Suddenly, a flash of unusual light caught the corner of Fang Mingshan’s eye.

He instinctively looked up, and his breath caught in his throat.

There, on the one hundred and first step, growing tenaciously from a crack right at the edge of the stone, was a peculiar Spiritual Plant.

The Spirit Plant Mushroom Umbrella was about the size of a palm, its layers stacked like converging purple clouds. A dreamlike violet mist flowed across its surface.

Its roots were deep purple, burrowing deep into the White Jade Star Steps.

Faint spiritual light flickered around it, emitting a dense, earthy spiritual aura. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

"An Earth Vein Purple Cloud Ganoderma! And it’s Tier Two Top Grade!"

Fang Mingshan cried out in shock, his eyes filled with ecstatic greed.

This item could not only greatly purify his Purple Mansion Demonic Essence, but it also contained the power of the Earth Vein.

It had the effect of nourishing the Dantian and solidifying one’s Realm.

It was priceless.

Fang Mingshan impatiently lifted his foot, wanting to ascend another step.

However, the moment his foot rose an inch,

a terrifying gravitational force, a hundred times stronger than before, came crashing down!

"Ugh..."

Caught off guard, Fang Mingshan let out a pained grunt as his raised foot was brutally forced back down.

His knees buckled violently, and he almost fell to his knees on the spot.

"Damn it! After Guiding my Fate Star, it won’t let me climb any higher?"

Fang Mingshan’s expression turned ugly.

He desperately circulated his Demon Skill.

Earthy-yellow Di Tuhao Star Power surged out of him, and his face turned beet red from the effort.

Yet he couldn’t even move a single finger, let alone take a step to pick the Spiritual Plant that was right within his reach.

At that moment, the sound of Breaking the Sky came from below. Two Cultivators dressed in the attire of the Daqian Royal Family were using a joint Secret Technique.

They had actually managed to struggle up to the one hundredth step!

When the two saw the Earth Vein Purple Cloud Ganoderma on the one hundred and first step, their eyes also flashed with fervor.

"Two pieces of trash dare to covet a Spiritual Object? Perfect. You’ll serve as fodder to solidify my Cultivation!"

Fang Mingshan had been looking for a place to vent his rage.

He formed a sword with his fingers, and a sharp, blood-tinged golden glint shot out as fast as lightning, aimed straight at the two Daqian Cultivators.

Star Technique: Geng Metal Breaking Fiend!

The two never imagined Fang Mingshan could still attack under such immense pressure. Horrified, they frantically circulated their True Essence to defend themselves.

SHINK! SHINK!

The Geng Metal Evil Qi, empowered by his Purple Mansion Demon Skill, was shockingly powerful. It instantly tore through their Protective Spiritual Light and pierced their chests.

"You Demon..."

The two screamed as their Essence, Blood, Soul, and Spirit were instantly siphoned away by Fang Mingshan from a distance, transforming into Blood Qi that entered his body.

Replenished by the two Cultivators’ Essence Blood, Fang Mingshan’s spirits lifted.

"Haha! A few more..."

The Magic Power around him surged, and his spine, which had been bent by the gravity, actually straightened slightly.

A savage joy appeared on his face.

Just then, a deep, cold voice suddenly rang out.

"You dare kill my Daqian Cultivators? You’re courting death."

A lean figure wrapped in a wide, gray cloak leaped effortlessly onto the one hundredth stone step, seemingly unaffected by the gravity.

VMMMM!

A heavy, earthy-yellow light erupted.

The phantom of a hundred-zhang-tall Golden Armored Divine General materialized out of thin air.

The Divine General was majestic, and in its hand, it held an enormous black ruler, magnified countless times!

"A Positional Divine Technique, [Mountain Guard Soldiers]?!"

Fang Mingshan’s pupils shrank in terror.

He frantically mobilized his Demonic Essence, and his Di Tuhao Star Power formed a thick Earth Shield in front of him.

He shrieked, "I am a Purple Mansion..."

BOOOOM—!!!

Before he could finish his sentence, the [Mountain Guard Soldiers] had arrived.

The black ruler crushed down. The Earth Shield from his Life Star shattered like it was made of paper.

The savage, triumphant look on Fang Mingshan’s face froze instantly.

CRACK!

The grating sound of bones breaking echoed out.

Fang Mingshan let out a short, piercing scream.

His chest caved in, his ribs were completely shattered, and his internal organs were turned to pulp.

The immense power of the Positional Divine Technique attached to the giant ruler erupted, and Fang Mingshan’s body dissolved into nothingness, disappearing within the Star Ruins.

"Such a powerful Positional Divine Technique! What is this person’s background? He can kill a Star Mansion Cultivator with a single move?!"

The crowd below was horrified, stunned by Shi Nanxing’s ruthless methods.

Meanwhile, Qin Xuan had just barely reached the seventy-ninth step.

He had already been forgotten by the crowd, hidden among them.

’So... the Star Steps themselves hide a Secret Technique.’

Qin Xuan seemed to have an epiphany, his eyes shining faintly.

Tiny points of starlight bobbed around him, and his steps were steady, carrying a peculiar rhythm.

With every step he took, the brilliance of the Star Steps beneath his feet seemed to cheer for him.

A heavy, ancient aura began to gather around him.

