Ladder World

Everyone had a different purpose for traveling. Huangquan was in it to experience the delicacies of the myriad realms and collect ingredients from across the heavens. Gong Qian wanted to witness the power systems of the myriad realms in hopes of finding a way to take another step forward; she pursued endless strength. In the end, Zhang Shou, Gong Qian, and Nora showed little interest in the Ladder World, so they stayed behind to watch over the ship, while the rest prepared to enter the Ladder World in the form of avatars. Yu Xian, indulging his wicked sense of humor, sculpted an avatar with the head of a little brat atop the hulking, muscular body of a burly man, then flew it straight toward the Ladder World. His mischievous streak immediately proved contagious. Little Nora molded a little bird avatar—except this sparrow-sized bird possessed a pair of gigantic human legs. Huangquan sculpted an avatar of a young girl with a pig's snout. Niman went even further, fashioning the avatar of an ultimate hag. Controlling their avatars, everyone entered the Ladder World one after another. The moment Yu Xian stepped inside, he found himself utterly immobilized. The power of a rule pinned him to the spot. As the others followed him in, the exact same thing happened to them. Just then, green light rapidly coalesced into a humanoid entity. "I am the Lord of this world. Invaders, depart from my realm!" Filled with majesty, the entity spoke in a slow voice from which one could not discern gender or age. Yu Xian was surprised. He hadn't expected a Creator God to exist in this world. Yet in the very next instant, outside the world, Yu Xian reached out his true hand toward the Ladder World. His power of Chaos and Myriad Phenomena transformed into a gigantic palm that clamped down on the Ladder World; with a single thought, he could crush the entire realm to pieces if he so wished. A Creator God and their world were inherently tied together in glory and ruin. When Yu Xian gripped the world, the Creator God within instantly felt immense pressure—a sensation akin to having a blade held against its neck. "Release everyone, or die." Then, the Creator God heard a voice transmission sent by Yu Xian from the void outside. Its expression changed drastically, and it hastily recalled the power of rules. The suppressing force on Yu Xian and the others' avatars vanished in an instant. "Everyone... my apologies. Might I ask what you require in gracing this realm with your presence?" the Creator God asked humbly. The baby face on Yu Xian's avatar broke into a smile, offering reassurance: "Relax. We're not greedy pillagers. We're just an elderly retired Mighty Ones' sightseeing tour. We're pretty much just here to look around, sample some food, and then we'll be on our way." "I see. Then you are most welcome." Whether the Creator God truly believed this or not, in this moment it had no choice but to believe it. Yu Xian glanced at the Creator God and smiled. "Since we've just arrived and don't know the lay of the land, and you're the local authority here, why don't you act as our guide? Any problem with that?" "No problem at all! I'm... more than happy to," the Creator God hurriedly nodded and agreed. After all, the world itself—upon which its very life depended—was currently clutched in that man's hand. If he grew displeased and crushed the world, it would kick the bucket right along with it. Not every Creator God could survive the destruction of their world; Niman was an exception, after all. In fact, seeing the humble Creator God, Niman couldn't help feeling a trace of sympathy. Although a Creator God enjoyed immense status upon birth and boasted power far surpassing ordinary beings, they were tightly bound to their world. Most of them spent their entire lives unable to break free of their world's shackles. She had been exceedingly fortunate, turning calamity into a blessing and ultimately encountering Yu Xian, which had granted her the freedom she enjoyed today. "What is your name?" Niman walked up to the Creator God of the Ladder World and asked. Beholding Niman's avatar, the Creator God inwardly thought, *How hideous!* On the surface, however, it respectfully answered, "I am called Yenis." "Let's go. Lead the way," Yu Xian said. With that, Yenis led the group as they flew toward the steps of the Ladder World. ... The Ladder World had no planets. There were only endless steps, each one exaggeratedly immense and populated by massive numbers of people. Led by Yenis, Yu Xian and the others first arrived at the origin of the stairs—a gigantic sphere of water. Currents flowed from it into the first step, leaving the entire first step submerged under water, teeming with all kinds of fish and algae. "Let's go down and take a look," Yu Xian said to Yenis after glancing at Huangquan and noticing her interest in the fish. Everyone descended to the first step. Upon entering, their perception of space underwent a marvelous shift, as though they had set foot on a planet. The surrounding space expanded to an exaggerated scale; the water that hadn't seemed particularly vast from outside had now become a boundless ocean. Landing upon the surface of the sea, Niman asked curiously, "Yenis, was this world originally shaped like this, or did you design it this way?" "Naturally, it was designed like this after a long time of racking my brains and deep contemplation," Yenis answered proudly, instantly puffing out its chest. Puzzled, Niman asked, "Why did you design it in this shape?" "When I awakened, I felt the original world was far too messy. Matter wasn't being fully utilized, resources were scattered too randomly, and living beings were separated by astronomical distances. It was simply too boring. So after thinking it over again and again, I decided to unify the world's resources, which resulted in what you see now," Yenis explained. By this time, Huangquan had caught several fish, lightly prepared them with her abilities, and shared them with the group. "Delicious! This is too delicious!" Yenis hadn't expected to receive a portion. After expressing its thanks and taking a bite, it was thoroughly stunned. It wasn't as if it had never eaten the food of humans in the Ladder World, but nothing had ever tasted this good. In comparison, human food was pure slop. Though the others felt the fish tasted fine, having eaten far better fare before, they didn't react with much excitement. "It's a pity the ingredients are so ordinary," Huangquan sighed, taking in everyone's reactions. Though Yenis had crafted the Ladder World into something unique, the fundamental nature of life here hadn't changed much. These fish were merely ordinary edible fish, lacking even special energy. "Let's follow the current down, take a look at the scenery and civilizations of this world, and then head out," Zhang Buyao suggested. Little Nora nodded. "Mm-hmm, this world is way too boring. I kind of want to go back already." "..." Yenis felt a burning sensation on its face. Just moments ago, it had wanted to drive Yu Xian and the others away, yet now that they found its world disappointing, it perversely didn't want them to leave so soon. "Actually, I used to be a Creator God as well," Niman said to Yenis at this moment. "While you've managed this world with a unique character, you've also locked down its upper limit. The upper limit of your world is your own upper limit. I suggest you give it some serious thought and find a way to enhance your world's power." Yenis stared at Niman in shock. It had never imagined she was one of its own kind—and visibly unfathomable at that.