Chapter 1290: Benefitting from an Unexpected Turn of Events

Suddenly, the scenery in front of the trio changed. What appeared before their eyes was a landscape full of flowers and grass literally everywhere. Many critters were seen moving about in this endless prairie. But after releasing their spiritual senses to observe them, they found that these critters were not real creatures but some kind of mechanical puppets that took after various animal species.

Whoosh...

A figure flickered and appeared in front of the trio in a flash. Even if Gu Yan'er was a Golden Immortal, she was still taken aback by the speed of this person. However, when the figure stopped a hundred meters away from them, they realized that it was also a mechanical puppet, a humanoid type.

"Welcome to the Perpetual Interlocked Dimension, everyone."

A mechanical voice came out, and the mechanical puppet's eyes glowed with a green light.

Tang Xiu creased his brows and asked, "You said this place is the Perpetual Interlocked Dimension? What thing are you, exactly?"

"I'm not a thing, I'm a metal-cast puppet," said the mechanical puppet. "This is indeed the Perpetual Interlocked Dimension, the 11th floor Celestial Pole Realm. You don't have the smell of alumina, and I'm sure you were directly transported to the 10th floor and then entered this 11th floor through the vortex portal."

Tang Xiu's expression changed instantly and he hurriedly asked, "What did you say? This is the Celestial Pole Realm?"

"Positive," the mechanical puppet replied. "This is the Celestial Pole Realm. The 11th floor."

Tang Xiu heaved a deep breath and said in a heavy voice, "That Celestial Pole old man has been missing for... 8,000 years... roughly 8,000 or so. You said this place is the realm of that Celestial Pole old man. Is he already dead?"

The humanoid puppet was silent for a while before two translucent Immortal Crystals' essence fell from its eye socket. Its manner of speaking carried a human feel as it replied, "Do you know my Master? Master is dead. He died due to a mental demon. Strangely, my circuit board doesn't contain any information about what a mental demon is. In short, my Master is dead and has left his realm behind. Also, my Master said to wait for a fated person here."

Tang Xiu clenched his fists and a reminiscence look flashed in his eyes. He reminisced the first time he just broke away from his silk pant identity and smoothly became a Profound Immortal. He encountered that Celestial Pole old man in a dangerous situation. The Celestial Pole old man was only at the Golden Immortal Stage at that time. To escape that extremely dangerous crisis, the two of them joined hands and were finally able to escape death. Both of them became bosom buddies and Tang Xiu also received a lot of guidance in his cultivation from him.

"I really had no idea that you've fallen here..."

With a heart full of sourness, Tang Xiu looked at the humanoid puppet in front and nodded. "There should be a trial here since that Celestial Pole oldster left such an immortal karmic here, yes? Tell me what the trial is. I wanna have a try."

"You haven't answered my question yet. Do you know my Master?" asked the humanoid puppet.

"I know him. We were buddies who fought side by side," Tang Xiu answered. "It's just that I didn't expect that he would have fallen here 8,000 years ago."

"You're mistaken. Master fell 8,829 years ago," corrected the mechanical puppet.

Tang Xiu didn't want to bicker over such a trivial matter with this mechanical puppet. "It's been too long, I didn't keep a note of the exact time of his fall."

"You want to take part in the trial. But it's a bit troublesome. Allow me to analyze a bit. The rules set by my Master previously aimed at Celestial Immortals as the weakest entity that can take the lowest level of the trial. You are just an ordinary Immortal. You have not yet passed your Immortal Tribulation to the Earth Immortal, Celestial Immortal, or Golden Immortal stages. I don't know how to arrange a trial for you."

"Well, the main purpose of my coming here is the Auric Profusion Source. You just need to tell me what kind of trial I need to pass before I can get it," said Tang Xiu.

"The Auric Profusion Source is on the 7th floor, but it's just a very poor cultivation resource. You took out some Immortal Crystals to activate that spatial teleportation array outside, meaning you have a lot of wealth. Do you really need that poor cultivation resource?" asked the humanoid puppet.

Tang Xiu understood the mechanical puppet's meaning. If he was still a Supreme, this Auric Profusion Source was indeed a very low-grade resource for him. But the problem was that the current him was only comparable to a Celestial Immortal at best and a lot poorer. He still also had over 200,000 cultivators of his empire who needed to be groomed. All in all, the Auric Profusion Source was already a great treasure for him.

"I'm in urgent need of it, indeed." Tang Xiu nodded.

"Then you can take everything you want from the 1st to the 9th floor without taking any trial," said the mechanical puppet.

After hearing it, Tang Xiu immediately inquired again. "How can I pass the final trial? This is a pocket world of my old friend and I want to take it with me."

"You're not yet qualified to take the trail. Those two with you can participate in the trial, but be warned that this trial is very dangerous. 49,872 Immortals came here before and took the trial, and 37,216 people died in the trial, whereas all the trial takers at the Golden Immortal Stage have fallen completely," said the puppet.

Tang Xiu tensed up inwardly. He was well aware of the abilities possessed by Celestial Pole. That old guy had a great chance to advance to the Supremacy Stage had he not died prematurely.

