286: Climbing the eighty steps

Inside the Immortal Greeting Valley, all sounds ceased, save for the mournful sigh of the mountain wind through the pines and the irrepressible gasps of countless onlookers focused on the figure in azure on the ascending immortal ladder.

Lin Jingyu's pace still maintained a heart-stopping uniformity.

Since the thirtieth step, the terrifying pressure and ever-changing illusions—enough to make ordinary Geniuses struggle and give rise to Heart Demons—

seemed to him like nothing more than a gentle breeze sweeping over the mountain ridge, failing to disturb his steps in the slightest.

He was like a calm traveler, steadily advancing on a perilous mountain path, each step accurately placed in the center of the white jade steps.

His figure was straight as a pine, his robes gently swaying in the light breeze created by the Spiritual Pressure.

Fortieth step, forty-first step, forty-second step... His figure flickered in and out of sight amidst the swirling clouds and mist. His speed did not slow down at all due to the increasing height; instead, having adapted to the pressurized environment, he appeared even more composed.

Meanwhile, Wang Ling and Bai Susu, who were originally considered the frontrunners of this trial and belonged to the first echelon, had only just managed to step onto the thirty-fifth step.

Golden light flashed around Wang Ling, and veins bulged on his forehead. He was clearly relying on the sharpness of his Metal-element Variant Spiritual Root to forcibly break through the pressure, but his steps were already unsteady.

Bai Susu, like a green lotus in water, used softness to overcome hardness, and her movement technique remained agile, but a trace of paleness appeared on her delicate face, indicating immense mental exhaustion.

The gap between them and Lin Jingyu did not narrow; instead, it grew wider and wider, as if separated by an insurmountable chasm.

The thousands of gazes throughout the entire Immortal Greeting Valley were now completely captivated by the azure figure, who was leading alone and seemingly strolling leisurely.

A massive question, like a dark cloud, hung over everyone's heart.

How far, exactly, could he go?

The pressure of the ascending immortal ladder seemed ineffective against him. Could his limit truly be the summit of the immortal ladder—a place untouched for hundreds of years, existing only in legends and documented records?

High above, amidst the clouds and mist, the gazes of several Qinglan Sect Elders had long since shifted from initial surprise to unprecedented solemnity.

The elderly woman with crane hair and a youthful face, her eyes flashing with sharp light, could not help but exclaim in a low voice:

"This child's Dao Heart is firm as rock, clear and transparent, appearing to have reached the 'Untainted by Dust' realm!

The Illusory Heart Trial after the fortieth step directly targets one's innate desires and fears. Even many Inner Sect Disciples who have cultivated for years within the Sect must strictly guard their Spiritual Platform just to barely pass.

Yet he walks as if on flat ground, treating it as nothing! Such resolve is rarely seen in the world!"

Elder Xuan Yunzi paused the hand stroking his beard, his gaze fixed intently on Lin Jingyu's figure as he said in a deep voice:

"It seems Heaven blesses our Qinglan Sect; we have indeed welcomed an extraordinary Disciple this time.

I just wonder, how deep does this child's potential truly run?

Can he touch the Domain of... the eightieth step?" His tone carried a hint of irrepressible anticipation and inquiry.

The eightieth step! This is a threshold considered legendary even within the Qinglan Sect.

In the new Disciple trials of the past century, those who have managed to step past this stage are few and far between.

Every single one, provided they didn't perish midway, eventually became a famous True Disciple within the Sect, or even a candidate for future Elderhood!

The last person to achieve this feat was none other than the current formidable Hall Master of the Law Enforcement Hall, who presides over the Sect's criminal laws!

A great Cultivator of the Golden Core Late Stage.

Under the gaze of countless eyes, Lin Jingyu's pace remained steady.

Forty-fifth step, fiftieth step, fifty-fifth step... He seemed not to know what fatigue was, nor the increasingly heavy Spiritual Pressure.

The increasingly realistic illusions, pointing directly at the most vulnerable parts of the human heart, seemed only to become whetstones for sharpening his Dao Heart.

"Fifty-sixth step!"

"Fifty-seventh step!"

"He... his speed doesn't seem to have slowed down at all?"

"A monster! He is absolutely a monster!"

The crowd below was already numb, left only with instinctive counting and heartfelt exclamations. Some older Disciples with broader experience began whispering:

"Looking at this momentum, can he really ascend to the eightieth step? That's the standard for a True Disciple! No one has reached this height during the Sect's recruitment in the past few decades!"

"I recall that the last person to step onto the eightieth step during the trial was the current Hall Master of the Law Enforcement Hall, right? That's a powerful figure whose decisive actions shake the Chiyan Prefecture!"

"If this child truly succeeds, his future achievements will be limitless!"

The murmurs were filled with shock and endless conjecture about the future.

The Elders high in the sky involuntarily started breathing slightly faster.

The eightieth step is a watershed moment, representing the Disciple's potential and resolve to withstand the Legacy of True Disciple Cultivation Techniques!

Lin Jingyu paid no heed to the discussions below. His entire focus was immersed in the confrontation and Fusion with the ascending immortal ladder.

He could feel that with every step upward, his Spiritual Energy was refined to be purer, and his Divine Sense became tougher under the tempering of the illusions.

The nascent form of his Perfect Dao Foundation was also implicitly solidifying under this extreme pressure.

Finally, he stepped onto the seventy-ninth step! He was only one step away from the legendary eightieth step!

Upon reaching this point, even Lin Jingyu's powerful Physical Body, tempered by the Sea of Thunder, and his strong Divine Sense from the second layer of the Spirit Refining Art, finally felt a trace of genuine pressure.

The surrounding clouds and mist were no longer gaseous; they seemed to have transformed into viscous Spiritual Liquid, heavily squeezing his body and bones, causing his skeleton to emit faint cracking sounds.

The illusions also became terrifying, no longer simple temptations of desire or resurfacing fears, but starting to provoke the most core secrets deep within his heart.

The mysterious Intelligence Panel, the Taihao Elixir Canon Legacy inherited from Lin Jingxie... A faint tremor arose from the depths of his heart, attempting to pry open his mental defense line.

Of course, these were things happening within his own mind, unknowable to outsiders.

The Spiritual Barrier constructed by the Spirit Refining Art was impregnable, firmly isolating all illusions and tremors outside.

The Thunder True Intent circulated automatically, its extremely Yang and rigid Qi cleansing the foreign pressure that had invaded his body.

He took a deep breath.

The Evergreen Spiritual Energy within his body surged like a great river, and a faint, nearly invisible purple-gold halo shimmered around him.

The next moment, his gaze firm, he took a step.

"Eightieth step!"

The moment Lin Jingyu's foot landed firmly on the eightieth white jade step, the entire Immortal Greeting Valley first fell into a dead silence, as if even the sound of the wind had ceased.

Immediately afterward, like a volcano that had accumulated energy for a long time suddenly erupting, earth-shattering clamor shot into the sky!

"The eightieth step! He really stepped onto the eightieth step!"

"True Disciple potential! This is the potential of a true True Disciple!"

"Heaven blesses the Qinglan Sect! Within a century, another Prodigy has reached the eightieth step!"

"This child's name is bound to resonate throughout the Sect! Who exactly is this person? How did he suddenly appear?"

Feng Xixi's beautiful eyes were filled with disbelief; he had actually climbed past the eightieth step.

This had completely exceeded her expectations.