A week had passed just like that.
Ju Bang was still trapped in the Second Illusion Layer.
From the initial anger to the eventual calm, and finally, resignation.
Ju Bang had no fighting spirit left whatsoever.
He had been passionate and eager, intending to bring glory to the Burning Moon Nether Sect.
Instead, a pursuit had led him to be trapped here, unable to leave, with no one around, only the countless Ice Whales.
His Martial Arts Heart had completely crumbled.
Meanwhile, Qin Chen had a rich experience during this week.
In one week, Qin Chen had gone through nine completely different Illusion Realms.
Moreover, Qin Chen had discovered.
That within each Illusion Realm, there was a large number of Demon Beasts, such as the Black Teeth Tigers in the First Layer and the Ice Whales in the Second Layer.
Furthermore, there was a Demon Beast King in each Illusion Realm, like the Ice Whale King and the Black Teeth Tiger King.
During this week, Qin Chen had harvested over five thousand Demon Crystals and two Large Demon Crystals.
One of which was the Ice Whale King’s Large Demon Crystal that Qin Chen had snatched from Ju Bang’s hands.
The other was obtained by Qin Chen after slaying the Willow Demon King in the Eighth Illusion Layer.
Additionally, there were Elephant Stone Flowers in nearly every Illusion Layer.
This had also led Qin Chen to believe that it was definitely possible to gather eighteen Elephant Stone Flowers.
But it was destined to disappoint Qin Chen.
After completing the Ninth Illusion Layer, Qin Chen failed to gather eighteen Elephant Stone Flowers; he had only obtained fifteen, three short.
However, what surprised Qin Chen was.
When he left the Ninth Illusion Layer through the Connection Point, Qin Chen thought he would arrive at the Tenth Illusion Layer.
But when he stepped out of the Ninth Illusion Layer, he knew the Illusion Realm had come to an end.
He finally walked out of the Illusion Realm.
To be honest, as the week passed, Qin Chen felt helpless, given that time was so precious.
Moreover, he had no idea about the situation outside.
While feeling helpless, Qin Chen could only accept it with resignation, since he had already come this far, and helplessness was of no use.
Until now, when Qin Chen saw that the place he had come to was no longer an Illusion Realm, he naturally felt ecstatic.
Qin Chen looked around.
The place he was now in was an underworld, for there was no sun in sight, and all around was utterly dim.
At this moment, Qin Chen stood upon a vast training field.
The training field, paved with gray-black rocks, was incredibly large and utterly empty, void of any objects.
Only at the center of this field was a tower that made Qin Chen feel incredibly shocked.
This tower, towering over a hundred zhang, had a thick ghostly aura swirling around it, and it was adorned with dim yellow oil lamps hanging above.
Therefore, it made this tower stand out as particularly conspicuous and sinister in this dark underground world.
What’s more, the most peculiar thing was that at its very top, there were enchanting flows of water moving about, making the tower seem as though it was situated in an underwater world.
Qin Chen looked at this tower, utterly clueless about what was inside, nor what this place was.
Just then, something like a ghost suddenly flew out from the tower, its dim yellow color eventually condensing into an incredibly ancient face.
To be honest, seeing this ghost directly form into a vast, ancient face gave Qin Chen a scare.
After all, this place was imbued with an eerie atmosphere, and the sudden appearance of an ancient face was naturally terrifying.
"Welcome, Tower Invader. I am the Guardian Spirit of this Underground Ghost Tower."
"You are the first person to come to the Underground Ghost Tower in two hundred and fifteen years,"
The aged face took a deep look at Qin Chen, as if trying to see through him, which made Qin Chen’s spine tingle. After that, the aged face spoke.
"Underground Ghost Tower? Guardian Spirit?"
Qin Chen stared at the aged face, his eyes suddenly fixed.
The Underground Ghost Tower must be the name of this tower.
Moreover, this aged face claimed to be the Guardian Spirit of the Underground Ghost Tower.
Referring to Qin Chen as, Tower Invader.
Clearly, the so-called Tower Invading was referring to this Ghost Tower in front of Qin Chen.
"Could this Underground Ghost Tower be the great secret of Ghost Valley?" Qin Chen thought to himself.
Qin Chen glanced at the Ghost Tower before him, feeling that the name of the tower fit very well with its eerie appearance.
What exactly was inside this Ghost Tower?
"I have been placed here by the master to guard and guide those who have passed the previous nine layers of the Illusion Realm and have earned the right to challenge the tower,"
the Guardian Spirit added.
Qin Chen’s mind settled, and a hypothesis he had been harboring received confirmation.
He and Little Fairy had been suspecting all along that all this was deliberately arranged by someone with a grand secret.
Now, the words of the Guardian Spirit undoubtedly confirmed the guess of Qin Chen and Little Fairy.
And the Guardian Spirit had also mentioned that only those who had passed the previous nine layers of the Illusion Realm would be qualified to challenge the tower.
Meaning, those nine layers of the Illusion Realm were a trial.
Only those who passed could come here.
Setting up those nine layers of the Illusion Realm and leaving behind this mysterious Ghost Tower, even purposely creating a Guardian Spirit for it.
What exactly did this master, mentioned by the Guardian Spirit, want to do? And what sort of being were they?
"Who is your master?" Qin Chen couldn’t help but ask.
"If you are able to eventually enter the Illusion Realm of the Ghost Tower, you will naturally come to know," the Guardian Spirit didn’t say.
"What is the Illusion Realm?" Qin Chen asked again.
"The Illusion Realm is the place where my master left a great opportunity, and where the master lived before passing away,"
"And moreover, it’s a place you can reach only after surpassing the challenges set by the master," the Guardian Spirit said.
"Opportunity?" Qin Chen’s heart shook.
Qin Chen could imagine what kind of existence had left all of this behind.
And it seemed that whether it was the previous nine layers of the Illusion Realm or the Underground Ghost Tower,
the ultimate goal was to enter that Illusion Realm.
This was enough to indicate how precious the contents of the Illusion Realm must be.
What Qin Chen lacked now was precisely such a great opportunity.
Only with that, could Qin Chen have the strength to contend for a seat among the top ten at the Heavenly Stele.
So upon hearing this, his heartbeat inevitably quickened.
"Are these nine layers of the Illusion Realm and the existence of the Underground Ghost Tower all meant to allow one to enter the Illusion Realm?" Qin Chen asked.
the Guardian Spirit shook its head, neither denying nor confirming.
Clearly, it didn’t know much.
"Just what is waiting for me..." Qin Chen couldn’t help murmuring to himself.