444: What are they waiting for?

Radiant light swirled around them, the Dao resonated in harmony, and astonishing phenomena manifested one after another.

The War God Phantom held up the sky, the sharp edge of Sword Intent tore through the air, and black holes drifted, returning to nothingness.

It was as if heaven and earth were waiting for them to take that final step, to complete this unprecedented feat that had never been seen in eternity.

However, what made people hold their breath was that the three of them had stopped in unison.

They did not immediately take that last step, but instead, simultaneously turned slightly and cast their gazes downward.

They looked towards Wang Xiaopang and Mo Yu, who were slowly ascending at the 9,970th step.

"What are they waiting for?"

"Why not reach the summit? They are only one step away!"

"Look, are their gazes fixed on that fatty and the Kirin Son?"

"Could it be that they want to wait for their companions?"

"Are they crazy? This is the Opportunity to reach the absolute peak; a difference of one step could lead to a thousand miles of error!"

"Perhaps, in their eyes, the significance of traveling together transcends the order of taking this final step?"

After a brief silence, an unbelievable uproar of discussion erupted at the foot of the mountain.

Countless Cultivators were inexplicably shocked; some were puzzled, while others were deeply moved.

The helmsmen of those ancient Daoist traditions revealed complex expressions in their eyes. Waiting for companions?

One must know that they have to endure that extreme pressure every single moment; for every extra bit of time that passes, they consume a little more.

In the face of such an eternal Opportunity, what kind of spirit and conviction does this require?

Wang Xiaopang was drenched as if washed in water, with runes flickering uncertainly.

He felt those three calm yet infinitely powerful gazes from above.

"Senior Brother, Second Senior Brother, Third Martial Sister!" He grinned.

"Waiting for me? This is truly a mountain of pressure."

He took a deep breath, and an unprecedented fierce light suddenly erupted in his eyes.

"Damn it, climbing this heavenly ladder is really suffering! Fat Master will give it my all!"

As soon as his voice fell, it was as if something inside his body exploded with a roar!

Myriad Talisman Dao Body, its first true eruption.

Hum—!!!

It was not a loud noise, but a violent humming originating from the Origin of the Dao!

In an instant, with Wang Xiaopang as the center, countless mysterious and unfathomable, brilliantly golden runes emerged from thin air!

These runes were no longer a single blood-red color, but presented themselves in red, gold, cyan, blue, purple, white, black...

A rainbow of colors, each one containing a distinct true meaning of the Dao, yet they blended perfectly!

They were not simply arranged or combined, but as if possessing life, they crazily intertwined, rotated, collided, annihilated, and were reborn around Wang Xiaopang...

In the blink of an eye, they actually evolved into thousands of Talisman phantoms of various forms!

There was the "Suppress" character as heavy as a mountain, the "Slash" character as sharp as a heavenly blade, the "Life" character that was endlessly recurring...

All-encompassing, covering ten thousand techniques!

How is this just a Talisman?

This is simply a living, constantly evolving Dao canon of ten thousand techniques!

"How can he simultaneously evolve so many Origin runes with completely different and even conflicting attributes?"

Someone exclaimed, their voice filled with horror.

"Impossible! What is his Realm?"

"What kind of terrifying Divine Soul control does this require?!"

"He uses his body as a furnace and his soul as a guide to evolve the Myriad Talismans and forcibly resist the heavenly might!"

Amidst countless stunned and dazed gazes, those thousands of Talisman phantoms suddenly expanded.

They actually formed a brief and brilliant Domain around Wang Xiaopang, composed of countless Dao runes!

"Boom!!"

The substantial Chaos pressure crushed heavily onto this rune Domain, emitting a deafening roar.

Countless Talismans collapsed instantly, but new runes immediately derived from Wang Xiaopang's body and from the fragments of the collapsed runes, endlessly recurring!

