Chapter 267: The Sorrowful Seventh Layer

Outside the Heaven-Reaching Tower, on the huge light curtain, the light point representing Wang Ping's name lingered on the sixth layer for a while before stepping into the seventh layer, which few ever enter!

"The…… seventh layer! He went in!"

"Good heavens! He actually passed the sixth layer! Those are three late Golden Core geniuses!"

"How long has it been? The time he spent on the sixth layer is actually longer than on the fifth layer!"

"Could he have been hiding his strength before? This battle power is definitely enough to rank within the top two hundred, no, maybe even top one hundred fifty, of our Ten Great Dao Academies' Golden Core Hidden Dragon List!"

"The seventh layer…… how many years has it been since a Golden Core disciple could set foot there?"

"It is said that each guardian of the seventh layer possesses terrifying strength capable of fighting above their level during the Golden Core stage!"

Exclamations, praises, and incredulous discussions swept the entire observation area outside the Heaven-Reaching Tower.

The news of Wang Ping passing the sixth layer spread faster than before, drawing more attention from Dao Academy disciples, even some Nascent Soul stage stewards and instructors were startled, turning their gazes here.

Passing the sixth layer means Wang Ping's strength has been acknowledged by the Heaven-Reaching Tower, reaching the top tier of the Golden Core stage, giving him the means to escape from Nascent Soul cultivators!

This is as rare as phoenix feathers and unicorn horns among the Golden Core disciples of the entire Ninth Dao Academy!

However, the clamor and shock outside the tower cannot be transmitted inside at all.

……

At the moment he stepped into the seventh layer, Wang Ping felt the surrounding space become more substantial and heavy.

Here is no longer a blood-colored desert nor a brilliant starry sky, but a murky expanse, as if heaven and earth had not yet been divided—a chaotic void.

Silence, deathly silence, with only his own heartbeat and breathing clearly audible.

Yet beneath this silence lies a chilling deadly danger.

Ahead, three figures silently coalesced.

On the left, one figure resembled a human but was more slender and perfect, with skin lustrous like jade, as if carved from the finest jade.

He had a head of silver hair hanging to his waist, and his pupils were a rare azure-green, within which the sun, moon, and stars seemed to cycle through birth and death.

Simply by standing there, a natural aura of harmony with heaven and earth, beloved by all things, flowed around him, as if he were the center of this world and the true favorite of the heavens.

"Heaven Azure Clan!" Wang Ping's pupils contracted sharply, alarm bells ringing in his mind.

Among the twelve dominant clans of the Spirit Realm, the Heaven Azure Clan is the most scarce in numbers, yet each individual's combat power is terrifying to the extreme, especially its peak experts, who could rank among the top three in the Spirit Realm!

Any Heaven Azure Clan member is considered invincible among peers of the same level!

The late Golden Core Heaven Azure Clan member before him exerted pressure that even surpassed that of the three foreign clans combined earlier!

In the center stood a human youth wearing an ancient simple blue robe, with an ordinary face but eyes sharp as a sword, as if able to pierce the void.

He bore an ancient simple longsword, not yet drawn, but the faintly emanating sharp sword intent made Wang Ping feel a faint sting on his skin.

Being able to stand on the seventh layer indicates how astonishingly talented this human youth's strength was during the Golden Core stage!

The instructor who had always been watching the Heaven-Reaching Tower exclaimed in surprise, muttering: "I never expected that the one who ranked in the top three hundred of the Hidden Dragon List two hundred thousand years ago would actually appear."

The instructor remembers him because this person has now become a great power of an era.

On the right, one figure was most bizarre, appearing as a blurry translucent shadow, flickering in and out within the chaotic void, making its true form hard to grasp.

He emitted weak spatial fluctuations, as if he could merge into the void and vanish at any moment.

"Void Clan!" Wang Ping recognized this powerful race famed in the Spirit Realm for its spatial talent.

The Void Clan is even rarer than the Heaven Azure Clan, yet each is extremely difficult to deal with; their spatial abilities are bizarre and unpredictable, impossible to guard against.

Although the Void Clan member before him showed only early Golden Core aura, its threat level instantly rose to the highest in Wang Ping's mind!

A near-invincible Heaven Azure Clan peer, a human swordsman who ranked three hundredth on the Hidden Dragon List two hundred thousand years ago, plus a Void Clan adept at spatial assassination, appearing and disappearing mysteriously, with early Golden Core strength!

This lineup of the seventh layer is enough to make one despair!

Without any warning, battle erupted instantly!

The first to act was the Void Clan member! His blurry figure flickered slightly, then completely merged into the surrounding chaotic void, vanishing without a trace, not even leaving a breath.

