Heaven Treading Path

After speaking, the group led Ling Tian slowly out of the Great Hall and toward the center of the square.

In a moment, they arrived at the middle of the vast square. The entire square was now empty—likely the disciples were cultivating elsewhere, or perhaps because Senior Lingyun was visiting today, and knowing that most senior experts disliked crowds, Green Cloud Master had sent everyone away.

When they reached a statue, they bowed deeply before moving to the side, and after a short walk, they arrived at a certain spot.

Before them was a sheer cliff face. In the middle of the cliff was a staircase made of eighty-one jade steps, arranged in nine layers of nine steps each. Every nine steps changed color, in order: red, orange, yellow, green, cyan, blue, purple, black, and white.

Though time had passed and years had flowed by, the jade remained lustrous and undamaged, faintly radiating a soft, gentle glow.

"Heavenly Road"—these two characters were carved into the cliff beside the staircase. Each character was about ten feet tall, written in Ancient Seal Script, deeply etched into the stone wall. The strokes were firm and graceful, imbued with a grand, ancient air of desolation and solemnity.

The ancients often said, "Ascend the Heavenly Road, tread and sing." This, it seemed, was the so-called "Heavenly Road."

"Tian'er, this is the 'Heavenly Road.' In a moment, you just walk straight up. You can only step onto one step at a time. Give it your best effort, but don't push yourself too hard. If you feel you can't bear it anymore, quickly retreat." Green Cloud Master carefully instructed Ling Tian.

"Mm, I understand, Uncle Qingyun." Ling Tian said calmly, then slowly walked toward the staircase.

Each step was about half a foot high, so Ling Tian could easily step onto them. He moved lightly, stepping onto the first step with ease. Instantly, the red jade step shimmered with light, a rosy glow appearing, dotted with red radiance.

Seeing Ling Tian's leisurely demeanor, he seemed quite relaxed.

"Those with dull talent can't even approach the staircase. Seeing how easily this child handles it, he'll probably reach the yellow steps—that would be the talent of a genius." Yuan Ming stroked his beard and spoke unhurriedly.

"Heh, with Elder's talent, you barely managed to reach the ninth orange step back then. That means Ling Tian is far better than you." Gu Yuan seemed to have a good relationship with Yuan Ming, smiling as he teased him.

"Little brat, you only reached the eighth orange step back then. Ling Tian's talent is definitely above ours—what's so hard about reaching the yellow steps?" Yuan Ming's face showed a hint of pride. Though Ling Tian's talent surpassed his own, he felt no shame.

That made sense—the ninth orange step was already infinitely close to genius. And genius-level talent in cultivation was rarely seen even once in a hundred or thousand years. Yuan Ming was already considered outstanding.

"I reckon reaching the yellow steps won't be a problem. The question is which yellow step he can reach. Hmph, what a pity, that little brat." Ye Feidie was clearly still resentful that the boy hadn't joined her Qingdie Vein.

"True, geniuses are also different. A genius on the first step and one on the ninth are worlds apart." Xiong Xiong said in a deep voice, the sound making the surrounding air tremble.

"Old Xiong, can you speak a little softer? You're deafening me." Huang Se, standing beside him, rubbed his ears in dissatisfaction.

"Just block your ears, then." Xiong Xiong said with a dark face.

"Shut up. Have you forgotten my methods? Itching for a beating?" Wu Yun's face turned stern, and she spoke coldly.

"Uh..." Xiong Xiong scratched his head, smiling awkwardly, but dared not argue. Clearly, he had suffered at Wu Yun's hands more than once.

"Not bad, not bad. He's already reached the yellow steps. The boy's talent is indeed impressive." Green Cloud Master clasped his hands behind his back, beaming with joy.

This child was going to join his Qingyun Vein, so the higher his talent, the better. Though he hadn't fought for the child back then, Lingyun had already told him that Ling Tian wanted to join his vein. Not competing with the others was simply because he was confident—it also helped balance everyone's mindset, so why not?

"Oh? The seventh yellow step?" Yuan Ming was a bit incredulous.

"Heh, and he still looks so relaxed. How discouraging!" Huang Se's face was full of discomfort. Back then, he had barely managed to reach the eighth orange step.

"Could he even reach the green steps?" Seeing Ling Tian take two more steps, Gu Yuan's mouth hung open, his body trembling slightly, his palms full of sweat.

"Uh... he actually made it. Why couldn't I have tricked the boy into joining my Qingdie Peak? What a loss, what a loss. Sigh." Ye Feidie's face was full of regret.

"Sigh, this is really discouraging." Yuan Ming no longer felt so good about himself.

Indeed, most of Green Cloud Master's group had only reached the seventh or eighth orange step, at most the ninth. Seeing Ling Tian easily step onto the green steps was a huge blow, and a sense of defeat welled up inside them.

Green—that was something rarely seen even among geniuses in a hundred, no, a thousand years.

"I can't bear to watch anymore. How embarrassing!" Xiong Xiong was the first unable to take the shock, lowering his head. The others also looked up at the sky or down at the ground, no longer watching Ling Tian.

Leaving aside the group's crushed spirits, let's shift the focus to Ling Tian.

Ling Tian had no idea what they were thinking. When he first stepped onto the red step, he was puzzled. Wasn't this just climbing stairs? What was so hard about it? When he was five or six, he had already run all over the mountains playing.

Thinking this, he walked up step by step, quickly passing the nine red steps. The orange steps posed no difficulty either, so he walked straight through.

