First Immortal of Destiny

Chapter 204: Grace

"Gugu!"

The blood and qi within Shen Mo's body flowed like thick liquid and mercury, boiling ceaselessly throughout his limbs and bones.

He exerted all his strength to activate the cultivation techniques of the Dragon Elephant Blood Demon Body and the Three-Headed Six-Armed True Immortal Art, using his strongest physique to resist the immense force.

"Boom!"

"Boom boom!"

With each step on the stone steps, his body would emit a burst of explosive sound.

While resisting the oppressive sword aura of the Heavenly Lord, Shen Mo's cultivation, physique, techniques, and even his swordsmanship were all undergoing rigorous tempering.

[You attempted to climb Tian Mountain and were oppressed by the sword aura left by the Heavenly Lord at the God Bridge Realm. You used your techniques to resist this pressure, and your cultivation has improved in the process.]

[You resisted this pressure with your physical body and gained insights into the subtleties of the Three-Headed Six-Armed True Immortal Art. Your experience in the Three-Headed Six-Armed True Immortal Art has increased by 130.]

[You continued to cultivate the Purple Mansion Heart Sutra...]

On the Heavenly Fate Panel, continuous feedback was coming in.

With each step he climbed, Shen Mo knew that he had gained another benefit.

605th step.

606th step.

607th step.

...

630th step.

640th step.

...

When he reached the 650th step, Lu Ming, who was following behind him, was still stuck around the 600th step.

Not only did Lu Ming fail to close the gap with Shen Mo, but the distance between them was growing wider.

"Shen Junior Brother's strength... is unfathomable!"

Relying on his Thunder Spirit Body and the Supreme Thunder Technique, Lu Ming believed he could climb another thirty or forty steps, but compared to Shen Mo, he felt inadequate.

Recalling the competition among the newcomers, Shen Mo had once been defeated by him.

But now, half a year had passed, and Shen Mo had surpassed him.

And he, with Shen Mo's help, managed to secure the second place despite facing several strong opponents.

Even if he didn't feel jealous, there was still a hint of regret in Lu Ming's heart.

At the foot of Tian Mountain, the cultivators from the five major sects, whether they were powerful Spirit Sea Realm experts or Qi Gathering Realm disciples, all had their eyes focused on Shen Mo.

"In the previous Tian Mountain Ceremony, there was a rising star who climbed to the 723rd step!"

"I wonder if Junior Brother Shen can break this record?"

Many disciples of the Linjiang Sect were already celebrating in advance for Shen Mo's first place, which would secure the Linjiang Sect's position as the number one sect.

Amidst the excitement, many people secretly held expectations.

They hoped that Shen Mo could create another miracle and break the record of climbing Tian Mountain from previous years.

"Enough! Back then, Fairy Pei Yu was a rare beauty of the heavens, a once-in-a-lifetime talent. How can your disciples from the Linjiang Sect compare to Fairy Pei Yu?"

"Indeed, although my Yan Yue Sect's performance this time is not outstanding, we had the beauty of Mei Yu in the past. Who knows, maybe another Fairy Pei Yu will emerge in the future!"

"Based on his current state, if he can climb to the 680th step, it would already be quite a stretch!"

The ones making sarcastic remarks were naturally the elite disciples of the other four major sects.

Among them, many had participated in previous Tian Mountain Ceremonies.

They naturally knew how difficult it was to climb one step higher after reaching the 600th step...

Even if they saw Shen Mo defeat the new rising stars of various sects single-handedly, they didn't believe he could climb to the height of 723 steps like Fairy Pei Yu did.

The disciples of the Linjiang Sect naturally retorted, but not a single person questioned Fairy Pei Yu's achievements.

About thirty years ago, the Heavenly Demon still ravaged the Crimson Flame Kingdom.

Fairy Pei Yu emerged out of nowhere!

With her once-in-a-century Supreme Dao Body, she swept through the eight talented individuals of the other sects in that Tian Mountain Ceremony.

As a woman, she made countless men bow down.

Afterward, she step by step ascended to the heights of Tian Mountain!

