Chapter 92 - 74: The Path Lies Underfoot

Chapter 92: Chapter 74: The Path Lies Underfoot

Heaven and Earth fell silent. The wind and rain ceased, the roaring thunder faded, and the roiling dark clouds froze in place.

On the seventeenth-story rooftop.

It was as if Heaven and Earth themselves were bearing witness to his words, their gaze fixed upon the solitary, proud figure robed in black.

"..."

The Great Yu Library fell silent.

He was beginning to have regrets.

’Why did I have to run into this Extreme Realm Cultivator? And why, oh why, did I have to ask that one extra question?’

’Of all things, it had to be the Will of All Beings—the most powerful of all the ceremonies.’

’And he can actually bear the Will of All Beings without being affected in the slightest.’

"Is this also taboo?"

Su Chen asked.

Below Heaven-Ascension Tower, the wind, rain, and rolling thunder had ceased. Yet in the vast Imperial Palace, the fires, the war cries, and the stench of blood hadn’t paused for even an instant.

Not even the storm could stop any of this.

"..."

The Great Yu Library still didn’t answer.

He was playing dead.

’All he wanted was to send this Extreme Realm Cultivator on his way as quickly as possible.’

The promotion ceremony to the First Grade Extreme Realm had four types: the Heaven and Earth Formation, Mountain Sea Enlightenment, the No-Self Dao, and the Will of All Beings.

’But this... this is the Will of All Beings...’

’Even at his peak, when he stood at the very summit of the Human World, he wouldn’t have dared to touch it.’

’Let alone now.’

"It seems I’ve touched upon a taboo."

"I think,"

"you need my help."

"I might not be able to help you now, but one day, I’ll be incredibly powerful, won’t I?"

"You help me, I help you. It’s that simple."

Su Chen looked at the Great Yu Library.

BOOM!

The ancient face of the Great Yu Library instantly became a whirlwind of expressions: excitement, apprehension, hesitation, fear, terror...

It was almost impressive.

To cycle through so many expressions in a single instant.

Reason told Mr. Shu.

’Don’t take the risk.’

’Everything about the Extreme Realm is taboo.’

’The path of the Extreme Realm Immortal was personally erased by a Great Immortal. He set up means to conceal the Heavenly Secret, making it impossible to speak of or even perceive.’

’They want to sever the path of Extreme Ascension to Immortality completely.’

’Getting entangled with this future—the strongest Extreme Realm Immortal—would be incredibly dangerous!’

But.

The temptation was too great.

"You... don’t you know how much life you have left?"

"Can you really hold on until the Immortal Arrival?"

Looking at the flickering Longevity Fire above the Great Yu Library’s head, Su Chen spoke again.

BOOM!

A thunderous roar echoed.

It illuminated the Great Yu Library’s ancient face, making it look completely bloodless.

This Mr. Shu didn’t have much Longevity Fire left—only a year or two. Like the Imperial Mausoleum Immortals, he had used some technique to make his life force deplete at an extremely slow rate.

But even that had its limits.

In the Human World, for every living being except Su Chen, life was a blade hanging over their head, ready to fall at any moment.

"..."

A look of conflict appeared on the Great Yu Library’s face.

The temptation was too great.

It was beginning to override his reason.

With the conflict between Zhou and Liang, as well as the coming Immortal Arrival, this Extreme Realm Cultivator was about to face the most chaotic era in a millennium.

’Once his ceremony is complete...’

’This is the Will of All Beings!’

’The one and only Will of All Beings.’

’He already possesses the strongest foundation for the Extreme Realm. Once he ascends, he will undoubtedly become the strongest Extreme Realm Immortal—unstoppable!’

"It seems you don’t want to be freed."

"If you don’t want my help,"

"then forget it."

With that, Su Chen flicked his sleeve and turned to leave.

"Wait!"

The Great Yu Library had finally made its decision.

’This man may be but an ant now, but in the future, not even the Great Immortal who fell to the Human World will be able to compare.’

’A True Dragon, born from a muddy puddle!’

’I’ve waited a thousand years.’

’I have to take this gamble!’

"Don’t go!"

"I... will take that bet."

The Great Yu Library roared.

BOOM!

After five hundred years of Great Yu and three hundred years of Great Zhou—a full eight hundred years—the gate of the Great Yu Library finally opened on this night.

A scroll, a Wordless Book, drifted into Su Chen’s body.

It was unremarkable, the paper itself coarse and rough. But the moment it appeared, the world filled with the countless radiant lights of Dao Charm, surrounded by the chanting of Immortals and Buddhas and the whispers of God-Demons.

