Chapter 496 Tower of Preaching, Part Two (7600, Seeking Monthly Tickets!)

If someone who had never met Su Zhou were to see him for the first time, and not be overwhelmed by his spiritual pressure.

Then, the first thing that person would notice would undoubtedly be Su Zhou’s eyes.

Compared to ordinary people, Su Zhou’s eyes possessed a kind of inorganic, crystalline quality.

His irises were as clear as gemstone slices, and they possessed a near-ray weapon-like condensing effect. It naturally made people feel a threatened danger.

Even among transcendents, very few dared to meet Su Zhou’s gaze, because that feeling was like placing a sharp needle point in front of their eyeballs, and instinctive fear would cause them to lower their heads.

This was only the appearance. In reality, apart from the dragon-snake-like vertical pupils, Su Zhou’s retinal nervous system was located behind the photoreceptor cells. This was a more reasonable distribution.

But more important were Su Zhou's cone cells.

The electromagnetic wave wavelengths that ordinary people's cone cells could sense were limited, both in terms of color and brightness.

However, Su Zhou's mutated cone cells could see almost all electromagnetic wave wavelengths, all radiation and light—basically, any information that could be fed back by photons, he could see it.

Even the different wavebands of spiritual power changes could be clearly captured and seen.

What did this mean?

It meant that in Su Zhou's eyes, everything had a magnificent appearance with countless colors.

The universe was pitch black, the sun was bright, the sky was blue... The world in the eyes of ordinary people was completely different from what Su Zhou could see.

The universe was as dazzling as neon lights, the sun was a disco ball composed of thousands of colors, and the sky was even more gorgeous like an abstract canvas, with the artist wantonly smearing his imagination on it.

The simplest comparison.

The pitch blackness that ordinary people saw, for Su Zhou, simultaneously existed with the golden-red color detectable by infrared thermal induction, and the colorful reflections of more frequency bands. And with the addition of other observation methods, there was even more to see.

Colorful black was the norm. Ordinary people's black could be divided into trillions of different color blocks for transcendents. If they didn't have enough information processing capabilities, just taking a glance would probably make them dizzy and nauseous.

If an ordinary person suddenly had the vision of a transcendent, they would go 'crazy' because they perceived the 'real world'.

And a cultivator whose 'dao heart' was not strong enough to adapt to this 'transcendent vision' would easily become insane, lose their humanity, or even go mad, which was the so-called transcendent illness.

Even powerful cultivators could force others to perceive everything they could perceive—that kind of perception that was too grand, too transcendent, ordinary people probably couldn't bear even a small part of it.

As for Su Zhou, who had already become a Hegemon Immortal, his eyesight, when applied to the microscopic realm, was comparable to a tunneling scanning microscope, and in the macroscopic realm, it could reach the level of a high-precision astronomical telescope.

If he used specialized thunder techniques, directly transforming into a human radio telescope, directly connecting with the joint radio telescope system of 'Zheng Country' and the 'Eastern Ying' area, sharing information would not be strange.

But even with such extraordinary vision, Su Zhou could only see a pure black when facing the [Tower of Preaching] in front of him.

There was no reflected light wave, no radiated emission—the surface of this Tower of Preaching didn't even emit heat. It was as if it were Guixu (the mythical primordial void), swallowing all sight, spiritual consciousness, and even 'thought'!

"Impressive! Truly remarkable!"

He praised like this, because he had seen something beyond his expectations. At this time, Su Zhou's interest was clearly piqued.

He stepped forward, carefully observing the darkness, and then exclaimed: "It's simply awe-inspiring!"

Even when he saw multiple Divine Trees before, he hadn't expressed such obvious emotion.

"Haha, being able to discover this point is enough to prove that Professor Su, your strength, at least your 'observation ability', has already reached a point that can be considered quite good even among Immortals and Gods."

Noticing the obvious change in Su Zhou's attitude, the Literary Saint smiled.

The wrinkles on the old man's face slightly relaxed. He raised his head, looked up at the Tower of Preaching, and said leisurely: "The 'Tower of Preaching of Myriad Mysteries' is a preaching object created by almost all the Grand Heavenly Venerates of the former Central Divine Court working together."

