Chapter 884: The Path to Heaven

Watch the game in silence.

Li Hao stood beside the two elders, silently observing, studying their chess strategies and the subtle brilliance within.

The rustling of bamboo leaves drifted softly; before the thatched hut, time lay tranquil. The large black dog crouched on the other side, unable to understand the game, and since Li Hao showed no murderous intent toward it, it lazily lay back down and fell into deep sleep.

Li Hao watched in silence, yet a series of interface prompts flickered before his eyes:

Chess Dao experience +2834, Chess Dao experience +2637…

Merely watching the game, Li Hao continuously gained Chess Dao experience—evidencing just how profound these two elders’ skill truly was.

Time slipped away silently.

Meanwhile, in the Ninth Heaven Realm outside.

“Where are the Chaotic Dao Seeds?”

Xue Fei’s figure shifted as she searched for days, only to be astonished: the number of Chaotic Dao Seeds here had plummeted. After several days, she had found only one—as if all the Chaotic Dao Seeds in this realm had collectively vanished.

“Could it be that the ones we hunted before already wiped them out? But impossible—we barely covered any ground.”

Xue Fei frowned tightly, a sense of unease creeping over her—as if some anomaly had befallen the Chaotic Dao Seeds of the Ninth Heaven Realm.

Elsewhere, a group of Chaotic Chi Mo Clan youths also suddenly could not find any Chaotic Dao Seeds.

Unwilling to give up, they searched for two more days; seeing time running out, they finally could not bear it and left the Ninth Heaven Realm.

“Could that brat have cleared out all the Chaotic Dao Seeds in the Ninth Heaven Realm again?”

A Chaotic Ancient Clan member scowled, gritting his teeth.

“This is the Ninth Heaven Realm—no matter how strong that brat is, he couldn’t possibly do this. I suspect the Chaotic Dao Seeds sensed our hunting and hid themselves; after all, their spiritual awareness is already extremely high.”

Another Chaotic Ancient Clan member speculated, refusing to believe a human could accomplish such a feat.

“We only have five days left—we must seek the Heavenly Path, or we won’t make it in time.”

“If there’s nothing here, we’ll hunt elsewhere across other realms.”

The four set off together, leaving the Ninth Heaven Realm.

With the Chaotic Dao Seeds in the Ninth Heaven Realm cleared, other explorers soon followed suit, departing for other realms.

“Wanqing, Muqing, sister’s here for you.”

Su Wanyi found no Chaotic Dao Seeds in the Ninth Heaven Realm and no longer lingered. Though she did not know why, time was nearly up—now the Heavenly Path was the priority.

She departed the Ninth Heaven Realm with Luo Ningshuang, heading toward other realms.

Elsewhere across other realms, countless figures scrambled for Chaotic Dao Seeds, fierce and intense.

Compared to the Heavenly Path, their goals were simpler: accumulate more Heavenly Dao power, take that first step forward in the Immortal King realm before anything else. As for proving the Heavenly Heart, they knew they could not compete with the prodigies who had already fused twenty-three Chaotic Laws—so their focus remained firmly on hunting Chaotic Dao Seeds.

“What is that?”

In the First Heaven Realm, over a lush forest, purple-black light suddenly erupted from the sky—the spacetime collapsed, trembling violently, its ripples affecting tens of thousands of miles.

The quivering waves drew attention from all nearby; everyone looked up in shock.

Then, from within the collapsing purple-black vortex, roars of dragon cries burst forth.

From the void emerged monstrous, colossal Ancestral Dragons, their bodies pierced by thorns and bound in chains, the other ends of which were fastened to the ankles of a towering giant.

The towering giant stood tall, his feet crushing dragon bodies, emerging from the void astride them.

Yet his body was hunched, clad in a tattered, snow-white prison robe, his face etched with age, his eyes like ice frozen for ten thousand years—empty, gray, devoid of any expression.

On the giant’s back loomed a massive stone—no, not one stone, but an entire mountain!

As each Ancestral Dragon soared upward, more towering figures emerged, all clad in prison robes, each body ten thousand zhang tall.

These prison-robed giants bore stone pillars; as they walked forward, all witnessed what they carried: a bridge stretching straight to heaven.

Dozens of giants bore it together; each exuded terrifying energy, their disheveled hair seemingly infused with thunderous power.

“This… what is this?”

“The Heavenly Path—it’s the Heavenly Path appearing!”

“Legends say ancient giants bore the heavens as they walked—so the tales were true.”

Many prodigies of the First Heaven Realm, witnessing this, stood stunned, then filled with excitement and joy—they never expected the Heavenly Path to appear in the First Heaven Realm, granting them a chance to witness it, and even to climb it!