"It can't be just this, can it? Green Cloud Master and the others wouldn't be so boring. Is there something special further up?" Ling Tian thought silently, soon confirming this idea. By now, he had already reached the yellow steps.

"Probably the green ones will be special." Ling Tian thought again, then lifted his foot and took a few more steps, easily stepping onto the green steps.

"Still nothing special. What's going on?" Ling Tian was full of confusion, but he didn't stop, continuing step by step.

"The cyan ones aren't special either. Could Green Cloud Master and the others just be testing my stamina?" Ling Tian was starting to doubt his initial idea.

"Oh? Seems a bit different. The blue ones feel a little heavier, but it's very faint, barely noticeable." Ling Tian muttered to himself, uncertain.

"Let's try the purple ones." Thinking this, Ling Tian slowly walked forward a few steps and stepped onto the purple steps. Immediately, he felt the pressure increase, and as he climbed higher, the pressure grew stronger.

"So that's it. The purple ones feel about three or four times the pressure of the beginning. But that won't stop me. Watch me." Ling Tian didn't mind, continuing to climb.

Just as Ling Tian stepped onto the black steps, the gravity suddenly increased dramatically, making his body tremble. Lifting his foot became difficult, and sweat began to seep from his forehead.

"No, if I can't even make it this far, how can I dream of learning alchemy, let alone anything else?" Ling Tian gritted his teeth, enduring with effort.

What he didn't know was that reaching the orange steps was already enough to learn alchemy. With effort, one could even achieve considerable success in the art.

"Ah..."

When Ling Tian first stepped onto the white steps, the immense pressure instantly forced him to one knee. Sweat poured from him, and his body trembled violently. He couldn't help but roar up at the sky, his face full of pain. But after a moment, he straightened up and continued walking, though his pace had slowed considerably.

"What's going on? What's wrong with Ling Tian?" Hearing Ling Tian's pained cry, Green Cloud Master and the others no longer "looked at the sky" or "stared at the ground."

Lingyun had entrusted Ling Tian to them. If something happened to him, who knew how Lingyun would react.

"He's actually reached the white steps, and he's still holding on. What kind of talent is this? Super genius? Super super genius?" Wu Yun was the first to look up and see Ling Tian, starting to babble incoherently. She couldn't help but speak to the others.

"Don't ask me. I don't know either." Yuan Ming was the oldest among them and had been cultivating the longest, so he should naturally know more. But this time, even he said he didn't know.

"Passed out, passed out—I've really seen it all today." Gu Yuan was drenched in sweat, as if he were the one climbing the Heavenly Road.

The others weren't much better off, all soaked through, probably never having suffered such a blow in their lives.

"If I can't even climb these steps, how can I become the greatest alchemist? How can I refine the best pills for Daddy? No, I won't accept this." Ling Tian's heart darkened. He had already reached the eighth white step, only one step away from finishing the Heavenly Road.

"Hmph, the 'Heavenly Road'? If Heaven blocks me, I'll slay Heaven!" Ling Tian's eyes flashed with fierce light, wild and frenzied, as he lifted his foot toward the final step.

Suddenly, dark clouds rolled across the sky, gathering over Qingyun Main Peak in an instant, with faint sounds of wind and thunder.

That day, the disciples of Qingyun Main Peak felt as if a great calamity had befallen them. The Heaven and Earth Pressure crushed their very souls, making them tremble, each one walking on eggshells.

"Could this be a lightning tribulation? Climbing the Heavenly Road can actually cause this? This is too shocking." Gu Yuan's face was full of astonishment.

"I'm afraid Ling Tian brought this on. Could even Heaven be jealous of talent?" Xiong Xiong murmured.

"Heaven and Earth are ruthless, treating all things as straw dogs. The path of cultivation is like defying fate to change one's destiny. If Heaven isn't jealous of talent, what else could it be?" Yuan Ming's face bore a weathered look. He had cultivated for over a thousand years to reach this level, and now the road ahead was even rougher—he hadn't advanced at all in decades. No wonder he felt this way.

Hearing this, everyone fell into their own thoughts.

As for Ling Tian, when the dark clouds pressed down, faint rumbles of thunder stirred. The pressure on him multiplied; the Heaven and Earth Pressure shook his very soul. The lightning tribulation was about to gather, about to descend. When that happened, Ling Tian's life would surely be over.

"Could this be my end?" Ling Tian's face was full of despair, along with a deep, bitter unwillingness.

Suddenly, a flute sound accompanied by a zither sound arose, and a hazy Mysterious Light rose around Ling Tian. A comforting aura spread over him, one that felt familiar and warm. Unconsciously, fragments of memory resurfaced in Ling Tian's heart—memories of the Immortal Realm. Scene after scene flashed through his mind.

Slowly, tears welled in his eyes, but strangely, a faint smile hung on his face. His lips moved slightly, and if anyone knew lip-reading, they would surely know he was saying:

"Father, Mother, I will go to the Immortal Realm to see you."

A moment later, the thunderclouds seemed to lose their target, dissipating into nothing. Sunlight once again shone upon the world.

By then, Ling Tian had reached the top of the white steps.

A flash of sharp light flickered in Green Cloud Master's eyes before vanishing, then he gazed at the sky, lost in thought.

"This, this, what happened?" Huang Se's face was full of confusion, muttering incoherently, his speech broken.

He wasn't the only one; the others were equally bewildered.

Ling Tian had long since wiped the tear stains from his cheeks. He looked up at the sky, his eyes filled with deep longing. After a faint sigh, he walked down the steps one by one and returned to the others' side.