"The 'Boundless Limit' on its surface is a guardian grand formation that surpasses the Formation of Two Instruments and Microscopic Dust, capable of stopping all attacks—all the attacks we know of. Even if the Grand Heavenly Venerates themselves wanted to destroy it, they would probably need to put in some effort."

"I see... Such a powerful formation, is it?"

Standing at the edge of the Tower of Preaching, still staring at the darkness, Su Zhou couldn't help but nod.

The 'Boundless Limit', this protective magic formation with unknown information, covered the surface of the Tower of Preaching, devouring all light waves and even spiritual power reactions. All information reactions stopped at the edge of its formation's interference. Therefore, in his eyes, it was a sudden patch of darkness in a brilliant world.

For Su Zhou, since he advanced to the Hegemon level, he could easily see structures at the nanometer level, and his bare-handed processing ability had also reached this level. If he worked harder, even sensing atomic structures and even electronic reactions would not be impossible.

However, at this point, it was actually the limit of 'transcendent vision', because even smaller microscopic particles were so small in mass that they could be easily pushed away by light.

At that point, the most he could do was to observe the movement trajectories and reactions of particles from the side. It would be impossible to accurately see their 'position' with optics.

Even Su Zhou could only sense them with his 'spiritual power' and improve accuracy by increasing his cultivation.

But that improvement was really too weak. Su Zhou felt that perhaps he would have to wait until he became a Celestial Immortal, and his observation methods improved further, before he could see through the static effect of this 'Boundless Limit' and see the true appearance of this 'Tower of Preaching of Myriad Mysteries' and the structure of the formation.

"And at that time, perhaps I can turn this powerful defense formation into my own protective power..."

Somewhat reluctantly, he lowered his gaze from the pitch-black surface of the Tower of Preaching. At this time, Su Zhou's expectations for the interior of the Tower of Preaching could be described as higher than ever before.

Although he couldn't say that he had no interest before, it was more like going through the motions.

After all, as an existence with a Great Existence as an external information search engine, it would be a bit much to say that Su Zhou was very much looking forward to finding something in the Tower of Preaching that would surprise him.

But now, putting aside everything else, if he could get a cultivation method or Dao technique similar to the 'Boundless Limit' this time, it would be considered a great harvest.

Pragmatic? Without pragmatism, how can there be innovation? Seeking Dao and seeking truth with a clear heart and tranquility is not Su Zhou's way.

At this time, the Literary Saint took out the Scarlet Firmament Sword. He controlled the divine sword and activated a perfect sword qi, pointing it at the surface of the Tower of Preaching.

The Scarlet Firmament Sword qi seemed to be a kind of key itself. Although its power, enough to instantly kill a Demon King, didn't cause the slightest ripple on the pitch-black surface, a dark and deep doorway, not knowing where it led, appeared on it.

However, just as Su Zhou was about to step through this door and enter the interior of the Tower of Preaching.

He discovered that the Literary Saint's footsteps had stopped.

"What's wrong, Literary Saint."

Turning his head, Su Zhou asked with some confusion: "Aren't you going in together?"

"This time, I won't go in."

Standing on the bluestone road outside the tower, the Literary Saint put his hands behind his back and smiled slightly: "After all, this is a transitional ceremony before becoming a 'Saint Seat'. How can it be interfered with by others?"

"You will walk alone, through all kinds of tests, to the ninth floor at the top of the Tower of Preaching—and at that time, the Tower of Preaching will give you the inheritance you need, or the one that is most suitable for you, through the feedback of various test information."

"Like the Artisan Saint, he obtained the 'Yin-Yang Hexagram Determining Heavenly Secrets True Art', a rare inheritance that cannot be found in the general Immortal God level inheritance, and is basically impossible for ordinary people to learn—if it were me, I wouldn't be able to understand it even if I saw it, let alone learn it."

"And the Dao Saint, who originally had the true inheritance of the Thunder Department and the Heavenly Master Dao Seal, also obtained the 'Primordial Thunder Marsh True Seal' here, complementing his most lacking fundamental source system."

Stroking his beard, the Literary Saint's smile was quite peaceful, and his expression even carried a hint of nostalgia: "Even this old man, who doesn't care much about cultivation, obtained a method that can use the will of humanity to extend lifespan."

