Martial Ascent to Divinity-Chapter 695 - 674: Bone Staircase

The members of the Light of Redemption all wished Zhao Tianji success and swift victory.

Zhao Cong said, "Zhou Leng is not an ordinary person. With just you alone, I’m not entirely assured. How about this, I’ll gather all the Grandmasters from various paths, a total of ten, to hide in ambush. Once he descends from the tree to fight, you’ll swarm him and attack together. If possible... I’ll personally join the battle."

"With this plan, there’s no chance of failure!" Zhao Tianji, a seasoned wanderer of Jianghu, showed a pleased expression.

The Light of Redemption praised repeatedly.

Zhao Cong turned his head and said, "Law Enforcement Envoy, you are a high-ranking member of the Demon Worship Sect and also a Grandmaster. You cannot shirk this battle."

"This..." The Light of Redemption looked troubled, "It’s not that I’m shirking, it’s just that as the Law Enforcement Envoy, I have many duties and may not have the time."

"No worries. We’re all nearby. Once we are ready to fight, we’ll contact you ahead of time. It’s only a matter of hours and won’t delay you too much," Zhao Cong said.

"I’ll consult His Highness the Celestial Calamity Envoy at that time," the Light of Redemption replied.

"I’ve already spoken with His Highness, and he said that if Zhou Leng is killed, I can command the Celestial Calamity Army at my discretion."

"Alright then..." Although extremely reluctant, the Light of Redemption decided to take things one step at a time.

Zhao Cong pondered a moment and said, "It’d be best to attack Zhou Leng when the Corpse King Throne ascends. After you finish, I’ll find a way to leave a few seats for you."

"That would be wonderful," Zhao Tianji was increasingly satisfied.

The Light of Redemption’s smile was forced, internally cursing Zhao Cong as shameless, fearing Zhou Leng would seize the first Corpse King Throne, making them sacrifice while he sits back and reaps the benefits.

After long deliberation, Zhao Cong left.

The Light of Redemption, accompanied by Shen Jun, walked out.

Under the night sky, the Light of Redemption gazed upon the enormous crown of the mother tree in the distance.

"The scale of this battle exceeds imagination. I’ve arranged a new task for you, to return to Rucheng."

"Teacher..." Shen Jun looked at the Light of Redemption, lips quivering.

"I have many disciples, many have died or become disabled, and in the end, only a few turned out to be promising."

"I will not disappoint your expectations, Teacher. I will train diligently and strive to advance to Grandmaster!" Shen Jun said.

"You’ve misunderstood; I didn’t say you would turn out well. Anyway, staying here is of no use, you’ll just be crafty and lazy, but in the end, when others are dead or disabled, you might be the only one surviving."

Shen Jun, caught between laughter and tears, said, "Teacher, please don’t speak like that."

"What do you think of the battle with Zhou Leng?"

Shen Jun restrained his smile and said, "Do you want me to speak honestly?"

"Do you and I need to hide anything?"

"I strongly suggest you and I return to Rucheng together."

The Light of Redemption raised a hand, while Shen Jun dodged, bowing with a mischievous smile.

"Teacher, that’s the honest truth. Honestly, if I have to mess with Zhou Leng, I might as well be killed directly. I’d rather be Rao Mingxian than Zhao Tianji."

"Are you so afraid of him?"

"I have a phobia of Zhou Leng," Shen Jun said matter-of-factly.

The Light of Redemption’s eyelids twitched, humming lightly, "You’re not good at anything else, but you’ve mastered my illness expertly."

"It’s all about my master’s high praise."

"What do you think, if I go this time, what should I do?"

Shen Jun said, "It’s simple. Send a message ahead, mentioning you’re nearby with many friends. By the time Zhou Leng falls, no one knows the message. If Zhou Leng survives and defeats them, you’d be half a lifesaver to him, would he have the heart to kill you?"

"Doing so, wouldn’t it be improper..." the Light of Redemption hesitated.

Shen Jun scoffed and didn’t know who to address as Hedao Gui Guang.

