Luo Lianxin and Huo Zhongguang leaned over curiously. They saw black mist swirling above the vat, resembling the surface of water, making it impossible to tell what lay beneath.

"Senior Brother, be careful. There is an extremely potent restriction array on the surface of this bronze vat. I fear whatever is inside is being forcefully restrained..."

Luo Lianxin recognized the quality of the seal; the restriction on the vat was formidable, clearly not the work of an ordinary person. She spoke up to warn him.

Feng Zikang nodded. He had already discerned that the vat's restriction was far from simple, though he could not fathom the identity of the figure imprisoned within. Seeing hundreds of similar bronze vats lining this expanse of bronze wall, an absurdly wild speculation unexpectedly surfaced in his mind.

"Could it be... that these bronze vats are actually sealing the Nascent Soul masters who entered the Trial Tower all those years ago?"

Feng Zikang’s heart tightened. He stood poised with his sword, observing the scene inside the vat closely.

Yet, beneath that layer of black mist, nothing could be seen clearly.

"Whatever is inside, we'll know once we break it open!"

Feng Zikang gave a soft shout, and his sword light shot out, striking the surface of the bronze vat. A sharp ding ding sound echoed, but the vat remained entirely unmoved.

Luo Lianxin frowned. "This restriction is strange; brute force probably won't suffice to break it..."

Feng Zikang halted his sword light, pondered for a moment, and then plunged his hand into the bronze vat. He was met with an intense, bone-chilling coldness. He slowly extended his divine sense inward, forcefully attempting to peel away the restriction.

The restriction was complex and perilous, but under his slow, steady pressure, it finally began to yield.

"Senior Brother, watch out!"

Seeing the restriction about to unravel, Luo Lianxin dared not slacken. She waved both hands, and a crimson net of gauze spread across the air. It was impossible to tell what treasure it was, but its radiant light proclaimed it no ordinary artifact, prepared as a failsafe.

"Hah!"

Feng Zikang roared, withdrawing his hand. On the surface of the bronze vat, waves began to ripple violently. The black mist vanished without a trace, revealing a person lying unconscious beneath!

Feng Zikang reached out and lifted the figure. Illuminated by the torchlight, he clearly saw the person's face and gasped in shock.

"Master!"

The person imprisoned in the bronze vat was none other than his master, Ye Tiansheng of the Military Strategists' Bamboo Grove on Mount Longhu!

Ye Tiansheng’s eyes were tightly shut, his face tinged with cyanotic coldness; he was deeply unconscious.

"Uncle-Master Ye!" Luo Lianxin was also startled. She rushed over to help Feng Zikang lay Ye Tiansheng down gently, slowly injecting him with vital energy and administering an elixir.

Huo Zhongguang was likewise deeply disturbed, unable to fathom how the immensely powerful Uncle-Master Ye had come to this state.

Feng Zikang, burning with anxiety, poured his true energy in a continuous stream. Ye Tiansheng’s face contorted in pain. After a long while, he finally emitted a faint groan and opened his eyes.

The moment Ye Tiansheng opened his eyes, he saw Feng Zikang kneeling beside him. He instantly became distressed, whispering weakly, "Zikang! How did you get here? Go! Go quickly!"

His body was frail, and this exertion caused him to cough violently, nearly making him faint again.

Feng Zikang hurriedly injected another surge of true energy to stabilize his spirit. He perceived that Ye Tiansheng’s Nascent Soul within his body was utterly gone, as if he had been rendered completely useless. Astonished, Feng Zikang dared not inquire further.

Ye Tiansheng steadied himself, finally taking in his surroundings. He sighed, his face ashen.

"Zikang, how much time has passed? You have actually broken through to the Nascent Soul realm? But... why did you have to come here?"

He exhaled. The elixir he had swallowed began to take effect, his complexion gradually regaining color, and physical wounds healing rapidly, though the lost Nascent Soul could never be restored.

"Master, what exactly happened?"

Feng Zikang asked, his heart filled with confusion.

Ye Tiansheng sighed and slowly recounted the truth of the matter.

"Since you have arrived here, you must already have some inkling of what transpired ahead..."

Three hundred years ago, the Trial Tower suddenly appeared in the uttermost North. Legend held that within it lay the secret to breaking through cultivation realms, ascending to immortality, and achieving the fruit of longevity.

And there was a formidable fiend, Gongzi Yi Wu, who could seemingly contend single-handedly against the world's many top experts; legend claimed he had emerged from the Trial Tower.

Because the Tower restricted entry to cultivators below the Nascent Soul realm, most masters at or above that stage eagerly ventured in to explore.

At that time, General Lu was only at the Core Condensation stage. However, harboring a deep hatred for Ye Tiansheng over a woman, he desperately sought to advance his cultivation. Ignoring the dissuasions of Ye Tiansheng and Xiao Zhuyuan, he insisted on forcing his way into the Trial Tower.

Who knew that once these countless Nascent Soul masters entered the Tower, none ever emerged? Only General Lu reappeared years later outside Mount Longhu, his cultivation having reached the Soul Transformation stage. But no matter what was asked of him, he refused to elaborate.

Three hundred years later, General Lu failed his tribulation and died. Ye Tiansheng, still perplexed by the truth of those events, rushed into the Trial Tower immediately after achieving the Nascent Soul realm.

He broke through the Profound Realm all the way to the bottom level, only to discover a horrifying secret!

This Trial Tower was nothing less than a massive conspiracy!

Ye Tiansheng took a deep breath and gave a wry smile. "My experiences are, of course, unnecessary to detail; having reached this place yourselves, you must have experienced something similar. Had I been ignorant upon arrival, I likely would have shared the fate of the other Nascent Soul masters—sealed within the walls while my mind remained clouded..."

He looked at the bronze vat and the stretching bronze walls, his eyes burning red.

"It was only through a bizarre twist of fate that I managed to uncover this grand secret..."

Ye Tiansheng forced his way to the very base of the Trial Tower. Perhaps because centuries had passed since anyone last entered, the bottom level was unguarded. He alone broke into the Hall of Yama and, much like Feng Zikang and his companions, discovered the bronze vats concealed within the bronze walls.

Smashing open a vat, he found the desiccated remains of previous generations of Nascent Soul masters.

Horrified, Ye Tiansheng tried to search for survivors and the truth, but he accidentally overheard a conversation.

It was a discussion among the Ten Yama Kings.

It was because of their conversation that Ye Tiansheng learned the truth behind this Hell and the Trial Tower!

That day, he pushed deeper into the Hall of Yama until he discovered a secret chamber. The Ten Yama Kings were deliberating there; inexplicably, all ten wore terrifying masks, concealing their true faces.

He crept close, listening to them speak.

"Today, the Great Calamity in the main Profound Realm is finally complete. It is laughable how those from the Nine Streams overestimated themselves; they have perfectly prepared the ground for us to reshape the Primordial Age..."

Ye Tiansheng's heart leaped. He couldn't fathom why these so-called Ten Yama Kings were discussing worldly affairs, and it sounded as if they were participants themselves.

"Those Nascent Souls have been processed for three hundred years; the elemental power we require is more than sufficient. To re-establish the cycles of water, earth, fire, and wind, and reopen a small-scale Primordial Age—it will be far superior to this fractured Profound Realm of today..."

"Our power is only sufficient for this much... A pity that General Lu refused to align with us, otherwise..."

Ye Tiansheng grew increasingly alarmed the more he listened. As he began to question who these people were, a woman's voice cut in, "Master Yuanyuan, the lives of these people..."

"What?" A thunderous crash sounded in Ye Tiansheng's mind. He involuntarily flinched, exposing a faint trace of his aura.