158: Chapter 158 Reaching the Top! Number One!

Stepping into the sixty-ninth level, the scene before his eyes shifted once again.

This was a vast, desolate, and deathly silent land. The sky was grey, devoid of sun, moon, or stars, with only endless leaden clouds hanging low. The earth was cracked, crisscrossed with gullies, showing not a trace of life—only withered bones, broken weapons, and ruined walls scattered everywhere, as if it were an ancient battlefield that had experienced a tragic war and been completely forgotten.

The air was filled with a thick, heart-chilling Aura of destruction, death, and decay. Merely breathing the air here made one feel suppressed, with their Immortal Qi circulating sluggishly.

"Sixty-ninth level, Battlefield of Slaughter. This place is a projected fragment of an ancient battlefield, filled with chaotic killing intent, Death Qi, and the lingering remnants of undying battle souls. Your task is to survive in this battlefield for three hours. During this time, 'Battle Soul Puppets' will attack you continuously. Killing Battle Soul Puppets will earn you points. For every additional hour you survive, your points will double. Killing the Battle Soul Puppet leader will allow you to pass the level directly and receive extra rewards. Warning: The Death Qi and killing intent here are highly erosive. Staying for a long time will erode your Divine Soul and damage your Dao foundation. If you cannot persist, activate your jade token to teleport out in time."

"Projected fragment of an ancient battlefield? Battle Soul Puppets?" Lin Wan's heart tightened. Feeling the rich Aura of destruction and death in the surrounding air, his expression became much more solemn. This environment was a huge test of a Cultivator's mental state and willpower, and those "Battle Soul Puppets" were likely not weak.

"Let's see the situation first."

Lin Wan restrained his Aura and carefully moved forward on the broken land. Under his feet was dried, dark red soil, as if it had been soaked in blood countless times. Everything around was quiet, with only the wailing wind, like the weeping of lost souls, adding to the eeriness.

After walking for about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, a broken earthen slope filled with broken swords and broken spears appeared ahead. Standing on the slope were three Puppets, two zhang tall, formed entirely from dark red soil and broken armor.

These three Puppets were humanoid but had blurred features. They held rusted broken swords and spears, with two faint green flames burning in their eye sockets, emitting intense killing intent and Death Qi. Their strength had reached the Peak of the Human Immortal stage.

"Are these the Battle Soul Puppets?" Lin Wan narrowed his eyes. Although these three Battle Soul Puppets were only at the Peak of the Human Immortal stage, the killing intent and Death Qi on their bodies were extremely condensed, likely much more troublesome than the Peak Human Immortal monsters he had encountered before.

"Roar—!"

Seemingly sensing the Aura of Lin Wan, a "living person," the faint green flames in the eye sockets of the three Battle Soul Puppets suddenly blazed. They let out silent roars and, brandishing the broken weapons in their hands, charged at Lin Wan like three streaks of blood-colored lightning!

Their speed was extremely fast, their attacks fierce, carrying a desperate, indomitable Aura, as if they were slaughter machines that had crawled out of a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood.

"Well come!"

Lin Wan did not retreat but advanced, his figure flickering as he met them. He did not use the power of the Chaos Reincarnation Divine Kingdom but intended to test the depth of these Battle Soul Puppets with his Physical Body strength first.

"Bang!" "Bang!" "Bang!"

Fists and feet collided with the broken swords and spears, producing explosive sounds like metal striking metal. Lin Wan's fists, smashing against the Battle Soul Puppets, sounded like they were hitting refined iron, only knocking them back a few steps without causing much damage.

"Such hard shells! And they feel no pain, know no fear, and have strong combat instincts." Lin Wan was secretly shocked. These Battle Soul Puppets, although only at the Peak of the Human Immortal stage, had hard shells and fierce combat awareness, making them much more troublesome than Cultivators of the same rank.

"Since that's the case, I won't waste time."

Lin Wan's eyes turned cold, and he no longer held back. His Immortal Qi surged within, Chaos Qi swirled around his body, and a more violent, more ancient Aura rose from him.

"Chaos Return to Void Fist!"

He threw a punch, and on his fist, Chaos Qi surged, as if carrying the power to collapse the world, smashing fiercely into the chest of one Battle Soul Puppet.

