"Rumble!"
An anomaly emerged from the ultimate ancient city as the hundred-zhang tall city gate slowly opened, and tens of thousands of rays of light gushed out from within, connecting to the starry sky, then slowly changing and eventually transforming into long steps.
The steps stretched very, very far, giving one the feeling that they extended endlessly, but some people counted and discovered that there were only eighty-one steps, seemingly corresponding to the eighty-one stages of the ancient star path.
The first step was very wide and long, and then gradually narrowed upwards until the eighty-first step, which could only accommodate one person!
"Huff, huff!"
Some people's breathing became heavy as they stared at the highest step, as if they could gain the approval of the Heavenly Heart Imprint and become the protagonist of this era in the mortal realm simply by stepping on it.
On the Gathering Heaven Warship, Li Beifei and the others also felt an impulse to rush up immediately, but they managed to suppress this sudden urge.
However, others did not have such strong willpower. A Great Saint cultivator came to the steps, but the moment this Great Saint cultivator stepped onto the steps, instantly, an incomparably powerful pressure fell upon him. Before this Great Saint cultivator could react, his physical body exploded into a cloud of blood with a "bang."
"Hiss!"
After that Great Saint cultivator, there were more than a dozen Saint King cultivators, but they were not as fast as the Great Saint cultivator, so they had not yet reached the steps. When they saw this scene, the instinct for survival made them suppress the desire in their hearts and stop at the critical moment.
"Father!"
"Master!"
A woman and a man cried out in grief upon seeing this scene. They had tried to dissuade him earlier, but their father (master) had not listened, believing that cultivators should fight for opportunities; without fighting, one could never become a true powerhouse.
The reasoning was correct, but the problem was that putting this reasoning into practice required great strength.
A Great Saint might be a supreme existence in a corner of the world, but here, they were nothing more than that.
The man was the disciple of the Great Saint cultivator, and the woman was his daughter. Both of them possessed Saint-level cultivation and exuded an aura of youth, clearly being talented individuals.
Originally, this Great Saint had brought his daughter and disciple to broaden their horizons and see the strongest geniuses of this era, but he never expected that they would first witness the scene of his own demise.
The world is full of changes, truly unpredictable.
Having learned a lesson from the death of a Great Saint, no one dared to approach this ultimate ancient city easily.
Even if they were unwilling, most people would choose life over opportunity, because only by living could they obtain more opportunities.
"Only those with cultivation reaching the Guiyi Realm are qualified to stand on these steps."
An old Great Saint who had lived through many eras gave the answer. He was an old monster from a large force who had sealed himself in divine source for hundreds of thousands of years before the revival of the Great Dao, experiencing many great eras, and had some knowledge of the ultimate ancient city.
"Senior, this city was established by the Holy Emperor for the ultimate trial of all races. Logically, everyone should be able to go up, so why is this happening?"
Someone raised a question.
"Hehe." The old man chuckled and said, "The Holy Emperor is benevolent and unparalleled, giving all races equal opportunities, but this opportunity also requires strength to fight for. Since this is the ultimate trial, it naturally requires corresponding strength. Those who lack strength but妄想to obtain heaven-defying opportunities will only end up dying and disappearing."
"Young people, although it is common for us cultivators to fight against heaven and fight against people, everything also emphasizes acting according to one's ability and having self-knowledge. Only in this way can one protect oneself and live long in this world!"
Some people showed disdain upon hearing the old man's words, while others showed deep agreement, believing that they had met a kindred spirit.
"This old man's words make a lot of sense. I like listening to them," Li Beifei belonged to the latter.
Others did not express any opinions on this. Everyone has their own way of living, and others cannot teach them.
Of course, they also agreed on one point, which was to act according to one's ability.
Knowingly doing the impossible is different from knowing what to do and what not to do.
"We're going into the city!" Ye Hongyi said, already leaving the Gathering Heaven Warship, and Tian Peng followed closely behind.
"Let's follow too." Seeing her younger sister take the lead, Ye Yuxian was unwilling to fall behind and followed with Gu Tianjun.
Li Beifei looked at the Liu Yanran and Liu Yuran sisters and said softly, "You guys wait here for us to come back."
"Okay!" The two girls nodded.
Although their talents had surpassed most living beings through acquired training, they were still far behind Li Beifei and the others. Li Beifei naturally did not want them to take risks.
Xuan Mingzi was also saying something to his two Dao companions, and Xia Wuji couldn't help but show envy when he saw this. If the princess were still alive, that would be great.
Soon, Li Beifei and Mu Qingyi left the Gathering Heaven Warship, and Li Ruoyu, Xia Wuji, and Xuan Mingzi also followed. Bai Yifei and the Heavenly Eye Royal Daughter smiled at each other and also left together.
