Chapter 276: My Opponent is a Heavenly Monarch?

Of course, you didn't think you would fail the fourth stage's ultimate trial.

As a Deity Transformation Heavenly Monarch, the highest martial power in the Human Realm, you simply couldn't fathom how you might lose.

The participants in this fourth stage's ultimate trial were essentially all Nascent Soul true lords, peaking at the Mid Stage due to their age.

A Heavenly Monarch like you dropping in among these true lords was a complete dimensional strike.

Receiving your confirmation, the Armored Guardian waved his hand again, bringing you along in a spatial shift.

Where are we going...?

As a Deity Transformation Heavenly Monarch, you were acutely sensitive to the fundamental fluctuations of space, and you vaguely sensed the Armored Guardian making continuous spatial leaps.

A few breaths later, the Armored Guardian finally brought you into a secluded world.

It was a secret realm spanning several thousand li, with a towering mountain at its center.

A narrow path wound from the foot of the mountain all the way to the summit.

Looking closely, you could spot several tiny figures struggling up the path, striving for the peak.

"The ultimate trial requires you to climb to the summit," the Armored Guardian explained. "During the ascent, you will endure omnipresent soul pressure. The closer you get to the peak, the stronger the pressure. The time limit is one hundred years. The first to reach the summit wins, and all other participants will be erased."

Soul pressure?

You recalled the black path inside the Xuande Grotto-Heaven from your last simulation.

That path had also been permeated with omnipresent soul pressure. Only by enduring it all and repelling the other competitors could one obtain the Heavenly Cliff Fruit.

"If the time limit expires and no one has reached the summit, all participants will be erased," the Armored Guardian added. "The victor will be evaluated based on the time it took them to complete the climb. The higher the rating, the more precious the ultimate trial's reward."

Hearing this, you nodded slightly.

No wonder the Armored Guardian had advised caution before starting the ultimate trial.

It was indeed exceedingly harsh. Either one lone victor would claim the precious reward, or everyone would die.

"Currently, six participants are climbing. All are at the Nascent Soul Stage..."

You gazed into the distance. Logically, from this position, you shouldn't have been able to sense the auras of the climbers. But you were a Deity Transformation Heavenly Monarch. The rules of the Ghost Realm Trial Field couldn't restrict you. If you wished, you could leave the trial field at any moment without waiting for the Armored Guardian to send you out.

The one closest to the summit is... True Monarch Huanye?

Your gaze fell upon a figure near the middle of the mountain. Though she only possessed a Mid Nascent Soul Stage cultivation base, you were quite familiar with her aura. It was indeed True Monarch Huanye from the previous simulation.

True Monarch Huanye. In the sixth simulation, she ranked fourth or fifth on the Central Continent Top Ten Bandit Cultivators list, wielding the strength of a top-tier Great Cultivator and specializing in soul arts. She had participated in the siege against you when the Lingxu Blessed Land opened, only to be heavily injured by your soul strike. She hadn't appeared since.

Of course, the current True Monarch Huanye was only at the Mid Nascent Soul Stage.

It seems that under normal circumstances, True Monarch Huanye would reach the summit and become the victor of this ultimate trial... you thought.

If she hadn't reached the peak, she would have been erased by the trial field, making it impossible for her to establish her fearsome reputation among the top ten bandit cultivators centuries later.

Even after clearing all the trials in the Ghost Realm Trial Field, breaking through to the Deity Transformation Stage remains incredibly difficult...

You sighed with emotion. Reaching Deity Transformation was harder than ascending to the heavens. In the last simulation, Dachun had also passed all the body cultivation trials, yet he still died while attempting to break through to Rank 5.

Among the Great Cultivators in the Human Realm attempting to reach Deity Transformation, which of them wasn't a heaven's proud child? Yet those doomed to die still died. Only upon a mountain of corpses was a Deity Transformation Heavenly Monarch painstakingly born.

As you were lost in thought, the Armored Guardian's voice rang out. "Participant, this ultimate trial has already been ongoing for fifty years. Do you wish to wait another fifty years for the next trial to begin before joining?"

The six participants currently climbing belonged to the batch that started fifty years ago, giving them a half-century head start.

Joining halfway through seemed somewhat unfair to you, which was why the Armored Guardian offered the choice.