"Boom—!"

A large hole was smashed directly into the chest of the Battle Soul Puppet, and dark red soil and broken armor scattered. The faint green flames in its eye sockets jumped violently but did not extinguish; instead, it brandished its broken sword even more fiercely, slashing at Lin Wan.

"Dead but not stiff?" Lin Wan frowned, his body sideways, dodging the broken sword, while simultaneously pointing like a sword, his fingertips wreathed in grey light, and tapped on the center of the Battle Soul Puppet's brow.

"Samsara Tribulation Finger!"

Eerie power invaded, and the faint green flames in the Battle Soul Puppet's eye sockets, like a candle in the wind, swayed violently, and finally, with a "puff," extinguished. The Battle Soul Puppet's movements stopped abruptly, turning into a pile of scattered soil and broken armor.

"It seems that the core of these Battle Soul Puppets is the two points of soul fire in their eye sockets. The power of Reincarnation has a miraculous effect on them."

Lin Wan understood, no longer hesitating, and followed suit, using "Samsara Tribulation Finger" combined with "Chaos Return to Void Fist," and within a few breaths, he killed the remaining two Battle Soul Puppets.

The three Battle Soul Puppets turned into dust, leaving behind three thumb-sized dark red crystals emitting faint Soul Power fluctuations.

"Battle Soul Crystals? They seem to contain a trace of broken battle Soul Power, which can be used to Cultivate the Divine Soul or refine some special Magic Treasure." Lin Wan put away the three crystals, and at the same time, the jade token prompted:

"Killed three Peak Human Immortal stage Battle Soul Puppets, gained 300 points."

"Only three hundred points? A bit low. However, these Battle Soul Puppets seem endless, and the further you go, they will likely become stronger. Three hours... this will be hard to endure."

Lin Wan did not stay in place and continued to explore forward. He had to find a relatively safe place or figure out the rules of this battlefield to better cope with the test of the next three hours.

However, this fragment of the ancient battlefield seemed to be shrouded in some kind of rule. No matter where he walked, Battle Soul Puppets would crawl out from the ground or rush out from ruined buildings to attack him. Moreover, the strength of these Battle Soul Puppets was steadily increasing. From the initial Peak Human Immortal stage, to later Peak Human Immortal Perfection, and then to being comparable to a Half-step Earth Immortal...

Lin Wan killed wave after wave of Battle Soul Puppets, and his points increased steadily, but the pressure also grew greater. These Battle Soul Puppets were not only strong, but also fearless, with extremely strong combat awareness. More troublesome was that they seemed to be able to absorb the Death Qi and killing intent on the battlefield to constantly repair themselves, and even become stronger the more they fought.

"This won't do. I must find the so-called 'Battle Soul Puppet leader' and kill it to pass the level directly, otherwise, I will sooner or later be exhausted by these endless Puppets here." Lin Wan observed the surrounding environment while fighting.

He discovered that the closer he got to the central area of the battlefield, the thicker the Death Qi and killing intent became, and the number and strength of the Battle Soul Puppets also increased. And in the center of the battlefield, there seemed to be a ruined, towering altar.

"That should be where the Battle Soul Puppet leader is."

Lin Wan did not hesitate and rushed towards the ruined altar in the center of the battlefield. Along the way, he encountered more dense and powerful encirclements of Battle Soul Puppets. Sometimes even a dozen Half-step Earth Immortal level Battle Soul Puppets appeared at the same time, surrounding him.

Lin Wan had to use more trump cards. "Wall of Chaos" for defense, "Void Shift" for dodging, "Chaos Return to Void Fist" for main attacks, "Samsara Tribulation Finger" to extinguish soul fire... various Divine Abilities were used alternately, fighting until the sky darkened. The robes on his body were also slashed by the broken weapons of the Battle Soul Puppets, and although he was not injured, he looked quite disheveled.

"These ghost things are really troublesome!" Lin Wan punched the head of the last Half-step Earth Immortal Battle Soul Puppet to pieces, panting slightly. Continuous high-intensity combat was a significant consumption of his Immortal Qi and mental state.

He did not dare to stop, took a few Rejuvenation Pills, and continued to push towards the altar.

