A powerful and pure Fire Energy pressed down on him.
This made Leo even more certain that the Azure Dragon Shrine was likely a divine artifact from the ancient cultivation civilization, left behind for unknown reasons.
Leo circulated the spiritual energy within his body to resist the pressure of the Fire Energy and stepped onto the second stair.
The pure Fire Energy seeped into Leo’s pores, making his body feel scorching hot.
At the same time, the Fire Energy was also nourishing and improving Leo’s physique.
Step by step, he ascended. Each new step brought greater pressure, and it took Leo a full ten minutes to climb the stairs.
To Leo’s delight, after finishing the climb, his physical strength had significantly increased.
Looking ahead, the second level of the tower came into view.
The second level was still filled with extremely pure Fire Energy. In the center stood an ancient stone platform, from which a formation inscribed with ancient runes emitted a red glow.
Above the formation hovered a fiery red bird.
Fire Spirit Jade! It was actually Fire Spirit Jade!
No wonder there were so many Fire Spirit Jades on the first level, and no wonder the tower was filled with such immense fire attribute energy.
Upon seeing the Fire Spirit Jade, Leo finally understood.
In the center of the stone platform, under the glow of the Fire Spirit Jade, sat a person in purple robes, cross-legged.
Violet!
Leo’s eyes lit up.
Violet’s beautiful eyes were closed, her snow-like face serene with a touch of sanctity.
In her hands, she held a crimson Fire Spirit Jade sculpture.
Above the formation, the sharp beak of the Fire Spirit Jade occasionally opened, spitting out a ball of red light.
The light ball slowly descended and merged into Violet’s forehead.
“This is…” Leo’s pupils contracted, revealing a look of astonishment.
Violet was… receiving some kind of inheritance!?
Leo’s spiritual sense could clearly detect that the light from the Fire Spirit Jade was transmitting something to Violet.
“This little girl has such an extraordinary opportunity.” Leo watched quietly, a smile forming at the corner of his mouth.
Violet was pure and lively, endearing to everyone. After receiving the Fire Spirit Jade inheritance, she might be able to step onto the path of cultivation.
From the current situation, it seemed that the inheritance would take some time.
Leo no longer worried about Violet’s safety. After observing the second level for a while, his gaze fell on the stairs leading to the third level.
Leo had counted from outside; the tower had seven levels in total. He knew about the first two levels; what would be on the third?
With curiosity, Leo walked towards the stairs to the third level.
With spiritual energy protecting his body, Leo lifted his foot and stepped onto the first stair.
This step was extremely difficult. When both of Leo’s feet were fully on the stair, the powerful pressure of the Fire Energy almost made him unable to breathe.
Although he circulated his spiritual energy to resist it, blood beads still faintly seeped from Leo’s skin.
Leo gritted his teeth and tried to take another step forward.
But this step was impossible; Leo’s body was directly thrown back, falling to the ground.
Sitting up from the ground, Leo exhaled deeply and looked at the stairs leading to the third level with a grim expression.
After a long while, Leo finally sighed deeply.
Ultimately, his strength was insufficient. He couldn’t even stand firm on the second step leading to the third level, let alone ascend it.
Since he couldn’t go up, he decided to cultivate on the second level while waiting for Violet to complete her Fire Spirit Jade inheritance.
It was unclear how much time had passed when Leo sensed that he had touched upon the bottleneck of the mid-level Spirit Venerable realm.
Cultivating in this place indeed accelerated his progress at an astonishing rate.
Such a great opportunity; if he didn’t break through to the mid-level Spirit Venerable realm now, then when?
The spiritual energy within him accelerated its condensation and liquefaction…
Just as Leo fully immersed himself in breaking through his cultivation realm, the fiery red light of the Fire Spirit Jade above the stone platform began to fade slowly.
After an indeterminate amount of time, Leo’s eyes suddenly opened wide. A powerful aura burst out like a shockwave.
Leo had broken through to the mid-level Spirit Venerable realm in the second level of the Azure Dragon Shrine.
At that moment, after spitting out one last red light ball, the light of the Fire Spirit Jade above the formation slowly dissipated and vanished.
The last light ball merged into Violet’s forehead. Her body glowed with a crimson light and slowly floated towards the top of the formation.
Violet’s jet-black hair cascaded over her shoulders. The crimson flames on her body danced and burned, making her look like a noble and sacred phoenix reborn from fire.
This scene lasted for seven or eight minutes.
The runes on the stone platform flickered once more, emitting a bright glow before dimming as if all energy had been exhausted.
In mid-air, Violet’s beautiful eyes slowly opened, and for a moment, it seemed as if there was a flash of Fire Spirit Jade in her pupils.
Violet began to descend. In a flash, Leo leaped onto the stone platform and caught her in his arms.
“Leo… you are Leo!?” Violet exclaimed in surprise as she saw him clearly, her face showing exhaustion.
Leo smiled slightly and nodded.
“Leo, why are you here?” Violet seemed too tired even to keep her eyes open.
“Of course, I came to find you. Meigetsu said you hadn’t come out of the tower for more than half a month,” Leo replied with a smile.
“Leo, my head is suddenly filled with so many things… I’m so sleepy…” Violet’s voice grew softer until her eyes finally closed completely.
Violet curled up like a kitten in Leo’s arms, still clutching his clothes as she fell asleep.
Leo knew that receiving such vast information from the Fire Spirit Jade would naturally exhaust Violet.
As she slept peacefully in his arms, her delicate snow-white face and jet-black hair looked like fine black silk.
A faint fragrance continuously wafted into Leo’s nose.
Looking at her in his arms, Leo might have felt slightly awkward but had no improper thoughts.
Gazing towards the stairs, Leo decided to carry Violet out of the tower.
Outside, it was already dark.
In the night sky, only a sliver of crescent moon hung in the west.
Though it was late at night, dozens of people still stood around outside the tower.
Donovan, Christian, Harrison, Frederick, and others had not left.
“Christian, that guy has been inside for so long. Do you think he can’t come out?” Akira asked Christian worriedly.
“I don’t know. According to Violet, there’s no danger on the first level; it’s just filled with jade stones.”
“The second level is harder to enter. They are probably stuck on the second level.”
Seeing no sign of movement from the tower door, even Donovan’s usually calm demeanor showed a trace of anxiety and seriousness deep in his eyes.
But this anxiety didn’t last long. With a soft “bang,” the tightly closed tower door opened.
A tall figure stepped out into the moonlight.