No one knew how the four of them had taken that final step—not even themselves!
That last desperate struggle at the brink of collapse had consumed every shred of their focus!
So much so that they had not spared a thought to experience the agony of the process.
The four of them almost simultaneously collapsed onto the ground, savoring the lightness of being free from all pressure and the sheer pleasure of breathing freely.
Jiang Feng felt as though his body had been completely hollowed out. He lay facedown on the ground, listening carefully to his own heartbeat.
Who knew how long passed before Jiang Feng came back to himself and rolled over.
And it was then that he noticed something was wrong!
The black clouds in the sky hung oppressively low. Lightning flickered within the churning clouds, where a terrifying force was brewing.
Perhaps because he had been too exhausted, Jiang Feng had somehow failed to sense its fluctuations before.
But now, those fluctuations were exceptionally intense, making the hairs all over Jiang Feng's body stand on end.
"Senior, what's going on?" Jiang Feng gave Master Chongbi, who was beside him, a shove.
Master Chongbi was still lying on the ground, enjoying that sense of ease. Jiang Feng's push immediately snapped him back to his senses.
Yuan Chu and Yuan Gu also dragged their exhausted bodies over and rolled onto their backs, looking up at the roiling black clouds and racing lightning overhead.
"This..." Master Chongbi sat up from the ground in alarm. "What's going on?"
Jiang Feng froze, clearly not expecting Master Chongbi to have no idea either.
"Didn't you climb to the top of the stone steps before?"
Yuan Chu replied, "That's right. We reached the summit twice, but... this never happened either time."
Jiang Feng's heart