Chapter 478: Secret of the Stone Coffin

It only took a small spark to cause an explosion. Everyone was so afraid; they would attack and kill each other at the first sign of trouble.

Xiao Chen looked towards Chu Chaoyun, the person who caused this situation. This person was currently looking around interestedly and seeming utterly relaxed.

The situation reached such a level because of an unconfirmed theory. Human hearts were too fickle.

Xiao Chen shook his head and withdrew his gaze. He ignored these people and walked away, returned to the stone coffin.

Xiao Chen examined the empty stone coffin and wracked his brain. There was no such thing as an unsolvable situation in this world.

Those the past had cleared the test and entered the fourth floor. This proved that there was a solution to this.

However, what exactly was the test? This was hard to figure out. Xiao Chen had a rough idea in mind already, but he was not certain.

Xiao Chen closed his eyes and entered deep thought. After a long moment, he opened his eyes.

The hesitation and confusion in the depths of his eyes became resolution and decisiveness.

Xiao Chen had made up his mind. While the group kept their guards up against each other or secretly plotted to use someone else as an experiment, he raised his leg and stepped into the stone coffin.

Xiao Chen set the Lunar Shadow Saber to the side and laid down calmly. After he closed the lid, he closed his eyes and started to take a nap.

“Bang!”

The sound of the stone coffin lid reverberated throughout the gloomy space. This improved the nervous cultivators’ moods.

“Boom! Boom! Boom!”

The bang from the coffin lid sounded like a pistol firing. The moment the others heard it, several people took action against the targets they had marked.

The place fell into chaos. No one wanted to become the first experiment, so they did their best to protect themselves.

Soon, people became injured. Scarlet blood spurted into the air. This agitated everyone, and the fighting grew more intense.

Seeing a group of people heading for her, Xia Xiyan felt depressed. She parried some attacks and tried to get away.

However, someone else immediately attacked Xia Xiyan. It was unknown whether it was on purpose or simply because she was there.

This drug Xia Xiyan deeper and deeper into the situation. She had wanted to retreat several times but was drawn back in.

For these people to obtain one of the twenty spots and reach the third floor, how could anyone display weakness?

The difference in strength between them was not very obvious. In this situation, even Xiao Chen could not guarantee that he could escape this unscathed.

Furthermore, Xia Xiyan was alone. It was rather difficult for her to get out of this situation.

Jiang Zimo, Zuo Mo, and the others were in the same situation. They wanted to pull themselves out of the fight, but they were surrounded; they did not dare to make any big fatal moves.

If someone were heavily injured, the situation would only turn more chaotic. They had no other ideas at the moment and could only protect themselves.

“Ping! Ping! Pang! Pang!”

The sounds of weapon clashing resounded relentlessly.

Within the group, Chu Chaoyun dodged attacks effortlessly. Occasionally, he sent out a sword Qi with his finger, stirring up the crowd.

From a spectator’s perspective, one would notice that Chu Chaoyun would attack Xia Xiyan and the others as they managed to reach the edge of the battle.

“Bang!”

After a long time, an intense explosion resounded in the third floor of the Ancient Desolate Tower. The shockwave surged, and the sound was earsplitting.

It was like a loud roar of thunder, suppressing the sounds of the conflict. Everyone quickly looked towards its origins.

They only saw Xiao Chen’s shattered gravestone and the stone coffin slowly sinking into the ground.

After a while, a white figure rose into the air. Before everyone’s astonished gazes, he flew towards the light barrier and slowly passed through.

There were no obstructions. Xiao Chen went through the light barrier and arrived at the fourth floor.

Everyone stopped their battle and started at Xiao Chen with stunned expressions as he left the room.

“How can this be? How did he go through the barrier? I did not see him do anything!”

“Could it be that the barrier stopped obstructing people from going through?”

Someone expressed their suspicion. Then, he pushed off the ground heavily and crashed violently into the light barrier.

“Bang!”

The sound of his impact echoed throughout the third floor. That person bounced back as fast as he flew up. There was an obvious red lump on his forehead.

He grimaced and seemed to be in pain, “Whoever said that the barrier is passable is wrong.”

“It looks like Xiao Chen found the method to clear the test. I think I saw him enter the stone coffin earlier. Could that have something to do with it?” a doubtful cultivator asked.

At this moment, everyone had forgotten about experimenting on the other cultivators.

After they calmed down and thought about what happened earlier, they knew that they were wrong.

“There is no need to say anymore. Whether that is the case or not, we will know after trying,” Pei Shaoxuan roared and stepped up to his own stone coffin.

The others stopped hesitating and rushed to give this new theory a try. After all, Xiao Chen had succeeded.

Pei Shaoxuan lay in his coffin and slid the lid into place.

When the lid covered the coffin completely, darkness overtook him. He unconsciously closed his eyes. Soon, all sound faded.

Pei Shaoxuan could only hear his own heartbeat in that boundless darkness.

An irrational fear appeared in Pei Shaoxuan’s heart. His heartbeat started to slow, and his breathing became heavy.

