Chapter 96: Chen Zheng of the Feathered Transformation Sect Meets the Linglong Immortal Sovereign!

"This trip was not in vain."

Looking at the Heavenly Doom Divine Shark Boat in his hand, Chen Zheng smiled sincerely, his smile radiant.

Through a mix of deliberate planning and inadvertent slip, Wan Lianshan fell into the trap.

The "can't hold on" he showed while climbing before was actually a façade.

The goal was to lure Wan Lianshan onto this heavily pressurized step, use the power of the Heaven‑Stepping Ladder to suppress him, and seize the treasure he carried.

He had previously tested that the crushing pressure can not only suppress a cultivator's Qi and physique, but also subdue their treasure, even forcing the vessel spirit "Blood King" within the Crimson Sky to fall into a deep slumber.

Thus he could ensure Wan Lianshan could neither activate his treasure nor summon its vessel spirit to oppose him.

For this moment, Chen Zheng changed his usual opportunistic style; he refrained from taking any treasures from Wan Renfeng, Wan Kun, or Wan Qin, fearing it would alert Wan Lianshan, so he ascended without any treasure.

Now his wish is finally fulfilled; he easily obtained a genuine supreme treasure—a mid‑grade Dao Artifact!

It should be noted that a low‑grade Dao Artifact can be forged by a Longevity First Rank Ten‑Thousand Lifespan Realm cultivator; even unleashing its full power can only devastate an area of a few tens of thousands of li.

But a mid‑grade Dao Artifact is entirely different; only a cultivator with the Longevity Second Rank Immortal Body can qualify to forge it.

The potency of such a treasure is far from trivial; if fully unleashed, it can shatter stars beyond the heavens.

It is also exceedingly rare.

Looking across the countless divine‑art cultivators in the Xuanhuang Great World, only a handful—Hua Tiandu, Fan Qingying, Yan Shuiyi, Fang Han, Fang Qingxue, Xing Mie Xie, and a few dozen others—possess mid‑grade or higher Dao Artifacts.

Even many Ancient Giants of the Long‑life Secret Realms covet mid‑grade Dao Artifacts.

If one could obtain such an item, they would spare nothing, even if it meant unleashing endless bloody storms and slaughtering countless lives.

And Chen Zheng, who obtained one without breaking a sweat, can only imagine how many cultivators will go mad with envy.

Even if Chen Zheng were to turn around and leave now, abandoning the ascent of the Heaven‑Stepping Ladder for the Linglong Immortal Sovereign's reward, and refusing to sell his many treasures, he would still have made a huge profit.

This journey to the Linglong Blessed Land was just right!

And it was utterly comfortable.

"Thank you for the Heavenly Doom Divine Shark Boat; as thanks, I'll let you off for now—scram."

Wan Lianshan still had many treasures, but Chen Zheng did not take any more, lest he overstep; he smiled, lifted his leg, and kicked at the pallid man.

With a bang, Wan Lianshan was flung outward, tracing a parabola that crossed millions of steps, landing heavily on the plaza beneath Sumeru Golden Mountain, stirring up clouds of dust.

Fortunately, the plaza's floor was unusual; otherwise it would have created a hundred‑li crater for him.

Also, Wan Lianshan's physical body was formidable, not inferior to Chen Zheng's, so he didn't die from the fall.

Even so, Wan Lianshan fell in a complete mess, his eyes seeing stars.

"Senior Brother!"

Wan Renfeng and other disciples of Wan Gui Immortal Island flew over and helped him up.

"Huh……"

Wan Lianshan gasped heavily, channeling his Qi to mend the wounds on his face.

Then he pushed away those assisting him, suddenly raised his head, stared at Chen Zheng on the Heaven‑Stepping Ladder, and shouted with hatred: "Chen Zheng, I, Wan Lianshan, swear to the heavens—humiliation of kneeling, grievance of stolen treasure—within a year I will repay you ten thousandfold!"

Hearing this, the disciples of Wan Gui Immortal Island all let out a sigh of relief.

Chen Zheng merely used a trick to defeat Wan Lianshan.

And a temporary defeat and humiliation meant nothing.

As long as Wan Lianshan hasn't lost his fighting spirit, he will eventually reclaim the Heavenly Doom Divine Shark Boat from Chen Zheng and clear his past shame.

Piao Yun, Ye Qingqing and the other women were disappointed; they wished Wan Lianshan would be completely defeated, so he wouldn't later seek revenge and cause Chen Zheng more trouble.