Had it appeared in the Seventh or Eighth Heaven Realm, the pressure alone would have kept them from approaching, let alone climbing.

“I feel these giants… are terrifying. They’re not merely Immortal Kings!”

Someone whispered, eyes grave.

Though they were in the First Heaven Realm and their cultivation lagged behind others, some had merely trained for a short time—they came from top-tier clans and possessed broad knowledge.

“I heard they’re a clan that once betrayed the Heavenly Dao, eternally suppressed by Heaven.”

Someone said.

The appearance of the Heavenly Path in the First Heaven Realm spread quickly.

The First Heaven Realm had the most people present; the news spread like wildfire, soon reaching other realms.

“What? The Heavenly Path appeared in the First Heaven Realm?”

“They say it’s random—never expected it to appear so early.”

“Looks like things are going to get noisy.”

Many figures from the Fifth and Sixth Heaven Realms, upon hearing the news, rushed toward the First Heaven Realm.

“First Heaven Realm?”

Lin Zhexuan, hunting in the Second Heaven Realm, heard the news and froze for a moment—then beamed with joy. He had feared the Heavenly Path would appear in the deeper realms, where he wouldn’t even get a glimpse—but now it appeared in the nearest First Heaven Realm.

“Could fate be favoring me?”

Lin Zhexuan’s heart swelled with delight. Though his fused Chaotic Laws were low and he could not compete with this generation’s top prodigies, the Heavenly Path tested more than cultivation—if the Heavenly Heart favored him, he could still rise against the tide, receiving Heavenly Dao’s protection!

Legends recorded that someone with extremely low cultivation once ascended the Heavenly Path, gained the Heavenly Heart’s favor, soared to the pinnacle, and proved the Heavenly Dao, becoming an Emperor!

That Emperor was a Great Emperor from ten thousand years ago—unknown before, but after proving the Heavenly Heart, his name became known across all four realms of the True World.

Whoosh!

Lin Zhexuan’s figure flickered—he rushed off at once.

Meanwhile, Su Wanqing and others in the Second Heaven Realm also heard the news and immediately set out.

“It’s right in the First Heaven Realm.”

In the First Heaven Realm, Gu Yan and Yue Xi, along with Jian Xin and Ming Yue, were all scattered across different lands.

Upon hearing the news, they were pleasantly surprised. Had it appeared in the deeper realms, they would not dare approach—any ambush by Chaotic Dao Seeds would mean death. But the First Heaven Realm was a gift from Heaven.

“Let’s go.”

Gu Yan said to Yue Xi; both were excited. Whether they could reach the summit was one thing—but at least coming here would not be in vain.

As people from all realms rushed toward the First Heaven Realm, Luo Ningshuang and Su Wanyi, who had just left the Ninth Heaven Realm, also heard the news and were pleasantly surprised.

They had barely departed the Ninth Heaven Realm when the Heavenly Path appeared.

“It’s in the First Heaven Realm? Let’s go.”

Luo Ningshuang moved instantly, fearing she’d arrive too late.

After all, they were the main competitors in this Heavenly Path contest—others rushing over were merely spectators, chasing luck. To hope for the legendary feat of the Emperor from ten thousand years ago—rising from obscurity, gaining the Heavenly Path’s recognition, and proving the Heavenly Heart—was pure fantasy.

Such a miracle occurred once every ten thousand years—could one really expect it twice?

“Finally appeared.”

Xue Fei heard the news, her eyes brightening slightly; she immediately hurried off with her maid.

She suddenly recalled Li Hao and the Divine Sovereign, who had fought and departed before her eyes—she did not know the outcome, but since they had already used their domain artifacts, on the Heavenly Path, they would no longer be so cautious.

“Foolish beyond measure…”

She shook her head slightly, feeling two more rivals had vanished.

“The Heavenly Path has appeared—hurry, let’s go too.”

The Chaotic Chi Mo Clan youths also rushed off swiftly.

As crowds surged toward it, the destiny and bustle of the Infinite Heaven Realms all flowed toward an unremarkable landmass in the First Heaven Realm.

Yet now, above this landmass, the towering Heavenly Path stretched straight to the heavens, leading to mysterious, unknown spacetime—as if connecting directly before the Heavenly Dao—already drawing immense attention, a luminous pillar illuminating the entire First Heaven Realm.

When Su Wanyi arrived at the destination, she saw the towering Heavenly Path and the dozens of prison-robed giants bound in chains beneath it. She was startled—she had heard legends, but seeing it with her own eyes still stunned her.

