I'm in Yellow Maple Valley, and I have one equipment slot!

Chapter 357 The Ten-Thousand-Year-Old Corpse Bear! The Demonic Dragon Blade! The Demon-Suppressing Tower!

"This giant cauldron, having been tempered by the earth's fire for tens of thousands of years and having borne the Taiyin True Fire for so many years, is itself a rare treasure."

Zhou Yuan looked at the crimson cauldron that still emitted a scorching aura even after he sealed the Taiyin True Fire, and a look of satisfaction appeared in his eyes.

He cast a spell, and the giant cauldron, several meters tall, rapidly shrank with a buzzing sound, eventually becoming the size of a palm, which he then put into his storage bag.

This cauldron is made of extraordinary material, and it may be used in the future to refine some special fire-attribute magic weapons, or as a container for cultivating other spiritual fires.

After putting away the giant cauldron, Zhou Yuan did not linger. He turned around and left the Spirit Transformation Hall, returning once again to the white jade square with more than a dozen branching paths.

This time, the square was noticeably more lively than before.

Besides those cultivators who were still hesitant and unsure which path to choose, one could also see some who were injured...

The monks retreated from a stone staircase with a flustered expression.

Clearly, as the energy storm at the seal breach gradually subsided, more and more cultivators from the Great Jin Dynasty had successfully entered the interior of Kunwu Mountain.

Furthermore, as time goes by, even more cultivators will come to Kunwu Mountain in the Great Jin Dynasty.

Even some demon cultivators who have transformed into human form will risk coming to Kunwu Mountain to try their luck.

Zhou Yuan glanced at the bustling crowd but didn't pay much attention to them.

He addressed the four powerful figures behind him—the Lion-Beast, the Mystic Rock Turtle, the Silver-Winged Yaksha, and the Wooden Demon—and instructed them: "The four of you, split up now. Aside from the path leading to the Demon-Suppressing Tower, each of you choose a different route to explore. Bring back any treasures you find. If you encounter an opponent you cannot defeat, do not force it; your own safety is paramount."

He knew that time was of the essence, and as more and more cultivators entered Kunwu Mountain, those treasure troves would soon be looted.

He was too busy to handle everything alone, so having these four powerful spirit beasts act separately would undoubtedly maximize their gains.

"Yes, Master!"

The four spirits responded in unison, then each transformed into a stream of light, rushing towards different stone steps such as "Golden Stone Pavilion," "Auspicious Cloud Hall," and "Strange Spirit Academy," and disappeared instantly.

After arranging the four spirits, Zhou Yuan's gaze fell on the jade tablet engraved with the three words "Demon Suppression Tower".

He took a deep breath, started walking, and headed towards the stone steps leading to the Demon-Suppressing Tower.

The silent, late-stage Nascent Soul puppet "Divine Lord" followed him silently, like the most loyal guardian.

The road leading to the Demon Suppression Tower was unusually quiet, with a faint smell of blood and a chilling atmosphere in the air.

As Zhou Yuan traveled, he saw many shocking signs of fighting—the ground was covered with huge cracks and rubble, and the mountain walls on both sides were covered with claw marks, knife marks and sword marks that were several feet deep.

Even in mid-air, several not-yet-fully-healed, pitch-black spatial rifts could be seen, emanating a chilling aura of destruction. This was clearly the trace of an extremely fierce battle, comparable to a full-force clash between late-stage Nascent Soul cultivators.

"It seems that those who came in later to try and seize the treasure haven't even seen the real treasure yet, and they've already started fighting over the path or because they're suspicious of each other."

Zhou Yuan thought to himself that he didn't feel much about this pointless fighting.

Just as he continued forward, two streaks of light, one blue and one black, came rushing towards him at an extremely fast speed.

The light faded, revealing two familiar figures—Xuan Qingzi of the Taiyi Sect and Qi Miao Zhenren of the Tianmo Sect!

These two giants of the righteous and demonic paths are now joining forces, clearly aware of the dangers of Kunwu Mountain, and have temporarily set aside their differences between the two, choosing to cooperate.

"Fellow Daoist Zhou! Long time no see!" Xuan Qingzi greeted Zhou Yuan with a smile from afar. True Person Qi Miao also smiled and nodded.

However, when their gazes fell upon the silent puppet god behind Zhou Yuan, the smiles on their faces froze slightly, replaced by undisguised surprise and shock!

With their limited knowledge, they could easily tell that the mysterious figure wearing a cloak and mask was not a living person, but a puppet!

Moreover, judging from the spiritual pressure faintly emanating from its body, this puppet's strength has actually reached the terrifying late stage of the Nascent Soul realm!

