Chapter 126 : Heavenly Ladder

Chapter 126: Heavenly Ladder

The Heavenly Ladder, as an assessment that almost every major sect possessed, was renowned even among the common folk of the mortal world.

That was because, unlike the other examinations, testing one’s spiritual roots only required reaching out to touch a stone and was finished in the blink of an eye—the onlookers below could at most join in the cheering.

The Illusion Trial was completely invisible to outsiders; no one could see what was unfolding inside.

As for the comprehension test, it was even more boring—a group of people simply sitting there in a daze.

Only the Heavenly Ladder allowed everyone to watch the spectacle.

It had the strongest visual appeal.

Nearly a thousand people climbing a seemingly endless long stairway together—the scene was nothing short of magnificent, like a grand collective performance.

Each sect’s Heavenly Ladder differed somewhat.

Some were pure Illusion Realms created by Nascent Soul True Lords; others were real stone stairways that led straight to the mountain summit.

But the content and process were basically the same.

In simple terms: the higher one climbed, the harder it became—and the better the result.

The Heavenly Ladder of the Nine-Xia Heavenly Sect was neither an ordinary stone staircase nor a makeshift illusion.

Instead, it had been crafted by great powers of the sect, who combined the spiritual energy of the earth veins with the intricate and mysterious patterns carved into the plaza floor, forming a special formation.

As the three elders formed hand seals and chanted incantations, a flawless staircase, white as jade, slowly emerged from the formation patterns at the center of the plaza.

It then began to grow and stack upward on its own, surging directly toward the space between the two semicircular jade mountain gates.

The crowd at the edges of the field—whether those who had come to seek discipleship or those merely watching for excitement—burst into exclamations.

The scene was simply too shocking.

The Heavenly Ladder had over a thousand steps, reaching all the way to the massive mountain gate hidden within the clouds.

Mortal eyesight could not glimpse its end; it truly seemed capable of leading to the heavens.

Under the sunlight, the surface of the staircase shimmered with flowing radiance, appearing sacred and imposing.

“So amazing! This is the Heavenly Ladder! Does it really have a thousand steps?”

Xiao Ying stared wide-eyed, exclaiming nonstop.

Not just her—even Long Tao and the two senior siblings felt their hearts surge with emotion.

After all, this scene only appeared once every three years.

Even those who had participated before would still be shaken upon seeing it again.

“Yes. I’ve heard it’s exactly one thousand steps,” Long Tao explained.

“But I’ve never heard of anyone finishing it. At least in recent years, the best result was Junior Brother Nan—three years ago… he climbed to over nine hundred steps, right?”

Hearing this sudden praise, Nan Yuchen scratched the back of his head awkwardly.

Before he could speak, Zhu Huaisu answered for him.

“Nine hundred and six steps. Yuchen ranked fourth in the past fifty years. Senior Brother Fang reached nine hundred and twenty-four back then. By the way, I reached eight hundred.”

Seeing the astonished look on Long Tao’s face, Zhu Huaisu felt quite satisfied.

Though she could not compare to those monsters who surpassed nine hundred steps, eight hundred was already enough to be called a prodigy.

Otherwise, how could she have been accepted as a Personal Disciple by her master? Did they really think she had entered through a backdoor because of her status as a Princess?

She then turned to Long Tao with a mischievous grin.

“Hey! What about you? What was your result back then?”

“Uh… six hundred sixty-six steps…”

When Long Tao announced that number, aside from Xiao Ying—who did not quite understand and only thought the number was coincidentally neat—the other two both showed surprise.

“You’re not lying, right? You… reached that high?”

Hearing that her Young Master’s result was actually decent, Xiao Ying quickly asked Nan Yuchen,

“Martial Uncle Nan, is over six hundred steps impressive?”

“Yes, it’s quite good. The Heavenly Ladder has several dividing lines. Before three hundred steps, it’s not difficult—most people can pass. But after three hundred, the first group begins to fall behind. Then comes five hundred steps—more than half can’t reach that point. And beyond six hundred, every single step becomes extremely difficult. For Senior Brother Long to reach six hundred sixty-six steps is truly impressive—at least stronger than seventy percent of people.”

“Hehe, actually I could’ve gone a few more steps. But I thought 666 was an auspicious number, so I stopped there.”

