My cards can be infinitely combined.

Chapter 614 99 Unbelievable Steps

Upon hearing the sigh of the person ahead, Zhou Nan realized that if he could complete this staircase and enter the mysterious hall behind it, he would possess the strength to traverse the heavens.

"Stepping into the Heavens" may be a certain cultivation realm within a certain cultivation system, but in Zhou Nan's view, it should be more of a realm of strength.

"The ninth layer of deep space... it can only be entered through the Path to Heaven? What's inside that great hall? Is the Lord of Deep Space among them?"

Zhou Nan had many doubts in his heart, but unfortunately the path to the heavens was extremely difficult. The higher he went, the greater the pressure became. With his current foundation, he had almost reached his limit and could hardly advance a few more steps.

At this moment, the traveler in front looked Zhou Nan over and asked in confusion, "Eh, I can't see your Heaven and Earth Souls. You must be a divine being. Such a powerful physique, comparable to those Starry Sky Battle Bodies. Junior, were you born from deep space?"

Zhou Nan cupped his hands in greeting and said, "No!"

He had already detected the person's attributes and found that he was a level 1000 expert.

"Oh, so you come from the stars! I too come from the stars, and have wasted more than 40,000 years on this path to heaven. It is rare to meet someone I can talk to again today."

The traveler's face lit up with joy.

Zhou Nan was startled upon hearing this.

Wasted 40,000 years?

Has this person been walking up these steps for so long?

The traveler then said, "Young man, with your physique, there's no benefit in walking this Path to Heaven. Why do you still insist on going forward?"

Zhou Nan said, "I want to go to the ninth level of deep space!"

"The ninth layer of deep space?" The old man looked puzzled. "You mean the Temple of Deep Space?"

"Deep Space Temple?"

"What? You don't know about the Deep Space Temple? This temple is the ultimate technological product of the Deep Space Civilization, and its power even surpasses that of the Emperor's Divine Weapon."

"Ultimate technological achievement? Deep space civilization?"

"What, you don't even know about the Deep Space Civilization? The starry sky is infinite, and the Deep Space Civilization was once a powerful force in the starry sky, controlling several Heavenly Daos and capable of being the ruler of a universe. However, despite using all its national strength to build this Deep Space Temple and the Path to Heaven, it declined from its peak. Now, the Deep Space Civilization is no longer what it once was, and can only be considered a first-rate force..."

"Is that so?" Zhou Nan was quite surprised. If what the traveler said was true, then his previous understanding of deep space was probably wrong.

Deep space is merely a creation of a deep-space civilization within the starry sky!

The traveler continued, "Speaking of which, the fact that the Deep Space Temple was lost here is closely related to that Deep Space Prince. Back then, if that Deep Space Prince hadn't insisted on his own way and gathered several Heavenly Daos of the Deep Space Civilization to use the Deep Space Temple to suppress a Xuanhuang Battle Body, the Deep Space Temple wouldn't have been damaged, the Heavenly Daos wouldn't have perished, and ultimately the Deep Space Civilization would have declined. Alas, what a pity..."

Zhou Nan pondered that what the traveler said should be true, and then asked, "Senior has been on his Path to Heaven, have you seen anyone else?"

"Of course I've seen them! This old man has no other special skills, but in my forty thousand years on this Path to Heaven, I've had the good fortune to see six Heaven-Treading experts! Tsk tsk, I must say the Deep Space Scriptures are indeed extraordinary, and this Deep Space Temple is also profound, actually attracting six Heaven-Treading experts to walk this Path to Heaven, and even leaving their names in that Deep Space Temple. Young man, are you looking for someone? Tell me, who are you looking for? Is it a Heaven-Treading expert?"

Zhou Nan asked directly, "May I ask if you have ever met Li Hanqiang, senior?"

As he spoke, Zhou Nan snapped his fingers, and a card appeared out of thin air in front of him, then quickly exploded, transforming into the image of Li Hanqiang, the Dragon Slayer Emperor.

This is a King Overlord True Lord that Zhou Nan created at will, simply modified to resemble the Dragon Slayer Emperor Li Hanqiang.

He didn't know if this infringed on the portrait rights of Emperor Li Hanqiang, the Dragon Slayer, but in any case, the abilities of the summoned card had nothing to do with Emperor Li Hanqiang.

"This person..."

The traveler ahead carefully examined Li Hanqiang, the True Monarch of Overlord, his brows furrowing slightly. After a moment, a look of doubt appeared on his face as he asked, "Isn't his name Li Lianhua?"

"Li Lianhua?"

Zhou Nan was taken aback.

What's going on?

