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

"The 990th step!"

Shen Shuchou gritted his teeth, his voice squeezed out from between them, heavy with panting and the smell of blood.

After another full day, he finally struggled all the way up from the 700th step to the 990th step.

Right now, only ten steps remain to reach the summit of the path to immortality.

But these short ten steps seem to be separated by countless mountains and rivers, making them the most terrifying chasm on the entire path to immortality.

The oppressive force had solidified into a tangible form, like countless steel needles piercing into every inch of skin.

It was like an invisible mountain pressing down on his spine, making it difficult for him to even straighten his back.

At this moment, Shen Shuchou looked extremely disheveled. His coarse linen clothes had long been torn to shreds by the pressure.

His exposed skin was covered with crisscrossing wounds—some were knife wounds left from the fight, and others were deep cuts torn open by the pressure, so deep that the bone was visible.

His eyes were bloodshot as he looked up at the ten-step heavenly ladder that was so close at hand, but his body felt as heavy as a thousand pounds, and every bone in his body was groaning.

At the summit of the Path to Immortality, more than fifty young men and women already stood.

In the first trial, hundreds of people entered the game, but only fifty or so survived.

Those who failed to reach the summit have long since transformed into another dazzling crimson stain on the path to immortality.

Shen Shuchou took a deep breath, gathered the last bit of strength in his body into his legs, and took a step forward.

"Snap—!"

A clear cracking sound suddenly rang out, as if something inside the body was shattering.

The next second, he could no longer hold on and collapsed heavily onto the stone steps. The wound on his chest was squeezed hard, and a mouthful of blood spurted from the corner of his mouth, splashing onto the cold stone.

He tried to struggle to get up, but the oppressive force pressing down on him was like a bone-deep infection, pinning him to the spot. Even moving a finger took all his strength.

From the shadows, Lu Wanheng witnessed this scene and his heart clenched; almost instinctively, he wanted to step in and help.

"You've already helped him once."

Lu Wanheng paused, glancing to the side, and saw a middle-aged man in a plain-colored Taoist robe standing beside him.

His face was gentle, and his brows held a calm indifference that seemed to have seen through the ways of the world. He was none other than Feng Wujiang, the Holy Lord of Qingxuan Holy Land.

"Sect Master." Lu Wanheng composed himself and nodded slightly.

"You have already intervened once; it would be against the rules to interfere again. Considering that you are a saint, the previous matter will not be pursued."

Feng Wujiang's gaze fell on Shen Shuchou, who was struggling below, and his tone was calm and indifferent.

"He got to this point because of his own perseverance; my little help was just icing on the cake."

Lu Wanheng responded coldly.

"But that's already an exception, adding flowers to brocade," Feng Wujiang said calmly.

Upon hearing this, Lu Wanheng fell silent.

Looking at the small figure on the stone steps, almost crushed by the oppressive force, her restlessness grew stronger, and she even had the thought of rushing down regardless of everything.

Four years ago, I cast a divination for you.

Feng Wujiang suddenly spoke, interrupting her thoughts, "The divination indicates that you are destined to face a calamity."

Lu Wanheng suddenly looked up, a hint of surprise flashing in her eyes—she had never heard of this before.

"It seems that your calamity has arrived."

Feng Wujiang's gaze fell on Shen Shuchou, carrying a hint of deeper meaning.

"He is your calamity."

He paused, then continued, "I can't quite figure out what this calamity means for you, but I imagine it won't be an easy path."

Lu Wanheng pursed his lips and remained silent.

But the inexplicable flutter in her heart gradually overlapped with Feng Wujiang's words.

"If he dies here, perhaps your calamity will end here."

Feng Wujiang's voice remained gentle, yet carried a hint of admonition: "You are the most talented Holy Maiden in the history of Qingxuan Holy Land. I do not wish for you to go astray because of this unknown calamity."

Feng Wujiang's voice echoed in my ears.

From the moment Shen Shuchou embarked on the path to immortality, Feng Wujiang vaguely sensed that Lu Wanheng's calamity had quietly descended.

