Chapter 301

Ninth Layer.

As Wang Ping's figure gradually solidified in that mysterious space dotted with starlight, the anticipated violent storm of attacks did not descend immediately.

Instead, an indescribable sense of vastness and deathly stillness, as if originating from the primordial wilderness, permeated every corner of the space.

There was no light here, nor pure darkness—only a patch of fog that seemed to have solidified, a gray, hazy mist hovering between the real and the illusory.

In the depths of the mist, broken walls and collapsed ruins, fallen stars, and shattered law-chains could be faintly seen—like the remnants of an ancient battlefield forgotten at the end of time.

The air flowed with pure yet bone-chillingly cold spiritual energy, along with faint traces of terrifying pressure belonging to the Nascent Soul level that refused to dissipate.

Wang Ping's body emanated five-colored divine light that circulated on its own, resisting the all-pervasive chill of deathly stillness.

His face remained pale; though the wound on his left arm had stopped bleeding, the erosion of sword intent within and the cracks in his bones still caused faint, lingering pain.

Having consecutively cleared the seventh and eighth layers—especially the final forcible activation of the Five Elements Chaotic Divine Thunder to shatter the half-step Nascent Soul Sky Cang Clan—had nearly drained all his spiritual power and mental focus. At this moment, his strength was less than thirty percent of his peak.

Yet his gaze remained sharp as an eagle's, vigilantly scanning this strange space.

He knew well that being assigned to the ninth layer—a hidden stage beyond the conventional limit of the Golden Core stage—meant the gatekeeper's strength absolutely surpassed imagination.

"Ong..."

A low, hoarse, strange sound—like metal scraping or a soul's mournful cry—emanated from the deepest part of the mist.

The gray mist slowly parted to either side, and a figure emerged, stepping forward with heavy, stiff strides, one step at a time.

It was a tall figure, yet appearing abnormally emaciated.

He wore tattered robes that still hinted at their former dark gold splendor; the exposed skin showed an abnormal bluish-gray hue, covered in fine, black crack-like patterns resembling shattered porcelain.

His facial muscles were rigid, his eye sockets sunken, with two clusters of eerie green soul-fire burning in his pupils, like dying candles in the wind.

The aura he emitted combined the law-pressure unique to Nascent Soul cultivators with decay, ruin, vengefulness, and an insatiable hunger—an eerie and unsettling presence.

Nascent Soul remnant soul!

And it was far from an ordinary remnant thought left behind after a Nascent Soul cultivator's demise.

From the ancient patterns still discernible on his tattered robes, the lingering sharp sword intent coiled around his body despite being washed by countless years, and the complex emotions flickering within his green soul-fire—seeming to carry endless battle will and unwillingness—,

it was likely the remnant soul of an ancient-era sword cultivator of profound mastery and overwhelming combat power, who fell in some cataclysmic war, his remnant soul captured and sealed here by the Heaven-Reaching Tower as the harshest trial for those who come after!

The remnant soul's eerie green soul-fire "gazed" at Wang Ping; its rigid face twitched slightly, and a dry, broken sound—like stones grinding together—directly echoed in Wang Ping's sea of consciousness:

"Blood... flesh... fresh... soul... nourish... one hundred thousand years... hunger..."

Accompanying this greedy, frenzied divine thought fluctuation, the remnant soul's deathly gray mist suddenly boiled!

A terrifying soul pressure mixed with solidified decaying sword intent surged toward Wang Ping like a tsunami! Its strength far surpassed that of the half-step Nascent Soul Sky Cang Clan on the eighth layer, even giving Wang Ping the illusion of facing an early-stage Nascent Soul cultivator at his peak!

Worse still, this pressure contained a strange power that directly erodes the soul, stirs inner demons, and awakens the deepest fears within the heart!

Wang Ping let out a muffled groan; the will-stars in his sea of consciousness flared wildly, resisting the soul impact. But his already weakened soul, under this soul-targeted pressure, still felt waves of stabbing pain and dizziness, and even multiple phantoms appeared before his eyes.

"Cannot passively endure!" Wang Ping bit his tongue tip; the sharp pain helped him barely stay conscious. His thoughts raced—this remnant soul was strong, but its state was clearly wrong: its soul form unstable, filled with decay and ruin, and seemingly its mind was muddled, leaving only the instinct to devour living beings. Perhaps... I could exploit its weakness?

