Taking advantage of everyone's attention being glued to Su Ye, Xue Mingzhao took out a Heart-Clearing Pill, mixed it with the Heart-Clearing Grass Mei Ziqing had given her, and stuffed it all into Mei Ziqing's mouth.
Her movements were as smooth as flowing water, completed in one seamless motion.
Don't ask how; practice makes perfect.
A moment later, Mei Ziqing's eyelashes fluttered as she slowly opened her eyes, still a bit dazed. “Did I... did I just fall into an illusion?”
Xue Mingzhao supported her arm and pulled her upward. “Keep going. Only a thousand steps left, and we can enter the inner sect.”
In front of the Floating Light Array Disk, the elders stared at the projection, looking at one another in bewilderment.
To be honest, they hadn't understood Lin Yi's bizarre fist routine either.
However, those two lines of poetry had made their old bones burn with excitement.
Huang Siqi praised, “As expected of a fine talent with a supreme-grade spiritual root! Both his aptitude and character are top-notch!”
Nan Mingzi said, “Of course. Look who scouted him. If he doesn't join my Chiyang Peak, it would be a cosmic injustice!”
Bai Buzheng scoffed, “You old geezer, has he even said he'd choose you? Stop trying to flatter yourself.”
Another round of bickering ensued. The veins on Huang Siqi's temples throbbed. Why did he have to open his mouth in the first place?
On the Heaven-Inquiring Ladder, Xue Mingzhao and Mei Ziqing appeared to be supporting each other as they climbed. In reality, Xue Mingzhao was bearing eighty percent of the weight, dragging Mei Ziqing upward by sheer force.
After only a few steps, Su Ye came running down with a series of thuds, circling to Mei Ziqing's left to grab her other arm.
“Junior Sis—I mean, Sister! Did you see how cool your brother was just now?”
Xue Mingzhao looked up at the sky in silence, pretending she hadn't heard a thing.
Although Mei Ziqing hadn't witnessed his performance at all, she still politely humored him. “Very cool.”
Su Ye's tail immediately perked up to the heavens, and he practically floated as he walked.
...
The six thousandth step.
The moment Mei Ziqing stepped onto the threshold that symbolized entry into the inner sect, she collapsed directly onto the stone stairs. Her chest heaved violently, and she lacked even the strength to lift her hand.
After panting for a long while, she looked up at Xue Mingzhao beside her and forced a weak smile. “Sister Lin Yue, I really can't go any further. You two should go on ahead.”
She was not stupid; she had only survived these past thousand steps because the siblings had literally dragged and pulled her along.
Even though she hadn't exerted much strength herself, the heavy pressure of the Heaven-Inquiring Ladder's restriction made it difficult to even breathe. Her aptitude was ordinary, and the six thousandth step was already her absolute limit.
Propping her upper body up with her elbows, she spoke with a sense of relief, “I'm already content with being able to enter the inner sect. Go on. I'll wait for you at the top.”
Seeing that Mei Ziqing truly could not go any further, Xue Mingzhao did not try to persuade her otherwise and simply nodded.
Mei Ziqing shuffled to the outer edge of the stone steps and leaned outward. A flash of green light instantly enveloped her entire body, teleporting her away in the blink of an eye.
Su Ye withdrew his gaze, stretched his shoulders, and said with a touch of gravity, “Junior Sister, I think I'm starting to feel some pressure.”
Xue Mingzhao looked around. There were very few people left who were still climbing.
Just as she was about to speak, she looked up and saw a white-robed figure standing on the stone steps not far away, quietly gazing down at her. Xue Mingzhao: “...”
Seriously, did Shen Chaoyue have nothing better to do?
Instead of climbing, why was she constantly monitoring her? Did she have spirit stones on her face?
Xue Mingzhao quickly lowered her head, tightly grabbed Su Ye's arm, and pretended to be weak and in need of support as she slowly shuffled upward.
The seven thousandth step.
Su Ye was wheezing like a pair of bellows. “Junior Sister... I really can't go on...”
Xue Mingzhao gritted her teeth, grabbing him by the back of his collar and dragging him up. “Reaching the top means entering the Heavenly Origin Sect's treasury!”
“Treasures! Spirit stones! Cultivation techniques! Think about them!”
Su Ye took a deep breath. Light returned to his eyes, and he gritted his teeth to take another step forward.
The eight thousandth step.
The two of them collapsed on the ground, panting heavily.
