Chapter 178: Level 50

"Cowards," Lin Yue Ru scoffed at the retreating demons. She swung her long whip, causing the horde of demons to scream in agony, their cries echoing through the air. Lin Yue Ru was exhilarated. "Oh ho ho ho ho... Scream! Keep screaming!"

"..."

Li Nianlong broke out in a cold sweat. A whip, maniacal laughter, and screams... Had Lin Yue Ru awakened her queenly attributes? 

Terrifying!

With little resistance, they reached the seventh level of the Demon Locking Tower. By this point, the demons seemed to grow stronger with each level, making the battles tougher for Lin Yue Ru. Fortunately, the previous six levels had given her a lot of experience. If this were a game, she would have leveled up twice by now, so she still had the upper hand.

Soon after, they discovered a corpse on this level, dressed in the robes of the Mount Shu sect, sitting in a meditative position. 

Seeing the corpse and the Seven Star Sword beside it, Li Nianlong recognized him as Jiang Qing, the grand uncle of the Mount Shu sect, who had fled into the Demon Locking Tower in shame. He was also the father of Jiang Wan'er, the founder of the Xianxia sect in the sequel.

Li Nianlong picked up the Seven Star Sword. It was indeed a treasured sword, still sharp and gleaming even after many years.

"Ah... Senior Brother, I have wronged you..." A soul appeared above the corpse, startling Lin Yue Ru, who drew her sword. "Who are you?"

The soul looked at Li Nianlong and Lin Yue Ru, confused. "Who are you? Hmm! Living people? How did living people get in here? Who is your master? Didn't they tell you it's forbidden to enter here?!"

"We are..."

"Daring to defy the sect's prohibition, I will punish you on behalf of your master!" Without another word, the ghost charged at them.

By now, Lin Yue Ru had become stronger and fought Jiang Qing to a standstill. In the end, she made a crucial breakthrough, using the Dragon Slaying Technique to send Jiang Qing's soul to the Reincarnation Platform, freeing him from eighteen years of guilt.

But Lin Yue Ru was exhausted, collapsing to the ground, panting heavily and unable to move a finger.

Li Nianlong fed her a Vitality Pill, smiling. "Yue Ru, you've gotten stronger."

After taking the pill, Lin Yue Ru quickly regained her energy, springing up with a laugh. "Thanks to Brother Liu's support, I could fight at my full strength. Otherwise, I would have run away halfway through the battle."

Li Nianlong smiled slightly, brushing off the dirt from her clothes. He was about to speak when a young girl suddenly appeared out of nowhere, startling them both.

"Who are you?" Lin Yue Ru gripped her sword tightly, wary of the girl.

But Li Nianlong recognized her immediately. So, Jiang Wan'er had appeared.

"I am his daughter," Jiang Wan'er said, pointing at Jiang Qing's corpse with a blank expression.

"Ah? This..." Lin Yue Ru suddenly felt a bit embarrassed, having just killed her father's spirit. Though it was only a soul, she still felt uneasy facing Jiang Wan'er.

"Miss, how are you here?" Li Nianlong asked.

"I've always been here."

"Uh... I mean, why are you in the Demon Locking Tower?"

"My mother gave birth to me here."

"With so many demons, how have you survived?"

"I have half-demon blood. Besides, in respect of my deceased mother, other demons don't harm me. But you, as humans suddenly intruding here, will be attacked. They believe that devouring ninety-nine humans or a thousand demons will give them the power to leave."

"What!?" Lin Yue Ru was shocked. "That method is too cruel! Can it be true?"

"It's just a rumor," Jiang Wan'er said flatly. "But... many demons here believe it, so I advise you to be cautious."

Li Nianlong looked at her, speaking softly. "Why don't you come with us? We are here to rescue my wife. After we find her, we can figure out a way to leave this place together."

Jiang Wan'er shook her head. "It's impossible. If we could leave, we would have long ago. I appreciate your kindness, but I have my own ways of surviving. Farewell."

Jiang Wan'er vanished as quickly as she appeared. Li Nianlong said, "Let's proceed to the next level!"

Lin Yue Ru nodded, hoisting her sword and gripping her whip, continuing to the next level.

Soon, they reached the ninth level of the Demon Locking Tower. Here, Li Nianlong finally encountered one of his mission targets—the Heavenly Ghost King.

The Heavenly Ghost King was truly an unfortunate fool, a well-known character among players of the game. But despite his foolishness, he was loyal and brave, willing to crash into the Demon Absorbing Altar to save his friend, only to be imprisoned for eight years. Ironically, that friend was Kong Lin, the main antagonist in the sequel.

