In the blink of an eye, three months had passed.

Boom!

At the base of the Peng Stone Steps, Ye Chen was hunched over, pressed flat against the risers, gasping for air. Surging fluctuations radiated from the steps, penetrating his body, threatening to thrust him away entirely.

Ye Chen clung fiercely to the stone with his five limbs, gritting his teeth and refusing to let go.

However, the pressure intensified, rolling and churning like a tempest, hammering against Ye Chen's chest. With a thunderous impact, his entire body was repelled, crashing heavily onto the hard ground below, landing like a stubborn boulder against the earth.

Ye Chen felt as if his teeth had shattered; sharp pain pierced his body. He clenched his jaw, gazing up at the first level of the Stone Mountain—roughly a thousand steps remained. He clenched his fists, slowly pulling himself upright, swaying precariously.

Thud!

Ye Chen took a step, challenging the ascent once more. This time, his speed surpassed his previous attempts. Through this ongoing trial, his willpower had advanced from the seventh stage of the Sage realm to the mid-seventh stage.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

Within the first layers of stone steps, Ye Chen moved swiftly, surging upward without impediment. Upon reaching the next stratum, it seemed like a barrier had been erected, and his forward momentum suddenly slowed significantly.

"Forward!"

"Forward!"

Ye Chen tensed every fiber of his being, biting down hard, continuing his climb. Before long, he reached the 995th step. Previously, he had felt his entire frame on the verge of collapse at this level, having reached his absolute limit. Now, however, he felt a sliver of strength remaining. Thus, he took another step, fixing his eyes on the platform just five steps away. Biting his lip, he strained upward.

"997!"

"998!"

"999!"

Ye Chen’s body halted. The oppressive force from the platform felt as if it were about to buckle. The surging pressure accumulated upon him. He ground his teeth, and a sudden roar erupted from his chest. Channeling the full might of his being, he charged toward the First Stone Platform.

Swish!

He shot upward in an instant.

Upon reaching this First Stone Platform, the pervasive pressure instantly slackened. Simultaneously, the entire vista within the platform came into view.

He saw that the platform was vast and boundless. Within it lay a massive tripod and numerous arched structures. At the foot of the steps leading to the Second Stone Platform, a crystal sphere hovered in mid-air, emitting a soft, gentle radiance.

Ye Chen took several deep breaths before walking over. As he approached the crystal sphere, he sensed a faint, subtle pressure, akin to an ancient emperor surveying his domain—a temperament of supreme arrogance mixed with disdain for all things beneath him.

Ye Chen felt a shock ripple through his heart. A mere crystal sphere exerted such pressure on him, a man who had conquered over a thousand steps. He wondered what manner of supreme being had once touched this sphere? As he contemplated this, the crystal sphere seemed to register the proximity of a living being. Suddenly, its light flared brilliantly, and a detached voice manifested in Ye Chen's mind, deep and resonant, as if weighed down by eons, yet possessing a sharp, cutting arrogance. It spoke: "I never expected someone would arrive here after so many years, to accept my inheritance."

Ye Chen listened silently.

"Junior, having passed the preceding trials, you should know that this mountain is named Heavenly Dao Mountain, and I am named Heavenly Dao! I wonder how many epochs have passed since my demise; are my old rivals still around? Does anyone still remember my name?"

The voice carried an infinite sense of history and a touch of loneliness. "On the first layer of Heavenly Dao Mountain rests my self-created pinnacle secret tome, named the Heavenly Dao Scripture. The Heavenly Dao Scripture is divided into nine layers. Cultivating it to its limit allows one to surpass the pinnacle and step into that legendary realm..."

"Young successor!"

"Your ability to pass through layer after layer of trials to reach this point—though your strength is unknown—shows remarkable willpower. I entrust the first layer of the Heavenly Dao Scripture to you! Furthermore, those rivals of mine used to call this tome the 'Nine Heavens.' Upon reaching the ninth level, one can achieve the zenith, reaching a legendary height!"

As the voice faded, a vast torrent of information flooded into Ye Chen’s mind, filling every corner of his memory—abstruse and difficult to parse, like an ancient, archaic scripture.

Ye Chen stood in a state of deep abstraction.

"Good luck, young one. I hope you can reach the ninth layer. There, you will find some treasures I left behind, which may prove very helpful to you."

The ancient voice carried a hint of a light chuckle, like a solitary sovereign looking down upon the world.

With those words, the entire crystal sphere shattered, dissolving into motes of crystalline light that vanished from the surrounding space.

Ye Chen did not pause, nor did he immediately begin cultivating. He surveyed his surroundings, finding nothing else of interest, and then stepped toward the second stone platform. The moment his foot touched the first riser, he felt an intensely concentrated sense of pressure enveloping him, making every movement a struggle.

Ye Chen clenched his jaw, settling into a cross-legged position. He immediately began sorting through the memories flooding his mind. Under such pressure, his body would gradually adapt, which would aid his advancement.

By now, Ye Chen could barely afford to waste a single moment.

"The first layer of the Heavenly Dao Scripture allows for the doubling of internal energy compression. For a Half-God expert, compression results in the strength of a First Heaven Half-God. For a False God expert, it results in the strength of a First Heaven False God!"

