After some investigation, the three discovered that they could not ride the wind in this area. They had no choice but to follow the only mountain path before them and begin climbing upward.
Zi He had entered ahead of them, but after observing carefully, Yang Lingrui found no traces of anyone else having passed through this place. He guessed that there was more than one path leading to the summit, and Zi He had likely been teleported to another location at the foot of the mountain.
If they moved quickly, perhaps they could still meet at the summit.
But after walking some distance along the mountain path, the three quickly noticed something strange.
Just now, they had basically stepped onto this path side by side. Yang Lingrui had only been half a step ahead of Ban Kuizhen and Xue Qingluan, yet now, though their pace was clearly equally fast, the distance between the three had unknowingly widened.
Yang Lingrui was at the very front. Xue Qingluan was five steps behind him, while Ban Kuizhen trailed Xue Qingluan by another eight steps.
"What is going on?"
Confusion filled Yang Lingrui's eyes. He then stopped and allowed Xue Qingluan and Ban Kuizhen to continue climbing.
With that look, he discovered the hidden mystery.
The mountain path leading to the summit seemed to contain a special Dao principle, causing clear differences to arise as different cultivators climbed it.
For example, for the two behind him, Xue Qingluan could take three steps, but when she took the fourth, an extra step would bizarrely appear beneath her feet, slowing her ascent.
This phenomenon was even more obvious with Ban Kuizhen. Almost every time he took two steps, another step would appear beneath his feet. Sometimes, two would appear at once, leaving him walking in place.