Translator: CinderTL
"Since that's the case, let's hurry and ascend the mountain. We can't let the fear of Gou Jun taking action hold us back."
After saying this, Mo Yexue stepped directly onto the stone steps and entered the transparent barrier.
"I'm going up as well."
Lan Chen followed closely behind Mo Yexue.
Song Wen and Xue Mei also stopped hesitating and stepped onto the stone steps, entering the transparent barrier.
Immediately, Song Wen felt an immense pressure bearing down on him, as if his body had suddenly become tens of thousands of times heavier.
The overwhelming pressure came from all directions, squeezing his physical body.
Every inch of his skin, every muscle, and every internal organ were subjected to an unprecedented burden.
Song Wen's heartbeat pounded like a drum, and his breathing became labored.
The terrifying pressure not only oppressed his physical body but also suppressed his Divine Sense, limiting his perception to a radius of only about a mile.
This made Song Wen abandon the idea of using a substitute technique to directly teleport to the top of the stone steps.
Additionally, Song Wen could clearly sense that the Blood Escape Technique would likely be unusable on these stone steps.
If he were to force it, the technique would undoubtedly be interrupted, and under the immense gravitational force, he would fall to an uncertain fate.
Song Wen didn't rush to climb. Instead, he stood still, allowing his body to adapt to the heavy pressure.
After a short while, having already adapted, Song Wen activated the Undying True Corpse Transformation, transforming into a three-zhang-tall Giant Corpse.
The Giant Corpse's physique was far stronger than his human form, and Song Wen immediately felt much more at ease.
Song Wen lifted his leg and easily ascended one step.
The steps, which were as tall as a person, were now easily crossed by the three-zhang-tall Song Wen.
"Thud, thud, thud..."
As Song Wen's body grew larger and heavier, each step he took produced a dull sound.
He could clearly feel his Spiritual Power rapidly depleting.
"I must reach the top as quickly as possible."
Looking at the seemingly endless stone steps, Song Wen thought to himself.
Song Wen's towering corpse form passed by Xue Mei, Lan Chen, and Mo Yexue.
All three of them couldn't help but cast envious glances at him. Song Wen's effortless strides across the steps made their own laborious climbing seem pitiful in comparison.
Song Wen continued upward and soon caught up with Mi Hai.
The gravitational restrictions at the foot of the mountain weren't too severe, and Mi Hai had already climbed a height of ten miles.
Seeing Song Wen approach, Mi Hai said, "Fellow Daoist Yin Shuo, your physical body is truly formidable, like a body cast from bronze and iron."
"You flatter me, Master," Song Wen replied politely, then stepped past Mi Hai.
Watching Song Wen's retreating figure, a sharp glint flashed in Mi Hai's eyes.
After a moment of hesitation, the sharpness disappeared, and he reverted to his compassionate master demeanor.
Ahead of him were already Gou Jun and Yang Yu; he didn't mind having one more 'Yin Shuo.' If 'Yin Shuo' caught up with the two in front, perhaps he could delay Gou Jun and Yang Yu.
Song Wen continued upward, but when he was halfway up, he felt intense pain throughout his body. His physical form was already on the verge of collapse.
His internal Spiritual Power was also down to less than 60%.
He looked up and saw that Gou Jun was only ten miles away from the top of the stone steps.
However, the closer one got to the top, the stronger the gravitational restrictions became. Gou Jun had to rest briefly after each step to alleviate the fatigue on his body.
Yang Yu followed several miles behind Gou Jun, slowly making his way forward.
Song Wen turned his head and glanced back.
Mi Hai was more than twenty miles behind him.
The three women, Lan Chen and her companions, were not far from each other, a few miles behind Mi Hai.
Song Wen dispelled the Undying True Corpse Transformation and returned to his human form.
Although the Undying True Corpse Transformation was powerful, it consumed too much spiritual power.
He swallowed two pills to restore his spiritual power and sat cross-legged to meditate and recuperate.
Even just sitting there, the immense pressure made Song Wen feel as if he were carrying a mountain on his back.
To resist the pressure, the spiritual power within his body continued to deplete rapidly, greatly diminishing the effectiveness of his meditation.
After an hour, the severe pain in his body had slightly eased, and Song Wen ended his meditation.
