212: This ladder is a bit picky.

Shen Nanxi stood firm.

Blood dripped from the corner of his mouth onto the white jade steps, blooming like a small red plum blossom.

He was teetering, like a candle in the wind that could be extinguished at any moment.

But he did not fall.

Below, the dense sea of people was deathly silent.

The instant explosion of the previous Mahayana Prodigy had been pure horror.

Now, the arduous standing of this Qi Refinement Stage youth was an unspeakable shock.

As it turned out, this heavenly ladder truly did not care about one's cultivation level.

"Good!"

A loud shout, like a sudden clap of thunder, shattered the silence.

From the crowd, a young man wearing crimson armor and carrying a heavy sword on his back strode forward.

He had a burly build and a resolute face, with divine light shining in his tiger-like eyes; he was actually at the Body Integration Late Stage.

"Xiao Zhan! It's the Saint of the 'Chiyang Holy Land,' Xiao Zhan!"

Bursts of exclamations erupted from the crowd.

Xiao Zhan ignored the discussions around him.

He gazed intently at the blood-stained figure on the heavenly ladder, his eyes filled with approval and Battle Intent.

"What a fine heart for seeking the Dao!"

"We Cultivators should be just like this!"

He was not as arrogant as the youth with the Golden Crow Bloodline from before.

He faced the heavenly ladder and bowed respectfully with his hands clasped.

"Xiao Zhan of the Chiyang Holy Land, here to seek the Dao!"

As his voice fell.

He took a step forward and landed steadily on the first step.

Buzz—

A majestic pressure descended.

Illusions immediately arose before Xiao Zhan's eyes.

He saw himself leading Sect Disciples to slay demons and exorcise evil, revered by thousands.

He saw himself reaching the Peak and becoming a generation's Holy Lord, bringing glory to his family.

Golden light of Karma submerged him, and countless voices of praise echoed in his ears.

"Give up. You have already achieved fame and success; why suffer this hardship of ascending to heaven?"

An alluring voice sounded in the depths of his heart.

For a moment, Xiao Zhan's eyes showed confusion.

But he quickly regained his clarity.

Looking at those illusory glories, he let out a disdainful sneer.

"I, Xiao Zhan, cultivate the Dao so that the sword in my hand can strike down all the injustices in the world!"

"Not for these empty titles!"

He shouted, and the Noble Spirit within him surged like a blazing sun, instantly dispersing all the illusions!

He lifted his foot and easily stepped onto the second step.

Then the third, fourth, and fifth!

He walked quickly, each step heavy and powerful, as if what was beneath his feet was not the heart questioning heavenly ladder but his own back garden.

"As expected of Saint Xiao Zhan! His Dao Heart is so firm!"

"So strong! This is the true demeanor of a Prodigy!"

The crowd below erupted in enthusiastic cheers, as if they had already seen him reach the top.

In one breath, Xiao Zhan reached the tenth step.

His speed finally slowed down.

He looked back.

That youth named Shen Nanxi was still on the third step, moving with great difficulty.

A smile curled at the corner of Xiao Zhan's mouth—not of contempt, but of encouragement.

He turned back, preparing to continue upward.

Just then.

A figure as cold and clear as moonlight brushed past him.

It was a woman in white.

She had an incomparable face and a cold temperament, cradling an ancient sheathed longsword in her arms.

She walked slowly, but every step was incredibly stable.

It was as if the pressure on the heavenly ladder simply did not exist for her.

Just like that, step by step, she calmly passed the eleventh, then the twelfth... Xiao Zhan's pupils suddenly constricted.

"It's her! The contemporary Sword Seed of the 'Taiyin Sword Pavilion,' Yue Qinghan!"

"It's said she started learning the sword at three, reached the Golden Core at ten, and was already a sword Dao genius at Void Refining Perfection by twenty!"

Yue Qinghan did not look back, nor did she look at anyone.

In her eyes, there was only this path and the mountain gate at its end.

