#496 - Chapter 496: Small Tower, a Big Mountain

"Brother Niu, don't rush to dig. This stone wall is strange. If we move it carelessly, it might trigger a great terror!" Xu Yang said solemnly.

Hearing this, the Bull Demon King, who had been full of confidence and stepped forward, actually retreated directly, not mentioning digging the stone wall at all.

"Let's see if we can record it first."

Xu Yang found a piece of fine monster beast fur and a pen with extraordinary material from his storage ring, took them out, and then began to trace the tadpole-like characters on the wall.

However, after exhausting his mind and finally managing to record the first character on the fur, he was surprised to find that the character on the fur could not be connected with the character on the stone wall at all.

Although the strokes were the same, they were two completely different characters.

"This method doesn't seem to work, Brother Xu," the Bull Demon King said, scratching his head.

"These characters are very strange, possessing extraordinary essence, and cannot be traced at all!" Taoist Ping Tian said from the side.

"I am now convinced that these characters must record a major event, involving ancient secrets.

If we can uncover it, maybe we can lift a corner of the current Heavenly Dao and peek into the true situation of this world!"

Xu Yang shook his head, "After going to the Upper Realm, everything is unknown, so let's think of a way to record these characters."

"Okay, then let's think of a way."

The Bull Demon King patted his head, meaning—dead brain, hurry up and think!

But obviously, this method was useless, because stupid is stupid, and that's an unchangeable fact.

Taoist Ping Tian silently tried some methods, but he couldn't replicate the characters on the stone wall.

Ji Daoxuan tried to use mental resonance, but also failed.

Seeing that ordinary methods didn't work, Xu Yang thought of the small tower and the Eastern Emperor Bell in the system space.

These two treasures had very ancient origins and were the most precious treasures in the world, so maybe they could completely replicate these characters.

Because everyone present was his own, Xu Yang was not afraid of exposing the small tower.

He took the small tower out of the system space, and without even communicating with his divine sense, the small tower autonomously bloomed with a glow, covering the stone wall.

Runes flickered, and the power of rules spread. In an instant, the characters on the stone wall disappeared.

Looking again, those tadpole-like characters were all rooted on the small tower.

"Brother Xu, what is this treasure? How can it transfer these characters to its body?" the Bull Demon King asked, his eyes shining.

"Heavenly Desolate Pagoda!" Xu Yang said concisely.

He was also a little surprised.

If he had known it was so simple, he wouldn't have wasted so much effort just now, and just taken out the small tower.

However, these characters seemed to be born on the small tower, not at all out of place, and their temperament was perfectly integrated, which made him suspect that these characters were originally of the same origin as the small tower.

"What? It's actually the Heavenly Desolate Pagoda!" The Bull Demon King opened his mouth wide, full of shock, feeling like his eyes were about to pop out.

"This… This is the Human Race's number one treasure—the Heavenly Desolate Pagoda—recorded in ancient books, which has disappeared for who knows how many years! ! !" Taoist Ping Tian was also not calm, and even his voice sounded a little stuttering.

Ji Daoxuan was not too surprised, because he was already used to it.

After all, his sworn brother even had the Qilin Undying Medicine, so having the Heavenly Desolate Pagoda seemed normal.

"Yes, it's the one you think it is," Xu Yang said.

"Brother Xu, no, Big Brother, do you really not need a mount?" The Bull Demon King suddenly bent down, hugged Xu Yang's thigh, and looked up with a sincere face.

"Fellow Daoist Xu, cough cough, why don't you take me under your command too!" Taoist Ping Tian no longer pretended to be reserved.

He felt that if he was only a fellow Daoist with Xu Yang, it would be too distant, so it would be better to directly join Xu Yang's command.

"A gentleman's friendship is as light as water, what are you doing?" Xu Yang looked at the Bull Demon King with a wry smile, and then looked at Taoist Ping Tian, saying:

"I treat you as brothers and friends, don't make things difficult for me!"

The Bull Demon King smiled honestly, got up from the ground, and said:

"Brother Xu, you possess a heavy treasure, but you let us know.

Although you can rest assured of me, Old Niu, I, Old Niu, am a little worried about myself.

After all, I, Old Niu, am weak.

What if I am caught by others in the Upper Realm? Wouldn't that reveal your secrets?"

Taoist Ping Tian nodded slightly and said, "I think so too."