"As long as the policies I implement are still beneficial to the people, even if my physical body is aging, my spirit will not decline, or even die."

After speaking, this Zheng Country's First Saint looked at Su Zhou, met the youth's eyes, and said seriously: "I know that you, who have the guidance of an ancient Venerable, may not need these inheritances."

"But this is a kind of rite, which needs to be respected."

"I understand."

Nodding seriously, Su Zhou, who indeed had reverence in his heart, turned around.

Facing the door of the Tower of Preaching, he smiled, and then seriously reached out, pushed it open, and strode into it.

Without a trace of hesitation or fear—the youth, with the most respectful attitude towards the matter of 'seeking the Dao', stepped into it.

In the swaying sensation of teleportation, he disappeared behind the deep passage.

Inheritance Secret Realm, in the valley.

The Literary Saint silently gazed at the pitch-black high tower in front of him, and then said softly: "How is it?"

"Can our young 'Saint Seat Candidate' surprise you, Senior?"

[Surprise?]

And a clear and cold female voice sounded from all directions of the entire Inheritance Secret Realm: [You brought a terrestrial immortal who is not even twenty-two years old, and then asked me how I feel... Is this something that surprise can describe?]

[Li Zhekong, what I feel now is confusion.]

Countless specks of light lit up from all over the Inheritance Secret Realm. These tiny, firefly-like cyan halos condensed into a hazy cloud around the Literary Saint like a vortex.

Countless Dao principles, countless rune arrays, and Qingwei divine runes flickered within it, and around the cloud, the spiritual energy of the entire secret realm poured into it like a tide, merging with it.

In the center of this cloud, a tiny but bright spot of light was flashing.

Immediately afterward, with this spot of light as the core, the cloud swirled and condensed, forming a green-clothed goddess with a divine eye on her forehead and a youthful face with white hair, walking out of the bright spiritual cloud.

The white-haired goddess, who looked unusually young, had a clear and solemn expression, as if she were the will of the world, without any bias or emotion. The divine eye on her forehead and her two eyes glowed pure cyan, transformed from that dazzling spiritual light from before.

And in her arms, was placed a light golden divine whip, with patterns of mountains and the Five Sacred Mountains, filled with an aura as heavy as a mountain.

The goddess stared at the position where Su Zhou entered the Tower of Preaching, her expression indifferent, but her tone carried a trace of surprise: [He is not our inheritance, or rather, he is not an existence that can be nurtured solely by our inheritance... He has more than three or even more foreign auras on his body, as well as an unbelievably thick layer of wish power protection. I cannot see through it.]

[Li Zhekong, where did you find this freak? The last true dragon related to an ancient Venerable was one thing, but the number of ancient Venerable auras on this newly advanced terrestrial immortal is countless. A slight sense, and it's like Candle Dragon Venerable, Empress娲, and even Empress Hou Tu appearing together... even more terrifying than this.]

"Even you, the master of the secret realm and the spirit of the Tower of Preaching, the Miro Goddess, cannot see through it... Then so be it."

The Literary Saint, who was called by his true name by the goddess, nodded as if he had expected it. He said indifferently: "The great tribulation of the universe is approaching. Perhaps Su Zhou is a person born to face the tribulation."

[I cannot be sure of that... But if we are talking about being immeasurable, then that does match the person born to face the tribulation.]

Miro was concise.

She was the spirit of this Inheritance Secret Realm, shaped by the Heavenly Venerates of the past, and given the responsibility of preaching.

For thousands of years, except for assessing qualified inheritors who met the requirements, she spent most of her time in slumber, so she didn't seem as senile as old antiques.

The spiritual energy severance a thousand years ago almost plunged her into complete slumber. If the preaching secret realm were not a completely independent secret realm world, but a pearl inlaid on the Divine State Order Array, the secret realm itself would even be isolated.

At this time, after marveling at Su Zhou's strength and mystery, Miro began her own work.

[This world naturally has no malice towards him, which proves that he is not a person who harms the world to benefit himself.]

[Facing the 'Supreme Good Water' in the Spirit Gathering Dao Pool, the 'Breathing Earth' that cultivates the divine trees, and the divine trees themselves, he did not have any intention of greed.]

