Xiao Yifeng revealed two more Reincarnation Stone Tablets—the missing Wilderness and Golden Rooster Mountain—and smiled. "Gentlemen, do you want this Book of Destiny?"
The others stared in shock, stunned that Xiao Yifeng had been hoarding the final pieces of the puzzle all along. Shock quickly turned to wild euphoria.
With time running out, Xiao Yifeng bit his finger, smearing his essence blood onto the two tablets to imprint his divine sense. Then, with a powerful heave, he threw them toward the remaining two empty Celestial Ladders.
As if drawn by an invisible magnet, the tablets flew unerringly to their destinations. Instantly, two final pillars of golden light erupted into the heavens.
Boom!
The ten pillars of light resonated with one another, generating a massive vortex in the sky. Amidst thunder and lightning, a colossal beam of golden energy crashed down from the heavens, engulfing the floating temple.
The circular temple was instantly dyed gold. The carvings of evil spirits along its walls seemed to come alive, howling in unison at the sky. The entire structure began to rotate, expanding and transforming, becoming even more majestic and imposing. Even the blue energy sphere at its peak transmuted into brilliant gold.
With a deafening rattle of chains, the temple began to ascend higher, pulling taut against its restraints.
The grand, archaic voice of the Immortal Abode resounded in everyone's ears:
"Ten Reincarnation Stones gathered. The Reincarnation Trial begins. The Path of Reincarnation opens. The Gate of Reincarnation opens. Those who step into the Gate shall obtain the Book of Destiny."
Ecstasy swept through the survivors. Their eyes burned with greed. The Book of Destiny—a treasure that even Mahayana experts would shatter their heads fighting over—was actually here, within their grasp.
Even the eccentric trapped on the ladder was overjoyed. If he obtained the Book of Destiny, surely he could break the curse binding him to this hellhole.
Suddenly, the temple shuddered. The Celestial Ladder beneath Xiao Yifeng’s feet began to rotate and shift.
With a grinding roar of stone against stone, his ladder merged with the one occupied by the eccentric. Then, the combined path continued to shift, merging with Mo Shuiyao’s ladder.
Xiao Yifeng jumped in fright. He hadn't expected the gathering of the ten stones to fuse the separate paths into a single gauntlet.
He was currently on the first step. The eccentric was on the third. Fortunately, the merged staircase was titanic, built for giants; although they were only two steps apart, the vertical distance and the sheer length of the steps separated them by over twenty meters.
Seeing this, the eccentric tried to turn back and fly down toward Xiao Yifeng. He froze immediately.
The rule of the Yellow Springs Road still applied: Do Not Look Back. He could only move forward; retreat was impossible.
Mo Shuiyao’s ladder merged with theirs as well. Since she had started earlier, she was already on the seventh step, safely ahead of the monster.
Seeing the mechanics of the merger, the other survivors quickly understood the rules. Everyone on the lower steps froze, too terrified to advance for fear of colliding with the eccentric.
Only Wang Laoxie, driven by impatience and greed, had already rushed to the third step before the merge completed. He now stood on the same level as the monster, eyeing him warily.
Soon, all ten ladders fused into a single, colossal staircase that stretched into the clouds. The ten palace gates combined into one magnificent, golden portal inscribed with the words: Gate of Reincarnation.
On the third step, Wang Laoxie stared at the eccentric opposite him. "You thing... stop playing ghost!"
Although the eccentric hated Xiao Yifeng the most, this old man dared to covet the woman he had claimed and insult him. That made Wang Laoxie a thorn in his side.
The eccentric let out a sinister cackle. "An old dog like you isn't even fit to be my slave!"
He attempted to Teleport, only to find that the spatial laws of the ladder prohibited it. Even flight was disabled.
Wang Laoxie laughed in rage. "Good! This old man wants to see what skills a freak like you actually possesses!"
Brandishing his single hook, Wang Laoxie charged.