Finally, after killing who knows how many waves of Battle Soul Puppets, Lin Wan arrived at the bottom of the ruined altar.

This altar was a hundred zhang tall, built entirely of a kind of dark red boulder that seemed to be soaked in blood, covered with traces of sword and axe slashes, and various blurred ancient runes. At the top of the altar, there seemed to be a statue, but because of the distance and the pervasive Death Qi, it was not very clear.

And around the altar, densely packed, stood no less than a hundred Battle Soul Puppets! These Battle Soul Puppets had stronger Auras than those he had encountered before, the weakest being at the Peak of the Human Immortal stage, and the strongest few were radiating fluctuations of the Early Stage of the Earth Immortal stage! They stood there quietly like loyal guards, guarding the altar.

And at the top of the altar, under the blurred statue, there was a faint, more massive, and more terrifying Aura sleeping.

"That is... the Battle Soul Puppet leader?" Lin Wan's eyes were solemn. Just those few Early Stage Earth Immortal Battle Soul Puppets would be enough for him to handle, let alone the even more terrifying existence at the top of the altar.

"Cannot fight head-on, must use strategy." Lin Wan took a deep breath, restrained his entire Aura, like a ghost blending into the surrounding environment, and quietly touched towards the altar.

He performed "Void Shift," his figure constantly flickering in the shadows, avoiding the sight of those Battle Soul Puppets. At the same time, he urged the "existence" dao rhyme of the "Chaos Reincarnation Divine Kingdom" to temporarily "assimilate" himself with the surrounding environment, Aura, and even Karma, as if he did not exist in this world.

This was a kind of application of his "existence" dao rhyme. Although it was still very shallow, in this environment, it was extremely effective for hiding his figure.

Sure enough, those Battle Soul Puppets seemed not to notice Lin Wan's existence and still stood quietly in place like sculptures.

Lin Wan carefully bypassed those Early Stage Earth Immortal Battle Soul Puppets and climbed up step by step along the cracked stairs of the altar.

The further up he went, the thicker the Death Qi and killing intent became, almost condensing into substance, turning into dark red mist, lingering around the altar. Lin Wan felt that breathing was a bit difficult, and the operation of his Immortal Qi became more sluggish. He had to divert more power to protect his body with Chaos Qi to resist this erosion.

Finally, he reached the top of the altar.

The top of the altar was a wide platform. In the center of the platform stood a ten-zhang-tall — Skeleton General, forged entirely of dark gold metal, wearing broken armor, and holding a broken giant sword!

This Skeleton General had two red soul fires burning like torches in its eye sockets. Its entire skeleton was as crystal clear as jade, emitting an ancient, vicissitudinous, and yet filled with endless killing and destructive Aura. Its strength had reached the Middle Stage of the Earth Immortal stage! Moreover, its Aura was more condensed and fierce than the metal Puppet he encountered on the sixty-first level, as if it were a slaughter god who had walked out of a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood!

"Middle Stage Earth Immortal Battle Soul Puppet leader..." Lin Wan's pupils shrank slightly. This was definitely the strongest opponent he had encountered since entering the Ascension Tower!

"It seems I can only fight."

Lin Wan no longer hid, his Immortal Qi exploded, Chaos Qi soared into the sky, dispersing the surrounding dark red Death Qi and killing intent a bit. His figure flickered, appearing directly above the Skeleton General's head, and he punched down fiercely with the power to collapse the world!

"Chaos Return to Void Fist!"

"Roar—!"

Just as Lin Wan launched his attack, the red soul fire in the Skeleton General's eye sockets jumped suddenly, as if awakened from a deep sleep. Its huge skull raised suddenly, letting out a silent roar that seemed to shatter the Divine Soul!

At the same time, its massive body moved with incredible speed, and the broken giant sword in its hand, carrying a desperate, resolute killing Sword Intent that seemed to cut through everything, swept towards Lin Wan!

"Clang—!!!"

Fist and sword collided, erupting with a deafening roar! The violent energy shockwave swept out like a tsunami, blowing the rubble and dust on the top of the altar clean.

Lin Wan groaned, his figure flew backward, landing on the edge of the altar, his arm numb. The Skeleton General only swayed, and the giant sword in its hand remained firmly held in its bone claws.

