686: Chapter 97 Entering the Demon-Locking Tower

"Then we will trouble Brother Meng."

Now that the matter had reached this point, Xu Changqing naturally stopped hesitating.

Meng Li waved his hand: "No trouble at all. You all find a way to open the tower."

As soon as his voice fell, Hong Kui and Lan Kui spoke in unison: "We'll go too."

Saying that, they exchanged a glance.

Immediately after, Hong Kui said: "We stayed in the Lock Demon Tower before and know the situation inside. We can be of help."

"Fine." Meng Li readily agreed.

Seeing this, Tang Xuejian said to Jing Tian: "Stinky Tofu, let's go together."

Jing Tian rolled his eyes: "Why are you butting in? This isn't watching a show or eating a meal. Elder Brother Meng has powerful magic and can slay demons. My sister is familiar with the situation and can offer some help. What are we going for if we can't help?"

"If Elder Brother Meng fights that Heavenly Demon Emperor, the commotion will be just like when that Red-Haired Demon was fighting."

"My sister can attach herself to Elder Brother Meng and be safe."

"But I can't. I won't be able to withstand the residual shockwaves of the battle."

"At that time, not only will we be unable to help, but Elder Brother Meng will have to be distracted taking care of us."

"Wouldn't that just cause trouble?"

Tang Xuejian's expression froze, and she gave a dry laugh: "I guess so."

Afterward, she apologized to Meng Li, Hong Kui, and Lan Kui: "Then we won't go. We wish you a smooth journey."

Xu Maoshan followed up: "Grandmaster Meng, Hong Kui, and Lan Kui, go early and return early. We will wait for you to come back for dinner."

"Ahem." Hearing Xu Maoshan's words, Xu Changqing coughed lightly and spoke up: "For Brother Meng and the others to enter the tower without affecting the Seal, they must wait for a specific time."

Saying that, he calculated with his fingers: "The next suitable time is in the afternoon."

"So, there's no rush."

"It's just enough time for us to make some preparations."

...

In the afternoon, the appointed time to enter the tower arrived.

Meng Li held Hong Kui's left hand and Lan Kui's right hand. Aided by the spell cast by Xu Changqing and Chang Yin to send them off, they entered the Lock Demon Tower under the watchful eyes of Jing Tian, Tang Xuejian, and Zixuan.

To save time, they flew to the sky and entered from the top of the tower.

Excluding the top section, the Lock Demon Tower had a total of ten floors.

By normal logic, the bottom was the first floor, but Meng Li, Hong Kui, and Lan Kui found themselves on the tenth floor as soon as they entered.

After entering, Meng Li looked around and noticed that the surrounding walls, high platforms, and other structures were all cast from stone.

Combined with the dim and gloomy atmosphere, this place resembled a tomb more than a tower.

Subsequently, Meng Li's attention was drawn to a high platform not far away.

On that platform were several iron chains engraved with runes. One end was embedded in the surrounding walls, and the other was connected to a mechanism on the platform, but the chains themselves were broken, lying loosely on the platform. Judging by the marks, these chains must have previously bound some entity located in the center of the platform.

Meng Li walked over to take a look and saw a sword mark in the center of the platform, as if a sword had once been inserted there.

The insertion point felt vaguely familiar to him. After a brief thought, he remembered—the Demon Sword!

Thus, the situation was self-evident.

"Was this where you two stayed before?" Meng Li asked Hong Kui and Lan Kui.

"That's right," Hong Kui replied.

Lan Kui nodded.

Meng Li sensed the area slightly and asked doubtfully: "There don't seem to be any demons on this floor."

"Because this is the top floor," Hong Kui answered simply, then explained: "The Lock Demon Tower has ten floors in total. The interior forms its own space, but generally, it mirrors the outside view, with the size gradually decreasing from bottom to top."

"This is the top, the space is the smallest, so naturally, there are fewer demons."

"Initially, there were many other demons here."

"But after I was born, in order to protect Lan Kui, I shot and killed quite a few over several hundred years."

"Hong Kui is amazing!"

Meng Li took the opportunity to offer praise, kissing Hong Kui on the cheek, which made her roll her eyes, while Lan Kui beside her smiled faintly.

Then, Hong Kui continued: "Later, when Chonglou destroyed the Lock Demon Tower and took the Demon Sword, quite a few demons here took the chance to escape. Not much time has passed since that event, so it's normal that there aren't many demons here."

"However, it shouldn't be zero."

"Perhaps they all ran downstairs to try and impact the Seal. This place suffered damage, so the people of Shushan must have heavily reinforced the Seal here to prevent the demons inside from escaping. As a result, the Seal at the bottom might appear weaker," Lan Kui proposed a possibility.

"That makes sense. Lan Kui is so smart!"

Meng Li seized the chance to praise her, pecking Lan Kui on the cheek.

"Elder Brother Meng..." Lan Kui said with a hint of coquettish complaint.

"Alright, now the water is poured evenly. Let's go," Hong Kui exposed Meng Li's intention in one sentence and walked toward the passage leading to the next floor.

Meng Li didn't mind, letting her pull him forward while holding Lan Kui's hand with his other hand.

Perhaps due to the need to arrange the Seal, or perhaps to better trap the demons inside the tower, the interior of the tower looked simple but was quite complex when walked through, with many twists and turns. Even with Hong Kui leading the way, the three of them took quite a winding path before descending from the tenth floor to the ninth.

And the ninth floor was not as empty as the tenth.

As soon as the three stepped into the range of that floor, some demons sensed them and lunged over.

The first to attack were several Yin Spirits with human faces, snake bodies, and forms resembling grayish-white mist.

"Newcomers from above?"

"Let me have a taste and see what they're like."

"Huh, that's not right, this is..."

"The girl sealed inside the Demon Sword?"

Regarding these lunging Yin Spirits, Hong Kui's pupils glowed with red light, and a breath shot out from her red lips.

Instantly, a mass of crimson flames surged out from between her lips...