104: Chapter 104 Thousand Steps Cliff

The next day, before dawn.

The bamboo forest on Green Bamboo Island was filled with a milky white mist, and the sea breeze, passing through the bamboo leaves, carried the crisp, damp chill unique to the early morning.

Inside the bamboo house, Jiang Hanzhou slowly opened his eyes. A flash of crimson gold light flickered in his pupils before fading into calm.

He had not slept all night, yet he was full of spirit.

The Dragon Subduing and Tiger Taming Skill circulated on its own within his body. His blood pill was stable, and his Qi and blood were like mercury. After a night of regulating his breathing, the fatigue and hidden injuries from yesterday's prison fight had completely dissipated, and his Cultivation had even improved slightly.

"Time to go."

Jiang Hanzhou rolled off the bed, washed up briefly, and changed into another clean set of dark gray cloth clothes.

He tied the sumeru pouch to his waist, checked his white jade token once more, and after confirming everything was in order, pushed open the bamboo door and stepped into the morning mist.

The sky was still dim, with only a faint, fish-belly white visible on the eastern horizon.

Jiang Hanzhou walked quickly to the small pier at the edge of Green Bamboo Island.

He had noticed it when he arrived on the island yesterday; several simple wooden boats were tied to the pier, clearly for the island owner's use.

He untied the mooring rope and leaped onto one of the boats.

With a stroke of the oars, the boat shot out like an arrow, breaking through the calm sea surface and heading in the direction he had come from yesterday.

According to the old books he had flipped through last night and the information in his token, the hundreds of islands where Outer Sect Disciples lived were collectively called the "Latent Dragon Courtyard," scattered across the three-hundred-mile sea area around Ancestral Dragon Island.

The Thousand Steps Cliff was located on a seaside cliff on the southeast side of Ancestral Dragon Island.

Half an hour later, the sky began to brighten.

Jiang Hanzhou's boat entered a busier area of the sea.

Being close to Ancestral Dragon Island, the traffic on the sea had increased significantly. There were Outer Sect Disciples in simple boats like his, as well as slightly larger "Wind-Riding Boats" engraved with simple Formations, and occasionally, he could even see figures controlling various flying Magical Artifacts or walking directly on the waves.

Everyone was heading in the same direction.

Toward the towering giant island whose outline was gradually revealing itself in the morning mist.

Ancestral Dragon Island.

The closer he got, the more he could feel its majestic Aura.

Mountains rose and fell, reaching into the clouds. Above the mountainside, it was shrouded in eternal spiritual mist, and only the outlines of the eaves of some pavilions could be vaguely seen.

On the seaside of the island, there was a very conspicuous cliff.

The cliff was over three hundred zhang high, grayish-white in color, and almost vertical, as if cleaved by a Heavenly God with a single sword, smooth and steep.

A narrow stone staircase, only wide enough for two people to walk side by side, looked like a thin grayish-white line winding up from the bottom of the cliff, clinging to the cliff face, leading straight to the top.

There were exactly one thousand steps, no more, no less.

Thousand Steps Cliff.

At this moment, the bottom of the cliff was already crowded with dense figures.

A rough estimate showed no less than a thousand people!

Most of these people were dressed in various styles of clothing, but they all wore white jade tokens at their waists. Their Aura varied in strength; the weak ones were only in the Early Stage of the Viscera Burning Realm, while the strong ones were already at the Perfection of the Viscera Burning Realm. There were even a few obscure Auras that made even Jiang Hanzhou feel a trace of pressure.

Those were likely the elite Outer Sect Disciples who were already knocking on the threshold of the Dragon Elephant Realm.

Everyone was silent, looking up at the summit that reached into the clouds, their eyes filled with awe, longing, and a trace of undetectable fatigue.

Jiang Hanzhou tied his boat to a simple pier at the foot of the cliff and followed the crowd toward the base of the cliff.

He looked up.

Hundreds of people were already climbing the stone steps of the Thousand Steps Cliff.

These people were not climbing fast; one could even say they were slow.

