Chapter 122: The Nascent Soul True Monarch and the Qi Refining Scum-Raising a Future Overlord in the Cultivation World(Student Liu, who works everywhere)

Third Floor Hall of the Red Tower.

The volume of Qu Yiqiu’s laughter was directly proportional to the darkness clouding the face of Su Xichen, who sat by the small stream. He was as cold as an iceberg, his eyes filled with a predatory, murderous intent.

Suddenly, a monstrous fire erupted from the third red jade platform, startling Qu Yiqiu into silence. Xiao Yan, sensing an inexplicable aura intermingled with the flames, immediately dove into the center of Qu Yiqiu’s brow.

"What is happening?" No sooner had the confused words left Qu Yiqiu’s lips than Su Xichen, dressed in white, stepped out from the raging inferno.

Qu Yiqiu looked at him in astonishment.

Su Xichen eyed her coldly, his right hand rising slowly, sparks of purple lightning crackling against his palm.

"Peak Master Su, you didn't leave? How did you emerge from there?" Qu Yiqiu stared at him in shock.

A biting light glinted in Su Xichen’s icy pupils. The purple lightning in his palm coalesced into a feathered arrow, pointed coldly at her: "What have you done?"

"What do you mean, what have I done? Peak Master Su, what are you trying to ask?" Qu Yiqiu was completely bewildered by his questioning. This Su Xichen was never one to answer her questions!

"Your cultivation—what is going on with that?" Su Xichen’s words carried a sharp edge of killing intent.

Qu Yiqiu froze. As expected of Su Xichen; he cared only for the Great Dao of Immortality and had completely forgotten his original promise!

"Peak Master Su, have you ever practiced the cultivation techniques recorded in the Red Tower?" She deliberately ignored his question, mimicking his tone to turn the inquiry back on him.

Su Xichen frowned imperceptibly. "You practiced that incomplete technique?"

Refusing to answer again—how rude! Qu Yiqiu inwardly rolled her eyes, then shifted her gaze and said, "Peak Master Su thinks too highly of me. The techniques recorded on the stone platforms are profound and complex. Do you really think a disciple could understand and practice them?"

Su Xichen’s brows locked tight, his face frost-covered. "What I think is irrelevant. Your cultivation was gained too easily; I fear you will not live for five years."

Are you cursing me to die? Qu Yiqiu muttered to herself, then adopted a more serious tone. "How did you discern that, Peak Master Su?" Now that the laughing was over, she was indeed curious about how she had attained this Soul Formation cultivation.

Su Xichen’s cold gaze swept over her. "I have heard of this incomplete technique. If one does not obtain the full manual within a certain period, they will be consumed by the backlash and die."

Qu Yiqiu’s expression faltered, somewhere between fear and concern. Her only thought was to immediately open the All-World Immortal Cultivation Mall and find the rest of the technique!

"Of course, you may choose not to believe me. Once the five-year limit passes, your cultivation will feed back into the world, and at that point, no one will be able to save you." Su Xichen retracted the purple lightning from his palm, his expression suddenly turning calm.

Qu Yiqiu looked at him strangely. Why was this man suddenly showing concern for her? She pretended to be frightened by his words and asked nervously, "Does Peak Master Su know a way to resolve this? I was foolish and thought this was the way to leave the Red Tower, so I practiced it blindly, not knowing there would be such consequences!"

Su Xichen’s eyes flickered. "So, you really did practice that technique."

"Yes, yes. I just wanted to leave here. Peak Master Su never appeared, and I didn't know what else to do!" Qu Yiqiu hugged herself in feigned terror.

A storm raged in Su Xichen’s heart, though his face remained impassive. Years ago, he had intended to keep this girl by his side to mentor her, but unexpectedly, she had become a disciple of Mo Qingli. He had never been able to decipher the script of that incomplete manual himself, yet this girl had stumbled into successfully practicing it. Perhaps, as the ancient secrets suggested, the technique had chosen her.

Unfortunately, it happened here.

Su Xichen felt a trace of regret. Softening his tone slightly, he said, "If we could leave the Red Tower within five years, I might find a way to save you. But now that we are trapped here, even with all my powers, I cannot employ them."

Qu Yiqiu paused, stunned. "Peak Master Su cannot find a way out either?"

Su Xichen shook his head indifferently. "This is the Hall of Sinister Prisons, a dungeon for alien races created by the Heavenly Demons. Without the Heavenly Demon Silver Key, even if we broke through the first two barriers, we would never open the passage out."

Qu Yiqiu’s fearful expression stalled. She shifted her gaze toward the silver key embedded in the second red jade platform, pointing at it weakly. "Is this the silver key that Peak Master Su speaks of?"

Su Xichen’s gaze faltered, his expression locking up. "Where did you get the Heavenly Demon Silver Key?" The Heavenly Demon Silver Key was unique to each prison; it could not be copied or destroyed.

Qu Yiqiu blinked guiltily. "I accidentally found it while picking Gouqin grass in the Yellow Springs Pool."

Su Xichen frowned unconsciously. Found it? How could it be such a coincidence?

"Um... Peak Master Su, do you mean that with this Heavenly Demon Silver Key, we can leave this place?" Qu Yiqiu, unable to suppress her excitement, spoke up tentatively, though a sliver of worry remained.

Although she had gained Soul Formation cultivation inexplicably, Su Xichen’s claim that she wouldn't live for five years was terrifying! She had to hurry back and complete the technique!

Su Xichen stared at the flawless Heavenly Demon Silver Key embedded in the second platform, then moved his gaze to her. "I will take you out of here, but it will take some time."

It would take time again? Qu Yiqiu was worried about how long "some time" might be. She hesitated and asked, "Peak Master Su, how long will the disciple have to wait this time?"

Su Xichen understood her meaning. "Approximately three years."

"Three years?!" Qu Yiqiu’s eyes widened, her reaction mirrored by Xiao Yan in her sea of consciousness.

"Peak Master Su, didn't you predict that I wouldn't live for five years? Can't you open the passage sooner?" Qu Yiqiu was truly anxious now.

Su Xichen looked away, staring at the three red jade platforms. "The path left by the Heavenly Demons is intended for demonic creatures; as humans, we cannot pass through easily. Three years is the minimum."

Qu Yiqiu bit her lip, saying nothing. She had to find a way to open the All-World Immortal Cultivation Mall when Su Xichen wasn't looking! She couldn't waste a single moment of those five years!

Su Xichen did not know what she was planning, his gaze complex as he watched the platforms. If she hadn't drained his cultivation, it wouldn't have taken three years. Within those five years, he would only possess the cultivation of the late Qi Refining stage; it seemed he would not be able to leave the Tianyan Sect easily for a while. The move made by the Poison-Addict Villa had been the right one.

Both had their own thoughts as the three platforms were slowly activated. Seven multicolored beams of light shot into the sky, the hall trembled, and the Red Tower swayed incessantly. Qu Yiqiu clung tightly to one of the platforms, her arms fluctuating between the power of the Soul Formation stage and the strength of the Qi Refining stage, completely out of control.

Only then did Xiao Yan feel that something was amiss. So, his master really was only at the late Foundation Establishment stage...

At that moment, his emotions were in turmoil, beyond words.