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

The Apocalypse Puppet had completely disappeared, utterly dispelling any remaining apprehension in everyone's hearts. In an instant, the mindset of everyone present subtly shifted; their dismissive indifference and their calculated schemes were no longer concealed and were fully revealed.

"Su Mu, you will be the first to step forward and ascend the Heavenly Ladder."

Just as everyone was ready to step into the depths of the secret realm, Dor's cold and domineering voice suddenly rang out, his tone forceful and arrogant, carrying an unquestionable commanding tone.

Su Mu glanced at Yu Sheng and the Bu Chuan sisters beside him. All three remained indifferent and aloof, none offering a word of intervention or assistance. Su Mu was unmoved by this; he had already anticipated it. His strategy of feigning weakness and concealing his strength, of keeping a low profile, was a deliberate arrangement. Only by making everyone underestimate and ignore him could he avoid being targeted by various parties, allowing him to lie low and reap the benefits in the subsequent treasure hunt.

He lowered his head, deliberately revealing a look of loneliness and desolation. His figure was thin and solitary, his steps heavy and slow, as he slowly walked towards the stairway to heaven. His desolate and lonely figure resembled a tragic pawn forced into a game, unable to control its own destiny.

The people behind them had different expressions and thoughts. The three Saint Realm experts, Dor, had mocking and sarcastic faces, their eyes filled with indifferent spectatorship; Yu Sheng's expression was cold and unmoved, watching coldly from the sidelines; the Bu Chuan sisters shook their heads and sighed softly. The two women's sighs were not out of pity, but out of regret for this human junior with heaven-defying talent, which had completely thwarted their previous efforts to secretly recruit and deliberately cultivate him.

Su Mu paid no heed to the schemes and plots of others. He stood alone at the bottom of the Ten Thousand Layer Heavenly Ladder, gazing into the distance. The endless white jade staircase stood straight and tall, layer upon layer leading to the top of the sea of ​​clouds. It seemed simple and plain, without any imposing presence, but in reality, it was a place of undercurrents and hidden endless deadly dangers.

The moment Su Mu took his first step, his foot landing firmly on the first step, the invisible gravity-binding domain suddenly reactivated. Tens of thousands of pounds of immense pressure crashed down, crushing his limbs and meridians. This level of pressure was utterly insignificant to Su Mu, whose physical foundation was already comparable to a peak God-King; it posed no burden whatsoever.

At the same time, a wisp of pure and warm wood essence gushed forth from the cracks in the steps, flowing along the meridians on the soles of the feet and circulating throughout the body, quietly nourishing the muscles and bones. This primordial energy was far beyond the ordinary spiritual energy of cultivation; it contained the subtle and profound rhythms of the fundamental laws of the universe, but its aura was too weak and fleeting to be fully comprehended.

Suppressing his curiosity, Su Mu steadily took his second step, ascending to the second level of the stairs. The gravity binding him instantly doubled, the crushing force becoming increasingly violent and terrifying, while the wood elemental aura that emerged simultaneously became even more abundant and profound.

In an instant, he completely grasped the trial rules of the Heavenly Ladder.

With each level ascended, the binding gravity increases exponentially, layering and escalating the pressure on the physical body. However, the corresponding restorative and tempering power of the Wood element also advances and amplifies, continuously nourishing the bones and refining the body. One danger, one opportunity; one loss, one gain—they complement each other, creating a cyclical balance that conceals endless profound mysteries of the Great Dao.

With unwavering resolve, Su Mu steadily ascended the steps, climbing each one until he reached the two thousandth floor.

The moment he stood on the two-thousand-story-high platform, the terrifying gravity, layer upon layer and constantly increasing, crashed down. Su Mu's legs trembled slightly and bent quietly. His skin and flesh were extremely taut and cracked under the extreme pressure, and fine blood-red lines instantly covered his entire body. His physical body had reached the limit of its current capacity and was on the verge of serious injury.

Just as his physical body was about to crumble and be damaged, a vast and boundless source of wood surged forth like a tidal wave, instantly enveloping his entire body and washing over every inch of his muscles and meridians. The cracked flesh was instantly healed and repaired, and the damaged tendons and bones were nourished and tempered to the extreme, becoming increasingly tough, strong, and indestructible.

With the help of this abundant and profound primal power, Su Mu's soul finally accurately captured that elusive mystery—the primal wood element nurtured by this Heavenly Ladder actually contained the universe's top-tier primal wood law! However, the rhythm of the law was fleeting and extremely brief, and he still could not fully capture or comprehend it.

