74: Chapter 74: Whispers in the Wind

Time passed bit by bit.

At the six hundredth step, the second threshold.

"Second Threshold: Physical Body Trial."

"Those ascending the steps must endure gravity; those whose Physical Bodies collapse will be eliminated."

The words dissipated, and a terrifying gravity suddenly descended!

"Pfft!"

Xiao Ran almost fell to his knees!

His Guixu Body excelled at devouring energy, but its resistance to pure physical gravity was not prominent.

Moreover, he was currently in poor condition.

His bones let out overburdened groans, and his internal organs felt as if they were about to be crushed.

"Holy crap, what kind of hellish level is this..."

Xiao Ran gritted his teeth and cursed.

He didn't hesitate for a second; the Guixu Demonic Light operated frantically, devouring the gravity and converting it into spiritual power to nourish his Physical Body.

But this conversion efficiency was too low.

Blood seeped from the corner of his mouth.

Ahead, Li Tianxing and Ling Jianxin were also affected.

But both of their Physical Bodies had been tempered through a thousand refinements; the Blood Fiend Demon Body and the Sword Bone Dao Embryo displayed a terrifying advantage at this moment.

Their speed merely slowed down, yet they continued to climb steadily.

The White Bone Scholar sacrificed his bone armor, Jian Wuchen's Sword Qi soared, and Liu Ruyan directly transformed into a wisp of green smoke to ascend...

Everyone had their own methods.

Li Changsheng should have been the weakest, but as an Innate Dao Embryo Sacred Body, he naturally resonated with heaven and earth, so the gravity had the least impact on him.

At this moment, he had actually caught up to the five hundred and fiftieth step, second only to Li Tianxing and Ling Jianxin!

"So I'm the only unlucky one?"

Xiao Ran's forehead was already dripping with sweat as he complained inwardly.

"Damn it, if my strength isn't enough, I'll make up for it with Medicinal Pills!"

Xiao Ran pulled a blood-red Medicinal Pill from his Storage Pouch.

This was a Blood Fiend Body-Forging Pill, which could temporarily strengthen the Physical Body.

"The Myriad Dao Guixu Body might not be good at other things, but it's fierce at popping pills!"

"It'll be over in no time."

Xiao Ran swallowed the pill without hesitation.

Immediately, a scorching surge of blood and Qi power exploded within his body!

His Physical Body, which had been on the verge of collapse, forcefully withstood the terrifying gravity under the support of this power.

"Go!"

Xiao Ran shouted, braving the pressure and moving upward step by step.

Six hundred steps, six hundred and ten, six hundred and twenty...

When he stepped onto the seven hundredth step, the gravity suddenly vanished.

Second Threshold, passed!

Xiao Ran immediately felt his whole body relax and turned his head to look back.

He suddenly realized that after so much time had passed, they had actually only climbed such a short distance.

The entire Immortal Ascension Steps spanned over nine thousand steps, and they hadn't even climbed a thousand yet.

"There are still over eight thousand steps left..."

Xiao Ran looked at the many steps before him.

He thought of the fear of being dominated by Mount Tai back in the day.

Just then.

Li Changsheng sent a message of concern through their Soul link.

"Xiao Ran, how are you doing?"

"I'm fine, it's just that seeing all these steps reminds me of the Eighteen Bends of Mount Tai."

Xiao Ran grinned.

"Don't even mention it, my legs are feeling a bit numb now."

Li Changsheng's forward movement paused.

Back then, when he and Xiao Ran climbed Mount Tai, it happened to be National Day, and there were exceptionally many people that day.

A vast, swarming crowd.

Standing at the foot of the mountain, one could clearly see dense masses of figures packed onto the entire mountain path.

As far as the eye could see, it was nothing but the backs of heads.

That time, Li Changsheng almost vomited from the climb.

"Hahaha, let's hurry and climb!"

Xiao Ran laughed, seemingly remembering Li Changsheng's embarrassing moment.

So, the two of them gathered their strength and began to climb upward again.

...

At the nine hundredth step, the third threshold.

"Third Threshold: Comprehension Ability Trial."

"Those ascending the steps must decipher the ancient runes on the door within three breaths. Those who fail will be sent back a hundred steps."

No sooner had the words been spoken.

Runes emerged, nine different ancient characters corresponding to nine different Dao laws.

