After making the arrangements, Chen You vanished in a flash and darted into the Central Treasure Hall at the very top. He sat cross-legged upon the high platform's throne and closed his eyes.
At the bottom, the Azure Spear Divine General's body slowly merged into the surroundings and vanished without a trace.
On the stairway, the Domain Lord Old Man climbed to the five-thousandth step. Even with his cultivation activated, he was panting heavily and beginning to struggle.
"What level of pressure did that brat Chen set up? Old Man can barely reach five thousand steps like this. As for the stairs ahead..."
He looked at the stairway stretching endlessly above him, then shook his head with a bitter smile.
After resting on the ground for a while, he once more braced himself against the pressure and stepped upward.
At the thousandth step, Ye Lin was so exhausted that she collapsed asleep on the ground, her proud peaks rising and falling.
She muttered in complaint, "Husband really is something else. Why did he set such terrifying pressure?"
"There are still so many steps above. How am I supposed to climb them?!"
After grumbling and resting for quite some time, she let out a breath, rose to her feet, and helplessly continued upward.
Behind her, The Ying Crowd climbed swiftly and were about to catch up to Ye Lin.
The last group of subordinates, constrained by their aptitude and cultivation, could not endure after reaching three hundred steps and slumped to the ground.
"Are we... are we... still climbing?"
"Phew—phew—"
"Anyway, I... I can't climb anymore. If you want to continue, go ahead."
At those words, half the subordinates chose to stop climbing. They sprawled on the ground and did not move again.
The remaining half gritted their teeth and continued