To fully comprehend the true meaning of the laws and thoroughly understand the fundamental principles of the wood element, one must continue to climb upwards, endure even more terrifying pressure, and absorb even purer and more profound primal power.

Su Mu raised his eyes to gaze at the endlessly extending Heavenly Staircase, his brows slightly furrowed. Just two thousand levels had already pushed his physical body to its limits; the danger of the subsequent levels was unimaginable. But this slight doubt was instantly dismissed. His physical body had undergone countless trials of life and death, honed by the Great Dao, its foundation profound and robust, in no way inferior to that of an ordinary peak God-King cultivator. If Yu Sheng could climb ten thousand levels of the Heavenly Staircase with the physique of a peak God-King, there was absolutely no reason for him to stop here.

It must be that the trial rules of this Heavenly Ladder contain hidden secrets!

Suppressing his distracting thoughts, Su Mu gritted his teeth and resolutely stepped onto the 2001st step.

The moment his feet touched the ground, the terrifying gravity that had been layered and omnipresent vanished instantly. Before Su Mu could even catch his breath, an extremely sharp and piercing aura suddenly erupted from the depths of the steps. Fine, dazzling sword energy shot into the sky, then turned back and swooped down, crashing into his body with extreme speed.

The sword energy this time was only at the early stage of the Quasi-God Realm. To Su Mu, whose physical body was incomparably strong, it was like a mosquito bite, causing no harm whatsoever. At this moment, Su Mu completely understood the true essence of the Heavenly Ladder trial—this Heavenly Ladder was never just a simple gravity suppression trial!

As the sword energy subsided, the pure and abundant essence of wood reappeared as expected. Su Mu immediately spread his vast divine soul, enveloping his entire body with its power, and focused all his efforts on capturing the rhythmic laws within the essence. This time, he clearly and truly comprehended the vast and profound mystery of the wood essence's endless cycle of life, decay, and renewal.

"That's interesting."

Su Mu smiled slightly, a hint of amusement in his eyes. "As expected of one of the eight fundamental elements of the universe, the Wood element's laws are profound and infinitely mysterious. It truly lives up to its reputation."

The trials set up by the master of this secret realm were interconnected and contained profound mysteries, far more mysterious and profound than he had imagined. This made him even more curious about the true scheme and ultimate purpose of the other party in devoting his life to creating this secret realm.

"Su Mu! Stop dawdling and climbing!"

From below came Dor's extremely impatient rebuke, his tone arrogant and sarcastic, full of condescending accusations.

A chilling killing intent flashed across Su Mu's eyes. Dor's repeated aggressive and provocative actions had already crossed his bottom line. Since you're so eager to push me into this perilous journey, then you'll have to experience the treacherous path to the underworld and the desperate road ahead first!

Su Mu did not turn around, his expression calm and composed, and continued to steadily ascend. The 2002nd floor was still a sword qi trial, and the number of sword qi had doubled. Two sharp blades of quasi-god realm early stage bombarded his physical body in turn, but they still could not shake him in the slightest, and could not even leave a trace.

Seeing this, the three people below, including Dor, began to comment, their contempt growing stronger.

"It seems that the trial rules for this year's Heavenly Ladder are no different from those of previous years." Dor commented calmly and indifferently, "The first two thousand floors are gravity pressure trials, and the two thousand to four thousand floors are sword energy breaking through the body trials. Every two thousand floors, a new trial mechanism will be introduced."

Qiao Lang echoed in a deep voice, adding, "The trials of the first eight thousand steps pose no fatal danger to us Saint Realm cultivators and can be easily overcome. The real life-or-death crises and deadly dangers are all hidden in the last two thousand steps."

When the final two thousand steps of the Heavenly Ladder trial were mentioned, the expressions of the three Saint Realm experts with Primordial Dao Bodies changed simultaneously. A deep sense of apprehension and solemnity flashed across their eyes, clearly recalling the thrilling and perilous experiences they had had when they first climbed this place.

Xiu Dun collected his thoughts and fixed his gaze once again on the slender figure climbing the Heavenly Ladder, his eyes filled with astonishment and doubt: "This boy is truly strange. I thought that with his weak physique at the Heavenly God Realm, even two thousand floors would be an insurmountable chasm, but I didn't expect him to actually make it through."

As soon as Xiu Dun finished speaking, all the Saint Realm experts present focused their gazes on the lone figure climbing the Heavenly Ladder.