The remnant soul clearly had no patience to wait. It let out a sharp, piercing shriek, raised its emaciated right hand, fingers together like a sword, and pointed at Wang Ping from afar!

"Screech—!"

A dull gray sword qi, unremarkable in appearance yet radiating intense deathly stillness and destructive sword intent, tore through the mist and instantly appeared before Wang Ping!

Though not extremely fast, its trajectory was erratic, as if locking onto Wang Ping's soul aura, and it carried a strange Dao rhythm of "all things shall decay," making Wang Ping feel that no matter how he dodged, he would inevitably be struck!

"Space... condense for me! Gravity, thousandfold collapse!"

Wang Ping roared low, pushing his remaining earth-element spiritual power and understanding of space to the limit! He no longer tried to fully block or dodge, but instead used offense as defense, laying down layer upon layer of gravity-distortion zones before him, and attempting to interfere with and solidify the spatial structure through which the sword qi passed!

Crack-crack-crack—!

The gray sword qi entered the gravity-distortion zone; its speed indeed dropped sharply, and its trajectory showed a slight deviation. The "decay" sword intent fiercely clashed with gravity and spatial solidification forces, producing an ear-grating scraping sound.

Wang Ping seized the moment to retreat hastily, barely brushing past the sword qi, but his protective spiritual light was still grazed by its edge, instantly dimming over a large area. A chill of deathly stillness tried to invade his body, which he forcefully dispelled using the embryonic form of the True Solar Fire.

"Effective! But the cost is too great!" Wang Ping's heart sank. Merely interfering with one sword qi had nearly exhausted his recently recovered earth-element spiritual power. And this remnant soul's attack had clearly only just begun!

Sure enough, seeing its strike miss, the remnant soul's emerald soul-fire flared more violently, filled with anger and greed. It thrust both palms forward, fingers snapping repeatedly!

"Screech-screech-screech-screech—!"

In an instant, dozens, then hundreds of gray decaying sword qi shot out like a sudden storm!

These sword qi crisscrossed—some thrusting straight, some winding, some hiding within the mist—pouring from all directions toward Wang Ping, forming an impenetrable net of death!

Worse still, these sword qi seemed to resonate strangely with each other, faintly forming the prototype of a sword array, their power multiplied!

Wang Ping's scalp tingled; he knew he absolutely could not be trapped by this sword net! He focused his spirit, pushed his speed to the limit, and weaved and dodged through the sky-filling sword rain. The five-colored divine light on his body surface surged wildly, constantly brushing aside and deflecting incoming sword qi.

Though his left arm was injured, he still occasionally threw punches, using chaotic aura to hard-block unavoidable sword blades; the phantom of the Heaven-Overturning Seal appeared and disappeared intermittently, blocking the most lethal strikes.

For a time, in the gray mist space, only a five-colored stream of light could be seen struggling through the dense gray sword rain, perilous at every turn. Wang Ping's wounds kept increasing, his breath grew ever weaker, but his eyes shone brighter and brighter.

He was observing, calculating, seeking that sliver of life!

Though this Nascent Soul remnant soul's attack was fierce and its sword intent strange, its soul form was clearly unstable—the emerald soul-fire flickered unpredictably, and the black crack-like patterns on its bluish-gray body seemed to be slowly expanding.

Though its attacks were mighty, they lacked some agility and variation, relying more on instinct and residual combat experience; moreover, each time it unleashed a large burst of sword qi, its soul-fire would dim for an instant, and its aura would fluctuate briefly.

"Now!" As the remnant soul once again spat out hundreds of sword qi, and its soul-fire visibly dimmed at that moment, Wang Ping's eyes flashed with sharp light!

He no longer merely dodged, but suddenly halted his stance, facing the sky-covering gray sword rain, and formed a strange hand seal before his chest.

In his dantian, the five golden cores—though their light had dimmed, yet still stable and complete—began to vibrate at an unprecedented frequency and resonance!

"Five Elements turn, life and death cycle! Wood of Yi as guide, divine thunder purifies the world—Five Elements Life-Death Divine Thunder!"

This time, he was not forcibly reversing the Five Elements to create chaos, but instead guiding their mutual generation, using the Yi Wood Divine Thunder after the灵point as the core, merging the utmost yang purification of the True Solar Fire, the utter annihilation of the Lunar Yin Chill, the destructive slaughter of the White Tiger Sword Gang, and the bearing suppression of Gravity Technique—these five true intents were not simply stacked, but under Wang Ping's limit-transcending control, formed a wondrous cycle of life and death!

