When it came to scrambling up the steps, naturally, "old ginger was spicier." The moment Peacock counted to "three," Master Changsheng, Abbess Jingyi, and Bai Yanqiu set off at the same time. Each used the Floating Technique and drifted toward the stairs, no longer sparing the scant true qi left in their meridians!
The instant they went all out with the Floating Technique, the gap in the three of their cultivation levels became immediately apparent.
Needless to say, Bai Yanqiu fell behind Master Changsheng and Abbess Jingyi after only a few steps. At first, Master Changsheng and Abbess Jingyi had been neck and neck, equally distant from the stairs.
But when they were still about twenty feet from the steps, Abbess Jingyi took a deep breath and silently activated a secret Incense-Passing Cult technique. Her speed abruptly increased by thirty percent, and she reached the stairs ahead of Master Changsheng!
The instant Abbess Jingyi set foot upon the stairs, a thunderous rumble erupted from above. Her heart sank. Raising her eyes, she immediately understood. The tightly shut palace gates atop Mount Yao had begun shaking violently and slowly opening, beams of brilliant light shooting out from the Immortal Mansion!
Excellent—this is truly the bearing of an immortal abode! Abbess Jingyi thought. Her feet did not pause in the slightest as she flew upward along the stairs. Yet the moment she stepped onto them, although she could still mobilize the true qi within her body, she could no longer use the Floating Technique.
"A restriction..." Abbess Jingyi froze, then was overjoyed. The Incense-Passing Cult's other techniques might have been on par with Great Forest Temple's, but its lightness skill... was a woman's specialty. Since the Floating Technique could not be used here and they could only climb with lightness skills, how