Reaching the Summit, Third Disciple Bai Ling'er

Dong—!!!

A clear, magnificent bell toll that seemed capable of washing the soul echoed from the depths of Mount Tianyuan. It resounded across the entire plaza, announcing the birth of yet another peerless genius who had reached the ninetieth step!

Dugu Shiling collapsed on the ninetieth step. She was drenched as if pulled from the water, lacking the strength to move even a single finger. Her consciousness hovered on the edge of clarity and blurriness.

However, a faint but incredibly satisfied and proud curve formed at the corners of her mouth.

She had done it.

Although the process was incomparably difficult, and although she was now completely drained, she had stepped onto the ninetieth step!

Now, she could wait for the people of the Sacred Land to come and receive her.

Yet, at this moment, even though the plaza was in an uproar over the bell toll, not everyone's gaze was entirely focused on Dugu Shiling, who had just created a miracle.

Because there was another person—an even more outrageous existence—who had arrived right beside her.

Gu Changyuan looked at Dugu Shiling's posture of giving her all and the final radiance she bloomed with, a trace of approval flashing in his eyes.

"Well done," he said softly.

His voice was very light, yet it seemed to contain some bizarre law, piercing through the restrictions of the Immortal Ascension Terrace and the barriers of space, entering Dugu Shiling's ears clearly.

Dugu Shiling, who was battling boundless exhaustion and weakness, only felt a power as gentle as water and as vast as a sea of stars quietly brush past her body and divine soul along with that voice.

In an instant, the extreme fatigue that nearly drowned her, the stinging pain in her divine soul, and the burning sensation in her meridians were gently smoothed over and washed away, as if by a gentle, large hand!

She felt entirely comfortable, her mind clear and bright, and even her previously dried-up dantian surged with a trace of warmth!

Although her strength hadn't recovered much, those despair-inducing negative states were completely swept away!

?!

Dugu Shiling suddenly widened her beautiful eyes, looking to her side in disbelief.

She saw the man in the long robes holding the little girl give her a slight nod, and then he took a step forward.

Steadily, he stood on the ninety-first step.

......

Dugu Shiling was completely stunned.

She had risked everything, nearly dying to reach the ninetieth step, but the other party... just lightly took a step and went up? And with a child in tow?

Gu Changyuan paid no mind to her shock.

Stepping above the ninetieth step, he finally felt a trace of a different kind of pressure.

The pressure here was no longer just targeted at the physical body and spiritual energy; it began to erode the divine soul, trigger inner demons, and even simulate various extreme environmental illusions, testing the climber's all-around qualities.

The pressure was indeed more than an order of magnitude greater than below.

But... it was still ineffective against him.

"The talent and potential corresponding to the ninetieth step can indeed be considered worthy of the name."

Gu Changyuan evaluated in his heart.

Anyone who could climb up here on their own strength was truly worthy of the word monster.

Having finished experiencing it, Gu Changyuan no longer hesitated.

He raised his head and looked toward the peak of the Immortal Ascension Terrace, which was hidden in the clouds and mist.

Then, under Dugu Shiling's sluggish gaze, and under the nearly numb stares of hundreds of thousands of cultivators, Sacred Land elders, and even more high-ranking officials rushing over to the plaza below—

Gu Changyuan, holding Gu Xing'er, took a single step out.

This step crossed the distance of the remaining nine steps.

The next moment.

His figure already stood steadily at the peak of the Immortal Ascension Terrace, the one hundredth step.

Dong—!!!

The first bell toll, like the explosion of spring thunder, boomed out from the core of Mount Tianyuan, instantly spreading across the entire outer periphery of the Sacred Land.

Dong! Dong! Dong! Dong! Dong! Dong! Dong! Dong! Dong!

Immediately following were nine more bell tolls, each one more magnificent and shocking than the last!

Ten bell tolls, endless and continuous, like the sound of the Great Dao, cleansed the universe, announcing the birth of a miracle sufficient to be recorded in the annals of the Sacred Land and even shake the entire Xuanhuang Great World!

