal element Origin Qi shared the same source. Situ Lan did not perform any of the Five Elements Spells; she simply pushed her Sword Intent to the limit, making the azure phoenix sword a vessel for the Metal element Origin Qi, attracting, compressing, and condensing the surrounding Metal element Origin Qi onto the blade before finally striking out with a single sword slash.

“Aurora Sword Art—Break!”

The sword light was so fast its trajectory was almost invisible, like a bolt of silver-white lightning striking the Puppet's chest. That sword light was not a simple Metal element Spell, but a combination with Sword Intent as the bone and Metal element Origin Qi as the flesh. A deep crack was slashed into the dark-gold armor on the Puppet's chest, the runes dimmed, and the crack spread across the Puppet's entire body.

The Puppet did not fall.

It raised both sabers simultaneously and slashed at Situ Lan. Situ Lan sidestepped to avoid it and struck again with the azure phoenix sword, this time hitting the Puppet's right arm joint. The joint armor shattered, and the right arm, along with the long saber, fell to the ground. Dark-red light flickered in the Puppet's eyes; it felt no pain and no fear, leaving only the instinct to fight.

Situ Lan did not give it a chance for a third strike. The azure phoenix sword pierced through the crack in the Puppet's chest, the tip emerging from its back, and Sword Intent exploded from within the Puppet. The crystal eyes of the Puppet flickered a few times before the dark-red light finally went out, and it collapsed to the ground with a crash.

The Formation lines at the tower gate brightened and then dimmed, and the light on the first floor turned into a steady green—passed.

Elder Xuanqing was the first to speak, his voice carrying a rare hint of admiration: "To simulate Metal power with Sword Intent and draw upon the Five Elements Origin Qi without using incantations—brilliant!"

Situ Lan walked out of the tower and sheathed the azure phoenix sword. The old injury on her left arm made her movements less fluid, but the hand holding the sword remained steady. Tianxin had already taken out a Talisman brush and a blank Jade Slip, quickly recording the spiritual energy fluctuations of that strike. As she wrote, she said, "The resonance frequency between the Sword Intent and the Metal element Origin Qi is very high. This pattern can be simulated with Talismans, but it requires the cooperation of a Sword Cultivator." She put away the Jade Slip, adding it as a future reference.

Lin Jingyu was the second to enter the tower.

The method he chose was different from Situ Lan's—he used fast sword strikes to dismantle all the Puppet's limb joints, causing it to lose its combat capability without destroying the Puppet's core.

The thickened armor Master Lieyang had added was like thin paper before the flowing cloud sword; before the runes at the joints could even light up, the sword light had already arrived. When the Puppet fell, its entire body armor was intact, but its limbs were separated from its torso. Lin Jingyu sheathed his sword and walked out the tower gate; the entire process took less than the time it takes to drink a cup of tea.

Elder Xuanqing wrote a few notes on a Jade Slip and nodded slightly.

Next it was Lin Yue's turn.

He stood at the tower gate, looking at the Puppet inside that had already been defeated by Situ Lan and Lin Jingyu. The Puppet had returned to its original state under the effect of the Formation, its armor intact, runes flowing, and Killing Intent as strong as ever. Lin Yue rubbed his hands and walked toward the Puppet inside. His hands formed seals, and an earthy-yellow light surged from his palms, forming an airtight defensive Formation around the Puppet.

Rock Demon Prison-Suppressing Array. He did not attack the Puppet; he was merely using a Formation to trap the enemy.

The Puppet's twin sabers hacked frantically at the Formation barrier, sparks flying everywhere, but the Formation remained motionless. Lin Yue sat cross-legged and closed his eyes to maintain the Formation, ignoring the Puppet's struggles. Master Lieyang watched from outside for a moment and sneered: "What's the use of trapping it? If you don't defeat it, it doesn't count as passing."

Gao Feng stood by the tower gate and said quietly, "The rule is 'the Puppet loses its ability to act'; there is no rule stating it must be destroyed. If it's trapped until its energy is exhausted, it likewise loses its ability to act." He looked at Elder Xuanqing, "Those are the rules, right?"

Elder Xuanqing pondered for a moment and then nodded. "Indeed. The rule of Wanfa Tower is for the Puppet to lose its ability to act, without limiting the method."

Master Lieyang's expression was somewhat gloomy, but he did not object. Half an hour later, the movements of the Puppet's twin sabers grew slower and slower, the light of its protective runes dimmed, and the red crystals in its eyes began to flicker. After another cup of tea's time, the Puppet's twin sabers dropped, its legs gave way, and it fell to one knee. Then it became completely motionless. It wasn't destroyed, but its spiritual energy was exhausted.

Lin Yue withdrew the Formation, stood up, patted the dust off his robes, and walked out the tower gate. Master Lieyang's face was already very unsightly.

