Tong Shen Hall is actually a massive, comprehensive organization.
Most people know that its main business is the tongshen jade talisman, and it can earn countless Spirit Stones every year just by selling tongshen jade talismans and various services on them.
But in reality, this is just Tong Shen Hall's initial industry; now, Tong Shen Hall has many more industries.
For example, just relying on the teleportation arrays in each city, Tong Shen Hall earns no less money than its tongshen jade talisman business.
Tong Shen Hall's industries extend far beyond this; anything a normal person can think of, it has more or less dabbled in. Tong Shen Hall not only has its own brands of Medicinal Pills, Talismans, and so on, but it has also made its brand name known, and the two characters 'Tong Shen' have become a guarantee of quality.
They even run Cultivation schools, claiming to be on par with Nine Heavens Academy.
Within Tong Shen Hall, there is such a special service: the Trial Pagoda.
Trial Pagoda is what others call it, but in reality, Tong Shen Hall calls it the Pagoda of Spiritual Connection.
This thing is like the dungeons in some online games; Cultivators, or rather, pagoda challengers, must ascend from the bottom floor, one floor at a time, with the difficulty increasing progressively.
The entire Pagoda of Spiritual Connection has a full seventy-five floors, with the difficulty ranging from the Qi Refining First Stage at the very bottom to the Peak of the Returning Void Stage at the top.
Each time a Cultivator passes a floor, they will receive a certain 'reward.' This reward will be issued in various forms; it could be to help the Cultivator temper their physique, or to help the Cultivator improve their Cultivation, or even be issued as Medicinal Pills, Magical Artifacts, and so on.
Even if a Cultivator does not pass the test of a certain floor, there will be no life-threatening danger, and they can safely exit.
This Pagoda of Spiritual Connection was not actually created by Tong Shen Hall itself, but rather was the masterpiece of an Artifact Refiner with an extremely high Realm from a very, very long time ago.
Just from the Peak of the Returning Void Stage difficulty at the top of this pagoda, it can be inferred that the person who created it must have been someone of a higher Realm, which is a Dao Harmonization stage Great Power.
This pagoda was the last work of this Artifact Refiner. The purpose of the Artifact Refiner in refining such a pagoda was to benefit the Sect's descendants. He poured all his efforts into this pagoda, including all his wealth.
How many people can be nurtured by the legacy of a Dao Harmonization stage Great Power? Dao Harmonization stage Great Powers have long lifespans, and during such a long period, the treasures they collect are countless, beyond the imagination of ordinary people.
Therefore, this Trial Pagoda became the Sect's most treasured artifact. Countless Sect disciples entered this Trial Pagoda to seek Opportunity.
This so-called Sect is precisely the most famous Artifact Refining Sect today, Baoqi Gate.
However, after the rise of Tong Shen Hall, this Trial Pagoda somehow fell into the hands of Tong Shen Hall, and its name was even changed.
There are rumors among the people that Tong Shen Hall used some means to seize it by force.
An Chen didn't know if this rumor was true, but he did hear that Tong Shen Hall and Baoqi Gate had a falling out, and in the territory belonging to Baoqi Gate, there was almost no Tong Shen Hall, only allowing Tong Shen Hall to establish base stations.
It was all for the use of the tongshen jade talisman.
Although there is only one Pagoda of Spiritual Connection, every city's Tong Shen Hall has an entrance to the Pagoda of Spiritual Connection, which should be similar to a teleportation array.
An Chen's plan was to venture into this Pagoda of Spiritual Connection and seize an Opportunity.
Anyway, he wouldn't die, and it offered more benefits than going to the back mountain, not to mention it was safer than the back mountain.
In addition, in the Pagoda of Spiritual Connection, An Chen could also train his practical combat ability, which was more important than improving his Realm.
No matter what, improving one's Realm is for the purpose of defeating enemies in combat, and there might be dangers encountered in the Qingfeng Secret Realm, so training one's practical combat ability is essential.
As soon as he thought of it, An Chen immediately sent a message to the Grand Elder, requesting to go down the mountain again, but this time the reason was to enter the Pagoda of Spiritual Connection.
The Grand Elder did not reply to him immediately, and An Chen was not in a hurry; after all, there were still several days until the start of the Qingfeng Secret Realm.
After Cultivating peacefully for a night, An Chen went out as usual to meet up with his two Senior Brothers for a meal.
An Chen also took this Opportunity to inquire about the Pagoda of Spiritual Connection from his two Senior Brothers.
"I wonder if you two Senior Brothers have ever been to that Pagoda of Spiritual Connection?"
"Hey, who hasn't been there!"
Chen Sheng waved his hand and laughed:
"There are a few places that Cultivators in Kyushu must visit, and one of them is this Pagoda of Spiritual Connection, because it's a guaranteed profit! The ticket price for entering the pagoda during the Qi Refinement Stage is one thousand Spirit Stones, and for each major Realm higher, an additional zero is added. This price is actually very expensive, but compared to what you gain inside, it's definitely not much."
An Chen tilted his head.
"Then wouldn't Tong Shen Hall be losing money?"
It is well known that Tong Shen Hall is the most profitable organization in all of Kyushu. How could Tong Shen Hall possibly lose money!
Jiang Cheng quickly answered this question:
"Tong Shen Hall certainly won't lose money! Because your gains are given to you by the Pagoda of Spiritual Connection, not by Tong Shen Hall, so Tong Shen Hall also makes a steady profit... You should also know the origin of their Pagoda of Spiritual Connection, right?"
An Chen nodded, indicating understanding.
"But even if that Great Power had many treasures, after such a long time, those things should have all been given out, right?"
"This is the miraculous aspect of this pagoda. This pagoda can absorb Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi and refine some low-Realm Medicinal Pills, Talismans, and even Magical Artifacts itself. As for those high-Realm, high-quality treasures, it is said that there are indeed very few left, but high-Realm Cultivators are too few, and the drop rate is low, so it is estimated that it can still last for a few decades."
Chen Sheng also added from the side:
"As for the energy that tempers your body, purifies your marrow, and even enhances your Cultivation, it is also generated by this pagoda itself. The principle behind this has not yet been thoroughly researched. Baoqi Gate has always wanted to replicate such a pagoda, but it has never succeeded."
Leaving aside the fact that this pagoda can help people improve their Realm, just its functions of being able to refine Medicinal Pills and Magical Artifacts by itself are already astonishing enough.
If this thing could be replicated, then in the future, various academies in the Kyushu Continent would probably have to offer a major in automation.
"That's truly amazing."
An Chen truly sighed with emotion this time.
He had to admit that the Kyushu Continent was truly wonderful. Of course, An Chen estimated that people from Kyushu would view Earth in the same way.
At this moment, An Chen finally received a reply from the Grand Elder.
The reply was just one word: "Granted."
Which meant he agreed.
An Chen was delighted, then looked at his two Senior Brothers and asked:
"You two Senior Brothers, you must have both been to the Pagoda of Spiritual Connection, right? I wonder what your gains were inside? Which floor did you both reach?"
An Chen planned to listen to the experiences of those who had gone before him, and if possible, he might invite the two of them to go to the Pagoda of Spiritual Connection together.
