Chen Feng nearly spat blood upon hearing those words: "Fellow villager... this rather eccentric senior truly possesses a strange sense of humor."

"As the saying goes, when fellow villagers meet, their eyes well up with tears. To meet a fellow villager here is indeed cause for excitement! However, I am currently petrified; even if I wished to weep, I cannot!"

"Petrified body? And yet, you can speak..." Chen Feng swallowed hard. A being whose physical body was destroyed yet whose soul remained lucid must have possessed at least a Five-Star Dou Zun cultivation level in life. The thought that he was currently conversing with a master of the Dou Zun realm sent an involuntary shiver down his spine.

Chen Feng had never seen a Dou Zun, but that didn't mean he was ignorant of their might. A mere Dou Shi could possess the power to annihilate a city, capable of shaking the earth and splitting mountains with a stomp, their majesty boundless. The strength of a Dou Zun was a hundred times that of a Dou Shi! They were practically deities who could pluck stars at will!

How could he not be nervous while speaking with a deity?

"What remains of me is but a wisp of a remnant soul! I have guarded this desolate place for over ten millennia! Look around; I expended immense effort to arrange this when I was alive. Does it suit your taste?"

Chen Feng felt his mind reeling: "Ten thousand years? Suits my taste? Does that imply..." A chill ran down his spine as he dared not believe the truth—could this senior possibly intend to gift him this Nine-Layered Pagoda...

"Your assumption is correct; there is no need to panic." The stone statue seemed to peer directly into Chen Feng's thoughts. "Since you are my fellow villager, who else should inherit the Nine-Layered Pagoda I painstakingly constructed? Furthermore, all my life's savings are housed here. Consider it a welcoming gift for an old acquaintance!"

The ancient voice struck Chen Feng's ears like a thunderclap, pushing him to the brink of madness with excitement.

What treasures might be inside the Nine-Layered Pagoda? He could figure that out with his eyes closed. Never mind anything else; even just the gates, forged from Dark Gold Iron, if taken out and sold, would yield a fortune. But looking at what was already inside the pagoda, selling the gates now would surely be the act of a fool.

But...

Inside the pagoda, aside from a few strangely cultivated plants, he seemed to see nothing else. Where were the treasures this fellow villager had accumulated?

"Ahem..." The stone statue sensed his thoughts and coughed a little awkwardly. "The treasures are housed in the last three layers of the Nine-Layered Pagoda. The first six layers are various sealed dimensions that I created with great effort!"

"Sealed dimensions?" Chen Feng was unfamiliar with the term and inquired.

"They are special spaces created and enclosed by seals. In this level, for instance, I sealed a unique dimension akin to Earth!" the statue explained.

No wonder the elemental fluctuations here differed so wildly from the outside while maintaining complete independence. Once Chen Feng understood, he scanned the surroundings from the high platform but saw no path leading to the upper levels. As confusion began to form in his mind, the statue spoke again, as if reading his thoughts: "The eight iron gates beneath this platform are the paths leading to the other eight layers, respectively. However... it appears I placed a magical seal on the exterior of every single one. You currently cultivate Dou Qi; without the strength of a Dou Zun, it is impossible to open any of these iron gates!"

"Dou Zun?" Chen Feng exclaimed in shock, nearly leaping up. Was this statue merely toying with him?

"I am not deceiving you. My specialty in life was Magic, so I assumed later arrivals would also favor magic. The seals are calibrated with lower requirements for mages. If you were currently a Third-Rank Formal Mage, you should be able to enter the second layer smoothly! That would be the iron gate directly to the east. But you are a Dou Shi, meaning if you lack the strength of a Dou Zun, you cannot enter a single door!" the statue's voice echoed.

Chen Feng felt a dizzy spell coming on—he couldn't have come all this way to an ancient treasure trove only to leave empty-handed!

"Heh heh," the statue sounded slightly embarrassed. "I am only a remnant soul now; my power has dissipated, so I cannot help you break the seals!"

"If you can't break them, then never mind!"

Chen Feng quickly reconciled himself. It wasn't the end of the world; obtaining something was a bonus, but losing nothing was no real loss. In fact, there were more crucial matters he wished to inquire about.

Seeing Chen Feng maintain such equanimity, a flash of approval crossed the dull stone eyes of the statue, vanishing before anyone could truly notice.

