Chapter 206 – Ancient Moon Grotto Opens, Ten Thousand Step Immortal Staircase Appears

On the Celestial Ark of Martial God Mountain, following Xing Li’s crushing defeat at Lu Chen’s hands.

Most people’s gazes toward Lu Chen had become filled with fear.

Although Lu Chen’s cultivation appeared to be only at the sixth layer of Foundation Establishment Stage, his methods had completely transcended the scope of Foundation Establishment.

Even most Golden Core Stage cultivators couldn’t compare.

After all, unless one was extremely confident in their own aptitude.

The vast majority of people wouldn’t choose to comprehend the ‘Dao’ before reaching Golden Core Stage.

Because before Golden Core Stage, a cultivator’s maximum lifespan was only around three hundred years.

And if accounting for the optimal breakthrough period.

A cultivator only had one to two hundred years from beginning cultivation to attempting Golden Core breakthrough.

If they failed to breakthrough within this timeframe.

Their already declining body and Divine Soul wouldn’t be sufficient to support further breakthroughs.

Therefore, reaching the Harmony Realm within Foundation Establishment was already the limit ordinary people could imagine.

The Harmony Realm – this was something most people didn’t even dare to think about.

Especially while simultaneously maintaining cultivation progress, making the conditions undoubtedly even more demanding.

Yet Lu Chen not only entered the Harmony Realm, his own cultivation wasn’t low either.

Judging by his current appearance, Lu Chen’s age was definitely under fifty.

Possibly even younger.

This meant that Lu Chen was far from exhausting his potential.

He hadn’t even fully unleashed his own potential yet.

But even so, he still easily suppressed Martial God Mountain’s next generation Celestial Being – Xing Li.

Although part of this was because Xing Li had first battled Yi Hanqing, consuming much of his Spiritual Power.

Anyone with discernment could see that even if Xing Li maintained his initial peak condition.

He still wouldn’t be Lu Chen’s match.

Because the gap between them was visibly apparent.

After defeating Xing Li, Lu Chen took Yi Hanqing and left this so-called Gathering of Heroes.

After all, his purpose for coming here had been achieved. Next, he just needed to wait for the Immortal Fiends to contact him.

As long as he could obtain some information from these people.

Then this trip to the Gathering of Heroes wouldn’t be in vain.

As for stepping over Xing Li to rise in reputation.

This was never part of Lu Chen’s plan.

On their way back, Yi Hanqing couldn’t help but voice his confusion.

“Junior Brother Lu, how exactly did you defeat that Xing Li in the end?”

“You should know his Double Pupils can counter most magical techniques and Divine Abilities in this world, including Harmony Realm Sword Intent.”

“Combined with his Ancient Desolate Body, with these two together, he’s practically undefeatable.”

Hearing this, Lu Chen smiled and said: “There’s no such thing as undefeatable, it just means one isn’t strong enough to defeat him yet.”

“Actually, my method of defeating him was somewhat opportunistic. Senior Brother Yi, you probably guessed the effect of that Heaven Sealing Stele too, right?”

Yi Hanqing nodded and said: “Yes, that so-called Heaven Sealing Stele is actually the manifestation of Xing Li’s Double Pupils.”

“As long as Xing Li has seen or encountered a magical technique or Divine Ability, it can be recorded by his Heaven Sealing Stele, making him immune to other cultivators’ techniques and abilities.”

“But my perception is limited – I didn’t fully understand how his Heaven Sealing Stele records these techniques and abilities.”Hearing this, Lu Chen smiled and explained, “Actually, it’s quite simple. He can absorb part of the power from divine abilities and then reverse-engineer their principles based on that absorbed power.”

“That’s why he didn’t fight back initially and chose to endure the attacks head-on.”

“Even if he didn’t do this, he could still have his Heaven Sealing Stele record the enemy’s divine abilities.”

“But in that case, it would heavily test his own comprehension ability and perspective.”

