As they spoke, Xue Na eagerly stepped onto the first step. The moment her foot landed, she frowned.
"This pressure really is interesting!"
Xue Na lifted her foot and headed up the stairs. Before long, she had climbed thirty steps.
Su Yu noticed that Xue Na was already staggering a little. It seemed this was her limit without using her martial soul!
Xue Na naturally realized that her stamina was nearly exhausted, too. The pressure bore down on her until her muscles and bones ached.
Immediately, she stopped holding back and activated her martial soul. Pale purple lightning enveloped her body.
The instant the lightning covered her, sixty percent of the heavy restraint weighing on her abruptly vanished, and most of the suffocating pressure eased.
Xue Na let out a long, stale breath. Lightning flowed ceaselessly around her as she gritted her teeth and continued climbing the stone steps.
The instant she stepped onto the forty-ninth step, the heavy pressure still crushed her body relentlessly, despite the layers of lightning wrapped around her.
Her knees trembled violently beyond her control. She was almost at her limit.
The fiftieth step was right before her eyes, just one stride away.
Clenching her teeth, Xue Na mustered her remaining strength to lift her weak, aching lower leg and was just about to step up.
Suddenly, a tremendous force erupted from the stone steps and slammed into her, sending her flying.
Su Yu's expression changed. He instantly darted forward and caught Xue Na's delicate body securely in his arms.
Looking at Xue Na's slightly pale cheeks, Su Yu called out anxiously:
"Lingling!"
Before Su Yu had finished speaking, Ye Lingling beside him had already activated her martial soul. The Nine Heart Begonia slowly unfurled and bloomed in her palm.
Soft pink-and-white petals drifted down