"Such strong power! Such a condensed killing Sword Intent!" Lin Wan was secretly shocked. The power of this Skeleton General had definitely reached the Peak of the Middle Stage of the Earth Immortal stage, and its Sword Intent was condensed, its combat experience rich, much stronger than the metal Puppet before.

"Intruder... die!"

The red soul fire in the Skeleton General's eye sockets jumped, actually emitting a hoarse, dry, and filled-with-endless-killing-intent mental fluctuation. It took a step, and the entire altar trembled. The broken giant sword was raised again and slashed down at Lin Wan! This sword was sharper and more domineering than before, as if carrying the killing will of the entire ancient battlefield, wanting to completely destroy Lin Wan!

"Cannot fight head-on!"

Lin Wan retreated rapidly, while his hands formed seals, and he whispered: "Wall of Chaos!"

"Hum!"

A thicker, more condensed Wall of Chaos condensed in front of him, trying to block this sword.

"Swoosh—!"

However, the sword carrying the killing will of the ancient battlefield was far beyond Lin Wan's expectations. The Wall of Chaos lasted less than a breath before being torn apart by that terrifying sword energy! The sword energy did not decrease, continuing to slash at Lin Wan!

"Void Shift!"

Lin Wan's expression changed slightly, and his figure disappeared instantly, appearing on the other side of the altar. The place where he originally stood was slashed by the sword energy, creating a terrifying gully several zhang deep and dozens of zhang long!

"So close!" Cold sweat seeped from Lin Wan's forehead. The attack power of this Skeleton General was too terrifying; he must not let it hit him directly.

"Samsara Tribulation Finger!"

Lin Wan pointed like a sword, pointing from a distance, and a grey finger force containing the power of Reincarnation shot silently towards the Skeleton General's brow, where the soul fire was located.

However, the Skeleton General seemed to perceive the danger, and its huge skull tilted suddenly. The Samsara finger force brushed past its skull, leaving a shallow mark on its crystal-clear jade-like skull, failing to hit the soul fire.

"Roar!"

The Skeleton General was enraged, the crimson soul fire in its eye sockets burning even more intensely. It suddenly opened its skeletal maw, and a stream of dark red flame, filled with an Aura of destruction and death, surged toward Lin Wan like an angry dragon!

"Earth Immortal fire?!" Lin Wan's expression changed again. He could feel the terrifying high temperature and destructive power contained within this dark red flame. Once touched by it, even his Chaos Qi would likely be unable to withstand it.

"Chaos—Spatial Imprisonment!" Lin Wan slammed his hands together, mobilizing the power of the "Chaos Reincarnation Divine Kingdom" within his body to forcibly imprison the space around the Skeleton General, attempting to slow its attack.

"Hum!" The space around the Skeleton General instantly became viscous. The speed of the dark red fire pillar it spat out also faltered slightly. Seizing this opportunity, Lin Wan flashed away, dodging the attack range of the fire pillar while rapidly thinking of a countermeasure in his mind.

"This Skeleton General has strong defense, fierce attacks, high combat awareness, and seems to have a certain resistance to the power of Reincarnation. Neither the Chaos Return to Void Fist nor the Samsara Tribulation Finger can kill it in a short time. Should I use 'Heaven Opening'? The consumption is too great, and it might not kill it in one blow. If I fail, I'll be in danger."

"I must find its weakness... the soul fire! Its core must be the soul fire! But the soul fire is protected by its skull, and it reacts extremely quickly, making it hard to hit..."

"Wait... its soul fire seems to be connected to this altar, to the Death Qi and killing intent of the entire battlefield... If I can sever this connection, or disrupt some power of this altar..."

While dodging the Skeleton General's violent attacks, Lin Wan carefully observed the altar with his Divine Sense. Soon, he discovered something unusual.

In the center of the altar's summit, where the Skeleton General stood, there was a faint, ancient Formation rune on the ground soaked in blood. It emitted a weak light, vaguely connected to the bones beneath the Skeleton General's feet. And the soul fire in the Skeleton General's eye sockets seemed to be echoing with that Formation rune, drawing Death Qi and killing intent from the altar and the entire battlefield to maintain its power.