Someone had reached the summit of the Immortal Ascension Terrace!

A hundred-step bell toll, resounding through the nine heavens!

At this moment, the entire Tianren Sacred Land completely boiled over!

No matter which corner of Mount Tianyuan they were in, no matter if they were in secluded cultivation or handling affairs, all the Sacred Land disciples, deacons, elders, and even those Supreme Elders and Ancestors living in deep seclusion...

All were alarmed by these ten bell tolls, unheard of for a thousand years!

One must know that the current highest record for the Immortal Ascension Terrace was the ninety-eighth step, and the record holder was the current First Ancestor, Ye Qingxue.

And she was a top-tier powerhouse in the Tribulation Transcendence Realm, whose strength ranked in the top ten of the entire Jiuxiao Realm.

Now that a monster had reached the summit, it meant that this person's strength would completely surpass hers.

Countless incredibly tyrannical divine senses shot up into the sky from all over the Sacred Land, carrying shock, ecstasy, and disbelief, uniformly sweeping toward the direction of the Immortal Ascension Terrace.

Gu Changyuan stood at the peak of the Immortal Ascension Terrace, looking down at the myriad living beings below, who were as tiny as ants, as well as the ten majestic and sacred spiritual peaks surrounding Mount Tianyuan in the distance.

The fierce wind blew against his dark robes and unbound black hair, his clothes fluttering loudly.

The sunlight shone on the dark-embroidered gold thread patterns on his robe, refracting specks of shattered gold-like light, adding a bit more transcendent and unattainable majesty to him.

Right at this moment of intense public attention, when the atmosphere was almost frozen—

Buzz—!

A divine soul fluctuation that was more tyrannical, vast, and carried a unique spiritual charm than any previous one suddenly erupted from the direction of Mount Tianyuan's Third Peak—Tianxuan Peak.

All the Sacred Land disciples, deacons, and elders present, no matter what they were doing, upon feeling this fluctuation, simultaneously bowed toward Tianxuan Peak, kneeling on one knee, their voices uniform and full of heartfelt awe:

Greetings to the Third Ancestor—!!

The sound wave was like a tide, echoing in the sky above the plaza.

Along with this greeting, a graceful figure silently appeared in the void above the Immortal Ascension Terrace.

It was a woman who looked to be around twenty years old, wearing a light purple flowing-cloud wide-sleeved immortal dress.

Her appearance was extremely beautiful, her skin fairer than snow, her black hair like a waterfall, only a portion loosely tied up with a simple white jade hairpin, the rest falling over her shoulders.

The most eye-catching feature was her eyes, clear and bright. As her gaze flowed, it seemed she could see through people's hearts and understand the affairs of the world.

This was exactly the Third Ancestor of the Tianren Sacred Land—Bai Ling'er. Born with an Exquisite Dao Heart, she could learn any cultivation method, spell, or divine ability at first glance, and master it immediately upon learning.

Ten Thousand Arts Exquisite, Seven Apertures Completely Clear.

Seeing this familiar face, Gu Changyuan couldn't help but look at it a few more times, an involuntary, gentle smile forming at the corners of his mouth.

Compared to a thousand years ago, her appearance had hardly changed.

After all, before Gu Changyuan left the Jiuxiao Realm, he had stayed in this place for fifty years. At that time, Bai Ling'er had already grown up, her appearance frozen in her best years.

But Gu Changyuan could clearly feel that, compared to a thousand years ago, the current Bai Ling'er had so much more to her.

That was the maturity and steadiness accumulated over a thousand years of time; it was the majesty and bearing cultivated from holding a high position, managing a peak, and bearing the heavy responsibilities of the Sacred Land; it was the profundity and clarity gained after experiencing wind and rain and witnessing rise and fall.

Those agile eyes, which originally always carried curiosity and a smile, now held a calm that contained an inviolable awe-inspiring presence as she gazed downward.