“Theoretically, as long as Xing Li has witnessed enough divine abilities and his Heaven Sealing Stele has recorded sufficient Dao patterns, he would be immune to attacks from ninety percent of the world’s cultivators.”

“But… how could one person possibly witness all the myriad methods in this world?”

“Moreover, the ability to nullify divine abilities isn’t something only he possesses.”

“I could tell at a glance how his Heaven Sealing Stele neutralizes the power of divine abilities.”

“After all, I myself also possess a similar power.”

Yi Hanqing was stunned, never expecting that besides the True Dragon Sword Intent, Lu Chen actually had other hidden cards up his sleeve.

Could it be that Lu Chen hadn’t just mastered one Harmony Realm, but multiple?

As soon as this thought emerged, Yi Hanqing was instantly terrified.

Comprehending one Harmony Realm at the Foundation Establishment Stage was already an unprecedented feat.

If Lu Chen could comprehend multiple Harmony Realms at the Foundation Establishment Stage, aside from Lu Chen himself, Yi Hanqing couldn’t think of anyone who could surpass this terrifying record.

Compared to Lu Chen, he, the chief disciple of Hidden Sword Peak, seemed more like a complete novice in swordsmanship who knew nothing.

Although they were fellow disciples, Yi Hanqing didn’t want to probe into Lu Chen’s hidden cards.

Thus, he restrained himself and didn’t ask Lu Chen what the so-called ‘divine ability nullification’ method was.

In truth, if Yi Hanqing hadn’t been unconscious at the time and had instead witnessed Lu Chen unleashing the ‘Severing Heaven Sword,’ given his talent in the Sword Path, he would have immediately recognized that it was also one of Lu Chen’s Harmony Realm Sword Domains.

Moreover, its effect was quite similar to the Heaven Sealing Stele.

The difference was that the Heaven Sealing Stele could only affect the user.

But Lu Chen’s ‘Nirvana Sword Domain’ could be projected outward, influencing a small area.

However, the principle behind the Nirvana Sword Domain’s ability to annihilate all methods lies in severing the part of the cultivator’s divine soul that controls the divine ability.

The Heaven Sealing Stele, on top of that, adds a process of reverse-engineering the divine ability.

Combined, these two aspects enable the Heaven Sealing Stele to neutralize most divine abilities.

But this method is limited to those more complex divine abilities.

And at this moment, Lu Chen revealed the answer that had puzzled Yi Hanqing for so long.

“Senior Brother, the reason you find that Heaven Sealing Stele unsolvable is that, like Xing Li, you’ve made a fatal mistake: both of you are too focused on techniques and overly concerned with them.”

“Ultimately, the essence of techniques is merely to allow cultivators to unleash greater power at the same cultivation level.”

“But the same technique, when executed by a Foundation Establishment Stage cultivator versus a Golden Core Stage cultivator, will naturally yield vastly different results.”

“I’m saying this not to imply that techniques are unimportant, but to emphasize that aside from techniques, a cultivator’s own cultivation is equally crucial.””That’s precisely the effect of my Sword Domain. It doesn’t manifest any special Concept, nor does it possess particularly peculiar effects.”

“Its sole function is to allow me to drastically enhance my own cultivation base within a short period.”

“Fundamentally, there are only two reasons why I was able to break through the Heaven Sealing Stele.”

“One reason is that my attack was purely force-based, devoid of any technique.”

“The other reason is that my power at that moment had already exceeded the limit Xing Li could withstand.”

“Now do you understand?”

“J-just that simple?”

Yi Hanqing stared at Lu Chen in disbelief.

He had originally thought Lu Chen had used some special method, or perhaps had observed Xing Li’s weakness.

Only then did his Sword Intent Golden Dragon defeat Xing Li with a single Dragon Tail Sweep.

But after hearing Lu Chen’s explanation, Yi Hanqing suddenly felt he had overthought things.