"We are going to the Upper Realm to stick together and keep warm, and we won't give you a chance to be alone, so it is impossible to be caught by others," Xu Yang comforted, and said:

"Let's go, the characters on this stone wall have been recorded on the tower body of the small tower, let's continue to walk forward!"

Hearing Xu Yang's words, a warm feeling welled up in the hearts of the Bull Demon King and Taoist Ping Tian.

They all made up their minds that if they really fell into a desperate situation in the future, they would never betray Xu Yang, but would rather kill themselves on the spot before being caught by others, in order to keep the secret.

The group continued to hurry forward.

About a day later.

They finally encountered an attack.

"Screech!"

A sharp cry, accompanied by a miserable yin wind, came from all directions in the darkness, quickly engulfing Xu Yang and others.

This was an indigenous creature, its species unknown, proficient in the way of the strange, sharing the same path as demonic cultivators.

Ordinary cultivators, encountering such creatures, if they fought at the same level, would most likely die on the spot.

At this time.

A rough, black-haired palm, from the depths of the darkness, carried a ten-thousand-zhang yin energy, continuously wanting to corrode Xu Yang and others directly through the yin energy.

"What the hell is this thing, daring to show off in front of your Bull Grandpa, take a punch from your Bull Grandpa!"

The Bull Demon King felt that this little thing that came to attack was not strong, and there was no need for Xu Yang to take action.

Why use a butcher's knife to kill a chicken?

He should be able to take care of the other party with a few punches.

And the fact was indeed so.

Don't look at the Bull Demon King's ordinary cultivation, but that also depends on who he is compared to.

Compared with other geniuses in the Lower Realm, the Bull Demon King's talent is much better, so it is still very easy to take down this indigenous creature in front of him.

A few punches went down, bursting out with endless power, and the indigenous creature died, with smelly black blood spurting out and spilling around.

Regarding this, Xu Yang had expected it, forming a golden protective shield above his head, isolating the smelly black blood from the outside.

"How is it, Old Taoist Niu, is your Bull Grandpa's… cough cough, am I, Old Niu, strong?" The Bull Demon King showed off to Taoist Ping Tian triumphantly.

Taoist Ping Tian glanced at him, forcefully resisting the urge to take out his whisk and slap his fat face, disliking him, and said:

"Just so-so!"

The Bull Demon King was immediately displeased: "Ordinary? Kill one for this old ox to see, let this old ox witness your extraordinary skills!"

Daoist Ping Tian said blandly: "There will be opportunities."

Words fall apart when they don't align. After Daoist Ping Tian finished speaking, the Bull Demon King's face completely darkened. He decided to ignore Daoist Ping Tian and prepared to mock him at any moment.

Next, the group continued on their journey.

Along the way,

they encountered many attacks.

All of these attacks were resolved by the Bull Demon King and Daoist Ping Tian. The ox and the man were secretly competing. If you killed one attacking creature, I would kill two. In any case, I had to outdo you.

And so,

Xu Yang and Ji Daoxuan remained clean and spotless, as if they were sightseeing. In contrast, the Bull Demon King and Daoist Ping Tian looked a bit disheveled. Both were stained with blood, and their clothes were torn. However, their eyes were filled with intense fighting spirit, and they continued to compete!

At this moment, whoever retreated first would lose!

However, in the next instant,

a cold wind swept in, chilling people to the bone. A terrifying aura enveloped the surroundings, and unparalleled pressure descended.

The Bull Demon King's expression changed, and he took a step back, hurriedly protecting Daoist Ping Tian, saying:

"Old Daoist, you handle this one!"

Daoist Ping Tian naturally sensed that the opponent was a tough nut to crack, one he couldn't easily defeat. He immediately said:

"Dead ox, you should do it. This Daoist believes you are more capable!"

"Roar!"

A furious roar echoed, shaking the entire passage, containing extraordinary power that made everyone's eardrums rumble.

"Alright, you all step back. Let me handle this ferocious beast!" Ji Daoxuan stepped forward and said to the two.

Because this ferocious beast's cultivation was already close to the Human Immortal Realm, it was not something the Tribulation Transcending Realm Bull Demon King and Daoist Ping Tian could deal with.

"Okay!"

The Bull Demon King and Daoist Ping Tian nodded in unison.

"Kill!"

Ji Daoxuan's voice was very calm, but it revealed a domineering intent. A large number of runes surged around him, as if branded in the void. Immediately after, he took a step forward, and the void seemed to shatter. A cold, sharp light flashed in the darkness, like a meteor streaking across the sky, causing people to feel awe!

