With each step forward, a pressure like Mount Tai pressing down gathered from all around.
One step, two steps, three steps...
Chen Shuo's legs had already begun to tremble, sweat pouring down like rain. His body was bending under the mountain-like pressure.
Despite this, Chen Shuo still gritted his teeth and persevered, his eyes fixed firmly ahead at this moment.
No matter how difficult the path, he would face the challenge head-on.
It was this unshakeable determination that allowed him to take the fourth step.
"Boom!"
A thunderous roar struck deep into Chen Shuo's soul. This fourth step was no longer just a physical burden, but more a torment from within his spirit.
This was beyond Chen Shuo's expectations; he had never imagined that a Demon Hunter of the Legendary Realm would possess such power.
Not only could they manipulate the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, but they could also induce changes in the world around them.
This pressure, like great mountains pressing down, came from the changes in the spiritual energy of heaven and earth.
Taking another step upward, Chen Shuo's form was already swaying, the mental assault far surpassing ordinary physical torture.
If physical torture was a lake, then mental torture was an ocean.
Waves of mental attacks crashed over him like a tempest, each one causing Chen Shuo's spirit to tremble.
After several attempts to endure, Chen Shuo had reached his limit.
Another violent assault hit, and Chen Shuo felt a sweet taste in his throat.
"Puff!"
A mist of blood sprayed out, tracing an arc in the sky. At this moment, Chen Shuo finally couldn't hold on any longer.
He fell to one knee, his face ashen. This was the limit of his body. If he hadn't already reached the level of Demon Saint, with a physical strength far beyond the ordinary, he would have likely turned to ash under this powerful pressure long ago.
Chen Shuo revealed a bitter smile, wiping away the blood from the corner of his mouth with his hand. After a few dry coughs, he felt as if his lungs were about to explode.
The reason for his struggle was not just that he wasn't using his power to resist, but more importantly, he had to divide his attention to suppress his power from automatically defending him.
It was the combination of these two factors that made Chen Shuo suffer so much.
"Retreat. If you continue like this, you'll only turn to dust. Considering you're the son-in-law of the Su Family, I'll pretend I didn't see you. This is already a concession on my part."
Just as Chen Shuo was trying to stand up again, a deep and resonant voice came from all directions.
Chen Shuo knew this was Elder Xu's voice. He also understood that such defenses on the staircase were meant to discourage him from proceeding.
In this regard, Elder Xu wasn't as devoid of humanity as rumors suggested. This realization gave Chen Shuo a bit more confidence.
He believed that if he could successfully climb up, there would be hope for negotiation.
At least for now, the other party was aware of his identity. In the past, they would have surely killed him outright.
But even now, when he had almost lost the ability to resist, the other party still hadn't struck.
This indicated their attitude, and it was this small detail that gradually strengthened Chen Shuo's resolve.
Ignoring the other's words, Chen Shuo struggled to his feet on his own. With each upward movement, Chen Shuo could feel as if mountains were falling from the sky.
Each impact bent his back a little more.
But Chen Shuo didn't give up. For every inch he bent, he forced himself to straighten up twice as much.
Blood trickled steadily from the corner of Chen Shuo's mouth, soaking his clothes and wetting the steps.
"Why bother? Doing this will only lead to your demise."
The voice sounded again, this time with a hint of pity.
"I've made my choice, so I won't turn back!"
Chen Shuo roared out, and though weak, at this moment his voice was powerful and resolute.
This was his belief, this was his persistence.
Driven by his immense willpower, Chen Shuo once again stepped forward. One step, two steps...
With each step forward, Chen Shuo's expression twisted more, the powerful pressure further distorting his form.
"Give up, there won't be a good outcome..."
"Give up, you won't suffer if you give up..."
"Give up, the way back is always easier..."
Voices urging him to give up filled Chen Shuo's ears like demonic whispers, frantically surrounding him.
Chen Shuo clenched his teeth, his hands tightly fisted, nails digging into his flesh. Even as his skin split and flesh tore, Chen Shuo didn't loosen his grip one bit.
Once he had decided on something, no one could change it. No matter how many voices, how much persuasion, at this moment they all became things that strengthened Chen Shuo's resolve.
With his blood surging, Chen Shuo pressed forward relying solely on willpower.
Although each step made Chen Shuo's body struggle under the burden, even causing him to fall repeatedly, he never gave up or retreated.
After an unknown amount of time, Chen Shuo no longer had his handsome and dashing appearance. All that remained was a body covered in blood, clothes stained a brownish-purple red.
It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say he looked like a beggar from the outside world.
His sunken, darkened eyes stared blankly at the last step ahead. What should have been just twenty steps had taken him nearly two hours.
Finally, finally, it was the crucial moment of victory. As long as he took this last step, then... then everything would be successful.
Lying on the ground, Chen Shuo had lost all physical sensation and even the ability to move his body.
"Just one step, one step..."
Chen Shuo mumbled, his eyes unfocused. Even in this state, he still managed to take that final step through sheer force of will.