Because essentially, Lu Chen was simply holding his sword and delivering one slash against the Heaven Sealing Stele.

Technique?

What technique is there in a heavy slash?

Without technique, the Heaven Sealing Stele had no means to reverse Lu Chen’s art and neutralize his attack.

To achieve what Lu Chen did actually isn’t complicated either.

Just have a Golden Core Stage cultivator come over and use pure cultivation power to slash at Xing Li’s Heaven Sealing Stele.

Thinking this, Yi Hanqing couldn’t help but sigh: “Junior Brother Lu, the Great Dao returns to simplicity… isn’t this the perfect example?”

Lu Chen smiled and nodded, then meaningfully added: “Theoretically, as long as a cultivator’s cultivation is sufficiently high, even if they don’t know any arts or Divine Abilities, they could smash Xing Li’s Heaven Sealing Stele through pure cultivation power alone.”

“This is also why I said that since he already has Double Pupils, there’s no need for him to borrow others’ bones.”

“A person’s energy is limited. During the early stages of cultivation, this drawback isn’t obvious.”

“But when he reaches a certain Realm, he’ll discover he cannot simultaneously maintain rapid cultivation advancement while also developing both his Double Pupils and Desolate Bone.”

“Since ancient times, it has always been difficult to have both fish and bear’s paw.”

“Perhaps someone could achieve both rapidly improving cultivation while perfectly unleashing the potential of Desolate Bone and Double Pupils, but that person definitely wouldn’t be Xing Li.”

“He might not have realized it yet, but he’s already becoming somewhat overly reliant on his Double Pupils while neglecting the cultivation of his Desolate Bone.”

“If he didn’t have that Desolate Bone, perhaps his Heaven Sealing Stele wouldn’t be the half-finished product it is now.”

“By then, if I wanted to defeat him, I’d likely have to expend considerably more effort.”

After hearing all this, Yi Hanqing suddenly felt a sense of enlightenment.

Previously, because he had been too focused on swordsmanship, he had somewhat neglected his daily cultivation.

Although he had intentionally kept his Realm at Foundation Establishment Perfection to qualify for the True Immortal Trial,

stopping cultivation advancement doesn’t mean stopping cultivation altogether.

After all, besides improving their cultivation, Foundation Establishment Stage cultivators can also enhance their Divine Soul.

This was something Yi Hanqing couldn’t possibly be unaware of.

Yet he had neglected this aspect of cultivation during this period.

Actually, there was one thing Lu Chen didn’t mention.

That was that he actually had more than one method to break through Xing Li’s Heaven Sealing Stele.

Besides the method of extinguishing all phenomena, the Severing Heaven Sword could also directly attack a cultivator’s Divine Soul.In a certain sense, the Heaven Sealing Stele was a manifestation of Xing Li’s Divine Soul.

If Lu Chen ultimately chose to use the ‘Law-Extinguishing Sword Intent’ of the Severing Heaven Sword, he would likely cause irreparable damage to Xing Li.

Although Lu Chen didn’t have a favorable impression of Xing Li, he hadn’t reached the point of wanting to destroy someone’s Foundation.

After all, if Lu Chen were to truly do this, it would be no different from declaring war directly on Martial God Mountain.

Not long after Lu Chen, Yi Hanqing, and the others left the Heroes’ Assembly, the cultivators of Giant Spirit Gate also departed one after another.

Once they returned to their Celestial Ark, they couldn’t help but discuss among themselves.

“Senior Brother, were you able to determine which School from our world that Lu Chen from Azure Cloud Sect comes from?”

Hong Hua shook his head and said, “I couldn’t tell. The Ancient Fiend Power he released at that time was too minimal, and the aura vanished in an instant.”

“It seems he likely only intended to use this method to establish contact with us.”

“But there’s one thing I can’t figure out: since he’s already managed to infiltrate Azure Cloud Sect, the world’s number one Sect, why would he be unable to contact his own Ancient Immortal Sect?”

