The forty-eighth layer of the Heavenly Stairs.
Lines of great daos condensed into substance, transforming into whips that shattered the heavens, descending from the firmament.
Wherever the dao whips passed, countless small worlds flickered into existence and then vanished.
The immense pressure even formed a phenomenon of "the birth and death of worlds."
Terrifying, truly terrifying!
This level of lashing was simply impossible for any living being to withstand.
However, Han Mo, upholding a "steadfast dao heart," stood firm on the forty-eighth layer of the Heavenly Stairs.
At this moment, Han Mo's body was scorched black, his physical form shattered to an extreme degree of misery!
Yet, his eyes remained incredibly bright, filled with the divine light of unwavering resolve.
Never give up!
Han Mo, trembling, extended a foot towards the forty-ninth layer of the Heavenly Stairs.
"Presumptuous!"
A majestic, ancient voice boomed forth.
With a whoosh!
The entire golden Heavenly Stairs trembled, as if yielding to the majesty of the ancient voice!
Even from a distance, the onlookers could clearly sense the power of the ancient voice.
Terrible!
Too terrible!
Everyone felt their souls tremble, unconsciously submitting to the ancient voice's majesty, unable to even conceive of resistance.
This showed the terrifying pressure Han Mo was enduring at the center of the storm.
Yet, Han Mo acted as if he hadn't heard the ancient, majestic voice. He completely ignored it and continued his resolute, steadfast steps in his ascent.
Life is ceaseless, climbing is unending!
Bang!
Han Mo's foot landed heavily on the forty-ninth layer of the Heavenly Stairs.
This action seemed to have truly angered the ancient voice.
"Mortal, merely an ant, what right do you have to touch the Great Dao? Begone!"
As the ancient voice spoke, strands of dao power converged, transforming into an eternal, ancient stone tablet.
The tablet was vast and ancient, sealing heaven and earth!
All beings in the myriad realms were divided into nine grades!
Chaos-born primordial beings, ranked first!
Mortals, ranked ninth!
A mere mortal, with a ninth-grade body, like a dirty ant, should have their dao severed, their immortal path extinguished, and be forbidden from touching the Great Dao!
The stone tablet erupted with divine light in an instant, adorned with various flamboyant decorations, resplendent and arrogant, transforming into a monumental stele.
The stele descended, carrying an innate sense of superiority, preparing to blast Han Mo away and extinguish his chance of touching the Heavenly Dao.
Mortals, mere ants, unworthy of touching the Heavenly Dao!
The power of the stele was immeasurably vast and potent, how could a mere mortal like Han Mo resist it?
The immense pressure descended like mountains, irresistible and unyielding!
Han Mo was instantly forced to his knees, his head bowed deeply.
His current state truly resembled a pitiable figure bowing to fate.
Alas!
There is no hope!
Seeing this, the onlookers despaired and closed their eyes.
No matter how firm the "dao heart," it could not break the order of "superiority and inferiority."
Han Mo's ascent of the Heavenly Stairs was doomed to failure!
But he was still a peerless genius of his time, capable of ascending to the forty-eighth layer of the Heavenly Stairs with a mortal body. This feat could be boasted about for ten thousand years across all realms!
Everyone inwardly lamented for Han Mo, while simultaneously preparing to face the failure.
In their eyes, Han Mo was bound to lose, no matter what.
But at this very moment, Han Mo slowly spoke.
"Why?"
His voice was not loud, even seeming weak, but everyone heard it clearly.
They didn't understand what Han Mo was saying, "Why?"
At this moment, Han Mo spoke again.
"I ask you, why?"
This time, Han Mo's voice suddenly rose.
With the rising tone, an inexplicable aura erupted from him.
This aura, though seemingly not powerful, possessed a unique might.
Resistance!
Defiance!
A cry against the destiny of superiority and inferiority!
"Why are mortals ants?"
"Why are primordial beings high and mighty?"
"Why can the nine grades divide all beings in the heavens?"
Three questions in succession!
With each question, Han Mo's voice rose another notch.
His bowed back straightened a fraction!
His lowered head lifted a fraction!
"I, Han Mo, do not accept this!"
With a final roar.
Han Mo's back straightened, like a spear poised to pierce the very heavens.
Simultaneously, his head was raised, his eyes shining with brilliance.
Standing tall and upright!
Unafraid of power, unyielding to hierarchy!
"My fate is mine to decide, not heaven's!"
Han Mo bellowed this final, earth-shattering declaration.
Rumble!
A mighty aura erupted!
Blood boiled!
Reversing the flow!
The magnificent stele actually hummed and retreated, as if intimidated by Han Mo's aura, daring not to contend with it!
Seeing the stele's reaction, Han Mo let out a cold snort.
He stepped up with his other foot.
The forty-ninth layer of the Heavenly Stairs!
Success!
Han Mo successfully reached the peak of the forty-nine Heavenly Stairs!
Heaven and earth trembled!
The magnificent stele shattered instantly!
The order formed by superiority and inferiority was utterly broken!
My fate is mine to decide, not heaven's!
Han Mo succeeded!
Below, the onlookers saw this scene and went wild.
Their blood boiled, and they cheered incessantly.
"Han Mo, well done!"
"Han Mo, you spoke so perfectly!"
"My fate is mine to decide, not heaven's; this is how we cultivators should be!"
...
Inside the cave.
Hao Ren was also deeply moved.
So passionate!
"Mortal cultivation stream" indeed ignites the soul when it gets passionate!
"Han Mo, from this day forward, you shall be my second disciple!"
Filled with emotion, Hao Ren proactively took Han Mo as his disciple.
Han Mo was overjoyed and quickly bowed in the direction of the cave.
"Disciple Han Mo pays respects to Master!"
As soon as his words fell, by sheer coincidence, the power of the "Forty-nine Heavenly Stairs" phenomenon began to reward Han Mo.
Golden light descended from the sky, continuously repairing Han Mo's physical body.
Han Mo's thoroughly damaged and scarred body quickly recovered.
Not only did it heal, but under the nourishment of the phenomenon's power, his body became flawless, with dao essence contained within.
From then on, Han Mo's cultivation would be twice as effective with half the effort!
At the same time, lines of great daos above the firmament vibrated gently like the strings of an ancient zither, emitting profound and mystical dao sounds.
The dao sounds were profound and inscrutable.
Han Mo immersed himself in them, entering a state of "enlightenment."
Dao begets one, one begets two, two begets three, three begets all things.
All things bear yin and embrace yang, and the vital force harmonizes them.
...
[Ding! Your disciple "Han Mo" has entered a "state of enlightenment" with the help of the "Sound of the Great Dao."]
[Ding! Your disciple "Han Mo" has achieved the ninety-ninth self-breakthrough during enlightenment.]
[Ding! Your disciple "Han Mo" has reached the perfection of cultivation, and his "Congenital Yin Spirit Root" has undergone a profound transformation, upgrading to a "Primordial Yin Spirit Root."]
[Ding! Congratulations to the host. Due to the transformation of your friend "Han Mo's" "Congenital Yin Spirit Root," your "Congenital Yin Spirit Root" has also transformed. Congratulations to the host for obtaining the "Primordial Yin Spirit Root."]