On the high platform.
A group of people stared at the events unfolding on the Heavenly Ladder, each murmuring among themselves.
“Truly, the younger generation inspires awe. In just ten days, over twenty people have reached step five hundred and twenty…”
“Two of them are even rogue cultivators. Sect Leader Xiao, allowing rogue cultivators to participate in this selection competition was a wise move indeed!”
“Who is that young lady walking in the lead?”
Hearing this, everyone shifted their gazes upward.
When they saw the number of steps Feng Qingran had reached, all the experts present wore expressions of deep shock.
“It’s Feng Qingran! A disciple of Lingyun Sect,” Xiao Hongyu explained.
“Holy crap! Old Xiao, am I seeing things? She’s actually made it past the eight-hundredth step?” Rong Zhuofan exclaimed in disbelief.
“In the past, even the most outstanding disciples could only reach the five-hundredth step. How did she manage to climb beyond eight hundred?”
At that moment, a faint voice asked, “Do you think she can reach the top of the Heavenly Ladder?”
“Reach the top?” A flicker of change passed through Xiao Hongyu’s dignified eyes.
Scaling the Heavenly Ladder meant that this person would undoubtedly transcend tribulation and ascend to immortality in the future.
On the Jiuzhou Continent, ten thousand years had passed since anyone had reached the summit of the Heavenly Ladder.
Among those who had attempted it before, there was no shortage of prodigies with astounding talent. But no matter how hard those younger cultivators tried, none could ever cross that threshold beyond the five-hundredth step.
The height one could reach on the Heavenly Ladder was not something one could control.
A hint of anticipation crept into Xiao Hongyu’s eyes—anticipation he himself hadn’t even noticed. He found himself secretly hoping that Feng Qingran could reach the top!
The Jiuzhou Continent was in desperate need of hope!
Even more, it needed someone who could break the mold and create a miracle.
For ten thousand years, no one had ascended to immortality, causing cultivators across the continent to begin doubting whether their ancestors’ transcendence and ascension had been mere legends.
With no hope in sight, countless people gradually forgot the original purpose of cultivation.
They no longer cultivated to pursue higher realms.
They cultivated only for status, wealth, and greater personal gain.
The pure pursuit that had once driven cultivation was now nowhere to be found.
“Perhaps she really can reach the heavens,” Rong Zhuofan said, his voice brimming with hope.
Xiao Qingfeng did not contradict him this time.
If Feng Qingran could truly reach the top of the Heavenly Ladder, the benefits would redound to everyone.
Compared to the Heavenly Ladder, past grievances and enmity mattered far less. Xiao Qingfeng now hoped more than anything that Feng Qingran could make it to the summit!
“Holy crap! I counted—she’s already reached step eight hundred and ninety-five. The remaining hundred-plus steps are the hardest…”
“Some have described that once you set foot on the nine-hundredth step, your entire body feels as heavy as a thousand pounds, and every single step is agonizing…”
“And that’s not all! According to ancient texts, the final hundred steps of the Heavenly Ladder are paved with blood—each one a bloody path…”
…
Soon, the murmurs died down.
Everyone held their breath, their eyes fixed intently on Feng Qingran.
At this moment, with every step Feng Qingran climbed, the pain in her body intensified.
She channeled the spiritual energy within her to protect her meridians, feeling an overwhelming pressure bearing down on her from all directions.
This pressure was different from the oppressive aura of a Void God.
The pressure on the Heavenly Ladder came from the very fabric of heaven and earth—a dominating force that held the power of life and death, and the authority to control all things.
What Feng Qingran was resisting was not just the Heavenly Dao, but the will of the Heavenly Ladder itself.
Even if the Heavenly Dao of this small world was the Eye of Heaven—even if she was the master of that Eye—this will would not yield in the slightest.
Each step Feng Qingran took was a challenge to the dignity of that will.
Behind her, Dugu Jianyi stopped at step seven hundred and eighty-nine, his body drenched in blood, unable to advance even an inch further.
Qin Hanyan stood only three steps ahead of him—but those three steps alone were enough to widen the gap between them.
Their comprehensions of the Dao were also worlds apart.
Feng Qingran’s mind flashed with the fates of these two as written in the book.
Dugu Jianyi’s final cultivation would peak at the pinnacle of the Spirit Transformation realm.
Qin Hanyan’s cultivation would stop at the early stage of the Void God realm, though she would become a ninth-tier alchemist.
If they weren’t villains, they might have brought great blessings to their lands. But trapped within the pages of a book, so many things were beyond resistance.
Feng Qingran’s consciousness wavered slightly. Had she truly changed the fate of everyone in Lingyun Sect?
She was certain that she herself had broken free from those shackles. But as for the others… she couldn’t be sure.
Even worse, she worried that her changes might inadvertently push everyone’s fates toward something even more terrible.
Step by step, Feng Qingran climbed upward, each footprint stained with blood. Her divine sense scattered, and the scenes before her eyes shifted ceaselessly.
Sometimes she saw ruins; sometimes, flourishing vitality…
Sometimes she witnessed mighty experts battling for supremacy; sometimes, crowds bowing in submission…
Feng Qingran didn’t know what these images represented. But one thing she remembered clearly—she had to reach the summit!
At this moment, her face was drained of all color, her entire body ice-cold. Even lifting her leg took an eternity.
Drip!—
Her almond-shaped eyes turned bloodshot, as if blood was about to spill from them!
What dripped from her forehead was no longer sweat, but blood.
Fine crimson cracks appeared on the pale skin of her neck. The pressure from above no longer just weighed heavily on her—it now planted a deep, boundless fear in her heart.
This fear was eerily similar to what she had felt beneath the wooden bridge in that illusion.
The darkness beneath that bridge had seemed ready to devour everything.
The pressure upon the Heavenly Ladder now seemed ready to crush everything into nothing.