Just in this cycle of collapse and Rebirth, that terrifying pressure was actually briefly pried open by a crack by this crazy rune Domain!

"Now is the time! Go, Fat Master!"

Wang Xiaopang let out a roar that did not sound human, his body erupting with astonishing speed.

Bearing the continuously shattering and reforming rune Domain, he scrambled upwards along the pried-open gap!

With every step he took, a massive amount of runes were annihilated, his face turned a shade paler, and his aura withered a fraction more.

But he did not care; in his eyes, there was only the staircase above that was within reach.

One step, two steps, three steps...

The runes were dancing wildly, annihilating, and being reborn.

Wang Xiaopang was burning, roaring, and climbing.

This scene was deeply etched into the eyes of every onlooker.

Finally!

Wang Xiaopang stepped onto the 9,998th step!

He panted heavily: "Fat Master is exhausted..."

Almost at the same time Wang Xiaopang erupted, Mo Yu on the other side also let out a heaven-shaking roar!

"Roar—!!!"

It was no longer a suppressed groan, but a Kirin roar originating from the depths of his Bloodline, filled with holiness and majesty!

A brilliant red-gold light suddenly erupted from his body. Within the light, there were astonishing phenomena of immortal flowers blooming, golden lotuses emerging, and Auspicious Beast phantoms circling!

Mo Yu's red hair danced wildly, his eyes were red-gold, burning with unyielding flames.

He did not have Wang Xiaopang's explosive speed, but relied on the blessing of this atavistic auspicious power.

With heavy yet extremely firm steps, he stepped onto the 9,998th step!

Although he was slower than Wang Xiaopang, it was equally shocking to the heart.

"Heavens! They really made it up!"

"That fatty! What kind of monster is he? That kind of Talisman method is unheard of!"

"Myriad Talisman Dao Body! It must be the legendary Myriad Talisman Dao Body! Evolving Myriad Talismans to resist heavenly might! It is simply unbelievable!"

"The Kirin Son is also remarkable! Atavistic Bloodline, blessed with auspiciousness! These are all rare phenomena throughout eternity!"

The foot of the mountain was completely boiling!

Exclamations, praises, and unbelievable screams rang out in unison.

Wang Xiaopang's brilliant and crazy display of the Myriad Talismans Dao, and Mo Yu's tragic and holy auspicious blessing, at this moment, deeply shocked everyone.

Below the absolute peak, at the 9,998th and 9,997th steps, Wang Xiaopang and Mo Yu, in their own ways, completed an almost impossible climb.

And above the absolute peak, Xiao Ruobai and the other two quietly watched this scene.

In Xiao Ruobai's eyes, a trace of imperceptible approval flashed.

That fatty, who could have imagined before that he had such strength?

"Yes, he has always been silently following behind Battle Asura. We knew he was also very strong, but we didn't expect him to be this strong!"

"Who could have imagined that this great expert had been hiding at the back all along! His eruption was actually so terrifying!"

"This is the true dark horse! Silent until he makes a move, then he startles the world!"

"Even Wang Zhan walked so difficultly and slowly at the 9,800th step, yet he was able to rush up in one breath by relying on an eruption!"

The discussions of the crowd at the foot of the mountain voiced the inner thoughts of countless people, including many Prodigies at this moment.

Contempt, misjudgment, and disbelief eventually turned into intense shock.

9,800th step, Wang Zhan.

The shock in his heart was particularly intense.

He looked at his own difficult, moving footsteps, and then looked at the figure of Wang Xiaopang, who was rushing up relatively swiftly by relying on his rune eruption. A complex emotion surged into his heart.

"I always thought that the real opponents were ahead—Battle Asura, Sword White Robe, or even the Divine King Body..."

Wang Zhan's gaze was deep.

"I didn't expect that this fatty, who has always been following behind Xiao Ruobai and seemed completely harmless, was hiding so deeply. I completely misjudged him before."

This subversion of cognition made him even more alert than simple shock.