Deep within the Heaven-Questioning Pavilion, there is an ancient stone staircase.
This stone staircase stands in the middle of a desolate rocky mountain. The steps are carved from rough, stubborn stone and extend upwards layer by layer.
What's amazing is that there's nothing supporting the stone steps below; they're suspended in mid-air, extending all the way into the clouds above, as if reaching straight to the sky.
A young man dressed in simple clothes ran swiftly and arrived at the bottom of the ancient stone steps.
"This is the Wentian Stairway?"
The boy was Chen Mu. He looked anxious, glanced at the stone steps briefly, and then stepped onto them.
boom...!
A tremendous aura descended from above, like a sleeping dragon suddenly awakening, radiating boundless pressure and scattering the surrounding dust in all directions.
Tap! Tap! Tap...!
Chen Mu didn't care about anything else. Although the pressure from above was immense, it was nothing to him. In no time, he had run up more than a dozen steps.
"Quick! Xiao Lei, did you hear that? There seems to be a sound coming from the Wentian Stairway."
Several kilometers away at the Nether-Penetrating Abyss, Wei Yatong and Qi Xiaolei had been following Chen Mu all the way here.
"Oh my god! Chen Mu isn't going to Wentian Stairway, is he?"
The two quickened their pace; with their cultivation levels, the distance of several kilometers was covered in just a dozen breaths.
"They... they really made it up there."
Qi Xiaolei stared incredulously at the figure above, unsure of what to say.
"Hehe, I heard that our current cabinet chief Ye Gudan, attempted the Wentian Stairway five years ago, but he retreated after reaching the fifty-sixth step."
Wei Yatong glanced at the steps Chen Mu had walked up, her tone revealing an undisguised amazement.
"Ten, twenty... fifty-eight, in just a short while, he's reached the fifty-eighth step?"
Ah, it's fifty-nine now.
Qi Xiaolei exclaimed in surprise.
Although no one has been able to ascend the Wentian Stairway for nearly a thousand years, disciples often attempt to climb Wentian Stairway in private, so they are well aware Wentian Stairway just how difficult it is.
Let alone climbing the Wentian Stairway, legend has it that in the past five hundred years, only one disciple has ever set foot on more than ninety steps.
That disciple is now a renowned top expert throughout the entire Pan Emperor Continent.
"Sixty steps."
Qi Xiaolei stared intently at the thinly dressed, determined young man above her, her eyes filled with a strange excitement.
Mystic Spirit Grotto-Heaven, beneath the stone mountain.
Mingye and Chen Duo hid in a narrow crevice between rocks. Both of them had bloodstains on them, some from others and some from themselves.
boom...!!
A sharp sword beam slashed down on the stone mountain, blasting a hole three or four meters deep into it.
" Mingye, Chen Duo, I know you're inside."
My patience is finite. If you don't surrender now, don't blame me for killing you!
On the rocky mountain, a young man holding a long sword, exuding a fierce aura, shouted in a deep voice.
The young man was Ye Gudan, the chief disciple of the cabinet, ranked eleventh on the Earth Ranking.
On either side of Ye Gudan stood a man and a woman. The man was Hu Peng, and the woman was Lin Siyu, another senior female disciple of the Heaven-Questioning Pavilion.
"Boss Ye, stop wasting your breath on them."
The elders have always taught us that those Non-Self of our kind are sure to have different hearts!
"And Chen Duo, who wholeheartedly protected that Nether Clan, deserves to die."
Hu Peng's eyes were fierce, his body was covered in bloodstains, and there was a shocking hole in his back, clearly indicating that he had just suffered a loss at the hands of Mingye and Chen Duo.
Ye Gudan and Lin Siyu exchanged a glance and nodded.
"Do it!"
The three of them leaped up simultaneously, emanating a powerful Spiritual Power aura.
Sword beams, lightning bolts, and wind blades—three powerful forces—simultaneously bombarded the stone mountain from different angles, causing it to shake violently.
Boom boom boom, as the attacks became more and more intense, rocks began to fall from the edge of the rocky mountain, and the two sides of the crevice where Chen Duo and Mingye were located began to squeeze towards them.
Seeing that there was no way to hide, Mingye had no choice but to use teleportation to rush out of the stone mountain with Chen Duo.
"Here!"
Lin Siyu was the first to spot Mingye and his companion, and immediately summoned a large number of wind blades, which swept towards them.
Ding! Ding! Ding!
Mingye used his dagger to disperse the wind blades, but his steps were unsteady and his breath was weak, making it extremely difficult for him to resist.
Bang bang...!
Chen Duo held the Rune Gun No. 3 and, as if it were free, unleashed the rune bullets Chen Mu had given her.
Hu Peng had just been injured by rune bullets, so Lin Siyu naturally recognized their power. She fought back with all her might, dodging some of the rune bullets and shooting down the rest.
" Brahma Great Luo Barrier!"
Suddenly, a huge golden light shield descended from the sky, enveloping Chen Duo and Mingye.
"Not good!"
Mingye flashed and crashed into the golden light barrier, producing a loud bang.
"Hmph, let's see how you escape this time!"
Before Mingye could react, a fist crackling with electricity slammed into her back. The violent lightning power broke through her body's defenses and attacked her internal organs.
She swayed, finally unable to hold on any longer, and fell to the ground with a thud.
The battle here was moving too fast. Chen Duo was firing at Lin Siyu from below, reacted and was just about to turn her gun around when a long sword was already pressed against her neck.
"Put down your weapons! Or die."
Cabinet; suspended landmass.
Thump! Crack! Crack!
The once peaceful and serene edge of the landmass, filled with the sounds of birdsong and fragrant flowers, was suddenly transformed by a dramatic change in weather, accompanied by the sound of thunder.
The cabinet disciples and elders who were resting inside came out of the house, looked around, and wondered what had happened.
"Everyone, look over there!"
One of the disciples, with sharp eyes, spotted a blurry figure in the clouds at the edge of the landmass.
Tap... tap... tap!
As heavy footsteps echoed, the swirling clouds at the edge of the landmass slowly parted, and a tenacious figure emerged from the middle.
"It's the Wentian Stairway! Someone is attempting to Wentian Stairway!"
An elder realized what was happening and blurted it out.
Boom!
In the void, a terrifying bolt of lightning struck down, hitting the figure.
Tap tap... Pfft!
A shield made of yellowish-brown mud was raised high with one hand by a figure, blocking all the attacks in the air.
"I recognize him. He's Chen Mu, ranked 486th on the ' Hidden Dragon Ranking '."
As Chen Mu drew closer, some of the inner cabinet disciples recognized him.
Because of age restrictions, the vast majority of the inner cabinet disciples are no longer eligible to be included in the " Hidden Dragon Ranking ".
However, this does not mean that they do not value the Hidden Dragon Ranking. Historically, almost everyone who entered the Hidden Dragon Ranking became a hero in their own right. In many cases, it is even more valuable than the Earth Ranking.
As the saying goes, heroes emerge from among the young. The period before the age of 20 is generally considered the golden period for laying a foundation in the cultivation world. If one can stand out during this stage and be listed on the " Hidden Dragon Ranking ", it often represents enormous potential for the future.
While cultivators on the Earth Ranking are powerful, many are stuck at a bottleneck and unable to break through. In terms of future potential, the Hidden Dragon Ranking is undoubtedly superior.