The towering peak was as steep as the clouds.
The cone-shaped peak had countless bluestone stairs leading up to the foot of the mountain. Halfway up the mountain, there was a path to heaven winding up to the peak like a huge dragon.
On the peak, a huge golden coffin was tied up by four thick cold iron chains. The coffin didn't glow, but there was a light airflow and cyan clouds circling around it. It was extremely strange and mysterious.
On many paths at the foot of the mountain, groups of people were trying their best to climb up the stone stairs. Every now and then, someone would trigger the Inhibition Formation, causing a tiny purple thunderbolt to fall from the sky.
Sometimes, there would be spikes and earth spears coming from the stone stairs. Sometimes, there would be wind blades shooting out from both sides and flames spitting out. Many young ladies who wanted to climb up the stone stairs stopped at the sight.
After several attempts, most of the ladies had given up. They were afraid.
Treasures, wealth and Xuan Skills were important, but they would rather not have the treasures if they were electrocuted and their hair burned.
Only three of the stone stairs had people persisting. Du Ziling, Zi Lian, Yu Lingxu and Ye Yuhan all took out powerful armors for defense. One of them went ahead to explore the way while the others followed.
The Inhibition Formation was not too horrifying. Even without armors, they would only get hurt and fall down.
After putting on armors with powerful defensive abilities, the spikes, wind blades and flames could be ignored. Even the thunderbolts from the sky were a bit troublesome. The armors couldn't stand it either. Black smoke would come out from the electrocution and the skin would be burnt.
Three or four people had been replaced in the three teams. The armors were not destroyed, and the injured ones could be replaced.
Du Ziling, Ye Yuhan, Zi Lian and Yu Lingxu had absolute rallying power in the team. They could order people to go forward and clear the way for them.
Lu Li's team had it the easiest. By the time the three teams climbed up several hundred stone stairs, Lu Li and Ye Yuhan had already climbed more than 6000 stairs. There were nearly 10,000 stairs in total, and they were more than halfway up.
"Ah ~"
The pathfinder in front of Ye Yuhan was struck by thunderbolts again. He fell down and was caught by the others in the team.
Someone took off the armor, fed him some healing pellets and asked him to rest on the spot. Another person put on the armor and continued to explore the way.
There were more than 20 people in each of the four teams. Ye Yuhan and Du Ziling's teams lost some people in the maze, so there were more than a dozen of them.
Excluding those young ladies who did not dare to come up, there were still eleven or twelve of them.
The ordinary Young Masters in the various teams all had a clear understanding in their hearts. Their purpose for following up the mountain was to scout the way, to pave the way for the strongest one or two people in the team.
It was impossible for them to climb to the top of the mountain. This was only the Stairway to Heaven. There was still a winding mountain road above. It was definitely not easier to climb than the bottom.
Therefore, they had all decided to open a path for the strongest one or two people in the team. Once they obtained the treasure, even if they didn't share it with them, they would at least remember their kindness, right?
The most powerful ones in each team were actually the ones with the noblest statuses, such as Du Ziling, Ye Yuhan, Ye Longyu, Zi Lian, and Yu Lingxu.
He was either a descendant of the royal family or a descendant of a fifth-rank clan. If he could help them, there would naturally be benefits in the future.
"Faster!"
Seeing that Lu Li and Bai Qiuxue had climbed up more than 7000 stone stairs, Du Ziling urged angrily.
One of his subordinates, a young master, gritted his teeth and jumped up five stone stairs in one go. Surprisingly, he didn't trigger the prohibition spell. Du Ziling and the others quickly followed and jumped up.
"Sis, come on!"
Bai Xiashuang was being watched by Bai Rong and the others. Even though she didn't have the chance to climb up, she was still excited and kept shouting.
Bai Qiuxue was powerful. She was the most powerful one below the age of 20 at the Thousand-island Lake. She was even more powerful than Bai Gu and Bai Xiashuang. As long as she could get to the peak, all the treasures would be hers.
"Boom, boom, boom!"
More and more people were hit by the Inhibition Spells. As they climbed higher, there were fewer and fewer people in each team.