"Mastering the first layer increases combat power tenfold!"

"Cultivating to the third or sixth layer of the Heavenly Dao Scripture permits fighting above one's rank, establishing an absolutely invincible existence among peers!"

Seeing the benefits of the Heavenly Dao Scripture, Ye Chen’s heart could not help but race. Mastering the first layer grants a tenfold increase; mastering the second layer yields a hundredfold increase!

This manual was simply terrifying!

Ye Chen marveled internally. What kind of uniquely brilliant talent could create such a fearsome secret manual? This person called himself Heavenly Dao—what an arrogant name.

Heavenly Dao, acting on behalf of Heaven!

How audacious!

Ye Chen’s heart burned with fervor upon recalling the ancient voice's words. He meticulously examined the cultivation method. The first layer of the Heavenly Dao Scripture was complex, its central principle revolving around energy compression!

Not ordinary compression, but compression via an extremely specialized method, allowing this energy to amplify even greater power.

Normally, one knew...

The limit for a Half-God level was 100,000 points of Half-God Power. However, through cultivation, one could compress 100,000 points of Gui Qi into 10,000 points, effectively freeing up 90,000 points of capacity, meaning one could potentially hold 1,000,000 points of Half-God Power!

The most terrifying aspect was that there were nine layers!

Cultivating to the ninth layer would amplify combat power by a billion times!

Ye Chen was momentarily stunned, then immediately began his practice. After several hours, feeling he had adapted to the pressure of the first layer of steps, he climbed to the second, finding he could barely sustain it.

But Ye Chen did not stop there. He forced himself onto the third layer of steps and sat down cross-legged to cultivate the Heavenly Dao Scripture.

Time flowed by...

One month, two months, three months...

Five months later, Ye Chen was seated cross-legged on the 997th step. During this period, under that mysterious pressure, his willpower grew at an astonishing rate, advancing from the mid-seventh stage of the Sage realm to the peak of the seventh stage!

"Compress!"

"Compress!"

Ye Chen refined and compressed the Half-God Power within his body, following the pathways of the Heavenly Dao Scripture. Over these five months, he had successfully compressed his initial ninety thousand points of Half-God Power into ten thousand. Furthermore, he crushed fifty to sixty thousand Half-God Stones from the Rune Spaceship, integrating them into his body for tempering, ultimately forging seventy thousand points of Half-God Power!

Although it was only seventy thousand points, each point now rivaled ten of his previous points!

"This is incredible!" Ye Chen couldn't help but exclaim internally. This manual was truly miraculous. Ordinary compression techniques could only compress two points of divine power into one, or five points into one.

But this manual compressed ten points into one on its first layer.

Moreover, this manual could stack effects. For example, executing the Meteor Profundity increased power by onefold, or the Nine Palaces Manual could increase it by thirty times!

Just by mastering the first layer, executing the Nine Palaces Manual now resulted in a threefold increase in combat power!

Ye Chen stared at the three remaining steps before him, gritting his teeth, gathering all his strength, and charging toward them. After so many days of tempering, his physical body level had also climbed from just over 800,000 to 820,000!

This increase was primarily driven by the pressure on his willpower, yet his physical body was also forcibly subjected to the crushing force, leading to automatic transformation.

Swish!

Ye Chen shot forward like an arrow, reaching the Second Stone Platform. The pressure across his body suddenly eased, and he gasped heavily, collapsing onto the ground, unable to move, seemingly lacking the strength even to bat an eyelash.

After resting for a moment, he forced his spirit to rally, struggling to stand. He walked toward the crystal sphere on the Second Stone Platform. As soon as he neared it, he saw the sphere radiating a pure, azure light, like a miniature blue sun.

"Junior, I am truly gratified that you could reach this place," the ancient voice said, now gentler, like a mellow teacher. "I hope you will inherit my legacy and become the successor of Heavenly Dao. Reaching this stage suggests you possess considerable potential. On the eastern platform, there is a Heavenly Dao Gate containing treasures I have left for you."

"They should be of some assistance to you."

"You are now officially my direct disciple. When you ascend to the third layer, you will see my phantom image—that will count as a true apprenticeship!"

"In the past, the first three layers of my Heavenly Dao Scripture were exchanged and circulated into the outside world. However, the remaining six layers, I know only myself. If one day you master them, until your strength becomes overwhelmingly powerful, you must never expose them in front of outsiders."

"Otherwise, some of my old enemies from yesteryear will come looking for you."

"Though I do not know how many ages have passed, those old bastards have likely gone through many reincarnations and are still alive. The moment they see your manual, they will know you have inherited my mantle!"

"But you need not be overly secretive. Once you learn the seventh layer of the Heavenly Dao Scripture, and you reach the Divine Spirit level yourself, there will be very few people in this world who can truly hold you back."

"I am Heavenly Dao, yet the entire world was my enemy. When you obtain the manual for the seventh layer of the Heavenly Dao Scripture, there will be certain matters I need to tell you."

The ancient voice carried a touch of melancholy, mixed with profound age, and an air of cold, supreme arrogance, like a monarch who had reigned supreme over the heavens.