Chapter 17 The Ascent

*Tap*

*Tap*

*Tap*

Lin Tian's form cut through the corrosive mist like a blade through water, each movement precise and measured. The crystallized sections of wall echoed beneath his touch, their tones guiding his ascent through the treacherous vertical maze. Underneath him, the Thunder Scale Drakes maintained their steady anchor points alongside the Spirit Wind Leopards.

"Steady, no need to rush," Zhao Lingfeng called up, his voice barely carrying through the thickening mist. His enhanced perception from their Party Formation allowed him to track Lin Tian's progress with somewhat workable clarity, noting most subtle shifts in balance and some small adjustments in stance.

The wall stretched above them like a frozen waterfall. Lin Tian paused at a particularly precarious point, his sword tip brushing against the next potential handhold. The note rang clear and high, another stable section as deduced.

But the distance...

Lin Tian's eyes narrowed as he calculated. The next viable foothold lay just beyond comfortable reaching distance. To progress, he would need to push off from his current position, using just enough force to cross the gap without overshooting. Too much power would send him crashing into unstable sections of wall, while too little would leave him grasping at empty air.

"Brother Tian," Zhao Lingfeng called up, recognizing the challenge ahead. "The pattern of crystallization above… it's not uniform. The right side seems more concentrated."

Lin Tian nodded almost imperceptibly. The observation confirmed his own analysis. The transformed sections did indeed favor the right, creating a potential route that would require less raw force but more precise control. His fingers tightened slightly on his current handhold as he planned his trajectory.

The spiritual mist grew thicker with each passing moment, its caustic nature becoming more pronounced at this height. Lin Tian could feel it seeping through his robes, creating an uncomfortable tingling sensation wherever it touched skin. It was already at a degree where it felt like thousands of ants were crawling on him. More concerning was how it interfered with his spiritual energy circulation, making precise control more challenging.

With deliberate care, he shifted his weight, testing the wall's response to the subtle change in pressure. The crystallized section held firm, but a few stray pebbles broke free from nearby untransformed areas.

Lin Tian watched the pebbles crumble down…

He had to move soon. The longer he remained stationary, the more the corrosive mist would affect his judgment and control.

Drawing in a measured breath, Lin Tian coiled his muscles like a spring. The next few seconds would require perfect coordination. A push off timed with precise spiritual energy circulation, all while maintaining enough awareness to grab the next handhold without disturbing the surrounding unstable stone.

The Jade-Spine Serpents watching from below fell completely silent no longer slithering, their keen instincts recognizing the crucial moment. Even the ever-hopeful Stone Claw Bears ceased their whimpering, their massive forms unnaturally still.

Lin Tian moved.

His push-off was a sharp movement of controlled power, his form cutting through the mist in a perfect arc. For a brief moment, he seemed to hang suspended between points, neither ascending nor falling, the golden patterns of the Earth Lotus Root reflecting in his focused eyes.

Then everything went wrong.

The corrosive mist, thicker than they'd anticipated at this height, interfered with his spiritual energy circulation at the crucial moment of landing. His fingers brushed the crystallized handhold, but the stone's surface had been rendered unexpectedly slick by accumulated spiritual energy.

Time seemed to slow as his grip failed to secure properly.

"Brother Tian!" Zhao Lingfeng's voice cut through the mist, sharp with alarm.

Lin Tian's body began to fall backward, the wall's surface sliding away from his grasp. In that fraction of a second, all their careful planning threatened to end in disaster. The rope would catch him, yes, but at this height and angle, the impact against the wall could still prove devastating.

Yet in that critical moment, something unexpected occurred. The ring on Lin Tian's finger pulsed with a subtle light, barely noticeable through the mist. Whether by instinct or some hidden guidance, his other hand shot out, fingers clawing into in a tiny crevice they hadn't detected in their earlier survey.

*Scrrrk!*

The impact reverberated through his arm, but his grip held. For several heartbeats, Lin Tian hung suspended by that single point of contact, his body pressed against the wall as loose stone rained down into the mist below.

"That," he managed through controlled breaths, "was perhaps not my most elegant maneuver."

Zhao Lingfeng's relieved laugh carried up from below, tension bleeding out of his voice. "Well, as long as you're critiquing your own performance, I assume you're fine?"

"Your concern is touching," Lin Tian replied dryly, already working to secure his position. His fingers found another crystallized section nearby, this one ringing true and clear when tested. "Though I wouldn't object to a slightly less exciting path for the remaining distance."

The Earth Lotus Root's golden patterns pulsed above, now close enough that its spiritual pressure added another layer of complexity to the ascent. Only two more major transitions remained, but they would have to be perfect. The margin for error, already razor-thin, had been completely eliminated by this close call.

Lin Tian took a moment to center himself, feeling the subtle warmth from his ring fade as he prepared for the final push. Below, Zhao Lingfeng maintained his vigilant watch, the Thunder Scale Drakes adjusting their stance to provide optimal support for whatever came next.

The path to heaven, it seemed, would not yield its treasures without a fight.

The first transition came with its own set of challenges. Lin Tian moved like flowing water, each motion precise despite the caustic mist eating at his spiritual energy. His sword sang against crystallized stone, confirming safe passages milliseconds before he committed his weight.