"How strong does the soul pressure get at its peak?" you asked after a moment of careful thought.

"The strongest soul pressure will approach the absolute limits of the Nascent Soul Stage..." the Armored Guardian replied.

If soul pressure at the Nascent Soul limit was released in an instant, true lords at the Early or Mid Nascent Soul Stage definitely wouldn't be able to withstand it.

But if the burden was drawn out and slowly distributed over several decades, there was still a sliver of hope to endure it.

Soul pressure at the Nascent Soul limit...

Your mind was set. "Then I won't wait. Let's begin immediately," you said casually.

Soul pressure at the Nascent Soul limit? Before you even broke through to the Deity Transformation Stage, your soul had shattered its limits, allowing you to easily block pressure of that level. Not to mention now, as a Deity Transformation Heavenly Monarch.

"Very well."

The Armored Guardian nodded and immediately waved his right hand again.

The space around you warped. Giving up any resistance, you let the spatial distortions transport you to the foot of the mountain.

You glanced around. The space on this mountain is suppressed, but I can still force a spatial shift...

You took a step forward. The space around you rippled, and you vanished from where you stood.

...

Near the middle of the mountain, a figure was drenched in sweat. It felt as if her soul was carrying the weight of a hundred thousand mountains. Every step was incredibly strenuous, but looking up at the hazy peak, she could only grit her teeth and continue the climb.

There was no giving up halfway in the ultimate trial. You either successfully reached the summit, or you were erased by the trial field, with your body dying and your Dao perishing.

Even though I'm currently in last place, I absolutely cannot give up until the very end.

This figure was a beautiful female cultivator, dripping with fragrant sweat, her expression resolute.

She was practicing a secret soul art. Once mastered, her soul would undergo a qualitative transformation, making her ascent up the mountain feel as if guided by the gods.

This was the reason she had persevered until now.

With the trial only fifty years in, she still had plenty of time left.

The participant closest to the summit had only just reached the middle of the mountain. It would take him at least thirty or forty years to reach the peak.

Right at that moment—

A short distance from the beautiful female cultivator, space distorted faintly, and you materialized.

The woman froze, halting her steps to stare at you.

If she hadn't seen wrong, had you just appeared out of thin air? Accompanied by spatial fluctuations?

What did that mean?

She stood rooted to the spot. To participate in the Ghost Realm Trial Field and reach the ultimate trial, she naturally possessed a heaven-defying background, hailing from a top faction in the Central Continent. And precisely because of that, she knew exactly what your sudden appearance signified.

Spatial traversal? Spatial shifting? Is this a Deity Transformation Heavenly Monarch? Even though her faction currently lacked a Heavenly Monarch, they were hardly ignorant of their power.

She had long since memorized the vast amounts of information and intelligence concerning Deity Transformation Heavenly Monarchs recorded in her sect's ancient texts.

This was to prevent the fatal mistake of unknowingly offending one should she ever cross paths with them.

But now...

The beautiful female cultivator was struck by a profound sense of bewilderment.

A Deity Transformation Heavenly Monarch? Also taking the ultimate trial?

My opponent is a Heavenly Monarch?

After materializing on the path near the middle of the mountain, you glanced around.

The mountain's spatial suppression couldn't stop you, but you worried about overshooting your mark, so you decided to shift in short intervals.

You threw a glance at the stunned female cultivator nearby but said nothing. Taking another step, space rippled like water, and you vanished once more.

Is he really a Deity Transformation Heavenly Monarch? The woman was completely numb.

The rules of the Ghost Realm Trial Field were exceedingly strict; only participants could appear on this mountain path.

A Deity Transformation Heavenly Monarch participating in the trial...

The beautiful female cultivator slumped onto the path, feeling as if her Dao heart had suffered a devastating blow.

...

Higher up the mountain, a man in purple-gold robes climbed with steady steps.

Out of the six climbers, he ranked second, trailing closely behind the one in first place.

I must be the first to reach the summit. Only then will I obtain a Deity Transformation-level opportunity... If I am lucky enough to outlive a Heavenly Monarch and wait until they pass away in meditation, I'll have a chance to attempt the breakthrough...

The purple-gold robed man burned with desire. Even if he couldn't wait for a Heavenly Monarch to pass away in meditation, the reward from clearing the ultimate trial would give him an excellent chance to reach the Late Nascent Soul Stage Peak. With the strength of a top-tier Great Cultivator, he could roam the Central Continent unchecked and live a life of absolute freedom.