He had considered taking matters into his own hands to nip this unknown calamity in the bud.

But there was always an invisible force hindering him, as if this was a predetermined trajectory that could not be interfered with in the slightest.

What surprised him even more was that Lu Wanheng would secretly help Shen Shuchou without telling anyone.

At this moment, he had only one thought in his mind: he hoped that the boy would die on the last few steps so that everything could return to normal.

But the next second, a strange noise suddenly came from the path to immortality.

Feng Wujiang suddenly turned around and looked up, his eyes filled with disbelief and astonishment.

Shen Shuchou, who had been crushed to the ground by the oppressive aura, slowly propped himself up and stood up again, albeit unsteadily!

He took one step after another, climbing upwards.

991, 992, 994, 996...

In the blink of an eye, he had already crossed six levels, and was only four steps away from the peak!

On the path to immortality, Shen Shuchou dragged a leg that was clearly broken, and every step he took was accompanied by excruciating pain from the friction of the bones.

Cold sweat mixed with blood slid down his cheeks, leaving a winding trail on the stone steps.

But he seemed oblivious to the pain, his gaze fixed intently ahead, determined to climb the 997th step.

"System!" Shen Shuchou roared in his heart as he staggered forward.

In the beginning of the previous lives, the female protagonist had a difficult background and needed his protection.

This seventh life, however, was one in which he found himself in dire straits, facing thorns at every turn, making it arguably his most difficult start.

But the more this happened, the stronger his indomitable spirit became. He couldn't afford to fail, and he couldn't afford to die here.

In the shadows, Lu Wanheng watched the figure dragging its broken leg forward, its tightly clenched fingers trembling slightly.

Feng Wujiang's words still echoed in her ears, but at this moment, only one thought remained in her mind: He cannot stop.

Feng Wujiang frowned, gazing at Shen Shuchou's almost obsessive figure, and suddenly sighed.

The boy's resilience was even more astonishing than he had imagined. It was as if there was a force pushing him forward, which even the pressure of the Heavenly Dao could not completely crush.

The next second, nine hundred and ninety-seven, nine hundred and ninety-eight, nine hundred and ninety-nine... a thousand steps!

boom--!

The moment he reached the summit, Shen Shuchou's body could no longer support him, and he collapsed heavily onto the flat ground at the top of the mountain like a puppet with its strings cut.

His chest heaved violently, and a metallic taste rose in his throat, but he swallowed it back down forcefully.

He lay on the cold stone surface, his vision blurred, and all he could see were the boys and girls surrounding him.

Most of them were dressed in luxurious clothes, with jade bottles containing spiritual medicines hanging from their waists. Their gazes toward him were a mixture of wariness and shock, as if they were looking at an alien that shouldn't be there.

These scions of noble families who reached the top first had abundant resources and spiritual medicines protecting them from a young age, and their talents were among the best in the world.

In addition, having already been exposed to cultivation, although reaching the summit was difficult, the groundwork had already been laid.

But Shen Shuchou was different. His coarse clothes were stained with blood, and there was no trace of spiritual medicine on his body, only wounds and sweat all over his body.

Despite being self-taught, he managed to carve out a path from despair and rise to the same level as them.

"How...how could he possibly have come up here?"

Someone gasped in a low voice, their tone filled with disbelief.

"Without miraculous medicine, without a powerful background, what makes you...?"

Whispers arose, but Shen Shuchou paid no heed to them.

He clenched his fists tightly, feeling the sudden dissipation of the oppressive aura after reaching the summit, and an uncontrollable weak yet arrogant smile curled at the corners of his mouth.

In the shadows, Feng Wujiang gazed at the figure lying on the ground, still radiating defiance, and finally sighed once more.

That sigh contained helplessness, understanding, and an indescribable complexity.

He didn't look again, turned and disappeared into the shadows, walking away with steady steps.

He knew that from the moment Shen Shuchou stepped onto the thousandth step, Lu Wanheng's calamity was irreversible.