Wang Ping extended his divine sense to the fullest, yet could only detect an extremely faint, constantly shifting spatial ripple!

"Sish!"

A faint, almost inaudible cutting sound came from behind him. Wang Ping's hairs stood on end; without thinking, his Five-Colored Divine Light instantly swept toward his back!

However, the usually unstoppable Five-Colored Divine Light this time swept through empty air!

An intangible, quality-less "blade" emitting extreme sharpness seemed to pierce directly through space, ignoring the Five-Colored Divine Light's defense, and had already reached his protective spirit light!

"Spatial Blade!" Wang Ping's heart shocked; this Void Clan's innate divine ability was so bizarre it could to some extent ignore conventional defenses! Even his Five-Colored Divine Light could do nothing against it.

At the critical moment, he abruptly turned, formed seals with both hands, and thrust forward!

"Heaven-Overturning Seal, suppress!"

A vague apparition of an ancient massive seal suddenly appeared, dropping myriad threads of crystalline energy flow, like a jeweled canopy, tightly protecting his surroundings.

These crystalline energy flows were immensely heavy, each thread containing the power to suppress space.

"Crack!"

That intangible spatial blade struck the crystalline energy flows, emitting a grating shattering sound!

In Wang Ping's incredulous gaze, the tassel of the Heaven-Overturning Seal, capable of blocking a full-force late Golden Core attack, was actually cleaved open a gap by force!

This is the first time a cultivator has so cleanly broken through the defense of the Heaven-Overturning Seal!

However, after being weakened layer by layer by the crystalline energy flows, the spatial blade's power dwindled to a tenth; Wang Ping narrowly avoided it by shifting sideways, leaving only a shallow blood mark on his shoulder.

Yet the attack was far from over!

Almost simultaneously with the Void Clan's sneak attack, the Heaven Azure Clan member moved.

His azure-green pupils held no joy or sorrow; he simply slowly raised his flawless right hand toward Wang Ping's direction and pressed lightly.

"Heaven Azure Hand."

Without grand momentum, without brilliant radiance.

But as he pressed, the entire chaotic void seemed to solidify,

A terrifying power, born from the very essence of heaven and earth and overwhelmingly domineering, sprang into existence, transforming into a vast azure-green hand that blotted out the sky and covered all the space where Wang Ping stood, pressing down slowly.

This giant hand seemed to embody the will of the Heavenly Azure, seeking to erase any existence that defied it!

Even before the palm wind arrived, the terrifying pressure already made Wang Ping's bones creak all over, and his spiritual power's flow grew sluggish!

At the same moment, the human sword cultivator who had been standing still finally drew his sword!

"Clang!"

A clear, resonant sword cry rang through the void! The ancient simple sword on his back suddenly left its sheath, transforming into a startlingly bright rainbow!

"Nine Tribulations Sword Technique, one sword, one tribulation!"

He chanted softly, his wrist trembling, and in an instant he actually unleashed nine consecutive swords!

Each sword contained a utterly different sword intent—either fierce, or heavy, or ethereal, or destructive!

Nine strands of sword qi, like nine heavenly tribulations, sealed off every direction Wang Ping could possibly evade, each strand's power enough to easily slay an ordinary late Golden Core cultivator!

This was precisely the peerless demeanor that, two hundred thousand years ago, could earn a place at rank three hundred on the Human Race's Hidden Dragon List!

Spatial Deceptive Blade assault! Heaven Azure Hand suppression! Nine Tribulations Sword Qi lethal strike!

Three beings standing at the peak of the Golden Core Realm, as soon as they acted, it was a deadly situation! Their offensive raged like a violent storm, perfectly coordinated, driving Wang Ping into an unprecedented desperate plight!

No way to dodge! No way to block!

The shadow of death instantly enveloped Wang Ping's heart!

"Roar!"

In this life-or-death moment, Wang Ping's eyes burst with resolute light!

All the spiritual power within him, all his divine sense, all his insight into the True Solar Fire, burned and erupted at this moment without reservation!

"Golden Yang Scorching Heaven… Point Spirit!"

He let out a deep, long howl; behind him, the golden yang that had been merely an illusion suddenly blazed with immeasurable light, as if transforming into a true, newly risen sun!

A terrifying aura, far purer and more overbearing than before, as if it would incinerate the eight wildernesses and six unions and return all things to nothing, exploded suddenly!

"Chirp—!"

A resonant, noble crow cry, as if traversing ancient times, rang out from that golden yang!

The next moment, the golden yang exploded violently, not into destruction but into a three-legged golden crow with wings spanning several zhang, extraordinarily divine, its entire body ablaze with crimson-gold flames!

