Tower Defense: Public Enemy

The Lord of the Yellow Sands sat cross-legged on a tall throne. He looked very much like a human, with a bald head, two eyes, two ears, a wide mouth, and two arms and two legs. However, his body seemed to be sculpted from yellow sand and was also taller. He wore a tattered robe, and golden light about a foot long was projected from his eyes as he carefully examined the Thunder Pool that had entered the Sand Hidden Divine Palace.

To Lei Chi's surprise, the Sand Lord actually spoke, and his first words surprised Lei Chi slightly.

"I sensed chaotic time within you; you stole the power of the system!" The Sand Lord stood up and continued, "Is this body an avatar, or the physique of a saint? Where is your true self? Outside the Holy Palace?"

Lei Chi's thoughts flashed rapidly.

Since he obtained the Azure Fire Pearl, no one has been able to see through the Azure Fire Incarnation.

"This Sand Lord... is no ordinary being. Not only could he see through my Azure Flame Avatar, but could he also sense the stone disc? What does he mean by 'chaotic time'? Is the power of the system related to this?"

Immediately, Lei Chi became extremely wary of this Yellow Sand Lord.

The Lord of the Yellow Sands grinned and continued, "Good, very good, excellent! After countless years, I've finally seen hope!"

He took two steps closer to Lei Chi and asked, "Inheritor, what is your name?"

"Thunder Pool!"

Qinghuo replied that although Lei Chi knew that this Yellow Sand Lord was no ordinary person and was likely a super expert, he did not sense any killing intent from him. Therefore, he wanted to make contact with him to see if he could obtain some useful information.

"Lei Chi, I can let you pass through the Sand Hidden Divine Palace, let you pass through the thirty-three levels of the Trial Tower, and advance to the inner disciple level. I can also give you a large amount of cultivation resources, and even strip away my Kingly Overlord Divine Fist and hand it over to you, so that you can at least become a level three Kingly Overlord War God. Do you want all of this?"

"Offering a huge gift with just a few words? A Level 3 Overlord War God..."

The Azure Flame avatar muttered something to himself, his eyes gleaming as he looked at the Sand Lord and said, "As the saying goes, one cannot accept a reward without merit. You certainly won't give me anything for nothing. So, tell me, what do I want to do?"

Lord Huangsha said, "I only need a small reward from you."

"What kind of reward?"

"Release me!"

"Release you?"

"That's right. Once you advance to the level of a disciple of the Secret Realm and become the current senior disciple, it will be a piece of cake for you. As long as you agree, I will do my best to help you advance to the level of a disciple of the Secret Realm. What do you say?"

"What is a disciple of a secret realm?"

"After the inner disciples come the true disciples, and above the true disciples lies the secret realm!"

"Am I a potential disciple of the secret realm?"

"With my full support, you have a very good chance!"

"What if I fail to become a disciple of the secret realm?"

"That is my fate! The initiative is yours. I only need your verbal promise, even if you go back on your word! I'm just fighting for a sliver of hope. I've been harmed by villains and trapped here for too long, so long that my soul is about to decay. Even if there's only a slight chance of escaping, I will fight for it."

Lord Huangsha sat back on his throne. At this moment, Lei Chi noticed that chains were also wrapped around Lord Huangsha's feet. It seemed that this big boss guarding the trial level was similar to the outer gate guardian, trapped by some kind of force and probably unable to leave.

Lei Chi did not give a direct reply. After a moment's thought, he controlled his Azure Flame avatar and asked, "You just said that I stole the power of the system. What do you mean?"

"You should understand this better than I do. All I can say is that your avatar was formed using stolen system power." Lord Huangsha gazed into the void and said slowly, "I've heard that entering the Divine Tomb allows one to steal system power, and having system power is like having the help of the Heavenly Dao, granting limitless benefits. However, I've never seen anyone steal system power. Now, seeing your avatar, I realize that someone has indeed stolen system power, which is why I chose to place my hopes on you."

"Really? And what's with the time discrepancy?"

Upon hearing this, Lei Chi gradually realized that the one who stole the power of the system was obviously Yu Baichen. He had entered the Divine Tomb and was the only one of the nine ancient saints to survive. The Azure Flame Avatar was essentially a gift from him.

"Distorted time... If I'm not mistaken, you've stolen time, and this was achieved by stealing the power of the system. There's a powerful figure behind you who's helping you so much; your future is limitless. If you also receive my support, you'll almost certainly become a disciple of the secret realm, and even earning the title of 'coward' isn't out of the question!"

"Is that so?"

Lei Chi frowned, his mind reeling. He thought of the stone disc. If the Yellow Sand Lord wasn't lying, then the stone disc was very likely also the result of stealing the system's power. He just didn't know who made it, or whether it was made by eight people, since it had eight patterns on it.

"Are those eight fallen ancient sages connected to the stone tablet? Perhaps only Senior Yu can ascertain the truth, but..."

Lei Chi shook his head. Even if he really encountered Yu Baichen, Lei Chi would probably not let him know about the existence of the stone disc. This developmental artifact still needed to be hidden, unless he had a certain level of strength.

After pondering for a moment, Lei Chi asked the Yellow Sand Lord, "If I could become the senior disciple of the secret realm, how could I release you?"

"The Senior Brother of the Secret Realm, also known as the Chief of the Secret Realms, can control all the secret realms within the Holy Divine Palace. My name is Sha Wujing. There is a Secret Realm Tower in the area where the secret realm disciples are active. Enter it, find the Yellow Sand Secret Realm Management Token, and erase my name from it. However, you will also need to designate another person to replace me. This person can be an inner disciple, a true disciple below the fifth level of inheritance, or a secret realm disciple!"

"Okay, I've got it!"

The Azure Flame Avatar nodded.

Lord Huangsha was overjoyed upon hearing this and said, "Excellent! I will fulfill my promise immediately. First, I will give you the tokens to open the three cave dwellings. The cave dwellings contain many cultivation resources, manuals, weapons, and other items that I have collected. You may use them as you wish."

After saying this, the Yellow Sand Lord grabbed at the air and pulled out three tokens. He handed the three tokens to Lei Chi, then patted his chest and spat out a ball of light from his mouth.

"And then there's my Kingly Domination Technique. This item can help you become at least a Level Three Kingly Domination War God! Young friend, I hope you won't disappoint me and will become the chief of the secret realm as soon as possible!"

After spitting out the ball of light, the Sand Lord appeared weak. With a wave of his hand, the ball of light slowly flew towards the Thunder Pool.

"The Coward is a powerful Star Realm expert, possessing immense strength and mastery of nine divine arts, eight of which are fully mastered. His only weakness is the King's Overlord Divine Fist. I speculate that cultivating the King's Overlord Divine Fist is the key to obtaining the Coward's title. Remember this! Also, take this item. It will help you quickly pass the thirty-three levels of the Trial Tower. There are only two ways to advance from the outer sect to the inner sect: one is to obtain a Level 3 certificate, and the other is to pass the Trial Tower. With my King's Overlord Intent and this item's assistance, your advancement to the inner sect will be no problem!"

As they were talking, the Sand Lord pulled out a bright gem from the void and gave it to Lei Chi.

Lei Chi had now confirmed that the three tokens given by Lord Huangsha were access tokens, equivalent to keys, which allowed him to enter Lord Huangsha's cave dwellings in the areas where inner disciples, true disciples, and secret realm disciples lived.

Lei Chi did not use the orb of light containing the essence of dominance immediately, but carefully put it away first.

As for the luminous gem, Lei Chi saw it as a peculiar energy gem, similar to the Moon-Raising Furnace, seemingly containing a ferocious beast.