Chapter 372: Second Floor of the Tower of Eternity (II)
Just before Chen Ying’er’s chant was cut-off midway, there appeared three Summoning Gates behind her, but they disappeared before being activated as she didn’t complete her spell.
This was the great gain obtained from the fusion between the Scapegoat Spiritual Stove and the Spiritual Stove of Time. Of course, this was an ability that could only be used once a day, and which fortunately had no huge backlash.
To summoners, a triple summoning ability was something going completely against nature. Still, the current Chen Ying’er was unable to display its full strength yet due to her special situation.
From the smashed parts of the blue skeleton gradually appeared a blue mass of light, and a slightly tapered voice could be heard from it, “The Eleventh Holy Guard reports to Master.” Then, it’s two severed halves fluttered along in a wind, transforming into two rays of light heading straight for Long Haochen. As it happened with the Red Skeleton, it fused into the Eternal Melody on Long Haochen’s chest.
The gem above the Eternal Melody now took the shape of a white skull, and beside the traces of red flame on the surface of the skull, appeared traces of a blue flame.
Right at that moment, the Tower of Eternity trembled suddenly, and Long Haochen’s group of seven clearly felt the quiver of a great earthquake. Everyone quickly gathered, vigilantly observing the surrounding changes.
Ripples of soft golden color appeared on the Eternal Melody resting on Long Haochen’s chest. In a golden light, illusory traces of air dispersed, making everything look hazy. This soft and golden color rippled in the air, and everything became distinct to their eyes.
Right ahead of Long Haochen’s group of seven, an immense sculpture appeared. Although it was only a sculpture, the looks of the seven were focused on it, because it emanated an inexhaustible awe-inspiring presence.
The sculpture roughly reached ten meters in height, and stood completely still. It was clad in a vivid and gorgeous black gown, on which some golden symbols appeared. On top of the gown the sculpture wore a large white cloak and a white hat, which provided a bold contrast of bright and dark with the black gown. The combination made the real appearance of the man behind this sculpture completely indistinct.
Its right hand was holding a two meters long magic staff, which was a mixture of black, white and gold. These three colors entangled with each other. The black symbolized pure death, while the gold stood for the meaning of purity and holiness, and that white color was seemingly related with the summoning power used by summoners.
Three kinds of metals coiled together, forming this mystical staff. On its top sat a large crystal that seemed to look like the sculpture of a skull. It was entirely white, and looked like an enlarged version of the Eternal Melody.
Looking at this sculpture, everyone quivered. Although it was merely a sculpture, and everyone knew it wasn’t a living being, every member of the squad still felt stunned to sense a profound, wise, and awe inspiring aura being released by it.
Although Long Haochen never acknowledged himself as the disciple of the Slumbering Calamity Elux, he still gave a knight salute in front of this sculpture. He didn’t feel any particular liking towards necromancers, but had no choice but to admire this powerhouse from the ancient times. From the Tower of Eternity alone, one could see how terrible this person had to be, probably standing as an existence comparable to the Demon God Emperor.
“Congratulations, my child. Did you like the gift I left you for completing the first set of trials? The twelve holy guards were my twelve guards in the past, all of them chose to take on this duty voluntarily. Unfortunately, human life is in the end limited, so I could only let them continue to exist as departed spirits. This is one of the most precious things I prepared for you. What you faced before was their suppressed strength. If you keep advancing, for every floor you clear, a part of the Holy Guard’s strength will be restored. Keep going forward, my child, and one day, you will let my twelve holy guards reappear in their full splendor.”
A pure white pillar of light appeared, spraying out from the peak of his staff, and growing in size in front of everyone’s eyes. Reaching a diameter of three meters, it emitted faint spatial fluctuations.
Lin Xin mumbled to himself, “This Holy Necromancer is too stingy. We have just cleared all the trials on the first floor, yet didn’t gain much rewards.”
Han Yu chuckled in response, “What more do you want as reward? Without the trials on the first floor of the Tower of Eternity, would our spiritual energy have grown so fast? I’m afraid that we would still be far from the sixth step. What’s more, we gained skills, combat training, and also obtained two holy guards. Didn’t this holy necromancer also say that the holy guards can still have more of their power restored? Just think about it, if the red and the blue skeleton we encountered can regain their spiritual energy, and maybe even more power, how terrifying would that be?! And this is only the first floor of the Tower of Eternity. To us, the chance of coming here is even more valuable than any weapon. After all, with our current cultivation, we still have no way to wield divine weapons in their full splendor, but the Tower of Eternity permits us to keep gaining power without limits, and that counts for all of us.”
