Chapter 502: This Heaven-Reaching Path Is a Bit Off

"That was before!"

Dongfang Yan roared, the flames on his body suddenly leaping a thousand feet high. "Today, I'll let you know who is stronger!"

Zhou Chen watched this scene, the smile at the corner of his mouth widening.

[Name: Dongfang Yan]

[fate: Nine-Colored (True Body of Li Fire)]

[Realm: Tenth Layer Immortal King Realm]

[Recent Opportunity: Will obtain a fragment of the 'Inscription of Li' on the Fourth Great Path of the Heaven-Reaching Immortal Path.]

The Inscription of Li.

Fire attribute.

"Kan, Li."

Zhou Chen thought to himself, "This table of Mahjong is finally complete."

He took a deep breath, suppressing the restlessness in his heart.

"No rush, no rush. Once we enter the Immortal Path, then I'll plot for the Opportunity."

Just then, the ground suddenly began to vibrate.

Rumble—

A massive war chariot, as towering as a mountain, came rumbling from the ground. It was pulled by four Primordial Savage Elephants; every step they took shook the earth and rocked the mountains.

Sitting on the chariot was a man built like an iron tower.

His skin was dark and his muscles knotted, giving off a sense of immovable weight.

Young Lord of the Ximen Family, Ximen Shan.

At the same time, an extremely sharp golden light sliced through the sky.

A woman wearing a golden battle skirt, with a long sword on her back, hovered coldly in mid-air. Her features were exquisite, yet she was as cold as frost; she was like an unsheathed sharp sword, her edge fully exposed.

Young Lord of the Nangong Family, Nangong Yue.

At this moment, the top of the Spirit Realm's younger generation had all arrived.

Zhou Chen stood in a corner, silently restraining his aura.

He was like a patient hunter, watching his prey walk into the trap one by one.

Boom—!!!

Just then, a loud explosion echoed from the depths of Duanhun Valley.

A pillar of light that connected heaven and earth erupted from the valley floor, shooting straight into the clouds. Within the light pillar, a winding upward staircase was faintly visible, leading directly beyond the Nine Heavens.

The Heaven-Reaching Immortal Path had opened.

The heaven-reaching pillar of light pierced the clouds, and that vast Immortal Might made everyone present feel a sense of suffocation.

That was no ordinary pressure, but an Emperor's Might that contained the complete rules of the Great Dao.

Within the pillar of light, that staircase flickered in and out of sight.

Each step seemed to be paved with white jade, carved with the marks of time. On both sides of the steps was the endless Void Realm; one careless slip would mean eternal damnation.

"The Heaven-Reaching Path is open, everyone depends on their own ability!"

Xuanyuan Lan was the first to move.

The White Jade War Chariot beneath his feet instantly dismantled, transforming into nine water dragons that circled around him.

He took a step forward, directly crossing a distance of several thousand feet and landing on the first step.

Buzz—

The steps vibrated, and a visible ripple spread out.

Xuanyuan Lan's figure swayed slightly before he stabilized. He gave a cold snort and, without even looking back, continued to climb.

His speed was so fast it was like taking a leisurely stroll in a courtyard.

"Let's go too!"

Dongfang Yan refused to be outdone and charged in as a streak of fire.

Immediately after, Ximen Shan, Nangong Yue, Ji Feng, Gu Ming… the Young Lords of the various Great Emperor Families all set off. As if by agreement, they scrambled to be first to charge toward that singular passage.

"We should head in as well."

Zhou Chen patted Xing Chen on the shoulder.

"Big Brother Lin, I… my legs are a bit weak."

Xing Chen looked at that terrifying pillar of light, his face turning pale.

"Have some backbone."

Zhou Chen gave him a sidelong glance.

After saying that, Zhou Chen grabbed Xing Chen by the back of his collar like he was lifting a small chick. With a flash of his figure, he blended into the chaotic crowd and charged toward the light pillar.

As soon as he touched the light pillar, Zhou Chen felt a massive suction force.

Then, his vision blurred.

When he opened his eyes again, the surrounding scenery had changed, and Xing Chen had also been randomly teleported away.

This wasn't some staircase, but a desolate stretch of Gobi desert.

Above was a gray sky, and below was dark red gravel. The gale howled, kicking up dust that stung when it hit the face.

"An illusion?"

Zhou Chen immediately activated the chaos bell for protection.

"No, it's not an illusion."

He crouched down and grabbed a handful of sand.

The rough texture of the sand was very real, and it contained extremely violent Spiritual Qi. "This is a Small World. So the Heaven-Reaching Immortal Path is actually composed of countless Small Worlds."

Zhou Chen glanced at the illusory panel that appeared before him.

[Current Location: First Great Path of the Heaven-Reaching Immortal Path — Bone-Burying Gobi]

[Clearance Condition: Kill one hundred bone beasts to obtain a clearance token.]

[Current Number of People: 32,849.]

Over thirty thousand people were squeezed into this Small World.

Roar—

Before everyone could adapt to the environment, a tooth-aching grinding sound suddenly came from underground.

Immediately after, pale bone hands burst out from the soil.

Countless skeletal frames crawled out of the sand. They held rusted weapons in their hands, and ghostly blue flames flickered in their eye sockets as they madly lunged at the nearest Cultivators.

"Ah—!"

Screams instantly rang out.

Those Cultivators who hadn't reacted in time were instantly submerged by the bone beasts and torn to pieces. Blood stained the sand, stimulating the bone beasts to become even more frenzied.

"Kill! Kill all these monsters!"

Some people reacted, summoning their Magic Treasures to begin fighting back.

For a time, spiritual light flashed across the Gobi, and the sounds of battle shook the sky.

Zhou Chen stood in place without moving.

A few blind bone beasts lunged toward him.

"Begone."

Zhou Chen lightly spat out a word.

Bang, bang, bang!

Before those bone beasts could even get within thirty feet of him, they directly exploded into bone powder.

To deal with these bone beasts that only had the strength of the True Immortal Realm, there was no need to lift a finger; just his Protective Aura alone could shatter them.

Zhou Chen had no interest in this low-level slaughter. His targets were those favored children of heaven.

He flew all the way toward the center of this Small World.

There was a massive teleportation array there, the entrance to the next layer.

Along the way, countless bone beasts tried to block him, only to be casually slapped to death by Zhou Chen.

He just strolled through the entire Gobi like that, leaving a trail of bone fragments wherever he passed.

Soon, he arrived before the teleportation array.

Quite a few people had already gathered here.

Xuanyuan Lan, Dongfang Yan, and the others had entered long ago.

Those remaining here were mostly Prodigies from second-rate forces or Loose Cultivators.

"Stop!"

Just as Zhou Chen was preparing to step into the teleportation array, several Cultivators wearing uniform clothing blocked his path.

The character 'Gu' was embroidered on their chests.

A vassal Family of the Gu Family?

"This road was opened by my Gu Family. If you want to pass, leave a toll."

A burly man in the lead shouldered a large saber, his face full of brawn. "Ten thousand supreme grade immortal crystals per person, or one Top-Grade Immortal Rank Magic Treasure."

Zhou Chen was amused.

What era was this? People were still playing this low-level game of highway robbery?

"People from the Gu Family?" Zhou Chen asked, knowing the answer.

"Nonsense! Can't you see the character on my clothes?" The burly man waved his saber impatiently. "Hurry up and pay, or leave your life behind!"

Zhou Chen sighed.

"I wanted to keep a low profile, but you just had to force me."

He raised his hand and lightly snapped his fingers.

Snap.

The crisp sound rang out in front of the noisy teleportation array.