Moreover, Wan Lianshan's own Qi is terrifyingly strong; unless he continues to suppress it, a breakthrough that thrust him into the Immortal Body realm would instantly let him enter the Long‑life Secret Realm.

He is a terrifying great enemy!

"One year?"

Chen Zheng, still climbing the Heaven‑Stepping Ladder, didn't look back and said, "Even if I gave you ten thousand years, you still couldn't take back the Heavenly Doom Divine Shark Boat, and you're no match for me."

The words silenced the plaza.

What arrogance is that?

Piao Yun and the other women had tiny stars flashing in their eyes, unknowingly beginning to worship Chen Zheng.

"Perhaps Chen Zheng can truly blaze a trail unseen in our sect for eight hundred years, reaching the Sumeru Golden Summit," Cang Hai sighed lightly from the peak of the Immortal Mountain.

"Senior Sister, is the Sumeru Golden Summit really that easy to ascend?"

"Chen Zheng achieving this level is already remarkable; in the future he'll be a founder‑level existence of the Feathered Transformation Sect, so Senior Sister need not hold unrealistic hopes for him," Cang Hai said, while on both sides, Sixth Junior Sister and other Ancient Giants were speechlessly amused.

It's not that they look down on Chen Zheng.

Rather, according to the Linglong Immortal Sovereign, anyone who can ascend the Sumeru Golden Summit will inevitably ascend to become an immortal.

But since the Great Cataclysm of antiquity—when the Three Emperors fell, the nine Great Immortal Sovereigns perished, and countless others vanished—the Xuanhuang Great World has withered and has yet to recover.

Not to mention ascending to immortality, even those who merely brush the word "immortal"—the pseudo‑immortals and true immortals—are exceedingly rare.

Thousands of years ago, the Demonic Path produced a Yellow Spring Great Emperor who once roamed unchecked.

But that was the only case.

And rumors claim the Yellow Spring Great Emperor has already fallen.

"Keep watching."

Cang Hai gently shook his head, saying nothing more, his gaze fixed on the steps of Sumeru Golden Mountain.

This novel you to

Sixth Junior Sister and the other women, including Piao Yun on the plaza and Qiu Xiyu among tens of thousands, all saw Chen Zheng's towering figure climbing upward reflected in their eyes.

Even Wan Lianshan and the disciples of Wan Gui Immortal Island did not leave; each had bloodshot eyes, staring intently at the Heaven‑Stepping Ladder.

Chen Zheng's blow to them was too great.

They were eager to see him fail.

In his heart he kept cursing, Chen Zheng could not bear the massive pressure and tumbled down from above in a mess.

He was even crushed to death.

Above, on the stairs.

Chen Zheng did not know the various petty thoughts of the people below.

When he got here, he also felt the pressure.

Not much, only a thread.

He originally cultivated the character "Ming", and his body had become incredibly strong.

Later he also cultivated the characters "Yi", "Lian", and "Pao", three calamity characters.

These three calamity characters not only possess unfathomable mysterious changes, but during cultivation they also generate a hidden force that blesses the flesh, making it ever more solid.

In other words, the more calamity characters Chen Zheng cultivates, the stronger his flesh becomes, eventually reaching a state of being immortal, indestructible, ageless, and deathless.

However, an overly strong flesh is not entirely a good thing.

Because as the flesh grows more robust, without sufficient spirit and will to steer it, it will gradually become rigid and finally turn into a zombie.

Moreover, as the true demonic ten‑thousand‑calamity indestructible body deepens, each calamity character also generates a massive amount of calamity Qi, causing the cultivator to go mad.

Therefore, Chen Zheng will later need two supreme treasures to resolve these two major drawbacks.

That matter will not be discussed for now.

Just say that Chen Zheng ascended the mountain.

Each of his steps was extremely swift; in less than a moment he leapt onto the seven‑millionth tier of steps.

Wow!

From below, a chorus of amazement rose again.

His steps never ceased, and he consecutively ascended the eight‑million, nine‑million, and ten‑million steps.

At this point, over two hundred thousand people in the Linglong Blessed Land were already watching Chen Zheng's ascent.

Almost all the female disciples within the sect had arrived.

Everyone held their breath.

They were about to witness a miracle.

Under the gaze of the myriad onlookers.

Chen Zheng's steps were steady, one after another upward, each step feeling as if it stepped on the hearts of the crowd.

Finally.

All ten million eight hundred thousand tiers of steps were completed.

Chen Zheng, summit!

Feather Ascension Gate's Chen Zheng, I have seen the Linglong Immortal!

(End of chapter)