Myriad Daos of the Heaven

The Extreme Celestial Tier on Heavenly Dao Mountain had opened, drawing countless eyes and a convergence of geniuses.

Even Cultivators who didn’t plan on ascending the Extreme Celestial Tier now hovered before Heavenly Dao Mountain.

Even powerful figures beyond the Nascent Soul Fusion Realm were focusing their attention here.

They all wanted to see how far the genius Cultivators of the Mortal World could make it on the Extreme Celestial Tier this time.

Since ancient times, legend had it that someone once reached the 99,996th step, but no one in the Mortal World had ever been able to cross the final three.

Therefore, no one had ever seen what lay beyond the 99,999th step.

Legend claimed that only the timeless geniuses of the Heavenly Dao Realm had ever crossed all 99,999 steps, entering another plane of the Celestial Dao.

But no one in the Mortal World knew what this other plane of the Celestial Dao was.

Thus, every time the Extreme Celestial Tier opened, even Supreme figures would pay it their attention.

Many hoped a timeless genius would emerge from the Mortal World and step into that other plane of the Celestial Dao.

Through this, they might catch a glimpse of what that other plane of the Celestial Dao entailed.

For those Supreme existences who had cultivated for countless ages, this provided an unimaginable source of inspiration.

Perhaps, they could use this to break through the secrets of the Extreme Dao, ascend to a new height, and step into a Realm beyond the Supreme.

Therefore, ascending the Extreme Celestial Tier was a grand event in the Mortal World that no one was willing to miss.

At this moment, the peak of Heavenly Dao Mountain was filled with those about to ascend the Extreme Celestial Tier, making it the natural center of attention.

After all, the most astonishing geniuses from the Five Domains of the Human World had all gathered here.

The news that Jiang Jichen had confronted Zhou Fang, Young Sect Master of the Central State’s number one Sect, the Creation Sect, and had even slain one of his attendants, had already spread far and wide.

"Damn, Jiang Jichen is one hell of a character. He just clashed with the Central State’s number one Noble Family, the Huangfu family, and now he’s provoking the number one Sect, the Creation Sect. Does he have a death wish?"

"Heh, you don’t know the half of it. Jiang Jichen is also a fugitive wanted by the Heavenly Dao Realm. Compared to that, provoking the top Noble Family and Sect of the Central State is nothing!"

"He’s a certified lunatic. And with so many people targeting him now, even if he makes it past the Extreme Celestial Tier, there’ll be no place for him in the Six Paths Illusion Realm."

...

The crowd broke out in exclamations and fervent discussion.

And, just as the crowd had said, it wasn’t only Zhou Fang’s attendants who were making threats against Jiang Jichen.

All around, other geniuses—and even an old Cultivator at the Nascent Soul Perfection Realm—stared coldly at Jiang Jichen. One of them declared, "This kid’s head is mine to take as a gift for Young Sect Master Zhou Fang. Don’t any of you try to compete with me for it."

"Heh, with Jiang Jichen’s head, I’m sure I’d be treated as an honored guest in Young Sect Master Zhou Fang’s manor. The Cultivation Resources I’d receive would be unimaginable! So, his head should be mine!"

"What’s there to fight over? When the time comes, we can just dismember Jiang Jichen and each take a piece. Besides, I happen to know that the peerless genius of the Huangfu family, who also has his own private manor, is just as eager to see Jiang Jichen dead."

....

Those who remained on the peak of Heavenly Dao Mountain were all peerless geniuses or Nascent Soul Old Monsters, possessing boundless and formidable strength.

They held no fear of Jiang Jichen whatsoever, making their threats brazenly and to his face.

In their eyes, Jiang Jichen was a lamb to the slaughter.

Jiang Jichen stood before the Extreme Celestial Tier, not yet having taken the first step.

Fighting was forbidden here; otherwise, the crowd would have already attacked him.

Jiang Jichen scanned the crowd, committing the face of every person who had just threatened him to memory.

