Chapter 70

In the midst of the misty scene at Jingyang Ridge, Fang Ling was almost slumped inside the map.

The series of attacks just now had almost drained all his energy.

As he breathed lightly, a sense of fear crept into Fang Ling's heart.

It was this battle that made him clearly feel the gap between himself and a Foundation Establishment cultivator.

The Western Suburb Dust Map and the Jingyang Ridge Dust Map were his greatest supports, but in front of this Qu Laoer, the space within the Dust Map was directly opened.

Fortunately, he had hidden the Golden Knife Array in time and relied on some strategies to defeat Qu Laoer to the death; otherwise, he would not have escaped this time.

"Ao!"

A fierce howl from a green wolf startled Fang Ling out of his thoughts. He looked at the gathered army of beasts and, after a moment's contemplation, stored them in the Western Suburb Dust Map.

A small black banner, a walnut-sized bead, a two-colored jade ruyi, and a small cosmos bag were all that Qu Laoer left behind.

Fang Ling reached out and took the small black banner in his hand. He had seen its power clearly; it was this banner that directly dug out Xu Lei's heart.

The small banner felt icy to the touch, and on the black banner, tiny white dots formed into a horned demon.

The demon was only fist-sized, but the moment Fang Ling's gaze fell upon it, he felt a shiver in his heart.

Fang Ling wanted to take a closer look, but before his gaze could delve deeper, a cold and sinister aura rushed into his heart.

This cold aura was like a knife, almost making him shiver.

Fang Ling quickly withdrew his mind from the black banner. He knew very well that his mind and body were already severely drained, and forcing a breakthrough with the black banner would not be beneficial to him.

He stored the banner, the bone bead, and the two-colored jade ruyi in the small cosmos bag and then opened Qu Laoer's small cosmos bag.

Qu Laoer did not disappoint Fang Ling. The space in the small cosmos bag was twice as large as Fang Ling's, and in the center, over a thousand medium-grade spirit stones were neatly arranged.

Medium-grade spirit stones were much more valuable than low-grade ones, and for Qu Laoer to have so many, it was a great gift to Fang Ling.

*The Record of Ten Thousand Ghosts*

A black jade slip recorded the cultivation technique Qu Laoer practiced. However, there was a lot of content, and Fang Ling did not have time to study it.

Compared to Qu Laoer's items, what caught Fang Ling's interest even more were the dozen or so small cosmos bags of varying sizes in Qu Laoer's small cosmos bag.

Fang Ling knew at a glance that these small cosmos bags were obtained by Qu Laoer from the cultivators he had slain. As he opened each one, a smile appeared on his face.

Although the items in these small cosmos bags could not compare to those in Qu Laoer's, there was one important point: most of the items could be used by Fang Ling.

For example, there were over a thousand low-grade talismans and the highest-grade recovery pills for the Qi Condensation stage, the Bai Ling Pills.

Fang Ling grabbed a Bai Ling Pill and swallowed it, then slowly began to practice his cultivation technique.

The Heavenly Ascension Stairs, with 999 steps.

Climbing these stairs meant becoming a disciple of the sect. For many, it was a step to heaven.

When Fang Ling arrived at the Heavenly Ascension Stairs, it was neither too early nor too late.

Some people were already waiting there, and others were still emerging from the Life and Death Path.

However, when he emerged from the Life and Death Path, all eyes were fixed on him.

Among them were Zhu Qingying and the woman with the Ice Water Body.

The three women's eyes were filled with nothing but surprise!

Apart from his slightly pale face, Fang Ling's clothes were also somewhat disheveled.

This dishevelment was not intentional but a result of his experiences in the Life and Death Path.

After slaying Qu Laoer, Fang Ling thought there would be nothing left to stop him in the Life and Death Path, but he soon realized he had been too naive.

Walking through the Life and Death Path, Fang Ling encountered no fewer than ten dangers, and once, two bolts of lightning almost struck him simultaneously.

If it weren't for the dozens of protective talismans on Qu Laoer's body that helped him ward off some attacks, Fang Ling had no doubt he would have fallen in the Life and Death Path.

Life and death in the Life and Death Path!

This life and death not only depended on strength but also on luck.

Fang Ling did not have the time to deal with the surprised gazes. He sat down in a corner and slowly began to meditate.

"Sister, he actually came out alive?" The twin girl with a gentle expression said, her voice filled with disbelief.

The cold-faced girl responded coolly, "If he came out alive, then the others..."

The platform below the Heavenly Ascension Stairs was much smaller than the one below the Life and Death Path, but it was much more spacious at this moment.

Including Fang Ling, there were only seven people on the platform.

