As they walked, the silhouette of a black stone tower gradually came into view.
The tower was windowless, its body entwined with countless chains inscribed with runes and images of various demons and evil gods.
Su Ling'er stared at it.
'So this is... the Demon-Locking Tower? The place where this demonic sect imprisons demon beasts?'
Lin Qingfeng, on the other hand, was quite relaxed. "Junior Sister, this is the Demon-Locking Tower, where our sect's disciples go to temper themselves. Once you enter, the power of the demonic creatures on each floor increases exponentially as you ascend."
"It's just a pity that the beasts in the tower can only survive inside; they dissipate the moment they leave. Otherwise, the folks from the Beast Taming House and the Spirit Beast Garden would probably be trying to figure out how to smuggle demon beasts out of here to use as manual labor day in and day out."
Hearing the words "manual labor," she once again thought of Mr. Qian, who had been refined into a puppet.
'He can't even find peace in death. He's bound to serve this demonic sect for all eternity.'
She couldn't help but ask in a low voice, "Senior Brother, these demon beasts... they're killed over and over again, their souls never able to rest. Isn't there... any concept of salvation for them?"
Lin Qingfeng was taken aback for a moment, then burst out laughing.
"Salvation? Junior Sister, you've hit the nail on the head! Of course there's salvation! Killing them is the greatest salvation we can give them!"
"Think about it. They're trapped in this tower, day in and day out. Isn't that painful? We go in and send them on their way, liberating them from their suffering. Then they can... uh, respawn, all clean and free of sickness or disaster."
"What do you call that? That's called 'merit'! We're accumulating merit here!"
Su Ling'er was stunned.
'Salvation?! Merit?! Did I hear that right?'
'Killing demon beasts only for them to revive, then killing them again, trapping them in an eternal cycle without release—you call that salvation?! Treating the torment of others' souls as your own merit?!'
Demon beasts and spirit beasts, used as manual labor in life and "optimized" after death.
And Mr. Qian, granted no peace even after death, was still being used as manual labor by this demonic sect.
If the demon beasts in this Demon-Locking Tower weren't confined to it, their fate would likely be more tragic than death.
No, wait, it seemed even worse than that. These creatures were trapped in an endless cycle of reincarnation.
Their souls were imprisoned within the tower, existing solely for disciples to cultivate and slay...
The slaying of demon beasts was a common practice in the Cultivation Realm, so there wasn't much to criticize there.
But to be perpetually imprisoned in a tower, endlessly reincarnating, endlessly being killed by others, never to find release...
Their entire purpose was to become resources for others, a form of sustainable yet exhaustive harvesting...
Sigh...
An indescribable feeling welled up in Su Ling'er's heart, and all she could do was let out a sigh.
'But Senior Brother brought me here... he doesn't expect me to fight these demon beasts, does he?'
'What level of strength should I reveal? Although I got that "True Understanding of Ten Thousand Transformations Returning to the Origin," I haven't had time to cultivate it yet.'
'Should I just show the skill level of... a mortal Martial Artist?'
'He isn't planning on using this Demon-Locking Tower to probe my true abilities, is he?!'
As countless thoughts raced through Su Ling'er's mind, the two of them drew closer to the distant tower.
A crowd of disciples had gathered in front of the tower. It wasn't the grim and silent place she had imagined, but rather noisy.
"I'm stuck on the 48th floor today, just can't get past it!"
"Don't even mention it. I was grinding the Demon Ape on the 16th floor, and the drop rate is just way too low, right? My RNG is trash today. I ran it several times and didn't even see a single monkey hair!"
"Tell me about it! I've been stuck on the 25th floor forever, just trying to farm a full set of Fire Rhinoceros Armor!"
Hearing their conversation, Su Ling'er was completely baffled.
'Are they talking about getting materials from demon beasts? But didn't Senior Brother say the beasts dissipate when they leave the tower? So how can the materials that drop from them be safely brought outside?'
Just then, a few of the chatting disciples noticed them.
"Yo, Senior Brother is here! And Little Junior Sister is here too! You here to try your luck in the tower, Junior Sister?"
Feeling uncomfortable under their unabashed stares, Su Ling'er just lowered her head and mumbled an "Mm."
"Here we go. After this tour, all that's left is the Asking Dao Ladder and the Sword Mound."
"Oh, right! The Asking Dao Ladder! That one basically tests stats like Willpower and Dao Heart, so it's not limited by one's cultivation aptitude."
"Even if Junior Sister's... aptitude is a bit... you know... she might still gain something at the Asking Dao Ladder. It's a shame you only get a reward for the highest step you reach. There's nothing for climbing it again."
The junior sister looked at them, a little confused.
'What do you mean my aptitude is a bit... you know? Spell it out!'
'Okay, fine, my aptitude *is* a bit... you know.'
'This is so depressing. I want to cry.'
'And what are Willpower and Dao Heart stats? Is it a test of will and one's heart for the Dao?'
