Chapter 153: Forty-Ninth Level: The Mysterious Ghost-Faced Girl, the Hand of Heaven Displays Divine Might

The Heaven's Path Tower has fifty levels.

But legend says no one can set foot on the fiftieth level.

It is said to be the eternal slumber place of the Cycle Holy Spirit.

Since ancient times, the forty-ninth level has been the highest level of the Heaven's Path Tower.

In recent ages, Jun Xiaoyao was the only prodigy to reach the forty-ninth level of the Heaven's Path Tower.

Even if one cannot ultimately pass it, merely setting foot upon it is already a miracle, worthy of being recorded in history.

"Forty-ninth level!"

Outside, the crowd went mad; countless cultivators were stunned beyond measure, feeling they had witnessed a moment destined for the annals.

The Grand Elder of the Academy also felt his heart tremble.

Even though he was a Saint Master, he was now plunged into profound shock.

At this moment, from deep within the Holy Spirit Academy, a voice suddenly reached the Grand Elder's ears.

The speaker was the Academy's Dean.

After hearing the message, the Grand Elder's aged face twisted in astonishment: "What? Is this truly necessary?"

The Grand Elder's emotions were complex; he never expected the Academy to make this decision.

"It must be because Jun Family's Divine Son's talent and strength are too monstrous—otherwise, the Dean and others would never have made this decision." The Grand Elder sighed deeply.

An ancient academy with countless years of heritage was now bowing to a mere teenager—truly heartbreaking.

While the outside world descended into frenzy, Jun Xiaoyao had already entered the space of the forty-ninth level.

He too was curious: what kind of extraordinary being would guard this level?

At that moment, a sprinkle of luminous rain fell from across from him.

A hazy, slender figure appeared.

She was a girl, with snow-white skin, shrouded in mist, her features indistinct.

On her face, she wore a ghostly mask.

Beneath the mask, her gaze was deep and cold, glowing with a faint eerie light.

On her fingers rested a bronze ring, sometimes transforming into a bell, sometimes into a cauldron, sometimes into a sword.

"Hmm?" Jun Xiaoyao sensed an unusual aura.

He had actually felt a hint of danger.

This was highly implausible for Jun Xiaoyao.

Along his path, he had crushed all contemporary prodigies; none had so much as scratched him, let alone made him feel danger.

Yet this masked girl before him had, rarely, stirred in him a sense of danger.

This feeling was utterly novel to him—an experience he had never known.

At that moment, the ghost-faced girl spoke in a haunting voice.

"The flowers of the Other Shore bloom in seven hues of heaven; when they fall, immortality takes a thousand years…"

"Brother… where are you…"

After speaking, the girl's deep gaze beneath the mask suddenly turned toward Jun Xiaoyao.

"Brother… it's you…"

"What does that mean?" Jun Xiaoyao frowned, confused by the situation.

When had he ever had a sister?

"No… no… you're not…"

The ghost-faced girl suddenly began shaking her head violently; her gaze beneath the mask turned crimson.

Vast fields of crimson benan flowers spread from her feet, forming a domain of utter lifelessness.

"Bad…"

Jun Xiaoyao's expression shifted, and he acted immediately—he unleashed his Sacred Body's manifestation: Ten Thousand Saints Paying Homage.

Vast phantom shadows of Saintly figures emerged from the void, bowing before him.

A terrifying pressure spread outward, colliding with the girl's benan flower domain.

One side was the Sacred Body's manifestation, the other the ghost-faced girl's eerie domain; the entire space shattered and cracked instantly.

Surroundings plunged into absolute darkness; only Jun Xiaoyao and the ghost-faced girl stood facing each other.

She attacked him—her bronze ring transformed into a bronze longsword, slashing toward Jun Xiaoyao.

One slash unleashed torrential sword light, like a river of stars cascading from heaven, terrifying in its power.

It could be said that most contemporary prodigies could not withstand even her casual strike.

Jun Xiaoyao did not hold back; he knew this ghost-faced girl was strange, beyond ordinary comprehension.

He unleashed the Art of War, transforming countless divine weapons—swords, spears, halberds, axes, hooks, forks—into a raging flood that clashed with her blade.

Her single sword cut through the flood of divine weapons.

The sword's momentum remained unbroken, descending straight upon Jun Xiaoyao's head.

"Interesting. I haven't encountered a worthy opponent in a long time."

Jun Xiaoyao felt no fear—only a rare thrill of excitement.

To meet an opponent who could make him feel danger was exceedingly rare.

Jun Xiaoyao pulled out the Thanos Saint King Gauntlet, a purple-gold glove radiating divine radiance, exuding a Saint-level aura.

This gauntlet was forged from the bones of a Saint King, fused with a trace of Divine Trace Purple Gold—its power needed no explanation.

Jun Xiaoyao slipped the gauntlet onto his right hand and met the ghost-faced girl's bronze sword head-on.

A clang rang out—sparks flew violently, metallic vibrations shaking the surroundings.

The ghost-faced girl was immediately thrown back, her bronze sword nearly slipping from her grasp.

"Not bad." Jun Xiaoyao nodded slightly upon seeing this.

His Archaic Sacred Body, combined with the Divine Elephant's Crushing Hell Force, plus the Thanos Saint King Gauntlet—this punch could smash a hole in heaven.

If he added the Great Luo Immortal Bone, the power would be unimaginable.

This ghost-faced girl had taken his punch and was merely thrown back—proof enough of her astonishing strength.

But before Jun Xiaoyao, it was still not enough!

"If only I could find a suitable fist art," Jun Xiaoyao murmured, shaking his head.

If he could master a supreme fist art, combined with the Thanos Saint King Gauntlet and his own physical might…

The sheer ecstasy would be unbelievable.

The ghost-faced girl attacked again—her other jade hand swept out, summoning countless benan flowers, radiating an omen of doom.

"This technique…" Jun Xiaoyao's eyes sharpened.

He had vaguely heard that in the Outer Realms, there was an Immortal Imperial Clan called the Benan Clan.

Legend said their true form was the eerie benan flower.

But to conclude from this alone that the ghost-faced girl was connected to the Outer Realms would be too hasty.

"Forget it—focus on the task at hand," Jun Xiaoyao thought.

His primary goal now was to pass this trial.

Even if the ghost-faced girl had called him brother, he would still destroy her.

He was a machine without emotion, designed solely to break through.

From Jun Xiaoyao's chest, brilliant light erupted.

It was the Supreme Bone technique: Heaven's Tribulation Light.

The terrifying tribulation light illuminated the surrounding darkness.

This light seemed like a judgment sent down from heaven itself.

The ghost-faced girl also unleashed her ultimate technique—a dark vortex appeared, as if capable of swallowing all things.

The Heaven's Tribulation Light was drawn into it.

Seeing this, Jun Xiaoyao's Supreme Bone erupted again with overwhelming divine power.

Intense tribulation light coalesced into a colossal hand, imprinted with infinite runes—blocking out the sky!

That hand of tribulation light seemed like heaven's decree, annihilating all living things!

It was the complete form of the Supreme Bone's first great technique: the Hand of Heaven.

BOOM!

The Hand of Heaven crushed downward, its shockwave immense; the already shattered space dissolved into endless cosmic dust.

Even the eerie ghost-faced girl, under the overwhelming pressure of the Hand of Heaven, was on the verge of collapse.

In the instant before her figure vanished…

Jun Xiaoyao thought he saw, beneath the mask, a glimmer of tears.

"Will we meet again, brother…"