Hum—!

A thunderball only the size of a walnut, yet displaying magnificent five-colored spiral patterns, its interior seeming to hold a miniature world constantly cycling between creation and destruction, condensed in Wang Ping's palm!

Around the thunderball, space twisted slightly, emitting a terrifying Dao rhythm that purified all evil, judged all sins, and returned all things to the primordial chaos!

This was the advanced version of the "Chaos Returning Light Pillar" he used against the demon emperor's remnant thought, and also his initial integration of his Grand Dao comprehension after arduous cultivation at the Dao Source Spirit Eye and intense tower battles!

"Go!"

Wang Ping used up his last strength, hurling the "Five Elements Birth-Death Divine Thunder" that had condensed all his essence, qi, spirit, and all his Dao insights at this moment toward the Nascent Soul remnant!

The Birth-Death Divine Thunder left his hand and did not explode immediately, but transformed into a soundless, five-colored stream of light, as if possessing spirituality, easily piercing through the gray sword qi that intercepted it along the way (those sword qi were dissolved and purified upon contact with the five-colored light by the birth-death Dao resonance contained within), shooting straight toward the remnant soul's forehead—the core of that emerald soul fire!

The Nascent Soul remnant seemed to sense the deadly threat from that five-colored thunderball, letting out a terrified, shrill cry! It no longer bothered attacking Wang Ping, frantically waving its hands to lay down layer upon layer of grayish, thick shield wall filled with decaying sword intent and Nascent Soul soul power before it! At the same time, its figure retreated rapidly, trying to merge into the gray mist behind it.

However, the nature of the Five Elements Birth-Death Divine Thunder was precisely to restrain such soul bodies and negative energies! Only that five-colored light saw the layered shield walls as nothing, easily piercing through without the slightest reduction in speed, striking the remnant soul's forehead emerald soul fire with pinpoint accuracy!

No earth-shattering explosion.

Only a soft yet unstoppable five-colored radiance that instantly engulfed the entire remnant soul! Within the light, faintly visible was the life-force purification of the Yin-Wood Divine Thunder dispelling death qi, the True Yang Fire burning away resentment, the Yin Lunar Chill freezing the soul body, the White Tiger Sword Intent severing obsessions, and the Gravity Dao resonance suppressing dispersion...

"No——!!!"

The remnant soul let out a final howl filled with endless unwillingness, pain, and a complex emotion akin to relief, its emerald soul fire flickering wildly and struggling, yet like snow meeting the sun, it quickly dimmed and extinguished. The bluish-gray soul body shattered inch by inch within the five-colored radiance, turning into the purest soul power and law fragments, most of which were purified and annihilated by the Birth-Death Divine Thunder's power, while a small portion slowly drifted apart in space.

When the five-colored radiance completely faded, nothing remained where it had been, only the pervasive gray mist seemed somewhat thinner and clearer.

Wang Ping fell to one knee with a thud, gasping heavily, sweat mixed with blood soaking through his torn clothes. That strike had nearly drained his last strength, and his soul and spirit transmitted a tearing, excruciating pain. Yet on his face, he wore the smile of one who had set down a heavy burden.

Ninth level, passed!

He struggled to sit cross-legged, even having no time to collect the soul power fragments drifting in space—those that had been purified and were now relatively pure—before immediately beginning to circulate his energy and adjust his breath, while swallowing the last few precious pills on his person. He knew the challenges ahead would only grow more terrifying, and he must seize every moment to recover even a sliver of combat power.

After roughly adjusting his breath for half an hour (possibly perceived as extremely short in the outside world), he barely stabilized his injuries, his spiritual power recovering to about one-tenth, when Wang Ping felt the surrounding space fluctuate again.

He was transmitted to a new heaven and earth.

Tenth level.

Here, it was no longer the gray, lifeless void or battlefield remnants, but a vast, boundless world of violent storms, thunderclouds dense as ink, and electric serpents dancing wildly!

The sky was a leaden gray so gloomy it seemed ready to drip ink, heavy and boundless thunderclouds slowly rotating to form a colossal vortex covering the entire field of view. At the vortex's center, thunderlight was most concentrated and dazzling, as if connected to the source of heavenly thunder punishment. The earth was scorched black, riddled with bottomless fissures and massive craters from lightning strikes, the air thick with the pungent smell of ozone and the violent aura of thunder. From time to time, thunderbolts as thick as water barrels—purple, silver, even black—split from the clouds, blasting the earth into flying debris, lightning scattering in all directions.

