# Chapter 4069: Fifty-Four Layer Tower
After sitting down, Calamity Venerable poured himself a full cup, took a delightful sip, and squinted his eyes into slits.
"She hasn't returned. She has more important matters to attend to."
Zhang Ruochen sat steadily across from Calamity Venerable.
Calamity Venerable asked, "What about Golden Qilin Ancestor? Hasn't he returned either?"
Zhang Ruochen nodded.
Calamity Venerable grew very cautious. After confirming that Zhang Ruochen had enveloped the surrounding eighteen zhang with the Taiji Four Symbols Diagram Seal, making it difficult for anyone to overhear their conversation, he lowered his voice and asked, "At the Dragon Nest, Xiao Hei said that Wuding Divine Sea might harbor someone from the Nether Ancestor, and that person's cultivation is at least at the Half-Ancestor level. Is this true? Is the theft of the Darkness Temple related to this person?"
Zhang Ruochen appeared quite calm, saying, "What 'Xiao Hei'? He is now the Sect Leader of the Divine Fall Sect, with spiritual power approaching the level of Heavenly Circle Without Flaw. Doesn't he need face?"
"You call me 'old fellow,' and I haven't said anything," Calamity Venerable said somewhat indignantly, then lowered his voice again and asked, "I heard that at the North Marsh Great Wall, even the Nether Ancestor made a move, killing the Life Ancestor who wanted to cross the River of Time to descend into this era. Is that true or false?"
Zhang Ruochen had to lament Xiao Hei's loose tongue. In just this short time, he had already spilled everything, and had even deviated from the truth.
One could imagine how unreliable the legends of this world were.
Finding the truth behind legends was far too difficult.
Zhang Ruochen said, "The Nether Ancestor is very likely Nine Heavens."
Calamity Venerable sucked in cold air, utterly stunned. Recalling that just last month he had shared a drink with Nine Heavens, he felt a surge of palpitations.
"Everyone hides so deeply? That's right—that drunkard was a longtime friend of Corpse Nightmare. How could he have no problems? The entire God-Defying Clan was cursed to death, yet his lineage alone survived. That's far too unreasonable."
Calamity Venerable thought of something and said, "Wait. If that drunkard is the Nether Ancestor, why would he expose himself? Why would he flee? No one could threaten him."
Zhang Ruochen's eyes turned cold and sharp, his expression full of certainty. "Because at the North Marsh Great Wall, he made a move and revealed a flaw. Based on that flaw, the one in the God Realm could deduce the heavenly mechanisms and causality to find him. Do you think the Fourth Confucian Ancestor came to Wuding Divine Sea just to catch up with old friends? He came to further confirm it."
"If he didn't leave, would he wait for the gods of the God Realm and the gods of the Sword Realm to surround and attack him together? No matter how strong he is, he is not invincible. There is more than one Immortal."
Calamity Venerable truly believed Zhang Ruochen's words. Otherwise, given Zhang Ruochen's character, with such a major incident occurring, how could he be here meeting a lover in private instead of going to rescue Old Drunkard?
His heart in turmoil, Calamity Venerable no longer had any mood to drink. He muttered to himself, "Fortunately, fortunately there is still someone in this world who can contend with him, and he has already left."
"Who said he has already left?" Zhang Ruochen said.
Calamity Venerable said, "He hasn't left?"
Zhang Ruochen said, "The Nether Realm is half-destroyed. I brought it back to Wuding Divine Sea. Those Nether soldiers and Nether generals were utterly routed, scattering in all directions. The Nether Sea was divided into three parts. Baal fell. Chongming Ancestor died. The Nether Ancestor Faction suffered an unprecedented heavy blow. Where else can the Nether Ancestor go if he leaves Wuding Divine Sea?"
"I suspect he hasn't left Wuding Divine Sea at all. He has merely shifted from the open to the shadows, completely hidden."
Calamity Venerable's face turned pale. "Then aren't we in great danger? That old drunkard... Zhang Ruochen, can this Taiji Four Symbols Diagram Seal of yours block his perception? He is the Nether Ancestor, a legendary Immortal, one capable of initiating the Calamity of Extinction."
Zhang Ruochen closed his eyes and gently shook his head. "I don't know! How can one who hasn't reached that level know the abilities of cultivators at that level?"
Calamity Venerable clasped his hands together and bowed in all directions. "Nether Ancestor, sir, childish words, childish words. If this junior has offended you in any way, please forgive me."
"Childish words!"
Zhang Ruochen chuckled.
Calamity Venerable's eyes widened, and he said seriously, "Compared to the Nether Ancestor, who has lived for endless ages, aren't the two of us just two little children?"