“Could it be that he’s actually just a Rogue Cultivator, or perhaps he’s uncertain whether his Sect has entered this world?”

Due to the lack of information, Hong Hua, the Great Senior Brother of Giant Spirit Gate, couldn’t deduce an accurate conclusion.

However, there was one thing he had verified through Lu Chen: as long as they were careful, even a top Sect like Azure Cloud Sect would find it difficult to detect their true nature as Immortal Fiends.

Obtaining this crucial information would undoubtedly provide greater convenience for their upcoming plans.

Thinking of this, Hong Hua reached a decision.

“Actually, it’s not just Lu Chen. During the Heroes’ Assembly, I observed many other Ancient Fiend Disciples as well.”

“It seems everyone’s goals are largely aligned: to join forces before entering the True Immortal Trial to deal with those prodigies from the major Sects together.”

“After all, the True Immortal Trial is different from ordinary places. Those prodigies who are usually protected by the major Sects won’t have their guardians in this True Immortal Trial.”

“Not to mention exceptional talents like Xing Li, even just devouring Azure Cloud Sect’s Meow King and Yi Hanqing would bring us tremendous improvements.”

At this point, Hong Hua’s expression immediately turned excited, as if he had already envisioned himself successfully devouring a Central Province prodigy and experiencing a surge in Aptitude.

The other Disciples of Giant Spirit Gate around him also revealed similarly bloodthirsty and frenzied expressions.

Their distorted appearances bore no resemblance to cultivators, instead looking like a horde of Demons and Monsters that had crawled out of the underworld.

After finishing his laughter, Hong Hua declared: “Junior Brother Li, during this period, try to find an opportunity to make contact with Azure Cloud Sect’s Lu Chen.”

“I suspect he might not be a Sect Disciple but rather a Reincarnation of some great figure from our world.”

“If that’s truly the case, as long as he allows us to establish a connection, I can authorize agreeing to all his demands.”

“After all, not to mention his potential help in infiltrating Azure Cloud Sect as the world’s number one Sect, his strength alone is sufficient reason for us to cooperate with him.”

“Understood.”At the very moment the Giant Spirit Gate, or rather the Great Thousand Mountains of the Ancient Fiend World, made the decision to make contact with Lu Chen,

Other Ancient Fiend forces had essentially reached the same conclusion.

In an instant, Lu Chen became like a hot commodity, the object of fervent courtship among the Immortal Fiends.

And all of this was, in fact, part of Lu Chen’s plan.

After all, even fishing requires chumming the waters first.

Only by scattering some bait could he gather the fish together, making it convenient to net them all at once.

Lu Chen wasn’t certain he could locate all the Immortal Fiends during the True Immortal Trial.

Thus, from the very beginning, he had prepared a two-pronged approach.

One was to actively seek them out, and the other was to let the Immortal Fiends come to him of their own accord.

Only in this way could he ensure that none of these scoundrels would leave the Ancient Moon Grotto alive.

Therefore, before entering the Ancient Moon Grotto, Lu Chen had no intention of meeting anyone.

Only by doing so would those Immortal Fiends cherish the rare opportunity to speak with him face-to-face.

After all, once the True Immortal Trial concluded, given their outwardly humble status as minor sect disciples,

it would be exceedingly difficult for them to approach a True Disciple of the Azure Cloud Sect like Lu Chen.

Ten months later, deep within the Drunken Cloud Sea.

As hundreds of Celestial Arks parted the sea of clouds, a massive ancient bell appeared before everyone’s eyes.

This colossal bell, piercing through the clouds, was one of the Celestial Artifacts once wielded by Gu Yue True Immortal… the Gathering Immortal Bell.

Legend had it that this bell could not only create a realm of its own,

but once activated, it would absorb the Divine Souls of all within a radius of ten thousand miles.

Not even Immortals were exempt.