Unfortunately, no one noticed Qin Xuan’s current transformation at all.

...

On the Star Inquiry Stage, starlight cascaded like a waterfall.

The higher they went, the sparser the climbers became, and the slower their pace.

As for Qin Xuan, he had long been left far behind by the others.

He lingered on the eighty-ninth step, his pace so slow it was suffocating.

Compared to prodigies like Wei Qingyi and Liu Mobai, who had already ascended over two hundred steps and were even approaching the three hundredth, he was moving at a snail’s pace.

But Qin Xuan himself was completely unaware.

His entire focus was already immersed in a wondrous state of enlightenment.

...

On the one hundredth step, several more people successfully arrived one after another.

With Fang Mingshan’s cautionary tale before them, those who came after were also excited but acted much more cautiously. No one dared to act rashly again.

One of them sat down cross-legged and said with a wry smile,

"I’m afraid this is the limit of my potential. To be able to guide a Life Star at all is a blessing."

「A moment later.」

The Di Tuhao star lit up again in the sky, sending down an earthy-yellow pillar of light.

Meanwhile, near the two hundredth step, a short, dwarf-like figure suddenly stopped, erupting with an astonishing aura.

It was Hou Qi.

Flames coiled around Hou Qi’s body. He gave a soft shout, his eyes flashing with brilliant light.

"Life Star, come!"

High in the firmament, the Southern Vermilion Bird’s Sixth Star suddenly blazed with intense light.

A crimson pillar of light, fiery red and violently scorching, descended and engulfed him.

In that instant, Hou Qi’s consciousness was pulled away.

He felt as if he had fallen into a hell of molten lava.

He saw an immensely large, two-headed flame serpent coiled amidst an endless sea of fire and lava.

Its two ferocious Snake Heads hissed, their poisonous fangs sharp.

As its forked tongues flickered in and out, the very void was scorched and torn, leaving behind distorted trails.

"It’s the Winged Fire Snake! I’ve finally obtained you..."

Hou Qi was overjoyed, a strained smile appearing on his face.

He then saw that as the Winged Fire Snake flew, old, burning snake skins were constantly shedding from its body.

The moment these old skins left the snake’s body, they transformed into palm-sized, lively Fire Element Spirits.

They frolicked and danced in the sea of fire before diving back into the great flames.

The cycle repeated endlessly, a truly mystical and bizarre sight!

"Look! That Demon Cultivator’s name has appeared on the Star Ruins Celestial Pride List!" someone exclaimed.

The names on the Star Ruins Celestial Pride List shifted once again.

A crimson-red light shot up the ranks, far ahead of Fang Mingshan’s position, rising by more than a thousand places.

[Hou Longtao, Step 200, 36,100th place]

"In other words, over the past ten thousand years, more than thirty thousand prodigies have left their names on the Star Inquiry Stage and obtained a Purple Mansion Fate Star."

The Cultivators were all shaken to the core.

Hou Qi’s aura climbed steadily. Surrounded by flames, it seemed he was on the verge of opening a Fire Element Star Mansion in his Dantian.

...

Higher up, on the two hundred and ninety-ninth step, Liu Mobai and Wei Qingyi stood almost shoulder to shoulder.

Liu Mobai fanned himself lightly, appearing relaxed, but the fine beads of sweat on his temples showed he was under immense pressure.

Wei Qingyi, on the other hand, had a grim expression, his face flushed red as if he were at the end of his strength.

The two of them had long since stopped paying attention to what was happening below.

Suddenly, Wei Qingyi’s body jolted. His eyes lit up, and he stared intently at the three hundredth step.

"It’s my Life Star’s opportunity!"

The starlight was dense, as if something was calling out to him intensely.

"ROAR!"

A majestic, domineering dragon’s roar resounded in the depths of Wei Qingyi’s heart!

A cyan pillar of starlight shot straight down, completely enveloping Wei Qingyi.

Wei Qingyi’s mind trembled violently.

In a daze, his consciousness was pulled into a boundless sea of clouds.

The sea of clouds churned, vast and endless. Suddenly, a cyan light tore through the void, ripping through layers of stellar mist.

A massive cyan Flood Dragon with formidable Scale Armor extended its draconic head from the depths of the clouds. A single horn grew from its head, glinting with a cold light.

Its draconic eyes were an icy, cyan-gold color. It looked down on him with indifference, its body wreathed in Yi Wood Element Vitality and thunderous Evil Qi, its presence vast and majestic.

"It’s the first of the Cyan Dragon’s Seven Stars, the Jiaomu Flood Dragon!"

Overjoyed, Wei Qingyi opened his arms wide.

In the blink of an eye, his figure was submerged in the cyan starlight.

The phantom of the Eastern Cyan Dragon’s First Star, the [Jiaomu Flood Dragon], roared and churned in his sea of consciousness.

"The starlight is dense, the Life Star has reached Great Success! Another Demon Cultivator from the Blood Demon Sword Sect has achieved the Star Palace!"

A Daqian Cultivator wailed in despair.

The dragon’s roar resonated with the acupoints throughout his body as pure Yi Wood Element Vitality surged madly into him.

Within his Dantian, a vast Star Mansion was blasted open!

[Wei Qingyi, Step 300, 29,981st place]