The reason for Wu Yu's surprise was because the eighth level had an entirely different environment from those of the previous seven levels.
In the first seven levels, there were huge worlds of sand, flames, storms, forests, swamps, darkness and more.
However, the eighth level actually reminded Wu Yu that he was within the Ancient Soul Tower. The environment in this level was simple - it was the ordinary interior of a tower. It was not one of the vast worlds that he had experienced in the earlier seven levels.
He stepped on the plain, stone floor. He was surrounded by four golden walls, and a black ceiling hung above his head. Other than the passageway connecting the lower level to this eighth level, this level of the Ancient Soul Tower was an enclosed environment.
"So, the eighth level of the Ancient Soul Tower is just that. There are no other mysterious environmental effects,"
Wu Yu concluded.
He was now equivalent to being in an enclosed tower. This space was not too big. He recalled the impression that he had of the Ancient Soul Tower from outside. The size of the eighth level was about the size that he would have estimated it to be from looking at the exterior. Hence, the eighth level of the Ancient Soul Tower seemed to have not undergone any mysterious changes.
Even so, this level had to have its own special characteristic.
"Don't move, don't speak, don't make any noise! You must not move!" Just as Wu Yu had entered the eighth level and briefly surveyed the environment, several voices suddenly spoke to him. These people had used dao techniques to secretly convey their voices and messages to Wu Yu. In an instant, over 10 people had done that, and all of them relayed the same message.
From their slightly nervous tones, Wu Yu realized that if he had moved recklessly or caused a commotion, there would be trouble. Hence, he listened to their warnings and froze on the spot.
"Wu Yu, how could it be you!? Aren't you dead?"
"This is the eighth level of the Ancient Soul Tower. How did you come up?! My God!"
After that, those who had spoken got a glimpse of this newcomer. In an instant, they were shocked and stared at Wu Yu in disbelief. On the one hand, they were shocked that he was actually still alive, and on the other, they were surprised that he had managed to reach the eighth level of the Ancient Soul Tower.
At this moment, Wu Yu heard Prince Yu's voice. He was also on the eighth level of the Ancient Soul Tower.
"Unbelievable! How did you survive and how did you come up to the eighth level?"
The others were also asking, but Wu Yu did not answer them. Of course, he had to examine the situation at the eighth level of the Ancient Soul Tower first.
Soon, he saw the reason why so many people had asked him to keep quiet.
In this small and enclosed area of the eighth level of the Ancient Soul Tower, the ground was shining with a dazzling gold color. At first sight, Wu Yu almost suffocated because there were countless Yan Huang Golden Beads glittering on the ground. There were tens of thousands of them.
But at the next moment, in addition to everyone's cautiousness in movement, he noticed some minute details. With a closer look, he realized that none of these little, golden beads were the Yan Huang Golden Bead. They had eyes, ears, mouths, and noses. They looked like tiny, spherical heads, rolling on the ground. As there were Spirits of the Universe in the previous seven levels, Wu Yu guessed that these little golden beads should also be the Spirits of the Universe on this level.
At this moment, their eyes were closed. Wu Yu observed for a while and realized that all these Spirits of the Universe were deep in sleep. Some of them even rolled on the ground. In fact, they were just turning in their sleep.
The reason why the others had shushed Wu Yu was because they were afraid that Wu Yu would wake the beads up. To be here on the eighth level, these Spirits of the Universe were obviously not weak, but for the top experts here to be afraid of those little golden beads waking up, this meant that they would be quite terrifying once they woke up. Perhaps some of them had already experienced such terror.
Wu Yu continued to stand still as he looked at the ground occupied by countless Spirits of the Universe. He began to observe those who had remained at the eighth level of the Ancient Soul Tower.
First of all, Prince Yu was here. He was standing quite a distance from Wu Yu. Also, in order to avoid stepping on the Spirits of the Universe on the ground, they were all suspended in the air. Most of them were near the walls or ceiling. Wu Yu guessed that they were probably studying the pathway to the ninth level of the Ancient Soul Tower before his arrival.
Maybe it was on the ceiling.
Other than Prince Yu, Wu Yu realized to his surprise that most of the eighth tier Dao Querying Realm cultivators that he had previously encountered on the fifth level of the Ancient Soul Tower were here. Obviously, they were not wandering about in the sixth and seventh levels and had come directly to the eighth level. If the Yan Huang Golden Bead had appeared in the levels below, their followers would inform them and they could rush down.
"Seems like there are many people who are curious about the ninth level of the Ancient Soul Tower like me."
Prince Xiao and Princess Xi had not come up to the eighth level and Prince Diablo was in the level below. The eighth tier Dao Querying Realm cultivators whom Wu Yu could remember were basically all here.
For example, the reputable Lan Qi Liu Meng, who was as famous as Prince Diablo, from the ghostly cultivator kingdom the Rising Cloud Nation was here. Compared to Prince Diablo, he looked like a middle-aged gentleman with a gentle temperament. His smile was like a spring breeze and his pair of blue eyes were rare, as beautiful as pieces of sparkling jade. However, he was not as harmless as he looked. In the Jambu Realm, he was a coveted assassin.
There was also the Crown Prince from the Central Golden Shine Empire, Xuan Jinzi. His temperament was similar to that of Yan Huang Tribe members, though he was inclined towards the metal element. His flesh and bones were shining as if they were coated with a layer of gold plating.
