As the white-haired old man's body stilled, the three of us crowded closer to examine the inscription.

It read: Thirteen days hence, your doom is sealed.

Seeing those stark English characters, the three of us fell silent for a long time, finally drawing in a collective, sharp breath.

At that moment, Da Xiong, lying on the ground, asked me, "What is this? A curse?"

It was then I remembered his severe injuries, and I turned, crouching down to inspect his wound while asking, "Are you alright? I really thought you were done for this time."

Da Xiong had lost a significant amount of blood, his face alarmingly pale. Clutching his shoulder, he managed, "I'm fine. Luckily, Nie Chuan’s shot made the guy’s attack deviate, missing the bone and just tearing into the muscle. Even though most of his pectoral muscles were ripped apart, the skeletal frame held. Otherwise, I’d be scuttling around like a caterpillar for the rest of my life."

Hearing him still joke, I let out a sigh of relief, but still hurried to retrieve disinfectant and bandages, treating the wound alongside Nie Chuan.

Honestly, when we peeled away his clothes, we almost fainted.

Could you even imagine the sight of muscle torn from the shoulder clear down to the chest?

It was like the Great Rift Valley grafted onto a human body, glistening and bloody.

Logically, with such a grievous wound, having severed countless arteries, he should have bled out long ago.

But I noticed a faint, almost imperceptible layer of crimson psychic energy coating the surface of Da Xiong’s wound.

It was this psychic shield that forcibly inhibited the massive blood loss, saving his life.

This proved that even if Da Xiong couldn't freely control his Nian yet, the power automatically engaged a protective measure when he was in critical danger.

After bandaging him up, Da Xiong looked like half a mummy.

We told him to stay still and lie there, but he ignored us and actually attempted to stand.

We were helpless, so we could only instruct, "Don't use your right arm."

Though Da Xiong was completely devoid of color, he managed a weak smile and said, "It’s fine. I won’t die."

Though still worried, there was no other choice, because if Da Xiong couldn't walk on his own, neither Nie Chuan nor I could carry him.

Staring at the string of English on the ground, Da Xiong gritted his teeth and muttered, "This is definitely a curse."

I replied, "No way. Foreigners don't deal in curses, that’s always a Chinese thing, right?"

In truth, I was trying to comfort myself, but Nie Chuan mercilessly punctured my fragile defense, saying, "Aren't the Mayans foreigners? They specialized in sorcery like curses, sacrifices, and divination."

I offered an awkward chuckle. "Don't be so serious."

The reality was, after surviving such a bloody battle, I just wanted to lighten the mood, which is why I seemed so relaxed; I hadn't expected these two to be so intensely focused on those few words.

"Why thirteen days? Is his soul coming back for a social call in thirteen days to drag us along with him?" Da Xiong asked, baring his teeth.

I patted his shoulder. "It's pointless for us to study these words here. If we want to know the outcome, we'll know it naturally after thirteen days."

Both of them looked at me, seeming to question how I could still be so optimistic.

I could only keep smiling and say, "We're all superheroes. Even if he sends the Ox-Head and Horse-Face guards to fetch us, they might not beat us, right?"

Only when I said this did Da Xiong’s expression improve slightly. He sighed and said, "Alright, then we'll wait and see what happens in thirteen days."

My face immediately turned serious. "That’s right. That 'Wind Master Immortal' is waiting for us on the top floor, not far from here. We need to speed up and finish what we’re doing here."

They both nodded, and then Nie Chuan said, "Da Xiong is injured, so we can only climb slowly."

I smiled faintly. "No need... Watch this."

I flipped my hands, chanted a quick spell, and shouted, "Jindou Yun!" (Somersault Cloud!)

Both of them looked at me with eyes full of intense anticipation.

Even though our Wind Charm and Invisibility Spell had materialized—proving that learning skills from Sun Wukong in the dreamscape was real—no one was quite certain if something as supernatural as the Jindou Yun could manifest in the real world.

So, they held immense hope that the Cloud would appear.

A few seconds later, the phenomenon everyone had been waiting for finally occurred: a white cloud materialized out of thin air above my head, complete with a flicker of lightning.

Knowing this thing was about to rain on my parade again, I quickly interjected, "This time it’s not for me; Da Xiong is hurt. You need to get this right. He can create clouds himself; this is your chance to suck up to him."

As soon as I finished speaking, the lightning immediately ceased, and the cloud drifted over to Da Xiong’s side, circling him once before bouncing up and down, seemingly prompting Da Xiong to hop on quickly.

I thought to myself, You traitorous lackey, I’m truly impressed.

The Jindou Yun seemed to hear my thoughts and suddenly floated back above my head.