The Bull Demon King and Daoist Ping Tian, who were not far away, saw this scene and thought to themselves:

'So Brother Ji is called Ji the Madman. Indeed, there are only wrongly taken names, not wrongly given nicknames. No madness, no achievement!'

Boom—

The cold, sharp light seemed to hit something. A long, narrow crack appeared in the void, and a deafening explosion erupted, directly covering up the miserable screams.

Immediately after, they saw Ji Daoxuan walking back from the darkness.

"Dead?"

The Bull Demon King widened his eyes and asked.

Ji Daoxuan nodded: "Dead!"

Daoist Ping Tian and the Bull Demon King exchanged glances. Both of them couldn't help but gasp, feeling in their hearts that Brother Ji was too fierce, simply a peerless powerhouse who slaughtered the creature in a single exchange.

"Don't be surprised. Compared to Brother Xu, killing such a creature is nothing," Ji Daoxuan said calmly.

Hearing this, the Bull Demon King and Daoist Ping Tian's mouths twitched slightly. Compared to Brother Xu? They hadn't even thought about it.

"Old Daoist, it's really boring to compete with you!"

The Bull Demon King didn't know what he was thinking. After a long while, he squeezed out these words.

"Hehe, you only realize it's boring now!"

Daoist Ping Tian ridiculed as usual.

Since witnessing Ji Daoxuan's attack, both the ox and the man felt uncomfortable. Their expressions were a bit downcast, feeling that their strength was too low. If they forcibly stayed with Xu Yang, they might hinder him in the future.

Ji Daoxuan saw their thoughts and couldn't help but scold:

"How old am I, and how old are you? I've eaten more salt than you've eaten rice. I've lived for so many years, yet my cultivation is only slightly stronger than yours. If you still feel ashamed, then I might as well kill myself now!"

Ji Daoxuan's words awakened them from their dream!

The Bull Demon King and Daoist Ping Tian suddenly realized, 'That's right, Brother Ji is much older than them. In other words, they might not even be from the same era as Brother Ji, so why compare themselves to Brother Ji? If they had to compare, it would have to be with Xu… Okay, Brother Xu (Fellow Daoist Xu), he's not even human, but a monster. Comparing themselves to him would be masochism!'

'Those so-called geniuses and evildoers in the Lower Realm would be kicked flying seven or eight times by this old ox with a single hoof. Even those beings from the Upper Realm can't do anything to this old ox. This old ox is already very powerful!'

Thinking like this, the Bull Demon King's mind became much clearer.

The same was true for Daoist Ping Tian. He came from a humble background as a rogue cultivator, but he was able to surpass most of those noble immortal clan disciples, and even some beings from the Upper Realm were not as good as him. This was enough to prove that his talent was no weaker than others, so what did he have to be disappointed about?

"However, don't be too proud. Before you, there is still a mountain like Brother Xu, which is very difficult to cross!" Ji Daoxuan teased.

"Brother Ji, you overestimate us too much. We are content to see the mountain that is Brother Xu. Cross it?" The Bull Demon King was very self-aware. Not to mention him, he felt that no one in this world should be able to cross Brother Xu, even those so-called direct descendants of nobles in the Upper Realm, the sons of Immortal Emperors, and the successors of Dao lineages would probably find it difficult to do so.

This time, Daoist Ping Tian didn't retort to the Bull Demon King, but nodded, feeling that the Bull Demon King had finally said something sensible.

Xu Yang smiled when he heard this, but did not speak. Instead, he casually crushed a creature lurking in the dark, preparing to attack, into powder.

"This…"

The Bull Demon King didn't know what to say.

He didn't even sense the creature before it was easily killed by Xu Yang.

Daoist Ping Tian sincerely admired: "This Daoist believes that Fellow Daoist Xu will definitely make a name for himself in the Upper Realm. Even in the Nine Heavens, he will have a place of his own!"

Ji Daoxuan sighed and lamented:

"Talented people emerge in every generation. Why do I feel that I am getting further and further away from the mountain that is Brother Xu?"

"Brother Ji is joking, let's continue on our way!" Xu Yang smiled and said.

Ji Daoxuan was not discouraged, because he had a close relationship with Xu Yang. The two were sworn brothers, and there was also a family marriage, so the stronger Xu Yang was, the happier he was.

He nodded and quickened his pace, and the Bull Demon King and Daoist Ping Tian quickly followed.

After about half a day,

the group finally arrived at the end of the passage. At the end was a huge spatial array, which looked intact and was still operating on its own…