When the three teams were halfway up the stairs, Lu Li and Bai Qiuxue had climbed all the stairs and were standing on the mountainside.
"We are up!"
There was a buffer zone on the mountainside. It was a wide mountain path that circled around the mountainside.
Lu Li and Bai Qiuxue stood on the mountainside. Looking at the fist-sized figures at the foot of the mountain, they looked at each other and smiled.
"Let's go!"
Bai Qiuxue waved her hand. If they didn't cherish such a good chance, they would be ashamed to face the heavens.
Lu Li asked Little White to explore the way in the front. They ran towards the entrance of the winding mountain path.
There were no more Inhibition Spells on the mountain path. They easily reached the entrance of the winding mountain path.
This path was also made up of stone stairs. Nobody could tell how many there were.
Little White jumped up easily. It climbed up step by step without triggering any Inhibition Spells.
"No Inhibition Spells?"
Lu Li and Bai Qiuxue looked at each other in surprise. They stepped onto the first stone stair at the same time.
As soon as they stepped onto the stair, they felt something weighing them down. Bai Qiuxue shouted in surprise, "Gravitational Inhibition Spell!"
Lu Li felt a huge stone was pressing down on his shoulder. He put on a solemn expression. The gravitational force on this winding mountain path must not increase. Otherwise, it would be hard for him to climb to the peak.
Whatever he wanted …
When Lu Li stepped onto the second stone stair, the gravitational force increased again. Bai Qiuxue caught up with him. She looked awful as well. She turned to Lu Li and said, "Lu Li, this winding mountain path is not easy to climb. I think the gravitational force will be horrifying when we reach the peak."
It was not Lu Li's style to enter a mountain of treasure and return empty-handed!
He clenched his teeth and continued to climb up. He even sped up.
He was weaker than Du Ziling and the others. He had to speed up so that they wouldn't catch up with him.
Bai Qiuxue didn't say anything. She just kept up with Lu Li at a moderate speed.
Little White was running happily in the front as if it could not feel the gravitational force. It would look back at Lu Li after climbing up several stairs. Every now and then, it would bark to urge Lu Li to hurry up.
Lu Li walked steadily. The gravitational force would increase a little bit with every step he climbed up. Even though it was not much, after dozens of stairs, Lu Li felt like he was carrying a huge stone weighing more than 1,000 pounds on his shoulders.
This bit of gravitational force was nothing for Lu Li, not to mention Bai Qiuxue who was at the middle stage of the Soul Pond Realm. They climbed up quickly and steadily.
One hundred stairs, three hundred, eight hundred!
The gravitational force had exceeded more than 11,000 pounds. Lu Li finally slowed down. If he was not careful enough, he would fall. He had to slow down.
Bai Qiuxue was following him. She was still relaxed. There was no trace of sweat on her face. Lu Li, on the other hand, was sweating and strenuous.
"Lady Qiuxue, you go first. Don't worry about me."
Lu Li looked back to Bai Qiuxue. She smiled gently and said, "You didn't go on the stairs by yourself. How can I leave you behind now?
I won't do something so immoral. "
Lu Li stopped persuading her and kept on climbing. When they reached the 1500 stairs, the gravitational force had reached more than 13,000 pounds.
Lu Li was getting slower and slower. Bai Qiuxue was still moving with ease, but there was some sweat on her forehead.
"Faster, faster, faster!"
From below came a roar. Lu Li looked towards the intersection of the winding mountain road. He saw Du Ziling leading two people running towards the winding mountain road.
Lu Li thought about it and said, "Lady Qiuxue, don't worry about me. Go up by yourself. It is better for you to get the treasure than for Du Ziling."
"Of course, the treasure is good. But if you ruin your mind because of the treasure, then the loss outweighs the gain."
Bai Qiuxue was still smiling gently. She looked at the Mountain Elf and said, "The Soul Pond Realm cultivates the soul as well as the mind.
Without a mind that is as steady as a rock and won't be moved by external things, how can I go up to the sky?
Forgetting morality at the sight of profit and abandoning my teammates, that is not my mind. "