Zhang Ruochen said, "Rest assured! The Nether Ancestor's opponents are the God Realm and the Primordial Beings. He won't bother with someone like you. Killing you would only risk exposing himself."
"That seems reasonable."
Having thought through this layer, Calamity Venerable's mood immediately relaxed, no longer as tense as before. He laughed and said, "Zhang Ruochen, it seems you have no choice. You can only survive by defecting to the God Realm."
Zhang Ruochen said, "Why should I defect to the God Realm?"
Calamity Venerable said, "Didn't you just say what you did at the North Marsh Great Wall? How could the Nether Ancestor let you off? Even if the Nether Ancestor lets you off, Corpse Nightmare won't."
"What if I insist on crossing swords with them?" Zhang Ruochen said.
Calamity Venerable said, "With what? With your current cultivation, the Ancestor can suppress you with one hand. However, I still appreciate this spirit and pride of yours. You haven't disgraced the Zhang family."
Zhang Ruochen seemed lost in thought. "What do you think of the Fourth Confucian Ancestor?"
Calamity Venerable grew serious and solemn. "He speaks very nicely, but when Kunlun Realm was in its greatest crisis, he didn't make a move. Now that Kunlun Realm has risen again, he wants to invite us to join the Eternal Heavenly Kingdom. The nicer he speaks, the more uncomfortable it feels. I heard you two have a good relationship? Like old friends at first sight?"
"Oh? What did he say?" Zhang Ruochen said.
Calamity Venerable said, "He didn't say much, just mentioned a couple of things. He said that at the North Marsh Great Wall, you fought side by side and suppressed the Nether Sea Spirit. He said it was your suggestion to hand the Nether Sea's main body over to him for suppression."
"That's not false," Zhang Ruochen said.
Calamity Venerable said, "You also had that Xiao Heizi hand over the Extinction Bell to him, asking him to bring it back to the Eternal Heavenly Kingdom for suppression. Isn't that trust in the Eternal Heavenly Kingdom? I thought you had already decided to defect to the God Realm."
"Once I forge the Seventy-Two Layer Tower, even an Ancestor won't be untouchable," Zhang Ruochen said.
Hearing this, Calamity Venerable's mind trembled. If the Zhang family could once again possess Ancestor-level combat power, both their survival ability and influence could rise to a new level.
Luo Shuihan returned to the Heavenly Human Academy and came to North Cliff. She watched Zhang Ruochen and Calamity Venerable from a distance for a while before walking over.
She was always so cold and aloof, like snow on a cold mountain.
At this moment, that coldness was even more pronounced. She said softly, "Did Imperial Dust use me?"
Zhang Ruochen put down his wine cup. "Why does Senior Sister Luo say that?"
"I handed that book, sealed with Buddhist inscriptions by Master Candeng, to the Fourth Confucian Ancestor. After he looked through it, he only said one sentence: 'Imperial Dust has put great effort into this.' I suspect you used my hand to scheme against the Confucian Ancestor."
Luo Shuihan's tone remained calm throughout, as if she were narrating something unrelated to herself.
Zhang Ruochen didn't know if the Nether Ancestor could cross the Taiji Four Symbols Diagram Seal to hear their conversation, so he couldn't explain to Luo Shuihan. He said, "The things Master Candeng uncovered involve an Ancestor, involve an Immortal. This is not something our Sword Realm can meddle in."
"Having Senior Sister hand it to the Confucian Ancestor is because the Confucian Ancestor and the God Realm behind him have the qualifications to investigate this matter. At the same time, it's also to cast the calamity away early."
Luo Shuihan clasped her hands and bowed deeply, her black hair falling. "I have twelve parts of trust in Imperial Dust. I hold Imperial Dust's character in the highest esteem. Therefore, I am willing to believe this explanation of Imperial Dust's. Imperial Dust, as one of the top-tier experts in the universe, deigned to explain to Shuihan. I am both admiring and deeply ashamed. I hope Imperial Dust can forgive my earlier rashness!"
Zhang Ruochen felt guilty but couldn't express it. He would have to apologize in the future. "After meeting the Confucian Ancestor, what choice does Senior Sister intend to make?"
"Naturally, I will stay in Kunlun Realm," Luo Shuihan said.
Zhang Ruochen said, "With Senior Sister's talent in the Confucian path, didn't the Fourth Confucian Ancestor offer generous terms?"
"The Fourth Confucian Ancestor intended to take me as his disciple, personally teaching the path of painting. I and my entire clan could go to the Eternal Heavenly Kingdom, even to the God Realm. But I refused," Luo Shuihan said.
