The fifth floor of the Seven Star Tower seemed far more important to Chu Jiang than to Yue Qi. So, although he was still angry, he ultimately let him off the hook.

It's alright, he'll have plenty of time to settle accounts once he's finished with his business.

Chu Jiang turned and walked back to where he had been standing. Only then did Yue Qi realize that two of the floorboards in their area were actually purplish-red.

"That's heavenly lightning, said to be truly imbued with immortal power," Yan Qing whispered to him.

"The floor is movable. Once it's pressed down, the entire fourth floor will be engulfed in a sea of ​​lightning. These are Chu Jiang's exact words. Although he is a lightning ability user, his body is currently a strange one. And lightning is the greatest nemesis of the strange."

So that's how it is. Although the fourth level seems quite peaceful on the surface, I didn't expect there to be a powerful weapon hidden there.

He looked towards the entrance to the fifth floor in the distance. "Do you know how to get to the fifth floor?"

Yan Qing nodded. "It's very simple. Once you survive the nine bolts of heavenly lightning, the barrier will naturally open."

"Nine bolts of heavenly lightning?!" Is this Seven Star Tower really planning to kill everyone who tries to climb it? In this world, who can survive nine bolts of heavenly lightning?

Take her personally, the first level is enough for her to meet her ancestors in the underworld, why would she need nine levels?

Yue Qi frowned deeply. It seemed that there was basically no hope of reaching the fifth level.

"You two, hurry up and come here!" Chu Jiang waved to them impatiently.

Yan Qing quickly pulled Yue Qi up and ran over, casually handing him something as they went.

Yue Qi arrived discreetly and discovered it was a storage ring. He then quietly put it away.

The two arrived at where Chu Jiang was standing and found two switch-like devices on the ground. Instructions for use were even thoughtfully provided on the red floor.

"Press the switch, and nine bolts of heavenly lightning will descend. Those who survive will find the passage open on its own."

This statement is concise and very clear: If you survive being struck nine times by lightning, you can safely ascend.

"It seems that the old monk's injury must have been here." Chu Jiang sighed. Even the old monk Yi Jing admitted that it had taken him a lot of effort to climb to the fifth floor, let alone him, who was far inferior to him.

However, he wasn't without any trump cards.

He glanced at Yue Qi, a flash of black light passing through his eyes. The next moment, Chu Jiang suddenly sprang up, a beam of black light as thick as a bucket shooting towards Yue Qi.

Although Yue Qi remained vigilant, the difference in strength between the two was simply too great. After managing to cast a few protective talismans, he was bound tightly by the black energy before he could even cast a spell.

Yan Qing was startled and shouted, "Chu Jiang, what exactly do you want to do?!"

Chu Jiang's hands moved without pause, countless golden talismans striking Yue Qi simultaneously. Yue Qi managed to resist for a few moments, but ultimately closed his eyes and fainted.

Yan Qing was even more worried. She desperately tried to rush forward to help Yue Qi, but the magic weapon, the Heaven and Earth Dice, couldn't even get close to him. The strange power of the Gold-Rank Title was terrifyingly real.

However, she had no intention of sitting idly by and waiting to die. Although she couldn't defeat him, she knew that this Chu Jiang seemed to want to perform some kind of soul ritual, and this feeling became clearer as his body gradually became ethereal.

Therefore, her plan was to constantly harass him, occasionally throwing out explosive tags, as well as various drugs and hidden weapons, all aimed at Chu Jiang.

Chu Jiang hated her to the core, but this brat was protected by a magical artifact, so he couldn't do anything to her for the time being. So he could only force himself to endure it and concentrate on casting a spell.

Yan Qing had been waiting for this moment; she knew she couldn't do anything to him. But her original plan was to lower Chu Jiang's guard; she had a trump card up her sleeve with Yue Qi!

"Xiao Tao, Xiao Tao, are you done yet?" Yan Qing kept sending telepathic messages, clearly very anxious.

"Right away, right away—oh, it's done." Xiao Tao's voice made her eyes light up. Then, amidst the heavy black light on Yue Qi's body, a sliver of light flashed, completely unnoticed by Chu Jiang, who was concentrating on casting a spell.

Finally, Chu Jiang's pupils turned completely golden. With a scream of extreme pain, a golden phantom suddenly emerged from Chu Jiang's body and crashed straight into Yue Qi's body.

"Ah—!!" A heart-wrenching cry of pain rang out, and the next moment, the golden phantom suddenly rebounded from Yue Qi's body and re-entered Chu Jiang's body.

Chu Jiang coughed up a mouthful of blood, ignoring the blood at the corner of his mouth, and stared at Yan Qing with eyes that seemed to look at a dead man, saying each word clearly.

"What exactly did you do?"

Yan Qing looked completely innocent. "I didn't do anything! Besides, I can't beat you, what could I possibly do?"

"Hmph! -- Ugh!"

Chu Jiang couldn't hold back and spat out another mouthful of blood. His face turned almost deathly pale, and he looked as if he were about to collapse.

Clearly, this so-called soul-merging spell was extremely taxing on Chu Jiang himself, and the aftereffects were terrifying.

Without the support of Chu Jiang's magic, the black mist that had been binding Yue Qi finally dissipated completely.

Yue Qi slowly opened his eyes, and was somewhat taken aback when he saw Chu Jiang, who was clearly severely injured, across from him.

What exactly happened just now?

At the same time, Yan Qing also heard Xiao Tao's somewhat weak voice.

"Big sister, I just exhausted myself and now I have to sleep to recover. I won't be able to help you anymore. -- Oh, by the way, I just accidentally discovered that there is a mark of artificial control inside Chu Jiang's body."

After Xiao Tao finished speaking, she fell completely silent. On the contrary, Yan Qing, who had heard these words, was unable to calm down for a long time.

Traces of human control? She simply couldn't imagine what kind of being could control the most powerful Gold-Rank titled being in a world of strange and unpredictable rules. She couldn't understand it.

Given that the other two besides her are both injured, they had no choice but to temporarily halt their exploration and prioritize taking care of the injured.

Yue Qi was completely unaware of what had happened to him. When he woke up, he immediately noticed that Chu Jiang's face had become even paler. Although he didn't know why, his intuition told him that this man had definitely attacked him.

Yue Qi, holding Yan Qing's hand, carefully maintained a certain distance from Chu Jiang before asking,

"What exactly did Chu Jiang do just now?"