“Once again, you’re late to the party, killing her.” The demon looked at Yuan with a smirk on its face.
Yuan closed his eyes and took a deep breath before releasing it slowly.
“You’re right. I killed her by being too slow. She died because I was too weak.”
He opened his eyes, and the demon was no longer there. Instead, Yuan could see himself standing where the demon stood, almost as though the demon had transformed into his appearance.
“Finally, you’re accepting the fact that you’re responsible for her death.” The demon’s voice resounded while wearing his appearance.
“That’s not right. I have accepted the fact that I couldn’t protect her even before I left the Jaded Garden. I blamed myself for her death, and I still do.”
“I just didn’t want to deal with the guilt of killing her, and I even tried to forget about it. However, I now know that’s not possible. I understand now that I will have to live with this guilt for the rest of my life.”
“I need to stop dwelling on the past and start moving forward. Therefore…”
Yuan turned to look at Azure, who was no longer lying on the ground but standing a few meters away with a calm expression on her face.
“I’m sorry that I couldn’t save you in time, Azure. I’m sorry that I couldn’t defeat the demon fast enough. I broke my last promise to protect you, so let me make another promise to you. I promise that I will never forget you, regardless of how much pain I feel every time I think of you, and I promise you that I will never let something like this happen again.”
After taking a deep breath, Yuan turned around and began walking away from the Immortal Caves.
“Yuan… Please… Don’t leave me here… Didn’t you promise to protect me?” Azure’s voice resounded from behind him, but Yuan didn’t look back and continued walking away.
“Goodbye, Azure.”
Although he couldn’t see it with his back turned, the scenery behind him was slowly crumbling away into the darkness.
Eventually, Yuan returned to the Stairway to Heaven.
Ding!
<You have passed the fourth trial!>
<Congratulations, you have successfully passed all trials in the Stairway to Heaven!>
<You have gained access to the Second Heaven, Spirit Heaven!>
Tian’er appeared before him a moment later while holding a glowing orb of light with her small hands.
“Congratulations on passing all of the trials, Master. Here is your reward.”
The orb of light flew straight into Yuan’s forehead, and memories immediately began flowing into his head.
Tian’er then pointed at the staircase at the end and said, “Once you climb that staircase with your friends, you will all arrive at Spirit Heaven.”
“But before you go, there is something you must see.”
Tian’er suddenly waved her sleeves, creating a golden door in the middle of the room, which emitted an ancient aura.
“Please.”
Yuan nodded and began walking towards the door.
When he opened the door, Yuan could feel a powerful pressure coming from the other side, but he could not physically see the other side of the door due to the bright light gushing through the door.
After taking a deep breath, Yuan walked through the door and disappeared from the Stairway to Heaven.
Meanwhile, Tian’er teleported those in the spectators’ room to her.
“Huh? Where are we?” Chu Liuxiang looked around with a surprised face after the sudden teleportation.
“You’re still inside the Stairway to Heaven.” Tian’er said to them.
“Who are you?” Xiao Hua asked her with a slight frown.
“There’s no need to be cautious. I am the will of the Stairway to Heaven.”
“Stairway to Heaven’s will? I have never heard of such a thing.” Feng Yuxiang said.
“There’s a lot that you don’t know about the Stairway to Heaven, Vermillion Phoenix.”
“You…” Feng Yuxiang’s eyes widened with surprise.
“Where is Brother Yuan?” Xiao Hua then asked.
Tian’er pointed to the golden door behind them, “He’s currently in there. He should return shortly.”
“What is behind that door? Can we see?” Chu Liuxiang asked out of curiosity.
Tian’er shook her head and said, “Only he can go inside.”
And sure enough, the door opened a few minutes later with Yuan coming out of the door.
However, there was something strange about him, and he looked a little traumatized.
“Young Master, are you okay?” Feng Yuxiang asked him after seeing his shocked face.
Yuan didn’t respond, almost as though he couldn’t see or hear them.
“What… What was that? Why did you show me such a thing?” Yuan looked at Tian’er and asked after a moment of silence.
“I cannot answer that question. If you want the answers, you must continue climbing,” she calmly responded.
“…”
Yuan closed his eyes and took a moment to calm himself.
When he opened them again, he noticed Xiao Hua and the others.
“Oh? When did you guys appear?” He finally noticed their presence.
“We have been here for a while now… Are you okay, Young Master? What was on the other side of that door?” Feng Yuxiang asked him again.
“I… I really don’t know how to explain it since I also don’t know what I was looking at…” He sighed.
“Anyways, let’s leave this place. I really need some fresh air after what I saw…”
Feng Yuxiang and the others could only nod their heads.
Before they left, Yuan turned to look at Tian’er and asked her, “Will I see you again?”
She nodded, “We will definitely see each other again.”
“Then until next time. Goodbye, Tian’er.” Yuan smiled at her before walking towards the exit.
“See you later, Master…” Tian’er mumbled in a low voice as she disappeared like a ghost.
As Yuan climbed the final staircase with the others, he wondered out loud, “Once we leave this place, we will leave the Lower Heavens. Where will we appear once we leave this place?”
“There is a designated area for people who successfully climbed the Stairway to Heaven. However, this means that there will be people waiting for us there once we leave this place, and they will be trying to recruit us to their families and sects, so we should prepare ourselves.” Feng Yuxiang said.