Shen Yuan’s exterior appearance remained unchanged as he ascended the steps one by one.
Mountains lay beneath Shen Yuan’s feet; surrounded by drifting clouds, Mount Tai Palace seemed to stand above the Ninth Heavens while Shen Yuan, like a humble pilgrim, worshipped the great existence within.
The great residual aura washed over Shen Yuan’s Spirit Soul, like a tiny boat in a storm, at risk of capsizing at any moment.
The higher he climbed, the more astonished he became in his heart.
The residual aura at the front of Mount Tai Palace was gradually accumulating, each step upon the 100th stair meant enduring the onslaught of all the great residual auras within those steps, an unimaginable challenge.
Within ten thousand steps, the strength of the remaining aura was still bearable by powerful experts beneath the Immortal Realm.
But past ten thousand steps, only experts in the Immortal Realm were qualified to continue the ascent.
And beyond a hundred thousand steps, Shen Yuan even doubted that formidable Heavenly Immortals like the Judge of Life and Death could withstand it.
Shen Yuan managed to climb all this way, relying on his body’s Unimpeded Netherworld Divine Power and the remnant Divinity Path Emperor’s pantheon position.
Yet even so, the stairs ahead still seemed endless; the intermittently visible Mount Tai Palace in the clouds weighed down on Shen Yuan like the presence of a supreme deity.
"This is merely a temporary stay palace, a dojo left behind by a Divinity Path Emperor.
How powerful must a complete Highest Heaven Emperor be if he appeared in person?"
Shen Yuan began to doubt whether the Earthly Destroyer Divine Power’s unique trait in this world could truly suppress the Highest Heaven Emperor.
"Is the unique trait of this world really capable of suppressing the Highest Heaven,
or is it that the Donghua Emperor, Lord of Mount Tai, and other fallen Highest Heaven beings of the future are already damaged, hence they can be suppressed by this world’s unique trait?
If it isn’t this explanation, it’s hard to imagine that a Highest Heaven Emperor could be restrained by a single Divine Skill."
As Shen Yuan pondered, the gazes from within the palaces around Mount Tai Palace fell upon this place, each filled with barely concealed astonishment.
Since the Mount Tai Dojo was established, they had witnessed countless people paying homage to the Lord of Mount Tai.
There were prodigies who shook the realms, well-known Heavenly Immortals, and even Eternal beings indestructible by countless calamities, supreme powers who had established their own Tao Orthodoxy.
All these beings had set foot on the stairs of Mount Tai to measure the earth with their steps and meet with the Lord.
Yet among so many strong individuals, only Eternal Golden Immortals were truly able to reach the peak and step through the front gate of Mount Tai Palace.
Apart from them, even the Major Heavenly Immortals from the 10th Hall Yama could only be led into the palace by the Lord of Mount Tai.
But Shen Yuan, who appeared to be merely at the Tao Harmony Stage in the eyes of the crowd, had surpassed many past and present Heavenly Immortals and Major Heavenly Immortals and entered directly through the front gate of Mount Tai Palace.
This immediately reminded many powerful experts of the anomaly that had swept across Mount Tai not long ago.
Regarding Shen Yuan’s identity, quite a few experts knowledgeable about the outside world had their speculations.
"Is this the one proclaimed to be the Supreme Taoist, unrivaled through the ages?"
"I thought the people of the Primal Chaos Realm were merely ignorant. Now it seems he truly deserves the title ’supreme’."
"The Great Yin Imperial Dynasty has offered an Immortal Artifact as a reward for capturing this Supreme Taoist. Are none of you tempted?"
"Idiots! If the Supreme Taoist has made it here, he must be acknowledged by the Lord of Mount Tai. Do you intend to defy the Lord’s decree?"
"For such a prodigy to enter under the Lord’s tutelage is surely a good thing. As for matters concerning the Great Yin Imperial Dynasty, a single decree from the Lord is enough to settle them."
Shen Yuan, of course, knew nothing of the discussions outside, and continued to climb steadily.
Under the protection of the Unimpeded Netherworld Divine Power, Shen Yuan’s spirit gradually adapted to the onslaught of the Highest Heaven aura and, in the depths of his being, he began to gain a faint understanding.
The Unimpeded Netherworld Divine Power quietly connected with the Highest Heaven aura, and the endless aura on the stairs ahead momentarily paused.
Within Shen Yuan, the fragmented Emperor Fengdu’s pantheon position inexplicably responded, seeming able to influence the Highest Heaven aura with the Unimpeded Netherworld Divine Power.
"An unexpected gain?"
A glint of joy flashed in Shen Yuan’s eyes.
Emperor Fengdu’s pantheon position was naturally exceptional, but due to its extreme incompleteness, Shen Yuan could only barely use it for specific occasions.
Now that he was able to harness the remaining Highest Heaven aura on the stairs, deft application could be enough to suppress even Major Heavenly Immortal opponents.
