The Little Tower Spirit hesitated for quite a while before speaking, "Can I come up with you?"

He had even thought it through that, even if the masked woman set some harsh conditions, he would pinch his nose and accept them.

Who knows how many years it will be until he meets another owner of a Supreme Invitation Letter, and whether they’ll be harder to deal with than the woman in front of him.

The Little Tower Spirit felt it was a critical decision point, but for Yun Ran, it was merely a casual act.

"Of course, but you must pay a price; I haven’t decided on the conditions yet, so let’s keep it as a debt for now."

After speaking, Yun Ran continued upstairs, indifferent to whether the Little Tower Spirit might hesitate because of the condition.

Yun Ran and Ma San quickly disappeared around the stairway corner.

A small passage opened within the barrier on the first floor following Yun Ran’s words, allowing the Little Tower Spirit to go up directly as long as he agreed to Yun Ran’s conditions.

"You came~"

As soon as she stepped onto the second floor, a familiar voice rang out.

She saw Chi Yao sitting by the window, holding a cup of tea emitting a medicinal aroma, smiling at her.

This scene surprised Yun Ran, but she quickly became relieved.

Since the invitation letter was given by Chi Yao, it was understandable that Chi Yao could reach the second floor.

Ma San was following behind, originally steady in holding the tray, but seeing a living person suddenly appear on the second floor—someone familiar with the owner—made Ma San’s posture waver slightly.

Yun Ran lightly raised her hand, and Ma San promptly put the tray down.

Then trotted downstairs swiftly, avoiding any desire to probe the owner’s secrets.

Yun Ran strolled over to Chi Yao’s side, a position with a rather good view, where everything outside could be clearly seen without opening the window.

Meanwhile, those outside remained entirely oblivious to the presence of people on the second floor.

This was the thrill granted by status and power.

Chi Yao picked up the nearby teapot and poured her a cup of emerald green liquid emitting a medicinal fragrance.

"Try it; this is an essence brewed with countless Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures, with amazing effects for cultivators."

Yun Ran, neither pretentious nor suspicious about the purity of the essence, calmly sat, picked up the cup, and drank the entire cup in one go.

Chi Yao stared at this scene with some dumbfoundedness, then burst into laughter: "You’re still just as straightforward and decisive."

Yun Ran didn’t like this sensation, where others seemed familiar and understanding of her, while she knew nothing.

She was about to ask what past dealings they might have had.

Suddenly, a powerful surge of energy started to erupt within Yun Ran’s body.

"It seems your bottleneck has been broken. I’ll protect you, so go ahead and break through without worry."

As he spoke, Chi Yao took out a white token from his body, crushed it with a slight exertion.

Countless white threads of light enveloped Yun Ran.

From a distance, it seemed as if Yun Ran was caged inside a glowing birdcage.

At this moment, Yun Ran cared little about whether Chi Yao was trustworthy or harbored any secrets.

Ever since she was forced down the mountain by her teacher after achieving a certain level, she reached a bottleneck, never experiencing this sensation of power rapidly surging again.

Much less mentioning that since being thrust into this world from the book, she needed to muster at least half her power to suppress the backlash from her Life Chart.

Her cultivation hadn’t regressed, purely because her foundation had been solid.

The sound of the auction starting was clearly transmitted in from the window on the second floor, having no impact on Yun Ran amid the commotion.

She appeared as if in meditation, solely concentrating on mobilizing the erupting energy within, continuously assaulting her original bottleneck.

Time ticked away slowly, with Yun Ran’s glow intensifying, completely enveloping her.

The Little Tower Spirit downstairs eventually couldn’t resist the temptation of the festive noises from the auction, and took a step forward towards the first staircase, feeling the repelling force dissipate.

A look of delight instantly appeared on his face, and the indecision within him vanished after taking this first step.

He hastened his pace, quickly encountering Ma San at the stairway corner.

Ma San didn’t obstruct the spirit, siding aside to express permission for him to proceed upstairs.

The Little Tower Spirit, occupied with thoughts of witnessing the second floor, had no spare focus to think why Ma San had descended.

Once the Little Tower Spirit entered the second floor’s domain, a powerful thrust sent him tumbling.

Then he saw Yun Ran entirely unrecognizable, leaving merely a humanoid halo.

Outside the halo, countless glowing threads held her securely within.

Chi Yao’s casual gaze was enough to feel a crushing pressure on the Little Tower Spirit’s heart.

A mere glance and the Little Tower Spirit instantly realized the man, mysteriously appearing from nowhere, was more terrifying than Yun Ran.

Instantly, he minimized his size from a child-like form into that of an infant.

Only then he recalled why he encountered Ma San at the stairway corner.

Feeling a surge of internal hatred: Damn fellow, knowing there’s such a formidable person upstairs, didn’t even bother informing him.

Now he’s directly colliding with them, wondering if he’ll end up silenced by the man... 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

Amidst the consideration of whether to gamble on escaping with his life, the Little Tower Spirit found the clamor outside far less tempting against the face of impending survival.

Unexpectedly sensing that staying on the first floor might be good; although suppressed by arrays, at least it wasn’t dangerous.

Just as the Little Tower Spirit pondered over gambling for a chance to flee.

Chi Yao retracted his gaze, seemingly indicating the threat of obliterating the spirit with a look had been a misunderstanding.

"Stay quietly aside, don’t disturb her."

Who ’she’ was, was evident to anyone.

The Little Tower Spirit instantly suppressed all his aura, as if he was merely an inanimate object.

Chi Yao found satisfaction in the Little Tower Spirit’s obedient manner.

The gaze returned to the window, yet upon closer inspection, it was clear his view lacked focus.

With a crisp ’click’ sound.

Chi Yao abruptly twisted his head toward Yun Ran’s direction.