294: Chapter 294 Why should I climb while he runs?!

Su Xuanchen, dressed in white and standing tall like a pine tree, stood before the Ancient Heavenly Staircase that radiated seven-colored divine light.

He tilted his head slightly, looking at the staircase that pierced the clouds and seemed endless, a wild and arrogant curve touching the corner of his mouth.

"Testing talent and Physique? I want to see if this Immortal King Treasure can measure the limits of my bottom line."

The absolute instant those words fell!

Without the slightest hesitation, Su Xuanchen abruptly raised his right foot and decisively stepped onto the first glazed step of the Ancient Heavenly Staircase!

"Buzz—!!!"

At the moment he stepped down, the entire Ancient Heavenly Staircase seemed to be completely activated, letting out an ancient roar that shook the Nine Heavens!

Endless seven-colored radiance, like a burst starlight river from the Nine Heavens, erupted from within the ladder, instantly swallowing Su Xuanchen's grand figure.

Immediately after, a supreme pressure so terrifying it could collapse stars squeezed in from all directions without any warning!

This pressure was extremely domineering; it completely ignored Su Xuanchen's cultivation Realm and targeted the deepest parts of his Physical Body and Soul. Its intensity was so terrifying it directly climbed to the frightening level of a True Immortal Realm Peak!

If an ordinary Great Emperor Realm Cultivator stood here, even if they were touched by just a sliver of this pressure, their Physical Body would be crushed into a pulp in an instant, and their Divine Soul would be annihilated!

At the top of the ladder.

Chang Xiyue, who had been quietly watching from above, felt this sudden eruption of terrifying pressure, and her cold face instantly changed color.

"How could this be!" Disbelief filled Chang Xiyue's ice-blue eyes. "The initial pressure of the Ancient Heavenly Staircase has always been progressive based on the climber's cultivation. My husband clearly only has a Saint Realm cultivation, so why did the ladder release pressure comparable to a True Immortal Realm Peak right from the start?!"

Chang Xiyue was anxious; such an anomaly had never appeared in the entire history of the Ancient Heavenly Court!

However.

Su Xuanchen, who was at the center of that terrifying pressure, didn't even knit his brows.

Feeling the weight on his shoulders like a hundred thousand Primordial Divine Mountains, his handsome face showed no pain; instead, a faint, disdainful sneer appeared.

"Pressure of a True Immortal Realm Peak? You think this little bit of strength can suppress me? What a joke."

Su Xuanchen lazily twisted his neck, making a series of crisp bone-cracking sounds.

"Since you want to test me, I'll play along!"

Boom!

At this moment, the Myriad Tribulations Indestructible Primordial Demon Body and Chaos Immortal Bone inside Su Xuanchen, which broke the taboos of the Great Dao, erupted without reservation!

Vast and incredibly pure immortal and demonic qi, like two wild ancient dragons, rose from his body and brutally tore the seven-colored radiance surrounding him to shreds!

One half brilliant like an Immortal, the other pitch-black like a demon!

With the support of this domineering and peerless Immortal-demon power, Su Xuanchen performed a mad action that left everyone dumbfounded!

He did not climb with difficulty step by step like Gu Hongchen and Ji Luanxi.

His legs suddenly exerted force, and he actually started running wildly and violently on this ladder filled with the pressure of a True Immortal Realm Peak!

"Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!"

Every step Su Xuanchen took carried a terrifying force sufficient to shatter a Star Domain!

The indestructible seven-colored glazed steps let out a heavy groan under his brutal trampling. The entire vast Ancient Heavenly Palace shook with a violent earthquake-like roar following the rhythm of his running!

Su Xuanchen's figure turned into a black-and-white lightning bolt that tore through space, his speed reaching a terrifying level that words simply couldn't describe!

One step! Ten steps! Fifty steps! A hundred steps!

In the blink of an eye, Su Xuanchen had already crossed hundreds of steps! The terrifying pressure that could crush a Great Emperor was like a breeze to him, unable to cause even the slightest hindrance!

At this moment.

At the hundredth step of the ladder.

Ji Luanxi was biting her silver teeth, struggling with beads of sweat.

Her beautiful face was flushed red, and the Supreme Realm Peak spiritual energy within her was pushed to its limit. The heavy pressure made it difficult to breathe, and her legs felt like lead; every step required immense effort.

