Chapter 341: Test
Yu Nianzhen and his group stayed in the Valley of Stars for five years.
In that time, they collected a lot of treasures and each had a few that could be used as origin treasures.
When they left, Xuan Ke couldn’t help but sigh in regret.
"Don’t be greedy." Jiang Yue admonished.
However, he was also regretful.
The Valley of Stars had a lot of treasures but time was limited and they couldn’t take them all.
"We can come back if we have time in the future." Yu Nianzhen said and rubbed his husband’s hair.
"Mmmm." Jiang Yue agreed.
"The next place is the metal mountain." Bing Lan said and everyone regained their mood.
"Even if we don’t find origin treasures, we will find good refining materials. Nianzhen..." Yang Xu started but stopped in the middle.
He frowned and quickly sunk his consciousness into his dantian.
"What..." He muttered.
"Axu?" Bing Lan called when she noticed his distraction.
"What’s wrong?" She asked.
"There is something different about the patterns on the wall of my dantian." He said and frowned a little more.
When the others heard that, they immediately used their consciousness to check their dantian.
"Mine also feel different but I can’t tell how." Jiang Yue said.
The others also felt the same and the group began to discuss.
While they were talking, a change suddenly happened in the Nine Treasures secret realm.
Without warning, the ground began to shake and ripples appeared in the air.
The ripples did not produce wind but stimulated the air causing it to vibrate vigorously.
"Master, do you know what is going on?" Jiang Yue asked and everyone turned to Yang Xu.
"I have heard of this before but I have never seen it. If what I heard is true, the tower of time is about to appear."
"Tower of time?" Yu Nianzhen asked excitedly.
"The Tower of Time is the only place in the Nine Treasures secret realm that has the treasures of time. However, the Tower of Time appears and disappears randomly. It is impossible to find it unless it reveals itself."
"I have also heard about the Tower of Time." Bing Lan continued.
"It’s said that not everyone can enter the Tower of Time."
"What are the requirements?" Jiang Yue asked.
"This..., I don’t know." Bing Lan said apologetically.
"The tower of time is also the safest place in the Nine Treasures secret realm." Li Futian added and the others turned to him.
"I don’t know the reason but people can’t fight in the tower of time. However, these things are not what is important."
"What do you mean?" Jiang Yue asked.
"I didn’t expect but our luck is really good." Li Futian said and sighed.
"The time in the tower is different from the time outside."
"How different?"
"One year inside the tower is one day outside."
When Li Futian said that, the others couldn’t help but gasp in shock.
The Tower of Time was simply a cheating tool!
"How long can people stay in the tower?" Yu Nianzhen asked.
"I know that one hundred days is the maximum. How long one stays depends on their ability."
At that moment, the air vibrated more violently and a tower emerged from the void.
The base of the tower was one hundred metres from the ground and its peak could not be seen no matter how one looked.
After the tower stabilised itself in the air, thousands of staircases extended from its base to the ground.
Each staircase was made of shiny brown marble and had one hundred and eight steps.
When the staircases touched the ground, an ancient voice resounded in the Nine Treasures secret realm.
"Only those that can climb to the base of the tower within one day can enter the tower of time."
With that, the atmosphere in the Nine Treasures secret realm changed.
Excitement filled the air and hundreds of cultivators rushed to the nearest staircase.
The staircase closest to the group was eighty metres away but the six didn’t rush.
They walked slowly and took the time to observe the cultivators that had jumped on the staircase.
Unfortunately, they couldn’t deduce anything from watching them.
"Do you see anything?" Jiang Yue asked and squinted to see better.
"No." Yu Nianzhen answered with a frown on his face.
More than ten cultivators had already stepped on the stairs but he couldn’t tell what the test was about.
"Since climbing is a test..." Bing Lan started but then stopped.
The reason for this was because she saw a cultivator who stepped on the first step only to be violently ejected.
"Why did that happen?" Xuan Ke wondered as he looked at the embarrassed cultivator.
"The staircase didn’t even give him a chance." Jiang Yue sighed.
"Is he also worth it?" Li Futian said and rushed at the person.
In the blink of an eye, he released his weapon and killed the cultivator before they had a chance to stand up.
"Brother Li?" Xuan Ke called in shock.
"He is a member of the Death Flower Ascension Front." Li Futian explained.
"The tower of time is one of the most important treasures of our Cangxing world. It’s impossible for our world to let the Death Flower Ascension Front take advantage."
"It’s only right." Jiang Yue agreed and so did the others.
"Let’s start climbing before others arrive." Yang Xu said and took the lead to step on the first step.
Soon after, Yu Nianzhen and Jiang Yue followed.
As soon as he stepped on the first step, Yu Nianzhen felt a majestic force enter his body.
The force sealed his qi, physical power, and soul power, reducing him to an ordinary mortal.
In shock, he turned to his left, wanting to talk to Jiang Yue but found that the other had disappeared.
Not only Jiang Yue, but everyone and everything had also disappeared.
The only thing in his vision was the one hundred and eight steps that led to the base of the tower.
’XiaoYue should be in a similar space. We should be able to meet when we reach the top.’ He thought and calmed his mind.
After that, he steadily climbed to the second and third steps.
Fourth step...
Fifth step...
.
.
.
Tenth step...
When he landed on the tenth step, Yu Nianzhen frowned.
He didn’t feel anything when he climbed the first nine steps. However, he felt different when he stepped on the tenth step.
For some reason, he suddenly felt tired and his body became heavier.
"I only climbed ten steps. Why am I so tired?" He wondered and frowned.
However, it was just a little fatigue and he didn’t want to waste time on it.
With that, he continued to climb.
Unfortunately, the more he climbed, the more tired he became.
By the time he reached the fiftieth step, he was out of breath and his chest was hurting from exertion.
Most importantly, his physical appearance had changed a lot.
"If XiaoYue sees me like this, will he still like me?" He muttered as he looked at his hands.
Originally, Yu Nianzhen looked like a young man in his early twenties.
His face was flawless and his figure was perfectly maintained.
However, all these slowly changed as he climbed the stairs.
Before he noticed, he had aged.
His face and hands were wrinkled, and he even had some grey in his hair.
’What to do?’ He wondered and looked at the remaining stairs.
Like Earth, the lifespan of a mortal in the Cangxing world was about one hundred years.
Judging from his current appearance, Yu Nianzhen guessed he was about fifty.
With the rate he was ageing, his lifespan would end long before he reached the one hundredth and eighth step.
When that happened, he didn’t know what would happen.
He didn’t know whether he would be ejected from the staircase or if he would die...
Thinking of this, Yu Nianzhen couldn’t help but hesitate.
If he was ejected from the stairs, he could start again and try to figure it out.
However, if he died, that would be the end.
Yu Nianzhen didn’t want to die.
He still wanted to reach the peak of sword dao and spend an eternity with Jiang Yue.
’I don’t even know if the ageing is reversible.’ He thought and his heart wavered.
However, the wavering was only momentary.
He had climbed fifty steps and didn’t want to give up.
’I can’t use the leaves of the Tree of Life on this staircase but I can use them when I get out. At that time, it won’t matter whether the changes are reversible. I can use the leaves of the tree of life to replenish my vitality."
With that, Yu Nianzhen hardened his heart and took a deep breath.
A moment later, he took a step and climbed onto the fifty-first floor.
At the same time, he felt his vitality leaking out of him and his body aged by three years.
