Starting with being handed over to the Imperial Concubine, building a family with a thousand-year hi

With a thought, Su Mu bravely broke through the boundless darkness to meet that one ray of light and suddenly opened his eyes!

When his vision cleared, he was still surrounded by that dark and deep corridor of reincarnation, the soul lamps flickering and the silence unchanging.

He focused his mind inward, examining the changes in his own soul, and a look of understanding and joy flashed across his eyes.

"My soul realm has already broken through to the mid-stage of the God King realm."

His sudden enlightenment during the endless darkness had caused his soul cultivation to surge dramatically, breaking through the shackles and reaching a completely new realm.

However, the insights into the Dao and laws gained from this sudden enlightenment were too vast and boundless, like reading a peerless Daoist book but not having carefully pondered it, and not yet having had time to fully digest and absorb it.

His divine soul has already reached the mid-stage of the God King realm, but his physical strength remains at the mid-stage of the Heavenly God realm. His physical transformation and spiritual power conversion will require a long period of seclusion and refinement.

Unfortunately, the secret realm is fraught with danger and opportunities are fleeting, leaving no time for seclusion and consolidation. He can only temporarily suppress his cultivation and wait until he returns to Tianyuan Star before going into seclusion to completely stabilize his realm and digest the Dao Fruit.

Even so, the gains from this enlightenment through reincarnation are still incredibly rich and far beyond imagination.

His spiritual realm surged, allowing him to fully comprehend and understand the spatial laws he had comprehended in the Pagoda of Creation, and his control over them became increasingly skillful and refined.

At the same time, the tempering of ten thousand years in the cycle of reincarnation allowed him to personally experience the flow of time and the changing of the years, and also gave rise to an extremely simple yet invaluable understanding of the profound and unfathomable laws of time.

The most crucial and precious gain is none other than a personal understanding of the fundamental law of reincarnation!

Ordinary cultivators spend thousands of years cultivating and comprehending the Dao, but in the end, they cannot compare to the sudden enlightenment of their true nature that comes in the blink of an eye, in the cycle of life and death.

With a firm Daoist heart and all obsessions gone, the myriad illusions of the world and the inner demons of mortal life can no longer shake him in the slightest.

Su Mu composed himself, stopped lingering, and strode forward.

After that, no matter what kind of illusory images or bewitching illusions appeared in his mind during the long corridor, they could not stir his emotions or shake his Dao heart.

Step by step, breaking through the darkness and shedding illusions, finally, a ray of brilliant dawn appeared at the end of the road.

……

Deep within the secret mountain range, beyond the original formation.

Dor, Shutton, and Qiao Lang had been waiting for a long time.

After confirming that Su Mu had entered the most dangerous and bizarre of the eight origins, the three of them immediately rushed outside the passage to wait for him.

The rules of the Origin Formation are strict. Only one person can pass through at any given time in the eight Origin Channels. Only when the predecessor has completely cleared the channel or died and his Dao dissipated, will the channel be reset and the successor be allowed to enter.

Su Mu stayed inside for a full day and night.

The long wait gradually fostered impatience and certainty in the hearts of the three Saint Realm experts.

"Do you think Su Mu is already trapped in the cycle of reincarnation, his mind and body bound by endless cycles, completely sinking into despair and unable to awaken?" Xiu Dun said in a deep voice, his tone somewhat mocking.

Qiao Lang nodded slightly and sneered, "He's most likely completely ruined. With his weak divine soul at the mere Heavenly God Realm, he simply couldn't withstand the baptism and erosion of the laws of reincarnation. By now, he's probably already dead and his soul has dissipated."

"Heh." Dor chuckled lightly, his eyes filled with indifference. "To say he was lucky is that he happened to choose the reincarnation passage that contained unparalleled opportunities; to say he was unlucky is that his divine soul at the Heavenly God Realm was too weak to enjoy it, and he was simply courting death."

"It's a bit of a pity, to be honest." Xiu Dun narrowed his eyes slightly, his tone calculating. "I originally wanted to spare his life. If we were to face the hidden powerhouse behind him in the future, we could capture him as a bargaining chip. The person who was willing to go to such lengths to bring him across the Blood Sea must value this kid highly."

"Unfortunately, it's useless." Dor said indifferently, "That hidden expert is at most at the early stage of the Saint Realm, the same level as the three of us. When we join forces to surround and kill him, we can wipe him out with a flick of our wrist. This mere bargaining chip is of little use."

As the group chatted and made sarcastic remarks, the long-silent reincarnation passage ahead suddenly emitted a soft, gentle light, and the passage's formation was reactivated.

"Hmm? The portal has reopened. Looks like it's completely dead."

A faint smile flashed across Dor's eyes. He stepped forward and said arrogantly, "While you two are waiting here, I will go ahead and ascend the Immortal Pavilion to await you."

As soon as he finished speaking, Dor's figure flashed and he stepped straight into the reincarnation channel.

……

Meanwhile, at the end of the passage.

Su Mu walked out of the dark corridor and was greeted by an endless expanse of white jade steps leading to the top of the sea of ​​clouds. This was the ultimate test of the second stage of the secret realm—the Heavenly Ladder.

Yu Sheng had completed the challenge a step earlier than him. At this moment, he stood quietly in front of the Heavenly Ladder, gazing at the endless steps with deep emotion in his eyes.

Noticing the movement behind him, Yu Sheng suddenly turned around and saw that Su Mu had emerged from seclusion safely. A hint of surprise flashed in his eyes, and then he smiled and gestured.

Knowing that Su Mu had entered the extremely dangerous cycle of reincarnation, Yu Sheng immediately activated his Saint Realm Divine Soul Power to quietly probe Su Mu's Divine Soul Realm.