This stage tested one's Comprehension Ability and knowledge reserves.

Xiao Ran looked at the runes before him, his mind spinning rapidly.

He had spent three months in the Eternal Night Demon Sect's Scripture Pavilion, reading through all the ancient texts.

For a time, he had also dabbled in ancient secret scripts.

So, this stage was not difficult for him.

"This is the 'Fiend' character from the Primordial Demonic Script, corresponding to the Path of Blood Fiend."

He raised his hand and used demonic essence to sketch the corresponding deciphering rune in the air.

"Buzz!!!"

The rune lit up, indicating approval.

Passed!

Xiao Ran breathed a sigh of relief and looked at the others.

Li Tianxing deciphered it easily, and it wasn't hard for Ling Jianxin either.

The White Bone Scholar was skilled in Formations and had deep research into runes; he passed.

Jian Wuchen's sword Dao was profound, and the rune was related to sword Dao; he passed.

Liu Ruyan's Hehuan Sect secret techniques involved ancient Dual Cultivation runes; she barely passed.

Ba Dao... was stuck.

He stared at the rune, sweat dripping from his forehead.

Three breaths were up.

"No!"

Ba Dao roared as his figure was forcibly pushed down by an invisible force, retreating a hundred steps!

From the nine hundredth step, he fell straight back to the eight hundredth!

"Damn it!"

Ba Dao's eyes were bloodshot, but such were the rules; he could only climb again.

This was the cruelty of the trial—one slow step led to being slow at every step.

...

Time passed bit by bit.

Everyone climbed upward leisurely; although there were occasional hiccups, their speed remained steady.

Soon, they finally reached the first reward checkpoint.

One thousand steps.

When Xiao Ran stepped onto the one thousandth step, the surrounding scenery changed abruptly.

He appeared in a white jade pavilion, where three items floated in the center:

A crimson Medicinal Pill, an old Jade Slip, and a small purple sword.

"Those who reach one thousand steps may receive a reward."

"Choose one of three."

A voice rang out.

Xiao Ran instantly understood that this was his reward for ascending one thousand steps.

So he immediately stepped forward to observe carefully.

He saw that the crimson Medicinal Pill emitted a rich power of blood and Qi; it was at least a High Grade Profound Rank healing holy medicine.

More importantly, the aura it emitted was perfect for treating his current injuries.

The content of the old Jade Slip couldn't be seen clearly, but he could feel the ancient Dao charm contained within.

The small purple sword was an offensive Magic Treasure with a sharp aura.

"I choose the Medicinal Pill."

Xiao Ran did not hesitate.

What he needed most right now was to recover from his injuries.

The Medicinal Pill felt warm in his hand.

Xiao Ran swallowed it immediately; the pure medicinal power dissolved, quickly repairing his damaged Meridians and essence blood.

His condition instantly recovered to ninety-nine percent!

He looked around; the other eight people had also appeared in their respective pavilions and were choosing their rewards.

Li Tianxing chose the Jade Slip, and Ling Jianxin chose the small sword.

The White Bone Scholar chose the Medicinal Pill, and Li Changsheng chose the Jade Slip...

Each had their own preferences.

Once the rewards were collected, the nine returned to the steps.

Xiao Ran discovered that starting from the one thousand and first step, the pressure doubled!

Furthermore, interference such as illusionary attacks and elemental erosion began to appear on the steps.

The difficulty had increased.

"There are still eight thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine steps left..."

Xiao Ran looked toward the end of the steps that towered into the clouds.

He knew that the true test was only just beginning.

And there were still two and a half days left until reaching the summit.

Time was tight.

"Let's go."

Li Tianxing took the first step.

The nine people continued their climb.

And at the end of the steps where they couldn't see, behind those two Immortal-Demon Gates.

Two ancient gazes were watching all of this.

"The little fellows of this generation are quite interesting."

"Indeed, that kid named Xiao Ran, the Guixu Body... reminds me of an old friend."

"And that Li Changsheng, the Innate Dao Embryo... is he a descendant of the Dao Ancestor's lineage?"

"And the other little fellows are all successors of different Holy Bodies."

"Tens of thousands of years have passed; has the outside world begun to flourish again?"

"The Immortal-Demon Inheritance is finally going to find its true master."

The whispers dissipated in the wind.