He persuaded patiently.

Eventually, the Light of Redemption nodded, "I’ll consider it further, you head back to Rucheng."

"Thank you, Teacher! I’ll be off then!" Without another word, Shen Jun ran off.

The Light of Redemption watched his disciple’s decisive back, cursing "little rascal," and strode toward the Celestial Calamity Army camp.

In front of the two armies, fires stretched continuously.

Wars involving billions, spectacular and tragic.

The frontline moved like marching ants.

Death was just a collection of numbers.

On the fifteenth day since Zhou Leng entered the tree hole, Chen Shouhu led his army to attack the demon logistics team, capturing countless giant insect nest resources.

On the seventeenth day, Wang Boxiong received orders and led the first batch of reinforcements to the mother tree.

On the eighteenth day, the Giant Furnace led the dwarf army, and the Demon Spirit Master led the demon spirit army to arrive.

On the twentieth day, both sides fully deployed reinforcements, and the Demon Spirit Master made a comprehensive move, drastically increasing the intensity of the war.

Unlike previous battles, this battle saw demons paying particular attention to corpses.

Both sides repeatedly stalled over corpse disputes; the more they stalled, the more corpses there were.

Various races began adjusting their strategies, with large reinforcements arriving at Demon City, preparing for the outcome of the Tree-man World.

Nobody said it outright, but all the strategies of Blue Star, Demon Spirit World, and Dwarf World pointed in one direction.

Tree-man World was about to be defeated.

On the twenty-fifth day, the battle continued.

On the twenty-sixth day, the battle continued.

On the twenty-seventh day, a quiet change appeared in the mother tree’s camp.

Everyone noticed that the healing power of the mother tree had decreased somewhat.

However, the tree-men began distributing ordinary Water of Life and leaves of the Tree of Life to everyone.

On the thirtieth day, the external healing power of the mother tree further reduced.

On the thirty-third day, a rumor spread around various places.

The roots of the mother tree were poisoned, turning black.

In just one day, the rumor ceased to be a rumor.

Some tree-men began climbing the mother tree to pick withered leaves.

The Tree-man World’s mother tree had a title.

The Evergreen One.

Now, the leaves were withering and yellowing.

Although no one knew specifically what happened, everyone could guess that the Celestial Calamity Envoy utilized some method, first depleting the mother tree, then employing poison or an evil force.

On the thirty-fifth day, the Demigod Tree-man guarding Zhou Leng was replaced by three Lower-Rank Tree-man Grandmasters.

On the thirty-ninth day, the canopy of the Mother Tree contracted by fifty kilometers, and the first line of defense of the Tree-men was breached.

On the forty-second day, the canopy of the Mother Tree contracted by another fifty kilometers, and the second line of defense was breached.

Chen Shouhu arrived at the Mother Tree, joining forces with Wang Boxiong in battle.

On the forty-fifth day, the radius of the Mother Tree’s canopy shrank by one hundred kilometers, and the Tree-man Alliance Army relied on the walls constructed by the Demon Spirit Masters to fight.

Grandmaster Wang Song Juesi arrived, and within a single day, slaughtered two hundred twenty-seven Grandmasters, setting a new human record for single-day Grandmaster demon-slaughter.

In the final stages of the battle, Demigod avatars were deployed.

Song Juesi, fighting against many, slew seven Demigod avatars, shaking the battlefield and boosting the morale of the Tree-man Alliance Army.

On the forty-sixth day, the forty-seventh day...

On the sixtieth day, the Mother Tree underwent a complete transformation, its trunk shrinking, and the diameter of its canopy reduced to only ten kilometers.

On the trunk, Xu Qingjin’s pupils reflected a giant shadow.

If it weren’t for the Tree-men blocking her, she would have rushed to the battlefield.

Sixty days of cultivation under the Mother Tree enabled her to break through the True Liquid and Blood Shock stages, reaching Bone Forging directly.

This is a privilege that even a Martial Saint does not have before ascending to sainthood.

The reason for remaining at the Bone Forging Realm is not because she can’t advance, but to build a solid foundation.

