With the help of the mecha phoenix, the journey became extremely fast, and in less than half an incense stick's time, they had already arrived at the entrance to the cave.
Once everyone had jumped off its back, Xiao Jiu transformed into a dazzling seven-colored light and disappeared into the spatial bracelet.
The so-called entrance to the cave was about three zhang high and three zhang wide, with black and purple light swirling together in a regular pattern, making it look like an interstellar black hole.
The elder of the Blade Sect pulled out a scroll and waved his hand, saying, "Before you go in, please sign a waiver of life and death. If you gain any opportunities inside, the Blade Sect will not covet them. Similarly, if you unfortunately die inside, the Blade Sect will not bear any responsibility!"
"That's natural."
"Opportunity always comes with crisis. Since we've come, we're prepared and have brought enough supplies to save our lives!"
Everyone agreed and signed their names on the death warrant.
Then the elder of the Sword Sect gave the order: "Enter!"
The group entered the black hole in an orderly fashion. The moment they stepped in, they felt dizzy and their vision was completely black, as if they had stepped into nothingness. They could not see any boundaries in any direction, except for a ray of light that poured down from afar, making the heavenly ladder at the center of the light appear extremely sacred.
This ladder to heaven is only about six feet wide, allowing only three people to walk side by side.
The crowd arrived at the foot of the Heavenly Ladder and began to discuss it animatedly.
"Are we going to climb this ladder to heaven?"
"I guess so... It seems like there's no other way to go."
"Could it be a trap?"
"Probably not..."
After discussing it for a long time, no one dared to go up and test the waters.
The elder of the Ten Thousand Buddhas Sect sighed, gripped his monk's robe with one hand, and took a step forward. In the next instant, all the Buddhist cultivators stepped forward in unison, their movements perfectly synchronized. They pulled up and rolled up their robes, revealing muscles as strong as cast iron. They stood tall and proud, shouting in unison, "Let this humble monk go and scout ahead!"
Brave warriors! Their deeds are truly admirable and worthy of praise!
Chu Hongluan couldn't help but sigh.
Under the watchful eyes of everyone, the disciples of the Ten Thousand Buddhas Sect climbed the Heavenly Ladder one after another. After climbing about four or five steps, they discovered some of the secrets.
The Buddhist elder at the front spoke up: "There seems to be some kind of oppressive restriction on this Heavenly Ladder. With each step we take, the oppressive pressure on us increases. If I'm not mistaken, this should be the first test set up by the cave owner to select a successor."
Having received confirmation, everyone rushed to begin climbing.
But once they actually stepped onto the Heavenly Ladder, they realized the true terror of the so-called oppressive restrictions.
Some people had barely stepped onto one step when they were already covered in sweat, their whole body was trembling, as if their backs were about to be bent over, and their raised feet were shaking so hard that they couldn't take the next step!
Unlike the Heavenly Mystery Pavilion's Heavenly Ladder of Inquiry, this Heavenly Ladder seems to test the physical strength of cultivators.
Just like Buddhist disciples who focus on physical training, they took the lead and left other sects far behind.
The disciples of Tianji Pavilion were also eager to try, but seeing that Elder Chu and the senior brother, the two leaders, remained motionless, they suppressed their anxiety and did not dare to pass them.
"What? Are you all still toddlers learning to walk? Waiting for me to carry you up?"
These few words made the disciples of the Heavenly Mystery Pavilion blush. They then remembered that before they came, their senior brother had told them: every test inside the Great Power's Cave is designed for the individual. So once they entered the cave, every step, every choice, success or failure, life or death, was in their own hands.
Qiao Yue darted up the ladder in a flash: "I was wondering why we were still waiting for Senior Brother to give the order even though we're already here. Nobody moved, so I didn't dare to move either."
Li Dazhuang followed closely behind: "That's right, that's right."
So the other disciples stopped being shy and all climbed the Heavenly Ladder.
Only Chu Hongluan and Liu Jinghong remained in the same spot.
"What did you see?" Chu Hongluan asked.
"There's a slight indication." Liu Jinghong smiled mysteriously.
"Tch." A cold laugh came from the Heavenly Ladder. "If you're too scared to come up, just say so. You're always putting on airs!"
It was Xu Qingqiu again. She stood on the ninth step, looking down into the distance, her face filled with undisguised mockery and pleasure, as if she couldn't wait to turn the tables.
This time, the two didn't even look up, completely ignoring them.
"Judging from your expression, you must have a plan in mind."
"Of course, where is my junior sister?"
"How can mere intimidation stop me?"
Xu Qingqiu performed a one-woman show.
People around her began giving her strange looks. Xu Qingqiu blushed crimson; continuing to speak was one thing, but turning away was another—she was completely caught in an awkward silence...
Time flew by. Some people couldn't bear the pressure and chose to give up, while others desperately tried to climb up. Their bones were broken by the pressure and pierced their internal organs. They vomited mouthfuls of blood, and they poured bottle after bottle of bone-regenerating pills into their stomachs. Their bones broke and grew back, grew back and broke again. They would rather die than turn back.
Mo Yu gritted his teeth and climbed halfway up, swallowing the metallic taste in his throat. He looked back and saw that Chu Hongluan and Liu Jinghong were still in the same spot.
Liu Jinghong was looking up at the steps when she saw him turn around, and she even made a gesture for him to cheer up.
A cold glint flashed in Mo Yu's eyes. He pursed his lips, turned around, and continued climbing the ladder.
"Did you see it clearly?" Chu Hongluan asked.
"Look closely. This Heavenly Ladder is similar to the Heart-Questioning Ladder of our Nameless Immortal Mountain. It is also a formation with one formation per step, but it is a pressure-type formation with different specifications, levels, and forms of expression. The pressure doubles with each step. When it comes to the last step, it is probably no less than a Kunlun Mountain crashing down on you."
"Can it be broken?"
“No.” Liu Jinghong shook her head. “But I can walk along the weak points of the formation and easily avoid the seven layers of pressure.”
Finally, he showed a hint of apology: "It's a pity that this trial has restrictions on spells within the space, so the Qian hexagram can't be used for the time being, otherwise I could have taken my junior sister up with me."
"Oh? Senior brother, are you looking down on my strength? How about we have a match?"
"You know that's not what I meant..."
"No need for further words, just tell me: to compete, or not to compete?"
"Compare."
"Three, two, one, charge!"
Two figures, one in red and one in blue, swept up the Heavenly Ladder like the wind, surpassing nearly 60% of the cultivators in the blink of an eye.
The person who was bypassed was dumbfounded: Should I leave?
As they went further up, their pace slowed down.
Liu Jinghong strolled leisurely up the steps one by one.
Chu Hongluan deliberately walked leisurely, always one step ahead of Liu Jinghong. She would occasionally glance to the side, her eyes upturned, her usually cold and beautiful phoenix eyes revealing just the right amount of provocation.
Liu Jinghong chuckled to herself, and, succumbing to her sudden competitive spirit, silently quickened her pace.
Mo Yu, having seemingly received another stroke of luck, has now reached the half-step Nascent Soul stage. The Heavenly Ladder has a total of 1,008 steps, and he has climbed about 800 steps. Ahead of him, apart from Ke Tinghe, who is also at the half-step Nascent Soul stage, and a few elders, there is no one else.
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