"Hiss—! A puppet at the late Nascent Soul stage?!"

Seven Wonders Immortal gasped, glancing at the Divine Lord a few more times, clicking his tongue in amazement, "Such a feat, let alone my Heavenly Demon Sect, even in the entire Great Jin cultivation world, I doubt there's another like it! It's unheard of in the tens of thousands of years of human history! Fellow Daoist Zhou, your opportunity is truly enviable!"

Xuan Qingzi nodded repeatedly, echoing, "Indeed! With a puppet at the late Nascent Soul stage as an aid, Fellow Daoist Zhou's safety in Kunwu Mountain is far greater than ours! Congratulations!"

Zhou Yuan smiled and said modestly, "Fellow Daoists, you flatter me. I was just lucky to obtain this puppet in an ancient secret realm. I did not create it myself."

He did not reveal that he had personally crafted the puppet, lest it cause unnecessary trouble and attract unwanted attention.

"Haha, luck is also part of strength!" Xuan Qingzi laughed.

"Alright, time is of the essence. Fellow Daoist Qi Miao and I still need to rush to the Demon Suppression Tower to see if we can gain any benefits. Fellow Daoist Zhou, we'll take our leave now, until we meet again!"

After saying that, Xuan Qingzi and Qi Miao Zhenren did not linger and increased their escape speed.

They all sped off toward the Demon Suppression Tower, clearly wanting to seize the initiative.

The reason the two of them came here was because they received a message from their ancestor.

Given the importance of Kunwu Mountain, long-established sects like the Heavenly Demon Sect and the Taiyi Sect naturally knew its secrets.

Old Ghost Bai and Old Demon Hu were worried that too much trouble would arise here, so they bestowed this precious treasure and sent the two of them to quell the matter.

Zhou Yuan remained unhurried, continuing his advance at a steady pace.

After walking for a while, he saw a shocking skeleton at a bend in the steps leading up the mountain!

The skeleton was clearly dead not long ago; there were even traces of blood that hadn't dried on the bones.

But strangely, there wasn't a trace of flesh or blood left on the bones, as if they had been instantly drained by something!

What caught Zhou Yuan's attention even more was that there was no trace of a nascent soul leaving the body on the top of the corpse's head!

Behind the corpse was a narrow and deep knife wound with smooth edges, as if it had been cut by an extremely sharp weapon.

"A single strike killed him instantly; not only was his flesh and blood drained, but even his nascent soul couldn't escape—"

Zhou Yuan's gaze sharpened, and a name instantly came to mind—Dragon Blade!

This is an extremely famous ancient demonic artifact, said to continuously increase its power by absorbing the flesh and blood and primordial spirit of cultivators!

Those who possess this demonic artifact often slaughter cultivators indiscriminately in order to enhance its power!

In the original story, the one who wielded this Demon Dragon Blade was none other than the ten-thousand-year-old corpse bear from the Valley of Ten Thousand Demons!

This cunning creature often disguises itself as other cultivators, taking advantage of the chaos in Kunwu Mountain to ambush lone cultivators and feed its demonic dragon blade!

"It seems that the ten-thousand-year-old corpse bear has also infiltrated the area."

Zhou Yuan remained expressionless.

With his current strength, there is really nothing in this human realm that he fears!

Even the old monster Che Laoyao from the Ten Thousand Demon Valley, who had reached the Nascent Soul stage, was not feared by Zhou Yuan.

He continued walking forward.

Before long, a bottomless cliff appeared ahead.

On the opposite side of the cliff, the faint outline of a huge, dark tower can be seen, as if it suppresses the fortune of the entire mountain range.

That is the Demon Suppression Tower!

Without hesitation, Zhou Yuan leaped into the air, his body drifting down to the bottom of the cliff like a falling leaf.

The wind howled in his ears, and he fell for the time it takes to brew a cup of tea before finally landing on solid ground at the bottom of a dark, damp, and musty-smelling cliff.

"ah-!!!"

Just as he regained his footing, a piercing scream suddenly rang out from not far ahead! Immediately afterward, a strange, blood-red light flashed in the darkness ahead!

Although Zhou Yuan's divine sense was somewhat suppressed near the Demon Suppression Tower, the divine sense of an ordinary Nascent Soul cultivator could probably only probe a range of several dozen feet.

However, his spiritual strength was comparable to that of a Nascent Soul cultivator, and he was still able to clearly perceive everything that happened within a range of several hundred feet.

In his divine sense, he saw a blurry black figure wielding a long sword that was entirely blood red and emitted an eerie light. With an extremely tricky and ruthless angle, the figure launched a sneak attack on a cultivator in the early stage of the Nascent Soul realm!

