Staring at Lu Chao, who was deep in cultivation, an anxious Chang Yuan wanted to speak but stopped himself...
Cheng Yunsu, however, sat down gently and said, "Brother Chang, that Commander Ke only brought your wife in here thirty to forty-five minutes ago at most. If we move too quickly and run into them, it will be extremely troublesome."
She knew Chang Yuan was very anxious, so she quickly offered a word of comfort.
This was indeed a concern for Lu Chao as well. Chi Yuan and his men had mentioned earlier that Commander Ke had entered the Forbidden Land with Chang Yuan’s wife just fifteen minutes before Chi Ting got back from the Beast Flame Academy.
If Lu Chao broke through the barriers too quickly, he would very likely catch up to Commander Ke.
Although Chang Yuan would get to see his wife that way...
It would also put his wife in extreme danger. To save someone, the timing had to be perfect.
Cheng Yunsu added softly, "If we’re going to fight them, it must be after the 6th Floor."
Once they reached the 6th Floor, entering and leaving wasn’t a simple matter. For Lu Chao, this meant he could advance or retreat as needed.
There, he could compete with them based on their understanding of the Soldier Dao and fight it out in the deadly Illusion Realm.
Hearing this, Chang Yuan gave a firm nod and sat down. He began healing his son as he waited quietly.
At that moment, Lu Chao’s consciousness once again entered his Bone Inner World. He needed to comprehend more of the Star Moon Profound Breaking Bone Meridian Map as quickly as possible to enhance his Power of Soldier-Breaking...
Just now, in the 2nd Floor’s Barrier Illusion Realm, he had discovered that the Soldier-Breaking Bone was also very useful against a Soldier Array.
Especially...
It would definitely be of great use in the 6th Floor’s deadly Illusion Realm.
That was why Lu Chao was forcing himself to calm down and cultivate. At the same time, his gaze also fell upon the three new Heavenly Destiny Bones he had just absorbed.
’The two Star Saint Bones from the Shen Family have the same attribute; they’re both Heavenly Blood Sword Bones.’
’If I can comprehend the complete Meridian Maps of these two Star Saint Bones and the Moon Mortal Red Bee Bone, I’ll definitely be able to break through to the Peak Realm.’
The more Meridian Maps of various Heavenly Destiny Bones he comprehended, the stronger Lu Chao’s understanding of the Martial Dao would become, which would be a great help in breaking through to new realms.
’I’ll focus on comprehending the Soldier-Breaking Bone first...’
Lu Chao couldn’t multitask, so he could only focus on comprehending the Soldier-Breaking Bone for now.
Similarly, fully comprehending the Meridian Map of the Moon Profound Bone would also be a great help for his breakthrough. In short, it was all about comprehension.
After just a short while, Lu Chao was woken up by Cheng Yunsu.
Just as he had instructed, she was to wake him as soon as Vice Commander Liu and Chi Yuan entered the 2nd Floor’s barrier.
And so...
Lu Chao led the three of them into the 3rd Floor’s Barrier Illusion Realm. He broke through it with the same incredible speed, then, as before, entered a state of cultivation to await Cheng Yunsu’s call.
Time ground on, and before they knew it, Lu Chao had arrived before the 6th Floor’s barrier.
"We have to be careful now. There are probably people beyond the 6th Floor."
"If things go south, retreat with me back into the 6th Floor’s deadly Illusion Realm immediately."
The 6th Floor was a Soldier Dao Illusion Realm upon entry, but a deadly Illusion Realm upon exit. This was what Cheng Yunsu meant by being able to attack when advancing and escape when retreating.
And with that, the group entered.
But Lu Chao couldn’t break through the 6th Floor quickly.
After all, his own limit was currently the 6th Floor. Even so, he was much faster than the average person, as this wasn’t the first time he had broken through it.
Besides, his understanding of the Soldier Dao had progressed immensely during this time.
...
An hour after Lu Chao’s group entered the 6th Floor, Vice Commander Liu, Chi Yuan, and their men emerged from the 5th Floor.
