Chapter 425: The Road of No Return

There was no 'door' leading back to the human world behind him, no handrails around—only a straight, upward path to the heavens.

Without any soul power, he couldn’t even light an oil lamp, summon frost bees, or even call upon *Er Tong*. All his usual tricks were useless here. As for jumping down? That was out of the question. From this height, without soul power, he’d be smashed into a bloody pulp.

What a scam—a total rip-off!

Old Wang’s expression turned grim as he took a deep breath and gazed at the endless stairs stretching into the clouds.

Frankly, without soul power, Wang Feng was just an ordinary man—one who had only arrived in this "brutal world" less than a year ago. Don’t act like climbing stairs is easy—try it yourself! This was at an altitude of dozens of meters, where the crosswinds were strong enough to topple even a 200-pound man. No handrails, no safety measures… For any other ordinary person, especially one with acrophobia, taking even one step would be unthinkable!

But…

Wang Feng opened his eyes. He didn’t look down. Instead, he steadily took his first step.

What makes someone ordinary? Going with the flow.

What makes someone strong? Pushing past your limits.

Wang Feng’s face was expressionless now. Acrophobia was just another emotion, and he had to control all his emotions—no fear, no complaints. His only focus was climbing these endless stairs.

*Crack!*

After taking two or three steps, the first stair behind him suddenly shattered with a crisp sound, breaking apart like glass and dissolving into specks of light that vanished into the air.

This seemed to be the rule. From the moment he stepped onto the stairs, roughly every ten seconds, another stair would disappear.

But Wang Feng didn’t look back. He didn’t bother. From the first step, he knew this was a path of no return—only by reaching the end could he win.

Though he couldn’t use soul power, his body—far sturdier than the villagers’—could barely withstand the crosswinds at this height. Still, every step required caution, every step was a struggle. If he let himself drift even slightly, he felt he might be blown off and dashed to pieces below.

When a person treats every single step as a challenge to be met with full effort, the exhaustion defies imagination. The first dozen steps were manageable, but soon his stamina began to fail. It was like sprinting a marathon—something no human body could endure.

The first wave of fatigue hit quickly. Wang Feng’s legs began to tremble. The crosswinds grew fiercer. But he only paused slightly before mentally dismissing the fatigue as numbness—something to be ignored.

This was a test of will, of body, of endurance. Whining was pointless—it only drained his resolve and strength.

Wang Feng kept walking, too focused to spare a thought for anything else. He fixed his attention on the stairs beneath his feet. Time blurred. His body grew weary. After enduring several waves of exhaustion, his awareness of his own body faded, just like the stairs disappearing behind him.

He couldn’t feel his toes, but at least he could still lift his legs. His legs felt as heavy as lead—but that was good. The heavier they were, the steadier he felt against the raging winds.

Wang Feng maintained his rhythm, adjusting his breathing.

Quitting? To Wang Feng, it was beyond life and death now.

In both his past life and this one, he had faced countless crossroads. He’d always taken the easy way before. But now, he wanted to try the harder one.

Had Wang Feng been walking for five hours? Ten? Old Wang couldn’t tell. In this space, time seemed meaningless. The sky stayed eternally bright, spotless, with no sign of the sun’s movement.

Each step he took now was as precise as if measured by a machine—distance, motion, all identical. Not for neatness, but because he couldn’t afford to waste even a shred of energy or make any unnecessary movement. He simply pressed forward mechanically.

Now, the stairs behind him began disappearing faster. Before, they couldn’t keep up with his ascent. Now, they were vanishing quicker than he could climb.

*Crack! Crack! Crack!*

The sound of shattering stairs grew louder, closing in rapidly. But Wang Feng’s legs only grew heavier.

He resisted the urge to glance back—that would cost extra energy. Instead, Old Wang bit his tongue hard. Without soul power, there was no blood sacrifice to speak of, but the pain kept him alert and eased the numbness in his legs.

Upward! Onward!

Clenching his teeth, he pushed upward, his speed now matching the vanishing steps once more.

But this equilibrium didn't last long. Wang Feng was already at his physical limit, yet the steps behind him kept vanishing faster.

Forty steps, thirty steps, twenty steps, ten steps...

The sound of shattering glass now nipped at his heels—perhaps less than ten steps remained.

Faster, even faster!

Panic surged through Wang Feng as he desperately climbed. Deep down, he knew he was out of tricks, but suddenly...

Then he saw it—a step unlike the others. Not white jade, but gleaming gold, as if forged from pure gold. Moreover, it was wider and longer than all the previous steps.

