Chu Tian discovered that the Taoist nun had reached the middle of the Buddhist pagoda.
It seemed she was also visiting for the first time.
Because she was the one who triggered the mechanism herself.
Countless stone figures, carved in the likeness of monks, attacked her ferociously.
"Hmm?"
This left Chu Tian very puzzled. The path the Taoist nun had taken earlier suggested she was extremely familiar with this place.
It didn't seem like her first time. Yet, upon reaching this point, she acted like a complete novice, just like himself.
How could she have triggered a mechanism and drawn these puppets to attack her?
Seeing this, she no longer felt the need to hide.
He had found it rather peculiar yesterday.
Because that location wasn't far from the Shen Hai Palace's base.
One must remember that the area around the Shen Hai Palace's spiritual energy sphere
was almost entirely designated as a restricted zone.
For this Taoist nun to have infiltrated this vicinity,
she either possessed considerable skill, or her relationship with the Shen Hai Palace was extraordinary.
This was why Chu Tian had followed her.
Upon arriving at this secluded spot, he had initially thought she was meeting someone, possibly from the Shen Hai Palace.
He had even suspected that this mysterious Buddhist pagoda
might be a secret stronghold of the Shen Hai Palace.
However, the Taoist nun triggering a mechanism on the second level
clearly indicated it was her first time here.
Chu Tian immediately lost interest.
There was no longer any need to conceal himself.
Still, he wouldn't come here for nothing.
He would capture this Taoist nun,
interrogate her about this place, and inquire about any treasures.
Her elaborate efforts yesterday, her attempts to avoid being tracked,
suggested that there must be some important items here.
With this thought, Chu Tian instantly increased his speed,
dashing rapidly up the wooden stairs.
Boom, boom...
With every step he took,
the wooden stairs let out a resounding boom.
Having been disused for years, they couldn't withstand Chu Tian's brute force as he sprinted.
The places he stepped on immediately erupted into gaping holes.
As soon as he moved,
creating such a commotion,
the Taoist nun noticed him.
She glanced at Chu Tian, her eyes flickering.
"How could it be him? Why is he here?" the Taoist nun wondered.
In that moment of distraction,
a stone statue puppet delivered a punch directly to her chest.
It sent her flying.
This puppet possessed immense strength,
controlled entirely by mechanisms,
and its power could not be measured by human strength.
As the Taoist nun flew through the air, she seemed to have triggered another mechanism.
Behind her, a Buddhist statue, which had previously appeared merely decorative,
suddenly made a grinding sound...
its arms began to move.
It wielded its massive vajra,
stirring up a gust of wind,
and swung it towards the Taoist nun's back.
The Taoist nun, airborne, could not change her direction.
She was utterly unable to dodge this strike.
"It's over!"
The Taoist nun's heart sank.
Seeing this, Chu Tian's heart also sank.
He was too far away to intervene.
There were a total of six of these monk-like mechanism puppets.
Their strength was formidable, none inferior to the Taoist nun.
The sheer power emanating from this angry Buddha statue just now
instilled a sense of pressure.
The Taoist nun, facing this angry Buddha,
might have had little chance of victory.
Now, ambushed, she was surely doomed.
Chu Tian thought he had come for nothing.
Suddenly, a figure appeared behind the Taoist nun.
That figure struck out with a palm.
Bang...
Stones flew.
The angry Buddha's powerful strike,
met by a light palm, was directly shattered.
Along with its arms, which also disappeared.
Crack, crack, crack...
The angry Buddha wobbled for a moment and then stopped moving, its internal mechanisms evidently damaged by the blow.
Chu Tian's figure also flashed past the six stone puppets that had been blocking their path.
When his figure stood before the Taoist nun,
the six stone puppets exploded.
"Why are you here? Were you following me?"
The Taoist nun looked at Chu Tian, brimming with anger.
Chu Tian, however, paid her no heed.
Instead, he turned his gaze to the figure standing behind the Taoist nun.
"It's you!"
Two voices spoke simultaneously from in front of and behind the Taoist nun.
The Taoist nun gasped, turned around, and looked at the person behind her with great fear.
"I... I was very careful!"
Her reply was...
"Hmph, did you bring the item?"
Seeing that the person, though displeased, was not pursuing the matter further,
the Taoist nun quickly nodded and said,
"I brought it!"
She simultaneously produced a dark bead.
Chu Tian's brow furrowed. What was this...?
He felt an endless stream of resentment from the bead.
The entire bead seemed to be condensed from malevolent energy.
"Good. You may go. His Highness is waiting for you."
The person behind her said indifferently.
The Taoist nun bowed quickly, then cast a glance at Chu Tian before rushing downward.
Chu Tian watched all of this without speaking.
Only after the Taoist nun had left did he speak.
