After being forcibly removed from the Blood Oath Token by Bao Gu, the little Celestial Fox tried to return but was blocked by Bao Gu.
It curled up beside Bao Gu’s leg, whispering in a voice as soft as a mosquito’s buzz, “I don’t know.”
Seeing Bao Gu’s displeased expression, as if demanding a clear answer, it explained, “I don’t know what it is, only that it’s extremely powerful and terrifying.”
After speaking, it lay down beside Bao Gu’s leg, remaining silent and not returning to the Blood Oath Token.
Bao Gu looked towards Yu Mi and Jade Shura.
Jade Shura sat silently, while Yu Mi appeared hesitant and conflicted.
She knew that the little Celestial Fox’s inability to identify the entity could only mean one thing: the entity was so powerful that it could block any external probing.
The fear induced by its aura made the little Celestial Fox instinctively afraid.
She was worried that her senior sister would risk her life to find a way out for her, knowing that they were in a deadly trap.
Leaving the tower would result in being killed by the unknown force outside, and going deeper into the tower would disturb the powerful presence in the coffin.
They didn’t even know if they could pass through the barrier.
But if they stayed put, they would slowly await death.
She checked her storage bag and found that the Monkey Wine was almost gone, with only two bottles of Foundation Establishment Pills and one bottle of healing medicine left.
There were some spiritual herbs and fruits below the sixth or seventh grade, but only a few above the seventh grade.
She told Yu Mi that they could survive on the new orchard and herb garden she had cultivated, but that would take time for the seeds to grow into fruit-bearing trees and herbs.
In the cultivation world, these spiritual fruits and herbs often took years, decades, or even centuries to mature.
They didn’t have that kind of time.
Yu Mi sat cross-legged, minimizing her body’s consumption.
Seeing that everyone was out of options, the little Celestial Fox returned to the Blood Oath Token to rest.
Bao Gu stared intently outside the tower, seeing nothing but darkness.
She hesitated for a moment, then got up and walked towards the inside of the tower.
Yu Mi suddenly stood up and grabbed Bao Gu, saying, “I’ll go in. If there’s a chance, you escape.”
Bao Gu grabbed Yu Mi’s hand, stopping her, and said, “Senior sister, let me go. If something happens, I might still have a slim chance of survival.”
Jade Shura opened her eyes and looked at Bao Gu in surprise, saying, “Your senior sister has no chance of survival if she goes in. Do you think you have a better chance?”
Bao Gu looked at Jade Shura and said, “Do you know why the people from the Taiyin Sect are so determined to capture me, even exposing Nan Yi to do so?”
Jade Shura replied, “I heard it’s because of the Duobao Spirit Monkey, but I saw it being blocked outside by various sects. Could it have sneaked in again?”
Bao Gu could bring Yu Mi in, so bringing in the Duobao Spirit Monkey wouldn’t be surprising.
However, she still had doubts because she saw the Duobao Spirit Monkey on the roof outside when Bao Gu and Yu Mi entered the ancient ruins.
Yu Mi naturally knew what Bao Gu was referring to.
She frowned and asked, “Can you use it?”
Bao Gu didn’t respond, instead taking out her flying sword from her oversized storage bag and putting it into her dantian.
As soon as the flying sword approached her dantian, it was repelled by an invisible force, flying out with a “clang” and embedding itself near the edge of the barrier, trembling.
Bao Gu said, “See? It’s awake and very domineering.”
Yu Mi knew that only by letting Bao Gu go in would they have a fighting chance, but Bao Gu’s current cultivation was too weak to withstand the power of the Xuantian Sword.
If Bao Gu used the Xuantian Sword, she would have no chance of survival.
She tightly held Bao Gu’s hand, unwilling to let her take the risk, insisting, “I’ll go in.”
If one of them had to die, she hoped it would be her, and Bao Gu would survive.
Bao Gu understood that if Yu Mi went in, it would be a dead end.
She smiled and said, “Senior sister, my family has accumulated a lot of good karma over generations. I won’t die so easily.”
Yu Mi’s expression darkened, and she said coldly, “I’m the senior sister and acting peak master. I decide who goes in!”
Bao Gu pouted and said, “I’m the grandmaster’s direct descendant!”
Jade Shura: “…”
She had seen many instances of infighting among sect members and forcing others to take risks in critical moments, but she had never seen anyone fighting to take the risk themselves.
She had also never seen people ignoring an outsider present, with sect sisters fighting to sacrifice themselves.
Of course, Jade Shura would never remind the two that there was still an outsider present.
She quietly lowered her presence, hoping they would continue to ignore her, while worrying about her dozen little demon pets, considering whether to fight if Yu Mi and Bao Gu forced her to send her pets into danger.
Yu Mi suddenly raised her palm to strike Bao Gu, intending to knock her out.
Bao Gu dodged Yu Mi’s sudden attack and rushed to the tower door, standing just half a step away from the barrier, saying, “Senior sister, if you move again, I’ll go in immediately!”
Yu Mi asked coldly, “Will you listen to me or not?”
Bao Gu took out the Blood Oath Token she had allied with the little Celestial Fox and said, “Senior sister, I’ll entrust Ling’er to you…”
Before she could finish, she saw Yu Mi rushing towards the barrier.
Instinctively, she stepped in front of Yu Mi, her back against the barrier.
Yu Mi couldn’t avoid her and had to stop abruptly, angrily saying, “If you want to die, I’ll let you! Will you move? Do you think this is a joke? Do you think your luck from escaping Lingyun Peak will always protect you? With your cultivation, you can’t even protect yourself, let alone the treasures left by the grandmaster!”