Was this finally the top?!

Wang Feng's spirit soared, like a drowning man spotting a lifeline. Mustering every last bit of strength, he lunged forward.

Three steps left, then two...

Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack!

The steps’ shattering had become one continuous crash, closing in right beneath Wang Feng's feet. He even felt the bite of fragments against his legs as he lifted his foot.

One last step to the golden ledge.

With one last burst of strength, Wang Feng leaped from the last white jade step. But the moment he sprang, the step beneath him crumbled instantly, leaving him nothing to push off from...

Boom!

The white jade step exploded into countless glowing shards. Wang Feng’s face, already pale, went ghostly white—he knew his jump had fallen short. In desperation, he grabbed at empty air.

After all that, to fall just short?

Snap!

Two fingers caught the edge of the golden step.

Wang Feng’s stomach dropped, but the instant his fingers touched the golden surface, a familiar power rushed back into him.

His soul force had returned...

With or without soul force, for humans, it meant everything.

His two fingers tightened their grip, soon joined by a third, then a fourth, until one hand—then both—held firm.

"Gasp! Gasp! Gasp! Gasp!"

As Old Wang dragged his half-numb body onto the golden step, it was like being reborn.

That last leap hadn't been high enough, but somehow, his fingers had found the golden step.

This must be the second layer of the Sky Path trial—no longer sealing away soul force. Otherwise, those two barely clinging fingers would have sent him plummeting to his doom.

Thank god for soul force!

Wang Feng gasped for air, but his focus didn’t waver. He sent his soul force surging wildly, sweeping it through his body to revive his exhausted, near-crippled limbs.

Soul force worked like a miracle cure. His physical senses returned rapidly, but before he could fully recover, the golden step beneath him gave a slight shudder.

Here we go again—it's vanishing!

Old Wang couldn't afford to waste time. While continuously replenishing his soul power with the Heavenly Soul Pearl, he picked up his pace, charging up the golden steps of this second segment.

With the boost of soul power, his speed naturally differed, and the fatigue in his body was constantly being restored under the nourishment of soul power. But as he continued upward, Wang Feng soon felt a different kind of pressure bearing down.

It wasn’t like an oppressive aura, but more like gravity—or perhaps both—as if an invisible hand had risen from the void to press down on him, suppressing him. The higher he climbed, the greater this pressure became.

But the Insect God species thrives under pressure!

Tigers may be strong, but dragging prey as large as their own body is already exhausting; an ant is weak, yet it can drag objects several times—even ten times—its own weight! In this regard, seemingly lowly insects are the strongest creatures in this world.

The pressure on his body kept increasing, seemingly reaching its limit from the very start. But as he adapted, this limit continuously rose, allowing Wang Feng to advance steadily, step by step, unshakable as bedrock.

Soul power was being consumed extremely fast. If he relied solely on the normal soul energy reserves of a Tiger Peak disciple, he would likely exhaust it all in just a step or two, let alone an insect species with innate limits—this was the insect species’ Achilles' heel. But Wang Feng had the Heavenly Soul Pearl...

The twin Heavenly Soul Pearls kept feeding him energy, continuously replenishing his depleting soul power—the faster it was consumed, the faster it was restored!

Compared to the first segment’s purely physical trial, this part of the path was actually more difficult. But for Old Wang, it seemed downright easier. Though the crumbling speed of the steps behind him accelerated, it still couldn’t catch up to his pace. He walked with steady determination...

In the Six Paths Reincarnation Temple, several elders were engaged in lively debate. The flow of time on the Heavenly Path matched the outside world, and several hours had already passed. Even by conservative estimates, Wang Feng should have already entered the second segment of steps—and according to the Heaven Elder’s feedback, that was indeed the case.

"We’ve all walked the earlier segments. Forget the later ones—just these first three segments alone become more torturous the further you go. The dual onslaught of mental and physical strain isn’t something a mere Tiger Peak disciple can withstand. I’m truly curious how he’s managing this..."

"There’s no trick here. Once the Heavenly Path opens, there’s no cheating the system," the Heaven Elder said, glancing at the Third Elder beside him. "Third, care to try again?"

"The Heavenly Eye still can’t see through." The Third Elder shook her head. She had activated the Heavenly Eye once more, but the strange aura surrounding Wang Feng was too bizarre, blocking all her attempts at observation. "But at least he’s still on the path."

"No use guessing. Honestly, I’m hoping he succeeds. If he really does, I’d like to see what lies at the end of the Heavenly Path," the Demon Elder said.

The Ghost Elder teased, "But he might not tell you."

