Chapter 1404 - Mysterious Tower

Shi Yuan studied the buildings rising behind the gate, a prickling sense of familiarity stirring in his chest. A frown creased his brow as he said, "You're right. They feel familiar, like I've seen somewhere before."

"Doesn't it look like the sevenfold heaven?" Liu Wuxie asked. Behind the gate, the structure rose in seven layered levels. It resembled a tower, yet not completely, with the top of each level shaped like drifting clouds.

Liu Wuxie's reminder sparked a sharp glint in Shi Yuan's eyes.

"It does look a little similar, but maybe it's just the loulan race's architectural style, and there's nothing special about it," Shi Yuan sneered, his voice laced with intense hatred for Liu Wuxie.

The loulan race's architectural style differed significantly from that of humans, and most of their buildings took triangular or diamond shapes. The seven-storied, tower-like structure formed a diamond, entirely unlike the towers humans built.

"Look at the surroundings," Liu Wuxie said softly. With the Ghost Eye, he could see far beyond Shi Yuan. Shi Yuan was an Earth Immortal Realm expert, but without a technique like the Ghost Eye, his gaze could only skim the surface.

Shi Yuan released his divine sense like mercury, enveloping the area around the diamond-shaped tower.

"So many experts are guarding it!" Shi Yuan exclaimed, shock flickering across his face. He had never expected to see so many experts guarding a single building, and their vigilant presence left him baffled. Even so, he remained convinced that the structure played a fundamental role and concealed something within.

Even Liu Wuxie's Ghost Eye failed to pierce the building's interior to reveal what lay inside.

"Let's go!" Liu Wuxie said sharply. He already held an answer in his heart, but time was running short. They had to make it back to the camp before dawn.

They swiftly vanished from sight and left Loulan City behind.

"Liu Wuxie, is that building a world teleportation array that leads to the Indigo Bamboo Astral Domain?" Shi Yuan finally asked, voicing the question that had been weighing on his mind. For an exalted Earth Immortal, it was rare for him to take the initiative to consult someone at the Primal Origin Realm.

"No, it's not," Liu Wuxie replied, shaking his head. He knew that structure couldn't be the world teleportation array.

When he heard that it wasn't the world teleportation array, a hint of disappointment crossed Shi Yuan's face. If that building wasn't the array, wouldn't that mean they would remain trapped on the Celestial Immortal Star?

"It's not the passage to the Indigo Bamboo Astral Domain, but I'm certain that we can find the way back inside it," Liu Wuxie said, and his words finally drew a flicker of joy to Shi Yuan's face.

Shi Yuan didn't know why, but his emotions would shift whenever he was near Liu Wuxie. If they hadn't been enemies, he would have swallowed his pride and tried to befriend him.

However, their identities meant that they could never walk as friends.

The more he came to understand Liu Wuxie, the more his murderous intent intensified. After all, if Liu Wuxie were allowed to grow, he would become a nightmare for the Grand Unity Sect.

Once he returned to the Grand Unity Sect, he would report everything to the sect master without reservation. They had to kill Liu Wuxie, even if it meant launching a war against the Heavenly Dragon Sect.

As dawn finally broke, the two of them reached the camp. After a whole night of drilling, the thousand-odd cultivators could now advance and retreat in orderly fashion, following the battle formations Sun Xiao had taught them.

Those formations would reduce casualties and increase their chances of surviving encounters with the loulan race.

The primary purpose of the battle formations was to guard against the Blackwind Beasts. After all, Liu Wuxie could only control a limited number of Blackwind Beasts, and he couldn't subdue every single one they would encounter.

When all the experts had gathered in the cave, Sun Xiao looked at Liu Wuxie with anticipation and asked, "Wuxie, did you discover anything useful?"

He was the leader of the expedition, but Sun Xiao still actively sought Liu Wuxie's opinion.

"I have," Liu Wuxie replied calmly. He raised his hand, projecting a strange scene that resembled a curtain of water. Ever since he refined the Great Dao of Water's fragment, his control over water-attributed energy had grown even more exquisite.

As the water curtain slowly shifted, distinct scenes unfolded before everyone.

"That is the Tata Prison. Memorize all the surrounding buildings," Liu Wuxie said as he pointed to the prison's location, asking everyone to etch the nearby buildings into memory. After all, they could enter some places, while others remained strictly off-limits.

They needed to unify their command in combat. As leaders and experts of the various squads, they had to follow the plan to the letter.

Everyone present had already stepped into the Earth Immortal Realm, and each of them had imprinted the layout around Tata Prison onto their minds.

The image on the water curtain continued to shift, revealing a strange seven-level building before their eyes. The instant it emerged, both Luan Xiuwen and Yu Zhuang frowned.

Sun Xiao and the others, who had been dragged in by a black hole, showed little change in their expressions when they saw the building.

"That shape looks familiar for some reason," Luan Xiuwen said. He deliberately used the word "shape" instead of "building."

"It's similar to the sevenfold heaven's form when we entered," Yu Zhuang added. The sevenfold heaven they had seen shared the same outline, but it was far larger in comparison.

The blood fiends' leader stayed silent, yet his expression already spoke volumes. When he saw the building, a glint of light flickered across his eyes, and he even rose to his feet without realizing it.

"Liu Wuxie, does that mean that this building can bring us back to the Indigo Bamboo Astral Domain?" Luan Xiuwen asked, echoing Shi Yuan's earlier question as he assumed this structure might be their way home.

"It can't," Liu Wuxie replied, shaking his head. Though he hadn't looked into the building with Ghost Eye, he could still discern its general structure.

Like Shi Yuan, everyone else showed disappointment when they learned that the building wasn't a direct route back to the Indigo Bamboo Astral Domain.