The eccentric abandoned his attempt to teleport. Instead, he moved with raw physical speed that blurred into an afterimage, instantly appearing in front of Wang Laoxie. His clawed hand lashed out, aiming to rip out the old man's heart.
Wang Laoxie gasped, startled by the terrifying speed. Since his other hand had been destroyed by the palace's red light, he could only block horizontally with his hook.
Clang!
The impact sent Wang Laoxie flying backward. In mid-air, he frantically swung his hook, unleashing a flurry of phantom strikes.
The eccentric ignored them. He charged straight through the attack, letting the hooks slash against his body as if they were nothing but tickles.
Then, the eccentric opened his mouth and spat out a dense cloud of green gas. Within the gas, a small, glowing figure shot toward Wang Laoxie like a bullet.
"Nascent Soul Projection!" Wang Laoxie screamed, his soul nearly leaving his body in terror.
Crack!
His hook shattered instantly. This monster really was a Nascent Soul expert!
Terrified, Wang Laoxie scrambled backward, rolling ungracefully toward the next step of the ladder to escape. The moment he crossed the threshold to the fourth step, he froze, his eyes glazing over.
Xiao Yifeng knew instantly: Wang Laoxie had fallen into the illusion trial of the fourth step.
The eccentric sneered, swallowing his Nascent Soul back into his body. He took a step forward, landing on the fourth step beside the frozen Wang Laoxie.
Now, it was a race to see who would wake up first.
On the seventh step, Mo Shuiyao saw the monster advancing. She didn't dare hesitate for a second. Gritting her teeth, she pushed forward into the next trial. Falling into that monster's hands would be a fate worse than death.
On the first step, Xiao Yifeng and the others exchanged grim glances. They were trapped in a dilemma.
The eccentric was blocking the path. If he didn't move on, they couldn't advance. The only person with a clear shot at the prize was Mo Shuiyao, way up on the seventh step.
Everyone watched nervously as the eccentric and Wang Laoxie stood frozen side-by-side.
Suddenly, the eccentric shuddered. His eyes snapped open.
A ferocious, predatory smile spread across his face. He walked leisurely behind the still-frozen Wang Laoxie.
Thwack.
His claw punched through Wang Laoxie’s back, exiting through his chest. In his bloody palm, he held a pulsating Golden Core.
Wang Laoxie jolted awake, vomiting a massive amount of blood. He turned his head with great difficulty, staring at the monster with eyes full of unwillingness and despair.
He tried to self-destruct. But his Golden Core was already in the monster's hand.
Crunch.
The eccentric tossed the Golden Core into his mouth and chewed it like a piece of candy.
Wang Laoxie collapsed onto the stone step, lifeless.
"With this little strength, you dared to compete with this seat for a woman?" the eccentric scoffed. "Reckless fool."
He stripped the Storage Ring from the corpse and kicked Wang Laoxie off the edge. The body tumbled into the abyss below, where countless evil spirits swarmed it, tearing it apart in seconds.
Xiao Yifeng felt zero sympathy for the old scoundrel. His only regret was that he couldn't be the one to grind the old man's bones to dust for targeting Su Miaoqing.
The eccentric turned back to look at Xiao Yifeng and the others below. He licked his lips, hesitating. Should he chase Mo Shuiyao, or stay here and camp the entrance, waiting for the rest of them to walk into his trap?
Lin Xiao and Luo Yun turned pale. Luo Yun, in particular, looked ready to faint. Facing a Nascent Soul monster who ate Golden Cores like snacks... there was no hope.
Xiao Yifeng forced himself to stay calm, though his mind was racing with worry for Su Miaoqing.
What had pulled her into the temple? What was its purpose? Why was she special?
He racked his brain. The Undead Bird Source Blood?
No. Su Miaoqing’s connection to the Abode had been evident from the start—she was the one finding all the stone tablets. The Source Blood was recent.
Xiao Yifeng’s eyes widened as a terrifying possibility struck him.
Daoist Qingxu!