Three people found themselves before a portal of light.
This was a sight Chu Tian was all too familiar with. It was exactly like the teleportation portal opened by arcane talent mages in the Heavenly Dao world.
Light and shadow shifted, and within the portal, one could see what looked like layers of stairs.
"Entering this will take us to the second level?" Chu Tian asked.
Miao Zuo chuckled and said, "Entering here is the true beginning of the trial!"
Chu Tian and Wei Jin looked at each other, confusion clouding their faces.
"Let's go, you'll know once you're inside!"
As Miao Zuo spoke, he stepped through the portal first.
Chu Tian followed closely behind. Wei Jin hesitated, glanced back a few times, and finally stepped into the portal as well.
Their vision blurred, and Chu Tian and the others instantly appeared at the base of a towering platform.
Before them lay a colossal stone staircase.
The staircase was wide, each step a thousand zhang square, leading to the mountaintop and piercing the clouds, its end unseen.
"This is the true trial of the Sacred Spirit Realm… the Ascension Stairs!"
Miao Zuo's voice echoed in Chu Tian and Wei Jin's ears, "The Ascension Stairs exist in the passage of every Sacred Spirit Realm layer. Each set of Ascension Stairs has nine hundred and ninety-nine steps.
They are cast from some unknown material and inscribed with formations. This set of Ascension Stairs, from the first to the second layer, tempers the physical body!
Only those with strong physiques can reach the peak and enter the second layer of the Sacred Spirit Realm.
Even if you are not strong enough, ascending each step here will also improve your physical realm."
At this moment, looking up, the stairs were empty.
Three days had already passed, and everyone had cleared this first hurdle and proceeded to higher levels.
"Let's go up too!" Chu Tian said, taking a step towards the stairs.
"Xiao Hei..." Wei Jin started to speak.
"Don't worry, Xiao Hei has probably already gone up!" Chu Tian pointed.
Wei Jin followed his gaze. Not far away, on a stone, was a scorched imprint.
Wei Jin walked over and touched it. The imprint, shaped as if made by a hoof, crackled with sparks of electricity and vapor.
"It's Xiao Hei's. It contains the attributes of wind, fire, water, and electricity!"
Wei Jin's eyes lit up. It seemed the Mo Qilin had indeed gone ahead.
Chu Tian smiled, "I told you it's smarter than you and has great luck. It probably landed right near here, otherwise it couldn't have gotten here so quickly."
Wei Jin scratched his head and nodded.
*Hum...*
Chu Tian looked up, thinking to himself, *The name 'Ascension Stairs' isn't great.*
On Blue Star's Dragon Country, the words 'ascension' or 'heaven' could also mean death.
Shaking his head, he stepped onto the first step.
He felt as if he were walking through water; only a fraction of his strength could be unleashed!
The oppressive pressure of gravity squeezed him from all directions.
Wei Jin and Miao Zuo were in the same situation.
Despite this, Chu Tian stepped directly onto the second step.
As he did, the pressure increased slightly.
However, it didn't have a significant impact.
"Keeping up... Hah..." Chu Tian roared.
Bending his knees, he propelled himself upward with a powerful stride.
From the second step, he leaped to the fifth.
The pressure increased significantly, but it didn't impede his movement.
With a few more steps, he had already ascended over a dozen steps.
Miao Zuo and Wei Jin stared up with their mouths agape, watching Chu Tian's not-so-broad back.
He was still accelerating, continuously冲刺ing upwards.
The two exchanged glances, seeing shock in each other's eyes.
From the moment they had stepped onto the stairs, they had sensed their peculiarity.
There were nine hundred and ninety-nine steps, and if the pressure increased with each step, climbing to the summit wouldn't be a problem.
But… who climbed like that?
Chu Tian's actions, at this moment, ignited the fighting spirit within Wei Jin and Miao Zuo.
Although Miao Zuo was a talisman cultivator, his physique was also not weak.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have only gotten a bump when Chu Tian swung his first strike at his head.
At that time, Chu Tian had even marveled at how tough the kid was.
He had to remember that Chu Tian had been startled by Miao Zuo's sudden appearance.
He had unleashed his full power in that first strike, not intending to let him live.
As for Wei Jin, he had grown up in the military barracks.
Tempering his physique was a daily routine.
After exchanging glances, both saw a flame in the other's eyes.
"Hah..."
"Ha..."
Two roars echoed, and the two moved, following Chu Tian's example and rushing up the steps.
At this point, Chu Tian had already reached the mid-section of the Ascension Stairs.
Only a faint sheen of sweat trickled from his brow.
By now, the pressure was at least five times greater than on the first step.
If this trend continued, reaching the top would mean a tenfold increase in pressure.
Chu Tian glanced back down.
Wei Jin and Miao Zuo, without any particular order, had also reached about the hundredth step.
However, they were no longer leaping several steps at a time as before.
Their pace had slowed to one step at a time.
Chu Tian smiled slightly and waved at them. He didn't wait for them and continued his rapid ascent.
Wei Jin and Miao Zuo were breathing heavily. They looked at each other, their expressions showing helplessness.
Chu Tian… was simply too monstrous!
Unaware of their thoughts, Chu Tian continued to increase his speed. He wanted to test his limits without activating any transformations.
These Ascension Stairs were strange; once one stepped onto them, all skills and attacks, except for physical strength, were rendered unusable.
It was as if stepping onto them was like entering a game's safe zone.
Five minutes later, Chu Tian stepped onto the final layer of the stairs.
Here lay a vast platform.
*Boom...*
"Holy shit..."
Chu Tian stumbled, nearly being thrown off.
The pressure on the platform was far from the tenfold increase he had anticipated.
It was at least thirty times the oppressive force.
Beneath his feet, Chu Tian saw many mottled bloodstains.
Clearly, many people had been caught off guard by the sudden pressure upon arrival and had been injured here.
"Damn it… who designed these Ascension Stairs? They're a total son of a bitch!" Chu Tian exclaimed.
*Boom... Crackle...*
As soon as he finished speaking, a bolt of lightning descended from the sky.
Chu Tian blinked, thinking he was under surprise attack. He tried to move to dodge, but the thirty-fold pressure greatly hampered his speed.
The lightning struck precisely on his forehead.
A sharp sting and a numbing sensation spread through every cell of his body.
The lightning seemed to transform into tiny steel needles, piercing every nerve ending.
[Ding... System Prompt: Detected protagonist undergoing the baptism of punishment lightning. Lightning attribute resistance increased by 1%!]
"Holy crap..."
Upon seeing the system prompt, he couldn't help but curse.
Increasing attribute resistance was good, but what the hell was this "punishment lightning"? It hurt so much!
Never mind… Since the system gave a reward, I'll forgive you!
He knew it was likely because he had just insulted the designer of the Ascension Stairs that this so-called punishment lightning had descended.
After trembling for a while, Chu Tian finally recovered.
He then noticed that the ground not only had many bloodstains but also many burnt marks.
Curiously, he walked over and squatted down to examine them.
He gently picked up a piece with his fingers and brought it to his nose to smell!
A smell of burnt roast meat, and a pungent… burnt chicken feather scent!
"Holy hell..."
Chu Tian shuddered and threw the black piece away.
These piles of carbonized material were actually the remnants of bodies incinerated by high temperatures.
It seemed… someone, just like him, had spoken ill of the designer!
And ultimately… had been struck dead by lightning!