291: Chapter 291 The Array Breaks, the Heavenly Palace Appears, and the Ancient Heavenly Ladder of the Immortal King is Revealed

Slap!

The crisp sound of a slap echoed within the deathly silent underground Killing Temple.

Ji Luanxi's entire body went stiff. She tightly covered her buttocks with both hands, her beautiful face instantly flushing red all the way to her ears. She bit her moist lower lip, her expression extremely complex. There was shame and resentment, there was grievance, but more than anything, there was a sense of security from completely letting down her guard.

She was absolutely certain that the man before her, with his rogue-ish air and domineering, reckless behavior, was definitely her husband Su Xuanchen himself. An old monster like Old Ancestor Blood Saber, an evil cultivator who had lived for tens of thousands of years and was covered in a foul stench, could never perform such a hooligan-like act as slapping someone's buttocks in public.

Seeing this scene, the people behind them also completely let go of their hanging hearts.

The Ice Spirit Snow Ape King, being extremely tactful, turned its massive body around, covering its eyes with its giant paws while muttering about 'see no evil'.

Chang Xiyue's tense, delicate body completely relaxed, and a helpless faint smile appeared on her cold face.

Gu Hongchen stood to the side, watching Su Xuanchen holding Ji Luanxi and teasing her, and she curled her lip in disdain. Internally, she cursed Su Xuanchen as a shameless Lecher, wondering how he could have the mind to flirt at a time like this. However, when she saw Ji Luanxi's coquettish and dependent look, her eyes filled only with Su Xuanchen, a wave of sourness and jealousy—which she hadn't even noticed herself—unaccountably surged from deep within Gu Hongchen's heart.

Why was this man always surrounded by stunning women? Why were these women so utterly devoted to him?

Just as Gu Hongchen's thoughts were in a state of extreme complexity and the atmosphere had just begun to soften...

Rumble!

The entire underground passage and ancient palace suddenly erupted with a violent roar that reached the absolute extreme!

The hard ground shook frantically, and without any warning, a brilliant and blinding spiritual light burst forth from the surrounding rock walls. Countless ancient and obscure Formation patterns peeled off from the walls, light weaving and darting frantically in mid-air, instantly outlining a massive Teleportation Array.

“Everyone, be careful!” Gu Hongchen shouted, immediately drawing her biluo emperor sword and standing ready.

The intense light instantly swallowed everyone.

A violent shift occurred in the space. That oppressive, deathly, and blood-scented underground aura vanished without a trace.

When the blinding light finally dispersed, everyone slowly opened their eyes.

The scene before them left everyone completely shocked where they stood.

The originally dark and narrow ancient passage had completely disappeared. What appeared before everyone's eyes was an Ancient Heavenly Palace of extreme grandeur and magnificence!

This heavenly palace was suspended directly above the endless clouds. The Spiritual Qi in the surroundings was dense to an exaggerated degree, condensing directly into droplets in the air and falling as a pitter-patter of Spiritual Rain.

Everywhere the eye could see were white jade pavilions with carved beams and painted rafters, their seven-colored glazed tiles shimmering under the celestial light. The surroundings were peaceful and quiet, with cranes flying together and Auspicious Beasts circling. Most incredible of all was that there wasn't a single trace of damage left from the great war; everything was preserved perfectly, exuding an extremely rich immortal atmosphere.

“Heavens...”

Gu Hongchen sucked in a breath of cold air, her voice trembling violently. As a True Immortal Realm Expert who had traveled far and wide and seen much, she was now so stunned by this magnificent spectacle that she couldn't close her mouth. “It's actually perfectly intact! Is this the real Ancient Heavenly Court? Unbelievable!”

Ji Luanxi had long since thrown her earlier shame and resentment to the back of her mind. She was jumping and hopping with excitement, her big, watery eyes full of wonder.

“Wow! So beautiful! This place is ten thousand times more beautiful than a fairyland! Husband, look at those glowing clouds and those white jade pillars—they're all treasures!” Ji Luanxi pulled on Su Xuanchen's arm, shouting in excitement.

Amidst the sounds of wonder, Chang Xiyue stood silently in place.

In her cold eyes, there was no excitement, only overflowing complexity and sorrow. Tens of thousands of years had passed, and the heavenly court was still that same magnificent court, but those familiar faces from back then, those companions who had fought side by side, could no longer be seen. The desolation of things remaining while people had changed gripped her heart tightly.

Su Xuanchen crossed his arms, looking up at that vast heavenly palace, his deep gaze revealing a wisdom that saw through everything.

“So that's how it is.” Su Xuanchen gave a cold laugh and spoke with extreme certainty, “I was wondering how that Death Gate Formation could possibly be without flaws. It turns out that Old Ancestor Blood Saber was not just a watchdog imprisoned by Yun Lingxiao, he himself was the core Formation Eye of that Death Gate Formation!”

Su Xuanchen turned his head to look at Chang Xiyue, his tone carrying a hint of praise.

“Only by completely slaying Old Ancestor Blood Saber and erasing his Divine Soul would this dead-end path leading to the true heavenly court be thoroughly broken open. That woman Yun Lingxiao is ruthless enough and her mind is sharp enough. Using an Immortal King as a Formation Eye key, I'm getting more and more interested in her.”