Beyond being a Celestial Artifact, the Gathering Immortal Bell itself was also the physical form of the Ancient Moon Grotto.

That’s right—the True Immortal Trial left behind by Gu Yue True Immortal in the mortal realm was actually held inside the Gathering Immortal Bell.

Thus, some even said that whoever could obtain Gu Yue True Immortal’s Legacy

would not only inherit his immortal techniques but also gain possession of this Gathering Immortal Bell, which had existed for tens of thousands of years.

With such a Celestial Artifact in hand, even if the heir could only wield a mere ten-thousandth of its power,

it would still amount to an almost devastating dimensional strike against the majority of Cultivators.

Aboard the Azure Cloud Sect’s Celestial Ark, Lu Chen gazed upon the terrifying bell towering nearly ten thousand meters high.

Even though he had heard tales of the Gathering Immortal Bell from many elders within the sect before arriving,

Lu Chen was still somewhat awestruck.

The methods of Immortals were truly beyond mortal comprehension.

Forget about forging such a colossal bell—

even finding the Materials required to craft it was no easy feat.

Setting aside the effects contained within the Gathering Immortal Bell,

merely being struck by it would be unbearable—not just for those at the Nascent Soul Stage, but perhaps even for Cultivators at the Transformation Soul Stage.

From this single glimpse, Lu Chen could vaguely grasp the sheer terror of the True Immortals of the Thirty-Three Heavens.

Yet even such powerful True Immortals had only managed to fight the Ancient Fiends to a stalemate in the end.

The strength of the Ancient Fiends was not to be underestimated either.

“Alright, you’ve all had your look. Follow me.”

Just as Lu Chen and the others were still mesmerized by the enormous Gathering Immortal Bell,

an Elder at the Nascent Soul Stage from the Azure Cloud Sect had already approached them.

Lu Chen and the rest nodded, then followed the Nascent Soul Stage Elder as they flew toward the direction of the Gathering Immortal Bell.

Disciples from other sects did the same.Before long, they arrived at a spot beneath the Gathering Immortal Bell.

Before them, an endless Ascension Stairway came into view.

The Azure Cloud Sect’s Nascent Soul Stage Elder gazed at the Ascension Stairway, seemingly stirred by some memory, and sighed with emotion: “The Ancient Moon’s ten thousand steps to ascend the heavens—without fate or Dao, one cannot enter.”

After saying this, the Azure Cloud Sect’s Nascent Soul Stage Elder turned to Lu Chen and the others and said: “The Ascension Stairway is the first step to entering the Ancient Moon Grotto. Before crossing the Ascension Stairway, you cannot even be considered to have entered the Ancient Moon Grotto.”

“But do not underestimate this Ascension Stairway because of that. Throughout the ages, countless prodigies have been halted at this very step.”

“On the Ascension Stairway, your cultivation will be suppressed to the Mortal Realm, and there is no way to circumvent this.”

“This applies even to Body Cultivators.”

“Although I do not know how the Ascension Stairway achieves this, even if a Body Cultivator steps onto it, their physical constitution will still revert to that of a Mortal.”

“Therefore, to cross this Ascension Stairway, you can rely on only two things.”

“One is great perseverance, and the other… is great Luck.”

“I won’t say much about the former, and the latter… I also need not elaborate.”

“Because the concept of Luck is inherently elusive and intangible; ordinary people find it difficult to determine whether it truly exists.”

“As for why I say this, you will understand once you step onto the Ascension Stairway.”

“Go now. I hope that the vast majority of you will be able to see the scenery beyond that Ascension Stairway.”

Lu Chen and the others exchanged glances, then looked up at the immense, endless stairway before them.

The situation was the same for the other Schools.

However, unlike the others, Lu Chen sensed a familiar Heavenly Dao aura from this Ascension Stairway.

And the name of this Heavenly Dao… was ‘Returning Heaven’.

(End of Chapter)