[He has done this better than many of you Saint Seats. I still remember that you wanted to scoop a spoonful of Supreme Good Water to drink back then. You were much more genuine than you are now.]

The cyan ripples spread out, sweeping in all directions.

Sensing the world and the information coming from the 'Mountain Driving Whip' in her arms, the Miro Goddess nodded slightly. Although her expression was still indifferent, her tone carried a hint of sincere appreciation: [Very good, a very good young man. Just one odd thing.]

[The way he looked at the divine trees was a bit like... looking at children. Moreover, it was the kind of comparison where he compared his own children with the children of other families.]

Saying this, Miro tilted her head and looked at the Literary Saint with some curiosity: [Does he also have a divine tree? Back then, when the Taiji Golden Tower Jade Emperor raised the ginseng fruit tree, he looked at other divine trees with pretty much the same expression.]

"...We don't know about this, nor have we ever seen the true face of the Ancestor of Terrestrial Immortals, but since Senior Miro said so, it shouldn't be wrong."

The Literary Saint pondered for a while, then shook his head and said softly: "As for the qualifications, since you have already approved them, there shouldn't be any problems, right?"

[Naturally.]

The white-haired, cyan-eyed goddess closed her three eyes. She sensed it slightly, then nodded slightly: [He has passed the test of the Sunset Divine Bow—this proves that he is not a person with evil intentions.]

[Passed the test of the Scarlet Firmament Emperor Sword—this proves that he is not a person who inflicts tribulation on all living beings.]

[Passed the test of the Earth Queen Mountain Driving Whip—this proves that he is not a person who harms the world to benefit himself.]

[In addition, the Tower of Preaching itself does not reject his entry, which proves that his Dao heart is firm and that he is immune to all evil.]

[Since there are no abnormalities, then he meets all the inheritance conditions... Next, is the specific test.]

Saying this, Miro smiled slightly. The indifferent tower spirit, who had never had an expression, finally felt a trace of joy from the bottom of her heart when fulfilling her duty.

She walked forward slowly, her straight white hair fluttering. The goddess spread her arms, and then once again transformed into a sky of cyan clouds—and then, merged into the surface of the Tower of Preaching, into that pitch-black Boundary.

After that, her light laughing voice echoed in the secret realm; [Let me see, the young terrestrial immortal, the dragon I have never seen.]

[Let me see, how far you will go.]

Inside the Tower of Preaching, the first floor.

The moment Su Zhou stepped into the Tower of Preaching and set foot in that incomparably tranquil hall, he felt an extremely profound feeling descend upon himself.

It was like merging into a boundless 'ocean' that could not be seen or touched, but that truly existed. It was leisurely and vast, coexisting with the ancient heaven and earth. It could be described, but it was extremely complex, self-contradictory, as if it were the collection of all paradoxes and truths, the combination of all great Daos and common sense.

Theoretically, it should not exist.

But it exists, so it exists.

It is both mortal and immortal.

It is both Buddha and demon.

It is both hell and pure land.

It is both the mortal world and the Immortal Heaven.

The thoughts of thousands of immortals, the billions of different feelings and memories, merged into a boundless sea of information.

Then, it connected with Su Zhou's soul.

At that moment, Su Zhou had the illusion that all his will, all his memories, all his emotions and wisdom, were like ink spreading on the surface of water, about to be infinitely diluted by the surface tension of the ocean—in the dark, it seemed that there was an indescribable thing resonating with his true spirit, wanting to merge him with this ocean.

Sorrow, hatred, regret, joy, tranquility, freedom, carefree, confusion, bewilderment, enlightenment... All kinds of thoughts, all kinds of feelings, all kinds of memories, swirled like whirlpools.

But this was only an illusion.

"Interesting."

How powerful was Su Zhou's will? Even if he endured thousands of demons and faced the majesty of the Lonely Master, he had never collapsed, let alone just the 'Dao'.

Breathing out a long breath, Su Zhou's originally dim gaze regained clarity.

And at this time, he could truly see everything around him.

It was an ocean.

An ocean composed of countless floating light patterns and jade slips.