Is Li Hanqiang using an alias?

However, judging from the traveler's words, he must have seen Li Hanqiang in person.

Zhou Nan was overjoyed and quickly said, "Senior, you've met him!"

The traveler nodded and said, "Lord Li Lianhua is one of the strongest beings I have ever seen. He must have already ascended to heaven, a being surpassing even the most powerful immortals. His life has transformed into four lotus flowers: the Chaos Green Lotus, the Karmic Fire Red Lotus, the Moral Golden Lotus, and the End-of-Dharma Black Lotus. When Lord Li Lianhua walked this path to heaven, lotus flowers bloomed with every step, giving the impression that even his chickens and dogs ascended to heaven with him. He has been very kind to me, bestowing upon me a Life Lotus and a Taiyi Profound Light, which has enabled me to achieve what I have today. This can be called 369 steps to heaven!"

"369 steps to heaven? What does that mean?"

The traveler smiled and said, "Some people are only one step away from reaching the Heavenly Realm, some are half a step away, and I am three hundred and sixty-nine steps away. Look, there are exactly three hundred and sixty-nine steps ahead. If I can walk through them all, I will be able to prove my Dao and reach the Heavenly Realm!"

"Is that so? If so, wouldn't I be able to ascend to heaven in 403 steps?" Zhou Nan was only 36 steps away from the traveler's position.

He wasn't particularly interested in that, and instead asked, "May I ask, senior, where did that person ultimately go?"

The traveler said, "Lord Li Lianhua has been in the Deep Space Temple for over thirty years and has not yet come out."

"Oh? So, he's still in that temple?"

"That's not necessarily true. The Deep Space Temple is mysterious and unpredictable; perhaps there's another exit route. Young man, do you know Lord Li Lianhua? What is his relationship to you?"

"He's just a senior. To be honest, I'm here on someone's behalf to ask that person to issue a decree."

"So that's how it is... But you may be disappointed. With your strength, you won't be able to traverse this Heavenly Path in a short time. It will be very difficult for you to see Lord Li Lianhua."

"Is that so?" Zhou Nan frowned, took out a flying sword message card, and sent a message to Li Hanqiang.

He didn't know if it would work, but he had no other choice at the moment.

Unexpectedly, the small sword that this card transformed into headed straight for the end of the Path to Heaven, which was the Deep Void Temple, but then quickly disappeared. It is unknown whether it was able to enter the Void Temple.

A moment later, the gates of the Deep Space Temple suddenly burst open, and a golden lotus flower flew out. The lotus spun gently and arrived before Zhou Nan, from which a voice emanated: "I have received your message delivered by flying sword. I have also come to understand the many causes and consequences. Years ago, I placed a decree forbidding any imperial warriors above level 800 from leaving the empire's territory, truly to protect them from being hunted by the Deep Space Prince. But now, that decree has indeed become a burden and should be removed!"

The voice within the lotus paused slightly, then continued, "Take this lotus back to the Empire, and the seal will be lifted. This lotus also holds a special place in your heart for you; consider it a repayment! My true form is no longer in this realm; I have left only four lotuses to suppress destiny in this deep space. Perhaps when you achieve something extraordinary, we can meet again in the starry sky!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the lotus flower landed on Zhou Nan's brow, turning into a lotus flower mark.

At the same time, Zhou Nan felt an indescribably powerful and pure force enter his body.

That power was completely harmless to him and could be used directly. Almost instinctively, Zhou Nan used this power to refine the [Perpetual Motion of Divine Thought] card.

Excited, he sat cross-legged on the steps of the Path to Heaven, closed his eyes, and began to cultivate diligently.

Time passed, one month, two months, three months...

A full year later, Zhou Nan slowly opened his eyes. His face was filled with joy, and when he touched his brow, a black card appeared in his hand.

That's a black card with perpetual motion of divine will!

The energy brought by the lotus flower has been completely refined by Zhou Nan, and what was ultimately created was this Seven-Star Black Card.

This year of arduous cultivation is equivalent to more than 170 years of arduous cultivation under normal circumstances, roughly three cycles of sixty years.

In fact, even if Zhou Nan really cultivated diligently for three Jiazi (60 years), he would never be able to make a seven-star black perpetual motion card of divine sense. At most, he could make a seven-star orange perpetual motion card of divine sense. It was only because the energy brought out by the lotus was so pure and without any impurities that Zhou Nan could use it to refine his spirit and make cards so smoothly.

"Today, I can finally experience the power of the perpetual motion black card through divine will!"

