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Chapter 50: First Entry into the Spirit Ascension Platform
Zang Xin brought Bai Chen into the Spirit Pagoda. After presenting the relevant credentials at the counter, he led Bai Chen into an elevator.
A slight sensation of weightlessness followed.
That meant they were descending deep underground beneath the Spirit Pagoda.
The elevator displayed no floor numbers. Bai Chen and Zang Xin waited nearly five minutes before the doors finally opened again.
Outside was a circular hall.
Zang Xin showed the required identification once more. Soon, a staff member hurried over and guided them deeper into the hall.
The staff member tapped the wall, and a cabinet slid open automatically.
Inside was a human-shaped indentation, something that looked eerily similar to a coffin.
However, the staff member did not immediately ask Bai Chen to lie inside.
Instead, he smiled and began explaining the precautions for entering the Spirit Ascension Platform.
"The Spirit Ascension Platform is a virtual space developed by the Spirit Pagoda at enormous cost. Inside it, your life will be completely protected. At the same time, the longer you remain inside, the more benefits you can obtain…"
Although Bai Chen already knew everything the man was saying, he didn't interrupt him. He listened patiently to the entire explanation.
Only after the instructions were finished did he lie down inside the "coffin" under the staff member's guidance.
No one knew what the staff member did next.
The coffin-like cabinet slid back into the wall, and faint waves of numbing sensations began flowing through Bai Chen's body, making him feel slightly drowsy.
After an unknown amount of time passed, Bai Chen suddenly felt his body grow light.
His previously hazy mind instantly cleared.
The surrounding darkness vanished, and Bai Chen discovered that he had already arrived in a vast forest.
He raised his hand and clenched his fist gently, a trace of amazement flashing in his eyes.
Logically speaking, the Spirit Ascension Platform was only a virtual space. His real body wasn't actually here.
But the sense of realism…
If someone hadn't told him beforehand, he would never have believed this world was fake.
It felt exactly the same as the real world outside.
Bai Chen didn't rush to begin hunting.
Instead, he started walking casually through the forest.
The Spirit Ascension Platform charged users per entry rather than by time. In theory, the longer Bai Chen stayed inside, the more worthwhile this trip would be.
Although the Tang Sect was paying the bill, there was no reason for him to waste resources.
After all, this was his first time entering this place. He wanted to familiarize himself with this miniature world first.
Unfortunately, the soul beasts within the Spirit Ascension Platform didn't seem willing to give him that opportunity.
A faint rustling sound emerged behind him.
The grass shook slightly.
A fiery-red figure shot out from the bushes and launched directly at him.
As the creature approached, a wave of heat surged toward Bai Chen.
Clearly, the enemy possessed the fire attribute, and its attack method was a ramming charge.
Judging from the temperature radiating off its body, if it actually struck a normal soul master, the injuries would likely be severe.
But unfortunately for the creature—
Its luck was rather terrible.
Without even turning his head, Bai Chen had already activated his martial soul.
The Evil God Hook shot out behind him, piercing the creature instantly.
"—!"
In that instant, the soul beast seemed to let out a faint cry before losing all strength.
After its life faded, the flames wrapped around its body gradually dissipated.
What remained was nothing more than a small hedgehog-like creature.
Bai Chen didn't know its exact name.
Judging by his intuition, it was most likely a ten-year soul beast.
But even the smallest mosquito was still meat.
Bai Chen hadn't forgotten why he came to the Spirit Ascension Platform in the first place.
He was here to test whether this method could help him level up. If it couldn't, then there would be no reason to return here in the future.
Black light flowed along the Evil God Hook.
The hedgehog's body shattered instantly, and a stream of energy flowed into Bai Chen through the hook.
"Hm…"
Bai Chen's expression became slightly complicated.
To state the conclusion directly—
This method did work for cultivation.
After the energy entered his body, he could clearly feel his soul power rise slightly.
But the amount of that increase…
Wasn't it a little too small?
After thinking about it carefully, the answer was obvious.
In reality, a genuine ten-year soul beast could generate a ten-year soul ring from nothing.
But inside the Spirit Ascension Platform, it required ten ten-year soul beasts just to increase a spirit ring's age by ten years.
Not to mention that real soul beasts possessed true physical bodies and incredibly powerful life force.
The creatures here were merely energy constructs. Naturally, their total energy couldn't compare with real soul beasts.
However, Bai Chen possessed the soul of an adult.
After a brief moment of disappointment, he quickly calmed down.
No matter what, the fact that he could cultivate through this method at all was already good news.
After all, cultivating here came with no moral burden and no risk to his life.
There was nothing to complain about.
Rather than complaining about the low quality of the soul beasts here, it would be better to think about how to devour more of them.
"Ah! Look, there's a kid here!"
At that moment, an exclamation interrupted Bai Chen's thoughts.
Turning around, he saw three teenagers, around thirteen or fourteen years old, appearing in the distance.
Bai Chen raised an eyebrow and quietly retracted his martial soul.
The Spirit Ascension Platform was similar to the Star Dou Forest of earlier eras—it followed the law of the jungle.
Here, humans could be just as dangerous as soul beasts.
In fact, because people didn't have to worry about real death inside the platform, some individuals behaved even more recklessly.
He needed to be cautious.
The three teenagers clearly had no idea what Bai Chen was thinking.
They approached him without any guard.
The girl leading the group asked curiously,
"Little brother, what's your name? Where's the adult who brought you here?"
Hearing the question, several possible answers flashed through Bai Chen's mind.
Finally, he lowered his head slightly, pretending to look sad.
"My name is Tang Wulin."
"I came here with my older brother. We just encountered a powerful soul beast. My brother stayed behind to hold it off so I could escape."
"Oh…"
Hearing this, sympathy appeared on the girl's face.
In her mind, the boy's brother was probably already gone.
If he had been capable of defeating the soul beast, there would have been no reason to let his younger brother run away alone.
After thinking for a moment, she turned to her companions.
"Ling Yi, Shaohan… should we take him with us?"
"Huh?"
The boy called Shaohan twitched his lips and glanced at Bai Chen with dissatisfaction.
"Sister Qingyu, this is the Spirit Ascension Platform. We paid a huge amount of money to come here. There's no reason for us to bring along a burden."
"This isn't the place for you to play the saint."
"Hmm… one vote in favor, one against?"
The girl leading the group didn't seem angry. She nodded calmly and turned to the other girl.
"What about you, Ling Yi?"