In the dark first floor of the Preaching Hall, without any other light source, nearly endless translucent light patterns were rotating and surrounding Su Zhou with his every move, like a galaxy surrounding a supermassive black hole.

Every jade slip and light pattern was floating in the darkness, like starlight. In this hall, which was much larger inside than it looked outside, these inheritance slips and patterns, engraved with the thoughts and principles of the Immortals and Gods of the past, were the source of all light.

And they were the source of the thoughts that seemed to come from countless Immortals, Gods, Buddhas, and Demons before.

Staring at these starlight-like light spots, Su Zhou nodded thoughtfully: "I see, the inheritance slips and patterns in the Tower of Preaching will echo the thoughts of those who arrive here, showing their own 'Dao' to them."

"If a weaker person comes here, they will not be able to evoke much Dao. At most, only a few jade slips will fly over, displaying the information within—extremely easy, without any abnormalities."

"But I am really too strong. In an instant, my will resonated with this place, causing all the jade slip information on the first floor to interact with me... Therefore, I felt that incomparably grand 'ocean', the 'sea of information' that seemed to melt me."

Smiling slightly, Su Zhou didn't take this small accident to heart.

On the contrary, he was quite excited.

"As expected of a 'Dao' Preaching Tower, a place where myriad mysteries gather. Just the first floor, without much real inheritance, mostly just places for storing 'Immortal God thoughts and feelings', 'cultivation experiences and memories', can make me sense a trace of the profound, nearly Dao."

What exactly was the Dao, Su Zhou didn't actually know, but since all existences so far didn't know what it was, and could only forcefully call it Dao, he just casually said it.

However, that feeling of merging paradox and truth, the insights that clearly repelled each other among all Immortals and Gods, but could still allow them to achieve successful cultivation, gave Su Zhou a different kind of feeling.

The Hell Demon Dao, deeply mired in the Netherworld, and the righteous Gods of Heaven and Earth, who enjoyed blessings, were certainly vastly different.

But their powerful cultivation strength was not false.

If strength was regarded as correctness, then all Immortals and Gods were correct and had something to learn from.

In that case, he could use them as a base and innovate himself.

Su Zhou was very sure that other people's feelings when they came to the first floor of the Tower of Preaching were definitely different from his. It was an impossible and stupid thing to try to encompass the meaning of the inheritance gathered from thousands of Immortals and Gods in one sentence. At most, he could only elaborate on one aspect, like blind men touching an elephant.

And this feeling was very similar to the feeling of 'seeking the Dao'.

"As expected of the Tower of Preaching, the first floor alone has given me quite a harvest."

Taking a step forward, Su Zhou couldn't help but feel a little eager to try: "And what kind of phenomena will the second floor, the third floor, and even the ninth floor that the Literary Saint mentioned... have?"

Indeed, with Yala accompanying him, the youth would definitely not lack supreme cultivation methods to cultivate.

But the most important thing was still to seek his own Dao.

Just like blind men touching an elephant, just like everyone having different feelings when facing the same book, if humans want to experience correctness, they still have to touch it out themselves. What others say can only be used as a reference and as a reference.

And this, perhaps, is the meaning of inheritance.

Therefore, he strode forward, heading towards the stairs leading to the 'second floor'.

As for whether there were any Immortal God Dao or orthodox inheritances that might be left behind on the first floor.

Su Zhou didn't care.

Because the true meaning contained within the first floor of the Tower of Preaching, that most important principle of elaborating on the 'Dao-seeking heart', he already held, and was extremely firm in.

But.

Just as Su Zhou was preparing to go to the second floor, he suddenly discovered that the path was blocked.

A layer of gray mist blocked the door, preventing him from crossing it.

Then, space began to extend.

The original staircase space, which was not considered narrow, instantly turned into a wide trial stage.

"There's also this kind of setting... That's right."

White light filled everything around. Standing at one end of the black trial stage, Su Zhou looked up at the sky, revealing a subtle expression that was quite intriguing: "After all, there has to be a trial, right?"

And at the other end of the arena, anomalies arose spontaneously.

Accompanied by a burst of mighty spiritual light changes, a hazy phantom suddenly appeared.