"Huff... huff... why are these broken stairs so heavy!"

Ji Luanxi pouted her red lips, struggling to move upward while complaining wildly in her heart.

"For the top-grade Immortal Artifact! For the Nine-Revolution Immortal Pill! This Young Miss will give it her all!"

Just as Ji Luanxi was psyching herself up to step onto the 101st step.

"Whoosh—!!!"

A violent hurricane mixed with immortal and demonic qi swept past her rudely and without warning!

This hurricane was too fast and too fierce! It blew Ji Luanxi's smooth long hair into a mess and made her expensive dress flutter, nearly exposing her!

"Oh! What was that flying past!"

Ji Luanxi cried out, quickly covering her skirt with both hands and looking up in confusion.

When she clearly saw the white-clad figure running wildly like an unleashed horse on the ladder.

Ji Luanxi's large, watery eyes instantly went wider than copper bells!

"Hus... husband?!"

Ji Luanxi's mouth hung open, and she was completely stunned.

She looked at her own heavy, leaden legs, then at Su Xuanchen above, who was moving as if on level ground, crossing several steps at once and running so fast he was almost a blur.

A strong sense of defeat and disbelief surged in her heart.

"How is this possible! Is this broken ladder malfunctioning? Why is this Young Miss climbing so hard while he can run on it!"

Ji Luanxi was both shocked and angry, her beautiful face full of stubbornness.

"How hateful! This Young Miss definitely cannot be looked down upon by my husband! The top-grade Immortal Artifacts are all mine!"

Her fighting spirit completely ignited by Su Xuanchen's abnormal speed, Ji Luanxi gave a shout and actually tried to copy him, forcing out the last bit of potential in her body to speed up her climb, chasing after him wildly on all fours.

And at this time.

Higher up the ladder.

Gu Hongchen was withstanding the immense pressure and steadily climbing to the 600th step.

As a genuine True Immortal Realm Expert, Gu Hongchen's talent was unquestionable. Surrounded by pure green Immortal light, she remained composed despite the fine sweat on her forehead.

"The pressure of this Ancient Heavenly Staircase indeed lives up to its reputation; the higher one goes, the stronger the pressure on the Origin becomes." Gu Hongchen took a deep breath, calculating in her mind, "However, with my foundation, breaking the thousand-step mark is no problem. I want to see how far Su Xuanchen can go."

Just as Gu Hongchen was extremely satisfied with her performance.

Suddenly!

A violent roar like ten thousand galloping horses came from below!

Even the glazed steps beneath her feet vibrated violently in this roar!

"What's going on? Has the ladder's Restriction exploded?"

Gu Hongchen was startled and looked back vigilantly toward the sound.

With this look, Gu Hongchen's cold and beautiful face instantly lost all color!

A massive earthquake occurred in her pupils!

At the end of her vision, a figure wrapped in Immortal-Demon Aurora was surging toward her in a wild manner, completely ignoring all pressure!

"Bang bang bang bang!"

The heavy footsteps were like hammers ruthlessly smashing into Gu Hongchen's pride.

"Su Xuanchen?! He... he's actually running on the ladder?!"

Gu Hongchen gasped, feeling a chill run up her spine to the top of her head, her scalp tingling to the extreme.

She was a True Immortal! She knew all too well how terrifying the pressure at the 600th step was! Even she had to be steady and take it step by step.

But this man treated this Immortal King Treasure like his own backyard and was running a marathon on it!

"What kind of monster-level Physical Body is this! This logic-defying, abnormal behavior is like grinding the ladder's rules into the ground!"

A storm that could not be calmed surged in Gu Hongchen's heart.

But then, the strong self-esteem and competitiveness of a True Immortal Realm Expert erupted in her heart!

"I, Gu Hongchen, am a core Immortal of the Gu Family; how can I be so pathetic before a Junior! I absolutely cannot let him catch up!"

Gu Hongchen bit her lip, her beautiful eyes flashing with sharp light.

"Mortal World Sword Qi! Break!"

Gu Hongchen let out a clear shout!

The vast True Immortal Laws within her poured out without reservation. In an instant, thousands of sharp green sword lights carrying the aura of the Mortal World condensed around her!

"Clang—!!!"

