Although many people were hesitating at the black vortex, Prince Le was not one of them.

His goal was crystal clear: get the Yan Huang Golden Bead. Even though there were seniors who were stronger, or had been cultivating for four or five times as long.

Prince Le was a genius, but he had not yet reached the Dao Querying Three Disasters Realm cultivators' level. Fighting against those at the eighth tier of the Dao Querying Three Disasters Realm, such as Prince Yu, was an impossible task on paper.

Therefore, they could only pin their hopes on a miraculous victory. At least Wu Yu felt that in the Ancient Soul Tower, using one's environment to a reasonable aptitude would make anything possible.

For example, it was currently a chaotic environment. Under such tension, everyone would be feeling irritable and worried. Besides, Wu Yu guessed that the black vortex would also cause them to lose their sense of direction.

Even so, they entered the world of sand quickly.

Wu Yu bade Prince Le wait a while while he thought about it. He felt that the four of them entering would affect the overall mission. Given their abilities, Wu Yu would have to spend a lot of effort on protecting them. It was no secret that they were burdens, like sick cows.

Qu Fengyu was still chattering incessantly, and Wu Yu would punish her for it.

Wu Yu's decision was to call the Seven Stars Iron Winged Bug from within the Floating Dreams Pagoda. This elite puppet had a fearsome Defensive Spirit Design, which was the Seven Stars Fortifying Design. At Wu Yu's command, the Seven Stars Iron Winged Bug activated this spirit design and transformed into a sheer ball of light that encapsulated all seven people within its protection. The twinkling spirit design looked impregnably built, and was impressive indeed. As long as the Seven Stars Iron Winged Bug was not destroyed, there was no danger to them.

"Your puppet is indeed extraordinary. Wu Yu, I am fighting here, but the four of us are not that confident. I'm relying on you three," Prince Le said courteously to Wu Yu, very self-aware.

Qu Haoyan and the others understood the disparity between them, and lowered their heads without saying anything.

Wu Yu said, "The Prince is too kind. This is a test that the Ancient Emperor has set for you and your siblings. In the end, you have to depend on yourself. I think that he will give you a fair competition. After all, you are 400 years younger than them. If you have to fight them head on, that would definitely be unfair. The next emperor will be the one with the most potential. In truth, I feel that those other princes have long passed their peak. They cannot possibly improve any more in this life."

He was a clever one. This was not the time to snatch the spotlight from Prince Le.

Wu Yu's words also reassured Prince Le.

"I concur. A clash of strength would be unfair. Prince Le's future is definitely brighter than theirs. I also believe that this test, in the end, is not as simple as the strongest wins. Prince Le is favored by the Ancient Emperor, and definitely is best poised to win," Baili Zhuihun parroted.

Prince Le nodded. "I hope that is true. But before those final moments, I will need all of your help. Let us work together and carve out our own glory!"

They all put their hands together.

Whether they were together in their hearts was a different matter. For now, Wu Yu would go with them, but would act as he saw fit.

Within the Seven Stars Fortifying Design, they were not that conspicuous amidst the crowds of people and buffeting winds. Many had used all kinds of defensive measures before entering, to avoid being battered by the billowing debris.

Some used protective dao treasures, while others used mystiques to transform their own bodies, or dao techniques that surrounded themselves, just like the Eight Immortals who crossed the sea in their own respective ways.

However, Wu Yu's Seven Stars Fortifying Design was one of the most robust ones.

They had just passed the black vortex when Wu Yu knew from his connection with the Seven Stars Iron Winged Bug that it was in the midst of a tremendous gust. The wind was more or less ceaseless, and was like a dao technique attack. The Seven Stars Iron Winged Bug had to expand quite some effort to stabilize, so that Wu Yu and the others would not feel the desert's harshness.

There was some space amidst the billowing debris, and the Seven Stars Iron Winged Bug's Seven Stars Fortifying Design was not even one zhang in diameter. Therefore, it dodged with ease at lightning speed.

This desert world was divided into two parts. One was the sea of sand below. Perhaps the debris moved slower below, where the wind was milder, but the sheer quantity meant that it could not be avoided. If they were accidentally buried in the sandstorm, extrication would probably be very difficult.

