Chapter 49 Part 1

The thunder tribulation struck the normal seven-seven-forty-nine strikes and then stopped. Lian Yunzhi successfully advanced to Void Refining as he wished. Midway through, he inevitably suffered some injuries, but the moment he advanced to become a Void Refining cultivator, all his wounds healed completely. Moreover, his physical body became even tougher after being tempered by the thunder tribulation.

Pa!

Lian Yunzhi extended his vines and whipped the ground. The earth instantly cracked into quarters. Lian Yunzhi satisfactorily curled up the corners of his lips.

It seemed that not only his body, but even the power of his true form had increased! He looked up, wanting to share the good news with Mu Cheng, only to find Mu Cheng staring intently in one direction.

“What are you looking at?” Lian Yunzhi leaned over and asked.

“I found the Near Heaven Tower.” Mu Cheng turned to look at him.

.

When the Heavenly Dao withdrew all its malice, the Near Heaven Tower, which they had searched everywhere for without success before, finally revealed its traces.

Lian Yunzhi and Mu Cheng left the valley, climbed the high mountain, crossed the swamp, and finally saw the legendary Near Heaven Tower in a miasma-filled forest.

More like a giant tree than a tower, it towered into the clouds, covered in moss and entwined with vines. When Lian Yunzhi approached, those vines rustled with obvious spiritual awareness.

“Where’s the entrance?”

As Lian Yunzhi asked while groping around, the vines on the tower slithered, revealing a door.

Lian Yunzhi immediately pulled Mu Cheng inside.

But in the next instant, the thick vines on the tower moved again, extending between Lian Yunzhi and Mu Cheng, blocking Lian Yunzhi inside the door and Mu Cheng outside.

【The Near Heaven Tower only receives those with immortal affinity.】

An ancient voice rang simultaneously in the minds of Lian Yunzhi and Mu Cheng, adding—

【Moreover, the other one no longer needs to enter the tower to cultivate.】

Mu Cheng tightly gripped Lian Yunzhi’s hand. “We’re not going in. Let’s leave.”

Lian Yunzhi hesitated, however.

He had been longing for this tower for so long. Now that he was at the doorstep, leaving just like that felt too unwilling. Besides, cultivating one day in the Near Heaven Tower was equivalent to cultivating a year outside.

He looked up at Mu Cheng and whispered, “How about I go in alone? I’ll definitely come out after fifty days.”

Mu Cheng stared fixedly at Lian Yunzhi. “The time flow inside the tower differs from the outside. One day inside is like a year outside.”

Lian Yunzhi: “Yeah, such a great opportunity, so I said I’ll come out after fifty days.”

Mu Cheng gripped his hand even tighter. “It’s fifty days for me, but fifty years for you.”

Lian Yunzhi froze. He hadn’t expected it to be like that.

“Don’t go in, okay?” Mu Cheng’s voice was hoarse. “We’ll just cultivate in the Blood Yin Secret Realm. The spiritual energy here is abundant. You cultivating five years here will still equal fifty years outside.”

But at that moment, the Near Heaven Tower spoke again.

【The Blood Yin Secret Realm is about to disappear. Those who enter the Near Heaven Tower, unless they ascend, cannot leave until death.】

Lian Yunzhi’s opened mouth closed again.

Silence fell over the air. The two stared at each other for a long time, and Lian Yunzhi’s hand was gripped painfully by Mu Cheng.

“I’m going in.”

Lian Yunzhi finally spoke.

His voice was low, his gaze drooping without meeting Mu Cheng’s eyes, but it was exceptionally resolute. He even inch by inch pried open Mu Cheng’s hand.

“I want to ascend within fifty days.”

He lifted his head.

Mu Cheng grabbed his hand again, almost grinding his teeth as he asked, “Are you in such a hurry to ascend? Even if it means separating from me for fifty years?!”

“Yes,” Lian Yunzhi said. “I’m very eager. I want to grow stronger quickly, ascend quickly. I’m tired of being slaughtered because of weakness…”

“We won’t be slaughtered anymore!” Mu Cheng interrupted him.

“Are you sure? First the immortals descending from the heavens, then the extraordinary thunder tribulation—are you sure we won’t encounter any dangers in the next fifty years?” Lian Yunzhi looked up at Mu Cheng. “After devouring the heavenly thunder, your power became even stronger, right? Your knowledge sea and divine soul have expanded many times over. But Mu Cheng, I…”

Lian Yunzhi paused, his voice turning hoarse as he continued, “…I can’t keep up with you anymore. Our cultivation gap is too big, and my divine soul force is much weaker than yours. If you fight someone again or lose your senses, with my current divine soul force, it’ll be hard for me to assist or purify you…”

Mu Cheng stared dazedly at Lian Yunzhi.

Lian Yunzhi pursed his lips, his head hanging low, his voice small. “…And yet I’m supposed to be the master.”

How could he be so weak?

Mu Cheng’s chest felt like it was flooded layer by layer with warm water, waves of warmth that brought both comfort and sourness.

He opened his mouth, his voice hoarse beyond measure, still trying to persuade him. “…But fifty years is a long time. You’ll suffer.”

Lian Yunzhi blinked. “It’s okay. Time passes quickly when cultivating. Back when I secluded myself for three years in Xiaoze State, it went by in the blink of an eye.”