I fabricated myths to guide the revival of spiritual energy.

As the heavy bronze gate slammed shut behind us, the last ray of sunlight was cut off.

The first feeling upon entering the tower was not fear, but the stench.

It was a stench mixed with rotting flesh, aged excrement, damp mold, and a strong metallic smell. The odor seemed to have a physical presence, rushing straight to the top of their heads through their nostrils, almost making these proud sons of heaven, accustomed to the pure and refreshing air of Kunlun Mountain, vomit on the spot.

"Ugh... What kind of place is this?!"

A female cultivator covered her mouth and nose, the glow stone in her hand trembling slightly, illuminating the surroundings.

This is a huge maze.

Unlike the Trial Tower, which boasts minimalist lines and flowing data that evoke a futuristic feel, the Demon-Sealing Tower's interior is shockingly rough. The walls are constructed of massive black rocks, covered in scratches and slime left by unknown creatures. The floor is pitted and uneven, with skeletal remains floating in the stagnant water.

"Stop being so delicate!"

Wang Tiechui walked at the front, gripping the huge forging hammer tightly, his eyes scanning the darkness warily:

"Now that you're in, don't even think about leaving unscathed. Stay alert, there's no safe zone here!"

This hastily assembled vanguard team consisted of about twenty people, including students from the weapon crafting department, sword cultivation department, and several talisman department students.

Despite their verbal complaints, everyone quickly switched into battle mode. The muscle memory they had developed in the Trial Tower remained—back to back in formation, their spiritual senses extended outwards, constantly on guard against assassins who might leap from the shadows.

However, they were wrong.

The monsters in the Demon-Sealing Tower don't understand what assassination is.

"Huff... huff..."

A heavy, bellows-like breathing sound came from around the corner of the maze.

Along with the panting came heavy footsteps, each step creating ripples in the puddles.

"They're here!"

Wang Tiechui roared, "Talisman classes, prepare! Swordsmen, cover!"

In the darkness, two scarlet "lanterns" lit up.

Immediately afterwards, a huge black shadow, accompanied by a foul stench, smashed through the corner stone wall without any fancy moves and appeared before everyone.

That was an iron-backed gray wolf.

But it was at least three times larger than the wolves in zoos, with a shoulder height of nearly three meters, almost like a hairy heavy tank. Its fur stood on end like black steel needles, and its back was covered with a layer of bony armor that gleamed with a metallic sheen.

It did not become invisible, it did not teleport, and it did not even attempt to flank.

It simply spotted its prey, then opened its massive maw, full of fangs, and let out a deafening roar:

"roar--!!!"

The shouts, accompanied by spittle, rained down on me.

"attack!"

A swordsman instinctively made a move.

"Azure Origin Sword Technique - Swift Wind Thrust!"

call out!

A streak of cyan sword energy pierced precisely towards the wolf's throat. This move had always proven effective in the Trial Tower. Although the void creature projections in the Trial Tower were bizarre, their bodies were fragile, and a hit to a vital point often resulted in an instant kill.

However, the next second, everyone was stunned.

when!

A clear, metallic clang rang out.

The sword energy, powerful enough to cut through steel bars, actually sparked a burst of sparks when it struck the soft fur at the wolf's throat, and then... shattered.

The wolf wasn't even scratched; it was just enraged, shaking its head and its red eyes glowing even brighter.

"Holy crap?!" The swordsman was dumbfounded. "What kind of defense is this? Is it a data error?"

"Idiot! This is a physical product!"

Wang Tiechui cursed, "This isn't a data projection! Its fur was originally evolved to defend against physical attacks! Don't use the same tactics you use against the void on it!"

But this reminder came too late.

Enraged, the wolf stomped its hind legs on the ground, shattering the hard rock instantly.

Its massive body transformed into a black afterimage, not in a strange, fleeting way, but with extreme speed brought about by a pure burst of power.

boom!

It crashed straight into the crowd.

There were no fancy spells, just the simplest, most brutal charge.

"ah--!!"

A scream rang out.

A student from the talisman department was unable to dodge in time and was sent flying by Canglang's shoulder.

The sound sent a chill down everyone's spine—it was the cracking sound of bones breaking.

The student slammed against the wall like a rag doll, gushing blood from his mouth. A large section of his chest was visibly caved in, clearly indicating that all his ribs were broken, and his internal organs might even have been punctured.

"Help!!"

"Damn it, use the Binding Charm!"

The scene instantly descended into chaos.

Having grown accustomed to battling against the "high-attack, low-defense" glass cannons of the Void Creatures, the students were completely flustered when faced with this "heavy tank"-like enemy for the first time.

The flying swords that struck it produced sparks, while the fireball talismans that exploded on it only singed a few hairs at most.

With just a flick of its claw, it can carve a three-inch-deep trench in the ground.

"Is this the real monster...?"

In the corner, Chu Tian didn't rush to make a move; he stared intently at the gray wolf.

He discovered that the wolf's eyes held something that void creatures lacked—cunning and cruelty.

It's mocking them.

It takes advantage of its thick skin and tough flesh to withstand damage, and specifically targets those vulnerable magic cultivators to bite.

"Get out of my way, all of you!"

Just as the defensive line was about to collapse, a loud shout rang out.

Wang Tiechui pushed aside the swordsman blocking his way, raised the huge forging hammer high with both hands, his muscles bulging to their limit, and his veins bulging like earthworms.

"The foundation of physical cultivation is blacksmithing! Blacksmithing is all about head-on confrontation!"

Instead of retreating, he advanced, facing the charging wolf, and fiercely swung the giant hammer in his hand.

This attack had no fancy spiritual power, only pure, immense force.

"Mountain Shake—Collapse!"

The wolf seemed surprised that this human dared to challenge it in strength, and it raised its huge claws to try and swat the insect away.

boom! ! !