Just as Chen Feng was about to ask which era the senior had traversed from, the statue abruptly spoke first: "By the way, do you possess anything like a Demon Core on you?"

Chen Feng was about to say no, then suddenly recalled that when he killed Bill, he had taken the creature's Three-Rank Earth Element Demon Core. After eating the Blazing Fire Nether Fruit at the bottom of the pool, his clothes were burned away, the core fell to the ground, and was later retrieved by Xiao Hu and given back to him, currently stored within the clothing woven from leaves.

He hadn't known what it was before; Xiao Hu was the one who told him.

"I have one! How did you know?" Chen Feng produced the Earth Element Demon Core.

The stone statue grinned upon seeing it. "Then this is manageable; I can devise a way for you to open the second layer!"

Chen Feng looked at the statue in confusion. "Didn't you say the treasures were in the last three layers?"

"Ahem..." The statue coughed awkwardly. "Stop thinking only of the treasures. Every layer of the Nine-Layered Pagoda I designed has its own unique function. On reflection, the second layer is the most suitable for you! It's practically tailor-made for you!"

Hearing this, Chen Feng’s interest piqued, and he asked, "What is inside the second layer?"

The statue answered mysteriously, "You will know when you enter. I guarantee you'll be so thrilled you won't want to leave!"

Chen Feng found the tone of the senior’s voice slightly odd, but he couldn't pinpoint why. He asked, "What do I need to do to enter?"

The statue replied, "Simple. Walk to the easternmost gate, grip this Earth Element Demon Core in your hand, and channel the Dou Qi within your body into the core. Leave the rest to me!"

Chen Feng jumped down from the high platform and walked to the iron gate. He proceeded as instructed, converting the Qi vortex in his body into Dou Qi and channeling it ceaselessly into the core. At that moment, a powerful, heart-stopping mental fluctuation shot into his Qi vortex like lightning, surging into the Demon Core!

The power of the Qi vortex is closest to the origin power of heaven and earth; even after conversion to Dou Qi, its purity remains undiminished. This sudden, potent mental force used the origin power within the vortex to mobilize the demonic energy within the Demon Core, achieving the effect of casting a magic spell to dissolve the seal.

Sure enough, a beam of earthy-yellow light shot straight from the Demon Core towards the iron gate. With a soft pop, a gust of wind swept past Chen Feng's nose, breaking out in a cold sweat.

The pitch-black door then slowly rotated open with a drawn-out creak!

"Done. Go in now!" The ancient voice of the statue rang out, but this time it sounded startlingly close, which struck Chen Feng as very strange.

The ancient voice continued, "Don't be surprised. I am currently dwelling within the Demon Core in your hand, so naturally, you perceive me as being near!"

"In... here?" Chen Feng jumped, startled, staring at the slightly yellowish Demon Core in his hand with an expression of utter disbelief.

"Enough disbelief. I am but a remnant soul; I can naturally reside anywhere. Moreover, a Demon Core is the finest dwelling place for a soul. Where else should I stay? It’s just that this Demon Core is too low-grade. If only I had a Nine-Rank Demon Core..." the elder lamented.

Chen Feng's eyelids twitched violently. A Nine-Rank Demon Core—that meant the core of a Nine-Rank Demonic Beast, the kind of treasure belonging to human powerhouses equivalent to a Nine-Rank Dou Zun! He seriously doubted anyone on this continent could even obtain such a thing!

"Hmm, but a Nine-Rank Demon Core isn't ideal either. If only I had a Saint Beast Demon Core..." the elder continued.

Chen Feng’s mind went blank; a Saint Beast Demon Core—that was second only to a Divine Beast...

"Oh, actually, the best results come from a Divine Spark or a Divine Beast's Demon Core..."

"Pfft..." Chen Feng finally could not withstand the pressure and collapsed unconscious onto the ground...

ps: I noticed some comments in the review section saying this book feels a bit like Xianxia cultivation... I'm sweating bullets... I designed these last few chapters to lay the groundwork for activating Chen Feng's 'Blood of Madness' later, which is why the plot leans heavily on cultivation concepts. It does indeed feel like Xianxia...

But I still thank everyone for reading attentively, thank you! I managed to climb to 20th place last night, but I've slipped again now!

Old Ya isn't greedy; as long as I can reach the front page next week, that’ll be great, hehe...