Chapter 424: The Third Heavenly Soul Pearl

The Goddess of Nine Heavens? iRus?

Old Wang froze for real this time, looking at her with a complex expression.

The goddess's eyes were filled with compassion and love as she gently said, "Dear father, we can go home now."

As she spoke, she lightly waved her right hand, and a shower of golden sparks danced through the air—a portal had already opened. There, Wang Feng saw familiar computers, a familiar little house, and that familiar world illuminated by a sea of city lights.

Old Wang's lips trembled slightly...

Going home? This had always been a deep-seated longing hidden in Wang Feng's soul. He had been brought to this world by artificial intelligence, and the only one who could take him back was the goddess before him.

Truth be told, there were many things here that he yearned for—this was his ideal world. But ideals were just ideals. Viewed as a game, it might seem beautiful, but to truly live in such a bloody world, scrambling to survive like a damn cockroach—how could it compare to returning to that advanced world and living a carefree life as a billionaire?

He couldn't help but lick his lips and reached into his pocket.

Cigarettes—something only that world had. He was jonesing for a smoke!

The goddess smiled, her expression growing even gentler. She could read Wang Feng's thoughts. After all, in any world, she was the one who understood him best. Tenderly, she extended her left hand toward him.

Old Wang seemed to have made up his mind. Finally, he pulled his hand out of his pocket and placed it on the goddess's outstretched palm—only to quickly withdraw it again, leaving behind a small black object on her hand instead.

What was this?

The goddess stared blankly, only to see Wang Feng flung himself backward.

BOOM!

The Skyburst Grenade exploded violently, instantly twisting the goddess's gentle smile into a snarl of pure hatred. A terrifying surge of soul energy shattered the illusion, revealing the true form beneath.

It was a writhing, multi-eyed, tentacled monstrosity. Each slimy tentacle stretched three to four meters long, with a living human face embedded at the tip. These faces—male and female, young and old—displayed a myriad of expressions: sorrow, joy, anger, resentment. Each was different, each unique. With over a hundred tentacles, it bore the visages of a hundred tormented souls!

A Soul Corruptor!

"Knew it was this damn thing!" Old Wang let out a strange cry as he swiftly retreated. *When I wanted to go back, you wouldn’t let me. Now suddenly a goddess appears out of nowhere? You think this is funny?*

Soul Corruptors thrived in the darkest, dampest corners of the human realm, feeding on the filth of the world—not the literal filth of sewers, but the rotten desires festering in human hearts. These creatures could peer into souls, unearthing the deepest cravings within, then use them as bait to devour the soul itself.

Most victims were simply killed outright. Only those with extreme obsessions became one of the faces on its tentacles—the more obsessions it absorbed, the stronger it grew! This particular Soul Corruptor had over a hundred faces on its limbs. A hundred obsessions... *Ghost peak—no doubt a ghost peak!* And it could command the undead. Even someone like Fu Liye, a ghost-level expert, would have no choice but to flee if he encountered this thing.

"SKREEEEE!" It let out a piercing, furious shriek, every face on its tentacles screaming in unison. A wave of primal terror descended, and in an instant, the entire space shattered like glass.

The battlefield illusion collapsed, replaced by a bombed-out town choked with smoke. It was nighttime—the moon was dark, the wind howled, and blood-curdling wails occasionally echoed from the depths of the town, sending chills down the spine.

Then came the sound of countless footsteps and scrambling over rooftops. From the alleys, swarms of walking skeletons emerged—their faces sallow, their bodies skeletal, their eyes hollow and lifeless. They drooled and babbled mindlessly, their movements stiff yet surprisingly swift despite their barely-there life force. Meanwhile, the rooftops were lined with identical elite warriors—over a hundred humans radiating soul energy. No, calling them humans wasn’t accurate. These creatures had heads but no faces—their features were smooth and flat, as if sliced off by a blade, yet revealing no flesh beneath. Utterly skin-crawlingly wrong.

Their soul pressure was immense—most were at least Tiger Peak, with many even reaching ghost level!

The encirclement formed in an instant. With a roar from the Soul Corruptor, all the controlled human warriors froze. The packed street went tomb-silent, countless pairs of glowing green eyes locking onto Wang Feng. The powerful figures on the rooftops exuded overwhelming soul pressure.