Faint dragon roars sounded, and the light and shadow on the entire trial stage flickered, brightened, and then suddenly soared, directly into the high sky—the hazy dragon-shaped phantom rapidly materialized from illusion to reality, and a pair of cold and森然, as if emerged from the depths of the abyss, dragon eyes looked down at the youth on the ground of the arena.

Fangs were ferocious.

——Trial · Hidden Dragon of the Abyss——

[Reading the legacy of immortals and gods, discerning the principles of the Great Dao, and continuing the methods of preaching the Dao. How can such an important place be so easily shown to others?]

The clear and supreme place, the inner side of the Inheritance Secret Realm, is also the internal center of the Tower of Preaching.

The spirit of the Inheritance Secret Realm, the Tower of Preaching, the cyan cloud mist transformed from the Miro Goddess, is permeated between the myriad thousands and endless profound cloud pattern talismans, as if incarnating into thousands of bodies, connected to the core of all the talismans.

——Clouds have no constant form, they move according to thought, change according to the situation, combine all things without being fixed, and gather the hearts of all in the intangible, so they are close to the Dao.

The so-called cloud pattern talismans are 'patterns that conform to the principles of heaven and earth' and are symbols that are close to the Dao. The Miro Goddess, as the existence transformed from the spirit of this small world secret realm itself, the 'god' with cloud mist as its body, is also the only existence that can control the operation of the special secret realm and the runes inside the Tower of Preaching.

The light spots in the cloud mist flickered with a bright light. The light curtain in front of her eyes flowed, and she couldn't help but recall the past: [In the past, countless immortals and gods left their marks here, trying their best to leave their inheritance and their imprint in higher places... Although their power has long since dissipated in the long passage of time, the Tower of Preaching itself still remembers that scene.]

[The new generation of immortals and gods, the inheritors of immortals and gods, the simulated supreme bloodlines, the Heavenly Family imperial family, the Heavenly Master bloodline, and all seekers of the Dao, up to now, the Saint Seat and the town country envoys... all the imprints of those who left the inheritance and the imprints of those who sought the inheritance are within it.]

[Even if there is no deliberate difficulty, it is impossible to reach the highest level without sufficient strength—A terrestrial immortal, the Tower of Preaching has enough power to cope with it.]

So she laughed softly, and Miro stopped recalling. She began to concentrate and monitor everything inside and outside the entire Tower of Preaching.

Since ancient times, whoever wants to obtain the knowledge they want from this place of preaching inheritance set up by many Heavenly Venerates needs to prove their strength and determination.

Even the fastest seeker in history took a full nineteen days to reach the ninth floor.

The strength of the levels always matches the challenger, but the further you go, the stronger, more complex, and more difficult to break and surpass.

[A twenty-two-year-old terrestrial immortal, an existence I have never seen before, what level will your strength and belief reach?]

Thinking like this, Miro couldn't help but focus her divine sense and place it in the area where Su Zhou was located.

The trial on the first floor is actually the Abyssal Hidden Dragon? This kind of trial is really unusual. It is the highest level trial object of the True Dragon clan on the first floor. The imprint left by the simulated Dao immortals in the past is the embodiment of the Immortal God Inheritance [Abyssal Walking Dao Transformation Dragon Art]. It is the most solid trial level that can only be passed by relying on frontal power, and it can be said to be difficult.

Miro still remembers that a terrestrial immortal dragon king in this level was stuck for a full forty-eight days, almost breaking the rule of 'the maximum challenge time for one level is forty-nine days', and was almost thrown out of the Tower of Preaching... But he eventually passed and became the Heavenly Dragon Dragon God in the Celestial Immortal realm in the future.

[I don't know what this young terrestrial immortal is like... Huh?!]

While talking to herself, suddenly, she let out an exclamation, as if she had seen something incredible.

The cyan cloud mist suddenly rotated and condensed into the form of a white-haired, cyan-eyed, three-eyed goddess. Miro's three eyes opened wide at the same time, with a look of astonishment on her face.

And some stammering sounds, with a trembling tone, came out of her mouth.

Miro's eyes, which were originally clear, empty, and still, with almost no fluctuations, were now even a little straight.

[O... ]

[One punch?!]

Seeking monthly tickets~