Starting My Cultivation With Time Management-Chapter 958 - 98: The Debt of Human Emotions in Shushan

Chapter 958 -98: The Debt of Human Emotions in Shushan

The Shushan Demon Locking Tower, its construction time is no longer traceable.

The tower consists of ninety-five levels in total. According to convention, levels one to twenty-nine imprison untransformed demonic beasts, levels thirty to forty-nine imprison demons in the Transformation Realm, levels fifty to eighty-nine imprison Demon Kings in the Dong Yuan Realm, and from level ninety downward are Great Demons of the Ancestor Realm.

Of course, these rules aren’t absolute.

For example, if Shushan captures a Dong Yuan Realm Demon King, it might imprison it in a cave in the sixtieth level of the Demon Locking Tower.

There, the Demon King takes a wife, bears children, reproduces and forms an entire population. Naturally, this population would contain demons of all stages, from untransformed to Transformation Realm. Thus, the only conclusion is that the sixtieth level’s highest-ranking demon is that Dong Yuan Realm Demon King.

But in a general sense, the deeper the level, the more dangerous the imprisoned creatures are.

“Because of this, the restrictions and barriers of the Demon Locking Tower itself become more severe the deeper one goes,” the Long Eyebrow Immortal said, stroking his beard. “However, the leakage incidents in the Demon Locking Tower across the ages mostly occur in the middle or lower levels, not the upper levels.”

“The thirtieth level is the Four Symbols Formation Eye, the fiftieth level is the Dual Polarity Formation Eye, and the ninety-fifth level, the bottommost, is the Taiji Formation Eye of the Demon Locking Tower.”

“Every one of these formation eyes is the core of its restrictions. Therefore, they must never be damaged. You must inspect and patrol them regularly. I will now transmit to you the method to control the formation eye’s restrictions. This method can only be passed by word of mouth and cannot be recorded in writing.”

The Long Eyebrow Immortal recited a lengthy incantation, which Ling Yunpo committed to memory. He then took out the Dual Polarity Dust Sword and said:

“You are not yet capable of mastering the Tai Yin Suming Sword. After I leave the Demon Locking Tower, I will temporarily leave this Dual Polarity Dust Sword here for you to use freely.”

“If the tower leaks again and the situation becomes irretrievable, you must activate this sword to deploy the Dual Polarity Dust Sword Formation and ensure the escaped demons are annihilated!”

Having said this, the Long Eyebrow Immortal tossed the Dual Polarity Dust Sword, letting it hang from a Sword Pillar as if to imply, “I’m leaving it here, alright?”

After hearing the Long Eyebrow Immortal’s instructions, Ling Yunpo bid farewell and left the bottom level of the Demon Locking Tower.

Controlling his sword, he spiraled upward around the tower and finally stopped at its summit, asking Kunlun Mirror in his mind:

“Ah Jing, what do you think of the tower’s restrictions?”

“Flawless,” Kunlun Mirror praised unreservedly. “You can see it as well. The construction technology of this Demon Locking Tower far exceeds what the Shushan Shangqing Faction currently understands.”

“While the Long Eyebrow Immortal may be long-lived, he is ultimately inexperienced with formations and can only utilize one or two percent of the tower’s restrictions.”

“Exactly,” Ling Yunpo sighed. “If I were to maintain the Demon Locking Tower’s restrictions, there’d be no chance for any demon to escape! Laughable!”

“Still, the fragment of the Heaven-Mending Stone is proving far more impactful than we initially imagined,” Kunlun Mirror said seriously. “It seems that because Shushan has never had anyone truly proficient in formations throughout its history, the restrictions of this tower have seldom been properly maintained.”

“With the increasing number of demons imprisoned in the tower and the significant damage it has sustained over time, the weaknesses in its restrictions have only grown more pronounced.”

“So, the Long Eyebrow Immortal devised a once-and-for-all solution: embed the fragment of the Heaven-Mending Stone into the restrictions, patching the vulnerabilities wherever they appear…”

“What an absolute waste of divine resources!” Ling Yunpo said helplessly. “This way, if we recklessly remove the Heaven-Mending Stone fragment, who knows how many previously concealed vulnerabilities will be exposed… It means I’d have to repair the restrictions from start to finish before taking that fragment!”

“There’s no helping it,” Kunlun Mirror comforted him. “Aren’t you planning to eventually rebel against Shushan? Fixing the Demon Locking Tower’s restrictions can be considered a form of compensation to them.”

“What you say does make some sense.” Ling Yunpo sighed. “Ah, my moral compass is just too high. Otherwise, as the mighty Tai Yin Sword Master, I wouldn’t be reduced to a mere formation repairman.”

Kunlun Mirror and the Suming Sword were both speechless, thinking, besides fixing the Demon Locking Tower’s restrictions and extracting the Heaven-Mending Stone fragment from them, what other options could possibly exist?

Isn’t Ah Jing mocking you? Pretending not to get it, huh? Truly, a morality too high for common mortals…

When Ling Yunpo returned to Qingluo Peak, he saw An Zhisu drinking alone in the pavilion behind the Daoist temple.

“Senior Sister, why are you drinking alone without calling me?” He quickly dashed into the pavilion, snatching the wine pot from An Zhisu’s hands and pouring himself a drink. “Being selfish, huh?”

An Zhisu, already feeling somewhat troubled, thought her junior brother had been distant from her lately. Frustrated by her insufficient cultivation level, she resorted to secretly drowning her sorrows in the wine at the back of the Daoist temple. Drunkenly, she didn’t even react when her junior brother snatched the wine pot.

“Give it back!” When she finally came to herself, she refused to yield, lunging forward to grab the pot. “It’s mine!”

“Just one more sip and it’s all yours!” Ling Yunpo dodged left and right, his back to Senior Sister An as he poured himself another drink.

Unable to get around to his front, An Zhisu simply hugged him tightly from behind, slipping her arms under his to grip the pot’s spout with all her might.

“Senior Sister, wrong grip! Wrong grip!”

Ling Yunpo immediately surrendered, handing over the pot willingly.

Once An Zhisu had seized the pot back, she released her sweat-drenched junior brother and resumed drinking by herself.

Her pitch-black hair tumbled freely down her back, her pale, slender neck arched gracefully. Clear wine trickled from the corner of her lips, sliding down her sculpted collarbone, and disappearing into the shadowy folds of her robe.

Watching this, Ling Yunpo gulped instinctively. To conceal his longing for the wine, he hurriedly switched topics and asked:

“Senior Sister, why do you seem upset? Is something troubling you?”

“What could bother me…” An Zhisu muttered instinctively before glaring at Ling Yunpo angrily.

Do you really not know why I’m upset?

Yet no matter what, confessing to her junior brother that she was distressed about being overshadowed in cultivation would ultimately make her seem overly sensitive and petty—something she couldn’t allow.

Thus, An Zhisu deftly redirected the conversation, saying:

“Obviously, it’s because ever since you became the Tai Yin Sword Master, you’ve been ignoring your Senior Sister!”

“I haven’t ignored Senior Sister!” Ling Yunpo exclaimed, wide-eyed.

“When was the last time you practiced swords with me?” An Zhisu began counting on her fingers. “When was the last time you drank with me?”

“Uh, this…” Ling Yunpo found himself at a loss for words.

It wasn’t that he hadn’t accompanied Senior Sister An in a long time—it was simply that so much had happened since the last time Shushan had been saved, he couldn’t recall it all.

Seeing Ling Yunpo stammer and stumble, An Zhisu felt a pang of disappointment. Picking up the wine pot, she headed for her quarters without a further glance.