Chapter 263

After the 950th step of the Spirit Altar, each step felt more difficult than all 950 steps combined.

Even the ancient anomaly Wang Chuan could only regretfully halt around the 970th step.

Yet Jun Xiaoyao walked without pause.

The deeper he climbed, the more the oppressive pressure intensified, and countless spirit shadows manifested to block Jun Xiaoyao.

This trial, one could say, had seen few succeed throughout history, for it was too difficult.

Even ancient anomalies bowed before this trial.

Jun Xiaoyao's gaze was cold and calm.

The pressure of the Spirit Altar posed little trouble for him.

The spirits, however, sought to destroy his Divine Palace's true spirit and possess his body.

Then again, if Jun Xiaoyao were a spirit imprisoned here, seeing such a perfect body, he'd likely wish to possess it too.

In response to their possession attempts, Jun Xiaoyao's counterattack was simple.

He directly summoned the Chaotic Divine Mill.

The terrifying Chaotic Divine Mill crushed all realms.

It was a supreme soul-attack technique, devastating to these spirits.

No matter how powerful the ancient spirits were, they shattered into nothingness under the crushing force of Jun Xiaoyao's Chaotic Divine Mill.

Finally, Jun Xiaoyao stepped one by one onto the 999th level.

When he took the final step.

A thunderous boom erupted.

The entire Spirit Altar began to tremble.

Countless spirit shadows emerged from the surrounding void, dense as a swarm.

Their number was like a locust plague.

One could say that even the ancient anomaly Wang Chuan might be instantly obliterated by such a spirit assault.

This left Jun Xiaoyao no path forward—intent on severing his journey entirely.

"Xiaoyao brother!"

Below, Jiang Luoli and the others watched, their expressions tense.

They had confidence in Jun Xiaoyao.

But these spirits flooding the sky were no longer beings any young prodigy could face.

Each spirit had once been a peerless prodigy, an extraordinary being.

Looking out, over ten thousand spirits manifested at once.

Who among the young generation could withstand ten thousand peerless prodigies attacking at once?

"Too terrifying. No one can pass this trial," Wang Chuan said, shaking his head slightly.

Honestly, he felt a trace of admiration for Jun Xiaoyao.

Had he not perished, Jun Xiaoyao might have been the most brilliant prodigy of this age—without exception.

"Sigh, Xiaoyao little brother's in trouble now. Too bad, I never got to test his strength," Xiao Moxian sighed regretfully.

In her view, Jun Xiaoyao's chances of surviving this tribulation were slim.

Ji Qingyi glanced over, pondering silently.

Yet Jun Xiaoyao always seemed to create miracles.

The Yuan Tian Secret Treasury was one. The Heavenly Dao Tower was another.

So until the outcome was settled, any guess could be overturned.

Most prodigies would be so terrified by ten thousand spirits they'd soil their pants.

Jun Xiaoyao's expression remained calm.

He stomped his foot, and ten thousand sage shadows appeared around him in the void.

It was one of the Sacred Body manifestations of the Ancient Sacred Body: Ten Thousand Sages Paying Homage.

As the manifestation appeared, it suppressed heaven and earth.

A series of explosions echoed through the void.

Many spirits shattered under the crushing pressure of this terrifying manifestation.

Even so, the remaining spirits were still numerous.

Just as Jun Xiaoyao prepared to unleash another supreme technique—

A sachet on his person suddenly floated out.

"Hm? This…?" Jun Xiaoyao's eyes widened in surprise.

This sachet was the token that had drawn him into the Ten Realms Rift.

Jun Xiaoyao had assumed it was a relic left by some ancient heavenly maiden.

Yet now, the sachet underwent a transformation.

A peculiar aura emerged.

A slender silhouette manifested in the void, standing before Jun Xiaoyao.

Seeing this silhouette, Jun Xiaoyao's gaze trembled slightly.

Not because the figure was astonishing.

But because…

He had seen this figure before.

The silhouette was unmistakably a woman wearing a ghost mask.

Her body was slender and elegant, her black hair fluttering in the wind.

Her skin glowed like jade, her beauty as pure as snow.

This silhouette bore a striking resemblance to the ghost-faced girl Jun Xiaoyao had faced on the 49th floor of the Heavenly Dao Tower.

Yet compared to the ghost-faced girl in the tower, this woman's form was longer, as if she had grown, revealing the first traces of peerless grace.

"Again her?" Jun Xiaoyao frowned slightly.

Why did both the Heavenly Dao Tower and this Spirit Altar bear her traces?

"The River of the Afterlife blooms seven-colored skies; when petals fall, immortality takes a thousand years…"

"Brother, I've waited for you a thousand years in the mortal world—where are you?"

The ghost-faced woman murmured softly, her gaze behind the mask fixed on Jun Xiaoyao.

Strangely, as her phantom appeared, the surrounding spirits on the altar showed profound fear, fleeing wildly as if avoiding venomous snakes and scorpions.

The scene fell into eerie silence.

Even Wang Chuan and the others were stunned.

What was happening?

Logically, such a certain-death trap should have no chance of reversal.

Yet Jun Xiaoyao had once again opened a sliver of hope.

If Li Daoxuan were still alive, he'd surely roar in fury.

What is a true child of heaven, a destiny's chosen one?

This is the true child of heaven, the destiny's chosen one.

Compared to this, the rebellious prodigies of the lower realms are nothing—utterly incomparable to Jun Xiaoyao.

Jun Xiaoyao himself was also surprised.

He hadn't expected his luck to be this good.

Clearly, the sachet belonged to the ghost-faced woman.

The ghost-faced woman turned to Jun Xiaoyao, gliding forward, raising her slender hand to caress his cheek.

But she was a phantom—her hand passed straight through his face.

Jun Xiaoyao's expression remained calm, unmoved by her gesture.

He knew this ghost-faced woman had mistaken him for her brother.

Yet Jun Xiaoyao harbored a question.

How could her brother possibly look as handsome as him?

The ghost-faced woman sighed, then turned to face the remaining spirits.

She released a terrifying aura, her hand sweeping forward.

In the void, endless higan flowers bloomed.

Crimson higan flowers covered the heavens.

The scene was beautiful—and deeply eerie.

The spirits twisted in agony, shrieking as they turned to ash within the higan flowers.

With a single wave of her hand, the ghost-faced woman cleared Jun Xiaoyao's path.

All spirits were annihilated—none survived.

Even Jun Xiaoyao was speechless.

Was this ghost-faced woman willingly serving as his tool?

He hadn't even moved a finger—and she had swept away every obstacle for him.