After nine lifetimes of reincarnation, the yandere villainous heroine descends.

Looking at the thousand-step path to immortality stretching before him, Shen Shuchou had unknowingly stepped onto the hundredth step.

In this life, his body is that of an eleven-year-old child, and his aptitude currently appears to be quite ordinary.

On this spiritually rich land of Zhongzhou, they had almost no advantage compared to the surrounding young men and women.

Of the more than one hundred people participating in the Ascension Path Trial, most came from families with a long history of cultivation.

He was nurtured by spiritual energy from a young age, and his bones and muscles had already laid a solid foundation. There are only a handful of people like him who have no background and are "self-taught".

Who will ultimately reach the summit remains to be seen.

The thousand-step immortal staircase exudes immense pressure with each step; the higher one ascends, the heavier the power of heaven and earth becomes.

He had only reached the hundredth step when he was already drenched in sweat, his legs were sore and trembling, and his small body was almost collapsing to the ground.

Shen Shuchou looked up.

Ahead, there were many figures, and most of the disciples had already left him far behind. Even those who were not much different from him still had a clear advantage over him.

And he was already in last place.

The road ahead is long, with nine hundred steps like an insurmountable chasm.

Shen Shuchou raised his hand to wipe the sweat from his forehead, his palm instantly becoming wet.

He took a deep breath, supported himself on his knees to stand up again, and began to climb upwards, one step at a time.

This beginning of his life was undoubtedly the most difficult one for him.

With the body of an eleven-year-old child and no foundation in cultivation, every step he took seemed to be a struggle against his own limits.

Inside the main hall at the summit, Lu Wanheng, dressed in snow-white robes, exuded an aura as cold as ice, yet his gaze remained fixed on the small figure reflected in the water mirror.

She herself couldn't explain why her usually calm heart would be stirred by this mediocre boy.

She couldn't understand why this seemingly unremarkable child could make her linger in front of the water mirror, unwilling to leave.

"Your Highness, which of these dolls do you think will ultimately ascend to immortality?"

Seeing her lost in thought, the white-haired old woman beside her smiled and asked.

Lu Wanheng remained silent, his gaze unwavering.

"Oh? The saintess has been staring at this doll. Does she perhaps think he can reach the top?"

Another elder followed her gaze and quickly found Shen Shuchou.

But he only glanced at it before gently shaking his head. "This young man's talent is too mediocre. It's already difficult enough for him to reach the hundredth step. To reach the thousandth step is probably as difficult as ascending to heaven."

As soon as he finished speaking, the other cultivators also turned their gazes to Shen Shuchou in the water mirror.

"Indeed, judging from his appearance, he probably won't last more than two hundred steps."

"In the path of cultivation, aptitude comes first. With such innate talent, even if one manages to enter the gate by chance, it will be difficult to achieve great things in the future."

Hearing the disdainful voices around him, Lu Wanheng's brows furrowed slightly, a hint of barely perceptible irritation creeping into his eyes.

The chill on her beautiful, icy face intensified.

"If he can climb up, I will take him as my disciple."

Lu Wanheng's voice suddenly rang out, cold as ice shattering on jade, instantly silencing the discussions in the hall.

"Holy Maiden! Do you know what you're saying?"

An elder with a bristling beard and hair suddenly stood up and said in a deep voice, "According to the long-standing rules of the Qingxuan Holy Land, the Holy Maiden never accepts disciples. How can you make an exception?"

Lu Wanheng turned around, his cool eyes meeting the elder's directly, his tone completely calm: "I said, if he can climb up. He hasn't even reached the top yet, so why are you in such a hurry?"

"you……"

The elder was speechless, his face turning pale and then red.

"Alright, alright."

The white-haired old woman quickly smoothed things over, smiling and saying, "Her Highness the Holy Maiden was probably just saying it casually because she saw the child's commendable perseverance. Holy Maiden, please don't be angry, and Elder, there's no need to take it seriously."

The others echoed their sentiments, believing that the boy in the water mirror was already at his limit and that reaching the top of the thousand steps was simply a pipe dream.

The saintess's words just now were probably just a momentary outburst of indignation at seeing others treat a child so lightly.

Lu Wanheng glanced coldly at everyone, said nothing more, and turned to walk straight out of the hall.

Stepping out of the main hall, she subconsciously glanced down.

That small figure was still wriggling on the stone steps, like a persistent snail, struggling forward on the long road to immortality.

Her eyes flickered slightly, but she ultimately turned and left.

Deep down, she didn't really believe that Shen Shuchou could create a miracle.

That last sentence was probably just a momentary outburst of frustration.

On the first step of the path to immortality, countless figures are still struggling to move forward.

Time passed little by little, one hour, two hours, three hours... quietly gone.

"The...two hundredth step."

As Shen Shuchou trembled and uttered the number, he collapsed heavily onto the cold stone steps, like a tattered rag doll.

Several hours of desperate climbing exhausted the last bit of strength in his body.

Although we have now reached the 200th floor, looking up, the towering 800 steps ahead seem like an endless chasm piercing the sky.

Even more deadly was the overwhelming hunger that was raging through his internal organs.

