Translator: CinderTL
The area of this Small Secret Realm was surprisingly vast. After flying for over ten thousand miles, the four of them still hadn't reached the boundary of the realm, nor had they encountered any man-made structures.
Suddenly, the outline of a towering mountain appeared in the distance.
The mountain was majestic and strikingly beautiful, standing out like a crane among chickens amidst the surrounding peaks.
Xue Mei's expression inexplicably grew excited.
"Fellow Daoist Xue Mei, what's the matter?" Song Wen asked.
"I think I know where we are," Xue Mei replied.
The three of them turned their heads, their six eyes burning with anticipation as they stared at Xue Mei, waiting for her next words.
"This place should be the core area of the Divine Blood Hall. That towering mountain ahead is likely the main peak of the Divine Blood Hall—the Divine Blood Peak."
Lan Chen and Mo Yexue immediately perked up.
The main peak of the Divine Blood Hall!
Didn't that mean this place might hold the greatest secret of the Divine Blood Gate?
Could this mountain hold the secret of the 'Blood of Fallen Immortal'?
Or perhaps the 'Blood of Fallen Immortal' itself was within the mountain?
Song Wen, however, furrowed his brows slightly. He had come to the Divine Blood Hall for the Corpse King's Rebirth Art.
No matter what rare treasures might lie within the Divine Blood Peak, they were not what he urgently needed at the moment.
But noticing the excitement in Xue Mei's expression, Song Wen realized that the Corpse King's Rebirth Art might very well be within the Divine Blood Peak.
Previously, Xue Mei had always claimed that they would need to go to the Divine Blood Gate's Transmission Hall to possibly obtain the Corpse King's Rebirth Art, clearly holding something back.
Song Wen gave Xue Mei a deep, meaningful look and said in a calm tone, "Then let's hurry over there."
The mountain seemed close, but the journey was long.
The four of them traveled another two thousand miles before they finally reached the vicinity of the Divine Blood Peak.
The Divine Blood Peak was incredibly majestic, spanning hundreds of miles, with its peak piercing the clouds, its summit invisible.
The entire mountain was as if carved by knives and axes, making it difficult even for birds to land.
There was not a single blade of grass or tree on the mountain, only grayish-brown rocks.
The entire mountain was enveloped in a transparent barrier, clearly indicating the presence of restrictions that prevented unauthorized entry.
Just as the four of them were figuring out how to ascend the mountain, Xue Mei suddenly spoke up.
"Follow me."
She led Song Wen and the other two around the mountain to its other side.
There, at the foot of the Divine Blood Peak, they saw a stone staircase.
The staircase was about five zhang wide, clearly man-made, with sheer cliffs on either side. The stairs extended straight upward for a hundred miles, ending at a plaza on the mountainside.
On the staircase, there were two people.
They were Gou Jun and Yang Yu.
The two were climbing the staircase.
To say they were climbing would be more accurate.
Each step of the staircase was over five chi tall, almost the height of a person.
Gou Jun and Yang Yu were struggling immensely.
They would first grip the edge of the step above with both hands, using the strength of their arms and the tiny footholds they could find on the steps to pull themselves up with great difficulty.
It was worth noting that the two were not at the same height.
Gou Jun, a peak Nascent Soul cultivator, was ahead, already close to the top of the staircase, about eighty miles above the ground.
Yang Yu was ten miles below him.
Every few steps, the two would pause to rest before continuing their climb.
"Is there a Gravity Restriction on this mountain?" Mo Yexue asked, somewhat surprised.
The fact that two Nascent Soul cultivators were struggling so much to climb the mountain could only mean that there was an unimaginably powerful Gravity Restriction in place.
"Indeed," Xue Mei confirmed.
The four of them looked down and saw that the stone steps extended all the way beyond the transparent barrier.
And below the stone steps, there was another person.
Mi Hai!
Mi Hai seemed to be injured and was currently meditating to regulate his breathing.
The four of them flew down to Mi Hai.
"Master Mi Hai, it's been a while. How have you been?" Lan Chen said politely.
Naturally, Lan Chen was not at all concerned about Mi Hai's injuries.
She only wanted to get some information about the Divine Blood Peak from Mi Hai.
Mi Hai ended his meditation and stood up.
When he saw the unfamiliar face of Xue Mei, a hint of surprise flashed in his eyes, but he didn't ask any questions. Instead, he clasped his hands together and said, "Greetings to the four of you. This humble monk was careless while climbing the mountain and suffered some internal injuries. I have mostly recovered now."
Lan Chen's face was full of surprise. "Is the Gravity Restriction on this mountain really that powerful? Even you couldn't climb it smoothly?"
Mi Hai replied, "The Gravity Restriction on this mountain is quite peculiar. It seems that the higher one's cultivation, the stronger the Gravity Restriction they experience. Therefore, having a high level of cultivation doesn't provide much advantage in climbing the mountain. However, the stronger one's physical body, the easier it is to climb."
Lan Chen nodded. "I see. Thank you for the explanation, Master."
"You're too kind, Benefactor Lan Chen," Mi Hai said.
Perhaps the arrival of the four, including Song Wen, put some pressure on Mi Hai, as he continued, "This humble monk is about to continue climbing the mountain. Would the four of you like to join me?"
"No," Lan Chen shook her head. "We've just arrived. It would be more prudent for us to first meditate and recover our Spiritual Power before attempting the climb."
Mi Hai exchanged a few more pleasantries before turning and walking toward the stone steps.
He ascended the steps and easily passed through the barrier.
Immediately after, his body suddenly bent as if he had been burdened with a mountain, making each step difficult.
The muscles on Mi Hai's body bulged, and his entire frame instantly grew larger.
He slowly straightened his body and quickly formed hand seals.
Then, a Vidyaraja Phantom suddenly materialized.
The phantom enveloped Mi Hai's entire body, and his expression immediately relaxed a bit.
Following the example of Gou Jun and Yang Yu, Mi Hai began to climb the stone steps.
Perhaps because the Gravity Restriction at the foot of the mountain was weaker, Mi Hai's climbing speed was noticeably faster than that of Gou Jun and Yang Yu, gradually closing the gap between them.
Watching Mi Hai's figure grow higher and higher, Mo Yexue remarked, "That bald monk has even practiced body refinement techniques. His physical body is quite formidable."
"Among the four of us, Yin Shuo undoubtedly has the strongest physical body," Lan Chen turned to Song Wen. "Yin Shuo, you might be the first among us to climb the stone steps."
Song Wen said, "Climbing those steps won't be so easy. From what we can see now, Gou Jun is likely to be the first to reach the summit. Once he does, he might deliberately try to hinder the rest of us."
Lan Chen asked, "Are you worried that Gou Jun might attack us?"
Song Wen replied, "It's not impossible. From his elevated position, even if he just throws down a few large rocks, under the influence of the Gravity Restriction, it would be hard for us to defend against them."
After saying this, Song Wen turned to Xue Mei.
"Fellow Daoist Xue Mei, do you have any knowledge about these stone steps? Is there perhaps a more convenient method to climb them?"
Xue Mei answered, "These stone steps are called the Path to the Heavens. They are used by the Divine Blood Gate to select core disciples. The only way to climb them is through sheer determination."
(End of the Chapter)
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