First Immortal of the Sword-Chapter 2111 - The Road to Heaven

“There’s no need to compare. I’ve been lonely in my pursuit of the Grand Dao for far too long. I long for defeat!” Su Yi said with complete seriousness.

Grandmaster Bodhi was briefly stunned, then rueful. It was because Su Yi was invincible within his path that loneliness had accumulated like a snowdrift in his heart. This was the mentality that led to longing for defeat!

It would have been hard not to be rueful over this kind of spirit and this mentality.

“Fellow Daoist, with your current cultivation, it is indeed far too difficult to find worthy opponents in your pursuit of the Grand Dao,” whispered Grandmaster Bodhi.

“That’s why I’m truly eager to duke it out with them,” said Su Yi. He paused to take a sip of wine. “Whether I’m striving for the Grand Dao or competing for good fortune, it’s most satisfying when I’m surrounded by enemies on all sides.”

“‘Surrounded by enemies on all sides?’ Wonderful!” Grandmaster Bodhi smiled.

A moment later, he clasped his fist. “It’s time I got going. I’ve got to find the River Lord for a chat before my avatar dissipates."

He looked directly at Su Yi. "We’re sure to meet again when you transcend the River of Destiny.”

Su Yi clasped his fist in turn. “I’m looking forward to that day.”

Grandmaster Bodhi smiled, seemingly gratified, then left.

Su Yi paused briefly to ponder before turning and entering the ritual grounds. In the blink of an eye, he vanished.

......

The Celestial Trials.

Within the enormous city, nine massive divine towers extended into the heavens. Each looked as if it had been forged out of molten gold, and all of them were bathed in a holy air.

These were the nine Celestial Trials.

The first through third towers were called the “Achieving Divinity Trial Ground.”

Any Great Profound Stage expert who managed to overcome these three trials could, almost without exception, ignite their Divine Flame, prove their Dao, and achieve divinity!

The fourth and fifth divine towers held trials intended for Creation Realm Lesser Gods.

Towers six and seven were the trial grounds for Limit Realm Mid-Rank Gods.

Towers eight and nine were for Fortune Realm Greater Gods!

Each of the towers was like a separate plane, with its own Laws and its own mysteries. Each held different good fortune.

Meanwhile, Su Yi appeared out of nowhere before the first tower.

“Ee? Yet another trial taker.”

“Do any of you know who he is?”

“No idea.”

....A discussion broke out. Su Yi looked over and noticed over a hundred people clustered near the first divine tower. All of them were in the Great Profound Stage.

Each had a mightier aura than the one before, but all of them were unfamiliar.

But then, this was to be expected. The Nine Great Celestial Trial Grounds were in the Ancient God Domain, which meant that experts of the Ancient God Domain were free to undergo trials here, too.

Great Profound Stage outsiders like Su Yi almost always searched for good fortune in the Deification Star Sea instead. Outsiders typically could only undergo trial here if they’d already achieved divinity.

Su Yi swept his gaze across the crowd, then looked away.

He’d grasped the situation at the Nine Great Celestial Trials before coming here. The rules here were simple: all fighting and killing were forbidden outside the towers. Those who violated the rules were punished immediately and severely, then cast out of the trial grounds.

Thus, no matter who else was here, there was no need to fear enemies’ reprisal.

But these rules wouldn’t protect you while undergoing trial. In the competition for the Grand Dao, the winner took all, and fortune favored the brave!

Admittedly, every trial had different rules, but where there was competition, there was inevitably conflict, and there was always the possibility of something unexpected happening.

For example, someone might break down after losing. Their hearts would collapse, leading to the destruction of their Dao. Even if they clung to life, they’d suffer almost incurable Dao Wounds and fall into obsession.

There was no avoiding these accidents altogether, and the rules did not protect trial-takers from them.

“That guy’s terrifying! He only just arrived, but he’s already reached the seventh layer of the Road to Heaven!” someone exclaimed.

All eyes were instantly on the first divine tower. The enormous, grand building rose into the firmament, and it was divided into nine floors in total.

Numerous resplendent golden lights hovered over each floor. All of them were names! They represented all of the challengers currently undergoing trials there.

But it was the name “Jian Xingyun” that currently drew the most attention.

When Su Yi saw it, he couldn’t help but be stunned. After all, Jian Xingyun had only just introduced himself to him and announced that if they ran into each other, he’d fight with his life on the line!

Jian Xingyun was one of the nine opponents Su Yi’s third incarnation had prepared for him, a Great Profound Stage expert.

“Who is this Jian Xingyun? Why haven’t we heard of him? Isn’t... isn’t his physical body a bit too heaven-defying?” someone exclaimed.

The trial of the first divine tower was called the Road to Heaven. It was divided into nine floors, and it tested the power of one’s physical body. Challengers had to rely purely on the power of their fleshly bodies to overcome this trial.

“He really is terrifying. He took barely any time at all to climb the first seven floors. Unless something unexpected happens, he’s going to break the record!” someone murmured.