Among them, the Zhu family had three women and one man, and the other two were independent cultivators.

Although the cold-faced girl's voice was not loud, it reached everyone's ears. For a moment, all eyes turned toward the center of the Life and Death Path.

The Life and Death Path was silent, with no sound at all.

Time passed slowly, and after a quarter of an hour, footsteps finally came from the Life and Death Path.

However, these footsteps did not come from the center path but from the eighth path.

This time, a young man in tattered clothes emerged, his hair half-burned, but his face was filled with joy!

"Ha ha ha, I made it! I finally made it through the Life and Death Path!" The man looked at the platform and laughed to the sky, appearing a bit mad.

Fortunately, the man's mind was also strong, and after a brief outburst, he returned to normal. He walked over to Fang Ling and the others, about to sit down, when he saw Fang Ling's eyes slowly opening.

"Fang brother?" Cheng Lin called out, a bit disbelieving.

In Cheng Lin's eyes, Fang Ling was already a dead man. He had climbed the center path alone and issued a challenge to those who harbored greedy intentions toward him.

Almost half of the people had chosen the center path, and these people were likely the strongest participants in the Immortal Ascension Path selection.

For example, the Xu family, the Zuo family...

He never expected that the first person he would see after emerging from the Life and Death Path would be Fang Ling!

Fang Ling looked at Cheng Lin's disbelieving gaze and felt a slight sense of pride. He said calmly, "Cheng brother also made it through the Life and Death Path, truly fortunate."

"What about the others?"

Cheng Lin's face showed a hint of sorrow. He said softly, "We chose the path with the fewest people, but the dangers inside were beyond our expectations. Brother Lu, who had the strongest cultivation among us, died in a hallucination array after walking less than a tenth of the path."

"The other companions... also fell one after another."

Fang Ling had not interacted much with these companions, but hearing of their deaths, he could not help but feel a sense of melancholy.

Although they had abandoned him, Fang Ling did not hate them. After all, they did so to preserve their own lives.

The heavens are ruthless; who does not cherish their own life?

So Fang Ling did not resent them, but only sighed.

"The Heavenly Ascension Stairs are about to begin. Rest a bit and prepare to climb the stairs!" After suppressing the last bit of unusual emotion in his heart, Fang Ling said calmly.

Cheng Lin nodded silently and sat down next to Fang Ling.

He wanted to practice, but his mind was filled with one thought: if they had followed Fang Ling closely at the beginning, would more of them have survived?

But there is no "what if" in this world.

The Heavenly Ascension Stairs were a yard wide and separated by a thin barrier.

As time passed, the barrier became thinner and more transparent.

When another person emerged from the Life and Death Path, the barrier on the Heavenly Ascension Stairs collapsed.

The collapse of the barrier marked the beginning of the third segment of the Immortal Ascension Path, the Heavenly Ascension Stairs, and the end of the Life and Death Path.

Those who did not reach the Heavenly Ascension Stairs would never have the chance to stand before them.

Before the Heavenly Ascension Stairs, Fang Ling and eight others stood.

However, the others began to keep their distance from Fang Ling, or rather, they felt fear toward him.

Although they did not take the center path, they knew that most of those who passed through the Immortal Ascension Path had taken it.

Now, those people were gone, and only Fang Ling had emerged from the entire Life and Death Path.

Although they did not know what had happened, they could guess.

Although they believed to some extent that Fang Ling had obtained the Golden Core True Person's treasure, no one dared to have any ideas about Fang Ling anymore.

"Fang brother, please go first." The Zhu family's woman with the Water Body, after a brief moment of contemplation, smiled and said to Fang Ling.

Cheng Lin, following behind Fang Ling, felt another tremor in his heart upon hearing this somewhat submissive tone. As an independent cultivator from the Lu Kingdom, he had long heard of the tyranny of the three major families.

Now, the Zhu family's people showing such courtesy to Fang Ling undoubtedly meant they were already afraid of his strength.

It was fear!

This thought made him feel a bit amused, but he soon understood. The elites sent by the other two major families had been annihilated, and the most likely cause was Fang Ling.

Facing Fang Ling, how could the Zhu family not show respect?

Fang Ling nodded and stepped onto the first step of the Heavenly Ascension Stairs.

The steps were not high, and climbing them was casual, but this was just the beginning.

Those who could break through to the seventh layer of Qi Condensation before the age of twenty generally had good root bones, so the initial steps were no different from ordinary stairs for them.

One step, two steps, three steps...

Fang Ling stepped forward with a smile, and in a quarter of an hour, he had already climbed over two hundred steps.

At this moment, he felt his body become heavy!

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