Without hesitation or trying to avoid the traveler, Zhou Nan immediately used the Seven-Star Black Divine Thought Perpetual Motion Card. The card transformed into a stream of light, circled his body once, and then flew into his crown chakra.

At that moment, Zhou Nan felt as if he had been enlightened, and truly experienced the "upgrade".

[Memory Expansion] took effect, and Zhou Nan's memory expanded by seven megabytes within three breaths!

[Data Cleanup] took effect. In less than five breaths, all the data in Zhou Nan's database was thoroughly sorted out, and a lot of deep-seated meaningless data was completely cleared away, giving Zhou Nan a feeling of relief.

The system maintenance lasted for about ten minutes. Zhou Nan's level remained unchanged at 999, but he felt that he could reach level 1000 at any moment and truly become a supreme divine being comparable to the Heavenly Dao.

[Computational Upgrade] Then it began and lasted for about half an hour. During this half hour, Zhou Nan's card divine power was qualitatively improved. His current computing speed was more than seven or eight times faster than before. He felt as if countless intelligent programs had been installed in his body, allowing him to use his divine sense to do many things at the same time.

Finally, the exclusive [Renewal of All Things] skill of the black [Perpetual Motion of Divine Thought] card began.

Zhou Nan's body trembled, and the imperial crown on his head disappeared in an instant. Black hair grew out, strand by strand, quickly reaching his waist in length. It was miraculously combed automatically and tied up casually.

His imperial robes were a darker color, with a large number of delicate patterns on them. These patterns were not visible from a distance, but they were clearly visible up close, making them appear very exquisite, refined, and ingenious.

However, these minor changes in appearance pale in comparison to the improvement in Zhou Nan's inner strength.

After the "Renewal of All Things" event, Zhou Nan's Qi refining efficiency improved. Previously, his daily Qi refining limit was only one warehouse, but now it has increased sixfold, reaching seven warehouses per day.

This is the improvement Zhou Nan most wanted: an increase in Qi refining speed would allow him to grow his foundation more quickly.

In addition, the "Renewal of All Things" effect seems to also enhance Zhou Nan's card divinity.

In the past, when Zhou Nan wanted to create cards, it was essentially a matter of imagination. He would simply use his own database to conjure up the cards without needing any materials.

Zhou Nan could only create cards through wishful thinking.

Now things are a little different. Zhou Nan can not only generate cards from imagination more quickly, but also create cards from physical objects.

The latter does not require a database for support; instead, the cards that are created will form data, enriching his database, information database, and card library.

For example, the three Heavenly Coffins that Zhou Nan had previously acquired, with a thought, immediately turned into three cards, which were actually black cards!

These three cards are just templates; they don't have star ratings yet. Zhou An will charge them with as much energy as possible, and they will become the corresponding cards.

"This is the real Heavenly Coffin Black Card! It's even stronger than the one I imagined!"

Zhou Nan understood, and when he stood up, he felt refreshed and full of energy.

Previously, he had felt immense pressure here, and felt that the path to the heavens would be impossible to traverse further. But now, he felt that pressure had lessened considerably, and he was able to take at least a hundred steps forward.

He immediately tried to continue climbing the path to the heavens, and surprisingly, he took 266 steps forward in one go, which astonished the traveler.

"Hey, hey, hey, what kind of super tonic did you take? You're so powerful, you've surpassed me! Now you're only 141 steps away from reaching the Heavenly Realm! Did Lord Li Lianhua help you?"

Zhou Nan was in a good mood. He turned around, bowed to the traveler, and then turned back to continue on his way.

Walking 266 steps was not Zhou Nan's limit. He took another 42 steps, until there were only 99 steps left before he could leave the Path to Heaven and enter the Deep Space Temple. Only then did Zhou Nan feel immense pressure and could no longer move forward.

"Only 99 steps to reach the heavens!" Zhou Nan thought to himself. "Can I assume that I have already reached the limit of supreme divinity, and that with another 99 steps, I can surpass supreme divinity and achieve the inconceivable?"

Zhou Nan felt that his idea was logically sound. If he continued to consolidate his cultivation here and used the residual power of the Seven Star Divine Thought Perpetual Motion card, he might be able to take a few more steps forward.

But Zhou Nan stopped moving forward and instead retreated, walking down the path that led to the heavens.

Although he was very curious about the temple in the deep space and wanted to go there to see it and learn about the ultimate secrets of the deep space, he knew that it was time to leave the deep space!

Li Hanqiang himself has received his mandate and should now leave deep space and return to the empire's territory. This would be considered a proper ending, and he would have completely fulfilled the entrustment of Emperor Li Hanqiang, the Dragon Slayer.

(End of this chapter)