Their expressions darkened as they gazed upon the completely empty space of the 5th Floor.
Chi Yuan said in a low voice, "It seems they’ve entered the 6th Floor."
Vice Commander Liu nodded, then lowered his head and said, "The 6th Floor is too difficult; we might not be able to break through it. Why don’t we just wait here for now? That so-called ’number one genius of the Azure Flame Domain’ will have to come out eventually, whether he runs into the Young City Lord or not..."
The meaning was obvious: they would lie in ambush right here.
As for Chi Ting...
Of course, after such a long delay, he likely wouldn’t be able to re-fuse with his Red Bee Bone even if he got it back, effectively crippling him. But neither Chi Yuan nor Vice Commander Liu cared in the slightest whether Chi Ting lived or died.
They placed no importance on Chi Ting whatsoever.
...
Meanwhile, Lu Chao had broken through the 6th Floor in just one hour.
The instant he broke through, he had already gathered his True Qi, ready to deal with any sudden developments.
With a WENG, he and the other three landed in the space of the 6th Floor.
The moment they landed, Lu Chao’s eyes narrowed. He said in a low voice, "The lingering aura is powerful, but there’s no one here. The Young City Lord of Red Sword City, Commander Ke, and the others have already entered the 7th Floor."
That kind of clearing speed was terrifying.
Don’t forget, in the past, neither Fan Changcun nor Lu Chao himself could get past the 6th Floor, no matter how hard they tried.
It was only after they returned to the Azure Flame Sect last time that they both managed to break through it.
Taking a deep breath, Lu Chao said in a low voice, "We’re entering the 7th Floor immediately. Be extra careful. It’s very likely on the 7th Floor that everyone will be pulled into an Illusion Realm, and we might even end up in the same one as our enemies."
He still remembered that the last time he entered the 7th Floor, he and Fan Changcun had been pulled into the same Illusion Realm together.
Lu Chao didn’t know what the rules of the 7th Floor’s Illusion Realm were...
Would Cheng Yunsu and the others also be trapped in the Illusion Realm? Would they be thrown into the same Illusion Realm as the people from Red Sword City the moment they stepped inside? Would they be forced to compete over something within the illusion?
Regardless, Lu Chao couldn’t just leave Cheng Yunsu and the others behind in the 6th Floor’s space.
And so, the four of them walked step by step toward the 7th Floor’s barrier.
Cheng Yunsu murmured, "The skeletal remains around here have been disturbed by the people from Red Sword City. Many of them have even been crushed underfoot."
Lu Chao nodded slightly. He could see that the skeletal remains on the 6th Floor were in complete disarray, and some had been viciously torn apart.
It was clearly the work of the people from Red Sword City...
They must have been venting their frustration after failing to find any treasures among the remains.
Shaking his head, he knew there was no time to think about the skeletons. Lu Chao’s mind was stretched completely taut. He finally led the other three into the 7th Floor’s Barrier Illusion Realm...
With a HUM, Lu Chao landed inside the Soldier Dao Illusion Realm. He quickly scanned his surroundings.
His spirit jolted slightly as he muttered to himself, ’A full forty-nine Soldier Dao Battle Arrays. Xiao Su’er and the others weren’t pulled into the illusion, and I haven’t run into the people from Red Sword City in here either.’
’Could it be? Did the people from Red Sword City already pass through the 7th Floor this quickly?’
Logically, it should have been impossible for them to be that fast, but the fact remained that he hadn’t encountered them.
’No matter what, I have to be fast, too.’
Lu Chao shook his head to clear his thoughts, looked at the forty-nine illusory battle arrays before him, and began to break through them with frantic speed.
Half a day later, he succeeded.
His nerves tensed once again. Lu Chao was about to step into the true space of the 7th Floor, a place no one had set foot in for nearly two hundred years. But now, it was likely someone was already ahead of him—a terrifying enemy.
With a HUM, Lu Chao emerged from the Illusion Realm.