Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou squatted on the ground, digging a hole with a dagger, burying the ladder underneath, and tamping the soil.

Lu Yang kicked the ladder, but it didn’t budge. Instead, it made his right foot numb.

“Not bad, very sturdy. I’ll try it first. You can come up if I succeed.”

“No problem,” Meng Jingzhou nodded.

Lu Yang rubbed his hands, took three steps and two steps, and climbed up the ladder nimbly. When he climbed to the corner of the ladder, which was parallel to the fiftieth step, he muttered to himself, “Oh no.”

Lu Yang forced himself to look ahead and not look down, like a caterpillar crawling forward.

The people on the steps looked up at Lu Yang approaching the fiftieth step step by step, stunned.

They saw a huge ladder standing on the ground, with a ninety-degree bend, and the end was the fiftieth step.

They had seen Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou making the ladder below, but didn’t think much of it.

They had finally made it to the fortieth step with great effort. If they went down to see what the two were doing and found out that they were crazy, they wouldn’t have the strength to climb back up to the fortieth step. The challenge would have failed completely.

Man Gu was the fastest among them and had reached the forty-ninth step. However, the fiftieth step was like a chasm, difficult to cross. He felt like he was carrying a mountain on his back and was about to be crushed.

Then he watched as Lu Yang crawled past him and reached the fiftieth step.

Lu Yang succeeded in passing the level with some difficulty.

Meng Jingzhou followed closely behind and also passed the level.

The first and second places were born.

…

At the same time, outside the Wenzhen Mountain of the Seek Tao Sect, the disciples were in chaos.

“Don’t stop me. I must teach these two a lesson today. I promise not to kill them!” Dai Bufan’s muscles bulged with rage, like a bear robbed of its honey.

Junior brothers and sisters hurriedly stepped forward to dissuade him:

“Dai Senior Brother, you can’t hit them!”

“Dai Senior Brother, you need to calm down.”

“If something happens to the participants, it will ruin the reputation of our Seek Tao Sect!”

“Taking advantage of someone smaller than you is not good for our reputation, Dai Senior Brother!”

“Dai Senior Brother, don’t forget that the third challenge is a test of the heart. You can’t get angry!”

Dai Bufan calmed down when he heard the last sentence.

Yes, the third challenge was a test of the heart. Being so easily angered was not conducive to future cultivation.

“…Wait a minute, the third challenge is a test for them, not for me!”

The disciples of the Seek Tao Sect became chaotic again.

The River Spirit, seeing this, felt much better in his heart and retreated to the river, no longer bothering the two.

…

Perhaps the example of Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou’s successful cooperation inspired everyone. The disciples participating in the challenge shouted and finally rushed to the fiftieth step.

Man Gu was the first, followed by people that Lu Yang didn’t know. They were all people who ranked behind Lu Yang, and he didn’t know what special talents they had. Finally, there were a few with double spirit roots that Lu Yang had seen before.

The remaining people kept trying but couldn’t take a step forward. They wanted to go down the mountain and climb to the fiftieth step using the ladder made by Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou, but they couldn’t bear the pressure of going up or down one step anymore.

“The third challenge is over. Those who stay on the mountain are disqualified.” Yun Zhi announced coldly, letting Dai Bufan bring the people down.Wenxin Mountain forcibly pulled people to the level where ordinary people could not remove their abilities. Even Dai Bufan couldn’t do it. If he wanted to go up the mountain to rescue people, he could only climb the mountain step by step under the pressure of Wenxin Mountain.

Dai Bufan glared at Lu Yang fiercely before climbing Wenxin Mountain calmly and reaching the fiftieth step in one go.

The disciples who had just passed the third level saw Dai Bufan climbing so easily and couldn’t understand why they had to struggle to reach the fiftieth step, even though they were only fourteen or fifteen years old and had been exposed to cultivation early with the support of their family. They felt that they couldn’t truly understand what Tao and Immortality were.

“Nothing is hard to understand. Even with the support of your family and exposure to cultivation at a young age, you’re still like flowers in the mirror and moon in the water without real experience. Cultivation is also about cultivating the mind. When you have achieved success in cultivation, climbing Wenxin Mountain will no longer be difficult.”

It wasn’t until the end of the explanation that Yun Zhi remembered something and symbolically added, “Congratulations on becoming disciples of Seek Tao Sect.”

Yun Zhi waved her hand, the bell on her wrist jingled, and water mist rose up, forming clouds that lifted everyone up.

Lu Yang stood on the clouds and watched as the distance from the ground grew higher and higher. He tried to swallow his saliva and his heart was in his throat.

Damn, cultivating immortality is really exciting.

Yun Zhi stood on the clouds and said to the junior brothers and sisters who were doing the finishing work below, “Thank you for your hard work today. After you finish cleaning up, you can continue with your own tasks.”

The junior brothers and sisters said in unison, “Yes,” and then shouted one, two, three, one, two, three, dismantling and carrying the ladder made by Lu Yang and the others.

What’s with the ladder on Wenxin Mountain?

Lu Yang couldn’t even open his eyes on the cloud, but he heard everyone else excitedly talking about and admiring the scenery. He couldn’t contain his curiosity and opened his eyes, only to be stunned by the scenery before him.

A mountain sat in the center of the mountains, towering a thousand feet high, straight into the clouds. It was steep and vertical on all sides, like a refined immortal sword, grand and majestic. Eight mountains emitting a strange aura surrounded the central mountain, and there were also layers of mountain ranges outside.

The mountains were stacked like a blooming lotus, which was fascinating!

The mist shrouded the nine mountains, adding to their mystery.

Yun Zhi said lightly, “There are nine core peaks in Seek Tao Sect. The central peak is where the Sect Master resides. It’s called Tianmen Peak. The other eight peaks are under the names of the eight elders, each with their own strengths and different functions.”

“In addition to these peaks, some are trial grounds for the sect, some are extensions of the elders’ peaks, some are places for disciples to cultivate, and there are also some dangerous places where you can die if your cultivation is not enough… It’s not something that can be explained in a few words. You can explore gradually in the future.”

“Cultivation emphasizes the word ‘fate.’ You can freely move around Seek Tao Sect within the next month, visit the peaks, go to the scripture pavilion, and ask senior brothers and elders for advice.”

“After a month, you must choose an elder as your master, but of course, the prerequisite is that the elder agrees to accept you as his disciple.”

Man Gu asked, “Can we only choose elders? Can we choose the Sect Master?”

“You can, but the Sect Master has never liked teaching disciples, so your chance of success is very small.” Yun Zhi said, but there were still many people who wanted to cultivate under the Sect Master.Seek Tao Sect is one of the five major immortal sects in the central continent. Its sect master’s position is supreme, and its strength is beyond doubt. It has few rivals in the world of cultivation. Being able to be accepted as disciples by such a master is a great honor, and the benefits, both visible and hidden, are countless!

“Someone will take you to your respective caves later.”

“Lu Yang, Meng Jingzhou, you two stay behind.”