The imitation Ye Lingyuan frowned deeply.
Judging by the formation of Ye Lingyuan's breakthrough, his strength had undoubtedly increased significantly.
And after being replicated by the mirror, he could not be replicated a second time.
Therefore, he could no longer hold this stage.
As expected, Ye Lingyuan stood up and said coldly, "It's time to end this!"
"Soul Piercer - Spirit Sever!"
As Ye Lingyuan's icy voice rang out, a giant sword condensed from spiritual energy shot rapidly towards the imitation Ye Lingyuan.
The imitation Ye Lingyuan had already witnessed the power of this move before, but because he had replicated Ye Lingyuan's abilities, he had easily countered it.
However, now that Ye Lingyuan's strength had greatly increased, the spiritual energy sword also unleashed its power.
The imitation Ye Lingyuan watched as his own "Soul Piercer - Spirit Sever" was quickly dissolved by Ye Lingyuan's spiritual energy sword.
Then, he felt his body slowly dissipate.
Ye Lingyuan's vision blurred, and he returned to the nineteenth step.
...
Zi Linling was covered in blood, her skin continuously cracking.
With every step she took, a bloody footprint was left on the steps.
Zi Linling's consciousness was already blurry, and she was only supported by a single belief to continue climbing upwards.
At this moment, the eighty-first step was only five steps away from her.
But these five steps felt like an insurmountable chasm.
"I can do it!"
"I cannot lose!"
"I must live!"
"I must break through!"
...
Zi Linling used her hands and feet to climb another step.
Blood stained the seventy-seventh step, but she no longer felt pain.
"I am the Ghost Hand Poison Doctor!"
"There is nothing I cannot do!"
"Eighty-one steps, here I come!"
...
Zi Linling encouraged herself as she used her hands and feet to climb to the seventy-eighth step.
Seventy-ninth step!
Eightieth step!
Eighty-first step!
Zi Linling felt a loosening all over her body, and the force that had been crushing her like a meat patty disappeared.
She slowly opened her eyes, her blurry consciousness clearing slightly, and said with a smile, "I finally did it!"
Then, she closed her eyes and fainted.
The "Human Emperor's Medicinal Classic" slowly emerged from above her head and floated above her.
Streams of green light overflowed from the medicinal classic and flowed towards Zi Linling.
Zi Linling's wounds healed rapidly, forming scars at a visible speed, and then disappearing without a trace.
A strange fragrance spread across the Ascending Heaven Ladder, then entered Zi Linling's nostrils and slowly diffused throughout her body, causing her internal injuries to recover quickly.
After Zi Linling's internal and external injuries were completely healed, the "Human Emperor's Medicinal Classic" quickly shrank and returned to Zi Linling's body.
Zi Linling slowly opened her eyes and sat down cross-legged.
She sank her divine sense into her body and carefully observed the changes within.
Soon, she opened her eyes in surprise and murmured, "I didn't expect to turn misfortune into a blessing."
At this moment, her meridians were as thick as a thumb, densely packed with seven-colored spiritual energy, and the barrier of the mid-stage Qi Gathering realm was already shaky.
At the same time, her physical strength had also increased greatly, so she didn't have to worry about breaking through too quickly and causing damage to her body.
The Ascending Heaven Ladder was indeed living up to its reputation.
If there wasn't so little time left, she would have really wanted to continue cultivating here.
But the reality was that if she didn't challenge the next stage soon, she would fail due to exceeding the time limit.
Thus, Zi Linling cast a reluctant glance at the winding Ascending Heaven Ladder, and with a thought, she appeared back in the previous room.
The imitation Zi Linling was stunned.
She had clearly seen Zi Linling disappear just now, but in the blink of an eye, Zi Linling had reappeared in the same spot.
What was going on? Was she hallucinating?
But that wasn't right! Zi Linling... was clearly different!
But the imitation Zi Linling couldn't pinpoint how she was different.
Zi Linling returned to the room, sat down cross-legged, and began to break through.
The spiritual energy in the room instantly formed a small funnel, with the tip of the funnel directly above Zi Linling's head.
Zi Linling circulated the "Human Emperor's Medicinal Classic Cultivation Method Chapter," and the spiritual energy in the funnel rapidly drilled into Zi Linling's head.
A moment later, Zi Linling opened her eyes, and a seven-colored light flashed within them.
She stood up, looked at the imitation Zi Linling with a half-smile, and said softly, "It's time to end this!"
As she spoke, she released a wisp of divine sense and shouted, "Soul Needle!"
The Soul Needle shot rapidly towards the imitation Zi Linling.
At the same time, the scalpel was once again in her hand.
This time, she didn't use the Autumn Wind Falling Leaves Saber Technique, but instead integrated the laws of life she had comprehended in the second stage.
With a flick of her slender hand, the scalpel flew towards the imitation Zi Linling.
Due to her cultivation breakthrough, her attack speed had instantly more than doubled.
The imitation Zi Linling dodged the Soul Needle but couldn't evade the scalpel, which struck her between the eyebrows.
Afterward, she looked at Zi Linling in surprise and then vanished into thin air.
Zi Linling's lips curved slightly, and she returned to the eighteenth step.
Having experienced the Ascending Heaven Ladder, Zi Linling no longer felt surprised when she saw the steps in front of her.
In terms of might, the Ascending Heaven Ladder could definitely obliterate the steps of the Ghost Altar!
In terms of difficulty, compared to the Ascending Heaven Ladder, the steps of the Ghost Altar were child's play!
Zi Linling now even suspected that the steps of the Ghost Altar were designed to imitate the Ascending Heaven Ladder.
As soon as Ye Lingyuan stood firm, he found a figure standing before him. It could only be Zi Linling.
The worry in his eyes quickly faded, and he embraced Zi Linling's slender waist, pulling her into his arms.
Huh? Why is there a smell of blood?
Ye Lingyuan frowned and asked in a hoarse voice, "Lin'er, are you injured?"
Zi Linling was startled and felt a warmth in her heart. She replied, "I'm alright!"
The smell of blood was from climbing the Ascending Heaven Ladder. She hadn't expected Ye Lingyuan to be so sensitive to the smell of blood.
She had deliberately used spiritual techniques to clean herself, fearing that he would notice something, but she hadn't expected it to be completely concealed.
Ye Lingyuan frowned, and one of his hands began to move over Zi Linling's body without her permission.
Heaven knows!
He just wanted to see where Zi Linling was injured and how serious it was, and he wasn't thinking in any other direction.
But he forgot one thing, and that was that a woman's body is very sensitive, especially to a man's touch.
So, as his hand moved, Zi Linling's body stiffened.
Zi Linling's cheeks flushed, and a palm strike swept towards Ye Lingyuan's handsome face. She roared, "Ye Lingyuan, you pervert!"