'Wait, isn't that the spot…'
"Is there something wrong, Senior Brother? Should I dispose of those creatures?"
"No, just leave them be, there isn't anyone there."
Zhang Dong along with Huo Qiang were looking at a large village made of wood. Inside of it, they spotted a variety of green creatures that resembled goblins and orcs. They were wandering around without doing much besides scratching their posteriors. His mind was drawn more to the scenery and a certain large chasm that he remembered from days long past.
'It's a lot wider than that one, I was barely able to jump over it that one time…'
He was taking on a trip down his memories. A certain woman was in a similar place more than ten years ago that he saved. At that time he did not realize how important she would become to his life and how much of an effect on it she would have. It was not the same place and this place was devoid of her presence so he decided to move on.
'Let's go, no one from our sect members was here…'
Their trip continued to old locations that were quite familiar yet different. The cave where Zhang Dong gave Liena first aid was there and nearby it was also an area filled with orcs where Qiang and his bodyguard were almost killed. It was similar to the spot they met and where their journey had started. After that, they set out to clear the secret grounds test which brought them towards a tower structure.
'So it does exist here too…'
"Senior Brother, this looks almost the same."
"Indeed but I can't see any marks of people entering…"
After using his spirit sense he started analyzing the opening gate. He hoped to see some tracks or residual Qi leading inside that belonged to his wife, yet there wasn't anything there. This place looked fishy but there was no way around it, they needed to check out the giant structure.
"Should we head inside? Do you want me to go in first, are the other sect members inside?"
"That is possible but…"
"But?"
"I think we should take another route…"
Zhang Dong had enough experience with these sorts of things to know that all of this was just some type of elaborate setup. Probably if he went inside, something that would hold back his progress would occur. The secret ground was built with this place as a basis so it was probable that there were similar traps they faced inside.
"Remember back then and what happened?"
"Hm… wait, wasn't there a really hot sister in there?"
"Is that the only thing that you took away from there…"
"Was there anything else… I'm not sure…"
Huo Qiang started straining his brain but the only thing that he recalled was getting charmed by a succubus demon. She appeared on the first level and gave the group a headache, after the issue was resolved the group was sent into a safe zone. This safe area was what Zhang Dong was interested in. It was a giant library that to this day had become the largest treasure that he was given. If that tower was made to mimic this one, then perhaps many scriptures like those existed here as well.
"I was talking about the library area, just come with me we aren't going to go through the main door directly, that will only slow us down."
"Oh, a library! Now I remember!"
"I'm sure you do…"
'Bob, are you finished with the scan, does this place have some backdoor that we can enter through instead?'
Zhang Dong was sure that this place had a connection with whoever made the system. After visiting the Cerulean Empress area and discovering another secret room, some interesting discoveries had been made. First of all, it was now possible for him to detect similar structures and hidden entrances. This whole place was probably tailor-made for anyone with the system to go through so the probability of such a room existing was there. If not, then perhaps a door to get through this tower was made by someone instead.
'Entrance discovered… please wait, attempting to unlock …'
"Ha, I knew it!"
"What is it, Senior Brother? Did you find something?"
"Ah yes, something like that, just give me a moment…"
He didn't really want to have Huo Qiang see anything related to the system but this was no time to keep secrets anymore. Enough time had passed in their relationship for trust to have been gained. His friend was also probably not intelligent enough to grasp the situation even if he tried to explain it in detail. Bob did his magic and soon a door in space started opening which gave Huo Qiang quite a jolt.
"What is this…"
"It's our way inside, now try to keep up and watch your back, we don't really know what we will find on the inside."
"Of course!"
The door appeared on the side of this large tower made of stone that didn't seem to have a limit. At first, it might have appeared to have been an illusion brought on by the formation this place was empowered by. Zhang Dong wasn't sure if this was the case as they were reaching into buildings created by immortal bearings. It wouldn't be strange that they went above the possibilities of the inhabitants of this world.
While passing through the unsuspecting entrance they ended up in a white tunnel. Strangely enough, everything here was reminiscent of a hospital corridor. On the sides, there were other closed doors with named plates on each one. This place was something like a hub between levels of this large tower. Judging by the sheer length of this corridor this place was several times larger than the one at the secret ground.
'So is anyone of our sect members behind this door…'
After glancing at the first door he decided not to open it yet. It would be quite a bother to have to go through each and every one of these. There were limits to what Bob was capable of and it also took a lot of spirit points to run his hacking skills. Instead of going through every one of these trial floors, it would be better to find one that connected them together.
'I need to either find the master control room or this place's version of the library.'
In the past, they were forced to battle monsters or go through puzzles. After completing each one they were then allowed access to a temporary safe haven, a large library filled with books. If this place worked on the same concepts then anyone in the area would wind up in the library. With some luck, they would be able to meet that group already in there or just wait a bit until they completed a challenge.
'Even if they aren't there, it's still better to go there first to check.'
"Follow me and don't open any of the doors."
"If you wish, Senior Brother but…"
"Is there something?"
"Hmm… do you perhaps know these strange words? They don't seem like anything I've ever seen… and they are also shifting around in meaning, is it under some type of illusory technique?"
"Illusory technique, what are you talking about? The words aren't moving around."
"They aren't? Perhaps my mind is not as strong as Senior Brother's to see through the technique…"
He was confused at first but then realized that there was something keeping a denizen of this world from identifying the writing. Huo Qiang was born in this world and even his soul belonged to it. It was possible that different rules applied to the people born in this world. For him that came from another world the words on the plaques were in plain and simple English.
There had to be some type of mental block not allowing Huo Qiang from perceiving even the letters as words. The only worrisome part about it was that it could be applied to his soul as well. He didn't even want to think about the possibility of his own people being controlled by an angry god, even worse if his children were affected as well. Their mother Liena was like Qiang here, born in this world. However, perhaps his unique deposition would at least allow his own children to be immune to the effect.
While some stray thoughts entered his mind he continued to pass through many of the doors. They all had numbers assigned to them as well as some words. The first set had jungle areas written on them that started with one and ended with ten. There seemed to be variants with sub-letters like 'A' and 'B'.
'B and A? It seems that this place is a lot more complicated than the ones we were in before. It probably means that there are several ways of going through the tower floors and probably some are easier than others.'
He was not really interested in defeating the beast or monsters that were probably patrolling this tower. His system didn't give him any spirit points for killing them, instead, it was focused on his entire faction. It was better to find his people and just get out of here before the Long Clan found them all.
'What are those guys up to anyway? Could it be that they can't enter this place at leisure?'
As he was trying to find the door to the library he started wondering about his true enemy, the Long Clan. If his people were trapped in this large place, wouldn't it be easier to just swarm them with their masters? Were they just waiting for the monsters inside of this place to soften them up before making their move, or was it possible that they actually couldn't enter this place themselves?
'They probably have no control of this place either, so if they just come in, they will have to contend with the swarm of beasts and monsters. That would be nice if it was the case but I can't make a decision based on a hunch, for all I know Long Qing could be watching us from outside…'
His brother was a bit too much to handle with that sword of his and was better avoided. If he was waiting to spring out while Zhang Dong was injured had to be taken into account. However, while he was in this side area only allowed to people not from this world, there was probably nothing to worry from the Azure Emperor.
'I hope that overseer won't find me out though, I've been taking a lot of chances lately… anyway, I think this should be it…'
Finally, he ended up at a white door with a resting area plaque written over it. Perhaps it was not the same library that he remembered but if things were the same, it was possible that the people from his sect were waiting for him on the inside.