Sixty days of immersion in the Mother Tree’s power have transformed Xu Qingjin’s body completely.

Her skin is now like jade, delicate and white.

Today, she lost her patience for cultivation for the first time.

A giant bone mountain stood dozens of kilometers away.

It was a massive giant pyramid-shaped mountain.

The base was square, with layers built upwards.

Each layer was ten meters high.

A total of thirty-three layers.

Xu Qingjin touched the trunk of the Mother Tree, her heart racing.

No normal person could directly face this terrifying bone mountain.

The bone mountain was white with a hint of red.

Countless corpses of Demons, giant insects, Sea Sirens, Beastmen, Giants, Giant Dragons, Steel Dwarves, Demon Spirit Masters, and Tree-men were piled into a mountain.

In the center of the bone mountain facing the Mother Tree, there was a white bone staircase absent on the other three sides.

The white bone staircase was made entirely of human bones.

Curved spines, encircling ribs and breastbones, stacked layer upon layer, forming a stairway.

A green-skinned Giant with a broken arm, dressed in luxurious Demon armor, climbed the white bone staircase step by step.

As if stepping on the spines of countless humans, he ascended step by step.

A continuous sound of bone cracking echoed beneath his feet.

Below, the battle paused.

Both sides watched this arrogant king ascend step by step.

Reaching the top of the bone mountain, the Celestial Calamity Envoy waved his hand, and the sound of bones clashing resounded as bone thrones rose around the summit.

Once bone thrones spread all around, the central area emitted another sound of bones clashing.

Dense bones flowed like a reverse current, as human bones rose, intertwining into a larger throne.

The bone mountain stood tall with the rise of the Corpse Throne.

The Celestial Calamity Envoy stood before the Corpse Throne, without sitting, but staring ahead.

"Do you want to sit here? Then climb this ladder, stepping on their spines to ascend! Whoever can sit here will be the next Demigod. Finally, I will personally crown you, even if you are human."

The Celestial Calamity Envoy stood at the summit, overlooking the lives of the Ten Realms, with a smile on his face.

Although he was used to being admired by all beings in his own world, encountering a different race could always bring a bit of joy.

He always enjoyed experiencing the styles of different worlds.

Over the years, he disguised himself as ordinary life forms across realms, traveled through the Demon Purgatory, Sea Demon World, Beastman World, Giant Dragon, and Giant World.

After this battle, he would travel through the other worlds.

The final stop, disguised as an ordinary human, would be touring Blue Star.

When the Ten Realms War begins, the true avatar, the Celestial Calamity God will descend...

The Celestial Calamity Envoy smiled, already looking forward to that day.

"Go."

His voice was soft.

A massive shadow, taller than the bone mountain, swept along the side, like a giant whale brushing past a dolphin.

The Mother of Giant Insects, like a sudden tsunami on a windless sea, rumbled towards the Mother Tree.

Originally white, like a massive maggot.

And now, her body was covered with hard, spiked black insect armor, like an enormously fat armored beetle, charging forward.

Wherever she passed, dust rose, and the earth shook.

A Tree-man Grandmaster charged with all his might but hadn’t even touched the outer shell of the Mother Insect before encountering a strange transparent Qi Force.

In an instant, his body was crushed to powder.

A Demigod Tree-man crashed into it.

Boom!

The Demigod Tree-man collided with the invisible transparent Qi Force but was bounced away by the terrifying power without touching the insect shell.

The mighty Demigod Tree-man was like a soccer ball kicked by a Martial Arts gatekeeper, booming back at several times the speed of sound, soaring dozens of kilometers away, beyond the Mother Tree, crashing in the distance.

This collision filled the Tree-man Alliance Army with despair.

The Mother of Giant Insects, far beyond a Demigod, possessed the power of a Void God.

This was a god’s war.

Xu Qingjin’s left hand trembled slightly, the right hand holding the trunk, looking toward Zhou Leng’s direction.

In the tree cavity, Zhou Leng opened his eyes.