Before the cultivator could even send out a distress signal, his flesh and blood, along with his nascent soul that had just spilled out of his body, were instantly devoured by the blood-red light surging from the longsword, like a whale sucking up water!

All that remained was a withered skeleton, which collapsed helplessly!

"As expected, it's that Demonic Dragon Blade and that ten-thousand-year-old corpse bear." Zhou Yuan sneered inwardly.

He saw that the shadowy figure, having successfully ambushed and drained the cultivator's flesh, blood, and primordial spirit, seemed quite satisfied. Then, like a ghost, it silently lurked behind a huge rock ahead, as if waiting for the next unlucky victim to arrive.

Zhou Yuan remained expressionless as he led the Divine Lord puppet forward along the dark passage. As he passed the massive rock, he could clearly sense a pair of eyes filled with greed and bloodlust watching him from behind it.

But perhaps sensing the powerful aura of Zhou Yuan, who was at the late stage of the Nascent Soul realm, and the equally unfathomable puppet behind him, the shadowy figure lurking behind the rock ultimately did not choose to attack him. Instead, like a venomous snake, it continued to lie dormant, waiting for the next, weaker target.

Zhou Yuan was happy to have some peace and quiet. He always adhered to the principle of "I won't offend others unless they offend me," and since the other party was sensible enough not to provoke him, he was too lazy to bother with such matters.

He continued walking towards the core area of ​​the Demon Suppression Tower, carrying the Divine Lord puppet.

Soon after, Zhou Yuan and the Divine Lord Puppet arrived at a square platform paved with huge obsidian stones.

In the center of the platform, there was no tower as one might have imagined, only a dark, downward-sloping stone staircase entrance, as if leading to the abyss of the deepest hell.

Zhou Yuan wasn't surprised at all. He already knew that the Demon-Suppressing Tower wasn't built on the ground, but buried underground!

Moreover, this tower was built upside down—the spire is at the bottom and the base is at the top!

The deeper you go, the more powerful and terrifying the imprisoned demons and monsters become!

Without the slightest hesitation, he stepped onto the dark stone steps and began to descend. The Divine Lord Puppet followed closely behind.

The first few floors of the Demon Suppression Tower were empty. There were neither the ghosts and demons one had imagined, nor any valuable treasures. Only traces of human cultivators' activities and some broken remnants of restrictions remained.

Clearly, the demons and monsters sealed in the previous layers, as well as any low-level treasures that might have existed, had already been cleared and looted by Xuan Qingzi, Qi Miao Zhenren, and other cultivators who had entered earlier.

Zhou Yuan wasn't in a hurry. He slowly descended the tower, floor by floor. He knew that the true secrets and treasures of the Demon-Suppressing Tower were hidden in the lowest levels.

Moreover, the biggest difference between this trip to Kunwu Mountain and the original story is that the "Ancient Demon Blood Flame" who tried to rescue the Ancient Demon Saint Ancestor Yuan Sha who was sealed in the deepest part of the Demon Suppression Tower had already been killed by him in Tiannan!

In the original story, because Xueyan used several demonic artifacts to break the seal of Yuan Sha Saint Ancestor, Yuan Sha Saint Ancestor was finally able to break free of the seal.

Yuan Sha Saint Ancestor was a terrifyingly powerful figure who surpassed even the Nascent Soul stage. Even if he was just a fragment of his soul descended to the lower realm, and his strength was not at its peak, he was still beyond the reach of Nascent Soul cultivators in the lower realm.

In the original story, countless Nascent Soul cultivators were devoured by the divided souls of the Holy Ancestor Yuan Sha during that battle.

In that situation, even Zhou Yuan wouldn't choose to venture into the Demon Suppression Tower.

Therefore, this time, the Holy Ancestor Yuan Sha should not break out of the seal again!

This relieved Zhou Yuan of one of his biggest concerns, allowing him to explore the deeper areas of the Demon Suppression Tower more calmly.

He went down the tower, passed through the seventh floor, and finally arrived at the eighth floor of the Demon Suppression Tower.

The space on this floor is significantly more spacious than the floors above, and the air is filled with a more oppressive and ancient atmosphere.

Unlike the previous floors, this eighth floor did not have stairs leading downwards. Instead, in a corner, there were two ancient-style teleportation arrays—one pure white like jade, emitting a soft white light.

The other was pitch black, exuding a cold and eerie aura. The black and white contrasted sharply.

"The black and white teleportation array—we've finally arrived."

Zhou Yuan looked at the two teleportation arrays and a smile appeared on his lips.

He knew that this black and white teleportation array was the portal to the next level of the Demon Suppression Tower.