If there was a character in the game who could make one both laugh and cry, it was the Heavenly Ghost King, the unluckiest fool around.

After freeing the Heavenly Ghost King from the Demon Absorbing Altar, this character, roughly the same height as Li Nianlong, immediately wanted to repay them by eating them!

This was outrageous. Without hesitation, Lin Yue Ru began fighting the Heavenly Ghost King.

Though Lin Yue Ru had significantly improved, she was still no match for the Heavenly Ghost King, faltering after a dozen rounds. In the end, Li Nianlong used a flurry of punches, turning the Heavenly Ghost King into a battered mess, forcing him to behave.

Li Nianlong then used Li Xiaoyao's rhetoric to confuse the Heavenly Ghost King, persuading him to open the passage to the next level.

On the eleventh level, they encountered the Contemplative Ghost, a super fool who had been pondering the problem of his left and right feet for five hundred years.

Li Nianlong wanted to tell him, "Why don't you jump with both feet?" But since they hadn't subdued the Book Immortal yet, he and Lin Yue Ru wandered the level, found the Book Immortal, and once the problem was explained, the Book Immortal became Li Nianlong's ally.

After resolving the issue that had troubled the Contemplative Ghost for five hundred years, they finally reached the sword pillar of the Demon Locking Tower and found Zhao Ling'er, who had transformed into her snake form.

"Brother Long... Sister Yue Ru..." Tears streamed down Zhao Ling'er's face upon seeing them.

"Ling'er!" Seeing Zhao Ling'er in this state, Li Nianlong's anger flared. He leaped up, severed the chains binding her, and held her tightly as they landed. "Ling'er, you've suffered."

"Brother Long..." Zhao Ling'er, relieved that Li Nianlong wasn't repulsed by her true form, wept, clinging to him. "I missed you so much, Brother Long."

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry... It's my fault for not protecting you," Li Nianlong said, tears streaming down his face as he held her close.

Watching the two embrace and weep, Lin Yue Ru couldn't help shedding some tears but urged, "Brother Liu, Sister Ling'er, now isn't the time to cry. We need to find a way out of here quickly."

"You're right," Li Nianlong said, wiping his tears. After calming himself, he fed Zhao Ling'er a Vitality Pill. Once she regained her strength, she reverted to her human form, but she was without any clothing, causing her embarrassment.

However, Li Nianlong had anticipated this and bought a set of strong, ancient-style clothes for her from the system's tailor shop, perfectly suited for Zhao Ling'er.

Once Zhao Ling'er was dressed, Li Nianlong asked, "Ling'er, how are you feeling now? Have you suffered? Did that three-eyed, six-armed monster bully you? Tell me, and I'll avenge you!"

Seeing Li Nianlong's determined expression, Zhao Ling'er felt a sweet warmth in her heart and shook her head gently. "I didn't suffer much. I was just restrained and unable to move. No one bullied me. I just... missed Brother Long so much."

Moved by her shyness and affection, Li Nianlong held her tightly, stroking her hair. "It's okay now. Nothing will happen to you. I won't leave you again, never again."

"Brother Long..."

As they shared this tender moment, a thunderous voice boomed from the sky. "Audacious criminals! How dare you release the demon! I will not spare you!"

Seeing the three-eyed, six-armed Warden King descending from the sky, Li Nianlong's eyes turned cold. This time, without giving Lin Yue Ru and Zhao Ling'er a chance to practice, he unleashed the Sword God technique. A white-haired, white-robed elder appeared in the void, unleashing a torrent of sword energy that surged towards the Warden King.

The Sword God technique was the most powerful sword move of the Mount Shu sect. While in the game, Li Xiaoyao's version seemed lackluster, Li Nianlong's vast internal energy made it devastating.

Accompanied by screams, the Warden King was pierced by countless sword energies, and the final strike entered through his third eye, piercing his brain. The Warden King lost consciousness and died in agony.

Seeing this scene, both Zhao Ling'er and Lin Yue Ru were stunned. The formidable Warden King of the Demon Locking Tower was defeated by Li Nianlong with a single move? Wasn't today April Fool's Day? Wait, what is April Fool's Day?

"Mission completed, gained 25,000 experience points. Experience points are full, leveling up!"

"Host has reached level 50, acquired the skill 'Flight', permission level increased, gained Level 5 permission — Talisman Room unlocked!"