Then, with an indifferent expression, he spoke. "I’ve memorized every one of you. I hope you still have the courage to say such things when the time comes!"

Without another word, he ignored the crowd and stepped onto the Extreme Celestial Tier.

HUMMM!

The moment he stepped onto the Extreme Celestial Tier, Jiang Jichen suddenly felt the world around him tremble.

Then, a powerful will of the Celestial Dao descended upon him, pressing down like a great mountain.

This was the moment one was supposed to circulate their Cultivation to resist the pressure, then begin climbing upward.

This was what everyone else was doing.

The farther one could go, the more astonishing their bloodline, talent, and willpower were considered.

Ultimately, the greater the Celestial Dao baptism they received, the stronger they would become upon entering the Six Paths Illusion Realm.

The rest of the crowd now also stepped onto the Extreme Celestial Tier.

"Heh heh, Jiang Jichen! We can’t take your head for now, but leaving you to eat our dust will be its own humiliation. How dare you be so arrogant and conceited in our presence! We’ll show you that you’re not even in the same league as us!"

Many people sneered as they stepped onto the Extreme Celestial Tier.

They shot up the steps with extreme speed, ascending the towering Extreme Celestial Tier with ease.

Soon, they had left Jiang Jichen far behind.

Even Ye Rou, Hua Xiaoling, Yee Youmeng, Little Haas, Qing Xun, and Blood Hand quickly advanced, widening the distance between themselves and Jiang Jichen.

Meanwhile, Jiang Jichen remained standing on the very first stone step.

His eyes were closed, as though he had entered some kind of meditative state.

"What is Jichen doing? Why has he stopped on the very first step of the Extreme Celestial Tier?"

Hua Xiaoling suddenly asked Ye Rou.

Ye Rou frowned as well, unsure why Jiang Jichen had come to a halt.

She was well aware of Jiang Jichen’s talent; he was someone who should have been able to go very far on the Extreme Celestial Tier.

And yet, he had stopped at the very first step.

They could even see him trembling all over, breaking out in a cold sweat, his face incomparably pale and utterly drained of color.

’What’s happening?’

Ye Rou, Hua Xiaoling, Yee Youmeng, Little Haas, Qing Xun, and Blood Hand were all worried for Jiang Jichen.

They didn’t understand how Jiang Jichen, having only set foot on the first step of the Extreme Celestial Tier, could seem to be under such immense pressure that he was unable to advance.

"Haha... From the looks of it, he’s being rejected by the Celestial Dao! Forget crossing a third of the Extreme Celestial Tier; he’ll be lucky if he can even manage fifty steps."

Someone, who seemed to have figured something out, suddenly burst into gleeful laughter.

"Alas, those rejected by the Celestial Dao can never achieve the Great Dao in this lifetime. The Celestial Dao has already sentenced Jiang Jichen to death."

"Indeed. What kind of grudge must he have with the Celestial Dao for even the Extreme Celestial Tier to find him so repulsive!"

"There have been people like him before. They reached the fiftieth step, only to have their bodies explode, crushed to death by the sheer pressure of the Celestial Dao."

...

Some Saint Realm experts, who were privy to many secrets, began to speak.

Upon hearing this, the expressions of Hua Xiaoling, Yee Youmeng, Qing Xun, and Blood Hand changed drastically.

But Jiang Jichen’s voice suddenly sounded within their Seas of Consciousness: "Keep moving forward. I’m fine, don’t worry!"

Out of their trust in Jiang Jichen, they believed that if he said he was fine, he must truly be fine.

And so, they continued onward.

The other geniuses all shot Jiang Jichen a disdainful glance before refocusing on their own climb up the Extreme Celestial Tier.

They paid him no more mind, convinced that he was doomed to be crushed to death by the Celestial Dao.

In the end, everyone had stepped onto the Extreme Celestial Tier and was continuously climbing upward.

Time flowed on, and only Jiang Jichen remained, standing solitarily on the first step of the Extreme Celestial Tier.