This was the Soul Corruptor’s illusion domain. The skeletal undead earlier had merely been illusions under its control—but at this level, illusions could kill just as easily! The mindless zombie civilians below were one thing, but human ghost-level experts? These weren’t foes that could be handled with ice wasps or Skyburst Grenades. Even escaping on an ice wasp was impossible—human ghost-level experts could fly. And that wasn’t even counting the ghost peak Soul Corruptor itself.

The Soul Corruptor let out a maniacal laugh. Killing this Tiger-level enemy would be a cakewalk, but it had no intention of letting him die so easily! Someone who could resist its illusions and temptations? Such talent absolutely deserved to become one of its primary souls. It would break him completely—drench him in pure terror until his mind shattered!

"SKREEEEE! Rooooar!"

The Soul Corruptor’s howls were echoed by the entire town. An endless tide of soul pressure converged, crashing toward Wang Feng like a collapsing star. The sheer oppressive force of being surrounded like this would make even ghost-level experts tremble—but Old Wang just rolled his eyes.

*Yeah, yeah, scary stuff. No way in hell I'm handling this.* When something was beyond his capabilities, Old Wang never forced it.

Old Wang flipped his hand, and the Soul Card appeared in his grasp.

Er Tong once again felt the summoning from his master. The last summoning had left it quite dissatisfied—being abruptly thrown into the midst of a thunderstorm without so much as a warning, nearly scaring it to death. This time, however, felt much better. At least when it emerged, there was no wind, fire, or thunder—just quiet. Hang on...

Upon appearing, Er Tong was quite pleased with the peaceful atmosphere. But as its vision adjusted to the surroundings, its previously cheerful little paws froze mid-air.

It saw pairs of eerie green eyes, sensed the terrifying soul pressure from the Ghost-level powerhouses on the surrounding rooftops, and worse, witnessed the horrifying, slimy monster right in front of it, waving hundreds of writhing tentacles!

Every hair on Er Tong’s body stood on end, trembling down to the very tips!

It was just a Tiger Peak creature—why was it that every time it was summoned, it either faced the wrath of the heavens or these nightmarish freaks that even ghost-level experts would dread?

With a pitiful wail, Er Tong immediately fainted.

The Fallen Soul was stunned. After all, when Wang Feng had used the Ice Bees to annihilate its army of 100,000 undead, he had seemed so formidable. It had expected him to summon something extraordinary—*but this? It actually fainted from fear?*

All hundred faces froze for a moment before bursting into uncontrollable laughter, the bizarre, shrill cackling ringing out with sheer delight.

But the next second, the snow-white fur began to wither, turning yellow and curled. Er Tong’s terrified eyes rolled slightly, showing the whites of its eyes, as it gave the Fallen Soul a half-dead, indifferent glance.

The sharp, grating laughter in the air abruptly ceased. The Fallen Soul’s hundred eyes, which had been wild with arrogance moments ago, now all constricted into tiny pinpricks. *That was...*

Its frenzied body suddenly trembled, shaking uncontrollably—as if it had seen the most terrifying thing in the world!

"Ah!" It shrieked, not daring to spare another glance, turning and fleeing in panic.

And then, all around—

The controlled corpses of the townspeople collapsed en masse. The experts on the rooftops, too, seemed to lose their strings, dropping like rags to the ground. Along with them, the entire street scene shattered like glass, just as the undead battlefield had vanished earlier, producing a strangely eerie sound.

The surroundings abruptly shifted. Wang Feng found himself standing in a vast, flat space. Ahead lay a straight path, at the end of which stood a radiant gate—likely the final trial of the Six Paths of Reincarnation, the Path of Heaven!

From entering the Path of Humanity to its unraveling, barely half an hour had passed.

In the southeast corner of the hall, a slime trail marked the Fallen Soul’s frantic escape route.

Old Wang had no intention of pursuit. No need to stir up extra trouble—better to part ways cleanly. The final trial was just ahead—a perfect time to rest and recover some stamina.

Just as he was about to sit down, Er Tong shot him a disdainful look.

*This?*

Last time it was summoned, at least there had been a lightning storm. But this time? All it got was a filthy creature shrieking and running away... and that was it? *Just some lowly gutter-dwelling fiend.* *It was a divine beast, for heaven’s sake!* How dare such trash disturb its slumber!