"It's that Formation! It is providing power to the Skeleton General, or rather, it is connecting the Skeleton General to this fragment of the battlefield!" Lin Wan's eyes lit up.

"As long as I destroy that Formation and sever its connection to the battlefield, this Skeleton General's power will inevitably be greatly weakened!" Thinking of this, Lin Wan did not hesitate. While circling the Skeleton General, he quietly moved toward the Formation rune in the center of the altar.

The Skeleton General seemed to have sensed Lin Wan's intention, and its attacks became even more frantic. It swung its greatsword, sending Sword Qi flying in all directions, and spat out constant streams of dark red fire, shrouding the entire altar summit in terrifying attacks.

Lin Wan pushed "Void Shift" to the limit, his figure moving like a ghost, weaving through the gaps between the Sword Qi and fire pillars, narrowly dodging one fatal attack after another. His robe was already slashed in many places by the Sword Qi, and he had added a few shallow wounds to his body, but his gaze remained firm, locked tightly onto that Formation rune.

Finally, after narrowly dodging a sweep of the greatsword, Lin Wan seized the opportunity. His figure moved like lightning, instantly appearing above the Formation rune.

"Now!" A fierce light flashed in Lin Wan's eyes. Ignoring the greatsword that the Skeleton General was angrily thrusting at his back, he slammed his hands downward, and the power of the "Chaos Reincarnation Divine Kingdom" within his body poured out without reservation!

"Chaos—Assimilation! Reincarnation—Erosion! Break—for me!"

The gray Chaos Qi and the gray light containing the power of Reincarnation instantly enveloped the ancient Formation rune. The Chaos Qi crazily assimilated and eroded the structure of the Formation rune, while the power of Reincarnation ground down and disintegrated the ancient will and energy contained within the Formation rune.

"Sss, sss, sss..." The dark red light on the Formation rune flickered violently, emitting a sound like cold water being poured onto a red-hot branding iron. Cracks appeared on the rune, and its light rapidly dimmed.

"Roar—!!!" The Skeleton General let out a shrill, angry, and slightly fearful roar. The crimson soul fire in its eye sockets flickered violently like a candle in the wind, and its Aura weakened at a speed visible to the naked eye! It dropped from the Peak of the Middle Stage Earth Immortal to the Middle Stage Earth Immortal, and it was still falling!

"It works!" Lin Wan felt a surge of joy. However, the greatsword behind him had already pierced toward his back! The sharp Sword Qi made his skin ache!

"Wall of Chaos!" "Hum!" A Wall of Chaos instantly condensed behind him, attempting to block the greatsword.

"Crack!" However, the Skeleton General, having lost the support of the Formation and with its power weakened, saw the might of this sword strike greatly reduced. The Wall of Chaos only shook slightly and was not pierced. The tip of the greatsword was firmly blocked by the Wall of Chaos three inches from Lin Wan's back.

"Strike while you're down!" A cold light flashed in Lin Wan's eyes. He twisted his body violently, dodging the greatsword, while simultaneously bringing his right hand together like a sword. Gray light condensed to the extreme at his fingertips, and a terrifying Aura capable of ending all things and returning everything to nothingness spread out.

"the end—Return to Void Finger!"

This was the first time he had displayed the power of the "the end" dao rhyme in public! Although it was only a superficial grasp, that terrifying will to end all things and return everything to the void still made the surrounding space seem to freeze and wither.

He pointed his finger, silent and soundless. A finger force, gray to the extreme and seemingly capable of devouring all light, instantly crossed several meters and struck the center of the Skeleton General's brow, right between the two points of crimson soul fire.

"Sss..." There was no earth-shattering explosion, no dazzling brilliance. The moment the two points of blazing crimson soul fire touched the "the end" finger force, they dimmed and extinguished rapidly, like charcoal thrown into ice water. The Skeleton General's massive body suddenly froze, the soul fire in its eye sockets completely extinguished, and it lost all vitality.

The next moment, its bones, crystal-clear like jade, instantly filled with cracks as if they had endured millions of years of erosion, and then, with a "clatter," they turned into a pile of bone powder and scattered with the wind. The broken greatsword also "clanged" as it fell to the ground, losing all its spirituality.

