Chapter 211 - 166: Forbidden Tower’s Mystery

Words : 1990 Updated : Sep 29th, 2025

Chapter 211: Chapter 166: Forbidden Tower’s MysteryZhou Xuan and the two companions arrived at the tower. The tower door was fastened with a chain lock. Zhou Xuan swung Bone Teeth, severing the chain and pushed the door open. With a serious expression, Zhou Xuan said to Si Ming and Si Yuer, "This tower likely contains something sinister. If anything seems off later, turn around and leave immediately." Some sinister presences can be resisted by those with high Incense Fire Levels, but others, even the most advanced practitioners, are unable to withstand and may suffer profound effects. Take, for example, the "Human Stomach" encountered at the Jingyi Shop. The hunger it emanated was so overwhelming that even Li Chengfeng couldn’t resist it. "Understood." Si Ming responded firmly. The three of them entered the tower. Structurally, the tower didn’t seem any different from a regular Buddha Tower—brick walls, glazed windows, tiled roofs, wooden floors. Except, the floor... it felt somewhat soft... On the ground floor, nothing seemed out of place. Apart from a wall of scriptures, the room was empty, devoid of even a plinth or seating. Using the faint light of the moon, the three ascended to the second floor. After walking several meters on the second floor, Zhou Xuan suddenly sensed that something was amiss. He had traversed Divine Revelation, the Blood Well, the Unknown Land, and had even clawed his way back from death. Despite his lower Incense Fire Level, Zhou Xuan was vastly experienced in exploring sinister realms. At this moment, Zhou Xuan felt the wooden floor beneath him becoming increasingly soft. He crouched suddenly and stabbed Bone Teeth into the ground, as if piercing into a slab of flesh. Upon withdrawing Bone Teeth, the hole it left behind began to ooze golden blood. "Leave the tower! This tower is a living being!" Before Zhou Xuan had finished shouting, the ground suddenly sprouted clusters of fleshy tendrils. These tendrils bore a disturbing resemblance to human hands and began curling toward the legs of the trio. Si Ming and Si Yuer instinctively used "Stealing" to tear off those grasping tendrils. Zhou Xuan, too, sliced at them with Bone Teeth. For the moment, the tendrils resembled vines being hacked apart. "Hehe, dear guests, how heartless you are! Life is full of springtime joy, why not embrace it? Must you let this splendid opportunity slip through your fingers?" A sultry, seductive woman’s voice echoed within the tower. Compared to the tangible flesh tendrils, this enticing voice struck at their very defenses, leaving them vulnerable. Zhou Xuan immediately felt a blazing heat ignite within his belly, a sensation he was all too familiar with—an overwhelming, consuming desire. The fire burned brighter, and in his vision appeared a woman draped only in a sheer veil. He wanted to pull her into his embrace, but when he forcibly suppressed the desire, he realized what stood before him wasn’t the veiled woman—it was Si Yuer. Si Yuer’s face flushed an alarming shade of red, and Si Ming was audibly panting heavily. The father-daughter duo’s hands waved indiscriminately as they shouted, "Talisman Fire Wall." "Talisman Fire Wall" was the fourth tier of the Divine Stealer’s techniques. It worked by identifying the connection between talismans, magic artifacts, Incense Fire, and humans, and using the first-tier technique, "Empty-Handed," to sever this connection temporarily, leaving the target essentially powerless. However, the window of effectiveness for severing these connections lasted only a few fleeting moments. During this gap, the Divine Stealer could unleash their trump card, "Stealing." But this technique required close proximity, and Divine Stealers with Incense Fire Levels below five rarely had the opportunity to use it. Currently, Si Yuer and Si Ming, in their lust-induced stupor, instinctively tried to activate "Talisman Fire Wall," but to no avail. The malevolent force within this room disregarded Incense Fire Levels entirely. Zhou Xuan urgently formed the "Zen Meditation Handprint." The handprint, infused with Buddha energy, worked effectively against desires, managing to ease his urge. Though not entirely extinguished, it was enough for Zhou Xuan to move, albeit with extreme difficulty. "I’ll get you both out of here," Zhou Xuan declared, grabbing Si Ming and Si Yuer’s hands, attempting to pull them from the tower. But time was already running out. The distance from the second floor to the exit on the ground floor stretched for dozens of meters. Given the rapid pace at which lust was reclaiming Zhou Xuan’s senses, it was clear he wouldn’t even cover half the distance before needing to meditate again. While Zhou Xuan could meditate and recover, the Si family pair could not. They wouldn’t last much longer under the tower’s influence. If they lost control completely... "We won’t make it out running—we’ll jump through a window!" Catching sight of a glazed window not far away, Zhou Xuan exerted all his strength to drag the pair toward it. He struck the glass with his elbow, only to find it elastic. The glass was alive, and brute force wouldn’t break it. Zhou Xuan resorted to stabbing Bone Teeth into the window. Planting his foot on the frame, he yanked downward with all his might. After considerable effort, he tore the window’s membrane open, kicking repeatedly until the elastic layer was removed. First, Zhou Xuan picked up Si Yuer and tossed her out through the opening, then followed suit, throwing Si Ming out like he was flinging a sack. Once they were out, Zhou Xuan prepared to escape himself. As soon as he extended an arm through the opening, the edges of the window sprouted sudden spikes of bone. The spikes grew rapidly, forming a lattice of sharp, white bars within seconds. Luckily, Zhou Xuan pulled his arm back just in time; otherwise, it would’ve been pierced through. "Dammit!" Zhou Xuan clenched Bone Teeth, preparing to break open another window. But then he was struck dumb—every window in the tower now grew dense clusters of bone spikes to block him. "Hey, big