Who knew how many Great Profound Stage cultivators had undergone trials here over the years? Their ranks included no small number of dazzling, unparalleled, legendary geniuses.

These geniuses had broken the old record again and again. Every time, it got harder. Breaking the first trial’s record was now incredibly difficult.

“If I remember correctly, the current record for the Road to Heaven was set one hundred and ninety thousand years ago by a dazzling genius of the Buddhist way. No one’s shaken it since!”

“If Jian Xingyun breaks the record, it’ll mean he has the mightiest fleshly body of any Great Profound Stage cultivator in history!”

The crowd’s eyes shone with anticipation.

There were numerous cultivators currently undergoing trials in the first tower, but Jian Xingyun was unquestionably the center of attention.

“But it’s strange. If he’s so heaven-defying, why haven’t any of us heard of him?”

As the crowd conversed, the golden light representing Jian Xingyun suddenly rose. He’d reached the eighth floor!

Uproar ensued. The crowd’s eyes bulged in their sockets.

They too were Great Profound Stage cultivators, but the power of Jian Xingyun’s fleshly body left them completely in the dust!

“There’s no need to even question it. Jian Xingyun is about to break the old record!” someone said with staunch conviction.

“Throughout the ages, every challenger who breaks the record has received a grand stroke of good fortune from the tower. Some even used this good fortune to prove their Daos, break through, and achieve godhood within the first divine tower!”

“I wonder what kind of good fortune Jian Xingyun is about to receive.”

As the crowd conversed, their gazes filled with irrepressible envy and longing.

Becoming a god was even harder than ascending the heavens, hence the name “the Road to Heaven.”

Breaking the record on the Road to Heaven was incredibly difficult, a feat straight out of a legend!

Suddenly, someone noticed that Su Yi, who’d only just arrived, was headed straight for the first divine tower’s entrance.

“Hm? That guy just got here, and he doesn’t understand the situation yet, but he’s already starting his trial?”

Many others noticed this too, but they quickly retracted their gazes and disregarded him. Su Yi was an unfamiliar face, and he’d only just arrived, but Jian Xingyun was unquestionably far more worthy of their attention. Who’d knowingly miss the chance to watch someone set a new record?

......

Upon entering the first divine tower, the scenery transformed before his eyes. It was as if he’d entered a world of chaos.

Both the dome of heaven and the earth were permeated in chaos mist. There were no mountains and rivers, nor were there trees and grasses. Everything was empty.

There was only a stone staircase connecting heaven and earth. There were only nine steps, but each was extraordinarily tall.

Every layer was covered in chaos mist, preventing anyone from seeing inside clearly.

This was the Road to Heaven! Here, challengers had to rely on their fleshly bodies to ascend!

The moment Su Yi arrived, a wisp of the natural order sprung up beneath his feet, and a rain of light condensed into a stone stele.

This was the Stele of Trials. Challengers could begin their trials only after leaving their names upon it.

A strange light appeared in Su Yi’s eyes. He’d long since known that his first incarnation had created the Nine Great Celestial Trials.

With help from the Epoch Spark, he could instantly sense the mysteries hidden in the Stele of Trials!

Challengers had to leave their names here, yes, but it wasn’t a simple matter of tracking and ranking their results. It was because this process enabled trial-takers to undergo an additional, unknown trial upon breaking the pre-existing record!

This immediately drew Su Yi’s interest. Earlier, he hadn’t been particularly interested in these trials. He’d come here purely to see the place and snag some good fortune while he was at it.

But now, the secrets hidden within the Road to Heaven had piqued Su Yi’s interest.

I’ll just have to have a look. Su Yi thought for a moment, then carved his name on the Stele of Trials.

Weng!

Colorful light flowed over the stele’s surface, then transformed into a power of the natural order that enveloped Su Yi completely.

A moment later, he reappeared on the first level of the Road to Heaven.

They called it a “step,” but in truth, it was more of an enormous, flat platform.

The ground was smooth as jade and covered in chaos, and a platform stood at the far end. Upon reaching it, one could ascend to the second step!

The moment Su Yi arrived, a mysterious power of the Laws surged forth and enveloped him. Su Yi immediately sensed that his soul, cultivation, and powers of the Grand Dao had been sealed.

Only the power of his fleshly body remained.

This was the test of the Road to Heaven. It specifically tested challengers’ physical strength.

Boom!

A terrifying, restrictive power surged out of the nearby skies, then descended upon Su Yi like an avalanche, as if intent on sending him flying.

Su Yi’s eyebrows rose. The trial’s already begun, huh?

He thought for a moment, then walked confidently ahead.

Kaboom!

The oppressive, restrictive force was incomparably explosive, like a raging tidal wave. It was enough to send Great Profound Stage experts flying if it caught them off guard.

Furthermore, the further one advanced, the greater and more terrifying the pressure!

But to Su Yi, pressure like this was no more threatening than a gentle breeze brushing against his face. He didn’t even need to exert himself. He just walked casually ahead, clearing a path and forcing the avalanche of oppressive power to the sides.

Despite the fierce wind and waves, he walked like he was out for a stroll through his own backyard!