One strike, and the Middle Stage Earth Immortal War Soul Puppet leader was annihilated!

Lin Wan's face was pale; the Immortal Qi in his body had been almost completely drained by this "the end—Return to Void Finger." The consumption of this strike was even more terrifying than "Chaos Reincarnation—Heaven Opening," almost exhausting all his remaining Immortal Qi. If he hadn't destroyed the Formation earlier and weakened the Skeleton General, he might not have been able to kill it in one blow.

"That was close... This 'the end' dao rhyme is truly overbearingly powerful, but the consumption is too terrifying. With my current cultivation, I can use it at most once before being completely exhausted." Lin Wan, still feeling a lingering fear, quickly swallowed several Medicinal Pills and sat cross-legged to rapidly recover his Immortal Qi.

At the same time, the jade tablet sent a notification: "Killed the Middle Stage Earth Immortal War Soul Puppet leader, passed the sixty-ninth level. Evaluation: Perfect. Time taken: One hour. Points gained: 50,000 points. Bonus reward: 100% points bonus, obtained one 'War Soul Essence'. Final points gained: 100,000 points." "Current total points: 300,000 points. Current ranking: First place!"

One hundred thousand points! In one fell swoop, he overtook Qin Wushuang and reached the top spot again! Moreover, the gap with the second place had widened to tens of thousands of points!

Outside, on the golden leaderboard, the name "Lin Wan" rose once again like a scorching sun, standing high at the top with a terrifying score of 300,000 points, leaving Qin Wushuang, Saintess Ye Qingxue, and others far behind.

The entire square fell into a dead silence once again. Everyone, including those Heavenly Immortal experts on the high platform, stared dumbfounded at that glaring number—300,000 points.

300,000 points! This was 80,000 points more than Qin Wushuang's current score! 90,000 more than Saintess Ye Qingxue! And 100,000 more than Xiao Zhan!

What did this mean? It meant that Lin Wan's performance on the sixty-ninth level far exceeded that of Qin Wushuang and the others! It meant that he had killed the Middle Stage Earth Immortal War Soul Puppet leader in less time and received a higher evaluation!

"Three... 300,000 points? I... I didn't misread that, did I?" "Lin Wan... he's back to first place? And... and he's leading by so much?" "My God! What on earth did he do on the sixty-ninth level? How could he get 100,000 points all of a sudden?"

"A perfect evaluation! Another perfect evaluation! Killing a Middle Stage Earth Immortal War Soul Puppet leader in one hour, and getting a perfect evaluation! Is he... is he even human?"

"Qin Wushuang, Saintess Ye Qingxue, and Xiao Zhan only killed the Early Stage Earth Immortal Puppet leader on the sixty-ninth level, and it took them over an hour and a half, with an evaluation of only 'Excellent' or 'Superior'... This Lin Wan actually killed a Middle Stage Earth Immortal leader? And it took even less time? This... this combat power is just too terrifying, isn't it?"

"A monster! Definitely a monster! Could this Lin Wan be the Reincarnation of some Immortal King?"

"Now, Qin Wushuang's position as the hegemon is truly in danger!"

On the high platform, the few Heavenly Immortal experts were no longer calm.

"Killed the Middle Stage Earth Immortal War Soul Puppet leader, time taken one hour, perfect evaluation..." The Elder of the Donghua Immortal Sect muttered to himself, his eyes filled with disbelief. "This child likely already possesses the combat power of a Late Stage Earth Immortal!"

"Late Stage Earth Immortal... Peak Human Immortal, possessing Late Stage Earth Immortal combat power... This... this is simply unheard of!" The Fairy of the Yaochi Immortal Palace widened her beautiful eyes, her breathing becoming slightly rapid.

"That finger he displayed at the end... it contained a trace of... the supreme dao rhyme of 'the end' and 'destruction'..." The Sword Cultivator from the Divine Weapon Pavilion's voice trembled slightly. As a Sword Cultivator, he was most sensitive to the Aura of slaughter and destruction. He could feel the terrifying will contained in Lin Wan's final finger strike; that was the true power capable of ending all things and returning everything to the void! Although it was still very weak, its essence was too high!

