485: A challenge from afar, and the tower spirit appears.

High above, the nine massive war vessels radiating an aura of extinction hovered stiffly.

That monstrous killing intent, enough to stir the winds and clouds of the Central Continent Divine Land, failed to intimidate Tongtian City at this moment.

Instead, it was like a heavy punch thrown with full force only to hit empty air—indescribably frustrating and farce-like.

Inside the city, the gazes of billions of Cultivators moved back and forth between the awkward army in the sky and the constantly jumping point of light on the Tongtian Pagoda's light screen.

Fear?

It was gone.

It was replaced by an absurdly extreme sense of bewilderment and a strange urge to laugh but not daring to.

"Cough... so, is Zixiao Holy Land here... to stand in the corner?"

"Keep your voice down! Do you want to die? That's the Holy Lord himself!"

"But he... he can't hit him... the guy is still climbing up inside the pagoda."

"Seventy-first floor! My goodness, he's gone up another floor!"

Whispers, like the buzzing of mosquitoes, rose from every corner of the city, converging into an invisible wave of mockery that shot straight into the sky.

The Zixiao Holy Lord stood within the main vessel, his face as dark as ink.

His Dao Heart, comparable to divine gold, was currently being repeatedly scorched by an unprecedented fire of humiliation.

He, the dignified master of the Zixiao Holy Land, a Mahayana Saint Lord, had personally led the army.

He had deployed the sect's ultimate treasure, putting on a posture that suggested he wouldn't hesitate to start a holy war.

And the result?

His enemy was right before his eyes, yet separated by a barrier of rules he could not break.

He had become the laughingstock of the Central Continent Divine Land!

Retreat?

Behind him was the dignity of the entire Zixiao Holy Land and the earnest expectations of countless Elders and Disciples. How could he retreat!

"Brat!"

The Zixiao Holy Lord could no longer suppress the rage and frustration in his heart.

He took a step forward. His figure was not revealed, but his voice, containing the supreme power of a Mahayana Saint Lord...

...turned into rolling heavenly thunder, exploding violently over the entire Tongtian City.

"Coward who hides! Will you only hide in the pagoda like a turtle retracting its head?"

"I am here!"

"Do you dare to come out of the pagoda and fight me!!!"

The sound waves were like billions of thunder mountains collapsing simultaneously, shaking the entire Tongtian City until it hummed.

The light screen of the City Protection Grand Array fluctuated violently; countless low-level Cultivators were shaken until they bled from their seven orifices, their Divine Souls on the verge of splitting.

This challenge, carrying the Holy Lord's endless fury and majesty, spread for a hundred thousand miles.

Everyone was startled by this sudden thunderous roar, their hearts nearly stopping.

Countless gazes shifted once more in unison toward the Tongtian Pagoda's light screen.

They were waiting.

Waiting for the reaction of that point of light.

Would he stop, or would he come out of the pagoda to accept the challenge?

However.

One breath.

Ten breaths.

The time it takes for an incense stick to burn.

On the light screen, the point of light representing Shen Yuanmo seemed not to have heard any sound from the outside world at all.

After pausing briefly at the seventy-first floor...

...it jumped upward once more, unhurriedly.

Seventy-second floor!

Then, the seventy-third floor!

Ignored!

This was blatant, absolute ignorance!

The Zixiao Holy Lord's challenge, which could freeze ten thousand miles, didn't even slow the mysterious powerhouse's climbing steps by half a bit.

"Pfft—"

In the city, someone finally couldn't hold it in and burst out laughing.

This single laugh seemed to light a fuse.

The suppressed, bizarre atmosphere was instantly detonated.

"Hahaha... I can't... he's completely ignoring him!"

"The Holy Lord issues a challenge, and the guy is just climbing the pagoda... I could laugh at this for ten thousand years!"

"Too ruthless! This is truly destroying the heart! The Zixiao Holy Lord's old face is completely lost today!"

Wild laughter and exclamations rose one after another.

High in the sky, the Zixiao Holy Lord's will almost solidified at this moment.

He felt like a clown, a ridiculous clown performing desperately in front of billions of people with no one paying him any mind.

That rage almost burned his sanity to ashes.

However, he was a Mahayana Saint Lord after all, with a resilient Heart-Nature.

He forcibly suppressed the blood nearly surging from his throat, and his cold will swept toward the Tongtian Pagoda once more.