When the first floor was finished, Gao Feng counted the people: Situ Lan, Lin Jingyu, and Lin Yue had passed, plus Gao Feng himself—he hadn't entered the tower yet, but with his cultivation at the Late Stage of the third level of Golden Core and the Star Battle Body's perception of Metal element Origin Qi, passing the first floor was a foregone conclusion. The remaining five—Luo Li, Su Ning, Chu Lan, Tianxin, and Yaoguang—could all choose to attempt the attribute floors they were more skilled in, rather than having to face this Metal floor.

Elder Xuanqing carved the record of their passage on the jade tablet by the tower gate and walked up to Gao Feng. "The second floor is Wood attribute; the Puppet will constantly regenerate. Wood Spells can counter it, or you can use the cycle of suppression—Metal counters Wood. Situ Lan and Lin Jingyu's Metal Sword Intent can also handle it." He paused and lowered his voice, "But Master Lieyang might tamper with the regeneration speed; you must be prepared."

Gao Feng nodded. Elder Xuanqing turned and left, and Master Lieyang also left the square with several Elders, but Gao Feng knew he wouldn't go far. Master Lieyang's gaze was always watching this tower from the shadows, watching every one of them.

As dusk fell, the emerald-green light of the second floor of Wanfa Tower looked particularly striking in the darkness. The nine of them sat in a circle on the square in front of the tower. Chu Lan took out spiritual fruits from her Storage Pouch and shared them with everyone. Tianxin drew a map of the spiritual energy distribution of the second floor on the ground. Luo Li closed her eyes to concentrate, her fingers lightly plucking the strings of her zither as if she were tuning it.

Su Ning used a space positioning bead to probe the spatial structure of the second floor: "The space inside the tower is twice as large as the first floor, the concentration of Wood element Origin Qi is very high, and the paths of spiritual energy flow are very complex. The Puppet's regeneration mechanism might be hidden in the Formation lines on the walls. If we can destroy the Formation nodes immediately, the regeneration speed will be greatly reduced."

Tianxin used Talismans to draw a distribution map of the Formation lines: "If Situ Lan and Lin Jingyu use Metal Sword Intent to attack simultaneously, first cutting off the Puppet's limbs and then destroying the Formation nodes, the regeneration speed shouldn't be able to keep up with the speed of destruction."

Lin Yue scratched his head. "I won't join the fun on the second floor; I'm not good at the Wood element. Metal counters Wood, but I don't use a sword. Call me for the fifth floor, the Earth element." He leaned against a stone pillar and closed his eyes to rest.

Chu Lan held a small emerald-green spiritual plant seedling in her hand and said softly, "Wood element... maybe I can try, but I have to find a way to deal with the regeneration."

Tianxin raised an eyebrow. "You aren't an offensive-type Cultivator; no matter how lush your spiritual plants are, they won't stop the Puppet's sabers."

“That's why I have to borrow the strength of others.” Chu Lan turned her gaze toward Situ Lan and Lin Jingyu. Situ Lan did not refuse, only saying plainly, “You be responsible for entangling it, and I'll be responsible for dismantling it.” Chu Lan happily agreed, nearly jumping up from the ground.

Yaoguang sat next to Chu Lan, her chin in her hands, preparing a treatment plan for the second floor. "I shouldn't need to act directly on this floor. I'll sort out the Medicinal Pills, and if anyone gets hurt, I'll treat them immediately."

Luo Li held the flowing sound zither and softly practiced a few notes. That melody carried a sharp aura, faintly echoing with the Metal element Origin Qi in Situ Lan's Sword Intent.

Gao Feng sat in the middle of the group, closing his eyes to concentrate. His spiritual sense reached into his robes, where that silver-white Ten Thousand Spirits Gathering Yuan Array diagram lay quietly, its contents already memorized. He had the secret technique of the Heavenly Sword Sect, but the Five Elements Return to Origin Method of the Wanfa Sect was not yet in his hands. Two out of five were done, with three sects remaining. The Lingbao Sect, Changsheng Valley, and Taixu Palace—for each sect, he could only rely on himself; there were no shortcuts.

The green light of Wanfa Tower flickered in the night wind like a slowly breathing eye.

Tomorrow, the second floor, Wood element. The Puppet would constantly regenerate, but Metal counters Wood—with Situ Lan and Lin Jingyu's Metal Sword Intent, plus Chu Lan's Wood element spiritual plant assistance, and possibly Gao Feng's participation, they would go up floor by floor.

Nine floors; they would finish them eventually.

The emerald-green light of the second floor shone for a full hour. Master Lieyang did not leave; he stood on the high platform with his hands behind his back, his gaze fixed on the tower gate as if he wanted to stare a crack into that stone door.

Chu Lan was the first to enter the second floor. She had originally wanted to be last, but thinking of the Puppet's regeneration mechanism and the flow patterns of the Wood element Origin Qi, she felt she should be the first to try. Tianxin followed behind, clutching a stack of Fire element Talismans. Situ Lan and Lin Jingyu stood guard at the tower gate, ready to go in and support them at any time.