'Staircase? Is this staircase heading to Cang Yang Mountain's peak?' Tang Li Xue thought while frowned deeply.
She actually did not really like the straight environment like this majestic staircase since there would be no big trees and thick bushes to cover herself and made her hard to be seen by the people who chase after her right now.
With the straight environment here, the core disciples of the White Crane Sect and Oracle Mountain Sect could easily aim at Tang Li Xue's back from behind.
'Tsk… There are tall cliffs on the left and the right side of this staircase. It seems I have no other way to reach the Peak of Cang Yang Mountain other than climbing this staircase.' Tang Li Xue clicked her tongue in annoyance, but she did not slow down her speed at all and climbed the staircase without any hesitation.
It only took a few minutes for the core disciples of Five Virtuous Sect that chased after Tang Li Xue to arrive at the staircase too.
"Bwahahahaha~!!! What an idiot?! How dare she try to climb up the staircase to Inheritance Ground Tablet while being chased by us?!" One of the male core disciples from Oracle Mountain Sect laughed mockingly at Tang Li Xue's attempt to climb the staircase.
The young girls of White Crane Sect sneered mockingly at Tang Li Xue too, and one of them even said: "I bet that despicable thief does not know that this staircase is actually the trial to enter Inheritance Ground Tablet. That is the only reason why she still decided to run toward here. If she knew about the effect of this staircase, she would certainly try to escape from our pursuit first before attempting to climb up this staircase."
"Since that thief does not have any clue about something as crucial as that, it means she does not have any connection to anyone Virtuous Sect. I am really sorry to doubting you all before, Senior Brother Ye and fellow cultivators from Immortal Sword Sect." The other young girls from White Crane Sect saluted and apologized politely to all core disciples from Immortal Sword Sect.
"It is all right. Let's just forget about it. Misunderstanding like that is quite common, especially since that thief can freely enter and escape from our protective formation." Ye Zhen replied in a relaxed manner with a gentle smile on his face.
However, Ye Zhen's heart was actually very anxious and worried about Tang Li Xue right now.
Even several male core disciples of Immortal Sword Sect also glanced at Ye Zhen with a worried expression.
It was obvious that these male core disciples of Immortal Sword Sect, who already befriended with Tang Li Xue in Feng Empire's Imperial Palace before, did not want Tang Li Xue to get killed or got caught and tortured to death by the core disciples of the White Crane Sect and Oracle Mountain Sect.
Ye Zhen already started to ponder carefully on what he should do if Tang Li Xue really got caught by them later.
"All right, let's stop chatting for now and chase after that thief again!" The young girl of the White Crane Sect impatiently urged the others.
"Why do we need to be so hurried?! Let's just relax! Do you really think that thief can really climb to the Peak of Cang Yang Mountain in one go without taking any time to rest or adapting herself? That is absolutely impossible, all right?!" The male core disciples from Oracle Mountain Sect said with a sarcastic tone while sneered mockingly.
The young girl of the White Crane Sect rolled her eyes and replied: "I know it is really impossible. But what if that thief decided to do something stupid or suicidal like jumping from the cliff on the right or left side of the staircase to escape from our pursuit while bringing our Senior Sister Meng? I dare to bet that despicable thief also does not know that no one can fly in Cang Yang Mountain even if they are using any flying treasure."
The expressions of all core disciples from the White Crane Sect turned grim after they heard it, and they decided to quickly chase after Tang Li Xue again.
Yes, the entire area of Cang Yang Mountain was heavily restricted. Not only the beast cultivation system would get sealed but no one could fly in this area too.
Well… If everyone could fly directly to the Peak of Cang Yang Mountain to enter Inheritance Ground Tablet using flying beast or flying treasure like flying sword after they managed to the complete Ancient Jade Emblem, everything would be meaningless since the reason why the Human Race ancestor built the Inheritance Ground Tablet was to train and test the younger generation of Human Race before letting them claim their reward in Inheritance Ground Tablet later.