Although the spiritual power within him had recovered less than half.
However, the pressure in this place was too strong, making it unsuitable for rest and recuperation.
To recover as much spiritual power as possible, Song Wen placed a High-Grade Spirit Stone in his mouth.
While climbing, he circulated his energy to refine the spiritual energy within the stone, restoring a small amount of spiritual power.
At this time, Mi Hai below was gradually catching up, now less than ten miles away from Song Wen. However, Mi Hai's climbing speed had noticeably slowed, allowing the three women behind him, led by Lan Chen, to gradually close the distance.
Song Wen stood up and once again activated the Undying True Corpse Transformation, continuing his ascent.
Relying on his towering stature and formidable physique, Song Wen's climbing speed was significantly faster than everyone else's.
This allowed him to gradually close the distance between himself and Yang Yu and Gou Jun.
Gradually, Song Wen was now only a few miles away from Yang Yu, who was the closest above him.
During this time, he had rested twice.
Yang Yu was now only ten miles away from the top of the stone steps.
Yang Yu glanced at Song Wen, then looked back at Gou Jun ahead.
Gou Jun was now only three miles away from the top of the stone steps.
Yang Yu raised his hand and slapped the Spirit Beast Pouch at his waist.
A cocoon-like fleshy sphere, about ten feet tall, appeared in front of him.
The fleshy sphere was entirely crimson, exuding a strong, bloody aura.
The sphere was tightly wrapped by layers of fleshy petals.
The petals bloomed like a flower, and a slender tentacle extended from within.
The tentacle grew longer and burrowed into Yang Yu's mouth.
Yang Yu's expression twisted in extreme pain.
The blooming fleshy sphere suddenly surged upward, flipping over and enveloping Yang Yu entirely.
A moment later.
A ten-foot-tall humanoid monster appeared.
The monster was entirely blood-red, covered in a thick layer of bone armor.
It had a sharp horn on its head, a row of sharp bone spikes along its back, and a thick tail over five feet long.
After a long climb, coupled with the increasingly strong Gravity Restriction, Yang Yu, who had been nearing his limit, suddenly became full of vigor.
With the added advantage of his height, his climbing movements became agile.
Step by step, he ascended upward!
"Blood Wraith Beast!"
TL/N: Previously translated as Blood Kui Beast. Refer to chapter 295.
Song Wen, behind him, narrowed his eyes slightly.
Many years ago, he had seen Tu Lian summon this beast, and the scene before him was identical.
However, Tu Lian's Blood Wraith Beast had only been at the third tier.
Yang Yu's beast was clearly at the peak of the fourth tier.
"The Blood Wraith Beast is a parasitic creature within Blood Sui. If Yang Yu knew that the 'Blood of Fallen Immortal' he so desperately sought was the mother body that nurtured the Blood Wraith Beast, I wonder how he would feel?"
Song Wen thought with a hint of schadenfreude, but his steps did not slow in the slightest.
Only a dozen miles remained to the top of the stone steps, and the Gravity Restriction had already more than doubled compared to the foot of the mountain.
With each step, Song Wen had to exert all his strength.
Beneath the withered skin of the Giant Corpse, veins squirmed like earthworms.
With every breath, a surge of Corpse Qi exhaled from his nostrils and mouth.
With each step, his body swayed slightly, as if he might collapse at any moment.
At this point, he felt his consciousness growing hazy, and his legs mechanically moved upward, driven by sheer willpower.
"Thud!"
As he stepped onto another stone step, his body suddenly lost control, and he fell to the ground.
His chest heaved violently, like a tattered bellows, gasping heavily for breath.
Song Wen looked up, glancing at the top.
He was now only seven or eight miles away from the summit.
The last stretch of a hundred miles is the hardest.
The next few miles would be the most challenging part of the journey.
These miles were where the Gravity Restriction was the strongest, where his physical body was nearing its limit, and his Spiritual Power was on the verge of depletion.
It was evident that Gou Jun was still dozens of feet away from the top, roughly a hundred stone steps.
When Song Wen had started, Gou Jun had been only twenty miles from the summit.
Yet, even now, Gou Jun had not reached the top. The difficulty of these last ten miles was unimaginable.
(End of the Chapter)
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