Merely standing here, Wang Ping felt his body hair stand on end, his inner spiritual power faintly stirred by the external thunder. The density and ferocity of the thunder laws here far surpassed any thunder cultivator he had ever seen, even exceeding the terror of Lei Zhen at full power by several times!

"The remnant soul of an ancient Nascent Soul cultivator who mastered thunder laws..." Wang Ping's heart trembled, recalling his master Jiang Mingyuan's earlier mention. It seemed the guardian of this level excelled precisely in the most overbearing and violent thunder arts!

As if to confirm his guess, the center of the thundercloud vortex suddenly blazed with a point of blinding, extreme silver light! That silver light rapidly expanded and condensed, finally forming a towering human figure wrapped in countless minute electric serpents, as if composed purely of thunder!

This figure's face was indistinct, but one could vaguely see it wearing ancient thunder battle armor and holding a spear entirely condensed from silver-white lightning. Merely standing there, the pressure it emitted caused the surrounding space to warp slightly, as if all the thunder in the sky were bowing and cheering toward it! Its aura—overbearing, pure, and violent—had indeed reached the true early Nascent Soul level! And it was no ordinary Nascent Soul, but an ancient master who had refined thunder laws to an extraordinarily profound level!

"Intruder... trial... thunder baptism... or, vanish into ashes and smoke..."

A vast, icy, emotionless voice, like heavenly authority, echoed from the thunder figure, each word stirring the void with thunder, making Wang Ping's qi and blood surge.

Before the words faded, the thunder figure had already moved! It did not even use the spear in its hand, merely waving casually toward Wang Ping's direction.

"Thunder Domain, descend!"

Boom—rumble—!

Centered on Wang Ping, the space within a hundred-zhang radius was instantly filled with endless thunder! No longer single lightning strikes, but a complete, violent "Thunder Domain" formed from countless types of thunder! Purple destructive thunder, silver banishing thunder, black soul-annihilating thunder, red scorching thunder, green life-giving thunder (extremely rare)... thunder of various attributes and powers, as if endowed with life, intertwined, collided, and evolved, forming thunder dragons, thunder snakes, thunder birds, thunder nets, thunder prisons, coming from all directions, up and down, left and right, launching an indiscriminate, devastating bombardment at Wang Ping!

The power of this thunder domain far exceeded Wang Ping's imagination! Each bolt of thunder contained pure Nascent Soul-level thunder laws, speed pushed to the extreme, penetration terrifying, and carried multiple effects: paralysis, burning, annihilation, and soul-shaking shock...

Its vast range, concentrated power, and complex variations were beyond what even a Golden Core thunder cultivator could aspire to, and many Nascent Soul thunder cultivators might not be able to unleash such a terrifying thunder domain!

Wang Ping's face changed drastically, instantly pushing his defenses to the limit! Five-Color Divine Light protecting his body, the Illustrious Seal's phantom covering his head and draping a jeweled canopy, gravity technique laying a distorting force field around him, Yin Lunar Chill attempting to freeze nearby thunder...

Yet before this thunder domain, which could be called heavenly authority, his defenses appeared so fragile!

Hiss—crack! The five-colored protective light was easily torn apart by several bolts of silver-white banishing thunder!

Boom! The tassels of the Illustrious Seal were shattered by a massive bolt of purple destructive thunder, light flickering chaotically, the phantom nearly dissipating!

The gravity force field twisted and deformed under the violent thunder impacts, struggling to effectively deflect all attacks!

The Yin Lunar Chill evaporated and dissolved almost instantly before the yangest, hardest thunder!

In the blink of an eye, Wang Ping's entire body was scorched black, struck in multiple places by thunder, skin split and flesh torn, even revealing charred bones! The violent thunder power frenziedly invaded his body, wantonly destroying his meridians and organs, even rushing straight into his sea of consciousness, making his soul and spirit tremble, his vision darken, nearly losing consciousness!

"Can't harden against it!" At the brink of life and death, Wang Ping forced himself awake with sheer willpower. He gritted his teeth against the pain and numbness throughout his body, frantically circulating his cultivation method, trying to counter with his understanding of thunder.

