Who let him join the Sword Sect?!

"I can't do it, Taoist. I can't get in. Chen Qianhu said you have to figure it out yourself,"

he said, waving his hand, and disappeared without a trace.

Although the restriction outside the Jade Book Tower had been broken, allowing free entry and exit, the core of each floor remained sealed.

The core was also crucial, as it held the 'archives' mentioned by Wei Zhuang.

Arriving outside the Jade Book Tower, Zhang Ze marveled again at its immense height before casually walking towards the front door.

Before entering, Zhang Ze took out those broken keys given by the system but found no keyhole for the front door.

Zhang Ze's epic deduction that each floor's door corresponded to a key was evidently wrong. These keys were unrelated to the Jade Book Tower and must have another use.

Or perhaps they were entirely useless, just the system acting crazy.

As he pushed the door open, Zhang Ze found someone already on the First-Layer.

Chen Qin was in the lobby, touching here and there, inspecting everything.

The Jade Book Tower was solidified by mana, and unless the entire structure was destroyed, its furnishings would remain unchanged for eternity.

The lobby on the First-Layer was quite spacious, with only a giant pillar running through the entire tower in its center, surrounded by frescoes on the walls and stairs leading to the Second-Layer.

A barrier blocked the stairs, and without unraveling the mysteries of the First-Layer, one couldn't ascend to the Second-Layer.

The Junior Sister had been wandering here for a long time, familiar with every detail of the First-Layer's environment. Upon seeing Zhang Ze, she rushed over and pulled him towards the giant pillar, pointing at the relief above.

"Look at that statue on the pillar—it looks like Xiaoxuan."

Indeed, upon hearing this, Zhang Ze noticed that the female relief indeed resembled the Stone Girl Xiaoxuan he had unearthed from the ground.

Although their features differed, their gestures were somewhat similar.

Both held an object in their hands.

Seeing this, Zhang Ze retrieved the Profound Identification Treasure Mirror.

"Not smashing anyone today; go up there and take a look."

The Profound Identification Treasure Mirror flew up obediently. As expected, its size was perfect, fitting snugly in the statue's hands.

However, this time the statue did not come alive.

Instead, a faint light shone around the Profound Identification Treasure Mirror, the large door behind them closed, and fog started to form around them, gradually blurring the Junior Sister's voice.

It felt just like entering the Void Illusion Realm of the Profound Identification Treasure Mirror.

After the sense of the world shifting, Zhang Ze stood steadily on a fertile piece of land.

Behind him was a city gate, distant green mountains half-concealed by thin mist, and rain drizzling gently from the sky.

Zhang Ze reached out, catching the raindrops and feeling the chill in his palm.

Suddenly, someone behind him gave him a pat.

"Stand guard properly." Zhang Ze turned to see a rugged man with a stubbly beard, wearing a short gown, with a long knife hanging from his waist, standing imposingly behind him.

"Who are you?" Zhang Ze asked.

"Kid, you're looking for trouble today, daring to mess with Brother Dao."

Spoke a sharp-mouthed, skinny man behind Brother Dao, who lunged at Zhang Ze. Zhang Ze stepped back, causing him to stumble.

"We're on duty; stop messing around, someone's coming." After dodging the skinny man, Zhang Ze tossed the words back and nodded his head.

Brother Dao and the skinny man then heard the sound of a carriage approaching from behind and promptly returned to their positions.

Soon, a luxurious carriage passed by the group.

And then Zhang Ze saw Chen Qin sitting inside, making faces at him from the window.

She mouthed silently.

It seemed to mean, "This place is so fun."

As the carriage passed, Zhang Ze looked down at his gray, dusty clothing and felt speechless.

Why is it that upon entering the Illusion Realm, Chen Qin gets to be the lady, and I end up guarding the gate? This isn't fair.

Clearly, Zhang Ze and Chen Qin had entered some sort of Illusion Realm, which was related to the Jade Book Tower and the Profound Identification Treasure Mirror.

And these two objects were things from Dongqi.

It was somewhat similar to Wei Zhuang's dream. No wonder the big boss said he would understand.

"Profound Identification, you there?" Having figured out the key, Zhang Ze asked in his mind.

[I'm here. What's up?]

Text appeared on the ground at Zhang Ze's feet.

Seeing this, Zhang Ze pointed down, turning to ask.

"Brother Hu, right? Can you see any words here?"

Brother Dao, mistakenly referred to, was somewhat miffed, "Trying to get hit just because the noble one's gone? Where are there words? I think you've lost it today."

"It's nothing then. Here, Brother Dao, this money's for you." With that, Zhang Ze tossed his purse to Brother Dao and waved him off. "I have things to do this afternoon, taking a leave. Use this money to treat the brothers to drinks."

Not waiting for Brother Dao to respond, he turned and left.

After leaving the gate, Zhang Ze again asked in his mind, "Profound Identification, can I leave anytime?"

[Yes, whenever. (•᷄ὤ•᷅)]

Six large characters floated in the distant sky, accompanied by an emoji.

Clearly, the Profound Identification Treasure Mirror had picked up lots of miscellaneous stuff from its time surfing the net.

"I won't leave, let's enjoy a bit more." Zhang Ze muttered to himself, resting his hand on his worn blade.

The system, for some inexplicable reason, got excited and tossed out a task.

[Climb the Tower!]

[First-Layer!]

[Charge!]

It seemed the system got a little too carried away...