Bao Gu put away the Blood Oath Token and rushed into the barrier.
Yu Mi was shocked and shouted, “Bao Gu—” She rushed towards the tower.
Jade Shura quickly grabbed Yu Mi and struck her on the back of the head, knocking her out.
Bao Gu’s voice came from inside the tower, “Jade Shura, you—”
Jade Shura said, “You focus on finding a way out. I’ll take care of your senior sister.”
She suddenly realized and exclaimed, “Hey, you’re not dead?”
She looked into the tower but only saw the coffin, not Bao Gu, feeling puzzled.
Bao Gu stood at the tower door, glaring at Jade Shura, and shouted, “You’re the one who’s dead—” Before she could finish, she felt the barrier’s power suddenly strengthen, and she was instantly thrown out…
Jade Shura heard Bao Gu’s scream cut off abruptly, her heart tightening, thinking, “Could something have happened to her?”
She called out urgently, “Bao Gu—Bao Gu—” but received no response, only seeing the barrier at the tower door strengthen.
Jade Shura’s heart sank, thinking, “Are we really going to be trapped here?”
As Bao Gu was thrown out, she reached for her flying sword in her oversized storage bag, only to realize it wasn’t there.
She remembered it had been repelled by the Xuantian Sword and was now embedded near the barrier outside the tower.
Bao Gu couldn’t stabilize herself in mid-air and fell into the blood pool below the coffin, thinking, “It’s over… such bad luck…”
With a splash, Bao Gu fell heavily into the blood pool.
Bao Gu held her breath, struggling to reach the edge of the pool.
Although she held her breath, the blood-like liquid still filled her ears.
She couldn’t touch the bottom or find the edge.
Blood pool!
She wondered if it was a blood-dissolving pool, fearing she might turn into a skeleton with a few more splashes.
She thought of her senior sister outside.
Since she was still alive after entering, her senior sister would be fine too.
Her senior sister could swim and would save her.
She opened her mouth to shout for help, but water filled her mouth and nose, making her even more panicked.
The little Celestial Fox suddenly emerged from the Blood Oath Token, grabbed Bao Gu’s collar, and dragged her to the edge of the blood pool.
Bao Gu crawled out of the pool, coughing violently for a long time before catching her breath.
The little Celestial Fox lay beside Bao Gu, minimizing its presence.
Its vertical eye on its forehead opened slightly, scanning the surroundings, then whispered, “Demon Locking Tower!”
It looked up at the coffin in the center and bowed.
Bao Gu finally caught her breath, but the taste of the blood pool made her feel sick.
She rinsed her mouth several times with clean water before feeling better.
She approached the pool, touching the blood-red liquid, realizing it wasn’t blood but something she had never seen before.
Seeing the little Celestial Fox bowing, she asked, “Is there a demon ancestor in that coffin? Ling’er, go make friends and ask it to let us out.”
The little Celestial Fox finished bowing and crawled to the tower door, then rushed at the barrier, only to be thrown back into the blood pool.
It climbed out, exhausted, and said, “I’ll return to the Blood Oath Token. You take me out.”
It then went back into the Blood Oath Token.
Bao Gu suddenly felt eyes from the coffin staring at her.
She thought, “The demon in the coffin must be very dangerous if even the little Celestial Fox doesn’t want to help.”
She grabbed the Blood Oath Token and walked to the tower door, thinking that if she hit the barrier again, she would be thrown back into the blood pool.
They couldn’t leave without breaking the tower’s restrictions.
Should they just wait at the door to die?
Bao Gu took the little Celestial Fox out of the Blood Oath Token and said, “We can’t get out! Didn’t you see me get thrown by the barrier?”
She carefully walked to the tower door and said to the anxious Yu Mi outside, “Senior sister, I’m fine. Don’t worry, come in. It’s safe for now.”
Yu Mi seemed not to hear her, turning to look at Jade Shura, as if asking something.
Jade Shura said something to Yu Mi, and they both sat cross-legged at the tower door, meditating.
Bao Gu waved her arms and shouted, “Hey, don’t meditate! Come in, it’s safe here.”
She raised her voice, even using her true energy to shout like thunder, but Yu Mi and Jade Shura outside didn’t respond.
The little Celestial Fox, frightened by Bao Gu’s shout, jumped onto her and covered her mouth, saying, “Stop shouting.”
Bao Gu moved the little Celestial Fox’s paw from her mouth.
She guessed the barrier blocked sound and sight.
She turned to the coffin, bowed, and said, “Bao Gu greets the senior. We accidentally entered here and apologize for the disturbance.”
She then looked at the walls covered in runes, thinking about how to loosen the restrictions to communicate with the demon in the coffin.
They were trapped and needed the demon’s help to escape.
The tower had nine levels, but it was hollow.
From the bottom, one could see the top.
Light from the top fell on the coffin, merging with the blood-red light from the blood pool, forming a circle around the coffin.
Chains from the tower walls wrapped around the coffin, covered in runes.
Bao Gu jumped towards the coffin but found she couldn’t gather energy, only jumping a foot high.
She realized the tower’s restrictions not only locked demons but also prevented cultivators from using their powers.
Bao Gu looked around and focused on the chains.
She rolled up her sleeves and climbed the chains towards the coffin.
The little Celestial Fox exclaimed, “Bao Gu, what are you doing?”