Therefore, Wu Yu picked a higher altitude, where the winds were fiercer, to the point where even the Seven Stars Fortifying Design was unstable. Even more terrifying was the speed at which the sand and rocks spun in the air. Before long, Wu Yu saw that some even had their dao treasures broken already, and were slinking back to the black vortex.

Seeing this, Prince Le could only lament, "Wu Yu, without you, we would be hard-pressed to move a step forward in this. I should have prepared better. If I did, I could at least have mustered some fifth tier Dao Querying Three Disasters Realm cultivators to fight for me, and form a stronger team. I did not expect the Ancient Soul Tower to be like this."

"If you didn't, neither did the others." Wu Yu was focused on his surroundings. Currently, he had entered the sandstorm fully, and it was hard to see around him due to the gusts. He frequently strayed from the path. Although there had been more than 20,000 at the start, as they progressed, the number of people dwindled, and very quickly they could see no others around them.

Wu Yu was completely swept up in the chaos as well. He did not know where he should go, because the whole world was the same in every direction. If not for the clear difference between the sky and the ground, he wouldn't know up from down either.

"Any ideas? Blindly going around isn't feasible. This world is very big. Where would we find the tiny Yan Huang Golden Bead?" the Full Moon of Nanshan asked Wu Yu.

"No ideas." Wu Yu looked up to where there were golden clouds.

"Upwards, maybe. We might reach the next level. But the wind is even stronger there. I don't know if the Seven Stars Fortifying Design can hold out. And there is some black lightning in the golden clouds. Looks powerful. Seems like no one is going up for now. Besides, I think no one knows where the Yan Huang Golden Bead is, right? Perhaps everyone thinks that it is on the ninth floor, but I think that's not necessarily true. It might not even be at a fixed location."

After all, who knew what the Ancient Emperor was thinking?

From behind, Prince Le said, "Makes sense. I also feel like the Yan Huang Golden Bead might be anywhere. But we can't run around without a plan either. We must move towards something."

Wu Yu looked around him and said, "We must search, but we must also consider the risks and potential dangers. Firstly, the Ambassadors of 10,000 Kingdoms. They have contributed offerings, and are the direct rivals of the Yan Huang Tribe in the Ancient Soul Tower. If even killing is not forbidden in the Ancient Soul Tower, then fighting definitely will not be. They are resentful and inclined to humiliate us. If we meet them and they outclass us in strength, they will at least heckle us. As a prince, you might receive special attention."

Wu Yu guessed that not many would dare to fight Prince Le directly, but might taunt them. Those who had not taken kindly to the Yan Huang Tribe would definitely fight, not that they weren’t allowed to. Before, at the Immortal's Capital, they would already have found excuses to fight the princes even without the Ancient Soul Tower.

Besides, there was only one mirror outside that featured this floor, and with tens of thousands of people here, battles might not reach those outside. And even if they did, battles were just battles.

"Secondly, the fight amongst the Yan Huang Tribe. Most of the Yan Huang Tribe members would not dare to fight, unless they stand a good chance. Otherwise, they would be targeted by the other princes and princesses. If we encounter other princes and princesses' groups, they might not kill us, but they will definitely find a way to cripple us so that we can only hide or have to wait for this to end."

Wu Yu's second point had been carefully considered. He felt like the other princes and princesses would act with singular viciousness. After all, they were direct competitors, and the Ancient Emperor had forced their hand by saying that the one who obtained the Yan Huang Golden Bead could become the Yan Huang Ancient Emperor.

"That should be it, then," Qu Fengyu said.

Wu Yu shook his head. "The third danger is the innate dangers of the Ancient Soul Tower itself. Those should be the most frightening. For example, this wind and sand are dangers themselves, while the black lightning up there looks deadly as well. Besides that, it's implausible that there are no live dangers in this huge Ancient Soul Tower. For example, there should be something in this world besides sand. It would be too barren otherwise."

Wu Yu had been scanning their surroundings with the Eyes of Fire and Gold as they spoke, watching their surroundings more clearly. But the sea of sand below continued to shift and roll, and Wu Yu could not help but feel like some terrifying danger was lurking in the depths of the sand.

"It can't be that bad. Don't be paranoid." Qu Fengyu looked around nervously. Baili Zhuihun had to reassure her.

Just as she said this, Wu Yu suddenly sensed movement in the sand below them, as though a huge creature was climbing out....