186: Chapter 186 The Ancient Being Sealed Beneath the Tower: Only by Living Can We Be Truly Powerful!

"A cage?"

The two words were extremely soft, yet they felt like a shard of ice slamming into Lu Qingyun's ears.

He turned his head to glance at Mu Susu beside him, only to see that the girl's eyes, which had held mockery just moments ago, had completely darkened. Her pitch-black gaze was nailed firmly onto the ancient tower, hundreds of feet tall, in the distance, and she even unconsciously softened her breathing.

The next second, Mu Susu tapped her foot, her figure silently drifting forward several feet, and she tilted her head to carefully examine the mottled, ancient runes on the tower.

On the dark brown tower walls, twisted lines meandered like living creatures, emitting a faint, blood-colored halo in the dim light of the underground space.

At first glance, it seemed wild and obscure, but as Mu Susu's gaze swept over them inch by inch, those runes actually corresponded one by one with some fragments in her memory.

Spirit Suppression, Soul Sealing, Realm Locking, Source Devouring...

Each forbidden-level deep-space Seal rune was connected together, forming an incredibly complete Seal-killing array!

"Impossible... Impossible..."

Mu Susu's body swayed suddenly, her fingertips trembling uncontrollably. Her originally cold voice carried a hint of undisguised panic, "How could a Seal array of this level appear on this barren, native planet?"

"And... it's still operating!"

She subconsciously took half a step back, her face turning a few shades paler, yet she kept muttering, as if desperately trying to convince herself: "No, I must have seen it wrong. This place has been dormant for at least tens of thousands of years; even if something was truly suppressed back then, it would have been exhausted to death by now... It can't possibly still be alive."

"Right, it must have perished long ago."

She took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the chill surging in her heart, and her tense shoulder line slowly relaxed.

Her face returned to that indifferent and aloof appearance, as if the panic from that moment ago had just been an illusion.

This scene was all witnessed by Lu Qingyun not far away.

He raised an eyebrow, feeling a bit curious.

To be able to scare Mu Susu into such a state, what exactly is mysterious about this tower?

Lu Qingyun raised his eyes, his gaze slowly falling from the top of the ancient tower downwards.

When his sight touched the position where the tower base went deep into the ground, a scarlet notification from the System suddenly popped up, floating in the center of his vision—

[Target: ???]

[Rank: Unknown]

[Attribute: Unknown]

[Race: Unknown]

...

Four unknowns in a row made Lu Qingyun's eyelids twitch.

To think it was actually suppressing something!

And since there was a notification bar, it meant this thing... was alive!

"A big guy, huh..."

He rubbed his chin and turned to look at Mu Susu, who had just coaxed herself into calmness beside him.

A thought crossed his mind, and a hint of a smile flashed in his eyes.

He leaned almost against Mu Susu's ear, deliberately lowering his voice, and spoke slowly in a suppressed, deep tone:

"Hey, have you... heard any sound?"

"It's like someone is calling my name..."

Warm breath swept across her earlobe, and the hair all over Mu Susu's body instantly stood on end.

She turned her head abruptly, just in time to crash into Lu Qingyun's deep eyes, her heart sinking to the bottom with a "thud".

"What nonsense are you spouting!"

She scolded sharply, but the trembling in her voice could not be hidden, and her face turned pale at a visible speed.

Lu Qingyun seemed not to see her panic, leaning in closer, his voice even lower, his expression grave and earnest, saying as if it were true:

"I really heard it. It's intermittent, and it seems to be coming from beneath that ancient tower."

He paused, watching Mu Susu's instantly tightened jawline, and slowly delivered the final blow:

"And I always feel... that beneath this tower, there's something moving suppressed."

As his words fell, Mu Susu's face completely lost all color.

She stared fixedly at Lu Qingyun, her lips moving, but for a moment, she couldn't say a single word of rebuttal.

The trembling sensation coming from the depths of her Soul almost drowned her!

The thing suppressed underneath... is it really still alive?!

If such a life form is truly alive, then this planet... No, she cannot leave!

The star stone hasn't been obtained yet, she is just one step away...

If she were to leave now, then the planning of these past hundred years would be completely ruined!

And in all likelihood, she would... never encounter such an Opportunity again in her life.

Moreover, the existence that could set up such an array to suppress a powerful life form—its Legacy might... be even higher than she had imagined!

"Gamble on it! Wealth is sought in danger!"

Mu Susu gritted her teeth, like a gambler, going all in!

On the other side, Lu Qingyun had already straightened up, brushed off the non-existent dust on his clothes, turned around, and walked towards the main group, leaving her with a dashing back view.

His footsteps were light, and he was humming an out-of-tune little ditty, looking completely unaffected by the unknown existence under the tower.

Just kidding, what's there to panic about?

It's been pressed for tens of thousands of years; if it could have come out, it would have long ago, could it have waited until now?

If it really breaks the Seal, at worst I'll get a beating, and triggering "Final Dance" will allow me to fight back for ten minutes.

Even if I really get swatted to death, it doesn't matter. Anyway, that guy definitely hasn't seen something as weird as me. When the time comes, I'll hide in some nook and cranny, exit combat to recover health and use the Second Health Bar, and it won't be long before I'm a hero again.

A person with maxed-out survival skills is just this confident.