The hammerhead and the wolf claws collided violently in mid-air.

A visible shockwave exploded outwards, instantly turning the surrounding water into mist.

"Get down on your knees!!!"

Wang Tiechui gritted his teeth, his feet sinking deep into the ground, using the strength of his waist and abdomen to forcefully overpower the strength of the wolf.

Click!

A sickening cracking sound.

The wolf's seemingly indestructible forepaws were bent at an unusual angle.

"Awoo?!"

The wolf let out a painful howl, its massive body losing its balance.

"Now's the time! Attack its eyes! Its eyes have no armor!"

Wang Tiechui roared.

This time, the students realized what was happening.

Three flying swords simultaneously and darted out from the side, accurately piercing the unsuspecting Canglang's eyes.

puff!

Blood splattered.

It did not vanish as data or light, but rather as scalding, foul-smelling, and real blood.

The wolf struggled frantically, smashing the surrounding walls to pieces, but having lost its sight and front paws, it was ultimately just a trapped beast.

Surrounded by the crowd, the enormous creature finally collapsed to the ground with a thud, twitched a few times, and remained motionless.

huh... huh...

Only heavy breathing could be heard in the maze.

Everyone was in a sorry state. The seriously injured student had been given healing pills and was groaning in pain.

The wolf carcasses on the ground were piled up like a small mountain, and blood had flowed all over the ground, turning the puddles dark red.

"Is he...dead?"

Someone kicked it cautiously.

There was no system notification sound, and no completion and settlement screen.

Only real corpses.

Wang Tiechui threw down his hammer, sat down heavily on the ground, panting heavily. Looking at the blood flowing from the crack in his hand, he suddenly grinned.

"That's fucking awesome."

He looked at the wolf carcass, a glint of greed in his eyes.

He struggled to his feet, walked to the wolf carcass, took out a small knife, and somewhat clumsily cut open the wolf's tough back fur.

"If this leather were made into armor, it could at least withstand a blow from a peak Qi Refining cultivator."

"These bones..."

He forcefully tore through the flesh and pulled out a white bone strip with a metallic sheen from the wolf's spine.

The bone skeletal structure emitted a faint fluctuation of spiritual energy in the darkness.

"This is... the material?"

Wang Tiechui's hands were trembling.

He had seen this item in the sect's shop: [Tier 1 High-Grade Iron Wolf Bone], priced at 500 contribution points.

And now, he has received one himself, for free.

"And this too!"

Another swordsman cut open the wolf's abdomen, ignoring the blood on his hands, and pulled out a fist-sized, dusty bead.

Although the bead is inconspicuous, when you hold it in your hand, you can feel the violent spiritual energy contained within it.

"A demon core! It really is a demon core!"

The swordsman's voice trembled with excitement, "The book says that this stuff, after being purified by alchemists, can be used to refine 'Bloodthirsty Pills,' which can save lives in critical moments!"

At that moment, everyone's eyes turned red.

The previous fear, nausea, and pain vanished instantly in the face of these real spoils of war.

This isn't a monster.

This is clearly a moving gold mine!

"Quick! See if there's anything else we can use!"

"Teeth! Those teeth can be used to make arrowheads!"

"Don't throw away the claws either!"

A group of college students who were usually well-dressed and exuded an air of otherworldly elegance were now like a pack of hungry wolves, greedily dividing up the corpse.

In less than ten minutes, the huge gray wolf was dismembered, leaving only a pile of minced meat.

Wang Tiechui, clutching the wolf bone, turned his head and looked into the deep, dark maze.

There, even more panting echoed.

"Brothers."

Wang Tiechui licked the blood from his lips, his eyes fierce. "Send the wounded brothers out first. The rest... do you dare to do another job with me?"

"Dry!"

"This is way better than the Trial Tower!"

"I need to get a new scabbard for my flying sword. That wolf pelt I saw earlier looked pretty good!"

Fear was overwhelmed by desire.

This is exactly what Gu Qing wanted to see—wolf-like nature.

……

Location: Wendao Pavilion

Gu Qing looked at the students covered in blood but unusually excited in the surveillance footage and took a sip of tea.

"Human beings' ability to adapt to their environment is always beyond imagination."

He commented casually.

"However, this is only the first level."

"Each level of the Demon-Sealing Tower has a harsher environment. From mazes to swamps, from swamps to lava fields."

"And the 'materials' there..."

Gu Qing recalled the original concept of the so-called "script material library".

Those creatures that became extremely ugly, insane, and uncontrollable due to genetic mutations were thrown into the depths of the Demon-Locking Tower.

"I hope you can still laugh when you see those real 'monsters'."

Just then, a pop-up window suddenly appeared on the system panel.

[Warning: Abnormal energy fluctuations detected on the third floor of the Demon-Sealing Tower.]

[A "mutant" appears to be attempting to break through the level seal and enter the second level.]

Gu Qing raised an eyebrow.

"A mutant? I remember there was a seven-headed venomous python imprisoned on the third floor?"

He zoomed in on the image.

In the dark abyss of the third level of the Demon-Sealing Tower, pairs of green eyes were slowly opening, and their chilling hissing caused the surrounding air to freeze into frost.

"It seems that this lesson is more difficult than I expected."

Gu Qing had no intention of interfering.

"Very well. How can one shoulder the responsibility of saving the world without experiencing true despair?"

He turned off the alarm.

"Issue my order: any student who enters the Demon-Sealing Tower and brings back the inner core of a demon beast from the third level or above will be rewarded by the school with one Foundation Establishment Pill."

This message was transmitted throughout the entire school via a sound transmission array.

The students, who had been observing, instantly erupted in excitement.

In their eyes, that black tower had completely transformed into a deadly yet alluring treasure.