"Although this building can't take us back to the Indigo Bamboo Astral Domain, it can tell us how," Liu Wuxie continued, his voice steady.

Their expressions shifted once more as they turned to Liu Wuxie, anticipation shining in their eyes. They knew he wouldn't speak that way without a solid reason.

"Liu Wuxie, keep going," Yu Zhuang said, his tone filled with hope.

At that moment, Liu Wuxie turned to look at his senior brother and softly said, "Senior Brother, we can't afford any more delay. We have to act tonight."

He offered no further explanation about the mysterious building. He knew the loulan race's experts had to have noticed both he and Shi Yuan when they scouted Loulan City the previous night.

They had to strike before their enemies became fully alerted.

"Alright," Sun Xiao replied, nodding. The various squads had already undergone their drills and were now waiting to fight.

Everyone who came to the Blood Fiend Battlefield was an elite in their own right, and now that they had gathered together, they formed a force no one could afford to ignore.

One after another, they offered ideas from their own perspectives as they began to discuss a strategy.

"That won't work. The Tata Prison is too heavily guarded, and the casualties will be severe if we charge in like this," Shi Yuan replied, rejecting everyone's suggestion, as a direct head-on rescue would be far too dangerous.

Even after half a day of discussion, no one could come up with a feasible plan, and in the end, they could only turn to look at Liu Wuxie.

"Junior brother, tell us your plan," Sun Xiao said. Everyone had already expressed their opinions, except Liu Wuxie, who had listened to their arguments in silence.

Liu Wuxie had the lowest cultivation among those present, but his intelligence surpassed theirs.

"While there seem to be many experts guarding the Tata Prison, we still have a decent chance of success if we make enough preparations. Our only problem is how to stop the other experts from holding us back," Liu Wuxie said, pointing out the core problem directly.

Even if over a thousand of them charged toward Tata Prison and managed to rescue the prisoners, the loulan race's experts would still rush over quickly, and all of them would end up being captured alive.

Thus, their best option was to intercept the loulan race's experts before they could reinforce the prison.

"The loulan race has a lot of experts, and we have no idea about their positions. How are we supposed to defend against them?" Yu Zhuang asked, voicing their most significant concern.

Countless members of the loulan race resided in Loulan City, including many experts at the Earth Immortal Realm. Trying to hold them back long enough to rescue the captives was no different from attempting to climb the heavens.

Sun Xiao frowned, his brows knitting tight. With their limited manpower, they could not hold back the loulan race's experts and save the captives at the same time.

"We'll split into two forces—one to save the captives and the other to go all out to attack that building. If I'm not wrong, that building is significant to the loulan race, and they won't allow anyone to damage it," Liu Wuxie said, pointing toward the seven-storied tower. He naturally understood what everyone was thinking.

If they were to attack it with full force, the loulan race would surely rush to protect it, pulling back their experts, including those stationed at Tata Prison.

"This is a feasible plan, " Luan Xiuwen said, his eyes lighting up.

They could strike the tower first to draw the loulan race's experts away while the rescue team headed for Tata Prison. If the experts of the loulan race didn't rush to defend the seven-storied tower, it would mean the plan had failed, and they could abandon those heading to rescue the captives without suffering losses—a win-win either way.

"Does anyone have any objections to the plan?" Sun Xiao asked in a deep voice. He naturally supported Liu Wuxie's plan, as it was the best they had found so far.

Shi Yuan remained silent and voiced no objection, while Luan Xiuwen raised his hands in support.

Yu Zhuang said nothing as he continued to analyze the plan's feasibility, and the blood fiends remained silent, their presence almost nonexistent.

"Since there are no objections, we will proceed with this plan. Shi Yuan and Luan Xiuwen will go attack the seven-storied tower, and the remaining three squads will head to the Tata Prison to save the captives," Sun Xiao said, announcing the decision.

Attacking the tower carried less risk, and that squad's main task was to lure the loulan race's experts away. Those who went to rescue the captives faced a different fate, as they would have to clash with the loulan race head-on outside Tata Prison before they could even enter.

Sun Xiao sent Shi Yuan to attack the tower mainly because Liu Wuxie was also in that squad. He had arranged it that way to protect his junior brother.

Liu Wuxie naturally understood his senior brother's goodwill, and once they finalized the plan, they began to pass it down through the ranks.

Everyone got ready to fight, and each squad leader took responsibility to ensure that every member carried out the plan. Anyone who dared to flee in the middle of battle faced immediate execution on the spot as punishment.

One day passed quietly in the camp, with everyone meditating to adjust their condition to the peak.

Liu Wuxie was no exception and spent his time cultivating, but making a breakthrough into the eighth-level Primal Origin Realm wouldn't be so easy.

Aside from the enormous resources he needed, he also couldn't calm his heart in such an environment.

At dusk, the five squads began moving out of the camp. Shi Yuan and Luan Xiuwen's squads moved first, their objective to attack the tower and draw the loulan race's attention.

Everyone had changed into black clothes, and they spread out, maintaining a certain distance from one another.

Shi Yuan led the way, moving ahead of the others because he was more familiar with the path.

By the time darkness entirely covered the sky, he had already brought his squad close to the tower, while Luan Xiuwen maintained some distance as he approached from another direction.

When they were about five hundred meters away, the four hundred-odd cultivators spread out fully and launched an assault on the surrounding buildings.

Through divine sense, they had agreed to retreat to the camp at once if they found themselves outmatched.

They had also received word from Sun Xiao's side that his group had already reached a point five hundred meters from Tata Prison—a distance they could cross in the blink of an eye. They had been waiting here for the battle to erupt.

"Attack!" Shi Yuan roared as the first squad moved at his command, unleashing a barrage of martial arts at the tower.