brother, don’t leave! Stay and play with me. I get so lonely, you know," The flirtatious, mocking voice echoed again. Zhou Xuan swiftly re-formed the Zen Meditation Handprint. When his mind regained clarity, he abandoned the idea of escaping through the windows and decided to descend using the stairs. I have the Zen Meditation Seal. I don’t fear lust. But very soon, Zhou Xuan realized the Zen Meditation Handprint wasn’t foolproof. As he descended halfway down the staircase, a figure suddenly appeared at the turning point. The figure wore black cloth garments and a White Jade Bracelet on her wrist, her ears adorned with a triangular iron headset. Her hunched form quietly stared at Zhou Xuan. "Grandmother?!" The figure wasn’t anyone else—it was his grandmother. The white jade bracelet in her hand had been a gift Zhou Xuan purchased for her with his first month’s wages. The headset was also something he had bought. His grandmother had complained of hearing difficulty while watching dramas, so Zhou Xuan had spent money getting her a pair of premium headphones. Now, seeing the bracelet and headset again, Zhou Xuan felt a sharp pang in his heart. The day he died in his past life in a car crash had been his first holiday for months, and he was driving back to his hometown to spend time with his grandmother. "Grandmother!" At this moment, Zhou Xuan’s mind was relatively clear. He understood the figure wasn’t truly his grandmother—it was merely an illusion constructed by the tower. Still, Zhou Xuan felt compelled to call out to her, longing to embrace her. Step by step, he moved closer, but abruptly he stopped, no longer advancing. "I can’t go forward anymore—my mind is already losing control." Suddenly, Zhou Xuan remembered: Jing Country people could never predict him accurately! Not even the unparalleled calculations of Human Turtle’s predictions could fathom him. How then could this "tower" possibly gauge him? Its portrayal of his grandmother surely stemmed from his own mind. Zhou Xuan hadn’t been thinking of his grandmother, yet her illusion appeared. This could only mean that his mind had already been manipulated by the tower. If his consciousness had been overtaken, then taking another step forward would trigger some unseen trap. "But if my consciousness is compromised, how am I aware of this manipulation?" "Is this Blood Well Madness acting up?" "Yes, it must be Blood Well Madness." Zhou Xuan could only give himself this explanation! The projection of Light and Dark Consciousness had apparently gone awry, making him see his grandmother’s illusion. "It has to be! It has to!" Zhou Xuan once again activated the Zen Meditation Handprint to clear his mind further. Yet even with regained clarity, the grandmother illusion still stood at the staircase, watching him. "Lingzi, Grandma’s here to take you home." "Lingzi, Grandma has chicken soup waiting for you at home. Drive carefully!" Her words hit Zhou Xuan right in the heart. On the day of the car crash, he had called his grandmother beforehand, and she told him there was chicken soup waiting for him. "Come on, Grandma will take you home." Grandma walked step by step toward Zhou Xuan, reaching out to take his hand. Zhou Xuan slowly raised his hand, but the moment their hands touched, he fiercely flung her hand away. "Forbidden Tower! This is your illusion—it’s your illusion!" Zhou Xuan swung Bone Teeth wildly, slashing at the "Grandmother," who dissolved into golden blood splattering everywhere. As he glanced around him, clusters of fleshy tendrils began encroaching from all directions, silently closing in on him. Had he held "Grandma’s" hand and taken a few steps forward, those tendrils would have impaled him through. But he had realized the truth. Zhou Xuan knew the sensation of his grandmother’s hands all too well—calloused and rough from years of work, yet offering undeniable warmth and reassurance. He had been raised by his grandmother while his parents were busy working. Even if the Blood Well’s projections had glitched and created an illusion, there was no way it could produce the wrong tactile sensation—it was a feeling etched deeply in his soul. "Zhou Xuan, you have such fascinating experiences! Let me tell you something even more fascinating—do you wish to return to your world?" "Hehehe!" "If you go back, you’ll never see your grandmother again! But here, in Jing Country, you can see your grandmother!" "Hehehe!" "Lies! You’re lying to me!" Zhou Xuan roared furiously. Enduring his exhaustion, he continued descending the tower, determined to escape this sinister place. Whatever monstrosity this tower was, it far surpassed the predictive powers of even the Human Turtle! He couldn’t stay here any longer. He had to leave. "Go ahead, leave, and let your grandmother’s secret forever remain trapped in this tower—hehehe!" The voice inside the tower grew ever more derisive. Zhou Xuan ignored the taunts, struggling further down. After only a few steps... The tower’s mocking voice returned, "Have you ever wondered why, in the Zhou Family’s Troupe, you only ever hear tales about your grandfather? Why has no one ever mentioned your grandmother?" The words struck Zhou Xuan like lightning, splitting his heart wide open! It was true. He had once sat and chatted deeply with his sister Zhou Lingyi. She had mentioned their grandfather, their father, their mother, and even their stepmother. But she had never, not even once, mentioned their grandmother. His grandmother seemed to have been completely absent from Zhou Lingyi’s memories, as though she had never existed. "Hehehe, do you believe me now? I’m worth believing!" The ground rose again, sprouting flesh spikes, hovering mere inches from Zhou Xuan’s body. "Go on, step forward. Step into me. Take one little step at a time, come closer—you will see! I’ll show you the secret between you and your grandmother. Hehehe, trust me! Believe me! I am Buddha—I am the omnipotent Buddha!" The Forbidden Tower’s voice reverberated endlessly... ps: Nearly 8,000 characters across two installments, mwah

Chapter 211 - 166: Forbidden Tower’s Mystery

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