Chapter 271: Chapter 269: The Purple Mark
In truth, although the fourth layer of the Exquisite Treasure Tower consisted entirely of Earth Palace and tomb-like settings, different teams were sent to separate Earth Palaces.
For instance, only those within a one-li radius on the Third Layer Space would be teleported to the same Earth Palace.
Thus, Jiang Jichen, Hua Xiaoling, and Yee Youmeng were in an Earth Palace by themselves. There was no one else with them.
However, it was rumored that participants would only meet again once they fought their way to the deepest layer of the Earth Palace tombs.
The first three layers of the Earth Palace were already terrifying enough; almost no one dared to venture any deeper.
Even for cultivators like Ling Dong and Nangong Jinjie, who had reached the Pseudo-Heaven-level Dao Platform Foundation Establishment Perfection Realm, the fifth layer of the Earth Palace tomb was likely their absolute limit. It would be nearly impossible for them to go any deeper.
After bidding farewell to Hua Xiaoling and Yee Youmeng, Jiang Jichen had already fought his way to the fifth layer of the Earth Palace tomb!
Even with the Ancient Medicine Cauldron blocking most of the attacks, he had still sustained serious injuries and was covered in wounds, both large and small.
But with great risk came great reward. In just a single day, Jiang Jichen had already farmed one hundred million points!
He had formed the purple mark!
At that moment, the void above the Southern Continent trembled, and a great roar echoed in the minds of the people. A single name among the Spirit Pattern Tower marks began to shake violently before finally erupting in an incomparably dazzling purple light.
Jiang Jichen!
At that moment, the name, shining with purple light, appeared simultaneously in the minds of every cultivator across the Southern Continent, even those outside the Refining Illusion Realm and the Exquisite Treasure Tower.
Any cultivator in the Southern Continent who had reached the Minor Grandmaster Realm saw that purple name flash through their mind at the same time.
Furthermore, the stronger and more profound their cultivation, the longer the purple name lingered in their minds.
For cultivators below the Foundation Establishment Realm, Jiang Jichen’s purple name was but a fleeting flash, its meaning lost on them.
But how could those cultivators at the Spirit Infant Realm and above not know what this purple name, appearing so suddenly in their minds, represented?
’An anomaly appears from the Exquisite Treasure Tower; the purple light anoints the chosen one!’
This meant that the chosen one for the Exquisite Treasure Tower had appeared. The last time such a figure had emerged was over ten thousand years ago.
That previous chosen one with the purple mark had obtained a staggering opportunity within the Exquisite Treasure Tower, becoming a figure of legend.
Now, ten thousand years later, someone had once again formed a purple mark within the Exquisite Treasure Tower.
And he was... Jiang Jichen!
’Why have I never heard of this person?’
’Shouldn’t he be a prodigy from one of the Seven Great Families or the Three Major Sects?’
Everyone was utterly shaken. Even the old reclusive masters, whose minds had remained untroubled for centuries, felt a faint ripple of disturbance.
The Ten Great Young Experts of the Southern Continent, along with the hidden prodigies cultivating in the secret realms of the Noble Families and Sects, all committed the name Jiang Jichen to memory.
The appearance of the purple name sent shockwaves across the Southern Continent, and the anomaly surged into the heavens for all the world to see.
"Jiang Jichen... I feel like I’ve heard that name. He’s... yes! Word came from the disciples who entered the Training Land. He’s the one who obtained the Ancient Holy Sword!"
"Jiang Jichen! He’s the one who killed our family’s disciples!"
"Jiang Jichen... the one who obtained the Poison-Devouring Fragment! He deserves to die!"
...
But soon, many people realized the truth. Though they had never met Jiang Jichen, how could anyone who had been following the situation in the Ancient Refining Land possibly not know his name?
While news of events after the Ancient Ruined City was sealed could not get out, word of Jiang Jichen obtaining the Wandering Dragon Holy Sword and slaying many Noble Family Descendants had already spread.