With a thought, the clouds and mist before Shen Yuan dissipated, and Mount Tai Palace appeared clearly before his eyes.
The originally endless staircase had vanished, leaving only a broad thoroughfare beneath my feet.
Shen Yuan pondered for a moment before striding into it and disappearing from the sight of the many powerful experts outside the Mount Tai Palace.
The scene before his eyes changed, and a divine figure with the head of a bull and the body of a human appeared in front of Shen Yuan.
Clad in armor and wielding a battle-axe, he stood before the main gate of the Mount Tai Palace, his gaze piercing as he watched Shen Yuan, his aura of the Heavenly Immortal Realm displayed without reserve.
This was the first time Shen Yuan had seen the Bull Head figure in his prime, and he felt a fair bit of surprise in his heart.
However, Shen Yuan remained expressionless on the surface and greeted the figure before him with a clasped-hand salute, saying,
"Greetings to the Netherworld Commander Bull Head!"
"Hmph!"
Exhaling two puffs of white mist from his nostrils, Bull Head coldly snorted and said,
"Thou art a fugitive, sought by the Great Yin Imperial Dynasty. What is the secret purpose of thy stealthy intrusion into Mount Tai?
Mount Tai is no place for thee to run wild. I hope thou leavest promptly, do not bring about thy own doom!"
"A stealthy intrusion?" A hint of a smile appeared on Shen Yuan’s face.
"Commander, I fear such words may be inappropriate. Mount Tai is the dojo of the Lord of Mount Tai, my entry here must have been permitted by the Lord himself. How can there be any stealthy intrusion?"
The countenance of Netherworld Commander Bull Head suddenly darkened, his expression becoming somewhat unsightly.
Since his breakthrough to the Netherworld Commander position over a thousand years ago, he had been arranged by the Lord of Mount Tai to guard the Mount Tai Palace, taking over the Lord’s daily duties.
It was only over ten years ago that he suddenly noticed the Lord of Mount Tai had fallen into a deep sleep.
As the duration of that sleep had not been long, Bull Head did not pay it much heed.
However, when the Lord of Mount Tai once again fell into slumber after a short interval, the occurrence of two sudden episodes of sleep within a number of years roused Bull Head’s suspicions.
Until four years ago, when the Lord of Mount Tai entered into sleep for the third time and the aura of the Netherworld Path within the Mount Tai dojo went quiet, Bull Head realized there might be a hidden secret behind the entire affair.
He tried to suppress this news, forbidding anyone from seeking an audience with the Lord of Mount Tai, all to minimize the impact of the situation and prevent it from being exploited by scheming individuals.
When Shen Yuan entered the domain of Mount Tai, Bull Head was busily trying to keep a lid on the news, having not taken notice of this minor character of the Void Refinement Realm.
It was not until today, when Shen Yuan caused a phenomenon observable for thousands of miles, that Bull Head realized an uncontrollable character had arrived within the dojo.
Bull Head’s first thought was to expel Shen Yuan from Mount Tai, but Shen Yuan’s presence had already attracted too much attention. Were Bear Head to issue the order himself, he feared it might arouse suspicions among some people.
And yet, he lacked the authority to do so in the name of the Lord of Mount Tai.
Consequently, Bull Head sought an alternative path and thought of the Mount Tai Staircase.
This staircase was the obligatory path for those seeking an audience with the Lord of Mount Tai, but not everyone was qualified to be received by the Lord.
Only those who could ascend all nine hundred ninety-nine thousand nine hundred ninety-nine steps of the Mount Tai Staircase were deemed worthy to enter the gates of the Mount Tai Palace.
Of course, that was but a legend.
No one below the Golden Immortal could reach the summit of the Mount Tai Staircase; most who attempted the ascent would be transported inside the palace by the Lord’s will when they reached their limit.
Those whom the Lord did not wish to receive and who could not reach the summit were thus unable to secure an audience with the Lord of Mount Tai.
This tradition had been preserved to the present day, and Bull Head decided to have Shen Yuan attempt the Mount Tai Staircase. Once Shen Yuan failed to reach the peak, Bull Head planned to use it as a pretext to expel him from Mount Tai.
By doing so, he would comply with tradition and avoid arousing suspicion from outsiders.
Yet, contrary to expectation, Shen Yuan defied conventional wisdom. A mere practitioner at the Tao Harmony Stage managed to actually reach the summit of the Mount Tai Staircase, surpassing countless Major Heavenly Immortal experts from ages past.
Now, faced with Shen Yuan’s retort, Bull Head didn’t know how to respond.
A slip of a smile emerged on Shen Yuan’s face as he spoke in an ethereal voice:
"If the Lord does not wish for me to remain within the dojo, he could simply dispatch an edict to expel me.
Yet here we are, with the Netherworld Commander Bull Head inviting me to the Mount Tai Palace, hastening to send me away before an audience with the Lord."
"Could it be... that some misfortune has befallen the Lord?"

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