Until she reached the 723rd stone step, she finally stopped.

Her grace.

Her achievements.

Astounded all directions!

It should be noted that before her, in the decades that had passed, hundreds of talented individuals from various sects had never stepped beyond the 700th step of Tian Mountain!

It can be said that there has never been anyone like her before.

However, in the thirty years that followed, even though there were outstanding individuals who reached the seven hundredth step, they never went beyond the tenth step.

It can also be said that there will be no one like her in the future.

Therefore, Fairy Pei Yu is recognized by the five major immortal sects as the most outstanding genius in the past century.

There are even rumors that when she was in the initial stage of Qi Gathering, she was able to kill a peak second stage Heavenly Demon.

Within the next five years, Fairy Pei Yu successfully advanced to the ninth stage of Qi Gathering, and her strength was enough to rival a third stage initial stage Great Heavenly Demon.

Unfortunately, she was envied by the heavens.

She did not live to see the closing of the Heavenly Demon Passage five years later.

She perished in the final wave of demons and never returned.

Therefore, although Yan Yue Sect's performance this year is lackluster, if we look back thirty years ago, their disciples were highly regarded by others.

Zhao Lingyin, standing among the elite disciples of the Linjiang Sect, naturally heard their discussion.

She looked up and saw Shen Mo.

In her slightly excited eyes, there was a hint of anticipation and nervousness.

Zhao Lingyin felt as if her current mood was similar to successfully refining a furnace of Dragon Tiger Indifferent Pills.

She knew that she had successfully refined a fourth-grade spiritual pill.

She was extremely happy.

But before opening the furnace, she didn't know the quality of the pill, whether it was flawed or of excellent quality.

So she had other emotions as well.

Many senior brothers of the same sect, seeing her like this, couldn't help but feel sour in their hearts.

They wished they could climb up Tian Shan directly, drag Shen Mo down, and take his place.

As for Shen Mo on Tian Shan, he was unaware that every step he took stirred the hearts of the people below.

"My spiritual power is almost depleted!"

He stomped heavily on the stone steps, causing faint sword energy to emanate and spread around his legs and feet.

Due to the erosion of sword energy pressure for thousands of years, each stone step had become as strong as spiritual gold.

Over time, it also contained a trace of the true meaning of the Heavenly Sovereign Sword Dao.

It was an excellent material for refining flying swords.

If he could cut off a piece, it would fetch a high price.

Of course, if he dared to damage the stone steps on Tian Shan, he would have to be prepared to be blacklisted and hunted down by the five major immortal sects.

"It's time for Senior Sister Lingyin's Dragon Tiger Indifferent Pill to come in handy."

Shen Mo's movements seemed extremely difficult.

But he was exceptionally determined.

He opened his bag of holding and took out a Dragon Tiger Indifferent Pill from a jade box, and swallowed it.

As the pill entered his stomach, a warm current surged through his limbs, meridians, and dantian, continuously transforming into spiritual power, filling Shen Mo's empty dantian.

The exhaustion of his soul since he started climbing the mountain was also nourished.

Shen Mo's spirit was revitalized, and he continued to move forward.

One step!

Two steps!

Three steps!

The six hundred and sixty-first step.

The six hundred and sixty-second step.

The six hundred and sixty-third step.

...

At this moment, not only Zhao Lingyin, not only the disciples on the flat ground, but even the many powerful Linghai Realm experts on the suspended stone platform held their breath, staring intently at the solitary figure struggling to climb Tian Shan.

The six hundred and ninety-ninth step.

The seven hundredth step!

"Wow!"

The elite disciples on the flat ground exploded in an instant.

"The seven hundredth step... he actually reached the seven hundredth step!" Elder Huang Changqing's face trembled with excitement.

Back then, he was one of the elders leading the Linjiang Sect.

He had personally witnessed Pei Yu, the Fairy of Yan Yue Sect, climbing to the seven hundred and twenty-third step of Tian Shan.

And now.

Elder Huang vaguely saw that extraordinary demeanor again!

(End of this chapter)