Hearing Su Xuanchen's deduction, Gu Hongchen suddenly understood, and her heart felt even more awe for that Ancient Empress she had never met.

“Let's go, don't just stand here in a daze. Let's go in and see what good things this heavenly court has hidden.”

With a wave of his hand, Su Xuanchen domineeringly led everyone to officially step into this heavenly palace suspended above the clouds.

Everyone walked across the wide white jade plaza, which was silent. Aside from their footsteps, no other sound could be heard. In the vast heavenly court, there wasn't even a ghost of a shadow.

Su Xuanchen walked along, looking around as he went. The supreme power that once ruled the All Heavens and Myriad Realms, where ten thousand nations came to pay tribute, was now left as nothing but an empty shell. This impactful sense of contrast made one unable to help but feel emotional.

Passing through the outer plaza, the group arrived at the foot of the heavenly palace's main peak.

Everyone stopped in their tracks and looked up.

A massive stairway, its end invisible to the eye and forged entirely from seven-colored glazed glass, stood abruptly before them. This stairway led straight into the clouds, with each step carved full of extremely complex ancient Dao patterns, emitting an ancient and terrifying authority that suppressed all ages.

Gu Hongchen frowned, carefully examining this stairway, her eyes full of confusion.

“Miss Xiyue, what is this? Why is it blocking the only path into the main peak?” Gu Hongchen asked.

Chang Xiyue took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the sorrow in her heart, and her expression became extremely solemn.

“This is the Ancient Heavenly Staircase.” Chang Xiyue's voice was cold, her tone carrying extreme reverence. “During the heavenly court's peak, one had to possess a specific identity token to enter the core area. But if one did not have a token, they could forcibly enter the heavenly court by treading upon this Ancient Heavenly Staircase.”

Ji Luanxi leaned forward curiously, blinking her big eyes as she asked, “You can get in just by walking up the steps? Then wouldn't anyone be able to enter?”

Chang Xiyue shook her head and explained very seriously, “Sister Luanxi, this stairway is no ordinary set of steps. Its pressure is very special, completely ignoring the challenger's cultivation Realm. Whether you are a Mortal or a True Immortal, the pressure you endure upon treading the stairway is equal.”

Chang Xiyue pointed to the steps leading into the clouds and continued, “The true purpose of this Ancient Heavenly Staircase is to test the challenger's talent, Physique, and Dao Heart. There are ten thousand steps in total. The higher the step you reach, the stronger your talent, corresponding to different Disciple statuses within the heavenly court.”

Hearing this, Su Xuanchen raised an eyebrow, his interest piqued.

“Oh? That's interesting. What kind of benefits can you get if you reach the top?” Su Xuanchen asked very bluntly.

Chang Xiyue looked at Su Xuanchen and answered very seriously, “If one can cross the nine thousandth step mark, they can be directly titled as the heavenly court's Son of the Heavenly Dao! Their status would be incomparably noble, and they could directly obtain the heavenly court's most core Legacy, with the resources of the entire heavenly court poured into their cultivation!”

Gu Hongchen was secretly shocked. The Son of the Heavenly Dao of the heavenly court—if this identity were placed in the ancient era, one would definitely be an existence that could walk anywhere with impunity.

“Then in those tens of thousands of years, did anyone ever reach the top?” Gu Hongchen couldn't help but ask.

An extremely proud light flashed in Chang Xiyue's eyes.

“Reaching the top is extremely difficult. Over tens of thousands of years, the heavenly court recruited countless peerless Prodigies, and countless Prodigies met their downfall here. Only the Empress and I ever approached the position of the summit.”

As soon as these words were spoken, Gu Hongchen and Ji Luanxi both sucked in a breath of cold air. They knew Chang Xiyue's talent was high, but they hadn't expected it to reach such a terrifying level.

Chang Xiyue paused and then dropped an extremely heavy piece of information.

“The reason this Ancient Heavenly Staircase has such a Heaven-Defying testing ability is that it is not a Mortal object at all. This stairway is a genuine Immortal King Treasure!”

Boom!

Once these words came out, Gu Hongchen and Ji Luanxi were completely stunned.

Gu Hongchen's red lips parted wide, her beautiful face filled with extreme shock and disbelief. She stared fixedly at the seven-colored divine light radiating from the glazed stairway before her, her mind a complete blank.

A stairway used to test Disciples' talent was actually an Immortal King Treasure!

In the outside world, even a broken True Immortal Magical Artifact would be enough to cause a reign of terror among countless top-tier powers, making numerous old monsters fight until their heads bled. Yet in this Ancient Heavenly Court, a perfectly intact Immortal King Treasure was just placed casually at the foot of the mountain, used merely as a tool for testing newcomers!

This kind of terrifying foundation and extremely luxurious style completely overturned Gu Hongchen's understanding.

Ji Luanxi was also too shocked to speak. Although she was greedy for wealth, she also knew what an Immortal King Treasure meant. She stared blankly at the sky-high stairway, her small mouth slightly open, in utter shock.