490: Condensing the Dao Fruit, Taking One Step Towards Mahayana

Inside the Tongtian Pagoda, on the eighty-first floor.

Shen Yuanmo sat cross-legged within that void.

His mind was like an ancient well, undisturbed by ripples, reflecting the ultimate evolution within his Dantian Sea of Qi.

The chaos dao embryo, the figure that looked exactly like him, was no longer a mere aggregation of energy.

Upon its surface, ninety-nine thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine divine runes were interwoven.

Radiant and colorful, every single line seemed like a miniature of a complete Law of the Great Dao.

At the moment the general outline of the Cultivation Technique—forged from thousands of scriptures and the charm of Laws—and that ancient, vast character 'Yuan' were deeply branded into the forehead of the chaos dao embryo,

Everything changed.

It was like the final stroke that brings a painted Dragon to life, or the unique singularity before the Big Bang of the Universe.

Between the hands of the chaos dao embryo, within the palms that were originally empty, something began to condense.

It was not a convergence of energy, but the birth of an existence at a higher level.

A Dao Fruit quietly took shape.

Its entire body displayed the deepest color of Chaos, its surface smooth as a mirror, yet it seemed to reflect the myriad worlds and the birth and death of the Universe.

There was no startling glow or terrifying pressure; it simply floated there quietly, the ultimate embodiment of truth itself.

It was the crystallization of Shen Yuanmo's entire cultivation.

The Chaos Dao Fruit.

The moment the Dao Fruit formed, the cultivation barrier spanning between Dao Integration and Mahayana felt thinner than a sheet of paper in Shen Yuanmo's perception.

No need to crash against it, no need to shake it.

Just like that, naturally, he stepped across.

His aura underwent a fundamental transformation.

It was no longer just about having vast cultivation base, but possessed a supreme intent where his words became Law and his heart became the Heavenly Heart.

The Mahayana Realm was achieved!

Along with the Breakthrough in Realm, within his Sea of Consciousness,

The eighth revolution of the Nine Revolutions Spirit Refining Art operated on its own, and that vast sea of Divine Sense instantly surged with ten-thousand-foot waves.

His Divine Sense strength, which was already comparable to the Mahayana Early Stage, began to skyrocket frantically under the influence of the Breakthrough.

Mahayana Middle Stage... Mahayana Late Stage!

This frantic surge only slowly subsided until it was comparable to those veteran Mahayana Late Stage Saint Lords who had accumulated power for millions of years.

At this moment, if Shen Yuanmo wished, a single thought would be enough to cover tens of millions of miles, perceiving the changes in the thoughts of billions of living beings.

The changes in his Physical Body were even more earth-shattering.

That already formidable Chaos Dao Body, under the Pagoda Spirit's cost-regardless empowerment of ten thousand Daos, had already reached its peak.

Now, as the Dao Fruit formed, wisps of Chaos-colored radiance fell from it.

Like sweet dew, it sprinkled across his limbs, every piece of flesh, and every inch of bone.

Shen Yuanmo's flesh, bones, and Meridians were all undergoing an unprecedented sublimation.

An aura of immortality and indestructibility, unyielding through ten thousand tribulations, spread from within him.

His body no longer seemed to be made of flesh and blood.

But rather a true, living, supreme Dao Artifact that perfectly resonated with his Dao.

After the transformation of Shen Yuanmo's Chaos Dao Body, it was now comparable to an Eighth-rank Low Grade Dao Artifact!

With such a Physical Body, even if he stood still and allowed a Mahayana Early Stage Saint Lord to attack him, they could not hope to harm him in the slightest.

The Physical Body is a Magic Treasure, impervious to all techniques!

...At the same moment Shen Yuanmo completed this transformation into the Mahayana Realm,

Above Tongtian City, on that massive light screen,

The golden speck of light that had stalled on the eightieth floor for a long time, as if it had reached its limit, moved without warning amidst the deathly silence of the watching crowd.

Without any hesitation, in a decisive and overbearing manner, it broke through the boundary of the eighty-first floor in one go.

And then, it reached the top!

Hum—

The entire light screen trembled violently.

The names of the thousands of Prodigies who had left their marks on it since ancient times dimmed like stars at this moment, vanishing one by one.

Finally, only one name remained on the massive light screen.

—Shen Yuanmo!

This name was no longer golden but had turned a deep Chaos color, quietly floating at the very top of the light screen.