"What’re you staring at?" Old Wang knew exactly what nonsense was brewing in its head just from that expression—nothing good about him, surely. He promptly kicked its rump. "Get back!"

Pets were like that—skip the discipline, and they’d wreck the house. Most people didn’t understand: the best pets were trained through beatings. A whack worked better than a treat!

Er Tong rolled its eyes. *As if it wanted to stay?* Its fur rippled, the yellowed strands swiftly reverting to snowy white.

"Awooo!"

Er Tong’s eyes snapped open in terror. It flailed wildly, baring its teeth and snarling at the surroundings, as if only sheer aggression could vent its fear and tension.

Where were the zombies?! The monsters?! This furball was ready to fight!

It thrashed for a good while before finally realizing—after a solid ten seconds—that the area was completely empty. Not a single enemy in sight. It blinked dumbly, then turned a confused gaze toward Wang Feng.

"While you were busy fainting, *your master here took care of all of them,*" Old Wang said coolly.

Er Tong (the pet/servant) was stunned for a moment, then immediately filled with deep respect. At this moment, his master seemed larger than life, filling it with... a sense of security!

…………

In the Six Paths Reincarnation Temple, several elders along with the Island Lord all fell into silence.

If defeating the Three-Headed Hound wasn’t too difficult, the Dragon Coiling Trigram Formation and the Fallen Beast God Runes were coincidences, and the Asura’s Sword was some unknown trick, then what about now? What was this supposed to be?

The fifth trial, the Path of Humanity—Second Brother had a Ghost-level Fallen Soul at his disposal!

At this moment, the elders and the Island Lord were all staring at this thing that left them utterly dumbfounded. It had shrunk to the size of a palm and crawled into a soul-trapping bottle specially crafted by Second Brother for it... This was supposed to be its prison. In the past, whenever it had the chance to assist in training disciples, it would constantly think of escaping. Yet now, it had voluntarily crawled back in. After returning to the bottle, it immediately huddled in a corner, every face covering its tentacles closing their eyes as it trembled uncontrollably!

What else was there to say?

The Island Lord and the elders exchanged glances, a primal dread gripping them.

Wang Feng managing to break through its illusions and escape was one thing, but... to scare it into such a state? Just... what was it? What could a Fallen Soul fear the most? Truth be told, even the elders had no idea. Spawned from corruption, what kind of sin hadn’t it witnessed? It was truly unimaginable what could terrify it to this extent.

This time, no one dared to make hasty conjectures. Regardless of how Wang Feng had done it, every step he had taken so far was nothing short of astonishing, far beyond what the elders had imagined. Could the so-called "Breaker of Fate" and "Savior" from the legends really be him?

"The Path of Heaven is the final trial..." By now, the elders had already stopped doubting. Aside from the legendary figure, no one could rely on their own strength to pass the first five trials in one go—let alone at such speed. Wang Feng was undoubtedly the Prophesied One!

But the problem was, there was still the final trial.

No one had ever completed this trial... Not even the Heaven Elder, who governed the Path of Heaven, nor any of the past Dark Demon Island Lords, had ever walked the entirety of that Ascending Path.

Its difficulty went without saying, but the real issue was that since no one had ever completed it, no one knew what truly lay at the end of that path.

Would there be lethal peril? Would it exceed everyone’s control?

"We should have revealed ourselves during the Path of Humanity. After finally waiting for the Chosen One, if something were to happen..." The Heaven Elder was deeply worried. As the ruler of the Path of Heaven, he knew that no matter how strong one was, once they entered the Path of Heaven, all abilities would seem insignificant. Whether god or demon, all were insignificant before the Path of Heaven.

That Ascending Path concealed unimaginable power and secrets, far beyond the control of people like them. The Heaven Elder could vaguely sense it and had attempted countless times over the long years to glimpse it, but to no avail. Even getting too close with his consciousness could leave him injured for weeks on end.

That place was too terrifying—no one knew what truly lay there! And that was what worried them the most now.

The Second Elder's face showed a slightly regretful expression. "He broke the Fallen Soul’s illusions too quickly... Or rather, the Fallen Soul fled too quickly. Everything happened too suddenly. By the time we reacted, Heaven’s Gate had already appeared, and there was no turning back."

The Dark Demon Island Lord, however, remained much calmer—though perhaps it was due to his mask. His hoarse voice spoke faintly, "Since it has come to this, let it be. This is also our fate."

