116.The Elegance of That Sword Strike!

Half an hour later, Xu Shan emerged from the cave, and the view suddenly opened up! He turned around, looked at the deep cave entrance, and let out a long sigh. After leaving that insect nest, things got much simpler. Although there were still quite a few Poison - Tail Scorpions in the cave, the number was acceptable. He could completely avoid being stung.

On the way, he encountered three more cultivators. He easily dealt with two of them, and as soon as he met the third one, that guy quickly ran away. The rest was just about finding the exit in the cave. This process wasn't too difficult. He had wasted too much time in the first half. In many positions of the later part of the cave, there were marks left by predecessors. He followed the marks left by others. Although he still took some detours, he managed to get out safely.

The Bone - Melting Cave wasn't too difficult for him. But the environment inside really made him feel uncomfortable. It was almost like being buried alive. Now he was on a grassland, with white clouds floating overhead, and his mind also felt more at ease.

Xu Shan looked ahead. A hundred - level staircase passage, about ten meters wide, was just a dozen meters in front of him. The steps seemed ordinary, just ordinary white stone steps. But the mountain bodies on both sides were obviously arranged. There were half - formed array patterns carved on them, and the other half should be hidden under the steps.

At this moment, dozens of cultivators had already gathered in front of the steps. Xu Shan stepped forward quickly and joined the crowd.

After waiting for another hour, the other cultivators participating in the trial in the Bone - Melting Cave started to come out one by one. Xu Shan roughly counted. There were about one hundred and fifty - six people on the scene. As soon as he finished counting, he blushed a bit. Only forty - four people didn't come out, and he alone had killed eight? In a strange environment, he might have been too reactive... He had been a bit too ruthless for a while.

Thinking carefully, except for the three people he killed in the insect swarm, the others might have died unjustly... Some of those people might have really wanted to cooperate with him. It seemed that he couldn't be so hasty in the future. Having too much of a killing intent was easy to make him fall into the Demonic Path...

After waiting for a while longer, no more cultivators came out of the Bone - Melting Cave. The elder of the Blood Killing Hall who was guarding the Heaven - Ascending Stairs raised his hand and said, "This second trial, the Heaven - Ascending Stairs. You can pass the trial if you can climb the hundred - level stairs within the time it takes to burn an incense stick. You can give up the trial before this. This is your only chance to give up."

"Is there anyone who wants to give up and withdraw?"

All the cultivators on the scene remained silent. Those who wanted to join the Blood Killing Hall were all brave and belligerent people, and those who could reach here had already proven their strength. There was no way they would withdraw!

The elder of the Blood Killing Hall was used to this situation. "Well, from now on, start climbing the Heaven - Ascending Stairs. On the stairs... You are responsible for your own life and death!"

As soon as he finished speaking, a dozen cultivators rushed forward and stepped onto the stairs. Xu Shan wasn't in a hurry. He observed the situation from the back. The cultivators who went up first obviously felt a sinking in their shoulders, as if they were feeling some kind of pressure. After climbing ten steps, the pressure seemed to increase a lot, and they had changed from a jog to a walk.

So this trial seemed much simpler... It seemed to be a test of perseverance! As long as one could withstand the pressure and reach the top, it would be considered completed. The only thing to pay attention to was that the people around might stab you in the back.

While Xu Shan was thinking, most of the cultivators had already stepped onto the stairs. There was only the time of an incense stick. Many people were hurrying up. Xu Shan still wasn't in a hurry. When everyone had gone up, he leisurely walked up in the last wave.

As soon as his feet stepped onto the stairs, Xu Shan immediately felt a pressure filling his whole body. However, it wasn't too difficult to bear. He continued to walk up. With each step he climbed, the pressure increased a bit. When he reached the tenth step, Xu Shan's steps paused, and like others, his speed slowed down. He circulated his spiritual power throughout his body to resist the power of the great formation, and only then could the pressure be alleviated a little.

Xu Shan looked up. The fastest cultivator had already climbed more than twenty steps. The pressure on these stairs increased greatly every ten steps. It seemed that what was being tested wasn't just perseverance, but also the distribution and use of spiritual power. Fortunately, he had the spiritual crystal cores.

Xu Shan calmed down and continued to walk up. The fight he had expected didn't happen. The pressure on the stairs was so great that no one had the intention to fight. Whether they could even reach the top was uncertain, and spiritual power couldn't be wasted!

The process of climbing the Heaven - Ascending Stairs was very quiet. That invisible pressure field was squeezing everyone. Xu Shan wasn't short of spiritual power, but without using all his strength, the physical burden still existed. He had now climbed to the thirtieth step and was still at the end of the line, while the fastest one was around the sixtieth step. The cultivator at the sixtieth step looked extremely difficult. Every step he took made his legs tremble. Some even started to crawl on all fours.

Pei Xiong frowned when he saw this scene and looked at the woman worriedly. "Honored Envoy, the Heaven - Ascending Stairs formation was originally difficult. Now the force has doubled. I'm afraid that no one can pass like this. This is simply not the pressure that a Foundation Establishment stage cultivator can bear."

"They're almost at their limit. If this continues, the third trial can't be carried out! The Blood Killing Hall urgently needs to replenish its combat power. I hope the honored envoy will be merciful and relax the restrictions of the formation."

The woman shook her head, observing Xu Shan, and said coldly, "No. That Xu Xian hasn't shown anything special yet. I need to confirm whether this person is the disciple the Sect Master is looking for. I've said that the matters of the Blood Killing Hall aren't important."

Pei Xiong clenched his fists angrily, but finally let go helplessly.

Xu Shan looked back at the burning incense. Seeing that half of the time had passed, he started to speed up. The person in the front still hadn't broken through the seventieth step. He was now at the forty - fifth step and had already surpassed more than twenty people. Each step was extremely consuming of spiritual power. He had already consumed nearly 60% of his spiritual power throughout his body, and his whole body was sore.

Xu Shan was sweating profusely and somewhat doubting life. This kind of test didn't seem to be for Foundation Establishment cultivators... With his strength, ordinary late - stage Foundation Establishment cultivators were no match for him. But he was already so tired after climbing less than fifty steps. Although he still had some strength left, there were still more than fifty steps ahead. If he didn't have the spiritual crystal cores, he definitely couldn't pass.

The third trial was a free - for - all. Shouldn't the real test of the Blood Killing Hall be the real combat power of the cultivators? Why make things difficult in this kind of messy link?

Time was running out. Xu Shan accelerated the circulation of his spiritual power throughout his body. He climbed two steps faster, but always remained in the middle of the crowd. Just as Xu Shan was concentrating on climbing, a leg suddenly appeared diagonally above him and quickly kicked towards him!

Xu Shan was shocked. Instinctively, he activated the spiritual crystal cores, and his spiritual power surged! He quickly moved sideways and shifted to the lower - right half - position of the attacker. The Gut - Slitting Sword was drawn out as fast as lightning. Slash wildly three thousand times! Well, not three thousand times. In fact, it was only three times. But these three times were also the essence of Xu Shan's years of hard training. Three stabbing sword moves, stabbed out in a triangular shape, precisely stabbing the upper, middle, and lower three vital points! The most exquisite part wasn't just the stabbing, but the spin brought by the extremely fast shaking of Xu Shan's wrist at the moment the sword left his hand!