I quickly sputtered, "I’m sorry, I’m sorry! I was wrong!"

Only then did the cloud drift away, swaying near Da Xiong again.

Da Xiong laughed heartily and plopped down onto it, causing the entire cloud to dip sharply downward.

But eventually, the Jindou Yun managed to stabilize itself with effort, hovering Da Xiong about a meter off the ground as it floated along.

Nie Chuan and I both felt a wave of relief. After a quick discussion, we decided to press on toward the rooftop.

We stuck our heads out of the balcony again to look up. The sun was already at its zenith, and the mist shrouding the roof had dissipated. We could see that we were less than a hundred meters from the top.

But what was surprising was that the apex of this ghost tower seemed semi-transparent; the higher it went, the more ethereal it became, as if it weren't entirely real.

After staring for a long time, we all found it incredibly strange.

But this couldn't stop us; we decided to ascend and see for ourselves first.

A hundred meters was only about thirty or so laps around the dark spiral staircase—we were incredibly close to reaching the summit.

Looking out at the distant mountains again, we realized the ghost tower’s total height was perhaps only around seven hundred meters—not the impossibly high structure of legend—and could easily be obscured by the surrounding peaks.

Perhaps this was why such a behemoth had gone undiscovered for so long?

And there were rumors that the ghost tower could disappear, reappear, and even shift its location, though we hadn't witnessed that yet.

The ghost tower we were currently in felt like the final layer of the Eighteen Levels of Hell. The whereabouts of Xie Yuting, the cause of Hell’s formation, the engineered monsters, and the Four Great True Gods—the answers to everything lay here.

Once we extracted the necessary answers from the Wind Master Immortal, our investigation would see a major breakthrough.

However, it was clear that the path to truth would not be smooth.

We had only run up about ten circuits when we saw several figures not far ahead blocking our path.

Seeing people obstructing the way, the three of us slowly halted.

To be honest, encountering living people here was quite a surprise, but when I saw that the blockers were Shi Tian and the others—the subordinates of the white-haired old man—I wasn't surprised anymore.

But what caught my eye was that these three people weren't wearing the usual vests and T-shirts emblazoned with skull and lightning patterns; they were in casual civilian clothes, looking like four ordinary passersby.

There were three men and one woman here—all people we had encountered on the Japanese Sea Ghost Ship. I knew their combat skills well.

But no matter how skilled they were, they weren’t one-tenth as formidable as the white-haired old man. Unless all four of them attacked together, they might pose a slight challenge to me.

"The three of you cannot go any further!" Shi Tian was the first to step forward as we approached.

As for Shi Tian, I wasn't sure whether I should be grateful or what, but I kept my tone mild and asked, "Why not?"

Shi Tian immediately replied, "This is a trap. If you go, you're walking into death."

I frowned, considered it, and looked at his face again; he didn't seem to be joking, but I still asked, "How do you know?"

Shi Tian was silent for a moment before saying, "Do you remember your experience on the Japanese Sea Ghost Ship?"

I thought back. "Which part are you referring to?"

Shi Tian pointed to himself. "Long Jia not only controlled us then but also planted Wugu curses on us. Since that day, we could only obey him. That’s why I didn't kill you before; I even taught you the method for cultivating Nian. In reality, someone was secretly directing me to do that."

I hadn't expected Long Jia’s techniques to be that potent. After a pause, I said, "The person you are referring to is Long Jia, correct?"

Shi Tian shook his head. "No. Above Long Jia and Xie Yuting, there is a higher authority. He is immensely powerful. Not only are our bodies controlled now, but our spirits have also submitted."

I asked again, "Then where is the person you mentioned?"

Shi Tian pointed behind him with his thumb. "He is inside now, discussing matters with the Wind Master Immortal. He asked me to tell you that after this conversation concludes, the three of you will enjoy at least ten years of peaceful living. In ten years, he will give you all the answers you desire."

I frowned. "What if I want the answers right now?"

I expected Shi Tian to say, "Get past me first."

Instead, he untied a sack he was holding nearby, revealing Xie Yuting’s head, and said, "He was severely wounded by Sasuke and is in desperate need of medical attention. I’m giving him to you; you handle it."

Seeing Xie Yuting’s ashen face, the three of us froze, then rushed over quickly.

Flipping open Xie Yuting’s eyelids, checking his pupils, and testing his pulse and breath, we found he was truly extremely weak, clinging onto the last thread of life.

Xie Yuting had saved my life, so, for the sake of fairness, I asked, "Isn't Xie Yuting one of yours? Why didn't you treat him immediately? Why did you stuff him in a sack!"