Accompanying a sky-tearing sword hum.

Gu Hongchen actually merged with those thousands of Sword Qi, turning into a peerless sword dozens of meters long!

This sword brutally tore through the terrifying pressure of the ladder, surging upward with an unstoppable momentum!

700 steps! 800 steps! 900 steps!

The sword that Gu Hongchen had become was like a hot knife through butter, easily breaking through layers of obstacles and showing the powerful and amazing supreme talent of a True Immortal Realm Expert!

"Boom!"

With a violent burst of air.

Gu Hongchen forcefully broke through the 1000th step mark!

The light faded, and Gu Hongchen reappeared on the 1000th glazed step.

She panted heavily, her chest heaving, her beautiful face pale with weakness, but her eyes shone with pride.

"A thousand steps! I did it!" A strong sense of pride surged in her heart. "This speed and talent would be considered a peerless Prodigy even in the Peak of the Ancient Heavenly Court! Even if Su Xuanchen's body is strong, he can't catch up so fast!"

Gu Hongchen confidently raised her snow-white chin, about to look back and enjoy Su Xuanchen's pathetic appearance far behind.

But!

Before she could fully turn her head.

A lazy, teasing, and calm voice suddenly rang in her ear.

"Oh, Great Elder Gu, you're running quite fast. Using Mortal World Sword Qi to travel is a good method."

The voice was right next to her ear!

"What?!"

Gu Hongchen froze, her heart skipping a beat!

She turned her head as if seeing a ghost.

Su Xuanchen, in spotless white, stood casually with his hands behind his back. He wasn't red in the face or panting, and he hadn't even broken a sweat; he just stood there calmly with that annoying smirk.

"You... when did you get up here?!"

Gu Hongchen's mouth was wide open as she pointed a trembling finger at Su Xuanchen, her voice cracking with shock.

She had just turned into a sword and reached the limit of a True Immortal's speed! Yet this man had appeared beside her without a sound!

This was more terrifying than seeing a ghost in broad daylight!

"Just when you turned into a sword and went 'whoosh' up here."

Su Xuanchen shrugged innocently and even reached out to pat her stiff shoulder, smiling to encourage her.

"Great Elder Gu, nice talent. Keep it up, I'm rooting for you. Fighting!"

Hearing Su Xuanchen's teasing, which sounded like an elder encouraging a Junior.

Gu Hongchen felt blood rush to her head, nearly spitting out a mouthful.

She was both angry and helpless; her all-out burst was just "running quite fast" to him? This absolute suppression crushed her pride as a True Immortal.

"You freakish monster!"

Gu Hongchen bit her lip and snorted. She no longer had the desire to compete and turned away to continue climbing under the pressure, not wanting to look at Su Xuanchen again.

Seeing her defeated look, Su Xuanchen chuckled.

He didn't stay.

"The pressure below a thousand steps is too boring."

The smile on his face vanished, and his eyes turned sharp.

"Boom!"

He exerted force, and a tiny crack appeared on the indestructible 1000th glazed step!

Su Xuanchen's figure became a lightning bolt again, speeding up the Ancient Heavenly Staircase with a roar!

Even faster than before!

From the first step to the thousandth, the whole process took less than half a minute!

This unprecedented speed would make the prodigies of the Ancient Heavenly Court kill themselves in shame!

"Swoosh!"

Su Xuanchen's figure was like an unstoppable meteor, crossing the 1000th step mark.

However.

The moment his right foot landed on the 1001st step!

A change occurred!

"Buzz—!!!"

The entire Ancient Heavenly Staircase let out an unprecedented terrifying roar!

The pressure around him, which was at the True Immortal Realm Peak, underwent a qualitative change!

Ten times! Fifty times! A hundred times!

In less than half a breath, the pressure surged a hundredfold!

A supreme Immortal King-level pressure, far exceeding the True Immortal limit and enough to make the All Heavens and Myriad Realms tremble, smashed down on Su Xuanchen like a collapsing sky!

"Bang!"

Su Xuanchen's pine-like figure actually sank slightly under this sudden heavy pressure!

The seven-colored glazed step beneath him let out a piercing crack.

Feeling the weight of billions of stars on his shoulders.

Su Xuanchen's arrogant face finally showed a clear look of surprise.