The Demon Elder frowned. "This is our territory..."

"Haha, if this kid really can clear the Heavenly Path, you’ll have to kneel properly and bow and call him master. Still think it’s your territory?"

"Kneel and call him master..."

The elders paused, then shared knowing looks.

Having lived most of their lives as revered elders of the Darkmoon Island, they were proud to the bone. Aside from the Island Lord, even if the Yaksha King himself came, these elders likely wouldn’t give him a warm welcome—let alone kneel and call a mere Tiger Peak Holy Sanctuary disciple their master. Under normal circumstances, it would be unthinkable. But this was the legendary Chosen One. They had grown weary of their dull existence on Darkmoon Island. If they could finally move freely, if they could be freed from their never-ending curse of suppression... why not?

…………

Wang Feng, on the Heavenly Path, had no such complicated thoughts as the elders. Though this segment of the path seemed "easier," it was only relative to the previous agony. In truth, the pressure was ever-present, and the speed at which the steps crumbled beneath him was accelerating, now keeping pace with him.

At such a time, getting complacent was the last thing he could afford. Wang Feng maintained both speed and clarity of mind.

He sensed that the crumbling speed of the steps wasn’t fixed, and that invisible pressure seemed to constantly probe his limits, making subtle adjustments. It didn’t aim to outright push challengers off the steps but kept the tension precisely at the edge of their endurance—as if forcing them to walk a knife's edge...

After about two or three hours, both the surrounding pressure and the crumbling speed of the steps finally caught up again, matching the limits of Wang Feng’s body.

His body began to tire once more. Relying solely on soul power could no longer restore the previous balance. Yet, the pressure seemed unable to detect the existence and function of the Heavenly Soul Pearl, so it maintained Wang Feng’s soul power consumption at the peak limit of a Tiger Peak burst—allowing the Heavenly Soul Pearl’s replenishment to remain effortless.

The steps ahead still stretched endlessly, but Wang Feng remained unshaken. This was something of the Seventh Order, but it had to have an end.

Strain, recovery; strain, recovery...

The Heavenly Soul Pearl's nourishment and the Heavenly Path's relentless pressure, endlessly repeating, formed a cycle where the body's fatigue perception and physical strength continuously collapsed and regenerated without pause—a ceaseless, infinite loop!

This was the finest tempering, a dual refinement of both body and spirit. One or two exhaustion cycles would just be normal training, but hundreds or thousands of such cycles... Each time Wang Feng pushed past his limits, he could feel his entire body stretching, opening, and even elevating.

This feeling was downright addictive, bringing an indescribable pleasure and joy.

At this moment, Wang Feng's resolve reached unprecedented firmness. Either he would die on this path, or he would reach its end—there was no third option. The word "abandon," even if only temporary, would never again appear in his dictionary.

His footsteps grew heavy again, the intervals of exhaustion lengthening, and the shattered steps behind him drew ever closer. Yet, Wang Feng's mood only grew more joyful and relaxed.

Life and death predetermined; success heaven's will. Charge on!

The Heavenly Soul Pearl's presence clearly disrupted the Heavenly Path's assessment of his limits. By the time Wang Feng finally saw the steps ahead change again, the shattered steps behind him were still a good dozen tiers away.

The endless gold was replaced by a glittering diamond stairway, dazzling and prismatic, like a true path of the gods—utterly extraordinary.

Change was a good sign. Less dangerous than before, it still teetered on the edge of his limits.

On the dazzling diamond steps, the crushing pressure that had felt like carrying a mountain suddenly vanished. Wang Feng stopped to catch his breath.

With the golden steps behind him completely gone, the second stage was cleared. Standing now on the glittering steps and gazing ahead, the endless diamond staircase stretched into a tiny black dot in the distance, still with no end in sight.

Yet the discomfort was gone. The terrifying weight had lifted, the restriction on soul power had disappeared, and even the violent high-altitude currents seemed absent here—serenely quiet, like the very image of paradise.

But he couldn’t relax.

Stillness often heralds coming horror. After catching his breath for just a few moments, he pressed onward.

Above was boundless light; beneath, solid steps. Soul energy saturated the air, the air crisp and invigorating. Even his body, exhausted from the previous trials, recovered swiftly under the Heavenly Soul Pearl’s influence and the extreme comfort of this place. Though the road ahead was long, he felt no discomfort at all.

Yet Wang Feng remained vigilant—not a second of relaxation. Change could strike at any moment. No way was this third stretch just some easy breather.

"Wang Feng!"

From behind came a sudden call: "Wang Feng!"