The story jumps back to the moment Ian Song was drawn into the Exquisite Demon-Suppressing Pagoda.
Grand Supreme Lord Lao’s Vajra Hoop is a special divine treasure that targets the primordial spirit. Even with Ian Song’s powerful soul, the instant he was struck by the Vajra Hoop, he was stunned and dazed—giving Leon Lee the chance to pull him into the Exquisite Demon-Suppressing Pagoda.
The Exquisite Demon-Suppressing Pagoda is a self-contained space with seven floors. To escape, one must reach the highest, seventh floor.
But with each floor ascended, the refining power grows stronger. Many powerful demons and monsters have made it to the third floor at most, only to be completely refined into blood—becoming nourishment for the pagoda.
Ian Song’s strength, however, is extraordinary—he’s even stronger than Sun Wukong was before being cast into Grand Supreme Lord Lao’s alchemy furnace.
So, after being drawn into the pagoda for only a few breaths, his primordial spirit quickly returned to normal.
The pagoda’s refining force is omnipresent, constantly wearing away at his power. But whenever he activates his Body of Ten Thousand Stars, the refining force inside the pagoda can’t harm him at all.
The pagoda’s first-floor space isn’t too large—about the size of an ordinary county.
Ian Song tried attacking and discovered that this space is incredibly resilient: not only can it absorb the force of his attacks, it can convert that power into extra refining force.
It has to be said—the craftsman who forged the Exquisite Demon-Suppressing Pagoda was truly a master, and the pagoda itself is likely at the Immortal Artifact level.
An Immortal Artifact can serve as a sect-suppressing treasure, stabilizing fate and intimidating powerful enemies.
Naturally, Ian Song was deeply tempted and seriously considered seizing the Exquisite Demon-Suppressing Pagoda for himself.
But Leon Lee has refined the Exquisite Demon-Suppressing Pagoda for many years, reaching a deep heart-link with it. Seizing and re-refining an Immortal Artifact is far from easy.
So Ian Song decided to first explore the pagoda’s interior.
Besides being an Immortal Artifact, the Exquisite Demon-Suppressing Pagoda houses seven treasures within its seven floors.
Each treasure is fused with its corresponding floor and serves as the guardian tower-spirit for that layer.
The first-floor treasure is called the Three-Legged Golden Crow.
Legend has it the Three-Legged Golden Crow is the son of the Heavenly Emperor. In ancient times, ten Three-Legged Golden Crows appeared together, causing a catastrophic drought among mortals.
To save the people, the great witch Kuafu frantically chased the ten sun crows, but died of exhaustion. This enraged his friend, another great witch, Hou Yi.
To avenge his friend, Hou Yi used the Sun-Shooting Bow to slay the Three-Legged Golden Crows—nine were shot dead, leaving only one survivor.
The sole surviving Three-Legged Golden Crow was terrified and barely escaped with its life. Though it wasn’t shot down by Hou Yi, it was gravely wounded. Later, it was captured by a mighty cultivator and refined into a treasure to serve as the guardian of the Exquisite Demon-Suppressing Pagoda’s first floor.
The Three-Legged Golden Crow can unleash Solar True Fire.
It’s said that once Solar True Fire erupts, even Immortal Artifacts can’t withstand it.
That’s why the first floor of the Exquisite Demon-Suppressing Pagoda exists as a world of magma.
The temperature is so extreme that even Nascent Soul cultivators in the out-of-body stage can’t endure it. Without the pagoda’s own refining force, just the heat alone could roast them alive.
With a thought, Ian Song activated his Clairvoyant Vision and combined it with his primordial spirit, peering into the depths of the magma.
Soon enough, he spotted the Three-Legged Golden Crow sleeping at the bottom of the magma.
Ian hesitated for a moment.
Then he leapt into the magma, sinking straight toward the bottom.
Because he was channeling his Body of Ten Thousand Stars, the magma couldn’t harm him at all—so he reached the bottom with ease.
"Who are you?"
Sensing Ian Song’s arrival, the sleeping Three-Legged Golden Crow opened its eyes and looked him over coldly.
The Three-Legged Golden Crow is the ancient Heavenly Emperor’s son, and its power is truly formidable. Unfortunately, it was suppressed by a mighty cultivator, so now it can only display late Tribulation stage strength.
Even so, Leon Lee still can’t control him—otherwise, releasing him to fight outside the pagoda would be far more useful than keeping him as a guardian.
"A prince of the Heavenly Emperor reduced to an artifact spirit—how pitiful!"
Ian Song smiled faintly and spoke slowly.
Hearing this, a surge of humiliation and rage flashed in the Three-Legged Golden Crow’s eyes, but it quickly turned to murderous intent toward Ian Song. "You brat, how dare you mock this prince—prepare to die!"
A flash of light—suddenly, the Three-Legged Golden Crow appeared above Ian Song, its razor-sharp talon already touching his scalp. One downward swipe would pierce his skull!
"Hmph!"
Ian snorted, swung his fist, and with a loud bang, the magma within a hundred meters was blasted away—his punch landed squarely on the Three-Legged Golden Crow’s abdomen.
"Clang!"
With a thunderous crash, the Three-Legged Golden Crow was sent flying, landing several hundred meters away.
"Damn it!"
The Three-Legged Golden Crow was furious. As the saying goes, even a tiger can be bullied when it’s down. If its true cultivation hadn’t been sealed, how could it be knocked flying by a mere cultivator who wasn’t even an Immortal?
The next moment, the Three-Legged Golden Crow charged at Ian Song again.
"Clang!"
Ian swung his fist again, sending the crow flying once more.
"You’re no match for me, so why waste your strength? If you’re willing to submit, maybe one day I’ll set you free!"
"You?"
The Three-Legged Golden Crow sneered and opened its beak, spitting out a blast of searing Solar True Fire that made Ian Song feel threatened.
"Slash!"
The Azure Flood Dragon Sword appeared in his hand. He swung it repeatedly, slicing apart the Solar True Fire, then had a sudden inspiration—he guided the fragments of Solar True Fire into his divine palace.
"You actually absorbed this prince’s Solar True Fire!"
The Three-Legged Golden Crow glared furiously at Ian Song. That Solar True Fire had taken him ages to refine again—he’d been waiting for the day it reached perfection so he could burn through the pagoda and escape.
As for his original Solar True Fire, that had been sealed away and was impossible to use.
"Let me ask you again—are you willing to submit to me?"
At these words, the Three-Legged Golden Crow’s gaze flickered.
After a long moment, it finally spoke: "If I submit to you, will you truly grant me freedom?"
For the dignified son of the Heavenly Emperor to be refined into an artifact spirit was a deeply humiliating fate, so he longed for freedom more than anyone.
"With my strength, I have no need to deceive you," Ian replied calmly.
"Fine, I’ll submit to you—but you must give me freedom!"
"Don’t worry. As long as you serve me for a hundred years, I’ll grant you true freedom. I might even help you break the seal inside your body!"
Hearing Ian Song’s words, the Three-Legged Golden Crow was visibly excited. It knelt down and called him master—but secretly, it thought, "Once I regain my true power, that’ll be the end of this brat."
Ian Song didn’t mind the crow’s outward compliance and inward resistance. He proposed planting a restriction in its sea of consciousness.
The Three-Legged Golden Crow didn’t object, sneering inwardly—"With this kid’s level of power, how strong could his restriction possibly be?"