If it weren't for the guidance of grandpa Wei Wuya, Fu Chen would have been willing to go with the two of them.

But with Wei Wuya's guidance, he appeared to be like the two, yet he didn't actually expend much effort dealing with the attacks in front of him.

Moreover, he was certain to obtain a heavy treasure from this Golden Celestial Tomb.

Why would Fu Chen disrupt this status quo? He's no fool to withstand like the two merely relying on cultivation? And then join them, with the spoils not of his choosing?

Only a fool would do that!

Besides, as the one who opened this Golden Celestial Tomb, Fu Chen knew well that the restrictions of the Profound Truth Secret Realm were about to be lifted; joining the two at this moment might make it hard for him to disengage later.

Upon hearing this, Ren Zong's expression stiffened, and Wu Dao beside him looked displeased.

These few were all listed among the prodigies. Earlier they heard about Fu Chen being driven away by Ning Qi, the Immortal Species of the Infinite Sword Sect from the Beixuan Domain, and they felt Fu Chen was unworthy of being among the elite.

Yet seeing that he could keep up with them alone, the two decided to bring him along, but surprisingly he was not willing?

Is twenty percent still too little?

However, now was not the time to confront him directly; let's enter this Golden Treasure Hall first.

The three ascended the ninety-nine steps of the Spiritual Ladder, a commotion coming from behind.

Several True Inheritors from other sects arrived, following closely.

Ren Zong and Wu Dao looked even more displeased.

They were like pathfinders in front, and these guys behind them made their way easily thanks to them.

But having already gained quite a bit from the palace below, they now just wanted to enter the Golden Treasure Hall to retrieve the heavy treasures, so they had to take the lead.

Fortunately, they hadn't completely cleared the obstacles on this Spiritual Ladder, with some golden divine lights still sweeping toward the rear.

Wu Dao suddenly said to Ren Zong, "I'll use an array to redirect more of it to these guys in the rear!"

Ren Zong laughed, "Alright, lest they take advantage of us!"

Suddenly, the followers coming up noticed that the attacking golden divine lights inexplicably increased.

For a moment, their speed ascending the Spiritual Ladder slowed considerably.

The crowd was baffled and thought it was a test of the Ladder.

In truth, they weren't wrong, as the Spiritual Ladder posed a test every ninety-nine steps.

A total of nine hundred and ninety-nine steps meant ten different tests.

Fu Chen saw their little trick and remained silent, as it was beneficial to him anyway.

He glanced down as well, reaching a height where he should have been able to gaze upon the hills below.

Yet, to his dismay, once on this Spiritual Ladder, he could only see the happenings on the Ladder.

The situation within the palace below appeared shrouded in a veil of fog and was no longer visible.

"The master of this Golden Celestial Tomb was thorough; if one could overlook the palaces below from the Ladder, knowing who arrived, seeing which palaces are more important, it would all be obvious."

Ascending the Spiritual Ladder, if they saw formidable opponents arriving, they might descend the Ladder again.

If they spotted some hidden and important palaces below, they might choose to return and explore.

Nevertheless, the master of the Golden Celestial Tomb left nothing to chance, preventing such occurrences, a test for those daring to ascend the Heaven-Ascending Ladder.

In Fu Chen's heart appeared a white-clad figure, as he mused:

"I wonder if Ning Qi has arrived yet? Among the five prodigies, three have yet to arrive."

"Niu Man, in order to obtain all the Spirit Blood of the Hundred Demons Palace, certainly won't come too soon."

"As for Chu Xiaotian, that guy, he's been seeking trouble with Ning Qi all along. While he might not defeat Ning Qi, delaying Ning Qi would be beneficial to me..."

"I must seize the time, snag some heavy treasures swiftly, and then make a quiet exit."

Fu Chen stepped onto the hundredth level of the Spiritual Ladder, and suddenly, the attacking golden divine lights vanished completely.

In front of him appeared a golden shadow of the Primordial Spirit Realm, immediately attacking him.

Behind, Ren Zong and Wu Dao also discovered what Fu Chen had previously noticed.

They too stepped onto the hundredth level of the Spiritual Ladder, and instantly two golden shadows attacked them.

The three battled while continuing to climb, but every ten more steps, another golden shadow would appear.

Thus, they understood the pattern and had to deal with the golden shadows within each ten-step range before stepping onto the next ten steps.

Otherwise, if they rushed up to the last ten steps, the number of golden shadows each faced would add up to a frightening number!

Although all three were prodigies, even they could not withstand the attacks of so many golden shadows.

The main issue was the excessive consumption, and who knew what tests lay ahead?

...

Below at Shaoyang Palace!

The word Shaoyang has meanings of nascent yang energy at dawn and dusk, the beginning of life, and the intent realm of heaven and earth giving birth to all things.

Just as Fu Chen and the other two ascended the hundredth level of the Spiritual Ladder, Ning Qi and his team finally broke the restriction of the Shaoyang Palace.

The palace gates opened, and Ning Qi and his team immediately surged in.

During which, several cultivators passing by took one look at their formation and immediately left, not daring to contend for the fortunes of this Shaoyang Palace.

There were so many palaces here, competing unless for something special or against a nemesis was simply wasting time, wasting other great opportunities.

Opening this Shaoyang Palace was no small feat, even for Ning Qi, costing him considerable effort.

Unlike the Hundred Demons Palace before, the restriction here was exceedingly difficult, highly complex, no wonder the array master unmatched Wu Dao did not linger here.

There were thirty-six formation nodes here, and two interlocking arrays more powerful than the restriction of the Hundred Demons Palace by far.

More terrifyingly, each formation node was suppressed by a treasure!

One of the arrays had a resolution similar to the Hundred Demons Palace, requiring eighteen formation nodes of different attribute spiritual qi and varying intensity.

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