"So this is indeed your Shen Hai Palace's stronghold, and there's a Palace Lord? Heh... it seems my luck is good."
Chu Tian had overheard crucial information.
"Heh, are you sure it's not your luck being terrible? Chu Tian... you think too highly of yourself."
The person emerged from the shadows and spoke indifferently.
This individual was clad in a purple robe and wore a mask.
A strand of white hair at his temples fluttered.
It was none other than the elder from the Shen Hai Palace that Chu Tian had encountered in the Antarctic region.
It was he who had cornered Gao Kai and others, leaving them no escape, which ultimately led them to seek refuge in the Antarctic.
"Heh heh..."
Chu Tian sneered, unwilling to waste words, and prepared to strike.
But the elder in purple continued,
"Chu Tian, considering we've met twice before, why not surrender to our Shen Hai Palace? I can arrange a position for you."
Hearing this, Chu Tian, who had been about to move, halted instantly.
"Twice?" Chu Tian blinked.
He recalled only meeting this elder once before.
"Indeed, twice. The first time... you didn't see me, but I saw you. That time... your little girlfriend made my son lose face!"
The more the elder spoke, the less Chu Tian understood.
However, he did glean an important piece of information: this elder's son was likely someone Chu Tian knew.
"You..." Chu Tian mentally sifted through everyone he knew,
but still couldn't figure out who it was.
"Heh heh, my surname is Huang!"
At this point, the old man even slowly removed his mask.
"Huang? You're... Huang Xueyi's father? The head of the Huang Corporation?"
This revelation startled Chu Tian, unsettling his mind.
Upon seeing his face, he was even more certain.
This old man was the chairman of the Huang Corporation,
a celebrity who frequently appeared on television headlines.
Simultaneously, Chu Tian recalled the woman he had met in the Qinghua Hotel in the triangle area.
The owner of the Qinghua Hotel.
She had shown him a portrait and wanted him to infiltrate the Shen Hai Palace.
The portrait depicted the murderer of his father.
At the time, Chu Tian had found the person in the portrait rather familiar.
However, the portrait was old, and not from a photograph.
Portraits drawn by artists had some discrepancies.
Now, seeing this old man, Chu Tian knew who he was.
"You actually defected to the Shen Hai Palace?" Chu Tian could not help but be astonished.
"Hahaha, defected? Do you think that even if you low-level beings enter the Shen Hai Palace, you would attain a position like mine?"
Huang Xueyi's father, the chairman of the Huang Corporation, Chu Tian remembered him as Huang Xiong.
He had even made a mental jab at the name when he first heard it.
As Huang Xiong spoke, his face was filled with disdain, a clear contempt for humans.
In fact, Chu Tian regretted asking the question as soon as it left his mouth.
Because the owner of the Qinghua Hotel had mentioned that the killer of her father was a high-ranking official of the Shen Hai Palace.
He was undoubtedly someone within their ranks.
After hearing this, and observing the aura of the old man,
everything became clear.
Initially, Chu Tian had believed their Huang Corporation to be a spy planted by the Great Serpent Country in the Dragon Country.
Now, it seemed,
his assumptions had been too simple.
This old man was inherently a member of the Shen Hai Palace.
The Huang Corporation had risen centuries ago.
Its predecessor was a pawnshop.
The Huang Corporation had been passed down through generations to the present day.
And each generation of the Huang Corporation had inherited its lineage.
However, Chu Tian now suspected that the tradition of passing down the role of the young master, generation after generation,
was merely a facade.
This old man lived for a very long time.
He had no need to pass down the corporation to his descendants.
So, where had his so-called sons gone?
This thought sent a chill down his spine.
Suddenly, Chu Tian felt a little less resentful of Huang Xueyi.
Because Chu Tian realized that, in the end, he might die at the hands of his own father.
And his father, this Huang Xiong before him,
would naturally rename himself Huang Xueyi.
Adopting a younger body,
he would continue his infiltration.
With this realization, Chu Tian's pupils contracted almost to pinpricks.
"Hahaha!"
"It seems you've figured it out."
"No wonder that imbecile couldn't defeat you!"
Huang Xiong narrowed his eyes.
"I'll give you one last chance. Pledge your allegiance to the Shen Hai Palace, and I'll spare your life!"
As the old man finished speaking, his purple robe billowed,
and his aura intensified.
It was clear that if Chu Tian refused, he would deliver a killing blow.
"Oh... spare my life? Weren't you just talking about arranging a position for me?"
Chu Tian smiled.
The old man's words were contradictory.
"Hmm? It's not impossible!"
Huang Xiong's eyes flickered upon hearing Chu Tian's words.
He truly thought highly of Chu Tian. If Chu Tian were under his command,
his own strength would undoubtedly increase significantly.