Like an emperor overlooking eternity, sitting alone on the highest throne, with no one beneath him.

"..."

Between heaven and earth, there was a deathly silence.

Whether it was the billions of Cultivators kneeling in Tongtian City or the few mighty figures whose will projections had manifested in the Nine Heavens,

All of them seemed to have been hit by a freezing spell, their minds blank.

"He... he reached the top?"

The Old Imperial Uncle of the Tianyan Divine Dynasty, that incredibly solid will projection,

Unexpectedly showed violent fluctuations; his voice was dry, filled with incomprehensible shock.

"The Tongtian Pagoda was built in the ancient era and has stood here for endless years... No one has ever been able to reach the top!"

"The highest record in historical annals is the eightieth floor! He actually broke the myth!"

The Woman in Palace Attire from Star Plucking Tower and the Heavy-armored General from the West City Military Camp were also losing their composure, speechless for a long time.

They had witnessed a miracle unprecedented in history, and perhaps one that would never be seen again.

Rumble.

The glazed pillar of light that pierced through heaven and earth began to slowly retract its ten thousand rays of radiance, swirling back.

The light, brilliant to the extreme, gradually dissipated, and the Tongtian Pagoda returned to its ancient, weathered appearance, seemingly unchanging through the ages.

However, above the pagoda gates, a thick mass of the Essence of Black and Yellow was condensing.

A moment later, a palm-sized token, composed entirely of the Essence of Black and Yellow and engraved with ancient Dao runes, slowly took shape.

It did not fly toward any power but floated quietly in mid-air, as if waiting for its master.

"The Tongtian Token!" the Old Imperial Uncle cried out in shock.

"Rumor has it that whoever reaches the top of the Tongtian Pagoda will obtain this token, becoming half a master of the Tongtian Pagoda and wielding supreme authority over it!"

Before his voice could fade,

Creak—

The top-floor pagoda gates, which had been tightly closed for countless ages, slowly opened.

A figure, under the focus of billions of gazes, stepped out slowly.

Black clothes and black hair, untainted by a speck of dust.

A handsome face, indifferent eyes.

He had no fluctuations of cultivation base, no earth-shattering pressure, and one couldn't even sense a single trace of Spiritual Qi from him.

He just walked down step by step through the void, like a Mortal scholar who had just woken up and stepped out for a stroll.

However, it was just such a "Mortal."

At the first instant he stepped out of the Tongtian Pagoda's range,

BOOM!!!

The entire sky over Tongtian City suddenly turned dark.

It wasn't dark clouds obscuring the sun, but light itself being swallowed by an invisible force.

A terrifying pressure, enough to make even a Mahayana Saint Lord's Divine Soul tremble and Dao Heart crack,

From the depths of the endless Void Realm above the Nine Heavens, it crashed down.

That pressure was filled with the supreme will of destruction, termination, and return to the void.

High in the Nine Heavens, the several war dreadnoughts of the Zixiao Holy Land, under this pressure,

Let out groans of being overburdened, and fine cracks appeared on the surfaces of their sturdy hulls.

At the bow, the Zixiao Holy Lord, whose heart was like dead ashes, felt this familiar aura that was ten thousand times stronger than before and was momentarily stunned.

Then, in his dim eyes, a morbid, frenzied ecstasy instantly erupted.

He jerked his head up, looking at the sky where an endless Chaos storm was gathering, and laughed loudly, laughing until tears flowed.

"Haha... Hahahaha!"

"It's here! It's finally here!!"

"The World-Destroying Chaos Heavenly Tribulation recorded in ancient texts, which only descends when a heresy intolerable to the world is born!!"

Looking like a madman, he extended a finger, pointing distantly at the calm figure below, and roared with all his strength, his voice hoarse.

" Did you see that?？！ Even the Heavenly Dao won't tolerate you.！ You monster！ You heretic！"

"You are dead!!"

Facing this world-destroying heavenly power and that madman-like curse,

Shen Yuanmo only slowly raised his head, looking toward that endless tribulation cloud churning with Chaos-colored lightning.

His eyes were calm, even carrying a hint of scrutiny.

He revealed a faint smile and whispered to himself, his voice so soft only he could hear.

"It's finally here..."

"My Mahayana Heavenly Tribulation."

"Just right, I'll use you to test the quality of this Dao Fruit of mine."