"Yin-Wood Divine Thunder, resonance guidance!"

He activated the Yin-Wood Divine Thunder true intent from his spirit point, no longer clashing head-on, but attempting to resonate with the relatively gentle, life-containing green thunder in the Thunder Domain, seeking to guide, separate, and even reverse-utilize it to weaken the more destructive thunder. Meanwhile, the life-force within the Yin-Wood Divine Thunder also struggled to repair the damage done to his body.

"True Yang Fire, yang refining!"

Crimson divine light burst forth, golden-red True Yang Fire covering his body surface, opposing, burning, and refining the invading yang thunder within! The True Yang Fire, essentially pure yang and fierce, had some resistance to thunder and could burn away the yin, evil, paralyzing, and other negative effects attached to thunder.

"White Tiger Sword Gang, destroy thunder core!"

He seized the positions of the "thunder cores"—the strongest thunder in the domain, serving as array nodes—condensed his remaining metal-element power, and slashed out refined white-gold sword gangs, not aiming to destroy the entire Thunder Domain, only to break its key nodes and disrupt its operational rhythm.

For a time, Wang Ping was like a tiny boat in a storm, struggling to survive in the endless ocean of thunder. Sometimes he used Yin-Wood Divine Thunder resonance guidance, narrowly avoiding the deadly black soul-annihilating thunder; sometimes he bore the baptism of silver-white banishing thunder with True Yang Fire, seizing the chance to heal his wounds; sometimes he precisely struck down approaching thunder dragons and snakes with White Tiger Sword Gang; and more, he constantly adjusted his position with gravity technique to avoid being focused on by the most violent thunder.

This was a battle of attrition and willpower so brutal it could be called extreme. Wang Ping's spiritual power, divine sense, and physical strength were rapidly draining, his wounds worsening. But his understanding of thunder, his use of the Five Elements, and his survival instinct in desperation were also pushed to the limit, even breaking through.

The thunder figure seemed somewhat surprised Wang Ping could endure this long, no longer merely maintaining the Thunder Domain, it finally raised the silver-white thunder spear in its hand, aiming from afar at Wang Ping, who was struggling to dodge within the Thunder Domain.

"Thunder Punishment, execute the wicked!"

A bolt of thunder condensed to the extreme—only arm-thick, yet presenting a deep dark-purple hue, its interior seemingly bearing the terrifying thunder of birth and death in the thunder realm—exploded from the spear tip, ignoring spatial and Thunder Domain barriers, like the ultimate punishment descending from heaven, straight chopping toward Wang Ping's crown!

The power of this strike far surpassed any thunder within the Thunder Domain! Its contained annihilation and punitive intent made Wang Ping instantly feel death approaching, unavoidable, unblockable!

"Gravity, extreme distortion! Space, fold!"

Wang Ping roared, bursting forth all his remaining earth-element spiritual power and spatial insight, forcibly creating above his head a layer of extremely distorted, layered-folded gravitational space, attempting to deflect and weaken this "Execution Wicked Thunder Punishment"!

At the same time, that wisp of chaotic qi on his left arm was fully activated, the entire arm again glowing with chaotic light, he clenched his fist and thrust upward!

"Yin Lunar Extinction, freeze eternity!"

Extreme deep-blue chill surged upward, attempting to freeze the thunderlight!

Boom——!!!

The gravitational space was easily torn apart by the thunder punishment! The Yin Lunar Chill evaporated before the yang thunder punishment! The chaotic left fist collided with the thunderlight, erupting in blinding light and a terrifying energy storm!

Wang Ping's left arm transmitted a clear bone-cracking sound, his whole body as if struck heavily, like a torn sack flying backward, blood spurting madly from his mouth, heavily smashing into the scorched earth, blasting out a deep pit. His consciousness blurred, his bones unknown how many broken, meridians severely damaged, spiritual power completely exhausted, even moving a finger difficult. Only the will-star in his sea of consciousness still stubbornly emitted a faint yet firm light, maintaining his last sliver of clarity.

The thunder figure, spear in hand, stepped down from the thunderclouds one step at a time, walking toward Wang Ping in the deep pit. Thunderlight coiled around its body like a god executing punishment, cold and emotionless.

Is it over? A bitterness and unwillingness welled in Wang Ping's heart. The joy of passing the ninth level had not yet faded, and now he might fall here?