“Hmph! It must have been that halfway-giving-up mindset of yours that the elders sensed—that’s why you could only become a Menial Disciple.”

“With my spiritual roots and comprehension, even another hundred steps would still leave me fated to be a Menial Disciple…” Long Tao shrugged helplessly.

Suddenly his eyes lit up as he reminded them, “Look—it's starting!”

As the bell announcing the beginning of the trial rang out, nearly a thousand participants stepped onto this path to the heavens, each carrying different emotions.

The first three hundred steps bore no pressure at all.

They were simply ordinary stairs, and everyone maintained a light pace.

Some who had martial arts foundations even dashed forward using movement techniques, hoping to stand out before the sect’s upper echelon.

But once the first group crossed three hundred steps, the situation gradually changed.

From that point on, the originally harmonious spiritual energy of the Heavenly Ladder, through its formation, began transforming into spiritual pressure.

For those climbing above, aside from the steadily increasing oppressive force, the air itself seemed to grow viscous.

Every lift of the leg required extra effort.

Many who had appeared relaxed began sweating, their breathing turning heavy.

The dense formation of climbers slowly stretched out, and dropouts began to appear.

They collapsed onto the steps, gasping, gazing upward with unwilling expressions.

Long Tao anxiously searched for his younger sister.

He quickly spotted the little girl, who was following behind the main group at an unhurried pace with her newly made friend.

Since they had not yet passed three hundred steps, her condition was still acceptable.

But after climbing so many layers without much prior training, she was already panting heavily.

“Young Master, I noticed some people clearly cultivated in advance,” Xiao Ying said as she leaned over the side of the Cloud Vessel, suddenly thinking of something.

“They’re using spiritual power to resist the spiritual pressure. Isn’t that unfair to those who haven’t even entered the sect yet?”

“No need to worry. If someone uses spiritual power to resist, the formation on the Heavenly Ladder will increase the spiritual pressure specifically on that person. It absolutely ensures fairness.”

“Oh! I see. Then Miss… uh… Miss seems like she doesn’t want to climb anymore.”

Since the Heavenly Ladder itself hovered in midair, those aboard the Cloud Vessel actually had a clearer view.

Xiao Ying could now see her Miss looking completely unmotivated, while her friend in luxurious robes pulled her upward.

Spoiled since childhood.

Long Tao’s only hope for this sister of his was that she could at least pass three hundred steps—so it wouldn’t be too embarrassing.

As for the one he truly paid attention to, it was still that Man in Black, Ye Jingchen.

The fellow appeared calm for now, maintaining a steady position in the middle of the main group—clearly planning to exert strength later.

As the leading group reached five hundred steps, the atmosphere gradually rose to a climax.

From this point onward, not only did the spiritual pressure continue to intensify, but a phenomenon known as “Heart-Erosion” also began to appear.

The formation of the Heavenly Ladder would begin to draw out and amplify the climbers’ negative emotions—fear, fatigue, doubt, hesitation.

As they approached six hundred steps, these negative emotions would transform into whispers by their ears, constantly tempting them to give up.

Long Tao remembered that when he climbed, he had kept hearing the voice of a gentle young lady telling him to give up—why struggle so much? By the time he reached six hundred sixty-six steps, he had thought that since he had no strength left anyway, he might as well stop at that auspicious number.

It was indeed a sign of insufficient willpower.

He was therefore quite curious how Nan Yuchen, who climbed beyond nine hundred steps, had persevered.

Perhaps he would ask him someday when he was in the mood.

At this moment, the speed of the leading group had completely slowed.

Many wore expressions of struggle, as if battling the hallucinated whispers at their ears, stopping and starting.

Yet the most outstanding among them maintained their rhythm, one after another crossing the six-hundred-step threshold.

By now, it could no longer be called a group.

The climbers were completely scattered.

The weakest batch—such as Long Tao’s precious sister—had not yet passed three hundred steps, while the fastest few had already gradually surpassed six hundred fifty.

To reach this point in such condition required not only exceptional physical strength and constitution, but also firm willpower and an intense yearning for the Immortal Path.

Some elders and Peak Masters had already begun whispering among themselves, their gazes fixed upon the figures at the very front.

Clearly… those who performed exceptionally had already entered their period of observation.