Chapter 16: Have You Seen That Girl?

After Feng Buxing finished speaking, Yang Ye’s expression suddenly changed.

“Is it him?”

In the Dark Jiao Forest, he had heard Feng Buxing refer to Ye Xiao that way, so when Feng Buxing called out “Brother Ye,” Yang Ye immediately connected it to Ye Xiao.

“What’s wrong? Do you know who that is?” Qi Feng walked over to Yang Ye and asked.

Yang Ye nodded slightly. “I’ve met him once. An interesting little guy. But I didn’t expect him to catch the attention of the Haoran Tower.”

Qi Feng sighed but said nothing further.

In an instant, the area outside Haoran Tower fell silent. Everyone’s eyes were fixed on the faintly glowing red dot above the ninth floor.

Meanwhile, Ye Xiao stood there, looking bewildered.

He glanced around and realized he seemed to have appeared inside the tower. Curiosity stirred within him.

“This is… the third floor?”

Theoretically, having just passed the second-floor trial, he should be on the third floor. But the space looked small, and after a while, he found nothing unusual.

Still puzzled, Ye Xiao looked around again. Apart from a tiny window that barely showed the outside and a tightly shut wooden door, the room was empty.

“What’s going on? Is anyone here?” he called out loudly. After a long wait, no response came.

With no other choice, he sat cross-legged on the floor and began studying the Five Elements Body Refining Technique.

After some research, he finally grasped the power of this body cultivation method.

It refines the power of the Five Elements’ laws, tempering the physique and sinews. If mastered, one’s physical body could even withstand attacks from powerful experts at the Revered Realm.

“Well, there’s no danger here, and I can’t leave anyway. Might as well start refining the water element law inside me,” he thought.

Without hesitation, Ye Xiao closed his eyes and began circulating his blood meridians.

Using his blood meridians to refine the water element law, then tempering his physical body according to this technique.

One hour passed.

Two hours passed.

Three full hours later, Ye Xiao exhaled a long breath.

He slowly opened his eyes, a flash of blue light shimmering in his gaze.

“Refining about seventy to eighty percent… my physique is almost at the entry level,” he said with a pleased expression. Yet, he realized further refinement wouldn’t bring much improvement.

Standing up, he waved his arm and felt his strength had increased significantly.

Now, with just his physical strength, he could exchange a few moves with experts at the Ninth Layer of the Profound Realm.

“No wonder body cultivators are few today, but anyone who reaches a certain level is terrifyingly strong,” he mused.

Only after beginning body cultivation did he understand the terrifying power of those physical cultivators.

He hadn’t even brought this technique to the entry level and already possessed such strength; one could only imagine how fearsome the strong body cultivators were.

“After obtaining the Haoran Righteous Qi Stone, I still need to consider where to find other elemental laws to cultivate,” Ye Xiao muttered to himself.

“Are you satisfied with so little power?” Suddenly, a voice echoed in the small space.

Ye Xiao’s expression changed, and the broken sword immediately appeared in his palm.

“Who’s there?”

“Heh heh heh, you’re cautious, but unfortunately, your strength is lacking!” The voice said as a figure slowly descended from above.

Ye Xiao frowned and looked up, discovering it was a woman dressed in a plain skirt.

Her waist-length hair framed her willow-shaped brows, and her aura was ethereal.

Her hands were clasped behind her back, her expression calm and composed.

“Are you the guardian of this floor?” Ye Xiao asked.

The woman smiled faintly. “Guardian? Interesting. If you want to call me that, then so be it.”

After a pause, she continued, “But unfortunately, even if you defeat me, you won’t be able to proceed to the next floor.”

“Why?” Ye Xiao asked sternly.

It was only the third floor, and if he couldn’t reach the fifth, it meant failure.

“Because… there is no next floor!” The woman still smiled, her gaze tinged with amusement.

“No next floor? Isn’t it said there are nine floors here? Why… wait!” Ye Xiao suddenly realized.

“This isn’t the third floor? It’s the ninth?”

“Heh heh heh, not too stupid after all!” The woman laughed so charmingly that Ye Xiao was momentarily stunned.

But he quickly regained his composure and asked in confusion, “Why?”

“Why did I appear directly on the ninth floor?”

The woman shook her head. “No reason. I just wanted to see you.”

Ye Xiao was speechless.

After a moment, he asked again, “Do we know each other?”

She shook her head.

“Then why did you want to see me?”

After a brief silence, the woman spoke: “No reason. Just felt it would be fun.”

Ye Xiao was at a loss for words.

“So, have I successfully passed the trial?”

The woman nodded matter-of-factly. “Of course. You’ve reached the ninth floor, so you’ve passed.”

Hearing her answer, Ye Xiao finally breathed a sigh of relief.

“So, since you’ve looked at me, can you let me leave?”

Unexpectedly, the woman didn’t answer immediately. Instead, she stepped forward and gently touched his forehead with a finger.

Ye Xiao was puzzled, but soon saw a drop of fresh blood appear on her finger.

She stared at the blood for a long moment, then nodded. “Alright, you may go now. Once you step out the door, you’ll be outside.”

With that, she ignored Ye Xiao and vanished instantly.

Ye Xiao was stunned. He still couldn’t understand the woman’s true purpose.

Could it really be that she simply wanted to see him?

Then why take a drop of his blood?

He pondered for a long time but found no answer.

Since he couldn’t figure it out, he stopped thinking and walked to the wooden door, slowly opening it.

The scene outside shocked him.

Beneath Haoran Tower stood dozens of people. Besides the twenty or so who had passed the trial, there were about ten unfamiliar faces.

After scanning the crowd, he finally spotted some familiar figures: Qi Feng, Yang Ye, and Feng Buxing.

As these people saw Ye Xiao emerge from Haoran Tower, they all looked at him with curiosity and surprise.

Most exaggerated was Feng Buxing.

He hurried over, grabbed Ye Xiao’s arm excitedly, and exclaimed, “Damn, Brother Ye! You actually reached the ninth floor!”

“Uh…” Ye Xiao was momentarily speechless at the sudden outburst.

Yang Ye then approached with a bright smile and gentle tone.

“Have you… met that young lady?”