Lin Hao's pace was neither hurried nor slow, but with each step, his figure appeared hundreds of feet away, Shrinking the Earth to an Inch —this was a preliminary application of the laws of space.
Snow Empress followed closely behind, her silver hair fluttering slightly in the wind, her pure white dress spotless.
The two soon arrived at the secluded valley.
Up close, the fog here is much denser, a pale blue color, with a faint fragrance of grass and trees wafting through the air, quite different from the eerie fog that sends chills down the spine in other areas of the forbidden zone.
"It really is the Gate of Life."
Lin Hao reached into the mist, and pale golden Dao patterns flickered at his fingertips, resonating with the array patterns in the mist.
" The Azure Emperor truly lives up to his reputation as someone who attained enlightenment through plants and trees. Even within the killing formation, he left a sliver of hope, subtly aligning with the cyclical nature of life and death for all plants."
He was the first to step into the fog.
Snow Empress followed without hesitation.
The moment you enter the fog, all the noise of the outside world vanishes, as if you've been isolated in another world. All around is silent, save for the soft earth beneath your feet and the fresh scent of grass and trees in the air.
The fog didn't obstruct the view; instead, it created a hazy, beautiful effect. Ahead lay a winding path, flanked by strange plants—glowing mushrooms, vines with emerald-green leaves, and exotic herbs whose flowers seemed to hold the movement of stars.
These are...
Snow Empress stopped and gazed at a vine with ice-blue leaves. The vine exuded the same extreme cold as her, yet it also contained a vibrant life force.
" The Ice Spirit Vine, which grows in extremely cold places yet can nurture life, is a top-grade material for refining ice-attribute pills."
Lin Hao casually plucked a Yezi, which transformed into a drop of icy blue dew in his palm, with what appeared to be snowflakes dancing inside.
"Such spiritual objects exist outside the tomb of the Azure Emperor; who knows what kind of Fortune are hidden within its core area."
A hint of surprise flashed across Snow Empress's eyes, but she quickly regained her composure.
The two continued on their way.
The path led deeper and deeper, but the fog gradually thinned. After walking for about half an hour, the view suddenly opened up, and a wide valley appeared before us.
The valley is not large, only a hundred feet square, but the scenery is breathtaking.
The valley is filled with exotic flowers and rare herbs, each exuding a rich spiritual energy. Some of them have even developed a nascent intelligence, and instead of hiding from strangers, they sway their branches and leaves curiously.
In the center of the valley, there is a square pool about three zhang in size. The water is crystal clear, and the bottom of the pool is covered with Five-Colored Divine Stone. Several green lotus leaves float on the surface of the water.
In the center of the lotus leaf, a Green Lotus bud stands gracefully, its petals tightly closed, yet wisps of chaotic energy are already seeping out from the gaps in the bud.
" Chaos Green Lotus..."
Snow Empress's pupils contracted slightly.
This is not the Azure Emperor's true form, but merely a spiritual plant formed from his Daoist essence. Even so, it is astonishing enough. That chaotic energy is the primordial energy from the Splitting Heaven and Earth and earth, and a single wisp of it can crush mountains and rivers.
Lin Hao walked to the edge of the pool, squatted down, and gently touched the water's surface with his hand.
The moment the fingertips touched it, ripples spread across the water, but instead of spreading outwards, they converged towards the center, eventually forming a whirlpool beneath the Green Lotus lotus bud.
From the depths of the vortex, a bluish light emanated.
"Entrance."
Lin Hao stood up and said to Snow Empress, "Come with me."
As soon as he finished speaking, he leaped into the pool, his figure disappearing the instant he touched the water's surface, as if merging into another space.
Snow Empress did not hesitate and followed suit, leaping in.
The feeling of weightlessness lasted only a moment.
The scenery changed, and we arrived at a dark passage from a valley pool.
The passage was paved with bluestone, and the stone walls were covered with ancient demonic script and some blurry murals depicting the process of a Green Lotus being born from chaos, undergoing tribulation, and finally transforming into a human.
"This is a mural depicting the life of the Azure Emperor."
Lin Hao walked ahead, his gaze sweeping over the murals. The words and pictures flowed through his eyes, transforming into pieces of information that flooded into his mind.
The Snow Empress also gazed intently. Although she couldn't understand the ancient script of the demon race, the murals themselves contained the essence of Daoism, and one could comprehend the Dharma by observing them.
The two walked along the passage, and the deeper they went, the wider the passage became, and the more intense the Daoist aura on the stone walls became.
After walking for about fifteen minutes, a light appeared ahead.
We've reached the export port.
The moment Snow Empress stepped out of the passage, her breath caught in her throat.
Before me stretched a vast starry sky.
No, it wasn't a real starry sky, but a starry illusion Simulation by an array. Countless stars flowed overhead, the Milky Way stretched across the sky, and nebulae slowly rotated.
Below the starry sky stands a magnificent palace.
The palace, built of jade, stood tens of thousands of feet high, piercing the depths of the "starry sky." A plaque hung above the palace gate, inscribed with three ancient demonic characters:
Azure Emperor Palace
Before the palace gates stand 9,999 jade steps, each engraved with different plant patterns, from ordinary weeds to Immortal Divine Medicine, as if telling a history of plant evolution.
At this moment, there were already people on the jade steps.
They didn't enter through the Gate of Life, but rather were the pioneers who forced their way in through the main gate after the powerful forces had broken through the outer array.
Lin Hao and Snow Empress appeared in a side hall corridor on the side of the palace, hidden by a huge jade pillar, and were not noticed by anyone for the time being.
"They're quick."
Lin Hao's gaze swept across the steps.
At this moment, hundreds of figures, all elites from various forces, were scattered across the more than nine thousand steps. The first few dozen had already climbed more than seven thousand steps, but they were struggling to move forward, pausing for a long time after each step, as if they were under some kind of pressure.
There are restrictions on the steps.
The Snow Empress sensed that the steps emitted a strange force field, with the pressure increasing the higher one went, and it exerted a comprehensive suppression on cultivation, soul, and physical body.
" The Azure Emperor's Test."
Lin Hao said calmly, "To obtain his inheritance, one must naturally pass three trials. This Heaven-Ascending Steps is the first trial, testing one's foundation and potential."
He looked at Snow Empress: "Would you like to give it a try?"
A hint of fighting spirit flashed in Snow Empress's icy blue eyes. "That's exactly what I'm thinking."
"Then let's go."
Lin Hao stood with his hands behind his back. "I'll be waiting for you at the finish line."
Snow Empress nodded, and in a flash, she appeared at the starting point of the jade steps.
Her appearance immediately attracted the attention of some people on the steps.
"Someone else has arrived?"
"This woman... she looks unfamiliar. Which sect's disciple is she?"
"Silver hair, blue eyes, and a cold demeanor—could she be a descendant of the Northern Plains Ice God Palace?"
"Doesn't seem like it. I've met people from the Ice God Palace before; there's no one like that among them."
Amidst the murmurs, Snow Empress had already stepped onto the first step.
The moment the foot landed, a pressure surged from all directions. It wasn't strong, roughly equivalent to carrying a hundred-pound weight, but it still had a slight suppressive effect on cultivation and the soul.
Snow Empress remained expressionless and continued upwards.
She moved very fast, almost one level at a time, and in the blink of an eye, she had surpassed 100 levels.
The people on the steps all turned to look.
"Wow, that's fast!"
"The first 300 levels aren't too difficult, but for her to do it so easily, this woman has a solid foundation."
Snow Empress ignored the gazes of others, immersed in her own insights.