"This book is a Heavenly Fallen Treasure, the ultimate Creation born from the fall of a Great Immortal. Only it can record the words of the Extreme Realm. In exchange for your promise, this is enough."

"Whatever you do... don’t die!"

The Great Yu Library roared.

At that moment, the Gate—which for millennia had absorbed the Power of Heaven and Earth to sustain itself—grew incomparably dim. Mr. Shu’s ancient face went still, falling into a long slumber.

At the same time, countless images flooded Su Chen’s mind.

...

In a vast Wilderness Land, a man stood atop a Mountain of Skulls and White Bones. Before him, a host of Immortals fled like scattering ants, terrified as if facing the apocalypse.

In terms of their auras, every one of these Immortals far surpassed a Qi Cultivation Immortal. They were all vastly more powerful than the man.

And yet.

Wherever the man passed, the Immortals were reduced to white bones, no more than ants. All their power, their very Creation, turned into white Qi and was drawn into the man’s mouth and nose.

...

Amidst towering palaces where Immortal Qi drifted—a place much like the Immortal Realm itself—a figure walked in and opened its cavernous mouth.

When it arrived, hosts of Immortals were present.

When it left, the palaces remained, but not a single Immortal could be seen.

Another Extreme Realm Immortal.

...

"Immortals seize the Creation of Heaven and Earth. We Extreme Realm Immortals seize the Creation of the Immortals."

An arrogant voice boomed like thunder.

Su Chen opened his eyes.

He understood everything.

The pinnacle of Mortal Cultivation was the Extreme Realm. In the Extreme Innate Realm, one could ascend to immortality as a Grandmaster, skipping the Qi Cultivation Immortal stage entirely. They would forge a Dao Foundation and soar to the heavens in a single leap.

From then on, Immortals were nothing more than rations.

’So terrifying. No wonder the Immortals are so afraid.’

’All beings suffer. Whether in Great Yu or the lands of Zhou and Liang, for hundreds of years, turmoil has been constant. The living know only misery, and the dead, only pain.’

’The countless departed souls all yearn for peace.’

’This Will of All Beings... when did it gather around me? Was it when I knelt before the Palace Gate as Governor, pleading for the common people, in that moment I protected them? Or was it when Great Liang grew tyrannical, and I entered the Palace Gate with my sword to lay it to rest?’

Su Chen didn’t know.

He could feel the thoughts of all living things swirling within him. The people of this world had suffered too much.

In fact, when he had perfected the Star-Burying Sword, mastered the Microscopic Sword Stance, and buried Great Liang, he hadn’t even realized that he had already completed the First-Grade Ceremony of the Heaven and Earth Formation...

At that time.

Heaven and Earth should have responded then.

He should have ascended directly to First Grade, glimpsing the realm of a Grandmaster.

But.

The Will of All Beings was too strong.

Even though he had achieved the Heaven and Earth Formation, the First-Grade Ceremony hadn’t taken effect.

Back then.

He had been inspired while reading.

A wish made casually.

Perhaps.

It wasn’t a coincidence.

It was destiny.

It was his fate.

He, Su Chen, was destined to walk the path of the Will of All Beings, to become the strongest First Grade, and achieve Extreme Ascension to Immortality! He would be the champion of all living beings.

These were the fruits of the seeds he had sown since the Jianwu Period.

"Whether in Zhou or Liang, all the suffering people want is peace."

"If that’s the case."

"The Will of All Beings rests with me."

"Then I shall give all beings a world of peace and tranquility!"

Su Chen raised his gaze, as if looking to the heavens, and also as if surveying the world—the vast lands, the endless mountains and rivers, and the countless, suffering common folk.

The people had suffered too much.

As his words faded.

RUMBLE—

At this moment, the world trembled. A clap of thunder exploded as the wind and rain vanished. With the lift of Su Chen’s gaze, the dark clouds that had roiled in the sky for three long years finally scattered and disappeared.

The storm that had enveloped the land for three whole years—a storm so fierce it would make even a First-Grade Expert blanch—had, upon Su Chen’s enlightenment this night, vanished completely.

That was it.

The three years of storms in the Great Zhou Dynasty hadn’t been because of some second Immortal Whale. It had been because of him, an Extreme Realm Cultivator.

Su Chen had found his path.

Night.

The moon was bright, the sky full of stars.

On Heaven-Ascension Tower, a figure in robes as dark as ink descended. When he reappeared, he was clad in the Muddy World Profound Robe, a graceful young Sword Immortal, as elegant as jade.