………

Time flowed unpredictably within the Six Paths. The space Wang Feng was in wasn’t the real island space. After five trials, nearly twenty hours had passed for him, but only four or five hours had gone by in the outside world.

After the black-cloaked figures had dissuaded them earlier, Winnie and the others had been unable to take further action and could only return to the white mist near the Boneship to wait quietly.

Suddenly, they felt the ground tremble slightly. Immediately after, a beam of white light shot up from the center of the dark, fog-covered Dark Demon Island, piercing through the thick layer of clouds above. It was as if a path to Heaven had been opened, allowing boundless radiance to pour down from the sky, instantly "bleaching" a large portion of the dark clouds above the island white.

The group, already anxiously awaiting news, was startled by the sudden change and looked up in surprise. But the light pillar came and vanished as suddenly as it appeared, leaving everyone both shocked and puzzled.

Had something happened to Wang Feng? Or was there some upheaval on the island?

…………

This very moment was when Wang Feng pushed open the gates of the Path of Heaven.

Beyond the gates was an incredibly bright space, filled with a joyous hue—like sunlight, completely different from the gloom of the Path of Humanity.

Wang Feng shielded his eyes slightly, letting them adjust to the glare. At the entrance lay a staircase of white jade, ascending step by step.

Each white jade step was about two meters long and half a meter wide, resembling individual stone platforms suspended in midair, spaced roughly half a meter apart. Below the steps, there was no visible support, and looking down revealed a panoramic view of Dark Demon Island—the grand Six Paths Reincarnation Temple, the Six Paths Canyon, the Dark Demon Caverns, the Blood River, the beaches along the island's periphery, and even the Bone Ship docked at the spot where Wang Feng had entered the island.

The only difference from reality was the complete absence of any living beings on the island—no people, not even snakes, insects, rats, or ants.

This was likely a translucent pocket dimension, with Dark Demon Island merely a projection. Above, the steps extended upward, slanting into the thick clouds, their end invisible to the naked eye. It was impossible to tell how far these floating stone steps stretched, but...

Wang Feng's eyes gleamed.

He finally sensed it!

From the moment he set foot on Dark Demon Island, he had felt the presence of the Heavenly Soul Pearl. Now, with the Ascension Steps opened and this translucent pocket dimension entered, he suddenly felt as though he was face-to-face with that very pearl.

Wang Feng looked up, his eyes shining with intensity.

He could clearly sense that the Heavenly Soul Pearl was hidden within those thick clouds. Considering the layout of Dark Demon Island and the position of these Ascension Steps, it was more accurate to say that the entire island was part of an enormous formation, with the Heavenly Soul Pearl in the clouds likely serving as its core.

Admittedly, Wang Feng was pumped. Two Heavenly Soul Pearls had already transformed him beyond recognition, giving him the confidence to take on the Eightfold Trials. If he obtained another one... it was no exaggeration to say he would undoubtedly reach Ghost-ranked! And this was a Ghost-ranked Insect God Seed—the unleashed combat forms would wreck even Fu Liye!

Truly, the grind finally paid off—his good days had finally arrived!

Though he preferred coasting to victory, there was a difference between choosing to lie down and being forced to.

This sacred Ascension Steps, with its lofty and divine appearance, required proper respect. Flying with ice bees or riding a pet was out of the question. With a wave of his hand, Wang Feng yeeted Er Tong back to Rose's Spirit Beast Mountain without hesitation and stepped onto the first floating step.

Whoosh...

The Heavenly Gate behind him vanished the moment he fully entered this space, and the step beneath his feet sank slightly, the sensation of suspension felt disturbingly real.

Old Wang hadn’t expected the steps to move—not like the static steps in the Hell Realm. His body swayed slightly, and he quickly steadied himself.

Looking down now, he realized he was already a good 50–60 meters above Dark Demon Island. Worse, there was nothing around the steps—no handrails, no nothing—just a nauseating sway...

Oh hell no!

Old Wang cursed inwardly. He had a fear of heights! The hanging basket at Oscar’s cave entrance, only thirty or forty meters high, had already made him dizzy. But this height was just the starting point of these steps...

Steady, steady!

He closed his eyes, his mind steeled. He immediately tried to channel his soul power—wait... his soul power was locked?! What the hell was this?!