With every step taken, it was as if they were carrying a heavy burden, their figures slightly sinking, their breathing heavy.

The higher they went, the slower the climbers became. By the five or six hundredth step, many were already drenched in sweat, their bodies trembling, almost collapsing on the stone steps, yet they were still gritting their teeth and persisting.

"Thousand Steps Cliff... it is not just a path to the summit; it is a test in itself." Jiang Hanzhou recalled the records in the books, "There is an invisible gravity Formation on the cliff; the higher you go, the greater the pressure. For an ordinary Martial Artist in the Viscera Burning Realm, reaching the eight-hundredth step is already difficult. Those who can reach the summit must have an extremely solid Foundation of Qi and blood."

He did not hesitate and stepped onto the first stone step.

"Hum—"

An invisible pressure instantly enveloped his entire body.

This pressure was not very strong, roughly equivalent to carrying dozens of jin of weight; for Jiang Hanzhou's current physique, it was almost nothing.

He did not stop and steadily moved upward.

Ten steps, thirty steps, fifty steps...

As the height increased, the pressure gradually intensified.

At the one-hundredth step, the pressure was already equivalent to carrying two hundred jin.

Jiang Hanzhou's expression did not change. The Dragon Subduing and Tiger Taming Skill circulated on its own. As his Qi and blood flowed, he easily dissolved this pressure.

He did not slow down and quickly overtook dozens of panting, struggling Disciples in front of him.

Most of those Disciples were in the Qi Nurturing Realm or had just entered the Iron Bone Realm. Seeing Jiang Hanzhou walk past them as if walking on flat ground, they all showed surprise and envy in their eyes.

"What a solid Foundation!"

"Who is this person? A new face?"

"Seems like one of the new recruits this year. I heard he got the Gold Border in the Prison Fighting Valley assessment..."

Low murmurs arose behind him, but Jiang Hanzhou turned a deaf ear.

Three hundred steps.

The pressure had increased to about five hundred jin.

Jiang Hanzhou's breathing remained steady, his footsteps firm.

He began to feel a trace of real "weight," but it was far from his limit.

Five hundred steps.

The pressure exceeded one thousand jin.

Jiang Hanzhou's forehead was slightly sweaty, the speed of his Qi and blood circulation accelerated, his bones made a faint "cracking" sound, and the glow deep within his dao bone circulated slightly, evenly distributing the pressure throughout his body.

His speed finally slowed down, but he still took it one step at a time, steadily moving upward.

Seven hundred steps.

The pressure was approaching two thousand jin.

Jiang Hanzhou's muscles were tense, his Qi and blood surged like a tide, and every time he lifted his leg, he needed to mobilize the strength of his entire body.

There were very few climbers around him now. Those who could reach this point were at least at the Middle Stage of the Viscera Burning Realm or higher, and possessed a solid Foundation.

Everyone was gritting their teeth, their faces flushed, veins bulging.

Jiang Hanzhou took a deep breath, the blood pill in his Dantian accelerated its rotation sharply, and a majestic surge of Qi and blood erupted. Resisting the pressure, he stepped upward again!

Eight hundred steps, eight hundred and fifty steps, nine hundred steps...

When he stepped onto the nine-hundredth step, the pressure had become terrifying, approaching three thousand jin!

Jiang Hanzhou's bones were groaning under the unbearable weight, fine beads of blood seeped out from the surface of his skin, only to be forced back into his body by his powerful Qi and blood.

He gritted his teeth, the crimson gold light in his eyes blazing brightly.

"Roar—"

A low sound of Dragons Roar and Tigers Howl faintly emanated from within his body. The Dragon Subduing and Tiger Taming Skill was pushed to the limit, and the glow of his dao bone was fully ignited, forming a faint seven-colored halo on the surface of his body.

"Thump! Thump! Thump!"

He took ten consecutive steps, forcibly breaking through the most difficult section of the last hundred steps!

Nine hundred and fifty steps, nine hundred and eighty steps, nine hundred and ninety steps...