The fear in Pei Shaoxuan’s heart intensified; it was impossible to shake it. His beating heart grew weaker and lighter.

Am I going to die?

Pei Shaoxuan thought in horror, How can this be happening? My heartbeat is slowing, and my breathing is becoming weak.

That irrational fear from earlier had now become very real. It was the fear of death. If he stayed in the coffin any longer, he would certainly die.

Oh no! My heart has almost stopped, and I can’t breathe anymore.

The shadow of death now loomed over Pei Shaoxuan’s heart. The fear was now beyond description; it penetrated the depths of his soul.

Pei Shaoxuan wanted to open his eyes but discovered that his eyelids were very heavy; he could not open them at all.

No, I cannot die. I am an outstanding talent with unsurpassed strength. Even if I cannot clear this Ancient Desolate Tower, I am still an outstanding talent in the Great Tang Nation. My potential is unlimited.

I am only twenty-two years old and still very young. I cannot die yet. I cannot die in this Ancient Desolate Tower.

Such words echoed in Pei Shaoxuan’s mind relentlessly. In the end, he could no longer tolerate it, and he kicked over the heavy coffin lid.

Fresh air poured in, and Pei Shaoxuan sat up. He took in big gulps of air, panting heavily. His clothes were completely drenched in sweat.

Pei Shaoxuan felt like he had just seen the gates of hell. He rejoiced that he was still alive.

“Bang!”

Before Pei Shaoxuan could get up, a strong force came from the stone coffin. This force ejected him from the coffin.

Pei Shaoxuan passed through the walls and landed outside the Ancient Desolate Tower; he had only been able to climb to the third floor.

“Hu chi! Hu chi!”

A few more outstanding talents could no longer hold back their fear of death and were tossed out, one by one, losing their qualifications to continue climbing the Ancient Desolate Tower completely.

In this life, the third floor was the highest they could go.

---

Shi Hailong frowned at the seven or eight cultivators who fell outside the tower. He shook his head and sighed, “The test of the third floor is the easiest and hardest to pass. If one can maintain a calm and resolute mind when death approaches, focusing on their desire to climb to the next floor, they can pass the test easily.”

Another old man standing to the side smiled and said, “That is easy to say but difficult to do. The feeling of death is exactly the same as the real thing. Most cultivators cannot maintain their calm in such a state.”

“In the past, usually only three or four people could clear this floor. I even remember everyone killing each other once, and no one passed.

The test of the third floor measured the attitude a cultivator had towards death and their determination.

Simply speaking, this was a test of a cultivator’s state of mind. If their minds were not sufficiently cultivated, they could forget about reaching the fourth floor.

Shi Hailong counted the number of lights who climbed to the fourth floor. He muttered as he smiled, “That’s good; six people have climbed up. This is the best number we have seen throughout history.”

“Old Shi, the first person only needed ten minutes to climb to the fourth floor. I guess that he is the cultivator who defeated the will on the second floor.”

As the invigilators of the selection, they had already experienced and witnessed several rounds of the Trial of the Ancient Desolate Tower.

They knew exactly how real the horror of this sensation of death was.

Since the ancient times, none had managed to maintain their calm and pass the test in only ten minutes.

Shi Hailong squinted and smiled, “It is him. I have watched him since the start. Just wait and see; this person will surprise us. The fourth…fifth…no, the sixth floor will not stop him.”

“Who is this person? Chu Chaoyun, Xiao Chen, Zuo Mo, Ding Fengchou, or perhaps Jiang Zimo?”

The few discussed and pondered over it. However, there was no way to determine who it was until the last moment.

---

“Di da! Di da!”

Xiao Chen’s body slowly emerged through the third light barrier. This time, he took twenty seconds to pass through the barrier.

However, Xiao Chen obtained more than double the pure purple Essence liquid than previously.

By the time Xiao Chen landed on the ground, the purple Qi whirlpool had exploded, and an abundant energy filled his body.

Xiao Chen instantly felt like his blood churned and his strength had increased explosively. He rejoiced and muttered, “I finally broke through to Medial Grade Martial King!”

Because Xiao Chen cultivated a Heaven Ranked Cultivation Technique and had absorbed so many natural treasures when breaking through to Martial King, his foundation was far sturdier than most people. It had become far more difficult for him to advance than others.

However, this was a good thing. Xiao Chen’s Essence could compare to a Superior Grade Martial King while he was an Inferior Grade Martial King. Naturally, this was a benefit.

However, there were downsides too. When it was difficult for a cultivator to raise his cultivation, the cultivator’s mental state might become unstable. He might find it difficult to calm down and cultivate.

One might even start to despise cultivating. They might consider cultivation futile if they could not progress regardless of how much effort they expended.

Xiao Chen’s mental state was very strong, and such a situation would not occur. The only downside was the slow advancement.

If Xiao Chen’s peers left him behind, it would be problematic. It did not matter while they were all Martial Kings or even half-step Martial Monarchs.

However, it would become an issue when they reach Martial Monarch. Their Essence would undergo a qualitative evolution.

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