This golden crow was lifelike, each feather clearly visible, burning with the True Solar Fire of the Point Spirit Realm, and in its eyes lay the will to look down upon all under heaven!

"Burn!"

With a thought, Wang Ping caused the fiery golden crow's wings to flap violently!

"Whoosh—whoosh—whoosh—whoosh—!"

The countless crimson-gold feathers blazing all over its body shot out instantly, forming a flame torrent that swept everything! Half of the torrent surged toward the slowly descending Heaven Azure Hand, the other half clashed with the nine destructive tribulation sword qi!

The utmost yang, utmost rigid True Solar Fire, under the impetus of the Point Spirit Realm, erupted with its essential power to incinerate all things!

"Boom—!!!"

The deafening explosion sound echoed throughout the entire seventh-layer space!

The flame torrent violently collided with the azure-green giant hand and the nine sword qi!

Crimson-gold, azure-green, formless sword light… various terrifying energies wildly collided, annihilated, and exploded! The resulting shockwave, like a destructive tide, frenziedly spread in all directions, tossing this chaotic void upside down!

Wang Ping bore the brunt; even with the golden crow protecting him, he was fiercely flung by that terrifying energy storm, spitting out a mouthful of blood that drew a bright red line in the air before he slammed heavily into the distance.

His clothes were shredded all over, his skin cracked, his aura instantly collapsed to the extreme, and he suffered severe internal injuries.

And that fiery golden crow, after simultaneously withstanding two tremendous attacks, its huge form became illusory and translucent to a great extent, obviously having expended enormous energy.

The explosion's aftermath had not yet fully subsided when three figures launched another attack!

The Heaven Azure Clan showed no expression, raising its hand again; the human sword cultivator shifted his sword intent, a more lethal killing intent beginning to coalesce. Meanwhile, the Void Clan hidden in the void once again stirred up deadly spatial ripples!

Wang Ping endured the severe pain and dizziness, a flash of ruthlessness crossing his eyes. He knew conventional methods were no longer enough; he had to take a risky gamble!

"Starfire Ignites Light!"

He let out a low shout, his form instantly turning into an almost imperceptible golden stream of light, moving at a speed akin to a spatial leap, barely dodging the attacks of the Tian Cang tribe and human sword cultivators that followed closely, appearing near the area where spatial ripples had just arisen.

"Now!"

Wang Ping's eyes flashed with ferocity, his mind frenziedly driving the already illusory flame golden crow!

"Chirp——!"

The golden crow let out a mournful, resolute long cry, its entire body no longer maintaining form, instead collapsing inward and condensing!

All the flames, all the light, all the Dao resonance, in a fraction of a moment, converged into a fist-sized crimson-gold blazing sun that emitted ten to a hundred times the light and heat of before!

This blazing sun was like a true solar core, containing the power to destroy heaven and earth!

"Blast it!"

Wang Ping roared, controlling this blazing sun condensed from the essence of his Point Spirit Realm Dao arts, he slammed it hard into the seemingly empty void—the hiding place of the Void tribe!

"No!"

A sharp, fear-filled mental wave emanated from the void!

The Void tribe obviously hadn't expected that, despite his severe injuries, Wang Ping could still pinpoint his location so precisely and unleash such a mutual-destruction tactic!

He tried to flee into deeper space, but it was already too late!

That crimson-gold blazing sun had already reached his vague true form!

"Boom——!!!!!"

An explosion more terrifying and fierce than before erupted suddenly within the seventh layer of space!

Endless light and heat devoured everything, as if a sun were born and then extinguished within this tower!

The terrifying flame storm swept in all directions, forcing even the Tian Cang tribe and human sword cultivators to temporarily evade the blaze and raise their defenses.

As the light gradually faded, the flame storm subsided.

That area only had chaotic spatial fluctuations and slowly drifting pure spiritual qi.

The Void Clan's figure had already vanished without a trace.

And the Point Spirit Realm Golden Crow he had condensed also completely dissipated; the backlash force made him spit out another mouthful of blood, kneel on one knee, and even standing became difficult.

Seventh Layer: killed one, but failed to pass!

Wang Ping looked ahead at the Heaven Azure Clan and human sword cultivator, still glaring tigerishly, though their aura was slightly depleted their combat power remained; he gave a bitter laugh, knowing his limit had been reached.

He crushed the Life-Saving Talisman in his hand, his figure gradually turned blurry, and was transmitted out of the Heaven-Reaching Tower.

……

Outside the tower, on the light screen, the light point representing the Seventh Layer slowly dimmed; after Wang Ping's name, the words 'Seventh Layer (Slay One)' appeared!

The entire area outside the Heaven-Reaching Tower fell into an eerie silence.

A dropped pin could be heard.

