Shhrk!

A bolt of lightning flashed past, as fast as the Sunset Arrow of the Dignified Archer Elemental.

Although Wu Yu was controlling the Dark North Royal Obelisk and had shrunk his body to a small size, he still had to use the Swift Art in order to dodge that.

The black lightning almost grazed him, and he felt half of his body go numb. And that had not even been a direct hit.

"Charge!"

Wu Yu continued to duck and weave as he advanced. He did not know how long the roiling, golden vortex and its viper-like lightning would persist for. The screams of others being hit filled the air with terror and misery.

Wu Yu had to concentrate as hard as he could. His eyes watched every direction, while the Full Moon of Nanshan and Ye Xixi supported him from within the Seven Stars Fortifying Design. He used his Eyes of Fire and Gold to detect the black lightning just that bit faster than the others. But because the lightning moved so fast, it was not a significant advantage.

Up until now, Wu Yu had been charging upwards desperately. Both he and the slightly large Seven Stars Fortifying Design had almost been hit a few times.

He dodged another bolt, but his relief was cut short by another bolt landing on the Seven Stars Fortifying Design. The Dark North Royal Obelisk was of no use at this time. Several spirit designs crumbled when the Seven Stars Fortifying Design was hit, and the insides were rattled strongly. Wu Yu was dismayed to see that a tenth of the Seven Stars Fortifying Design had been ruined by just one bolt.

This bit of damage was all absorbed by the Seven Stars Iron Winged Bug.

If it took another seven or eight hits, the Seven Stars Fortifying Design might collapse. That would mean that the Seven Stars Iron Winged Bug would be destroyed, and would take a good few days to recover.

Wu Yu naturally did not want the Seven Stars Fortifying Design to be destroyed here. Or they would be trapped, unable to move up or down. They would be sitting ducks. Plus, it would be hard to protect the lives of Prince Le and the others.

This hit made them cry out in alarm. Wu Yu knew that they could not stop. Even if hit, he would have to steel himself and soldier on. Even if they were tumbling around within the Seven Stars Fortifying Design, Wu Yu could not afford to care about it. He charged on upwards.

Such an ordeal sorely tested his will in a situation where one did not know how much more there was to go or where the endpoint was. About 30 breaths later, Wu Yu was not in time to dodge - he took another hit square on by the black lightning. His entire body went numb, and half of the outermost layer of the Hexaworld Celestial King Buddha Body was destroyed. His entire body was charred black, and a lot of his flesh was scorched. He was a wretched sight.

Of course, this was a small scratch on Wu Yu's Invincible Vajra Body. He relied more on his physical body than Violet Kingdom Primordial Energy and dao techniques like others. But, incredibly, his recovery rate was superhuman. Before their eyes, new flesh started to regenerate from its charred wounds.

Qu Fengyu was thunderstruck by Wu Yu's regeneration. She exclaimed, "How is he...."

The Full Moon of Nanshan quipped back at her, "He's fine. Thick of skin and strong of flesh. Worry about your baby lover."

Behind her, Baili Zhuihun was green in the face. Compared to Wu Yu's blackened and fighting body outside, he was pathetic. Right now, Wu Yu was carrying them all forward alone.

Just as the Full Moon of Nanshan said this, the Seven Stars Fortifying Design was again late to dodge and was struck. The black lightning crashed against the surface, and a web of electricity crackled. Of course, only the Seven Stars Fortifying Design was hurt. Besides another tumble, they were unhurt inside.

After regaining their footing, Prince Le looked again at Wu Yu and said, "We're completely relying on Wu Yu this time. We are completely useless in the Ancient Soul Tower without him. If not for Wu Yu, I'm afraid we would not be able to progress an inch here." He had said so before entering. Perhaps others did not believe him back then, but now that they were under the protection of Wu Yu's Seven Stars Fortifying Design, no one had anything else to say while he was outside enduring the black lightning.

Qu Fengyu watched the battle with trepidation. Baili Zhuihun, knees wobbling, was still mute. Truth be told, she was afraid too, but she didn't want to see her own man even more frightened than she was....

Outside, Wu Yu ignored what was going on within the Seven Stars Fortifying Design. He was completely in the zone now. He charged on upwards, taking a zig-zagging path upwards that deviated crazily in order to avoid the lightning bolts.

Even so, both Wu Yu's body and the Seven Stars Fortifying Design took a few more hits. It was especially painful when it was his own body and he had to grit his teeth from the pain. However, because it did not hit him all at once, he had time in between to recover. Wu Yu was also grateful that the lightning was helping to train his body.