Immortal Lord Tianhua's eyes also revealed a look of shock at this moment. He looked at the golden, shining name on the leaderboard, then at the location of the sixty-ninth level of the Ascension Tower, a flash of complexity crossing his eyes.

"Chaos, Reincarnation, existence, the end... four rudimentary forms of supreme dao rhymes... and it seems they have already begun to fuse initially... What is the background of this child? Could he really be..." He did not continue, but a monstrous wave was already churning in his heart.

... Inside the Ascension Tower, Lin Wan did not know how much of a sensation he had caused by reaching the top spot again. He swallowed Medicinal Pills and rapidly recovered his Immortal Qi, while also digesting the experience of the battle just now.

"Using the 'the end' dao rhyme consumes too much, and it's easy to expose my trump cards. In the future, unless necessary, I should use it sparingly. However, the power of the 'Chaos Reincarnation Divine Kingdom' seems to be able to fuse with the 'the end' dao rhyme to simulate similar power. Although the power is weaker, the consumption is also lower, and it can be used as a regular killing move."

"That 'War Soul Essence'..." Lin Wan took out the "War Soul Essence" rewarded by the jade tablet. It was a fist-sized, crimson crystal that looked like burning fire and emitted strong fluctuations of Soul Power. Within it, it seemed to contain a trace of the Skeleton General's combat will and true intent of slaughter.

"Good stuff! If I can refine and absorb it, not only can I increase my Divine Soul strength, but I can also comprehend the combat will and true intent of slaughter within it, which will be of great benefit to improving my combat power." Lin Wan put away the War Soul Essence, planning to refine it after leaving the Ascension Tower.

"The sixty-ninth level has been passed, and there are thirty levels left. I wonder what kind of trial the seventieth level will be..." Lin Wan adjusted his breathing for a moment, feeling that his Immortal Qi had recovered by seventy or eighty percent, and did not delay any longer. He stood up and stepped into the entrance of the seventieth level.

The seventieth level was not a battle, nor was it a trial, but a... choice. Before him was an ancient stone chamber, and in the center of the stone chamber floated three spheres of light, emitting gold, silver, and gray light respectively.

"The seventieth level, the Path of Choice. There are three paths ahead, corresponding to three different trials. Gold is the 'Path of Combat Power,' testing extreme combat power; the guardian is a Late Stage Earth Immortal Puppet, and defeating it allows one to pass. Silver is the 'Path of Comprehension Ability,' testing Comprehension Ability talent; one must comprehend an incomplete Heaven Rank Immortal technique within a limited time and successfully perform its introductory level. Gray is the 'Path of Heart-Nature,' testing Heart-Nature and will; one must undergo the 'Nine Questions of Heart Refining' and answer nine questions that point directly to the Dao Heart. The three paths are of equal difficulty, and passing any of them will yield the same points. Please choose one path; once chosen, it cannot be changed."

"Combat power, Comprehension Ability, Heart-Nature, three paths?" Lin Wan raised an eyebrow slightly. This Ascension Tower really has many tricks.

"The Path of Combat Power, a Late Stage Earth Immortal Puppet... With my current state, although I can fight a Middle Stage Earth Immortal and even threaten a Late Stage Earth Immortal, wanting to defeat a Late Stage Earth Immortal Puppet would likely require using all my trump cards, and even using the 'the end' dao rhyme. The consumption is too great, and success is not guaranteed."

"The Path of Comprehension Ability, Heaven Rank Immortal technique... A Heaven Rank Immortal technique is a supreme Immortal technique that can only be created by Immortal King level experts. Even if it is incomplete, it is extremely profound. To comprehend and master the introductory level within a limited time is extremely difficult. But I have the 'Chaos Reincarnation Divine Kingdom,' and my Comprehension Ability is far beyond ordinary people, so perhaps I can give it a try."

"The Path of Heart-Nature, the Nine Questions of Heart Refining... Having just experienced the interrogation of the 'Dao Questioning Stele,' my Dao Heart is even more firm. These 'Nine Questions of Heart Refining' might, on the contrary, be the easiest."

Lin Wan pondered for a moment before making a decision. "I choose... the Path of Heart-Nature." As his words fell, the gray sphere of light shone brightly, enveloping Lin Wan. The next moment, Lin Wan's figure disappeared from the stone chamber.