No one knew that Su Mu's divine soul had already broken through to the mid-stage of the God King Realm. Everyone still regarded him as a mid-stage Heavenly God Realm cultivator with decent aptitude and ordinary foundation.

With a mixture of scrutiny and pity in his eyes, Qiao Lang slowly spoke: "To withstand the extreme gravity of two thousand floors of the Heavenly Ladder with a mere Heavenly God Realm physique is already the limit of one's ultimate talent. It must be that the mysterious powerhouse behind him spent endless rare treasures and heaven-defying resources day and night to temper his body and hone his foundation, thus forging such a powerful physique. Otherwise, with his own Heavenly God Realm cultivation foundation alone, he would have already shattered his body and perished on the spot when he reached the thousandth floor."

Compared to Su Mu's talent, Xiu Dun was more wary of the mysterious guardian hiding in the shadows, his eyes filled with deep fear and suspicion: "It seems that the mysterious person who spared no expense to take him across the sea of ​​blood is probably more than just a Saint Realm cultivator."

Upon hearing this, Dor scoffed, his tone certain yet tinged with mockery: "You're overthinking it. The trials of the Origin Passage are extremely unique and demanding. The higher a cultivator's cultivation level and the stronger their Dao body foundation, the more terrifying the suppression from the passage becomes, and the greater the difficulty of the trial will be. That person must have deliberately concealed their cultivation level, ultimately reaping what they sowed, becoming trapped in the passage's illusion and unable to escape, ultimately dying and dissipating. Otherwise, with their strength, they would never have emerged until now."

Every word of their casual conversation reached Yu Sheng's ears. His gaze hardened slightly as he watched Su Mu's steady ascent, a cold glint flashing in his eyes, a murderous intent subtly hidden within.

Mid-stage Saint Realm? Such profound skill in concealing one's abilities and enduring hardship!

In Yu Sheng's eyes, Su Mu deliberately concealed the formidable combat power of the Apocalypse Puppet and hid his true strength, patiently feigning weakness and lying low, all with the aim of making a name for himself at the end of the secret realm, monopolizing the core treasure and enjoying the ultimate fortune. He, a master strategist and manipulator throughout his life, had always been the one to outmaneuver others. Now, however, he was being outmaneuvered and schemed against by a junior, and his proud and arrogant heart was already filled with resentment and anger.

Due to the rules and oaths established by the Star Palace, Su Mu had not yet betrayed his sect, and he could not act without cause or forcibly kill him. But rules are rigid, while people are flexible.

A chilling murderous intent had quietly taken root in Yu Sheng's heart: either he would use the extreme danger of the secret realm, through the hands of others, to secretly eliminate Su Mu and prevent future troubles; or, after leaving the secret realm, he would coordinate with various forces, using their strength against them, and killing with a borrowed knife. He was always the one scheming against others; those who dared to scheme against him never survived to the end!

On the ladder to heaven, Su Mu was determined and forged ahead, steadily climbing upwards.

Between the two thousand and four thousand levels, the Heavenly Ladder Sword Qi progressed layer by layer, continuously surging. Starting with the initial two Quasi-God Realm sword qi, each layer stacked and amplified, with both quantity and power increasing simultaneously. Quasi-God, True God, and God King level sword qi appeared one after another, their sharp edges cleaving the sky, booming and reverberating, their momentum terrifying.

As the tower approached the four thousandth floor, the number of sword energies erupting from the Heavenly Ladder simultaneously reached over a thousand. Each one contained the terrifying destructive power of a late-stage God King, enough to instantly severely injure or even kill an ordinary peak God King cultivator. The danger was extremely frightening.

Fortunately, Su Mu's physical foundation far surpassed that of other cultivators of the same level, and he was also clad in a mid-grade Saint-level battle armor, making his defenses indestructible and firmly protecting all his vital points. The countless sword energies bombarded him relentlessly, seemingly a dangerous and overwhelming spectacle, yet they could not break through his defenses or harm him in the slightest.

More importantly, each step continuously releases a rich and pure source of wood essence. As long as he is not instantly killed, the abundant wood essence will instantly cleanse his entire body, repairing all damage and keeping his physique at its peak, without any loss or exhaustion throughout the process.

The moment one ascends to the 4001st floor, the trial rules of the Heavenly Ladder suddenly change once again.

The fierce and rampant sword energy vanished instantly, replaced by an extreme dual attack of water and fire. The frigid ice water and the blazing flames alternately washed over, intertwined and collided, two extreme energies with completely opposite attributes that repelled and balanced each other, bombarding Su Mu's body in turn, starting a new trial of desperate circumstances.