His eyes shone like cold stars yet were as deep as tranquil pools. His black hair danced in the wind, his back was ramrod straight, and a terrifying Sword Intent erupted from his body.

It was as if he himself had vanished from the world.

In his place.

There was now a terrifying Giant Sword, wreathed in an incomparably sharp Qi. After gathering dust for twenty years, it had finally found its path forward, its purpose.

The sword was about to be drawn!

"Sword Comes!"

The young man let out a long cry.

BOOM!

A terrifying Sword Intent hummed, emanating from his body.

A wind arose.

It swept through the Imperial City.

Spanning for a hundred miles.

Soaring a thousand yards high.

Heaven and Earth seemed to respond, to cheer.

BOOM!

The Sword Intent rocketed skyward, riding the wind’s momentum. It swept over the Imperial City for a hundred miles and pierced the clouds a thousand yards high. The terrifying Sword Intent descended upon the world, making all beings tremble and chilling First-Grade Experts to the bone.

At this moment.

Whether they were in the Imperial Palace or the hundred-mile-wide Imperial City, whether they were the forces of Old Liang or the hidden powers of Great Zhou, everyone’s face filled with terror. They all stopped fighting and looked toward the source of the sword’s cry.

"Who is that?"

"Such terrifying Sword Intent!"

"An Absolute First Grade expert wants to interfere in the battle for the Imperial Palace!"

"Bastard!"

"So what if they’re an Absolute First Grade?"

"Today, either Zhou or Liang must fall! This is the tide of the world. How can a tiny ant of a First Grade like you hope to change it?"

A First-Grade Expert from Great Liang roared.

In an instant.

The two factions of Zhou and Liang, locked in a life-or-death struggle within the Imperial Palace and the hundred-mile Imperial City, stopped their fighting in unison and rushed toward the place where the sword’s cry pierced the heavens.

The Killing Intent of Old Liang’s Three Sects and Nine Noble Families boiled.

An Absolute First Grade expert was trying to stop the battle in the Great Zhou Imperial Palace with Sword Intent—they must be from Great Zhou!

They must be killed!

So what if it’s an Absolute First Grade?

Tonight, they can be killed!

"An Absolute First Grade?!"

"Perhaps Lord Emperor Long has returned from the Imperial Mausoleum."

"Quickly, go and provide support!"

"Don’t let Lord Emperor Long be outnumbered!"

Sikong roared.

Across the hundred-mile Imperial City, two groups converged. Filled with Killing Intent and mutual hostility, they raced each other toward Heaven-Ascension Tower.

They were all First-Grade Experts.

Second Grade cultivators weren’t even qualified to come.

There were ordinary First-Grades, Peak First-Grades, and even some at the Absolute Peak mixed in. All told, their numbers were staggering, nearly a hundred strong—at least eighty or ninety of them.

"With Lord Emperor Long, an Absolute First Grade, on our side, you Old Liang Remnants will die tonight for sure!"

A Grand General of Great Zhou, covered in blood, revealed a grim smile.

"Hah!"

The First-Grade Experts of Old Liang all sneered but didn’t reply.

However.

When they arrived at the place where the wind and the sword’s cry converged, they all froze, their eyes wide with shock.

Atop Heaven-Ascension Tower.

Beneath the moon.

A young man in the Muddy World Profound Robe stood with his hands behind his back, his presence like an Immortal Arrival. With his back to the crowd, he seemed to be watching the wind or admiring the moon. He wasn’t Emperor Long at all.

The Absolute First Grade experts could be counted on one hand, and all of them were documented in intelligence reports.

Who was this person?

Where did this reclusive master come from?

Or perhaps.

Their senses had deceived them.

He was so young.

Black hair, a youthful face, a spirited aura free of any turbidity... He didn’t look anything like one of the old seniors who had reached Absolute First Grade.

Perhaps.

They were mistaken.

The person before them wasn’t an Absolute First Grade at all?

Perhaps.

This person had just borrowed the momentum of the wind to create the illusion of an Absolute First Grade’s presence?

"我说,今日止战!"

"Who agrees?"

"And who objects!"

The young man’s back was to the crowd, his tone indifferent as if he were discussing something as trivial as what to eat for dinner. He treated the nearly one hundred First-Grade Experts, including more than ten at the Absolute Peak, as if they were nothing but air.

There was no fury in his voice, but his arrogance soared to the heavens.

Everyone present—the hundred-odd First-Grade Experts from both Zhou and Liang—erupted in fury.