Becoming an immortal against the will of heaven

The third floor, like the second, was a stone chamber, though slightly smaller.

However, despite the smaller space, the level of detail was a step above the second floor.

The walls of the third floor were not only polished to a smooth finish but also adorned with vibrant and intricate murals.

These murals depicted a variety of scenes, from bustling marketplaces in the mortal realm to groups of fellow disciples in the cultivation world studying the Immortal Dao. Several murals depicted the brutal acts of demonic cultivators slaughtering mortals and using their flesh and souls to refine artifacts.

However, Chen Tian was in no mood to admire the murals. His gaze was fixed on the center of the stone chamber, his face etched with frustration.

In the very center of the chamber, three wooden shelves stood neatly arranged. They were originally intended for displaying items, but now they were completely empty!

Clearly, the items on them had already been taken.

Seeing this, Chen Tian felt a wave of disappointment, followed by endless frustration. He asked, annoyed, "Senior, didn't you say for sure that no one had been here? What do you say now?"

Duan Muya also appeared somewhat shocked. Hearing Chen Tian's question, he stammered, "Little brat, well… it's possible that nothing was ever placed on them to begin with. The builder might have deliberately used these empty shelves to trick you."

"Is that so?" Hearing Duan Muya's forced explanation, Chen Tian sneered and walked to one of the shelves.

After carefully examining it, Chen Tian found a line of small characters on the shelf's pillar: "The treasure on this shelf greatly pleases me. From this day forward, it belongs to Tu! I shall not venture to the fourth floor!"

The inscription clearly told Chen Tian that a treasure had originally been placed on this shelf, but it had been taken away by a cultivator named Tu.

"This…"

Duan Muya, of course, saw the inscription as well, and beads of cold sweat trickled down his forehead.

Chen Tian moved lightly to the next shelf and, after a brief search, discovered another line of small characters: "With the help of heaven, I have unexpectedly obtained a treasure here, fulfilling my wish. I will no longer covet the items on the fourth floor, leaving them for those who come later!"

"Uh…"

Duan Muya was speechless.

Chen Tian ignored him for the moment and walked to the third and final shelf.

This time, Chen Tian didn't even need to search. On the shelf's surface, it was written in extremely conspicuous characters: "At a time when my Xuanqing Sect faces great calamity, we borrow a treasure from this esteemed place for temporary use. If we successfully resolve this crisis, the entire Xuanqing Sect will offer this treasure as our sect's treasure, worshiping it daily with sincerity and reverence! As for the fourth floor, my cultivation at the Great Perfection of the凝海 (Ninghai) Realm is still too weak. If I were to force my way through, I fear for my life. I am aware of my own limitations and shall retreat from here! I leave these simple words as a reminder to those who come later!"

"Hmm, the Xuanqing Sect?"

After reading the third message, a hint of surprise appeared on Chen Tian's otherwise calm face.

He hadn't expected that the Xuanqing Sect had been here and taken a treasure from this shelf.

Speaking of which, Chen Tian had quite a connection with the Xuanqing Sect. First, he had encountered Ye Tianjian, a Xuanqing Sect disciple, being chased at Yuxiu Waterfall; later, he had encountered Long Zaitian and Lu Yonghao, master and disciple, in the Western Mi Mountains. Because of Qin Yi, Chen Tian had killed them.

Considering this, Chen Tian had done both a good deed and a bad deed to the Xuanqing Sect.

Even Chen Tian himself wasn't sure how he felt about the Xuanqing Sect.

After a wry smile, Chen Tian stopped thinking about it and said to Duan Muya, "Senior, do you have anything to say now?"

After reading the three messages, Chen Tian knew that these shelves had originally held treasures, but they had all been taken.

Among them were someone from the Xuanqing Sect, a cultivator named Tu, and finally, someone who didn't leave a name.

However, it was clear that all three were people of considerable strength.

Duan Muya had, of course, seen the three messages as well. At this point, he said helplessly, "Damn it, back then, I was chased to the point of having my physical body destroyed because of this bone tower, but I never expected it to be an empty tower! This is… this is… infuriating!"

After confirming that all the treasures here had been taken, Duan Muya couldn't help but feel a surge of sorrow and began to curse the three treasure takers.

The curses were so vile and despicable that it was unbearable to listen to.

Chen Tian, of course, ignored him and frowned, thinking to himself.

Although the three messages were written by different people with completely different personalities, without exception, all three mentioned the words 'fourth floor'!

Thinking of this, Chen Tian's eyes flickered, and he looked towards the southeast corner of the stone chamber's ceiling. Sure enough, he found a square hole there, presumably the entrance to the fourth floor.

Just as Chen Tian was pondering, a stream of light suddenly flew over from afar outside the bone tower.

After the light dissipated, a young man in luxurious clothes with an extremely妖异 (yaoyi - enchanting/bewitching) face stood in front of the bone tower.

If Chen Tian were to see this person, he would be greatly shocked, because he was none other than the妖王 (yaowang - demon king) from the Western Mi Mountains… Long Yinglie!

After Long Yinglie glanced at the bone tower, a charming smile appeared on his lips. He then took out a dilapidated and incomplete jade slip, gently blew on it, and the jade slip suddenly shattered, scattering a cloud of spiritual light that enveloped Long Yinglie.

Under the protection of this spiritual light, Long Yinglie stepped into the bone tower without any obstruction.

But that wasn't the end of it. Just as Long Yinglie had entered the bone tower, a stream of black light suddenly flew over from the west side of the bone tower.

And this person's goal was clearly also for the bone tower!