Even if I can't hit you, I'll wait!

I don't believe you can hide in the pagoda for a lifetime!

...Tongtian Pagoda, seventy-fifth floor.

Reincarnation Realm.

There were no sun, moon, or stars here, only an unimaginably massive grayish-white grinding wheel slowly turning.

Upon the grinding wheel flowed the phantom images of billions of living beings.

From birth to peak, then to decay and death, scene after scene of Reincarnation played out continuously.

This was the manifestation of the Law of Reincarnation.

Any Cultivator who stepped into this place would be swept into the torrent of Reincarnation, experiencing ten thousand lives of sinking.

If one's Dao Heart was even slightly unyielding, they would be lost in endless illusions of life and death, their Divine Soul ground down into a pure mark.

Shen Yuanmo sat cross-legged at the center of that massive Reincarnation Grinding Wheel.

The Zixiao Holy Lord's challenge from outside could not penetrate the Tongtian Pagoda's barrier of rules to reach his ears at all.

All his focus was currently immersed in the analysis of this majestic Great Dao of Reincarnation.

Life and death, rotation, Karma, extinction... countless profound Law runes were dismantled one by one by Shen Yuanmo.

The Chaos Myriad Dao Returning Origin Scripture operated on its own, and a domineering devouring force radiated from his body.

The Law of Reincarnation, which would make even a Half-step Mahayana hesitate, was now like a gentle stream, guided by him to surge frantically into his Dantian Sea of Qi.

Upon the chaos dao embryo, a grayish-white divine pattern symbolizing the cycle of life and death was being rapidly sketched, slowly taking shape.

As Shen Yuanmo devoured and assimilated the Law, a sudden change occurred!

Buzz—

The entire Tongtian Pagoda, from the first floor to the highest, emitted a slight hum at this very moment.

Upon the pagoda's body, its ancient dark-yellow hue began to radiate ten thousand rays of divine light.

Red, orange, yellow, green, cyan, blue, purple... each ray of light represented a type of Law Origin.

Gravity, Sword Dao, Illusion Heart, Time, Space, Extinction, Reincarnation... ten thousand rays of light shot into the sky, tearing through the sea of clouds and weaving a vast, boundless Law star map above Tongtian City.

"Enough!"

Just then, an ancient, majestic will, devoid of any human emotion, sounded directly in the depths of Shen Yuanmo's Sea of Consciousness without warning.

This voice seemed to come from the beginning of the world's creation, carrying supreme power of rules, instantly interrupting his comprehension and devouring of the Law of Reincarnation.

Shen Yuanmo slowly opened his eyes, which were filled with calmness.

He knew that his behavior, which was akin to shearing wool, had finally alerted the true master of this pagoda.

"Challenger."

The ancient will sounded again, and this time, it even carried a hint of confusion.

"Your actions have exceeded the limits."

"You are not challenging the floors, nor are you deciphering the Laws. You are assimilating and devouring this pagoda's Law Origin."

Shen Yuanmo's Divine Thought moved slightly as he responded calmly: "My Dao lies in accommodating myriad Daos. To me, the Laws of this pagoda are all nourishment."

His voice was calm, yet it carried an indisputable sense of truth.

The ancient will fell into a long silence.

The entire Reincarnation Realm stood still because of it.

Shen Yuanmo was in no hurry and waited quietly.

He could feel that this will held no malice, but rather an unprecedented scrutiny and curiosity.

It was unknown how much time passed.

Only then did that will sound out slowly, its tone actually carrying a hint of praise.

"So that's how it is... so that's how it is..."

"With Chaos as the foundation and accommodating the myriad Daos to return to the Origin, you are walking such a powerful path."

"Since this pagoda was born here, its purpose has been to filter out the supreme powerhouses capable of carrying the Central Continent Divine Land's Luck. But the true meaning of this pagoda's existence is to wait..."

"To wait for an existence like you."

These words caused a flicker to appear in Shen Yuanmo's eyes for the first time.

Before he could ask...

...that ancient will made a decision that would shake the entire Central Continent Divine Land.

"In that case, I, the Pagoda Spirit, shall lend you a hand!"

The ancient will's voice suddenly became grand and solemn, echoing throughout Shen Yuanmo's entire Sea of Consciousness.

"Challenger, let us see if you can carry the true mystery of the Myriad Daos Returning to One!"