Chapter 436: Heaven‑Reaching Vines

Just as everyone was shaken to the core by this once‑in‑a‑lifetime opportunity, a Heavenly Proud was the first to lose his composure!

"It's actually the holy son of the Mo Ming clan? When did he slip in?!"

The words caused an uproar among the crowd.

The Mo Ming clan, a race notorious throughout the Primordial Immortal Realm, are born assassins who stalk the shadows!

Legend has it that in the ancient epochs this race even succeeded in assassinating a genuine giant Immortal King; their methods of killing are bizarre and unfathomable, impossible to guard against!

And this holy son Mo Cha is reputed to be the most gifted monster of the Mo Ming clan since antiquity; rumors claim that with cultivation of a True Immortal Realm, he once leapt a level to assassinate a half‑step Immortal King!

At this moment, Mo Cha's emotionless eyes burned with extreme greed and frenzy; ignoring his exposed identity, he roared, "Hong Meng Dao Qi is mine!"

Behind him, ninety‑eight black‑as‑ink celestial veins thundered into view; the endless Void‑Eradication law gathered in his palm, forming a black, world‑corroding ghost hand that ignored distance and lunged fiercely toward the nearest strand of Hong Meng Dao Qi in the Heavenly Dome!

"Hong Meng Dao Qi is mine!"

However, before the black ghost hand could touch the violet‑golden sky veil by an inch, a sudden anomaly erupted!

Buzz—!

The entire violet‑golden Heavenly Dome quivered slightly, as if an ancient deity had been provoked, without warning. An indescribable supreme pressure, far surpassing the former Yaochi Saint Lord's law‑eye, thundered down!

This pressure was not aimed at any individual, but at any provocation daring to covet the laws of this place.

Crack!

Puff—!

The Mo Ming holy son was struck as if by lightning; an irresistible great force slammed him from mid‑air onto the hard ground, carving a trench a hundred zhang deep, spitting a gush of reverse blood, and his breath instantly waned.

This sudden scene was like a bucket of ice water, instantly dousing the flames of greed atop everyone's heads.

The whole venue fell deathly silent.

Everyone stared in horror at the disheveled Mo Ming holy son, then at the still‑calm violet‑golden Heavenly Dome still flowing with Hong Meng Dao Qi, a bone‑chilling cold rising in their hearts.

"It seems this Hong Meng Dao Qi is a manifestation of this place's law—observable but unattainable."

Feng Lingyun's cool voice drifted in, breaking the silence.

In her eyes, veiled by sheer gauze, a glint of wisdom and caution flickered.

Everyone understood that these celestial objects were merely bait—a picture cake for them to gaze at, not a feast they could freely devour!

"Tsk tsk, interesting."

Mo Wuxin twirled his bone‑folded fan, licked his lips, and his eyes, far from disappointed, gleamed with greater excitement, "Since the third layer already shows such anomalies, could it be that the true Sheng Xian Chi is not on the rumored fifth layer but on the fourth?"

His words made everyone's hearts stir.

This speculation is highly possible!

For a moment, everyone's gazes burned intensely as they stared at the Hong Meng Dao Qi in the Heavenly Dome, as if looking at a priceless treasure through a layer of transparent celestial gold—visible yet untouchable, their hearts itching.

"Hmph, a bunch of useless things!"

Hun Yuan Xue let out a cold snort, taking in everyone's blunder.

"What's the point of looking? First find a way to pass through this place! Otherwise it's all empty talk!"

Her words awakened the crowd.

Indeed, regardless of which layer the opportunity lies in, the prerequisite is that they survive to cross this peril‑laden third‑layer continent.

The group withdrew their gazes, forced their restless hearts down, and began to cautiously survey the vast and mysterious continent.

…

However, no one knew that Gu Yuan's true self had already arrived here silently.

Through the Qitian Cloak he slipped silently into that violet‑golden sky veil.