But it was the final leap that truly gave him pause.

The Earth Lotus Root's golden patterns pulsed hypnotically, each wave of spiritual energy making the corrosive mist swirl in mesmerizing patterns. Lin Tian clung to his precarious perch, muscles burning from sustained tension as he forced himself to remain still. The caustic spiritual energy ate at his robes, yet he didn't dare move. Not yet.

Two minutes.

He needed two minutes to calculate everything perfectly.

"Brother Tian?" Zhao Lingfeng's voice carried up through the mist, concern evident in his tone. Due to the thick mist he could only see the outline of Lin Tian's figure, but it was enough to see that he had stopped moving.

"A moment," Lin Tian replied, his eyes never leaving the root's position. The wall's surface here was treacherous. Centuries, perhaps millenniums of concentrated spiritual energy had altered its very nature. He needed a landing point that would not only hold his weight but allow him to safely extract the treasure they'd risked so much to obtain.

The mist grew thicker, more aggressive. Each breath felt like swallowing needles, but still Lin Tian calculated. Distance, angle, force required, the root's position, the safest extraction points... One mistake would render their entire effort meaningless.

Finally, he moved.

His leap was perfect. For a moment, he soared through the mist like an immortal ascending to the heavens.

He's going to make it! Zhao Lingfeng thought.

Then…

came the sharp twang of rope reaching its limit.

Lin Tian's eyes widened as he felt the sudden resistance. In that fraction of a second, his mind processed the horrifying truth. They'd miscalculated. Due to the sturdiness and rather long length of the rope, both of them had neglected the thought of the rope being short of their expectations.

The rope meant used to bind Lin Tian's safety had become a chain to halt him from reaching the goal… and it had turned into a chain that would drag him down to hell.

"The rope—!" Zhao Lingfeng's shout barely registered as Lin Tian's body began to arc backward, momentum arrested at the worst possible moment.

There was no time to think. Lin Tian back flipped himself in mid-air and used his sword to slash the rope that only now served to restrain him.

Slash!

With the momentum pushing him faster backwards from the Qi-infused sword strike, he soared backwards into the wall.

Smash!

He kicked off nothing, using the force to propel himself back toward the wall. But something was wrong. The corrosive mist had eaten away at his spiritual energy more than he'd realized, and worry about falling short made him overcompensate. Unbeknownst to him, he struck the wall hard.

Too hard.

And not on one of their carefully mapped stable sections.

The impact sent spiderweb cracks racing through the stone

Spiritual energy surged through his meridians despite the mist's interference.

White Clouds Auspicious Steps!

The technique, one of the many he'd hoped to keep hidden, manifested as swirling white patterns of mist beneath his feet.

*Huuuum*

The air sung with a soft harmonic hum, like a distant wind chime.

As Lin Tian bounced back into the air, his sharp, but graceful steps left behind faint trails of luminescent white mist that quickly dissipated, resembling wisps of celestial energy.

And hidden within the mist… were a few outlines of foot prints.

But the foot prints…

did not resemble anything human.

When the white mist faced the corrosive mist, the corrosive mist appeared to shrink under the presence, as if they were being cleansed by divinity.

Each step, where there should be nothing but empty air, held firm beneath his weight as though the heavens themselves had formed a pathway for him.

Puff.

With every movement, the swirling clouds dissolved into delicate silver wisps, vanishing as soon as his feet left them.

The hum rises and falls subtly with Lin Tian's movements, adding to the mystical atmosphere.

Lin Tian's movements grew more fluid, each step carrying him higher and further, his speed increasing as though the clouds propelled him forward with divine momentum.

Until finally…

His steps finally descended onto the mortal plane, the last of the white mist he paved disappeared behind him.

With his reveal of his hidden technique, he no longer had to brood too deeply of the wall surfaces.

Without a moment of delay, his hands moved with practiced grace despite the awkward angle, carefully working the precious treasure free from its ancient home. Each motion was delicate, ensuring not a single golden-traced root was damaged.

Only when the entire cluster was safely secured did he allow himself a brief sigh of relief. "We did it," he breathed, a rare smile touching his lips. "Brother Zhao, we actually—"

RUMBLE!!

The sound finally registered. A deep, grinding rumble that seemed to come from the very bones of the chamber.

Lin Tian turned.

Horror bloomed in his chest as he saw the cascade of stone and debris plummeting toward his companion. The Thunder Scale Drakes had already scattered, their instincts driving them to safety. The snakes and Spirit Wind Leopards darted for cover, while the Stone Claw Bears' mournful cries echoed through the chamber.

But Zhao Lingfeng...

Zhao Lingfeng stood his ground, maintaining his grip on the rope that had been Lin Tian's lifeline.

Because of the distance between them, it took him a while to realise that Lin Tian had detached himself from the rope.

Their eyes met for the briefest moment through a small gap in the rain of stone and dense mist.

"No..."

The word escaped Lin Tian's lips as he watched the avalanche descend.

"What have I... This wasn't supposed to—"

The chamber shook with the impact as tons of rock crashed down, obscuring everything in a cloud of dust and some lingering spiritual mist.

Where Zhao Lingfeng had stood, there was only rubble.