Her master, the Chaotic Immortal Emperor, had told her these giants bearing the Heavenly Path were from an ancient Chaotic clan, punished for betraying the Heavenly Dao and eternally suppressed—rumored to be all at the Peerless Emperor realm!

“Seventy-two Peerless Emperors…”

Su Wanyi’s heart trembled. Outside, Peerless Emperors were rare—even if all the True World’s were added together, there likely weren’t this many!

Recall: her own Su Clan had only three Peerless Emperors—her father, one other who slept perpetually like Grandfather Su Jiuzhe, and another who guarded the border—her father’s great-grandfather.

Such power alone made the Su Clan a top-tier clan of the Northern Realm—yet here stood seventy-two Peerless Emperors!

“Ten thousand years ago, before the Ancient Demon War, any clan with over ten Peerless Emperors was already considered great.”

Su Wanyi thought silently.

Before the Ancient Demon War, the True World had reached its peak prosperity—top clans commonly had ten or more Peerless Emperors. But after the war ended, Immortal Emperors perished, and many Peerless Emperors died too; those lucky enough could reincarnate, while the unlucky had their soul cores wither, falling forever into the River of Death.

“These… are Peerless Emperors suppressed long before this…”

Su Wanyi gazed deeply—the seventy-two Peerless Emperors bore the Heavenly Path. Though suppressed by it and their pressure hidden, they remained profoundly awe-inspiring.

Already, many bold prodigies had begun climbing the Heavenly Path.

“Let’s go.”

Luo Ningshuang said.

But Su Wanyi did not move immediately; she scanned the area and said, “Wait—I’ll go fetch my sisters first.”

“You still want to take them to the summit?”

Luo Ningshuang paused, frowning.

It’s hard enough for me to reach the summit, let alone carry others as dead weight.

Although those few younger sisters of Su Wan Yi are also her junior disciples and possess extraordinary talent, they have not yet grown into their potential—this is not their era.

“I want to help them along; I don’t dare hope they’ll reach the summit, but if they can climb higher, they’ll gain deeper insights.”

Su Wan Yi said, hoping to assist those younger sisters as much as possible.

Luo Ning Shuang raised an eyebrow and said coolly, “Then go ahead—I won’t wait for you.”

Su Wan Yi glanced at her and said, “When I catch up to you, we’ll travel together again.”

“We’ll see if you can catch me.”

Luo Ning Shuang’s attitude had grown cold; their cooperation in the Ninth Heavenly Realm was merely mutual support, but now on the path to heaven, with no external aid, the two were essentially rivals.

Su Wan Yi understood this and said no more; she immediately bid her farewell and went to find Su Wan Qing and the others.

Soon, she spotted Su Wan Qing and her younger sisters among the crowd.

They were all gathered at the base of the Path to Heaven, trying to get closer, but the area was packed—countless souls jostled and fought like water crashing against a waterfall’s edge, spraying up torrents of spray; as they struggled, divine arts exploded in thunderous roars, and many had already begun fighting.

Su Wan Yi couldn’t help but shake her head; these people could never reach the summit, yet they fought so fiercely—how much harder would the final ascent be?

As Su Wan Yi rushed toward the path, Luo Ning Shuang also charged toward the Path to Heaven.

But at that moment, a figure arrived beside Luo Ning Shuang and exclaimed in delight, “Ninth Senior Sister!”

Luo Ning Shuang frowned and turned to see it was her junior disciple, Lin Zhe Xuan.

Her expression did not soften; she simply said, “What do you want?”

“Ninth Senior Sister, were you injured in the deeper heavenly realms? I’ve been worried sick about you—thank heavens I’ve finally found you…”

Before Lin Zhe Xuan could finish, Luo Ning Shuang cut him off coldly: “I’m fine.”

Lin Zhe Xuan froze, startled by her utterly changed demeanor; his face flickered between confusion and unease, unsure what he had done to offend her.

But he could no longer afford to dwell on it; he lowered his voice and said, “Ninth Senior Sister, you’re also going up the Path to Heaven, right? Could you…?”

“This opportunity is too great for you to handle—even I’m not certain I can bear it.”

Luo Ning Shuang understood his intent, dropped those words, and without further pause, shot forward like a streak of light.

Meanwhile, from other directions, figures suddenly surged forth, unleashing terrifying auras like dark clouds rolling across the sky toward the Path to Heaven.

“Get out of the way!”

A thunderous roar echoed from the heavens, shaking the jostling crowd to their cores.

Then, several massive figures—Chaos Ancients revealing their true forms—roared toward the Path to Heaven, like colossal beasts soaring through the air, casting shadows that engulfed the earth.