Immortal-Exterminating Divine Venerable

'I've found the kid. Huh? On him... that's the aura of Human Emperor Xuanyuan. It's been sealed. Can it be that he's walking the Path of the Human Emperor?'

The moment Lu Changsheng arrived on the Profound Sun Continent, he made no effort to hide his presence. Aside from deliberately avoiding the Celestial Cloud Region, he swept his Spiritual Power across the land, thoroughly probing every other area.

And so, he quickly discovered Yang Xiao and his current condition.

'I thought Human Emperor Xuanyuan already had a suitable candidate. Why would he choose another to walk the Path of the Human Emperor?'

This discovery puzzled Lu Changsheng greatly.

However, after carefully observing the entire Profound Sun Continent and discovering that an Ascension Platform, open to all, had just appeared in the Central Domain, things started to become clear.

By gauging the thoughts and discussions of the populace, Lu Changsheng easily reached a conclusion.

'It seems Human Emperor Xuanyuan doesn't truly want this kid to walk the Path of the Human Emperor. Otherwise, why would he do something like this?'

At this thought, Lu Changsheng immediately relaxed.

He came to the same conclusion as every other Martial Cultivator who wanted to challenge Yang Xiao's position: Emperor Xuanyuan did not think highly of the boy.

This presented an opportunity for Lu Changsheng.

'Still, the kid has some guts. Knowing full well that Human Emperor Xuanyuan is displeased with him, he still dares to walk the Path of the Human Emperor, and now he's even going to challenge the Ascension Platform. Tsk, tsk. Such commendable courage... like a newborn calf that doesn't fear a tiger.'

But when Lu Changsheng saw Yang Xiao actually leading a group toward the Central Domain, heading straight for the Ascension Platform, he couldn't help but laugh.

Though he spoke words of praise, the disdain in his eyes was thick.

The Ascension Platform.

This structure was extremely famous on the Divine Land Continent. It stood year-round in the giant plaza before the Human Emperor Palace and had a total of nine hundred and ninety-nine floors.

Yet, in the 990,000 years since Human Emperor Xuanyuan had taken his title, not a single person had managed to reach the summit of this high platform in nearly a million years.

「Until three thousand years ago.」

A man named Gongsun Xuan appeared.

He succeeded.

His feat shocked the entire Divine Land Continent, and from that moment on, he became known in everyone's eyes as the "little Human Emperor."

Once Human Emperor Xuanyuan abdicated and Gongsun Xuan proved his Dao to become a Great Emperor, he could inherit the Human Emperor Position and become the sixth Human Emperor of the Human Race.

This Ascension Platform.

Of course, it was no match for the one in front of the Human Emperor Palace.

For this one had only three hundred and thirty-three steps; it was merely a Mortal Ascension Platform.

In fact, before this, when the nine platforms were not yet unified, each Ascension Platform had a mere ninety-nine steps and was considered a basic version.

And so, for each of those platforms, one person ultimately reached the summit.

But only one.

This just went to show how difficult the Ascension Platform was.

'It's said the Ascension Platform judges not only one's cultivation, but also one's potential. For this 333-step Mortal Ascension Platform, if a True God were to climb it, it wouldn't be considered anything special—outstanding at best. If a Divine Power Realm cultivator managed it, however, they'd be hailed as a true genius. As for a mortal below the Divine Power Realm…'

Lu Changsheng smiled.

The Mortal Ascension Platform was named as such for a reason: if a mortal reached the top, they would experience a meteoric rise. It was an achievement of the same nature as what Gongsun Xuan accomplished three thousand years ago, when he reached the summit of the 999-floor Divine Ascension Platform with the cultivation of a True God.

But was that even possible?

Lu Changsheng refused to believe it.

And with his cultivation and power, he could easily tell that his target—the boy sought by Yuan Yang Immortal Monarch, the little brat who had destroyed one of his own clones—was a mere mortal.

Although he had reached the Late Stage of the True Intent Stage and was on the verge of reaching its Peak...

But so what?

Without condensing a Divine Pill and entering the Small Divine Ability Realm, one was nothing more than a mortal.

Reaching the summit would be harder than ascending to heaven itself.

'Could it be? After the Divine Land Continent produced only one Gongsun Xuan in nearly a million years, is a genius of his caliber really going to appear in a remote backwater like this?'

'That's simply impossible.'

'However, this kid isn't just sought by Yuan Yang Immortal Monarch; he also managed to destroy my clone. Now, he's even walking the Path of the Human Emperor. Leaving aside Human Emperor Xuanyuan's attitude toward him, these facts alone show that this boy is far from simple. Besides, the Human Emperor himself is probably watching this place. Trying to kill him now would be incredibly difficult.'

Although Lu Changsheng was disdainful and believed Yang Xiao had no chance of reaching the summit, the series of events surrounding the boy made him extremely wary.

He didn't dare to act rashly.

However, Lu Changsheng had never been one to back down from a challenge.

On the contrary, the more difficult a task, the more he relished it.

It only made him more excited.

On the surface, this was just about killing a boy, but in reality, it was a subtle confrontation with Human Emperor Xuanyuan. The sheer difficulty of it made Lu Changsheng tremble with excitement at the very thought.

However, he didn't lose his head and rush in to kill Yang Xiao.

Instead, with a single thought, he concealed his aura completely and took on the appearance of an ordinary man.

He headed for the Ascension Platform in the Central Domain.

Clearly, he intended to wait for the right opportunity to strike.

As for Lu Changsheng's arrival, the Thousand Mechanism Eye within Yang Xiao's body reacted faintly.

It twitched faintly.

However, at that moment, Yang Xiao's full attention was fixed on the 333-step Ascension Platform before him.

He was, in fact, no stranger to it.

Back then...

This very structure had been under the control of his father from his second life, the Flame Emperor.

Moreover, back in the day, Yang Xiao had even climbed it himself.

In what felt like a flash, a million years had passed.

Seeing this familiar object again...

...it inevitably stirred up old memories.

'Back then, I used the power of the Medicine Dao, accumulating strength for decades before making my attempt. In one go, I, a mortal, ascended all nine hundred and ninety-nine floors. I became the fifth person in the Human Race to summit the Ascension Platform since my Imperial Father. But sadly, those stubborn Elders all rebuked me, accusing me of treading a heretical path. Not only did they refuse to celebrate, but they even forced my father to imprison me for three whole months…'

'They probably never imagined that a million years later, I—the good-for-nothing who couldn't cultivate, the guy who only knew heretical paths—would be stepping onto the Ascension Platform once more, would they?'

Yang Xiao believed...

A million years was a long time, but he was sure that those Elders of the Human Race, and even his own father, the Flame Emperor, were likely still alive somewhere in the world.

They had witnessed the miracle he performed all those years ago.

A pity, then, that they had erased that very miracle with their own hands.

But now...

Yang Xiao smiled.

Although this was only the 333-step Mortal Ascension Platform, for him, it was more than enough right now.

Because this time, he would reach the summit using his own strength.

But just as Yang Xiao stepped forward to begin his ascent, someone blocked his path.