The World-Ending Spirit Fire saw Ye Ling's dark expression and felt even more embarrassed. It continued, "I, I was just making a suggestion! Besides, what I said is the truth... You already have so much dark power within you, what's a little more?"
"A little more?"
Ye Ling looked again at the Soul Suppressing Ladder, which was being eroded by the dark power. He roughly estimated that if he absorbed all the dark power from the ladder, the concentration of dark power within him would increase tenfold at least!
The current amount of dark power was already enough for him to handle. If it increased tenfold, he couldn't even imagine what would happen.
The World-Ending Spirit Fire then said, "That was just a figure of speech... But don't blame me for not warning you. This Soul Suppressing Ladder is your only hope of turning the tide. If you let it be eroded by the dark power, and the ladder rots away, you'll truly be finished!"
"You scoundrel..."
Ye Ling didn't know how to scold the World-Ending Spirit Fire. However, as things stood, he couldn't ignore the Soul Suppressing Ladder. He turned to the World-Ending Spirit Fire and asked, "How should I absorb the power that's eroding the Soul Suppressing Ladder?"
The World-Ending Spirit Fire chuckled, "Simple! You already have the primordial power of the Upper Realm Lord within you, which is the perfect thing to attract dark power. You just need to walk every step I've walked, and that's it."
Ye Ling asked, "How many steps did you climb?"
The World-Ending Spirit Fire replied, "Not many, two thousand steps."
"Two thousand steps?" Ye Ling's eyes widened, and he stared intently at the World-Ending Spirit Fire, his face full of disbelief.
After all, he had only climbed a thousand steps last time!
The World-Ending Spirit Fire seemed to enjoy Ye Ling's shocked expression and said proudly, "Of course. Who do you think I am? The great World-Ending Spirit Fire! It's only normal that I climbed more steps than you!"
Ye Ling, however, said, "No... I was just wondering why, after climbing two thousand steps, you're still so weak?"
"I..."
The World-Ending Spirit Fire was rendered speechless by Ye Ling's retort.
After all, he had just begged Ye Ling for mercy, and that was a fact...
Seeing the World-Ending Spirit Fire back down, Ye Ling simply smiled and then resolutely stepped onto the Soul Suppressing Ladder.
Boom!
The moment Ye Ling stepped onto the Soul Suppressing Ladder, a large amount of dark power surged out from it and was completely absorbed by Ye Ling!
"Ugh... This is really intense!"
Ye Ling immediately clutched his chest, trying to alleviate the pain.
The instant he stepped onto the Soul Suppressing Ladder, the dark power surged into his meridians, tearing through everything within him, causing him excruciating pain!
Seeing Ye Ling charge towards the Soul Suppressing Ladder like that, the World-Ending Spirit Fire exclaimed in surprise, "Kid, why are you starting already! Without any preparation?"
Ye Ling, having caught his breath, said, "This is the mess you made, and I have the responsibility and obligation to clean up after you. Moreover, the Soul Suppressing Ladder has given me hope. Now that it's in trouble, I can't just stand by and do nothing!"
With that, Ye Ling resolutely stepped onto the second rung. Again, a large amount of dark power surged out from the Soul Suppressing Ladder and was absorbed by Ye Ling!
Ye Ling was instantly engulfed by black mist, and unimaginable pain gnawed at his nerves!
However, this pain did not hinder Ye Ling's progress in the slightest. Ye Ling began to climb steadily upwards, each step incredibly firm!
"Ye Ling..."
The World-Ending Spirit Fire watched Ye Ling's receding back, its feelings becoming complicated.
Although it wanted to fight alongside Ye Ling, it was actually one of the primordial powers of the Upper Realm Lord. Once it re-entered the Soul Suppressing Ladder, the dark powers would surge into its body again.
In doing so, it would once again become a slave to the Upper Realm Lord.
The reason the World-Ending Spirit Fire had climbed two thousand steps on the ladder and was still not as strong as Ye Ling was because it had dedicated all its energy to escaping the control of the Upper Realm Lord!
The suffering the World-Ending Spirit Fire endured during the trials on the Soul Suppressing Ladder was no less than what Ye Ling was experiencing now!
If the World-Ending Spirit Fire were to step onto the Soul Suppressing Ladder again now, everything it had experienced, the erosion of the Soul Suppressing Ladder, and the pain Ye Ling was enduring... would all become meaningless!
Therefore, this time, Ye Ling had to bear the burden alone!
The World-Ending Spirit Fire looked at Ye Ling's back and muttered to itself, "Ye Ling, you've experienced the first thousand steps. Ahead, you only need to endure the pain of the dark power's erosion... But after a thousand steps, you will not only have to endure the pain of the dark power's erosion but also the trials of the Soul Suppressing Ladder... This kind of pain is unimaginable even to me."
"Ye Ling... good luck!"
In the consciousness space, the World-Ending Spirit Fire quieted down.
Meanwhile, Ye Ling had begun his long journey up the ladder.
As Ye Ling absorbed more and more dark power, the dark power surrounding his body transformed into a tangible substance, filling the entire space and even causing the spatial storms to cease their flow.
At this moment, the aura emanating from Ye Ling had become extremely evil.
However, for some unknown reason, the consciousness of the dark power, which should have quickly taken control of Ye Ling's body while his consciousness was absent, remained completely still.
Time ticked by, minute by minute.
In the consciousness space, Ye Ling had also reached the steps beyond the thousandth rung of the Soul Suppressing Ladder. His body was continuously being dismantled and reconstructed, and the dark power relentlessly eroded his body, attempting to occupy everything within him!
It was like a carnival of dark power!
Ye Ling endured the pain alone, climbing step by step.
In the past, with every step Ye Ling climbed, his strength would increase significantly. This positive feedback would motivate Ye Ling to continue climbing, serving as his impetus to face challenges!
But now, with the erosion of dark power... although Ye Ling experienced trials of similar difficulty, the power he gained would be consumed in the process of suppressing the dark power.
In other words, even if Ye Ling reached the two-thousandth step, the only outcome would be tenfold more dark power within him... and his strength would not increase at all!
It was this trial without positive feedback that continuously drained Ye Ling's motivation to climb, making his climbing speed slower and more difficult.
What kept Ye Ling going now was purely his willpower.
At the eleven-hundredth step, Ye Ling was already swaying precariously. The unimaginable pain almost caused his taut spirit to collapse!
"No, I can't fall here..."
Ye Ling opened his bloodshot eyes, gritted his teeth, and took another step forward!
However, Ye Ling had reached a point where willpower alone could no longer sustain him...
Boom!
Another surge of dark power, even more potent than before, flooded into Ye Ling's body, directly shattering his strained spirit!
At this moment, Ye Ling plunged into boundless darkness!
"Ye Ling!!!"
The moment Ye Ling fainted, he vaguely heard the call of the World-Ending Spirit Fire.
And at this time, in the subspace... Ye Ling, who was sitting cross-legged in the void, curled his lips into an evil smile and slowly opened his eyes.
The vast amount of dark power swirling around him rapidly surged into Ye Ling's body and was absorbed by him!
"Haha... From this day forward, I am the Eighth Star Pillar!"