Chapter 765: Entering the Tower, Beginning Body Refinement
When the red-robed man's figure was flung off the receiving platform in utter disgrace, a wave of uproar rippled through the surrounding area.
Experts from all races stared at Mo Yu standing atop the platform, their gazes flickering. None of them had expected this seemingly mere Sixth-Grade Sovereign human to be so formidable.
Over at the Scarlet Python Clan's side, Ran Qing and her companions' faces had already turned dark the moment their red-robed clansman was defeated. Their expressions were filled with disbelief and bitter humiliation.
Who could have imagined that what had appeared to be a guaranteed victory would reverse in an instant?
"This brat's Divine Beast Body is terrifying. Even the top Heaven-Shaking Force Ape prodigies might only be on par with him," one Scarlet Python expert said through gritted teeth, his eyes now filled with wariness as he stared at Mo Yu. With such a physical body, defeating a Seventh-Grade Sovereign was no surprise.
Ran Qing's slender fingers clenched tightly. She bit down on her lip so hard it nearly bled, her pale face alternating between blue and white as she struggled to say anything at all.
Under the weight of those shaken stares, Mo Yu remained calm atop the platform. He willed the black light around his arms to fade; the terrifying power of the Heaven-Shaking Arms gradually withdrew, and his limbs slowly returned to their normal, slender form.
Feeling the lingering force in his fists, Mo Yu allowed himself a faint smile, then shifted his gaze to the watching prodigies all around.
"This platform is mine," he said lightly. "Anyone object?"
The assembled geniuses exchanged glances, but ultimately withdrew their gazes.
With twenty platforms in total, none of them were foolish enough to waste their strength prying this one from Mo Yu's grasp. Far better to seize one of the remaining unclaimed positions than to risk serious injury—or worse—against such a monster.
Seeing this, Mo Yu's smile deepened. No one would dare challenge him again.
At last, he had secured entry into the Ancient Body Refining Tower.
With this settled, he allowed his attention to drift across the battlefield. The other platforms remained battlegrounds, spiritual energy exploding as Divine Beast shadows reared and roared, shaking heaven and earth.
His gaze first sought Cai Lin's platform—and immediately sharpened.
Her opponent was a graceful, ethereal-looking woman. A pair of blazing crimson wings stretched from her back, countless feather-like streaks of light erupting from their edges. Each feather was infused with piercing sword intent that shredded the air into thin, ragged ribbons.
This woman was clearly a top prodigy of the Flame Crane Clan, and her aura was that of a Seventh-Grade Sovereign. Her sword-like feathers, when compared to the red-robed Scarlet Python just defeated, were even more lethal.
Yet, under this fierce onslaught, Cai Lin simply retreated step by step, body drifting backward until it seemed she could no longer parry or counterattack.
Mo Yu, however, chuckled softly. Knowing her as he did, he could easily sense she was merely biding her time—preparing her killing move.
Boom!
Just as she reached the edge of the platform, Cai Lin finally stopped retreating. Her icy gaze locked on the Flame Crane woman as she raised a hand and formed a seal.
A dazzling pillar of nine-colored light erupted violently from within her body, soaring into the sky.
The multicolored radiance illuminated the heavens, painting the world in brilliant hues.
"What is that—?"
The sudden transformation stunned even the most composed observers.
Within the rising beam, an enormous nine-colored python phantom manifested, its presence pressing upon the very fabric of space. An indescribably oppressive aura rippled outward, making even distant powerhouses' hearts pound faster.
The Flame Crane woman's face drained of color. "The Nine-Colored Swallowing Python?!" she cried.
As one of the pinnacle Divine Beasts, the Nine-Colored Swallowing Python's bloodline stood far above that of ordinary spirit beasts. Even just the blood phantom alone exerted crushing dominance.
Boom!
The nine-colored serpent's tail swept down. When it collided with the slicing sword-feathers, they shattered on impact, disintegrating into fragments of broken light. The tail did not slow, coiling instead toward the Flame Crane woman like an inescapable vortex.
Realizing the danger, she reacted instantly, withdrawing in a storm of flame. In just a few blinks, she retreated from the platform entirely.
She shot Cai Lin a hateful glare from afar before turning to leave, unwilling to waste any more time on a losing fight. She knew she had no chance of victory with that Nine-Colored phantom suppressing her.
Cai Lin watched her opponent's hasty departure, her expression perfectly calm. With a flick of her sleeve, she drew the nine-colored light back and swallowed it in a single motion.
Around them, many who had been eyeing her platform for themselves quietly gave up.
The name "Nine-Colored Swallowing Python" alone was enough to quash even fiery ambition.
"Heh. Looks like Cai Lin's strength is no joke, either," Mo Yu said with a small smile. Cai Lin had been a peak powerhouse even back in the Dou Qi Continent. Here, she continued to shine.
Sensing his gaze, Cai Lin turned and gave him a faint, enchanting smile. Watching this proud woman reveal such a soft expression for Mo Yu alone made more than a few male prodigies bristle with envy and resentment.
Boom!
As the battles on Mo Yu and Cai Lin's platforms concluded, the fights atop the remaining platforms also gradually reached their end.
The earliest decisive outcome, aside from Mo Yu's, came from Han Yue of the Rhinoceros Demon Clan.
His opponent, Xu Lie of the Demon Elephant Clan, was equally terrifying. Their clash felt like a duel between ancient titanic rhinoceros and colossal elephant, each collision making the land itself quiver.
Yet, after hundreds of brutal exchanges, it was Han Yue who ultimately dominated. In a final head-on clash, he forced Xu Lie off the platform entirely.
Xu Lie landed heavily, his face slightly pale. Without complaining or lingering, he simply turned and hurled himself toward another contested platform, where the competition was visibly weaker.