At the very least, he believed Chu Tian's mind was superior to others.
"Alright, then let's discuss what position, shall we?"
Chu Tian showed no sign of aggression; instead, he slowly walked towards the elder.
He agreed verbally.
"What position do you want?"
This old man, Huang Xiong, did not relax his vigilance. Instead, as Chu Tian approached,
his hands, clasped behind his back, were brewing powerful attacks.
Chu Tian's eyes flickered. This old man was truly difficult to fool.
His original intention was to make the old man lower his guard.
And then slap him twice.
It seemed his plan wouldn't work.
He stopped in his tracks.
A slight smile curved his lips.
"I think the position of Palace Lord would be good!"
As Chu Tian spoke, his body tensed up.
The Giant Bear form and the Cheetah form were activated simultaneously.
A flash of light emanated from his body, his slightly upturned smile still in place.
He had already reached the elder.
"You little beast, how dare you blaspheme the Palace Lord!"
Huang Xiong also exploded into action,
striking out with both fists from behind his back.
Boom...
Their collision caused the space to vibrate violently.
The entire Buddhist pagoda trembled.
The wooden stairs beneath their feet, unable to bear the force, exploded at that moment.
The two bodies scattered upon contact,
falling down along with the collapsing planks.
Chu Tian's eyes flickered at this moment.
This old man was very strong.
He had already formed a certain assessment,
but it was only during their brief contact that Chu Tian realized he had still underestimated him.
And the old man, Huang Xiong, also had a change in expression.
In that single exchange, he had used fifty percent of his strength.
Yet, Chu Tian had matched him equally.
He couldn't help but think:
Had this kid grown up on fertilizer?
He had learned from Huang Xueyi that Chu Tian had been a weakling just a few years ago.
Yet, today, he stood unharmed in a confrontation with him.
He now wanted to know what fortuitous encounter Chu Tian had experienced,
that allowed him to improve so dramatically in such a short time.
He even began to feel jealous.
Why were humans so powerful?
Although he constantly referred to humans as lowly beings,
in reality, everyone in the Shen Hai Palace envied humans.
Even demonic creatures,
after cultivating to a certain level,
had to transform into human form to advance further.
This was why many spirits and demons were stuck at the stage of transformation.
The products of their Shen Hai Palace, themselves, also had to overcome this hurdle.
All beings within the Shen Hai Palace
were not born but nurtured.
They were nurtured within their so-called Shen Hai Palace.
And this Shen Hai Palace truly resembled a grand hall.
To purchase a Shen Hai Palace, there was a dedicated floor for nurturing beings.
However, there was a limit to their numbers.
Only when one died would another be nurtured.
But, the newly nurtured ones were of low strength.
Within their Shen Hai Palace, there was constant infighting.
By killing their own, they could gain energy,
which was the fastest way to increase their cultivation.
The earliest born beings possessed greater strength.
Huang Xiong had climbed to his current position through countless battles,
and had personally slain many who had once called him brother.
If not for the fact that the Palace Lord was unkillable,
he might have already held the position of Palace Lord.
That imbecilic Palace Lord had been severely injured by a young girl half a year ago,
and was hiding in this desolate place.
He had even summoned Huang Xiong to help him heal.
However, the wound was peculiar.
Despite searching for numerous rare herbs, he couldn't heal it.
By chance, he discovered that the wound could be repaired with vital energy.
He then controlled many individuals to collect malevolent energy for him,
and even sought out the Taoist nun that Chu Tian had been pursuing.
That Taoist nun also had another identity.
Just as Chu Tian had suspected,
although she exuded an aura of righteousness before,
it was merely a disguise.
However, her identity was not fabricated.
She was indeed Xi Xi's aunt, his father's own sister.
But she had disappeared years ago, having been abducted.
She had become a uniquely passed-down disciple of the Resentful Demon Sect.
In the Dragon Country, the so-called demonic cults
had long been suppressed.
They could only operate on a small scale, afraid to establish sects and recruit disciples widely.
Thus, they were almost exclusively passed down in a single lineage.
And these disciples were typically abducted at a young age.
However, Chu Tian was unaware that the Palace Lord below was still injured.
He only knew that Luo Luo had once injured someone.
But no one knew that person was one of the four Palace Lords of the Shen Hai Palace.
If this news were known, it would surely embolden everyone even further.
And at this moment, after a single exchange between Chu Tian and Huang Xiong, both fell, landing on the third floor's ceiling.
The ceiling was made of stone.
However, after enduring the force of their fall,
it also creaked ominously.
Upon landing, Chu Tian did not pause.
With a thunderous sound from his feet,
he exerted force with his legs,
propelling his body forward.
Like a cannonball, he shot towards Huang Xiong.