Everyone stared up, blankly gazing at those words, as if wanting to engrave them into their minds.

Seventh Layer……Slay One……

This meant that Wang Ping not only held on in the Seventh Layer, but also counter-killed a gatekeeper!

Although he ultimately failed to pass, this achievement was already enough to shock the entire Nine Dao Academy!

Golden Core stage, charging to the Seventh Layer and slaying a gatekeeper! This is an extremely glorious achievement!

Looking at the nearly ten-thousand-year history of the Nine Dao Academy, Golden Core disciples who could reach this step are few and far between!

"Seventh Layer……he……he actually did it……"

"He even killed someone……My heavens……"

"His strength is absolutely capable of ranking in the top hundred of the Hidden Dragon Ranking!!"

"Our Nine Dao Academy, are we about to produce another True Dragon Spirit Realm Heaven's Pride?!"

"He came up from the Lower Realm, after all, just over ten years!"

After the brief silence, it was like a volcanic eruption—clamor and boiling over!

All gazes toward Wang Ping, who had just been transmitted out of the tower with a pale complexion and weakened aura, were filled with immense awe, admiration, and fervor!

Wang Ping ignored the surrounding deafening clamor, barely holding together his almost falling-apart body, took a few healing pills, and wanted to leave this place of right and wrong, returning to his cave abode to heal.

However, after he had taken just a few steps, a gentle yet unquestionably powerful voice sounded directly in his mind:

"Come to the summit of the Cloud Sea."

It was the voice of his master, Jiang Mingyuan.

Wang Ping dared not delay; he lifted a breath of qi, turned into a streak of escape light, and flew straight toward the depths of the academy, that mist-enshrouded forbidden ground.

At the summit of the Cloud Sea, inside the stone pavilion.

Jiang Mingyuan was still sitting there, on the stone table lay two cups of hot tea steaming with spiritual qi.

He looked at Wang Ping, whose complexion was pale but whose eyes remained bright and resolute, and a faint smile appeared on his face.

"How do you feel?" he said in a calm tone, as if merely making a casual greeting.

Wang Ping took a deep breath, recalling the terrifying strength of the three gatekeepers on the Seventh Layer, especially the indefensible Void Clan and the overbearing Heaven Azure Clan, he nodded seriously, his tone grave:

"Very strong." He paused, seemingly savoring the life-and-death pressure, then emphasized again: "Extremely strong."

Jiang Mingyuan heard this, his smile grew a bit wider, seeming quite satisfied with Wang Ping's evaluation.

He lifted the teacup, took a light sip, and said leisurely: "Strength is natural."

"Those who can stand on the Seventh Layer are none other than the peak existences of their era's Golden Core stage, true Heaven's Pride. To slay one there is already no small feat."

He set down the teacup, his gaze toward the surging Cloud Sea outside the pavilion, and continued: "However, the Seventh Layer is far from the end of the Heaven-Reaching Tower; indeed, it can be said to be merely the beginning of the true trial."

Wang Ping's heart stirred; he couldn't help but ask curiously: "Master, what about the Eighth Layer, the Ninth Layer……what realm of strength do the gatekeepers possess?"

Jiang Mingyuan turned his head, looked at Wang Ping, eyes carrying a hint of deep meaning: "The Eighth Layer, well, it's not much different from the Seventh Layer."

Wang Ping blinked slightly, somewhat puzzled.

But he heard Jiang Mingyuan slowly add: "That is, the gatekeepers' race and identity remain unchanged—still the Heaven Azure Clan, the human sword cultivator, and the Void Clan."

"The only change is——" Jiang Mingyuan paused, looking at Wang Ping's pupils suddenly contracting, then said slowly: "That Void Clan's strength is no longer early Golden Core, but……late Golden Core."

Wang Ping instantly sucked in a breath of cold air, feeling a chill surge from the soles of his feet straight to the crown of his head!

A late Golden Core Void Clan adept at spatial divine abilities! Add to that a peerless Heaven Azure Clan of the same rank, and a human sword cultivator who ranked three hundredth on the Hidden Dragon Ranking two hundred thousand years ago!

When these three join forces, just how terrifying will their strength become?

Wang Ping could scarcely imagine it! No wonder passing the Eighth Gate grants combat power capable of defeating an ordinary early Nascent Soul cultivator!

What about the Ninth Layer? What terrifying combat power would it have?

Seeing Wang Ping's face reveal shock he could not conceal, Jiang Mingyuan smiled, said no more, merely turned his gaze back to the distance and said lightly: "Rest and heal well, consolidate your cultivation. The road is still long."

Wang Ping suppressed the surging waves in his heart, took a deep breath, bowed and said: "Disciple understands, thank you for your guidance, Master."