"I'd like to try it, Master," Gu Yan'er interjected with a calm expression.

Tang Xiu slightly frowned and gave it a thought for some time. Then, he replied, "I understand you want to take this trial, Yan'er. But this trial is not one you can complete within a short time. Not to mention that we still have important things to do, so we have no time to waste here. If you really want to take this trial, wait until our situation has been stabilized. I'll accompany you to come here again at that time."

Gu Yan'er thought about it and then nodded. "I'll listen to your instruction, Master."

Tang Xiu shifted to the mechanoid again and smilingly asked, "Anyway, why did we directly appear on the 10th floor after using that teleportation array, though? This friend beside me has been here before, but his team was teleported to the first floor directly."

"That was because they used Immortal Stones instead of Immortal Crystals to activate the teleportation array," replied the mechanoid. "It's actually a 'give and take' test. You give up any objects up to the 9th floor, or you can take up the trial on each floor if you want to get them."

Tang Xiu's expression turned weird. He used Immortal Crystals as contingency insurance, for fear that the teleportation array couldn't make them go back. But never did he expect that such an unexpected turn of events made him pass the outermost trials. He turned to look at You Zhong, seeing the guy's dumbstruck face, and suddenly had the impulse to weep.

Right now, this guy is definitely feeling very regretful, right?

Back when his team got here and were willing to part with some of their stuff, it was likely that none of them would have died. Not only they wouldn't have died, but they could also get a lot of treasures and then leave alive.

Shifting back to the mechanoid, Tang Xiu spoke again, "Send us to the 9th floor then! We're going to gather some things and then directly leave."

Scarlet light emitted from the mechanoid's eyes and a vortex portal suddenly appeared in front of the three of them. Then, it said, "The objects on the first nine floors have been roughly collected by those Immortals, but there are still some Auric Profusion Sources left. Hopefully, they can meet your satisfaction."

"Thanks!" Tang Xiu slightly smiled and immediately walked into the vortex portal.

The 9th floor...

The 8th floor...

...

The 1st floor...

Tang Xiu and Gu Yan'er were like scavengers. In just 2 days, they had swept away everything there was on the first nine floors and then stuffed them into their interspatial rings. If anyone were to come to these first nine floors, they'd see that there was nothing left behind.

...

Immediately after, the trio stepped on the returning teleportation array and reappeared on the ground. Tang Xiu then spoke with a happy face, "Well, I thought we had to go through some crises, but I didn't expect that a whimsical plan in the spur of the moment would save so much effort. Although the first nine floors have been visited by many previously, we still got tons of treasures, a lot more than the wealth we got from robberies previously. But damn, we got too little time, else I'd have asked the Aurelian Artificer Sect to make more weapons for us."

"Let's stop talking about anything else. Just the Auric Profusion Source alone, we got more than 100 portions. Just taking out one for sale will likely fetch us 100,000 Immortal Crystals." Gu Yan'er chuckled.

Tang Xiu nodded and sighed. "Robbery may be the fastest way to get money, but the wealth one can get is still limited! After all, the number of those worth robbing in the Immortal World is too few, but poor people are literally everywhere. Though we may still be able to obtain a huge fortune if we take risks."

You Zhong also received a portion of Auric Profusion Source and several other treasures that were beneficial to him. But when he recalled using Immortal Stones on those concave slots on the teleportation array in his previous attempt, he couldn't help but feel depressed.

In case... if he could get a lot of treasures back then, maybe he would have a chance to advance to the Profound Immortal Stage, or even already became a Profound Immortal.

As for Tang Xiu, how could he not tell the cause of You Zhong's depression? He patted the guy's shoulder and smilingly said, "Hey, don't look so depressed, will you? Maybe you wouldn't have been able to come back alive if you were to use Immortal Crystals last time."

You Zhong was stunned and asked with a confused face, "What do you mean?"

"Just think about it. Even if you used Immortal Crystals previously and was able to directly seek the treasures in the first nine floors without taking any trials, do you think your companions wouldn't have greedy hearts with so much wealth before their eyes? Once the selfishness of some of them came out and they wanted to take the treasures for themselves, how much chance do you think you would have to escape alive?"

You Zhong's eyes flashed and most of his depressed mood vanished. He understood that Tang Xiu was right. Those companions didn't trust each other. Should any of them think of snatching on seeing others' wealth, it was likely that he would really fall to the machinations of those with evil designs for him.

"Thanks for the reminder," You Zhong cupped his fists and said.

"There's no need to thank me, just remember my advice in the future: Never regret anything you've ever chosen. Harboring such regrets is not only useless but also affects your mood instead. What's right is right, and what's wrong is wrong. Leave complaints and regrets behind and let your heart be broad and bright. Only then can you usher yourself to a better future."

You Zhong smiled, nodded and suddenly spoke, "Great Tang Fellow Immortal, why didn't you become an Immortal Sect's Master and guide everyone to the proper path? You haven't yet set up your own sect, it's really a waste of talent, you know."

"Pfft... Hahaha." Gu Yan'er couldn't help but burst into loud laughter.