No! Absolutely not!

At the very moment his consciousness was about to sink into darkness, deep in his sea of awareness, that will-star, tempered countless times and ever unyielding, suddenly burst forth with a brilliance never seen before! Resonating with it was the seed sword qi that had long lain dormant and nourished in the deepest recesses of his soul and spirit, obtained from the Innate Sword Nurturing Technique and containing the purest innate Geng Metal slaughter qi——

As if sensing his master's impending death and unyielding fighting spirit, this sword qi, which had always served as his final trump card and had never truly been used, awakened!

"Nurture the sword for a thousand days, use it in a moment……With my soul as fuel, my will as fire, and the White Tiger Slaying God True Intent as guide……Slash!!!"

Wang Ping exhausted his last trace of divine sense and let out a silent roar!

Om——

An invisible, intangible sword intent, yet seeming able to sever causality, shatter falsehoods, and silence heaven and earth, silently slipped out from between Wang Ping's brows! This sword intent had been refined to an indescribable degree; it was not substantial, yet sharper than any divine weapon; it bore no radiance, yet caused the approaching thunderous humanoid figure to halt abruptly, its surrounding lightning freezing in place!

This innate nurtured sword qi did not directly attack the thunderous humanoid figure, but instead, by means of a profound and ineffable trajectory, instantly sank into Wang Ping's nearly scattered White Tiger Sword Gang True Intent, using it as a guide to forcibly absorb and integrate the residual metal-qi sharpness within his body, the scattered sharpness in the surrounding space, the five elements' birth-and-destruction intent, and even that thread of chaotic true intent!

The next moment, a vague and illusory giant sword phantom, emanating a terrifying aura that made the entire tenth layer of the thunder world tremble, slowly condensed and rose before Wang Ping! The giant sword's body was a chaotic dark gold, with five-element Dao patterns flowing and cycling across its blade, faintly revealing visions of heaven and earth being cleaved and all things reincarnating; at its edge, that point of ultimate innate slaughter qi seemed able to pierce through the ancient firmament!

This was no longer merely the White Tiger Slaying God Sword Gang, but a fusion of Wang Ping's lifetime swordsmanship insights, the true intent of the Five Elements Great Dao, chaotic aura, and the very core of the innate sword-nurturing source, erupting extraordinarily at the brink of life and death——a world-shaking sword!

"One sword……to break myriad laws!"

As Wang Ping's final cry echoed in his heart, the chaotic dark gold giant sword phantom transformed into a peerless sword light that cleaved chaos and divided yin and yang, slowly descending upon the thunderous humanoid figure!

Wherever the sword light passed, space seemed silently cleaved; the violent thunder along its path, as if encountering its bane, scattered and vanished one by one! The thunderous humanoid figure seemed to sense a deadly threat, letting out a shocked roar as it drove the thunder spear in its hand to the extreme, drawing power from the heavenly thunderclouds to form a ultimate thunder pillar over ten zhang in diameter, like an embodiment of heavenly tribulation, which it violently hurled toward the sword light!

Yet, it was all in vain.

The chaotic dark gold sword light, like a hot knife through butter, encountered not the slightest resistance as it cleaved that thunder pillar—capable of destroying mountains and severely wounding Nascent Soul cultivators—cleanly in two! The sword light's residual momentum undiminished, it swept across the thunderous humanoid figure's lightning-formed body!

Time seemed to freeze for an instant.

The thunderous humanoid figure stood frozen in place, the thunder spear in its hand shattering inch by inch, the lightning across its body rapidly dimming and extinguishing.

It lowered its gaze to the smooth sword mark on its chest, continuously expanding and blocking all energy healing, then lifted its head to look at Wang Ping in the deep pit—breathing faintly yet eyes bright—and on its lightning-formed face, there seemed to flash a trace of something profoundly human: a complex emotion mingling shock, release, and admiration.

"Junior……formidable……this sword……already bears the Dao's rhythm……"

The vast, cold voice, for the first time, carried emotional undulations. Immediately afterward, the entire thunderous humanoid figure collapsed with a boom, transforming into countless pure thunder essence and law fragments, like a splendid thunder shower, scattering across the entire tenth layer of space. The thunderclouds overhead began to slowly dissipate, and the violent thunder world gradually returned to calm.

Tenth layer——passed!