Zhang Ruochen was puzzled. "Why?"
"As I said earlier, I have twelve parts of trust in Imperial Dust, but I don't have such trust in the Confucian Ancestor," Luo Shuihan said.
Countless emotions surged in Zhang Ruochen's heart. "What if I had answered just now that I was indeed using you?"
Luo Shuihan's eyes were as calm as a still lake. "Then you must have had a reason to do so. Because this person didn't necessarily have to be me. Imperial Dust, Luo Shuihan and the Luo clan will always stand by your side."
...
Sword Realm, Divine Fall Sect.
The eighteen-layer Sword Pavilion, the eighteen-layer Nether Prison, and the eighteen-layer Ghost Gate Pass had all been forged and completed, transforming into a majestic divine tower fifty-four layers high, towering in the space-time mist.
Around this fifty-four-layer tower, countless profound divine formations had been arranged.
Zhang Ruochen and Nalan Danqing appeared outside the space-time mist.
Xiao Hei was ahead, activating the formations one by one.
He asked, "Zhang Ruochen, that book you had Luo Shuihan bring to the Fourth Confucian Ancestor—what exactly is it? Why didn't you let this Sect Leader bring it along?"
"Things you shouldn't ask, don't ask," Zhang Ruochen said.
Xiao Hei was very exasperated. "Can't even ask? You're not really suspecting that this Sect Leader is a cultivator of the Nether Ancestor Faction, are you? Come on, how many years of friendship have we had? Can't we be open with each other?"
"Do you really want to know?" Zhang Ruochen said.
Xiao Hei opened the last formation. "You know me. This Sect Leader can change all other bad habits, but this curiosity—I just can't change it!"
Zhang Ruochen said, "Not telling you is for fear of harming you. Curiosity can sometimes kill."
"Don't worry. When it comes to matters of life and death, this Sect Leader knows how to keep things straight."
Xiao Hei's eyes darted around. He pulled Zhang Ruochen toward the fifty-four-layer tower. "Let's go inside! In there, even an Ancestor can't eavesdrop on our conversation."
The three entered the tower and closed the tower door.
This first layer was once the first layer of the Sword Pavilion.
Zhang Ruochen released his spiritual power to examine every inch of the structure here, especially the deep-level patterns of the tower body. He couldn't help but marvel repeatedly.
Even with just fifty-four layers, the entire structure of the Sword Pavilion's first layer had undergone earth-shattering changes.
It was like withered wood sprouting new branches, rough stone transforming into uncut jade. The Ancestor inscriptions left by the Sword Ancestor and the Space-Time Human Ancestor had actually revived, becoming active.
The reason was that the current fifty-four-layer tower was continuously absorbing the energy of heaven and earth, absorbing the divine veins underground. It was as if it had a life of its own, constantly growing.
One could imagine that if the seventy-two layers were truly completed, its absorption of heaven and earth's energy would be even faster.
The Ancestor inscriptions left in the tower by the Space-Time Human Ancestor, the Nether Ancestor, the Sword Ancestor, the Heavenly Demon, and the Immovable Bright King Great Venerable might, under the nourishment of heaven and earth's energy, recover to their peak power state.
Thinking of this, Zhang Ruochen instead grew hesitant.
Could it be that, in the unseen, there was itself a force pushing him to forge the seventy-two-layer tower?
Once the seventy-two-layer tower was completed, and if Zhang Ruochen lacked the strength to guard it, allowing it to fall into the hands of some Immortal, the existing balance of power would immediately be broken.
At that time, the Immortal would no longer need Zhang Ruochen. With the seventy-two-layer tower, they could strike down their mortal enemies, initiate the Calamity of Extinction, absorb the souls and power of the entire universe to strengthen themselves, and resist the Calamity of Quantities.
Whether the seventy-two-layer tower fell into the hands of the Nether Ancestor or the Immortal behind the God Realm, the final outcome would most likely be the same.
Everyone would die, becoming nourishment, with only that one person surviving.
Xiao Hei asked, "How is it? This Sect Leader didn't deceive you, did he? The current fifty-four-layer tower can absolutely block all heavenly mechanisms and causality. Even an Ancestor can't deduce it."
Nalan Danqing said, "What if the Ancestor is inside the tower?"
Xiao Hei couldn't guarantee it anymore. "This... this can't go on! Is it necessary to be so paranoid?"
"Rest assured. Whether there is an Ancestor inside the fifty-four-layer tower, I can still judge. At the very least, I can use the method of elimination," Zhang Ruochen said.
