Chapter 735
At this point, the five of them could no longer advance . They all stopped as they had no choice but to adjust themselves first .
Here, their bodies, minds, souls, hearts, and wills were all enduring a harsh trial . This was the most ruthless moment .
After their fierce climb here, they had reached a limit . They had to take a breather, but at the same time, they had to endure the powerful pressure here and resist the encroachment of their negative emotions .
Long Chen took three deep breaths before directly stepping towards the 997th stair . Shui Guanzhi and the others’ expressions became ugly .
“This b.a.s.t.a.r.d!” They were infuriated . It was like Long Chen was intentionally opposing them . He refused to give them a moment’s rest .
If they allowed Long Chen to climb to the top before them, wouldn’t it signify that he was the strongest of them all?
Although they were furious, they also followed . However, the powerful pressure that descended upon them at the 997th stair caused their expressions to change .
“Cry of the Heavenly Daos!”
Shui Guanzhi, Zhao Wuji, Yue Qianshan, and Zhong Wuyan activated their Heavenly Dao manifestations at the same time . The pressure immediately lightened for them .
As for Long Chen, he vomited a mouthful of blood, his expression exceedingly ugly and furious .
“I refuse to believe I can’t get up!”
Long Chen was ruthless, and he forced his way up . Just like that, he forced his way onto the 997th stair .
But by the time he reached there, Shui Guanzhi and the others had already begun charging toward the 998th stair .
They were relying on their Cries of the Heavenly Daos for a spurt of energy, hoping to directly reach the end like this . But when they reached the 998th stair, they were forced back by a terrifying force .
Shui Guanzhi and the others were completely startled . They hadn’t expected the 998th stair’s difficulty to be several times that of the 997th stair . They didn’t manage to get up . Instead, the rebound force caused them to almost cough up blood .
“Water Waves Break the Heavens!” Shui Guanzhi suddenly was surrounded by water runes . They formed a channel in front of him that he directly charged through .
BOOM!
The entire Netherworld Heaven Staircase shook . Shui Guanzhi was the first to step onto the 998th stair .
However, people saw that the Heavenly Dao runes around him were constantly revolving and changing shape, as if they were currently being compressed by some invisible force .
“Good, Shui Guanzhi has done well . He’s the first to reach the 998th stair and has taken the lead,” laughed Shui Yuncong .
Suddenly, sword-light pierced forward . An ear-piercing sound rang out as Yue Qianshan took action . His aura completely erupted like a sword coming out of its sheath . He also stepped onto the 998th stair .
At the same time, Zhong Wuyan and Zhao Wuji took action as well . Zhao Wuji was covered in a layer of dirt-yellow light . It was like a set of armor, and with a single punch, it was like s.p.a.ce had exploded . He relied on that to get up .
As for Zhong Wuyan, a blood-mark appeared on her forehead, forming a rune . However, only the more erudite people knew that it was no rune, but an immortal character: Zhong . This was Zhong Wuyan’s ancestral mark .
There were many kinds of ancestral marks, and any Xiantian expert’s descendants would inherit some bloodline power .
However, Zhong Wuyan’s ancestor had been a terrifying King . The power of her ancestral mark was on a completely different level than Gu Yang’s .
The instant the ancestral mark appeared, the void trembled . It was like some mysterious energy was coming from her forehead, one that suppressed the spatial fluctuations . She also reached the 998th stair .
Now, the only one left was Long Chen . He was panting for breath on the 997th stair . This scene caused people’s expressions to become a bit odd .
“Hmph, a b.u.mpkin really is a b.u.mpkin . Now you should understand the difference,” sneered Shui Guanzhi from above .
The others looked at Long Chen . They didn’t say anything, but the contempt in their eyes was clear .
“Wait, something’s wrong . When Long Chen fought Shui Guanzhi, that huge rainbow ring was so powerful . Why isn’t he using it?” wondered some people .
This was a perplexing question . What was Long Chen thinking? He had clearly reached his limit, but he was still holding back his trump card .