Wang Ping lay in the deep pit, unable to muster even the strength to twitch a finger, his consciousness gradually blurring amid endless fatigue and excruciating pain. Yet he could feel those pure thunder essences spontaneously surging toward his body, nourishing his damaged meridians and desiccated dantian, while the contained thunder-law insights flowed into his nearly exhausted sea of awareness like a trickling stream.

However, the trial of the Heaven-Reaching Tower seemed unwilling to grant him any respite.

Just as his consciousness was about to plunge utterly into darkness and his body greedily absorbed thunder essence to heal his wounds, the surrounding space once again violently twisted and transformed without warning!

An aura older, deeper, and more unfathomable than the thunderous humanoid figure of the tenth layer descended like a slumbering primordial beast suddenly awakening, instantly enveloping Wang Ping, who had just regained a sliver of clarity!

Eleventh layer!

Before the scene before him even cleared, Wang Ping didn't even have time to react—whether to defend, evade, or once again activate that already source-exhausted innate sword qi.

He saw only a claw, covered in fine, mysterious scales and seeming condensed from the purest darkness, extending from the depths of the warped space. Though not large, it gave the sensation of obscuring the heavens and grasping the stars. Its aura was saturated with ultimate destruction, chaos, and a lofty indifference that viewed all things as ants.

The claw lightly, toward Wang Ping's direction, made a false grasp.

No sound.

No light.

No energy fluctuation.

Wang Ping only felt his very existence, as if being thoroughly "erased" from this heaven and earth by an invisible great hand. Flesh, golden core, soul, consciousness, and even the true spirit imprint……everything constituting his existence as "Wang Ping," under this grasp, offered no resistance and was utterly……

Shattered.

Annihilated.

Vanished.

The last lingering perception was only the tower spirit's vast, cold proclamation, seemingly also bearing a trace of imperceptible fluctuation, faintly echoing in the ultimate void:

"Eleventh layer……challenge failed……eradication."

Outside the Heaven-Reaching Tower, on the light curtain.

The light point representing Wang Ping, after flashing for a long time on the tenth layer, finally, with difficulty yet utter clarity, fully illuminated the tenth layer! Afterward, the words "Passed" appeared!

In that instant, the entire area outside the Heaven-Reaching Tower fell into absolute, deathlike silence.

Everyone's expressions froze, eyes widened to the limit, mouths unconsciously opening, as if collectively subjected to an immobilization spell.

Tenth layer……passed……

That legendary tenth layer, which many Nascent Soul cultivators might not even pass……that layer symbolizing the theoretical combat limit of Golden Core cultivators, even surpassing that limit……

Wang Ping, a Golden Core cultivator, did it?

How could this be possible?!

Before this earth-shattering revelation, capable of overturning everyone's cognition, could be digested, before the earth-shaking cheers and frenzied shouts could erupt……

On the light curtain, the light representing the eleventh layer suddenly blazed forth with startling abruptness, without even an instant's interval! Immediately afterward, it vanished at a speed even faster and more decisive than its appearance——completely, permanently——extinguished!

After Wang Ping's name, the light point for the eleventh layer turned into a lifeless gray.

At the same moment, the tower spirit's vast, cold voice, echoing throughout the Ninth Dao Institute above, clearly proclaimed:

"Challenger Wang Ping, on the eleventh layer, challenge failed, fallen."

The two words "fallen," like heavenly thunder from the nine heavens, fiercely struck each person's heart!

The soaring supreme glory, extreme shock, and fervent blood, in an instant, were frozen and shattered by these two cold, cruel words, turning into endless bewilderment, astonishment, and bone-chilling cold.

One second ago, still a legend creating history and ascending to the peak.

The next second, a lament of challenging higher and instantly falling.

This immense contrast, this sudden ending, left everyone dazed, their minds blank, unable to comprehend, unable to accept.

The entire Ninth Dao Institute seemed to have been muted, save for the lingering echo of the tower spirit's proclamation, coldly resonating in the dead air.

And now, in that unreachable depths of the Heaven-Reaching Tower, in that eleventh layer space where Wang Ping was "eradicated."

A point of light, weak to the point of near nonexistence, of chaotic hue, in the absolute void, tenaciously, slowly, flickered once again.

Within that light point, faintly visible were five weak, interdependent five-element origin qi breaths, and a trace even more imperceptible, yet containing an indestructible will, of chaotic true intent, struggling at an extremely slow pace, attempting to……recondense.