…..
…
.
Meanwhile, Tang Li Xue finally learned the wretched effect of this staircase after she climbed it for a while.
"Huff… Huff… Huff… What the hell?! There is something really wrong with this staircase?! Why my body is getting heavier the higher I climb it up?!" Tang Li Xue grumbled while her breath became more and more ragged.
Tang Li Xue already sensed that something was wrong with this staircase after she had climbed the first few steps, but she still did not have any clue about where it had gone wrong.
After she had climbed more than thirty steps, she finally realized that her body became heavier and hard to move like it was made from lead, but at least, she could still move her body after she mustered some effort.
After she had climbed more than eighty steps right now, Tang Li Xue felt that her body became so heavy like she was carried a big boulder on her shoulder. Her breathes turned rough, and she could hardly move any of her limbs.
Tang Li Xue started to hesitate if she should rest for a bit to recover her stamina or keep climbing this staircase until she reached the peak.
Unfortunately for Tang Li Xue, the core disciples of Five Virtuous Sect already climbed the staircase too and almost managed to catch up to her.
Although Tang Li Xue could not see very clearly because of the white fog, but she could still hear their step get closer and closer from behind her.
Tang Li Xue gritted her teeth and decided to take out [Talisman of Giant Strength +3] and [Talisman of Greater Force +3], then used them on herself.
As for Meng Ying, Tang Li Xue already threw her into the space pouch when she felt something was not right about this staircase, if not, Tang Li Xue would certainly not be able to carry Meng Ying anymore after she took eighty steps.
Both [Talisman of Giant Strength +3] and [Talisman of Greater Force +3] have the effect of increasing Tang Li Xue's strength, so she immediately felt that her body became lighter.
Tang Li Xue quickly increased her speed and climbed higher to keep her distance from the core disciples of the Five Virtuous Sect.
Tang Li Xue knew that she certainly could not go down this stair anymore or she would get caught by the core disciples of the Five Virtuous Sect, so she decided to climb the staircase as high as she could and used the pressure effect from the staircase to prevent them getting close to her.
She did not have any other choice anyway since her hunch said that the Inheritance Ground Tablet was certainly located at the top of this staircase.
But Tang Li Xue had miscalculated it this time…
Those core disciples of the Five Virtuous Sect have much higher cultivation than her, so they clearly have more strength and endurance than her!
As time passed, the core disciples of the Five Virtuous Sect slowly but sure getting closer and closer to Tang Li Xue from behind.
After Tang Li Xue had climbed more than 130 steps, Tang Li Xue was already very exhausted, and she almost could not take another step anymore.
Her vision turned blurry because of her extreme fatigue, and she could only crawl very slowly to climb another step forward as if she was carrying a heavy mountain on her back.
In fact, Tang Li Xue certainly could even reach this far without the buff from [Talisman of Giant Strength +3] and [Talisman of Greater Force +3].
The core disciples of the Five Virtuous Sect already arrived three to five meters behind her, but they did not look any better.
All of them were already sweating profusely and breathing heavily.
They could only drag their feet to climb the stair, and each step they took was very slow as if each of their foot were tied to a very heavy iron ball like a prisoner so they would not be able to run away from the jail.
The core disciples of the Five Virtuous Sect did not even have any breath to waste to curse or shout at Tang Li Xue anymore, but they certainly kept cursing Tang Li Xue in their hearts for her persistence.
However, there was no doubt that the core disciples of the Five Virtuous Sect were kept decreasing the distance between them and Tang Li Xue.
It would probably not take long for the core disciples of the Five Virtuous Sect to catch up with Tang Li Xue.
But there was one more problem to tackle even if the core disciples of the Five Virtuous Sect managed to catch up with Tang Li Xue… How could they arrest Tang Li Xue and save Meng Ming when they could not even raise their hands and could only slowly drag their feet to move?!