Buzz—

Space rippled faintly a short distance from the man in purple-gold robes, and a figure stepped out.

Huh? The man froze. For you to appear out of thin air in such an unfathomable manner—he instantly realized what it meant.

A Deity Transformation Heavenly Monarch...

His teeth chattered, and an inexplicable sense of absurdity welled up in his heart.

A Deity Transformation Heavenly Monarch had come to take the ultimate trial with him?

Was this reasonable?

Was this normal?

The purple-gold robed man couldn't believe it. If it weren't for the omnipresent soul pressure bearing down on him, he would have thought he was trapped in an illusion.

How is this possible?

A stormy sea raged in his mind. Competing in an ultimate trial against a Heavenly Monarch—how was that any different from suicide?

Before he could process it further, you took another step. The spatial fluctuations spread like ripples, and you vanished.

Fake, it's all fake.

The purple-gold robed man took a deep breath, forcing himself to forget the scene he had just witnessed. ...

Even higher up the mountain.

True Monarch Huanye was also struggling in her ascent.

The closer she got to the summit, the more terrifying the soul pressure became. She felt as though her soul was bearing an indescribable weight.

Almost there... almost there.

True Monarch Huanye forcefully took another step, joy swelling in her heart.

She was currently leading the ultimate trial. As long as she maintained this advantage, she was practically guaranteed to be the first to reach the peak.

Just thinking about the benefits of reaching the summit and clearing the ultimate trial filled her with exhilaration.

As a member of a top-tier faction, earning focused resource cultivation required proving one's worth. And passing the ultimate trial in the Ghost Realm Trial Field was the perfect demonstration of that worth.

By clearing this trial, the sect's reward alone will let me rapidly cultivate to the Late Nascent Soul Stage. Combined with the rewards from the trial itself... I am destined to stand at the pinnacle of the Human Realm...

True Monarch Huanye's emotions surged. To reach this point, she had paid an unimaginable price. Hiding her identity? Becoming a bandit cultivator? Ambushing her fellow sect members? She had done far too much.

She paused to rest and ease the pressure on her soul. Glancing down, she noticed that the purple-gold robed man closest to her was standing completely still, frozen in place.

Has he realized he can't catch up and given up?

She sneered inwardly and looked up toward the summit, wanting to gaze upon her ultimate goal.

But that single glance left her dumbfounded.

At the very peak of the mountain, space distorted, and a figure appeared.

A figure at the summit? What did that mean? It meant a victor had already been born in this ultimate trial.

But how was that possible?

True Monarch Huanye was utterly bewildered. Her state of mind wavered so violently that she nearly stumbled backward and tumbled off the mountainside.

Guardian!

True Monarch Huanye immediately contacted the Guardian. She felt something must have gone wrong with the ultimate trial. How could a participant have passed her and reached the summit first? And what were those spatial fluctuations? A Deity Transformation Heavenly Monarch?

"Everything in this ultimate trial is normal."

The Armored Guardian's voice echoed in her ears. After a brief pause, he continued, "A participant has reached the summit. This ultimate trial has ended. All other participants will be erased..."

As soon as his words fell—

True Monarch Huanye felt a deafening roar echo in the depths of her soul. A terrifying attack descended, shattering her consciousness and crushing her Nascent Soul. Her lifeless body plummeted from the mountainside.

...

At the summit of the mountain.

You glanced down.

Now that you had reached the top, the six climbers on the mountainside were all plummeting, their auras extinguishing.

You felt no psychological burden over this. Among the six, aside from True Monarch Huanye, the other five would have died in this trial anyway, regardless of your presence.

As for True Monarch Huanye... In the sixth simulation, she had allied with the Purple-Eyed True Monarch and other top Great Cultivators to besiege you. That had forged a grudge, but since she never showed herself afterward, you never got the chance to exact your revenge.

Erasing her now settled the score from that previous simulation.

You looked toward the center of the summit. The Armored Guardian was already waiting there.

A look of anticipation spread across your face. From appearing at the foot of the mountain to reaching the summit, you had taken a mere two or three breaths. With such an absurdly short time, your evaluation was bound to be extraordinarily high.

You eagerly awaited the reward.