"Do you know where you were wrong?"

Leng Qingqiu looked at her disciple with a very serious expression and asked.

Qing'er said: "This disciple should not have been so arrogant and despotic."

"No."

Leng Qingqiu said word by word: "You should not have rashly invited them to join my Heartless Palace without confirming their identities. Remember, my Heartless Palace has a threshold for accepting disciples."

Hearing this, Qing'er couldn't help but be stunned, then said respectfully: "This disciple will remember your teachings, Master. Are you alright, Master?"

Leng Qingqiu waved her hand: "I'm fine. In that battle just now, I was just careless for a moment and suffered some minor injuries. A short period of meditation will be enough. However, if we encounter cultivators from Wendao Academy again, do not act rashly."

"Yes."

The disciples of the Heartless Palace responded respectfully. They were not fools; after witnessing Nie Xiuyuan's strength, to continue provoking him would be asking for trouble.

The night passed without incident.

The various forces all spent the night peacefully in their respective camps.

Early the next morning, the disciples of Wendao Academy continued to advance deeper into North Jade Mountain.

Wang Baole followed behind Nie Xiuyuan and asked: "Senior Brother, there is clearly vegetation in this North Jade Mountain, yet we can't see a single beast. Isn't that too strange?"

Nie Xiuyuan explained with a smile: "Actually, this is easy to explain. Every beast has an extremely strong sense of territory. Although the Taotie is an Ancient Divine Beast, it is also a type of beast. Let alone the beasts, even we cultivators will be expelled the moment before North Jade Mountain closes."

Wang Baole nodded slightly and muttered: "I wonder where that Taotie's essence blood will be?"

Nie Xiuyuan said faintly: "No rush. As long as the beast's essence blood is in this mountain, we will definitely get it."

Wang Baole cupped his fists and said: "Then I'll have to trouble Senior Brother to take action and help."

Nie Xiuyuan: "It's no trouble at all."

Over the next few days, the two continuously gathered the disciples of Wendao Academy.

Finally, after seven days, all the disciples of Wendao Academy who had entered North Jade Mountain had gathered around them.

Nie Xiuyuan had Elder Huang take a headcount. After confirming that no one had perished, the grand group headed toward the main peak of North Jade Mountain.

As the disciples of Wendao Academy got closer to the main peak, the surrounding cultivators also became more numerous.

Along the way, cultivators from the other forces would subconsciously choose to make way when they saw the group from Wendao Academy.

In response, Nie Xiuyuan and the others were not polite. After all, they had entered North Jade Mountain to contend for opportunities, so naturally they would not be polite to anyone.

The main peak of North Jade Mountain was surrounded by clouds and mist, with dense spiritual energy. From a distance, it looked just like an immortal mountain.

After entering the main peak, the dense spiritual energy gave many people an impulse to sit down and cultivate on the spot.

But the more it was like this, the more everyone wanted to see what was actually on the main peak.

Everyone climbed along the narrow mountain path. When they passed through the clouds and mist, a golden, magnificent, and imposing palace, just like an immortal palace, appeared before their eyes.

A stone staircase, built from white jade stones, led straight to the palace. Surrounded by the clouds and mist, it looked like a boundless, endless ladder to the heavens.

Nie Xiuyuan and Wang Baole subconsciously used their divine sense to look toward the mountaintop. They quickly discovered that their divine sense was blocked by a terrifying force the moment it reached the outside of the stone staircase.

Hiss...

Wang Baole sucked in a breath of cold air, muttering: "This immortal palace has something strange about it."

Nie Xiuyuan said: "I sense the Power of the Great Dao."

Wang Baole: "Senior Brother, are you saying this immortal palace is the cultivation ground of that Ancient Beast Saint?"

"Indeed."

Nie Xiuyuan explained: "Only a Saint can use the Power of the Great Dao to create such a magnificent heavenly ladder. Let's go see what kind of test this person has left for us."

"Alright."

Wang Baole would naturally not retreat now that he had arrived here.

Under the leadership of the two, the group of disciples from Wendao Academy walked up the stone steps one after another.

The moment everyone set foot on the stone steps, they felt a terrifying pressure envelop them.

Nie Xiuyuan and Wang Baole subconsciously looked at each other and smiled, saying in unison: "So this Saint also likes this kind of game."

They had seen this kind of test before and did not take it to heart.

As the group walked farther and farther up the stone steps, cultivators gradually began to fall behind.

At the same time, cultivators from the various sacred grounds also arrived at the base of the stone steps one after another, and they all started up the mountain.

A day later.

The Wendao Academy group was left with only Nie Xiuyuan and Wang Baole. At this point, they had only just passed the halfway point of the heavenly ladder.

Behind them, the Golden Cicada Buddhist Son, the Crown Prince of North Abyss, and the Heartless Palace Saintess also led their people to catch up.

Besides them, disciples from the other major sacred grounds also caught up one after another.

Nie Xiuyuan glanced at the sky and said to Wang Baole with a smile: "Junior Brother, it's getting late today. How about we have a few drinks here on the steps and eat something?"

He did not speak loudly, but it was loud enough for the people behind them to hear.

In an instant, several gazes fell squarely on Nie Xiuyuan and Wang Baole.

Feeling the strange gazes of the crowd, Wang Baole said with a smile: "Sure, let's eat something and rest for a bit, then continue tomorrow."

As they spoke, they made way for a path and sat down on the stone steps.

One took a wine gourd from his storage ring, while the other took out delicious food, completely ignoring the strange gazes of those behind them as they began to eat and drink.

Before long, the crowd smelled the fragrant aroma of wine and delicious food.

Gulp.

Even though the people behind them were all at least Nirvana Realm cultivators, they couldn't help but swallow a mouthful of saliva upon smelling these aromas.

The commander of the Black Dragon Army from the North Abyss Sacred Dynasty said with disdain: "Grandstanding. If you can't make it up, just say so. Why put on such an indifferent act?"

But his words received no agreement. The strength of Nie Xiuyuan was still acknowledged by the three half-Saint experts present.

The three of them had not felt any pressure upon reaching this point, so surely Nie Xiuyuan was no exception. However, his actions made everyone extremely puzzled.

Could it be that Nie Xiuyuan intended to give up the opportunities within the Saint Palace?

The crowd paid the two no mind and continued to walk up the stone steps.

Two hours later.

Nie Xiuyuan and Wang Baole, full from their meal and drink, continued to climb the stone steps.

After walking only a few dozen steps, they saw the Black Dragon Army commander who had mocked them earlier. At this moment, he was drenched in sweat, a ray of saint light emanating from him, seemingly activating his saint body to resist the pressure on the steps.

Neither of them spoke; they just smiled faintly and continued onward.

Such a casual disregard caused the Black Dragon Army commander's composure to instantly break. Just as he opened his mouth, before a single word could come out, his foot slipped, and with a thud, he tumbled down from the stone steps.

Seeing this, Nie Xiuyuan and Wang Baole smiled and shook their heads, continuing onward. Before long, they saw the figures of the Crown Prince of North Abyss and the others...

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