On the warship, only Liu Yanran, Liu Yuran, Bei Weiwei, Pan Qiaoqiao, Yun Chuan, and Xu Jiaojiao remained.
Yun Chuan watched them approach the ultimate ancient city, but he remained unmoved.
"A'Yun, do you want to go?" Xu Jiaojiao asked.
Yun Chuan shook his head.
"Really, A'Yun, I don't want to be your burden. If you want to go, then go. I support you," Xu Jiaojiao thought that Yun Chuan was unwilling to go because of her.
Yun Chuan still shook his head and said, "Silly girl, I've already found my Dao, and that's you."
Xu Jiaojiao was very moved and stopped persuading him.
"Eww!"
Liu Yuran imitated Li Beifei's expression to express her disgust at their mushiness.
Xu Jiaojiao blushed slightly. It was all A'Yun's fault for saying such mushy things here. Hmph, wait until we get back and I'll punish you by making you stand facing the wall for a whole day.
At this time, Li Beifei and the others had safely landed on the steps. The moment they stepped on the steps, they felt a faint pressure, but this pressure was nothing to them. The group slowly walked up the steps towards the mountain.
"Tianjun Ge!"
At this moment, a crisp and loud voice rang out, and two figures broke through the void and arrived on the steps.
"Xiruo, Lin Tian."
Everyone turned around and saw the figures of Gu Xiruo and Lin Tian.
"Hehe, hello everyone, long time no see!"
Gu Xiruo had become lively. These people were all her big brothers and big sisters, although some were of a much higher generation, but it didn't matter.
"Where's your brother?"
Gu Tianjun asked.
Since the battle in the Void God Realm, Gu Xichao seemed to have disappeared. For more than two hundred years, there had been no information about him, but he did not think that this clan brother would become depressed. The next time they met, he would definitely become stronger.
"I don't know either." Gu Xiruo shook her head. She really didn't know. She had tried to contact him, but received no response.
Gu Tianjun nodded, then instructed, "Be careful, the pressure on these steps increases with every nine steps."
"Got it, Tianjun Ge!"
Gu Xiruo smiled and nodded. Tianjun Ge had taken care of her like this when she was a child, and he still treated her like a little sister, but she didn't mind at all.
Although the pressure increased with every nine steps, this pressure was nothing to them. Their cultivation had long reached the peak of the Guiyi Realm, and this pressure could not exceed this realm.
Soon, they arrived before the last step.
The last step could only be passed by one person. The group looked at each other, wondering what would happen if the first person stepped onto the last step, and whether they would be recognized by the Heavenly Heart Imprint.
Therefore, none of them chose to go up.
Because none of them had thought about merging with the Heavenly Heart Imprint, not even the strongest Heavenly Heart Imprint.
"Why aren't they moving? Could it be that the pressure there is so strong that even peerless geniuses like the Holy Body and Sword Immortal are finding it difficult to move?"
In the starry sky, those who saw this scene were puzzled.
"Impossible, right? The Great Completion Holy Body is comparable to an Ancient Emperor Great Emperor. Back then, the battle between the two Gus was a battle of the ultimate Dao. Their strength is no weaker than the Supreme, how could they be stopped here? If they can't go up, then how did the previous Great Emperors Ancient Emperors go up before they attained Dao?"
"Could it be that they don't want the Heavenly Heart Imprint?" Someone offered a different opinion.
"You're talking nonsense, if it was given to you, would you want it?" Someone immediately retorted.
"I definitely would, but the problem is, I'm not them." That person's momentum weakened. The Heavenly Heart Imprint has appeared only a handful of times throughout history, who would be willing to give it up?
"Uh... actually, it's not like there aren't any. Back then, when our Holy Emperor and the Golden Ancient Emperor were fighting for supremacy, he defeated the Golden Ancient Emperor, but he gave up the Heavenly Heart Imprint and handed it over to the Golden Ancient Emperor," someone said.
"..."
Everyone was silent. They didn't dare to speak. Was this something that could be said?
Unknown to them, a young man in brocade clothes had a strange look flash across his face.
He was the son of the Golden Ancient Emperor and had arrived here a long time ago, but he had not appeared in a high-profile manner, but had hidden himself.
To be honest, his feelings towards Li Beifei were very complicated.
This old sixth not only tricked him with someone else's identity at the beginning, but later he also learned that he had transformed into his appearance and robbed the Violet Micro Holy Son's immortal gold, causing him to fight with the Violet Micro Holy Son for more than a thousand years on the ancient star path before the truth slowly surfaced.
But then again, this old sixth was also the disciple of the person he most admired. He had no intention of taking revenge, but he didn't want to get too close to Li Beifei. He had a premonition that if he got too close to Li Beifei, his life would change drastically.
So even though his father had been reminding him to build a good relationship with Li Beifei and the others, he had not taken any action.
