Climbing the Mountain

Lonely and secluded.

Looking up at the endless mountain road, Zhou Zheng did not hesitate and took a step forward, climbing the first step.

And at that very instant—

Boom!

An invisible force descended instantly, invading Zhou Zheng's soul.

A strong wave of drowsiness washed over him, and in his hazy state, Zhou Zheng found himself standing on a wrecked boat. The small boat rocked violently with the surrounding waves, and he was holding a harpoon, frantically attacking a shark that was about to pounce on him.

The water surged, the stench of blood was thick, and everything seemed real.

"Break!"

Zhou Zheng silently shouted in his heart, and in an instant, the intense drowsiness dissipated, and everything around him returned to normal.

"This must be Heart Power Secret Art."

Zhou Zheng quickly understood, and without hesitation, he continued walking upwards.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

With each step Zhou Zheng took, a new power descended, attempting to lull him into a deep sleep and cause him to fall into depravity, but the power of these initial steps was not strong.

Although Zhou Zheng's Spiritual Realm in the Snow Eagle World has not reached the third level, and he has not yet opened up Heart World in the Desolate Era World, he has cultivated for countless years, and his will has been tempered to an extremely terrifying degree, no less than that of Universe God.

In other words, his Dao Heart is extremely terrifying; ordinary illusions and Heart Power Secret Art are no match for him.

Whew! Whew! Whew!

Zhou Zheng walked up step by step, and after about a hundred steps, he was certain that as he continued to ascend, the power descending upon him was indeed constantly increasing, although the increase was not large, it was indeed continuing to rise.

"A dream world that even I find real—perhaps I could try to create Heart World here!" Zhou Zheng pondered to himself.

When he first returned to the Xue Ying Snow Eagle World Desolate Era World, he understood that Heartforce was a unique force derived from the improvement of the Spiritual Realm, a unique product under the rules of the Desolate Era World.

The improvement of Heartforce —from the initial stage to the stages of enlightenment, Ice Heart, mastery, Mortal Realm, Return to Truth, and the Heart World —is essentially an elevation of the Spiritual Realm.

Just like in the Snow Eagle World, "My Heart is the Heavenly Heart" represents the highest level of the Spiritual Realm. In the Desolate Era World, "The Heart World" represents the highest level of spiritual realm.

In reality, the highest level of Heartforce is only the sixth level, and there is no seventh level. After the Heart World is opened, any further improvement in Heartforce is merely an expansion of the Heart World.

Before heading to the Origin Continent, Zhou Zheng 'Spiritual Realm had already reached the limit of "Mind like a Knife," only one step away from "My Heart is the Heavenly Heart." He cultivated for countless years in the Cosmic Sea and the Origin Continent, but because nothing could move him, he never broke through.

The transformation of the mind cannot be actively controlled; it requires opportunity and sudden enlightenment.

Of course, the Spiritual Realm is the Spiritual Realm, and will is will; these are two different things. He spent countless years in the Cosmic Sea and the Origin Continent. Although his mind did not change, his will improved greatly.

Similarly, in the Desolate Era World, the Heart World and the Dao Heart are two different things.

Some cultivators, even though they are only at the Heart Force Fifth Level, still possess remarkable Dao Heart, comparable to or even surpassing those at the Heart Force Sixth Level.

Zhou Zheng's current situation is that his Dao Heart is incredibly terrifying, but his Heartforce is still at the "Return to Truth" level.

Of course, the Return to Truth level is just the Return to Truth level after all, and it is ultimately no match for the Heart World. Therefore, after Zhou Zheng realized that the illusion that had descended upon this place was incredibly real, he began to wonder if he could use it to open up the Heart World.

"It's definitely worth a try. If it succeeds, the benefits to me will be enormous!" Zhou Zheng made up his mind.

The Heart World is inherently a powerful tool, and Heart Power cultivator are fearsome beings. Moreover, the Ultimate Dao is perfectly suited to the Heart World.

The Heart World needs to be constructed around a certain Dao. This Dao doesn't need to be very powerful, but its structure must be stable. The more stable the Dao, the more powerful the Heart World.

The Ultimate Dao contains a Origin that perfectly combines all directions into a whole, making it arguably the most stable path. Using the Ultimate Dao to construct the Heart World will naturally make the Heart World incredibly powerful.

Furthermore, once Zhou Zheng opens up the Heart World, Zhou Zheng will be able to go further on this "Dream Realm Mountain". Baili Ze had previously said that how much benefit Zhou Zheng could gain depended on how far he could go on this Dream Realm Mountain.

"Hmm"

As Zhou Zheng pondered, he stepped onto a new level once again. An invisible force suddenly descended upon him, and Zhou Zheng began to feel intense drowsiness. At the same time, an illusion descended upon his mind.

This time, Zhou Zheng has become a demon, and is being besieged by countless enemies.

Terrifying power erupted all around, and countless hateful roars and joyful shouts of killing rose and fell. Zhou Zheng stood in mid-air, and at this moment, the whole world seemed to have abandoned him!

Zhou Zheng remained calm and composed, maintaining a sliver of clarity. He didn't immediately break free from the illusion, but stood still, allowing the power to guide his soul.

Meanwhile, at the Dream Realm Mountain—

Baili Ze stood still, and beside him, the black bird fluttered its wings and hovered in mid-air. At this moment, both the man and the bird were watching Zhou Zheng, who had stepped onto Dream Realm Mountain, from afar.

"Oh no, big brother, why did he suddenly stop?" Black Bird looked at Zhou Zheng, who had suddenly stopped, and felt a sense of foreboding.

"Um?"

Baili Ze glanced at Zhou Zheng, who had stopped, and he was also somewhat surprised.

"No, this shouldn't be happening. It's only just begun. Even an ordinary Dao Lord could reach this point with some effort!" Baili Ze pondered. "Besides, he didn't stop moving forward at the beginning, which clearly shows that he had a lot of energy left. He shouldn't have stopped here!"

"But he just stopped." Black Bird's mind raced, and he suddenly said, "Brother, you shouldn't have put me on the 30,000th floor. How about lowering it a bit? How about the 10,000th floor?"

"No, 30,000 floors is the bottom line. If a Heaven-Defying Dao Lord can't even reach 30,000 floors, then his Dao Heart is far too weak. I know you want to go out, but do you really want to follow a Dao Lord like that?" Baili Ze asked calmly.

"He cultivated so quickly, perhaps because he's too young, and it's understandable that his Dao Heart is a bit lacking!" Black Bird muttered to himself. Of course, he only muttered to himself and didn't say anything more.

Indeed, the soul of the Heaven-Defying Dao Lord is not weak to begin with, and his Dao Heart does not need to be outstanding. A slightly stronger one is enough to reach the 30,000th level.

Thirty thousand floors is indeed the bottom line!

"Sigh, it's not easy to find a Dao Lord talent is strong. I hope nothing goes wrong here!" Black Bird stared at Zhou Zheng on Dream Realm Mountain and was speechless for a moment.