In her illusion, there was no wealth or supreme power.

Only a vast expanse of white nothingness.

And a cold voice.

"The Dao of the sword is heartless; emotion is but a redundancy to the sword."

"Only by severing the seven emotions can one achieve the supreme Sword Heart."

"Strike, sever all your ties with the mortal world—your parents, your teachers, your friends..."

An illusory sword appeared before her.

On the other side of the sword were the people closest to her.

Yue Qinghan gripped the hilt.

She was expressionless, her eyes showing not a single ripple.

She raised the sword.

Then, with a backhand strike, she pierced her own chest.

"My sword exists for protection."

"If there is nothing to protect, what use is this heartless sword Dao?"

She spoke softly.

The illusion shattered inch by inch.

She continued upward, leaving behind a trail of faint bloody footprints.

Beneath the mountain range, another person stepped out.

It was a young scholar who looked somewhat frail.

He lacked Xiao Zhan's overbearing aura and Yue Qinghan's coldness.

He simply held a scroll of a book and walked leisurely, as if on an outing.

"Mo Yan of the Jixia Academy."

"Greetings, Fellow Daoists."

He cupped his hands to those around him and then unhurriedly stepped onto the heavenly ladder.

As soon as he stepped onto the heavenly ladder, the scene before him transformed into a vast sea of books.

Countless ancient classics and the teachings of Saints floated before him.

"Knowledge is power. By reading them all, you will know all the ultimate truths of heaven and earth."

"Why climb the mountain? This place is the Great Dao."

A grand voice resonated in his Sea of Consciousness.

Mo Yan smiled.

"Reading ten thousand books is not as good as traveling ten thousand miles."

"The truths in books are, in the end, someone else's truths."

"My Dao must be walked out with my own feet."

He closed the scroll and stepped forward.

Those tempting classics were nothing more than passing clouds in his eyes.

Atop the divine mountain.

The Sect Master's courtyard.

Chu Xuanjin was cracking melon seeds, watching the live broadcast in the Shadow Recording Immortal Crystal with great interest.

"Tsk, tsk."

He pointed at Xiao Zhan on the screen.

"This kid is good material, but he's a bit of a hothead and loves to show off too much."

He then pointed at Yue Qinghan.

"This one isn't bad either; her Sword Heart is transparent, but she's a bit obsessive and prone to overthinking."

Finally, his gaze fell upon the scholar, Mo Yan.

"This one is interesting; his mind is very clear, and he knows what he wants."

"But his body is a bit weak; I wonder if he can hold out."

Linglong, holding the Treasure-Seeking Rat, asked curiously.

"Sect Master Brother, can they all make it up?"

"It's hard."

Chu Xuanjin shook his head.

"The heart questioning heavenly ladder has a total of nine thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine steps."

"The first hundred steps question one's 'original heart,' looking at why you seek the Dao."

"This stage filters out those with wicked intentions or impure goals."

"The middle three thousand three hundred and thirty-three steps question one's 'perseverance,' testing your willpower and persistence."

"The final six thousand plus steps are the hardest; they question one's 'Dao Heart'."

He said faintly.

"It will dig up your deepest fears, your most fragile past, and your most inseparable obsessions, magnify them ten thousand times, and place them before you."

"Making you shatter them with your own hands."

"Or be shattered by them."

In the images.

Xiao Zhan had already reached the fiftieth step; sweat began to bead on his forehead, and his steps became heavy.

Yue Qinghan was in the lead, having reached over eighty steps, but her face was also starting to turn pale.

Mo Yan followed unhurriedly behind Xiao Zhan, maintaining a position in the forties, his breathing somewhat ragged.

As for the youth named Shen Nanxi.

He was still on the tenth step.

Every step he took required all his strength and left a pool of blood on the ground.

Compared to those dazzling Prodigies ahead.

He was like the most humble ant.

But his eyes were brighter than anyone else's.

He looked at those distant figures ahead with no jealousy or discouragement.

Only a step-by-step determination.