Following Han Yue, the next to firmly claim a platform was Ran Ben of the Scarlet Python Clan, his capabilities confirming his status as one of the top contenders.
Mang Lie, recognizing the gap between their strengths, withdrew after a brief exchange, opting instead to target a less contested platform where he was eventually able to seize a spot after some effort.
Mang Yu wasn't so fortunate. Her cultivation was weaker than the others. After several attempts at different platforms, she was defeated each time. Still, her cheerful temperament kept her spirits high, and she quickly settled herself, standing below and cheering loudly for Mo Yu, Cai Lin, and Mang Lie.
Even with her losses, the Celestial Swallowing Python Clan still secured three platforms—the highest count among all participating clans.
As time passed, the remaining platforms found their owners one by one after a gauntlet of fierce duels.
Lu Zhou of the Swallowing Crocodile Clan.
Chen Dou of the Dragon Ape Clan.
Xu Lie of the Celestial Elephant Clan, who managed to claim a new platform after his defeat at Han Yue's hands.
Mo Yu's gaze wandered across each face until stopping on one platform at the edge. His eyes narrowed slightly.
Its occupant was a familiar figure—the black-robed Thunder Serpent cultivator he had clashed with back in the meteor field.
So, the Thunder Serpents had made it this far and secured a spot as well.
Sensing Mo Yu's gaze, the black-robed man looked up. His eyes flickered slightly as he recognized Mo Yu. The memory of that crushing display of the Heaven-Shaking Arm clearly still weighed heavily on him—deep wariness flashed across his face.
Mo Yu paid him no further attention.
The storm of spiritual power throughout the area slowly calmed. One by one, the twenty platforms fell silent, each bearing a single figure—twenty prodigies, all among the strongest in the region.
Rumble…
At that moment, a deep, ancient humming rose from within the Refining Tower.
Light rippled along the tower's surface, condensing into twenty beams that streaked downward like divine pillars, enveloping each platform's occupant.
As the beam descended upon him, Mo Yu felt a powerful suction force attempting to pull him away. He merely flickered his gaze and chose not to resist.
Whoosh!
The beams shot back toward the tower, carrying the twenty figures along. Under the countless fiery, envious stares of those left outside, they vanished directly into the depths of the Ancient Body Refining Tower.
Wrapped in light, Mo Yu's body was dragged through a turbulent sea of spiritual energy. After several dozen breaths, he felt a violent jolt as chaotic spatial fluctuations rippled around him.
Then everything changed.
The darkness peeled away like a receding tide, replaced by a boundless expanse of crimson-yellow desert stretching endlessly in all directions.
No wind. No sound. Absolute dead silence.
Mo Yu looked around cautiously. Only then did he notice that he stood atop an ancient stone platform. Light flickered around him, forming a translucent barrier that encased his body.
"So this is the inside of the Refining Tower…" he muttered.
He raised his head and saw, suspended high above the desert, a dark red sun blazing intensely. Its light beat down relentlessly, as scorching as molten fire.
In the distance, other stone platforms appeared one after another. On each one, a figure flickered into existence—the other nineteen cultivators who had earned entrance.
Buzz…
As all twenty arrived, the glowing barrier around each stone platform shivered, and runes of light appeared in front of them, forming ancient characters.
"The Body Refining Tower has five floors. No rules exist within. Any who reach the fifth floor shall obtain a divine body-refining opportunity…"
Mo Yu's eyes gleamed with fierce interest as he read.
A body-refining divine art—just what he needed most.
The glowing words lingered for a moment before slowly fading. As they vanished, Mo Yu sensed the light barrier around his platform rapidly weakening, its protection dissipating.
Boom!
The instant the barrier winked out, the crimson sunlight slammed into him.
A searing, indescribable heat engulfed his body.
His clothes disintegrated into ash in the blink of an eye. Even the spiritual energy covering his skin began evaporating at a visible rate.
His flesh reddened, blood boiling under the onslaught. It felt as if flames were pouring directly into his veins.
Yet Mo Yu did not panic.
He simply watched his defenses burn away, then… let them go.
He dispersed the remaining spiritual power around him, standing bare beneath the blazing sun, every inch of his body laid open to the torment of the heat.
This was, after all, the Body Refining Tower. To truly temper the flesh, one had to withstand the trial with nothing but their body.
This pain—the searing, skin-splitting agony as the red light drilled deep into his muscles and bones—was precisely the whetstone he sought.
He hadn't entered this tower purely for so-called divine skills. His true purpose was simple: strengthen his body, push his Divine Beast Physique closer to great completion.
As long as that goal could be achieved, everything else was secondary.
With a slow breath, Mo Yu smiled faintly, then spread his arms, as if welcoming the flames.
The scorching light fell upon him like molten iron.
Not far away, many of the other prodigies had already summoned all kinds of defensive techniques and treasures to resist the burning sun. When they noticed Mo Yu's lack of defense, more than a few sneers appeared.
In particular, Ran Ben and the black-robed Thunder Serpent cultivator both showed open mockery.
A mere human attempting to rely on flesh alone to resist this heat? In their eyes, it was laughable.
Soon enough, they assumed, he would be forced to admit defeat and crawl out of the tower.
"Haha! Let's see who among us reaches the fifth floor first!"
Han Yue's booming laughter rolled across the sky as his body transformed into a streak of black light, rushing out across the sand.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Behind him, several of the other elites followed suit, bodies vanishing into the distant desert as they raced toward the second floor of the tower—and toward the promised divine rewards.
In less than a minute, only three figures remained still upon their stone platforms.
Mo Yu. Cai Lin. And Mang Lie.
(END CHAPTER)
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