Xiao Hei said happily, "Does that mean you've never suspected this Sect Leader? That act in the Bright Moon Dust Heart Hall was entirely for the sake of the hidden observer?"
Zhang Ruochen said, "Don't you want to know what was in that book? I can tell you."
After listening to Zhang Ruochen's account.
Xiao Hei's mood was hard to calm for a long time. He said, "Your approach was correct. This matter is indeed something the Sword Realm can't touch. Anyway, this Sect Leader absolutely doesn't want to know who the Immortal is. Let the God Realm investigate—they'll definitely be interested. But are we really not going to take any action?"
"What if that painting is really found? The Immortal related to that painting would definitely kill to silence us," Zhang Ruochen said.
Xiao Hei nodded like a chick pecking at rice. "I just have a loose tongue. Why did I ask about this? It's all Candeng's fault. Why did he have to investigate this of all things?"
"Master Candeng believes that painting is very likely related to the Nether Ancestor and is probably hidden in Kongming Ruins. He has already rushed over," Zhang Ruochen said.
Xiao Hei was even more shocked. "Kongming Ruins has also emerged?"
"Shh! Very few people in the entire Xuan Yuan family know about this. That Xuanyuan Lian told me is a great sign of trust. Telling you this secret is already a great disservice to her. But with our friendship, there's nothing to hide. We can fully trust each other," Zhang Ruochen said.
Xiao Hei assured him, "Naturally! After I took the position of Sect Leader, I've become much more steady. My lips are tightly sealed. Hey, is the Talented Woman also going into seclusion in the tower?"
Zhang Ruochen said, "You're meddling too much. I invited the Talented Woman into the tower to discuss poetry, painting, and music."
Xiao Hei immediately understood. Luo Ji, Mu Lingxi, Ling Feiyu, and the other women had all gone to the Jade Desolate Realm. And Wu Yue, Ji Fanxin, and Bai Qinger were not trustworthy. Faced with the cultured, gentle, and elegant Shengshu Cainü, how could Zhang Ruochen resist?
The two had harbored feelings for each other for who knows how many years. It was only Chi Yao who had always stood between them, preventing it from happening.
And since Chi Yao wasn't around, wouldn't it be like dry wood meeting a raging flame?
Xiao Hei opened the tower door and retreated out. Before closing the door, he hesitated for a long time before saying, "Take care of your body. I heard from the Confucian Ancestor that you're badly injured."
The tower door closed.
Silence returned to the tower.
Nalan Danqing was at a loss whether to laugh or cry. Now, even if she wanted to explain, she probably wouldn't be believed.
Letting Calamity Venerable and Xiao Hei wildly speculate, one could imagine that soon, the entire Sword Realm would know that she, Nalan Danqing, had become Imperial Dust's secret lover.
But she didn't voice her concern. Perhaps Imperial Dust himself wanted this effect, to cover up the truth.
Nalan Danqing said, "Wouldn't this be like 'three hundred taels of silver buried here'? Bringing me into the fifty-four-layer tower will definitely make someone notice the inconsistency."
"So what if they notice? Does Danqing think we can keep it hidden forever?"
Zhang Ruochen continued, "The Immortal hasn't suspected you only because they haven't taken you seriously. Once they get serious and lock onto you, it's only a matter of time. So keeping you by my side for protection is the only way I can truly rest easy."
"What about Sect Leader Xiao? I feel he's not someone who can keep a secret."
Nalan Danqing furrowed her delicate brows, quite worried.
"What's the point of telling someone who can keep a secret?"
Zhang Ruochen looked around the first layer of the Sword Pavilion, his heart extremely heavy.
His current situation was far too difficult. He couldn't even tell the truth to those closest to him.
He had to break through to the Half-Ancestor realm as soon as possible, to perfect the Minor Cycle.
A perfected Minor Cycle meant having one's own perfect minor world. Zhang Ruochen would then have ten out of ten confidence that, within a certain range, no one could eavesdrop on his conversations with others, truly isolating all heavenly mechanisms and causality.
Even within one realm, Zhang Ruochen could contend with Ancestors and Immortals in heavenly deduction, not being completely helpless.
At that time, if an Immortal still wanted to hide by his side, it wouldn't be so easy.
However, since Zhang Ruochen could think of this, the Immortal could certainly think of it too. Just as Zhang Ruochen had long anticipated, the moment he stepped into the Half-Ancestor realm would definitely be the time the Immortal set their plan in motion.
Therefore, before breaking through to Half-Ancestor, Zhang Ruochen still had many things to do.
This was his only remaining chance to lay out his strategy.
(End of Chapter)