“Hmph, even you people can be called heavenly geniuses? This Netherworld Heaven Staircase is clearly a test for the will, physical body, and soul . But what you are doing is basically cheating, and yet you can still sneer at others disdainfully? I really have to admire you; how did you manage to cultivate your face to such a thickness?
“Today, I’ll display what it means to be a true man and what att.i.tude a true cultivator should possess . Without any technique, I will rely just on myself to reach the 999th stair! I’ll let you idiots open your eyes to the world!” sneered Long Chen .
His voice contained a trace of anger . In truth, he was extremely angry . What he had just said were simply words of rage .
In truth, when they had summoned their Cries of the Heavenly Daos, Long Chen wouldn’t be so stupid as to still hold back . He had also begun to summon his divine ring .
But he had only just started and had yet to truly bring it out when the pressure on him suddenly increased by dozens of times . He had almost been crushed to death before he hastily stopped . Even so, he had still vomited blood .
Only now did Long Chen realize his divine ring was different from their Heavenly Dao manifestations . His divine ring was something that helped him absorb energy from the surroundings . As a result, the surrounding energy had been drawn toward him, energy that contained a powerful pressure had almost crushed him flat .
Long Chen now knew that he would probably be extremely miserable today . Now that Shui Guanzhi sneered at him, he had found a chance to counterattack, cursing them in such a melodramatic way without giving them any way to retort .
“You…! Fine, then let me see how you manage with no outside force!” raged Shui Guanzhi .
It had to be known that they had had to use their full strength with the Cry of the Heavenly Daos in order to reach the 998th stair . They refused to believe he could climb his way without any outside force . That would just be an idiot’s dream .
He was definitely just posturing . They couldn’t be bothered to say anything more to Long Chen, and they began to approach the 999th stair .
As they got closer, their expressions changed . They sensed endless pressure from the 999th stair, and that pressure contained a dense aura of death .
They sensed a mortal danger from that pressure . In other words, climbing to the 999th stair might kill them .
They had never dreamed that the 999th stair would actually pose a danger to their lives . If they messed up, they would lose their lives here .
“It’s definitely fake . How could they allow us to die here? I refuse to believe it . ” Zhao Wuji snorted and charged toward the 999th stair .
When he stepped onto the 999th stair, a translucent flying sword shot toward Zhao Wuji . He hastily blocked, but that flying sword tore through his defense and left a foot-long wound on his chest .
They were horrified . When it came to physical defense, Zhao Wuji was the strongest . The runes revolving around him were even stronger than his spiritual qi armor .
But he had been injured after just one attack . Then they, who did not specialize in defense, would be slashed in two, right?
“Hmph, let me try it . ”
Shui Guanzhi extended a hand . A water arrow shot toward the 999th stair, but he wrapped himself with endless runes first .
Another flying sword shot out, smas.h.i.+ng apart the water arrow and piercing through Shui Guanzhi’s water runes .
Shui Guanzhi was appalled . He hadn’t expected that his water runes would be pierced as easily as water in front of that flying sword . It hadn’t been able to resist at all .
“Skywater s.h.i.+eld!” He hastily formed three water s.h.i.+elds in front of him . But that sword continued to pierce through them .
Just as the sword was about to pierce his heart, it lost its energy and disappeared . Shui Guanzhi’s face was pale .
“The four of us should go from four different directions to see if we can scatter its power,” suggested Zhong Wuyan .
The others nodded and spread out . But when they attempted it again, the four of them all received counterattacks, and the power hadn’t weakened at all .
“We have to take a risk! Don’t hold back . Charge with your full strength, or it will be impossible!” said Zhong Wuyan .
The others hesitated but nodded . The 999th stair was too difficult, and there was no room for technique . They could only go all-out .
From their previous tests, they had found this barrier to be incomparably powerful . Without going all-out, they wouldn’t be able to pa.s.s it .
“Attack!”
The four of them began to s.h.i.+ne with runic light . Activating their strongest defense, they charged to the 999th stair .
BOOM!
The staircase trembled, and suddenly, thousands of flying swords shot out mercilessly at them .
Blood splashed . Countless swords pierced through their bodies, and they were sent flying back . All the Xuantian Dao Sect’s experts’ expressions changed .
“How could this be?!”