In truth, if it had been just him, the black lightning would not have posed much of a problem. He was in a dire situation now. The Seven Stars Fortifying Design was close to half gone. If he continued upwards, it would be a gamble. If the Seven Stars Fortifying Design was broken before they reached the second stage, then Prince Le and the others would be in danger.

"Nanshan and Ye Xixi will definitely be fine. As for Prince Le, he's the son of the Ancient Emperor. If the Ancient Emperor wants to kill his own son, that has nothing to do with me." Having reached this epiphany, he hesitated no longer, even increasing his speed on the advance. The Seven Stars Fortifying Design followed accordingly, and everyone inside had to try their best to keep their footing.

Finally, after Wu Yu and the Seven Stars Fortifying Design had taken three more hits, he rushed out of the golden vortex just when he felt like the Seven Stars Fortifying Design was about to break. He felt a jolt go through his body as he transitioned from one space to another. When he arrived, a wave of heat swamped him!

"The second floor!" He immediately scanned his surroundings. He discovered that he was on scorched soil that was sizzling to the touch. This place reminded Wu Yu of the Infernal Inferno, which had a similar terrain, filled with magma. This was a volcanic world, and the ground constantly spewed flames. When Wu Yu looked up, he saw a sea of fire above him. It blanketed the whole sky, and flames of all colors could be seen. They were definitely blazing, and the whole world was a treacherous and harsh place. This was much more dangerous than the first floor of the Ancient Soul Tower.

The Seven Stars Fortifying Design was close to crumbling, and bumbling around blindly here would be foolhardy. Wu Yu only took a cursory glance around him. He knew that the urgent matter now would be to let the Seven Stars Iron Winged Bug recover as swiftly as possible.

In this world caged by fire and spewing flames, the place where they currently stood seemed like a relatively safe one. It was firmer ground with no spewing flames. They might have fortuitously landed on a safe spot.

Wu Yu took another look and discovered that a one li perimeter around them seemed rather safe. Other places were thronged by flames. While Wu Yu was not afraid of them, Prince Le and the others would readily be burnt to ashes.

But at this time, he had to first dispel the Seven Stars Fortifying Design and allow the Seven Stars Iron Winged Bug to recuperate.

"Is the puppet broken? What are we to do next?" Prince Le asked urgently, looking at the terrible terrain.

"Rest and recuperate for a few days first, and allow it to reach a whole state. We cannot go now, it would be too dangerous." Although he knew that the Yan Huang Golden Bead had reached this second level, Wu Yu knew that patience was needed.

"Alright. No problem." Prince Le was patient enough.

"Can the puppet recover as well?" Qu Fengyu was startled, but shut up again after no one answered her. She looked admiringly at the spectacle of fire before them. From the dried cracks in the ground, pillars of fire dozens of zhang high would spew out without warning, seemingly able to propel one up to the sea of fire in the sky. Some even reached hundreds of zhang, as if they were mountains bursting from the ground.

"The first level had ants and scorpions. There must be threats here as well. Be careful, and do not stray. The ground here is rather thick, so there should be no eruptions here. We will rest here for a few days," Prince Le said.

Wu Yu was completely blackened and needed to recover as well. He left guard duty to the Full Moon of Nanshan and the others, while Prince Le and the lackeys stood in the middle. They erected some spirit designs, although not powerful ones.

"In truth, I don't like them. They drag us down," Ye Xixi said softly to the Full Moon of Nanshan.

The Full Moon of Nanshan gave a small smile. "We have no choice. Old Wu is Kingmaker Le, and we are only able to walk in this world based on that status. Otherwise, we would have been killed already. Our will in a foreign land is not our own. But you have to believe in our luck. We got immortals' legacies! Although things look hairy now, there will be hope at the end of this hairy tunnel."

"Yeah, the Ancient Emperor is very scary. I feel like it's very difficult to pass that hurdle in this lifetime." Ye Xixi was a little gloomy.

"Well, just look at him. He's not giving up, and we shouldn't either. Whenever you feel the stress getting you down, or like the enemies are too insurmountable, just look at him. We don't have his strength of will, but we can follow him and come to no bad end." The Full Moon of Nanshan was referring to Wu Yu, whose blackened flesh was regenerating and evolving at this time, to grow even stronger. Just like his will, unbending before 100 trials.

In this safe land, they passed a few days. The Seven Stars Iron Winged Bug had recovered about 70%, and Wu Yu estimated that another two days would be enough. But just then, others arrived. A large demon contingent. Many faces amongst the demon kings were familiar to Wu Yu, and in the lead was a young girl who Wu Yu recognized from far.

Princess Phoenix Dawn.

Nangong Wei.