"A little bit, just a little bit more..."
Chen Shuo persevered, gritting his teeth. Blood oozed from the corner of his mouth. At this point, he couldn't see anything clearly, his vision obscured by blood and sweat.
Just as his foot touched down, his overstrained body finally gave out.
His vision went black, his body tilted, and he fell straight down.
Just as his face was about to hit the ground, a figure appeared where he was falling and caught him.
"Ah, this is fate!"
"Drip, drip, drip..."
After an unknown amount of time, Chen Shuo regained consciousness to the sound of dripping. Although his body felt heavy, he tried to sit up immediately.
The tearing pain throughout his body prevented him from moving even a little. After sucking in a cold breath, he was finally able to slowly open his heavy eyelids.
When he saw his surroundings again, he was a bit dazed.
He wasn't in the Su Family residence, but in his own room.
Right beside his bed, Su Xiyan was sleeping quietly, her head resting on the edge.
"What's going on? I... wasn't I at the Su Family house? How did I..." Chen Shuo tried hard to recall what had happened, but no matter how he tried to remember, his mind was blank. All he could recall was the scene of him struggling to climb those steps.
ive and Ruthless] Before his transmigration, Ye Xuan was playing a game called "Severing Emotions to Attain the Dao." The game's core wasn't about leveling up by fighting monsters, but about conquering various "bad women" with wicked personalities and cold, fickle natures. There was only one method to conquer them: stay unwaveringly by their side, then die at a critical moment, driving them to madness after losing the protagonist. The higher their level of regret, the higher the player's score. To dominate the server, Ye Xuan conquered all the bad women. In the early stages, he showered them with boundless tenderness, only to choose to sacrifice himself for them later, making them weep bitterly and drown in regret. Among them were: Xia Lengyue, the unfaithful immortal wife who chased after powerful men and discarded her husband like trash. Ye Qingcheng, the Demonic Venerable of the Joyous Union Sect, who appeared pure and innocent but was, in reality, promiscuous. Wu Lingxiao, the Empress of the Great Xia Dynasty, who lusted after men and loved maintaining a harem. Bai Qiangu of the Endless Demonic Sect: a bloodthirsty mass murderer. However, when the protagonist transmigrated into the game world, he made a horrifying discovery. Eight hundred years had already passed. The bad women he had conquered had now each become deities and revered ancestors. Faced with the endless stream of toxic women coming for him, Ye Xuan could only rely on his god-tier acting skills to carve a path of survival through this world of treacherous women.
nd fell into a coma while saving his younger sister from an out-of-control car. He became a vegetable. No one knew that his consciousness had crossed into a world of cultivation. Over the course of sixty years, he began as the lowest kind of mine slave, struggling to survive amid mountains of corpses and seas of blood. By sheer chance, he eventually obtained the complete memories of a fallen Immortal King. Alchemy, medicine, formations, feng shui, physiognomy, artifact forging… Every great inheritance of the cultivation world was now his. But when he opened his eyes again, he discovered that ten full years had passed in the modern world. To pay for his treatment, his father had sold the family’s shop and house, leaving himself covered in lasting injuries and illness. His mother had cared for him day and night, and more than half of her hair had already turned white. His younger sister, who had been only fifteen back then, was now twenty-five. To help repay the family’s debts, she had been forced to lower her head and put on a smiling face in places of glittering lights and endless revelry. Only then did Chen Xuan understand that what he had lost was not merely ten years. He had lost the life his entire family was meant to have. The good news was that he had brought back the memories of an Immortal King’s entire lifetime. The bad news was that his soul had returned alone—his cultivation had not come with him. Spiritual energy was scarce, resources were depleted, and the modern world still had firearms, surveillance, capital, and laws. If he wanted to protect his family, break free from everyone’s control, and become truly invincible beneath the heavens, he would have to start all over again.
s + Rent Collection Wealth】 At the start, he inherited a rundown house in the urban village from his grandfather. The house had no tenants, but the moment he was diagnosed with a terminal illness, a self-proclaimed empress from the Tianxuan Continent arrived as his first tenant. Ye Chuan soon discovered that with every new tenant moving in, not only did he receive massive daily payments, but he also obtained unique items related to their backgrounds. 【Acquired Bai Qianshuang’s related item: Tiger Strength Pill—dramatically enhances physical power!】 【Acquired Bai Qianshuang’s related item: Deer Blood Pill—significantly boosts vitality!】 …… From that day on, all sorts of bizarre tenants began appearing in the house: the empress from Tianxuan Continent, an apocalyptic sorceress from the Magic Realm, a mysterious scientific girl who fell through a spacetime rift… Every single day, he received strange, powerful items and endless money. Then one day, he suddenly realized—he had become invincible. Enough, enough! Stop giving me more!
world slacker. But a genius female disciple just had to get clingy, insisting that he take her as a disciple. Not only that, she was always making advances on him, thoroughly disrupting his peaceful slacker life...