"Brother Bai, I remember you had an agreement with Senior Divine Calculator that he would only recognize you if you won first place on the ancient star path. Why don't you go up first?"
Li Beifei urged.
Who knew that Bai Yifei would quickly shake his head and say, "If it were before, I would definitely not hesitate, but I can't now. The Heavenly Heart Imprint is a part of the Heavenly Dao, and it is somewhat contrary to the 《Derivation of the Heavens Divine Art》 I cultivate. I don't want to become possessed."
"I see!" Li Beifei then looked at the others, his gaze falling on Xuan Mingzi.
"Boss, don't look at me, you know the Fighting Saint Art, fighting is the only way for me to become stronger," Xuan Mingzi also refused.
So Li Beifei looked at Xia Wuji again, but Xia Wuji said that he had already found a way to attain Dao, and it wasn't the Heavenly Heart Imprint.
Li Beifei was a little puzzled. When did the Heavenly Heart Imprint become something that no one wanted?
"You all don't want it?" Li Beifei asked again.
"Why don't you do it, Boss?" Xuan Mingzi said.
"Me?" Li Beifei shook his head. The old guy didn't need it back then, if he chose the Heavenly Heart Imprint, wouldn't that be bowing to the old guy?
No way, absolutely not. He couldn't want what the old guy didn't want.
"There's a stone tablet next to the city gate."
At this time, Mu Qingyi spoke, her gaze upward, seeing a huge stone tablet standing next to the city gate, but the stone tablet was only ten zhang tall, too small compared to the hundred-zhang tall city gate, so no one noticed it at first.
"There are words on it."
Everyone saw that some words were carved on the stone tablet, shrouded in chaotic mist, looming.
"Jiu'er, can you see clearly?"
Bai Yifei asked.
Although they had all cultivated powerful pupil techniques, no one could compare to the Heavenly Eye Ancient Clan when it came to pupil techniques.
"I'll try." The Heavenly Eye Royal Daughter's brow glowed, her Heavenly Eye opened, and instantly, her vision pierced through the chaotic mist, falling on the ancient characters on the stone tablet.
"This is..."
When she saw the ancient characters on the stone tablet, the Heavenly Eye Royal Daughter was stunned. On it, she saw the imperial title of the Golden Ancient Emperor, the imperial title of the Desolate Ancient Great Emperor, and even the name of her mother.
"The words on the stone tablet are the names of the Great Emperors Ancient Emperors and Demon Emperors who have obtained the Heavenly Heart Imprint in the past million years."
"The name of Senior Golden Ancient Emperor is also on it."
She added finally.
"Senior Golden Ancient Emperor, that doesn't make sense. The ancient star path didn't exist when he attained Dao, so how could his name be on the stone tablet?" Li Beifei asked in confusion.
"Stupid, of course it was carved by Master," Ye Hongyi rolled her eyes at him.
"Uh..."
Li Beifei was stunned, then smiled sheepishly. Damn it, he had overcomplicated such a simple question.
"But..."
Li Beifei suddenly had a flash of insight. When he learned that the Golden Ancient Emperor's name was also on it, he suddenly thought of something interesting.
So he asked the Heavenly Eye Royal Daughter, "Your Highness Royal Daughter, have you seen the Golden Ancient Emperor's son these years?"
The Heavenly Eye Royal Daughter shook her head and said, "The last time I saw him was when the princes and princesses of the Primordial Clan of the Heavenly Desolate Star held a gathering, but that was more than eight hundred years ago."
"I see!" Li Beifei was a little disappointed.
"Rumble!"
"Ah!"
Just then, a violent tremor came from the starry sky. An incomparably powerful energy appeared in this universe. Some creatures were unable to avoid being affected by the energy wave and instantly turned into dust, dying and disappearing.
"What's going on?"
This sudden scene caught Li Beifei and the others off guard.
"Chu Nanxing!"
With a roar, a terrifying arrow shot from the edge of this universe, shooting towards the ball of energy.
"It's elder brother."
Gu Xiruo's expression shifted slightly.
"Rumble!"
The arrow struck the energy orb, unleashing a powerful aftershock that shattered the starry sky, but the energy orb remained unscathed.
"Hehe, Gu Xichao, although the Sun-Shooting Bow is strong, in your hands, it can't unleash its true power at all. You might as well hand it over to me!"
A deep laugh echoed from the energy orb, and then slowly, the energy orb contracted, eventually transforming into a slender and tall figure.
"Chu Nanxing!"
Seeing this person, Li Beifei narrowed his eyes, his heart surging with killing intent.
Li Beifei would never let go of any enemy who targeted the people around him, even if he had already killed one Chu Nanxing before.
(My body hasn't fully recovered yet, and I have diarrhea and a fever. I went to the hospital today and paid taxes again.)