Of course, this move can only be used occasionally, just to bully pure newbies.

Otherwise, if I get corpse-camped...

I'm afraid the outcome won't be any better, and the best result would be being chopped into mince...

Following the circular stairs all the way down, the deeper they went, the heavier the ancient atmosphere in the air became.

The fluorescent runes on the rock walls flickered on and off, reflecting everyone's shadows growing and shrinking.

The five Dharma Aspect Realm experts walking at the very front gradually slowed their pace, finally stopping in unison right in front of the ancient tower.

Coming into view was a giant bronze door dozens of feet high.

The door body was covered in verdigris rust, and mysterious, obscure ancient patterns crisscrossed it; some places had been smoothed away by time, while others still emitted a faint glimmer.

Even though it was just an inanimate object, it exuded a heavy and profound feeling of suppressing eternity; just standing in front of the door gave people a suffocating sense of oppression.

"This is it."

The Grey-robed Elder stepped forward slowly and stood directly beneath the giant bronze door.

His face, usually as calm as an ancient well, was now full of solemnity. His withered palm gently stroked the cold bronze wall in front of the door, and his old, heavy voice spread throughout the entire underground space.

"This place is the origin of our human martial arts."

"Seven hundred years ago, an extraterrestrial meteorite fell, Vicious Beasts ran rampant, and humanity was nearly wiped out. Just at that time, someone discovered this ruin deep underground. It was from this ancient tower that our ancestors groped their way to the method of Qi and blood cultivation, taking the first step in martial arts."

He turned around, his gaze sweeping over the dozen or so Prodigies and Divine Intent experts present, his tone carrying a hint of undisguised exhaustion and earnestness:

"For seven hundred years, countless experts have entered the ancient tower one after another, attempting to explore deeper cultivation paths. But to this day, what we have been able to stably obtain from it only goes up to the Yu Kong Realm."

"As for the subsequent Divine Intent, Dharma Aspect Realm, and even higher Realms... it all depends on us, these few generations, crossing the river by feeling the stones and deducing it ourselves."

"And precisely because of this, the speed of human martial arts progress is too slow."

The Grey-robed Elder's voice sank, carrying a heavy weight:

"Now the Vicious Beast battlefield is retreating steadily, the foreign defense lines are shrinking again and again, foreign countries have perished one after another, and in the vast Blue Planet, only our Huaguo remains struggling to hold on. If this continues, within ten years, humanity will completely disappear from this planet."

"This ancient tower is our last hope."

As he spoke, he actually bowed slightly and made a deep bow to everyone present.

"I, on behalf of the Huaguo Martial Arts General Administration, implore you all."

"Do your best to reach the depths of the ancient tower."

"Bring back the subsequent cultivation path."

"Bring back humanity's future!"

As his words fell, the entire underground space was silent.

A heavy atmosphere pressed on everyone's heart. Luo Qing tightly clenched her fists, her knuckles turning white, and burning Battle Intent and a sense of mission ignited in her eyes.

The other surviving young Prodigies and Divine Intent experts also had grave expressions, their chests rising and falling slightly, and a tragic yet impassioned emotion quietly spread among the crowd.

When the nation is in crisis, every citizen has a responsibility.

Those who can stand here are all elites of human martial arts; no one is willing to watch civilization perish.

But at the very back of the team, there were two people who were completely out of place with this atmosphere.

Mu Susu lowered her eyes slightly, her pitch-black gaze nailed firmly onto the twisted patterns on the bronze door.

Her fingertips trembled uncontrollably, and her lips were pressed into a straight line.

And Lu Qingyun beside her was currently standing with his hands in his pockets, chin raised, examining the bronze door. There was not a shred of heaviness on his face; instead, a careless smile played on the corners of his mouth.

Hearing the Grey-robed Elder's impassioned plea, he even sneered in his heart.

It sounds grand and high-sounding, as if it were true.

If it were really for the future of humanity, why didn't they promote it nationwide when they discovered the ruins seven hundred years ago?

If they really cared about the common people, why did they hide it for the past few hundred years, only allowing the top elites to access it?

To put it bluntly, it's just that they couldn't figure it out after studying it for hundreds of years. Seeing the Vicious Beasts attacking and their base about to be lost, with no other choice, they finally organized the National Martial Arts Tournament to trick all the Prodigies in the world into coming in as pathfinding stones.

Moral kidnapping?

Lu Qingyun curled his lips, his heart completely calm.

Talking about the future of humanity to a Cultist like him?

What nonsense.

Let alone human survival, even if this planet exploded, what would it have to do with him, Lu Qingyun?

Anyway, he is a Transmigration, with no relatives or friends.

At worst, he'll temporarily abandon the heavenly demon stone and hug Mu Susu's fragrant, soft, white, and tender long legs; he can still live happily and freely!

As for the future of humanity?

Whoever cares can care, it's not his turn to worry about it anyway.

Thinking of this, Lu Qingyun raised his eyes and glanced at the gap at the very bottom of the bronze door, and the scarlet System notification appeared in his vision again—

[Target: ???]

[Rank: Unknown]

[Status: Alive (Dormant)]

Looking at the two words "Alive", a glint of excitement flashed in Lu Qingyun's eyes.

Good.

It's good that it's still alive.

Alive, that's what makes it exciting!