Everyone could see the truth in Han Yu’s words, and nodded without restraint.
Long Haochen said next, “Once entering this pillar of light, we should reach the second floor. Do you want to keep going forward?”
Wang Yuanyuan replied, “Captain, you make the decision. However, I think that Ying’er shouldn’t be coming. She has just consumed her whole spiritual energy, so coming along would be too dangerous for her.”
Long Haochen gave her comment some thoughts, and replied, “Let’s do it like this then. You will all stay here and I will go scout first. With Haoyue here, no matter what I encounter, I can return without delay.”
Haoyue was now lazily lying on his stomach, since Long Haochen hadn’t told him to participate in the previous battle.
As they spent more time in the Tower of Eternity, Long Haochen started to value this place more and more. If not for the fact that their future operations would very possibly confront them with even more danger, he would actually not have led their group to defeat that blue skeleton here, providing them with the final reward of the first floor.
Taking a step forward, Long Haochen stepped into the white holy light. Bathed in that pure and holy light, he found out with surprise that all his spiritual energy that was consumed before was being replenished, and with a white glow of light, he appeared in another place.
After stepping onto the second floor of the Tower of Eternity for the first time, Long Haochen was alarmed, because there was nothing below his feet.
Before his eyes was a dazzling scene, and at both sides were two pillars arching forward. However, there was no substance under his feet, only illusory clouds and mist. At that time, he was inside the white light. As soon as he stepped out of it, he would officially enter the second floor of the tower.
Giving it a try, he stepped forward, treading on those white clouds. But in the next moment, Long Haochen couldn’t help but let out a shocked cry, because he felt his body falling instantly, as a weightless feeling filled him entirely.
With a white flash of light, the surrounding scenery returned to darkness, and a steady feeling reappeared under his feet. However, Long Haochen found out with astonishment that he was back to the place he left his comrades, in the hall of the first floor of the Tower of Eternity.
Why did this happen? Long Haochen had a slight start.
“Boss, were things dangerous? How is it that you are back so quickly?” Sima Xian inquired curiously.
Long Haochen slowly shook his head, returning to that white light.
In a flash of white light, he returned once again to the second floor of the Tower of Eternity, and came to understand that in this floor, sustaining flight would be necessary. Where the first floor forbade flight, the second floor made it absolutely necessary, since it was impossible to touch the ground.
This time, having learned from experience, he extended the four wings on his back, and stepped on the white light.
As expected, relying on the flight ability of his Spiritual Wings, he didn’t drop down immediately.
Flying forward with patience, Long Haochen calmly sensed the surroundings, finding out to his surprise that since coming to the second floor, the deathly aura suddenly became weaker, and instead, the holy aura strengthened. However, even with his perception, he actually didn’t manage to scout a range of more than hundred meters. It seemed that a powerful spiritual blockade was present.
Without a doubt, passing through this second level would need him to keep going forward, until being subjected to the trials of the second floor.
Faintly, Long Haochen started to understand the circumstances on this second floor, and had a rough guess of what the trial was going to be.
His four wings stretched, and with a flash of bright light, Long Haochen called out Yating.
After fusing with the Saint Spiritual Stove, Yating wasn’t suppressed inside the Tower of Eternity any longer. Unfolding her six wings, she dexterously floated above Long Haochen’s shoulder.
“Don’t rush forward. I just need you to stay close to support me.” Long Haochen murmured to Yating, before continuing his slow advance.
One meter, two meters, three meters… When advancing ten meters forward, a white fog suddenly rushed him, and suddenly, six figures appeared all around Long Haochen, surrounding him before throwing themselves at him like bolts of lightning.
As before, these were skeletons, only looking relatively small while carrying wings on their back. Their flapping wings appeared transparent, showing their incredible speed. Right after appearing, they rushed straight towards Long Haochen in a flash of white light.
Long Haochen who had been extremely vigilant, didn’t panic in front of this sudden ambush. He simply used his shield in a flash. Then, a golden barrier of light abruptly enveloped him from all around.
Guardian Knight skill of the sixth step, Shield Wall.
The ability Shield Wall would defend the user from all angles. Although it was not useable in combination with Divine Obstruction, its defensive power was also immense.