He managed to turn to the side and slumped down on the steps, leaning against the stone steps behind him to catch his breath for a moment before slowly opening the old cloth bag on his back.

The bag contained only a well-worn water bottle and a few hard, dry wheat cakes.

Shen Shuchou ate the wheat cake in small bites, using the remaining half-mouthed water in the pot.

The dry, hard crumbs stung his throat, but he ate slowly, chewing each bite carefully, as if trying to squeeze every last drop of energy out of him.

On the steps not far away, several boys of similar age to him were also resting.

However, the brocade pouches spread out in front of them contained glistening pills, some radiating a faint spiritual light, and others shrouded in a thin mist.

One of them picked up a pill and swallowed it. In just a moment, his pale face regained its color, and his breathing became much more even, clearly indicating that the power of the pill was rapidly restoring his strength.

There are no rules to follow on the path to immortality. From the moment they step onto the steps, the scions of prestigious families occupy absolute resources.

Shen Shuchou, on the other hand, only had a few low-grade pills in his pocket. He knew very well that if he were to consume them now, it would be like burning out a match, only to face an endless forest.

The only thing to do is to save this meager amount of capital for the final, life-or-death moment.

He watched as the boys quickly recovered and climbed up again, without a trace of envy. He simply put the last bite of the pancake into his mouth and swallowed it slowly.

Two incense sticks later, Shen Shuchou finally managed to stand up and climb the two hundred steps again, one step at a time.

With each step he took upwards, the sky above him darkened a little more.

In the Temple of the Holy Maiden at the Cloud Peak, Lu Wanheng meditated and cultivated several times, but was disturbed by an inexplicable tremor in his heart.

My thoughts drifted uncontrollably to the figure still struggling on the steps to immortality.

No matter how hard she tried to calm herself, she couldn't suppress that lingering concern. Lu Wanheng finally got up and walked out of the hall, leaping into the air and standing high in the sky.

With a cool gaze, she looked down and saw that Shen Shuchou had already stepped onto the 240th step, with only 60 steps left to reach the 300th step.

But he looked even more disheveled than when he was at the 200th step.

Looking at him, who was clearly in a terrible state but still gritted his teeth and climbed up inch by inch, Lu Wanheng suddenly felt a little lost.

She couldn't understand why a boy with such mediocre talent, who had almost exhausted all his strength even at the second hundredth level, would insist on embarking on the path of immortality.

She couldn't understand why such an ordinary person could stir her heart and make her feel so restless.

Lu Wanheng gazed at him quietly for a long time before finally twitching her fingertips and sending a gentle wisp of spiritual energy down, covering Shen Shuchou's body.

Having done all this, she didn't linger and turned to leave.

Her actions had already been observed by an old man in the sky above the main hall.

As a trial enforcer, he never imagined that anyone would dare to interfere with the Ascension Trial.

In previous years, no one dared to make the slightest move, let alone the current Holy Maiden Lu Wanheng.

According to the sect's rules, if an inner disciple interferes in the trial, their identity should be stripped; and the boy who received assistance should be killed on the spot.

Just as the elder was about to make a move, a soft sigh suddenly reached his ears.

"No need."

Upon hearing this voice, the law enforcement elder abruptly stopped.

He recognized the voice as that of Feng Wujiang, the Holy Lord of Qingxuan Holy Land.

"This old man does not understand, what does Your Majesty mean?"

He asked in a deep voice.

"The Holy Maiden was momentarily confused; let's just pretend we didn't see it."

Feng Wujiang's voice came again, calm and undisturbed.

"But this breaks Qingxuan's rules! Even the Holy Maiden is no exception!" The Enforcement Elder frowned, his tone filled with confusion and anxiety.

"rule?"

Feng Wujiang's voice held a hint of amusement, yet also a deeper meaning: "Aren't the rules of this world meant to be broken?"

Upon hearing this, the elder in charge of law enforcement's expression changed drastically.

He never expected that Feng Wujiang, the Holy Lord of the Holy Land who always valued rules the most, would say such a thing.

For a moment, his hand holding the mudra froze in mid-air.

"His talent was mediocre to begin with, and he'll never ascend the path to immortality anyway. He's going to die either way, so why bother soiling your hands with his blood?"

Feng Wujiang's voice drifted over slowly.

"Besides, do you want the world to laugh at me, Qingxuan? To see how I, the Holy Maiden Qingxuan, break these rules that are seen as ironclad by outsiders?"

Upon hearing this, the elder of law enforcement finally lowered his hand that had been suspended in mid-air, and the clenched seal quietly lost its light.

He was silent for a moment, then said in a deep voice, "This old man... understands."

On his path to immortality, Shen Shuchou was completely unaware of the murderous intent that had been hanging over his head.

He felt a strange warmth spreading through his body, which had felt like it was falling apart. The soreness in his limbs gradually subsided, and even his breathing became easier.

That sudden surge of strength was like a dying plant encountering spring rain, giving him renewed motivation to move forward.

He looked up at the stone steps that were disappearing into the night ahead, and without the slightest hesitation, he used the strength he had regained to increase his speed of climbing upwards.