The four continued onward, soon arriving before a grand hall. Long Gongzi and his companions' tracks vanished here.
"They should be here. Should we go in?"
Hu Xuelan looked at the magnificent hall before them and asked.
"We've come this far. How can we not go in? Besides, if we don't go in, how will we get out?"
Su Fan said softly.
They hadn't even found an exit yet. Were they supposed to wait here for the New Year?
"Xiao Lan, sense it. Is there any danger inside?"
Su Fan asked Xiao Lan.
Xiao Lan closed her eyes and felt carefully, then shook her head.
"No danger."
The three were immediately relieved. They couldn't afford to be careless now that they had come this far.
"I'll go in first."
Su Fan led by example, walking into the hall.
The hall door was ajar. Su Fan gently pushed it, opening a gap just wide enough for one person to pass through, and stepped inside.
Upon entering the hall, it resembled a lecture or teaching space. There was a main seat at the front, with stone platforms below.
The stone platforms had slight depressions, as if worn down by friction over time, likely from people meditating for extended periods.
However, there was no sign of Long Gongzi and his group in the hall.
"Where are they?"
Su Fan said, puzzled.
"Perhaps they're elsewhere. Maybe there are other rooms," Hu Xuelan suggested.
The group searched the hall but found nothing.
"Su Fan, there's a door here," Su Bei announced a new discovery.
Su Bei was practically a human detector; he always found the new clues.
Behind the main seat, there was indeed a door leading to the back of the hall.
Beyond the hall was a staircase leading up the mountain. The stairs seemed to stretch endlessly, as if meeting the sky.
"This!"
Everyone was astonished.
It was truly magical!
A mountain this tall, in reality, could probably only be matched by the Himalayas. And who built such a high staircase? It was incredible!
"Are those figures them?" Su Bei pointed to several figures on the staircase.
There were indeed several figures standing on the stairs, but they were too far away to see clearly, making it impossible to confirm if they were Long Gongzi's party.
"Likely them. Let's follow!"
Su Fan stepped onto the stairs without hesitation.
The moment Su Fan stepped onto the stairs, he felt a strange sensation, as if something was pressing down on him, causing his body to feel slightly heavier. However, it wasn't significant.
Was he mistaken?
Su Fan was a little confused but didn't pay it much mind.
The others also ascended the stairs, climbing the mountain whose peak was lost to sight.
"I can't anymore, I'm so tired!"
After climbing over a hundred steps, Xiao Lan could no longer bear it and cried out in exhaustion.
Su Fan was puzzled. He did feel a bit tired too, but not to the point of being unable to continue. They hadn't gone far. Although Xiao Lan's strength wasn't high, she was still a Dongming realm martial artist. How could she be so tired after climbing a flight of stairs?
"How about you rest for a while? We'll go up ahead," Su Fan suggested.
Xiao Lan nodded; she truly couldn't climb anymore.
Su Fan reluctantly continued climbing. After another hundred steps, it was Su Bei's turn to complain of fatigue.
Su Bei was panting.
"I can't either. You guys go ahead."
Su Bei was so tired he was sweating.
Su Fan also felt tired, experiencing a sense of weariness. Hu Xuelan felt the same.
"Something's not right!"
Su Fan suddenly realized that the situation was indeed strange. Xiao Lan's inability to continue was one thing.
But Su Bei was a genuine peak Dongming realm martial artist. To be exhausted after only two hundred steps?
There must be something wrong with these stairs!
Su Fan looked up at Long Gongzi and his group.
They were closer now, and he could see them a bit more clearly.
The people above weren't standing still; they were moving very slowly, taking each step with immense difficulty.
It seemed the stairs were definitely the problem.
"These stairs are strange. It feels like each step upwards makes our bodies heavier, but the increase is so small that we don't notice it."
Su Fan quickly identified the issue.
"Then what do we do?"
Hu Xuelan asked, frowning.
Su Fan glanced at Long Gongzi and the others above.
"They have no other way. It seems we can only push through the pressure and keep going. There's no shortcut," Su Fan said grimly.
If Long Gongzi, who likely knew some information, couldn't find a shortcut, then they certainly wouldn't be able to.
"Su Bei, you rest here for now. We'll continue upwards." Su Fan speculated that this might be a trial for inheritance, testing their qualification to receive it.
Hu Xuelan nodded, and together with Su Fan, they continued to climb. Step by step, the higher they went, the more fatigued and heavy they felt, as if their legs could barely lift.
Before long, Su Fan and Hu Xuelan caught up to one of the people above.
Su Fan didn't recognize this person; their strength wasn't particularly outstanding among Long Gongzi's group.
Seeing Su Fan and Hu Xuelan, the person was startled, a cold glint flashing in their eyes.
Long Gongzi had previously ordered that if they encountered Su Fan and his group, they were to be killed on sight.
Su Fan smiled at the person.
"Tired?"
Su Fan greeted them as if they were old acquaintances.
The person was taken aback and instinctively replied.
"Tired."
"If you're tired, just stay and rest. Don't overthink things, and don't lose your life."
Su Fan said, then strode upwards, surpassing the person by several steps.
The other person was still struggling with the stairs before them.
Watching Su Fan ascend so easily, they were stunned. So strong!
Su Fan stood up straight, his back to the other person, gasping for breath.
Putting on a show was so exhausting!
Hu Xuelan was also nearing her limit by this point, feeling incredibly heavy, as if she had reached her physical limit.
"I say, can't your gravity ability reduce the gravity?" Su Fan remembered Hu Xuelan's ability. If she could reduce gravity, they wouldn't have to struggle so much.
But he was disappointed.
Hu Xuelan shook her head. If she could reduce gravity, she would have used her ability to cheat long ago. Why would she wait until now?
Then it's over.
Su Fan estimated he could only last another hundred steps before reaching his limit.
And there were still several people above them. Long Gongzi was the furthest, charging ahead, followed by Li Jun, then Wu Yun, and Jiu Di was also close behind. The rest hadn't even reached the first hundred steps.
Su Fan looked down. He had climbed nearly four hundred steps. This meant Long Gongzi and the others had already ascended over five hundred steps.
Jiu Di, looking down from above, saw that Su Fan and Hu Xuelan had also climbed up. She signaled to the people below.
The people in front of Su Fan immediately nodded, abandoned their ascent, and stood side-by-side, blocking Su Fan's path.