CHAPTER 133: TO THE TOWER

Xu Tao kept track of their bearing the entire time. As such, he was aware of how far they were from the mountain—the sanctuary, their little city—where they came from.

Roughly 12,000 li, or 6,000 kilometers away. That’s almost the same distance one would need to dig from Earth’s surface to reach its core!

With that much distance, it was obvious Xu Tao couldn’t return so simply—especially when he had 49 others to bring along.

Thankfully, while they were still on the bus, Xu Tao had already formulated a plan for how they could return.

It was simple: he would create a Thousand Li Step formation that would transport them the maximum possible distance toward their destination in one go. Then, after resting to recover his Qi, he’d do it again.

Given the distance, capacity limits, and Xu Tao’s current single-use limit, doing this around 20 times should bring them all the way back to where they came from!

’And since it’s along the way, our first stop is that weird tower.’

He could feel the distance between himself and the tower—roughly 800 kilometers. That meant, for Xu Tao, it would take about one and a half "steps" to reach it.

Without delay, he began setting up a formation on the ground.

Unlike the small version he had used earlier, this one was a large-scale formation meant to send 50 people at once. Taking into account his current Qi, the Dragon Veins beneath them, and the technique’s limits... he set the distance to 750 kilometers toward the target.

"This way, we can just walk the last 50 kilometers to reach it."

That way, he could save both Qi and mental energy!

After the Diamond Bus Experience, all fifty of them were level 900 and above. No—to be exact, they were all between level 948 and 950. The gap in their levels had gradually plateaued during the journey, leaving only a slight difference of one or two levels.

That meant, with their stats, their movement speed should’ve improved significantly too.

Fifteen tense minutes passed quickly.

Thankfully, no monsters dared approach them. Either the bus had wiped out all nearby threats, or the remaining monsters had fled in fear—either way, it worked in their favor.

"Done!" Xu Tao exclaimed.

It was a rushed job, but he had finished setting up a one-use array for his Thousand Li Step. It barely passed the requirements, and the glow was rather unstable, but it should work without issue.

"Everyone, gather inside the glowing formation!" he shouted, alerting the rest.

"Yes, Sir Tao! My soldiers, march to the center!"

"You heard Sir Tao! Let’s go inside the glowing circle!"

"Anything my Emperor wishes."

"Pui~!"

"Huh?"

Hearing a familiar sound that shouldn’t have been there, Xu Tao looked down. There, bouncing by Zetian’s feet, was a familiar green creature.

"Pepe... You tagged along? I didn’t even notice!" Xu Tao exclaimed. "This formation is fixed to accommodate 50 humans... but it should still work, right? Pepe’s not human but a thing, after all..."

"’Twas I who brought him here, my Emperor," Zetian revealed, lifting Pepe from the ground. "I thought this little one was your page, so I took him with me... Did I perhaps do something unnecessary?"

"No, it should be fine. If it wasn’t, we wouldn’t have been able to ride the bus in the first place," Xu Tao reasoned. "Anyway, let’s just hope my formation can handle one extra object onboard..."

"Great Elder, the formation’s starting to decay!"

From the side, one of the Azure Dragon Sect’s outer disciples, Little Wenwen, bowed as she reported—a manly voice with a hint of femininity. Prompted by her voice, Xu Tao checked and noticed the formation was indeed starting to break down. The instability of his makeshift array was worsening.

"No time to waste then. Hang on, everyone!" he shouted, pumping all the Qi he had into the formation.

With him at the center, a powerful shockwave spread outward. It was so strong that several people were forced to step back before regaining their footing. All that, just from the pressure of Xu Tao releasing his Qi!

Once the formation was saturated with energy, he activated it immediately.

"Thousand Li Step!"

The next moment, their vision flashed.

When their eyesight returned, they were... still in the desert. But it was clear they had moved to a different location. After all—

"Look! Over there! It’s that giant tower from earlier!"

"Amazing... We really traveled so far in just a blink!"

Voices of awe and surprise filled the air. But—

"Ugh..."

Xu Tao fell to his knees, groaning.

He had used almost all of his Qi just to activate the formation. His body felt so drained and weak that he was on the verge of collapsing if he let his guard down.

"Sir Tao!"

Jehanne, who was nearby, rushed to his side and helped support him. Of course, one of her soldiers immediately wore a disgruntled expression. Xu Tao didn’t miss the sight and shook his head, amused that the man still glared at him like that.

"Never mind me, confirm our headcount first."

Xu Tao squeezed the words out, pained and ragged.

"I’ve already counted and confirmed everyone’s present, my Emperor. The formation worked as intended."

But before Jehanne could respond, Wu Zetian had already announced the good news.

"Pui~!"

Even Pepe added his voice, as if in acknowledgement.

"Then that’s great..." Xu Tao sighed in relief. "We can’t make another formation for now—I need to recover my Qi. So let’s move on foot and head to that giant tower first to check it out," he added.

"Then, I’ll support you by the shoulder, Sir Tao."

"Silly girl. There’s no need for that. I can move my Emperor using Telekinesis."

"I can make a makeshift stretcher and ask the elves and dark elves to carry you there."

As if competing, Jehanne, Zetian, and Arthur raised their voices, offering help. Though Xu Tao appreciated the gesture, he couldn’t help but smile wryly.

"Thanks, but no need. I can walk by myself now that I’ve rested a bit."

He moved away from Jehanne, staggering slightly, but the weakness from burning all his Qi was already fading. Given a few more breaths, he shouldn’t have a problem walking on his own.

"Ah..." But Jehanne groaned quietly, clearly disappointed.

"Rather than me, Arthur, you should carry Achilles with you. He should be waking up soon, but we can’t just leave him here either." Xu Tao pointed at the sleeping figure still in the center of the formation.

Arthur’s expression soured for a moment, but he quickly shook his head in resignation.

"...Alright. I’ll do it."

Just like that, everyone began preparing to move. And the moment Arthur lifted Achilles onto his back—

BOOOM!

—the sand behind them erupted in a deafening explosion, revealing a massive, eerie shadow, dozens of meters tall, with its inhuman frame cloaked in trickling sand.