'The Asking Dao Ladder... What would this evil sect's Asking Dao Ladder be like... and what are the rewards...?'
After greeting them, Lin Qingfeng led Su Ling'er into the Demon-Locking Tower.
The hall on the first floor seemed somewhat empty, with an ancient stone table in the center.
Seated behind the table was the figure who had left such a deep impression on Su Ling'er—Qian Buyu.
He still wore that same deadpan expression, his eyes vacant.
Lin Qingfeng went forward to speak with Mr. Qian, while Su Ling'er, standing behind him, looked at the elder with an unconscious flicker of pity in her eyes.
'Sigh, what's the difference between this Mr. Qian and the demon beasts in the tower?'
'Forced into endless servitude for this demonic sect even after death, squeezed for every last drop of usefulness, wondering when he'll ever find true rest...'
Mr. Qian waved a hand, and Lin Qingfeng turned to Su Ling'er. "Junior Sister, to enter the tower for the trial, you must first register here."
On a nearby jade wall, as smooth as a mirror, two names materialized following Mr. Qian's gesture.
Then, Mr. Qian expressionlessly took out two palm-sized black tokens. Lin Qingfeng accepted them and tossed one to Su Ling'er.
"Junior Sister, take this. It's a Trial Order. It will record your achievements in the tower, and your rewards will be distributed based on it when you leave."
A stir of excitement went through Su Ling'er's heart.
She thought of the "True Understanding of Ten Thousand Transformations Returning to the Origin" she had obtained in the cultivation cave, and a small spark of anticipation ignited within her.
'The rewards here... they shouldn't be too bad, right?'
The two of them crossed the hall and arrived before a deep, dark gateway.
This door was somewhat similar to the one at the sect entrance; the space within was pitch black, as if leading to an endless abyss. You couldn't see anything inside no matter how wide you opened your eyes.
'Could it be like the main gate, where a whole new world lies beyond?'
As the two stepped through, darkness instantly swallowed them.
The scenery before them shifted, and in the next moment, the hall vanished. They found themselves on a plain of rubble, with only the sound of wind whistling through the cracks in the stones.
This was the [Demon-Locking Tower - First Floor]
The junior sister's heart trembled. Although she had witnessed such a marvel at the sect's main gate, it still shocked her inexperienced mind.
'It's true! It's just like the main gate—a single door separates two different worlds!'
She glanced at the Sorrow Flower clutched tightly in her hand, then at the Wooden Sword her senior brother had given her, and turned to ask:
"Senior Brother, I... how am I supposed to fight?"
'Seriously, Senior Brother, you can't really expect me to hug this life-bound plant and go fight a demon beast up close with this fire poker, can you?'
'Can this thing even kill anything? Senior Brother, give me a proper weapon!'
Lin Qingfeng glanced at the flower in her hand and immediately understood.
"Is Junior Sister worried about the Sorrow Flower getting hurt? You seem to care about it a lot. It's fine, I'll hold the flower for you. You just take the Wooden Sword and go fight. If anything happens, I'll naturally intervene."
Su Ling'er instinctively wanted to hug the Sorrow Flower tighter, but her senior brother had already taken it from her.
Her hand froze in mid-air for a moment before finally dropping limply to her side.
'Wait, can you really take good care of it?!'
'Don't you break one of its branches by accident! Will my arm fall off along with it? You'd better be careful, Senior Brother!'
Looking at the Wooden Sword in her hand, she was even more speechless.
'This is all I get? Can this thing really be used to fight a demon beast?'
'Even the outer disciples of my Qingxu Temple don't use swords made of ordinary wood like this to deal with the lowest-level demon beasts!'
'This thing would probably break just from hitting a rock!'
"Go on, Junior Sister. Let me see your resolve," Lin Qingfeng's voice came from behind her.
Su Ling'er froze.
'Wait, my resolve is to get myself killed with this wooden stick, is that it?!'
As if fearing she lacked the courage, Lin Qingfeng gave her a gentle push from behind. Su Ling'er stumbled forward, officially stepping into the trial area.
She was about to turn back when she heard a WHOOSH!
A shadow shot out from an unknown location, heading straight for her face!
...
「The Real World」
「News Archive」
In response to persistent player complaints, Tianyuan Interactive Entertainment, the subsidiary of Ashen Heaven Group directly responsible for the operation of "Ashen Heaven," issued an official announcement.
The announcement acknowledged the issues of NPC model reuse and certain behavioral anomalies but did not provide a concrete timeline for a fix. It stated: "The relevant issues stem from certain core principles in the underlying architecture of the Mind-Sync Engine. To ensure the system's long-term stability and data integrity, any adjustments must undergo extremely cautious evaluation. We are currently exploring solutions."
This non-committal response failed to placate the players' anger. Instead, the rumors that "Ashen Heaven can't fix its bugs" began to run rampant.