The Ascending Dragon Altar within the Five-Color Treasure Tower turned out to be an enormous fraud.
Several hundred Void King realm cultivators found it difficult to accept this reality.
Near the Ascending Dragon Altar, everyone wore grim expressions, staring at the corpses and mangled remains strewn across the ground.
If the Ascending Dragon Altar was a scam, then what had those people died for? Among them were the friends and family of those who still lived.
"Miss Qin, shouldn't you offer some explanation regarding this matter?"
Without warning, someone in the crowd turned their gaze toward Qin Yu, who had fallen to the very back, and asked in an icy tone.
Qin Yu had long since halted her steps. Moreover, given her modest strength, she had never gone far in the first place. Now, along with her bodyguards, she lingered far behind the crowd, a good thirty or forty zhang from the nearest cultivator.
Hearing this, Qin Yu's delicate brows furrowed slightly. She lifted her head and replied weakly, "What exactly does this friend mean by that?"
"Hmph, what I mean — surely Miss Qin knows perfectly well? You told us this was the Ascending Dragon Altar, and we believed it without question. Yet it turns out to be nothing but a deception, and so many have died because of it. Is Miss Qin going to play deaf and dumb about that?"
The speaker wore a face full of righteous indignation, as though Qin Yu had personally swindled them all and ought to be held accountable for every cultivator who had perished.
His words actually earned the agreement of quite a few cultivators, who all turned hostile gazes toward Qin Yu, as though they intended to vent every ounce of their resentment upon her.
Qin Yu's brows knitted together even tighter. Before she could say anything, a bodyguard at her side let out a cold snort: "Friend, would it kill you to think before you speak? What does any of this have to do with my young miss?"
"How is it unrelated? If Miss Qin Yu hadn't told us this was the Ascending Dragon Altar, we never would have—"
"Never would have charged in headfirst with blind enthusiasm?"
Before the man could finish, Duan Tianci suddenly let out a mocking laugh, fixing the speaker with a murderous stare. "Truly laughable. Why don't you lot think it through yourselves? Even without Miss Qin's guidance, with an opportunity this great lying here, would you really have been content to walk away?"
Duan Tianci was, after all, the City Lord's son, and his own strength was nothing to scoff at. He enjoyed considerable fame and prestige among the cultivators of Maple Forest City. Hearing his words, many lowered their heads in thought and had to admit he had a point.
Even without Qin Yu's explanation, no one would have ignored the Ascending Dragon Altar. They would have swarmed in regardless, and the outcome would likely have been no different from what it was now.
In other words, with or without Qin Yu, nothing would have changed.
"Blaming everything on Miss Qin just because she offered a few words of guidance — don't you find that a bit too absurd?" Duan Tianci fixed the cultivator who had spoken with a frigid gaze.
The man dared not meet Duan Tianci's eyes, and they darted nervously from side to side.
"Indeed, Miss Qin bears no fault. If anyone dares accuse her further, they make an enemy of my Blazing Flame Sect." Zong Zijin also spoke up with an indifferent expression.
"The Jiang family holds the same position!" Jiang Chuhe chimed in with a cheerful smile, conveniently siding with justice to bolster both his family's reputation and his own.
"We would never accuse Miss Qin. These are nothing more than the irresponsible ramblings of a few individuals. Miss Qin needn't pay them any mind — mere clowns performing for an audience."
"Exactly! If not for Miss Qin, we wouldn't even know what this thing truly was. To offer no thanks is one thing, but to actually turn around and blame her — they are the dregs and disgrace of our Maple Forest City cultivators. We are ashamed to be associated with such people!"
…
A chorus of voices rose in Qin Yu's defense, and the man who had initially accused her flushed crimson with shame, wishing he could find a hole to crawl into and never come out.
A short distance away, Qin Yu offered a gentle smile and performed a graceful bow. "Everyone here is truly a person of reason. However... I haven't actually made any mistake. This Ascending Dragon Altar does indeed contain treasure."
"Where?" Duan Tianci and Zong Zijin's expressions brightened immediately, and they asked eagerly.
But Yang Kai's heart sank. He stared at Qin Yu without blinking, afraid she might say something he didn't want to hear.
Qin Yu smiled faintly. "The Ascending Dragon Altar itself... is the treasure. What was placed upon it before may well have been an illusion. But the Altar was forged from True Dragon bones — a refining material that even Emperor Realm cultivators would covet beyond measure."
The moment these words left her lips, every face in the crowd lit up with a feverish glow.
Qin Yu continued, "However... with our strength, we have no way of destroying the Ascending Dragon Altar. If we could, it wouldn't still be sitting here inside the Five-Color Treasure Tower — some powerful figure would have claimed it long ago. Attacking it rashly would likely trigger a fearsome restriction, so I would advise everyone against acting impulsively."
Hearing this, the eager expressions on Zong Zijin and Duan Tianci's faces gradually cooled. They turned to glance at the enormous Ascending Dragon Altar and let out sighs of frustrated regret.
A mountain of treasure lay right before their eyes, yet they lacked the means to mine it — a feeling that was truly agonizing.
"Oh, that's right — Miss Qin." Yang Kai, who had remained silent until now, suddenly cupped his fists. "Since Miss Qin understands the Ascending Dragon Altar so well, may I ask... when can we leave this place? Those who tried to retreat earlier... you saw what happened to them. We can't very well remain trapped here indefinitely."
"Yes, Miss Qin, please enlighten us!" Many others had suddenly realized the same thing, and all eyes turned to Qin Yu.
Qin Yu cast a meaningful glance at Yang Kai, then covered her lips with a soft smile. "You may leave right now. Once the treasure upon the Ascending Dragon Altar vanishes, the restriction loses its power as well. In half an hour, this Altar will sink into the ground and drift through the void, and who knows when it will appear again. That said... you're also free to stay. The dragon pressure is still present, and I'm sure you've all realized the benefits of cultivating here. I needn't elaborate on that."
Yang Kai felt quite uneasy under her gaze, as though some secret of his had been laid bare. Nevertheless, he said gratefully, "Thank you for the guidance, Miss Qin."
Despite his words, he did not move a single step.