Moreover, Iron Hand from the Five Poison Sect had returned without even entering the Exquisite Treasure Tower, so how could the sect’s higher-ups not know of Jiang Jichen?
Jiang Jichen was unaware that by forming the purple mark, he had set off a seismic shock throughout the Southern Continent. Meanwhile, the people inside the Exquisite Treasure Tower felt a wave of despair.
The best among them had only just managed to form a golden mark, and that was already their limit. A purple mark required one hundred million points, a goal that was simply too far out of reach.
They had no idea how Jiang Jichen was farming points!
’A monster! A point-farming maniac!’
At that moment, Jiang Jichen earned yet another nickname in their minds.
However, Jiang Jichen was oblivious to all of this and had no interest in finding out.
He now had only one goal in his heart: to surpass the purple mark!
Therefore, even after forming the purple Spirit Pattern Tower mark, his heart remained perfectly calm.
In the fifth layer’s ancient tomb, one-third of the undead were High Tier Earth Level mummified corpses. Jiang Jichen fought desperately for an entire day, slaughtering every last one of them.
The only reason he had survived was because he used the Mysterious Exotic Fruit to keep his life force from extinguishing.
His points continued to skyrocket. Though his mark remained purple with no change, everyone else was dumbfounded, thinking Jiang Jichen had gone insane.
"The purple mark is already the limit! Why is Jiang Jichen still farming points like his life depends on it? What is he trying to do?"
Everyone who possessed a Spirit Pattern Tower mark could see Jiang Jichen’s points continuing to climb wildly, and the shock they felt was indescribable.
Furthermore, their own Spirit Pattern Tower marks were vibrating nonstop—a phenomenon that only occurred during drastic point fluctuations—making it impossible for them to focus on farming points themselves.
"What is this point-farming maniac trying to do?"
"Damn it! He must be doing this on purpose! Is he even going to let the rest of us farm points?"
Many people cursed and swore in their hearts!
Meanwhile, in the fifth layer of the Earth Palace tomb, Jiang Jichen had just absorbed a tenth of the Mysterious Exotic Fruit’s power and finally recovered.
Through such life-and-death trials, Jiang Jichen’s Innate Realm body and his Spirit Cultivation Realm were both approaching the peak of perfection.
Jiang Jichen was no longer just farming points; he was also honing his cultivation, laying the foundation to break through to the Foundation Establishment Realm and the Body Vajra Realm.
In truth, this state of constant life-and-death combat... was something he reveled in!
To become a true expert, it wasn’t enough to simply have an expert’s heart; one needed to support it with endless combat.
To experience countless life-and-death battles and survive... that was true strength!
After recovering, Jiang Jichen didn’t hesitate for a second.
His battle intent surged to the heavens. With an aura as deep as an abyss and as imposing as a mountain, he strode into the Sixth Layer of the Earth Palace tomb.
"Kill!"
Jiang Jichen had gone mad. Killing intent surged from him like a tide. With bloodshot eyes, he fought with a complete disregard for his own life, all to farm points.
The reason he fought so desperately was that he had a faint premonition. He felt that on the Treasure Island at the center of the golden ocean lay something he was searching for, something he absolutely could not miss.
But the mummified corpses in the Sixth Layer of the Earth Palace were far too strong. Two-thirds of them were at the High Tier Earth Level.
Time and again, Jiang Jichen was pushed into desperate situations, but he turned the tables every single time. He fought until... he collapsed onto his back, with not a single mummified corpse left standing around him.
He had survived this trial, left with only a single breath of life.
His points had now reached four hundred million, but the purple light of his mark showed no change.
Clearly, he still didn’t have nearly enough points.
In that case, there was only one path forward!
And so, after spending three days healing his wounds in the Sixth Layer of the Earth Palace tomb, Jiang Jichen rose to his feet once more and strode into the final layer of the Earth Palace tomb... the Seventh Layer!