For a cultivator, it is extremely impolite to rashly probe another's soul, but in the eyes of a veteran Saint Realm expert like Yu Sheng, Su Mu is nothing more than a pawn or a tool for a junior, so there is no need to be cautious in the slightest.

It would have been better if he hadn't investigated; once he did, Yu Sheng was secretly shocked.

Su Mu, who still appears to be at the mid-stage of the Celestial God realm, has actually broken through in his Divine Soul realm and reached the mid-stage of the God King realm!

Despite his shock, Yu Sheng remained calm and smiled as he cupped his hands in congratulations: "Congratulations, young friend, on your sudden enlightenment and great progress in your spiritual cultivation."

Su Mu casually cupped his hands in response, his expression indifferent, and then looked up at the boundless, towering staircase before him.

Yu Sheng spoke up at the right moment, saying, "This is the Heavenly Ladder, which has a total of 10,000 floors. It does not test the soul or the Great Dao, but only puts the physical body to the ultimate test."

"To successfully ascend to the top and enter the core of the Immortal Pavilion, one's physical strength must at least reach the peak of the God King realm. If one's physique is weak and one forces their way up, at best one's physical body will be severely injured and one's cultivation will be damaged; at worst one one will perish on the stairs, leaving no trace of one's body."

Upon hearing this, Su Mu's brows furrowed slightly, and many doubts instantly surfaced in his mind.

When traversing the sea of ​​blood, the blood sea formation only traps the evil spirits, not the cultivators; the eight fundamental passages are an extreme test of the cultivators' souls and minds; and now this Heavenly Ladder is specifically designed to temper the physical body.

The series of challenges, each linked to the next, are designed to specifically refine the soul, body, and mind—this is no accident.

What is the purpose of the master of this secret realm setting up these trials?

Seeing him frown and deep in thought, Yu Sheng mistakenly thought he was afraid and wanted to back down, so she gently comforted him: "Young friend, there is no need to worry. Even if you cannot reach the top of the Heavenly Ladder, there is absolutely no danger in staying here. After we have explored the core of the third section of the secret realm and opened the escape passage, you can leave with us."

Su Mu smiled faintly upon hearing this, his gaze firm: "Thank you for your kindness, senior, but I still want to try it myself and see if I can reach the top."

Upon hearing this, Yu Sheng stopped trying to persuade him, but secretly sneered in his heart, thinking that Su Mu was relying on the puppet of Tianqi, harboring wishful thinking and trying to show off his strength.

He had his own plans and did not remind Su Mu that the Heavenly Ladder Trial was absolutely exclusive, with no external forces able to intervene and no one else able to help; everything depended solely on one's own physical strength.

In his eyes, Su Mu or the Apocalypse Puppet were ultimately just pawns to be used. When the pawns fell or were discarded because they were no longer useful, he suffered no loss.

After a day and a night of waiting, people began to pass through the eight primordial passages.

Aside from Yu Sheng, who was the first to emerge from seclusion, and Su Mu, who followed closely behind, there were three Saint Realm experts: Dor, Xiu Dun, and Qiao Lang, as well as the sisters Bu Chuan Ku Cha and Bu Chuan Nai Zhao.

The peak-level Divine King cultivator from Tianyu Tower who had accompanied them earlier had perished in the Origin Passage, leaving no trace. Having witnessed countless deaths and comebacks in the secret realm, the group was not particularly moved by this.

What truly shocked and filled the three of them was that the Apocalypse Puppet, who had been protecting Su Mu throughout the entire ordeal, did not emerge from seclusion with them.

In the previous battle at the Blood Sea, the combat power displayed by the Apocalypse Puppet was already close to the Saint Realm, far beyond that of an ordinary God King, and it was even highly likely that it was a Saint Realm expert with hidden cultivation.

Such formidable combat power was actually lost in the Origin Channel?

The crowd grew increasingly wary of the perilous secret realm, noting that even those at the Saint Realm level were finding it difficult to escape unscathed, while secretly gloating in their hearts.

Only Su Mu knew the truth: the Apocalypse Puppet had not perished.

The moment he stepped out of the passage, he quietly put the puppet back into his storage space and concealed his presence.

The core opportunity of the third stage of the secret realm is just around the corner, and Yu Sheng, Dor, and others are all ambitious and eyeing it covetously.

Rather than exposing themselves and being feared by others, a top-tier combatant comparable to the early stage of the Saint Realm should quietly hide and lie in wait for the right moment to strike and win decisively when the time comes to seize the treasure.

The concealment of the Apocalypse Puppet also allowed everyone to completely let go of their fear of Su Mu. Everyone's attitude subtly changed, revealing contempt, indifference, and scheming.

"Su Mu, you go first and climb the Heavenly Ladder."

Just as everyone was getting ready to go deeper into the territory, Dor's cold and domineering voice suddenly rang out, completely commanding and leaving no room for discussion.

Su Mu raised his eyes and glanced indifferently at Yu Sheng and the Bu Chuan sisters.

All three remained indifferent and detached, offering no assistance and showing no emotion whatsoever.

Su Mu was not surprised at all by this.

Showing weakness, keeping a low profile, and concealing his brilliance were all deliberate disguises he employed.

Only by making everyone underestimate and ignore you can you avoid being targeted by everyone and reap the benefits in the subsequent treasure hunt in the secret realm.

He lowered his head, his face showing a look of loneliness and desolation. He was thin and walked slowly toward the ladder to heaven.

His figure was desolate and lonely, like a tragic pawn who knew he was doomed but was still forced to die.

The expressions of the people behind them varied.