When the last stone step was placed under his feet, Jiang Hanzhou felt his whole body lighten, and the terrifying pressure instantly dissipated.

He stood on the summit, facing the piercing, howling gale, his chest heaving violently, gasping for air.

Sweat had long since soaked his clothes, but his eyes were shining with exhilaration.

He had reached the top.

And he hadn't even used his full strength.

If he had activated his Heavenly Dipper Precious Qi, he could have been even more relaxed.

The summit was a platform about a hundred zhang in circumference, the ground level, paved with grayish-blue stone slabs.

At this moment, nearly a hundred people were already sitting cross-legged on the platform, most of them Outer Sect Disciples who had arrived earlier, each one with a composed Aura and vigorous Qi and blood.

Everyone was facing east, eyes closed, regulating their breathing, waiting for something.

Jiang Hanzhou found a corner on the edge, brushed away the non-existent dust from the stone slab, and sat down cross-legged.

He followed the others, facing east, adjusting his breathing, and calming his mind.

Time passed slowly.

On the eastern horizon, that fish-belly white gradually expanded, tinged with a faint golden edge.

The clouds were dyed in gorgeous orange-red and golden-purple.

Suddenly, at the end of the horizon, a streak of extremely subtle, yet pure to the extreme, purple-gold light, like a sword of dawn, pierced through the shackles of darkness and clouds, and burst forth!

"This is it!"

On the platform, nearly a hundred people opened their eyes almost simultaneously and took a deep breath!

Jiang Hanzhou was no exception.

He opened his mouth and inhaled.

That streak of purple-gold light seemed to be drawn by an invisible force, crossing the vast distance, turning into a strand of "Qi" that was imperceptible but contained unspeakable vitality and pure Yang intent, merging into his mouth and nose.

Morning Sun Purple Qi!

The moment this strand of Purple Qi entered his body—

Jiang Hanzhou's whole body trembled violently!

It was as if the parched earth had welcomed its first spring rain.

It was also as if a sleeping volcano had been injected with new lava.

Although the Purple Qi was weak, it was extremely pure, containing the most original trace of pure Yang creation power when the sun first rose.

It flowed along his Meridians, and wherever it passed, fatigue vanished, hidden injuries healed, and his Qi and blood seemed to have been washed, becoming even purer!

In his Dantian, the crimson gold blood pill accelerated its rotation sharply, frantically swallowing this precious Purple Qi, and its surface luster brightened visibly.

What surprised Jiang Hanzhou even more was that this Purple Qi was extremely compatible with the attributes of the Dragon Subduing and Tiger Taming Skill he was Cultivating; both were supreme Yang and supreme rigidity, which had immeasurable benefits for tempering Qi and blood and strengthening his Foundation.

Just one strand was worth three to five days of his usual hard Cultivation!

"No wonder... no wonder all the Outer Sect Disciples are desperate to come to the Thousand Steps Cliff." Jiang Hanzhou realized in his heart.

For a Martial Artist in the Viscera Burning Realm, this Morning Sun Purple Qi was simply an existence comparable to a Spirit Pill.

Especially for someone like him who had reached Perfection and could go no further in this Realm, it could still bring a trace of growth and purification, and its value was immeasurable.

On the platform, everyone was immersed in the state of absorbing and refining the Purple Qi, and no one spoke.

It lasted for about half a cup of tea, and the streak of purple-gold light gradually dissipated, merging into the morning light that filled the sky.

Only then did everyone slowly exhale, most with expressions of mixed satisfaction and regret.

Satisfied with their gains, regretful that the time was too short and the Purple Qi was too sparse.

Jiang Hanzhou also slowly opened his eyes, feeling the imperceptible yet real trace of growth within him, light flashing in his eyes.

"If there were enough Morning Sun Purple Qi to temper every day... Pity, there is only one strand of Purple Qi every day, and one must climb the Thousand Steps Cliff to absorb it at a specific time and location."

He shook his head, suppressed the greed in his heart, stood up, and left.