Chapter Seventy-Two: Where Did You Go Wrong?

That colorful heap of flesh lay there, unable to move, occasionally letting out a few whimpering sounds that could have been either curses or cries for help.

Chen Xiang sneered coldly and strode right over.

Before he even got close, he feigned surprise and said, “Oh, isn’t this Pipi Eel? What are you doing here? Where are those people you called? Why don’t I see them?”

The rainbow Pipi Eel was startled at the sound of his voice, then delighted, but quickly suppressed the emotion.

It kept a calm expression and replied indifferently, “Oh? So it’s you. I’ve been waiting here for you for quite some time. Why are you only just getting up here? I was about to fall asleep.”

Chen Xiang snickered inwardly but didn’t expose the act. Seeing its current state, it was obvious the eel had been flattened by the divine consciousness pressure of the fifth floor.

“I’m just a humble cultivator at the peak of Core Formation, my spiritual sense is weak, so I’m a bit slow. How could I compare to you? You’re a divine beast! I’ll just head up to the sixth floor first. I won’t disturb your rest here,” Chen Xiang replied with exaggerated expression.

Without another word, he turned to leave.

Seeing that Chen Xiang truly intended to go, the rainbow Pipi Eel panicked and hastily called out in a pleading tone, “Wait, boy, wait! I was wrong, help me up!”

Chen Xiang stopped, sneering, “Oh? You were wrong? And what exactly was your mistake?”

“My… my mistake?” The rainbow Pipi Eel was dumbfounded. Had it really done anything wrong? It had simply blurted out the words in a moment of panic.

“Huh? You don’t even know what you did wrong? Are you itching for a beating? Or maybe you’re just asking for it?” Without mercy, Chen Xiang pulled out the Coiling Dragon Staff, repeating the phrase as he spoke.

Seeing the staff appear, the rainbow Pipi Eel reflexively squirmed back a few centimeters.

…

Heavens, why had it developed a conditioned response to this already?

But thinking it over, it had only said a few words and immediately apologized—yet it still couldn’t see what it had done wrong. Gradually, its confidence returned.

It said resolutely, “What mistake? I did nothing wrong! Don’t you try to frame me, boy. I’m not giving you any chances!”

“Impressive, my dear eel, you finally realize you’re not at fault!” With feigned affection, Chen Xiang raised the Coiling Dragon Staff and brought it down sharply, adding, “But you actually dare act all high and mighty in front of me? You think I’ll tolerate that?”

The blow had little effect on the rainbow Pipi Eel, but Chen Xiang’s own hand went numb from the impact.

Because within the Ice Spirit Tower, all incantations were restricted. Once inside, spell arts were useless—only physical attacks would work.

The rainbow Pipi Eel’s body was absurdly tough. Chen Xiang had reason to believe that all those previous screams while beating it had been nothing but an act.

“Ha! Kid, did you skip your meals? That’s not even enough to tickle me!” The eel, sensing the anomaly, grew bolder and laughed loudly.

Chen Xiang didn’t argue. Instead, he smiled and said, “Hmm? What is this thing? So ugly! Forget it, I’ll just leave.”

With that, he headed for the sixth floor.

The rainbow Pipi Eel, seeing him pretend not to recognize it, panicked again and shouted, “Hey, stop messing around! Come help me erase this mark! There’s no one here—it’s the perfect place!”

“Messing around? Who’s messing around? And what is this thing? It can even talk?” Chen Xiang feigned bewilderment, staring at the ‘mysterious object’ before him.

At this, the eel wanted nothing more than to smack him in the face with its tail and roar, “Drop the act!” But it knew full well what Chen Xiang was after—interest, and he wore it plainly on his face.

“Fine, fine! I’ll give you half a bottle of Primal Essence Liquid, satisfied?” the rainbow Pipi Eel gritted its teeth.

Hearing this, Chen Xiang’s face instantly blossomed into a radiant smile. “Now that’s more like it! Pipi Eel, why do you always have to act so tough in front of me? Does that ever work?”

Bombarded with a string of rhetorical questions whose answers were obvious, the rainbow Pipi Eel simply buried its head, trying to muffle the annoying voice.

After a few moments, Chen Xiang stopped and stretched out his hand. “Hand me the Primal Essence Liquid first, and I’ll help you.”

“No way. I don’t trust you. Help me erase the mark first, then you get the Primal Essence Liquid!” The rainbow Pipi Eel raised its head and refused without hesitation. It had been tricked out of the Jade Bamboo Sword by him before, and had sworn never to trust him again.

“Oh? Fine, then just stay there.” Chen Xiang hadn’t expected such a quick refusal, but if it wanted to compete in stamina, it was far outclassed.

“Don’t try to provoke me, boy. You have to help me first, then I’ll give you the Primal Essence Liquid!” The eel was unusually resolute this time.

Chen Xiang found himself seeing it in a new light—this rainbow Pipi Eel truly valued wealth over its own life!

“All right. But at least let me see the goods first, can’t you?” He didn’t insist, knowing that the pressure on the fifth floor wasn’t easy to endure, and it was even colder here than outside.

“That’s fine, but you have to keep your distance!” The eel thought it over and agreed, but added a condition—it was afraid Chen Xiang would snatch the prize the moment he saw it, and wouldn’t even know whom to cry to. He was certainly capable of such a thing.

Chen Xiang’s mouth twitched. Did he really look that much like a bandit?

But he stepped back a fair distance. With incantations unusable here and his physical speed limited, without the Three Thousand Lightning Movement, he posed no threat at this range.

Seeing Chen Xiang retreat, the rainbow Pipi Eel opened its mouth, and a flash of light appeared—but didn’t leave its mouth—instead transforming into a transparent white jade bottle containing half a vial of vivid green liquid, radiating vibrant life force.

Once Chen Xiang got a good look, the eel swallowed the bottle back down in a gulp.

“Is that good enough?” asked the rainbow Pipi Eel.

Chen Xiang nodded, satisfied, though what he really thought no one could tell. “All right, let’s begin.”

He walked to the rainbow Pipi Eel’s side, then spoke inwardly, “System, give me something to resist the Ice Spirit Tower’s restriction. Yes, the Forbidden Pearl. That’s it!”

“Ding! Congratulations, host ‘Chen Xiang’ has successfully redeemed the Forbidden Pearl, consuming 500 reputation points!”

“Forbidden Pearl: Based on the host’s formation master level, can resist all external restrictions of the same level or lower, and a limited duration against higher-level restrictions.
Durability: 100”

A mist-shrouded, dark purple pearl appeared in Chen Xiang’s hand. Within a meter of him, all restrictions were blocked, no longer affecting his movements.

The pressure on his body vanished instantly, and his inner energy began to flow freely again.

“Ding! Forbidden Pearl is resisting various restrictions, including several set by a Heavenly Spirit Array Master. Estimated duration: one quarter of an hour!”

“Heavenly Spirit Array Master?” Chen Xiang was taken aback by this message. The Ice Spirit Tower had been forged by the founding ancestor of the Snowveil Sect, so the restrictions were unsurprisingly unusual—but he hadn’t expected anything of this level. The Snowveil Sect’s foundation was indeed formidable.

He was only an apprentice Earthen Spirit Array Master, so to resist a Heavenly Spirit Array Master’s restriction for a quarter of an hour was not to be wasted.

Chen Xiang shot the prone rainbow Pipi Eel a grin so fake it could shatter glass, while summoning the Coiling Dragon Staff at the same time.

“To be continued…”