Su Ye's face had turned purple from the crushing pressure of the Heaven-Inquiring Ladder.
Xue Mingzhao, on the other hand, was... exhausted.
Yes, she was purely worn out from dragging Su Ye.
The higher they went, the heavier Su Ye became.
He was dead weight, like a dragged pig.
Xue Mingzhao rested for two minutes to recover slightly. Then, she slapped her thigh and sat up, her fighting spirit burning bright.
“We've already made it this far! We have to snatch a couple of treasures from the Heavenly Origin Sect before we leave! Otherwise, it's a total loss!”
She turned around to encourage Su Ye as well, but when she did...
Su Ye was lying on the ground, his eyes vacant. He had already fallen into an illusion.
Xue Mingzhao: “...”
Panting, she looked up at the steps above, feeling a bit puzzled.
Strange. Why didn't she feel anything at all?
Let alone an illusion, she barely even felt the pressure.
The Chaos Spiritual Root swayed in her sea of consciousness. “That's because you are the host of the Chaos Spiritual Root! With my protection, ordinary illusions cannot affect you at all.”
Xue Mingzhao rolled her eyes in her mind, too lazy to respond.
Cang Jue pondered for a moment and analyzed seriously, “The further up the Heaven-Inquiring Ladder you go, the stronger the inner demons become. Since you haven't entered an illusion by now, you will probably face an extremely difficult one near the end.”
As for why his boss didn't feel any pressure at all, he didn't know either.
However, he didn't believe it had anything to do with the Chaos Spiritual Root. No matter how powerful a Chaos Spiritual Root was, it was still just a spiritual root. The Heaven-Inquiring Ladder tested one's character and willpower.
Xue Mingzhao was speechless. “Fine. I'd like to see what kind of tricks it can play on me.”
In front of the projection mirror, the elders were all staring at the illusion-trapped Su Ye.
However, Huang Siqi's gaze fell upon Lin Yue.
For a triple spiritual root cultivator to actually climb to the eight thousandth step...
Such character and comprehension were rare even across the entire Tianyan Continent.
It was just a pity that she had a mixed spiritual root.
The screen flickered and switched to Shen Chaoyue.
She was only a single step away from reaching the summit. Just as she breathed a sigh of relief and prepared to lift her foot, her entire body suddenly froze.
Huang Siqi immediately sat up straight, his expression turning solemn.
The higher one climbed the Heaven-Inquiring Ladder, the more vicious the inner demons became.
Past the nine thousandth step, it was no longer a simple illusion.
It would blur the line between reality and falsehood, weaving a complete life for you—making you believe you had succeeded, ascended, and obtained everything you ever wanted, only to spend decades or even centuries within the illusion.
By the time you finally realized it was fake, only a brief moment might have passed in reality, but the sheer realism of the experience was enough to shatter one's mind.
Time passed minute by minute.
A full hour had passed, yet Su Ye was still deeply immersed in his illusion, his mouth running nonstop.
“Su Zhengyang! Hurry up and pour some tea for this master! Where are your manners?!”
“Hahahahaha! Su Sheng! You've finally met your match! Hahahahaha!”
“In the past, I didn't care when you called me trash. But now! Tell me loudly! What should you call me?!”
“Everyone has their moment of glory, but don't mistake a moment for eternity! You kicked me out with cold eyes back then; in the future, even if you beg me—I won't even spare you a glance!”
Listening to him from the side, Xue Mingzhao's temples throbbed.
There was no need to endure what was already unbearable.
She stepped forward and delivered a solid punch right to Su Ye's face.
If he kept talking, his entire background would be exposed for everyone to see.
Seeing that Su Ye still hadn't woken up, she rolled up her sleeves and delivered a rapid succession of punches.
In front of the Floating Light Array Disk, Nan Mingzi looked pained. “I hope she doesn't break my disciple.”
Bai Buzheng sneered, “Has he even acknowledged you? Look at you, shamelessly claiming him as your disciple.”
Zhao Huai'an: “...”
Was the physical beating even the issue here?
Inner demons could only be overcome by oneself. There was no such thing as waking up from an illusion just because of a beating.
Watching Xue Mingzhao land punch after punch on Su Ye's face, Huang Siqi's lips twitched—this girl was truly ruthless to her own brother.
Suddenly, “Stop, stop hitting me!” Su Ye snapped open his eyes and cried out, covering his face.
Rate on N.U.