The Breezy Sword Master of the Green Wind Immortal Kingdom was also standing at one corner. He was dressed in a green swordsman coat, and he always came and went without a trace. He was very dashing and unrestrained. He held no official position in the Green Wind Immortal Kingdom, he travelled all year round. However, there were rumors that he was from a powerful family.
And the beauty Mu Yunxi from the Immortal Kingdom in the Clouds who was once an extremely beautiful woman pursued by thousands of people in the Jambu Realm. Even though she was older now, it did not affect her beauty at all. She was also a beautiful sight to see now on the eighth level of the Ancient Soul Tower.
There was another beauty whose looks were comparable to Mu Yunxi’s. She came from the Snow God's Domain. However, it seemed like she was not here. She was probably at the sixth or seventh levels. Her name was Xue Qingyin.
As a matter of fact, most ultimate beauties came from the Celestial Immortal Tribe from the Immortal Kingdom in the Clouds, the Snow God Tribe from the Snow God's Domain, and the Oriental Flower Tribe from the Oriental Flower Immortal Realm. These were also places that many martial cultivators desired to go to.
The eighth level of the Ancient Soul Tower was mostly occupied by martial cultivators. Other than the one and only ghostly cultivator, Lan Qi Liu Meng, there were no demons at all. But Lan Qi Liu Meng did not look like a ghostly cultivator, so he blended into the group.
Of course, this did not mean that there were no demons at the eighth tier of the Dao Querying Realm.
At this point, Wu Yu thought that only these eighth tier Dao Querying cultivators could threaten him.
In the Ancient Soul Tower, from what had happened in the central sun, there were only three Yan Huang Tribe members at the eighth tier of the Dao Querying Realm. They were Prince Yu, Prince Xiao, and Princess Xi.
There were four eighth tier Dao Querying cultivators from other immortal kingdoms, and they were Xuan Jinzi, Breezy Sword Master, Mu Yunxi, and Xue Qingyin.
Among the ghostly cultivators, the eighth tier Dao Querying cultivators were Lan Qi Liu Meng from the Rising Cloud Nation, Prince Diablo from the Devilsky Tribe, and the mysterious Huang Guzi from the Yellow Springs Nine Realms, one of the three major ghostly cultivator powers. It was said that Huang Guzi was the younger brother of the Yellow Springs Nine Realms Master. And Huang Guzi was raised by his elder brother. Wu Yu did not have much of an impression of Huang Guzi.
At the demons' side, the strongest land demon was the Nine-Headed Snake King from the Nanyin Demon Continent. The other eighth tier Dao Querying Realm demons were older than Prince Yu.
The strongest demon from the Sky Demon Nation, the most powerful of all demon territories, was the only son of the Sky Demon Lord, the ruler of Sky Demon Nation. He was in the Ancient Soul Tower too. It was just that he was not at the eighth level. His demonic true form was the same as his father. Both of them were Void Breaching Cloud Beasts. It was said that they were very impressive and could tear space apart. The others addressed him as “Young Emperor.”
The youngest demon lord from the second most powerful demon territory, the Million Demon Mountain, the Sky Demon Nation's most hated competitor, was also in the Ancient Soul Tower. This demon had been famous since he was young. His true form was the Soulful Inner Ape. It was said that this was a rare demon in the Jambu Realm, existing only once every 10,000 years. He was the only one alive in the entire Jambu Realm. Special conditions needed to be fulfilled for it to be born. Of course, this Soulful Inner Ape was not here at the eighth level either.
Next would be the sea region demons.
Usually, not many sea region demons would be present at the 10,000 Kingdoms Pilgrimage, as they lived too far away. Hence, while there were many sea region demons at the eighth tier of the Dao Querying Realm who were younger than Prince Yu from the numerous powerful demon territories such as the Dead Souls Sea Region, the Emperor's Electric Reservoir, the Antarctic Eddy, and more, only one of them had entered the Ancient Soul Tower. Wu Yu had not even seen him yet. This demon was from the Burning Sea Region at the far north. It was said that the waters at that sea region burnt continuously, forming a chaotic sea with flames on the surface and water below the surface. As a result, demons born in this sea region possessed powers of both water and fire.
That demon’s true form was something called the Yin-Yang Fish. It was said that in the Burning Sea Region, this kind of bloodline was quite rare. In the Ancient Soul Tower, this one and only sea region demon expert seemed to be very low-key. It had very little contact with other people. After all, he had no one to help him and could only rely on himself.
If more sea region demons had come for the 10,000 Kingdoms Pilgrimage this time, then there would be so many more top experts in the Ancient Soul Tower.
At first, Wu Yu had thought that there were not many people at this cultivation level in the tower. Counting the numbers now, there were more than 10 of them, and they were all difficult to deal with….
"Wu Yu, I’m talking to you. How did you come up here and survive through all the other levels? As a junior, don't you have the basic courtesy to answer my question?" When Wu Yu was observing them, Prince Yu had slowly moved towards Wu Yu. His eyes were fixed on Wu Yu. Perhaps Wu Yu's appearance here had once again confirmed Prince Yu’s guess that from the start, the Ancient Emperor had already chosen Prince Le to inherit the throne.
Hence, he was very unhappy now. It was a great shock for him to see a person whom he had thought to be dead to defy the heavens and appear at a place where he could never possibly reach.
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