He gathered all that Hong Meng Dao Qi which those Heavenly Proud could see but not touch, into his pouch!

"Good stuff… truly good stuff!"

Gu Yuan laughed maniacally in his heart.

He could clearly feel that the incomplete supreme celestial artifact 【Primordial Source Dao Disk】 in his inner world, upon sensing this Hong Meng Dao Qi, emitted an unprecedented violent tremor, as if a glutton hungry for eons had smelled the most exquisite celestial delicacy.

"The Primordial Source Dao Disk can transmute all energy into Source Dao Qi, and this Hong Meng Dao Qi itself is the highest‑grade origin; if I use the World Tree to draw these Hong Meng Dao Qi into my inner world, then purify and transform them with the Primordial Source Dao Disk…"

Gu Yuan's heartbeat accelerated uncontrollably.

He dared not imagine what terrifying destiny would be born!

Not to mention the Gu Family elders stuck at the True Immortal pinnacle, even he himself could, with this, break through the supreme bottleneck of the eighteenth realm and even reach the summit of the True Immortal realm!

"Stay calm, no rush; according to this layer's rules, I may have to wait until my duplicate passes before I can leave."

Gu Yuan forced down his impulse, his gaze turning to the continent's center.

There, sixteen enormously thick vines, each enshrouded in chaotic qi, rose like sixteen sky‑supporting pillars from the earth's depths straight into the clouds, linking the region above the Heavenly Dome saturated with Hong Meng Dao Qi.

Behind those sixteen Heaven‑Reaching Vines, a vast plaza paved with relatively intact white jade could be faintly seen.

Ancient divine general statues stood around the plaza; this was the ancient Heavenly Court's training arena!

In front of the Heaven‑Reaching Vines stood a broken ancient stele.

Lei Qianjue and the others also discovered this, rushed to the stele, and read the ancient divine script upon it.

"Heaven‑Reaching Vines: the sole path into the Heavenly Court's training arena; there are sixteen vines, each limited to one person. To climb a vine, one must ascend the combat platform, defeat a peer‑realm Heavenly Court spirit. Victors pass, the defeated… die!"

The inscription exuded a cold iron‑blooded ruthlessness, chilling the hearts of many Heavenly Proud present.

"Sixteen vines mean only sixteen people can enter the fourth layer and even touch those Hong Meng Dao Qi!"

Feng Lingyun whispered softly, her tone heavy with gravity.

"Peer‑realm Heavenly Court spirit?"

A Heavenly Proud from another Immortal King lineage sneered,

"We are all the top Heavenly Proud of the current era in the Primordial Immortal Realm; a battle on equal footing—what fear is there? I go first!"

This Heavenly Proud opened ninety‑two celestial veins, his strength impressive.

He leapt and landed directly on a white jade platform beneath the first Sky-Reaching Vine.

Hum!

The platform's formation lines lit up, and an illusory figure coalesced in its center.

It was the illusory apparition of an ancient heavenly court general wearing silver linked armor and holding a spear.

Though merely an apparition, the aura of a peak true immortal emanating from it was pure to the extreme.

"Kill!"

Nàtiān Jiāo shouted loudly, ninety-two immortal meridians opened simultaneously, transforming into a huge white tiger apparition that bore heaven‑slaughtering killing intent as it lunged at the heavenly court heroic spirits.

However, facing this mighty strike, the heavenly court heroic spirit merely raised its spear with an expressionless face.

There was no dazzling immortal light, no grand momentum.

Only an ordinary, unremarkable straight thrust.

Puchi!

The spear flashed like a silver bolt of lightning, instantly piercing the white tiger apparition, and with undiminished force it went straight through Nàtiān Jiāo's brow.

"How… how could it be so fast…"

Nàtiān Jiāo's eyes widened, filled with disbelief.

His true immortal dao fruit shattered explosively under the spear, his whole body turning into specks of light that completely dissipated on the platform.

Instant kill!