System's Super Sect-Chapter 105, close at hand, yet far away

At this moment, Han Zhiyu pulled out an item from his bosom, two thumb-sized red stones. They had the crystal clarity of jade, though without its beauty, as they were enveloped by hundreds and thousands of tiny patterns resembling densely packed centipedes.

Han Zhiyu picked one out and handed it over, "These are two Sensing Stones, crush one if anything happens, and I’ll come immediately."

One person took the thumb-sized Sensing Stone from Han Zhiyu’s hand, put it away in his bosom, and impatiently turned around.

The other responded, "Second Uncle, rest assured. I, Li Jiang, will certainly wreak havoc among them like a flock of chickens and dogs, blood flowing like rivers, as cruel as can be—pulling out the people behind the Immortal Sect."

Saying this, Li Jiang, along with his younger brother Li He, strode out of the alley and walked straight to the Sword Stele, stepping onto the first layer of stone steps.

At the same time, Wen Ping, who had just sat down in Tingyu Pavilion, heard the voice of the Evil Spirit Knight next to his ear.

There was emotion in the incomprehensible words.

Yearning.

Hunger.

And a touch of excitement.

The system quickly translated, "Master, two Body Refining Thirteenth Layer Realm cultivators have ascended the mountain. They arrive with great malice, and their wicked souls make my mouth water."

"More people have come?"

Wen Ping suddenly gulped down the tea in his cup, placed the tea cup back at the center of the round table, then stood up and reached for an inkstone, pressing it onto the Martial Arts Conference plan diagram before him.

He had originally intended to sit and drink tea while looking for any flaws in the plan; now it seemed the plan had fallen through.

Then he said to the system, "I want to see their personal information."

In an instant, the information panel appeared.

With just a glance, Wen Ping had taken interest, realizing that the two Body Refining Thirteenth Layer cultivators from Extreme Realm Mountain were wicked people, which was why the Evil Spirit Knight would develop a previously absent feeling of craving.

The newcomers definitely had ill intentions, and when Wen Ping initially thought of letting the Evil Spirit Knight devour their souls directly, he had a sudden idea. "Since they are here, don’t rush; let them climb the stairs first."

With that, Wen Ping sat back down, removed the inkstone with his right hand, began sketching on the planning map with a smile.

Meanwhile, the two individuals climbing the mountain had already disappeared from Han Zhiyu’s sight.

Li Jiang held two short knives, roughly half the length of his forearm; as the younger brother, Li He pulled a few sections of an iron rod from his back, quickly piecing them together to assemble a long spear.

When the long spear touched the ground, sparks flew with their steps, accompanied by the noisy, ear-piercing sound of metal friction.

As time flowed by, the stairs gradually stretched behind them, and Cangwu City started to shrink behind them. What once seemed as large as thumbs now appeared merely soy-sized.

Li Jiang looked up at the summit within reach and quickly said, "Speed up, don’t keep Second Uncle waiting impatiently at the foot of the mountain."

Li He nodded, also increasing his pace, changing his stride from two layers per step to four or five per step. As he walked, Li He suddenly said, "Brother, what do you think Second Uncle will reward us with if we help the Young Master retrieve the Wooden Flowing Sand?"

"We won’t be short-changed, for sure." ƒreeωebnovel.ƈom

"If we asked Second Uncle for Vein Technique, do you think he would agree?"

Li Jiang raised an eyebrow, confidently saying, "That’s inevitable. Second Uncle is now in the Profound Realm, qualified to browse Vein Technique freely. We two are his only relatives, and we helped out significantly, so he’ll definitely teach us a few moves."

"Certainly, haha."

"Alright, I’m not worried about the rewards; all I’m thinking of now is who’ll get there first and do it best. Perhaps the best doer might receive a reward from Second Uncle, maybe even the Young Master."

With that, Li Jiang immediately sped up, leaving his gun-wielding brother no time to react and started racing ahead.

"That damn cheat."

Li He couldn’t help but curse before chasing after.

Wind swept past them, whipping their clothing and long hair; they fluttered and swayed with the wind behind them. The scenes before them slowly changed, endless trees swiftly left behind.

Originally, they planned to slaughter their way up, but after walking a stretch without seeing any figures, their earlier excitement gradually faded.

Of course, encountering no one alone wouldn’t cause such frustration.

But with no one around and traversing a ridiculously long flight of stone steps, the combination instilled a longing to slash more people on the mountain.

Li He stopped his pace, glanced at the surrounding dense forest, and resentfully spat onto the ground, cursing, "These steps are so long. Even our Extreme Realm Mountain Main Hall world only has three hundred layers; I’ve nearly run several thousand here and still not reached the summit."

But after his complaints, he could only resume running upward.

A quarter of an incense stick time passed.

They were still sprinting.

The burning hour of an incense stick elapsed.

Both raised their heads to look at the summit; it seemed within reach yet appeared far—just as it did an hour ago.

Seeing this, Li Jiang stopped, wiped the sweat from his forehead with his hand, murmuring to himself, "How much longer is this absurdity?"

"Brother, tired?"

Li He was also drenched in sweat, yet didn’t seem to mind, glancing smugly at his older brother, then continued running upward without turning back—retaliating against Li Jiang for racing ahead.

Seeing the departing Li He, Li Jiang wielding double knives cursed loudly, "Is this idiot not yet realizing the problem? Yunlan Mountain looks around a few hundred meters tall; the longest stone steps might be two thousand layers. But I’ve been running a burning incense stick’s worth of time, enough to circle Cangwu City."

Though he grew suspicious, he pursued anyway.

Time slowly ebbed away, Han Zhiyu had already grown impatient waiting at the mountain’s base, for the tenth time taking out the Sensing Stone from his bosom. As soon as the other Sensing Stone shattered, the Secret Pattern inside his stone would coil together, allowing him to proceed up the mountain.

But upon scrutinizing it, realizing the Sensing Stone showed no change, he irritably put it back in his bosom.

"Half an hour has passed, why haven’t those two made any moves? Could it be the people behind the Immortal Sect haven’t emerged?"

At this time, not only Han Zhiyu grew anxious, but the two brothers frantically sprinting up the stone steps for half an hour became exceptionally agitated as well. Post-agitation, an ominous feeling simultaneously surfaced in their hearts.

This feeling was like a needle suddenly stabbing their hearts.

Painful, yet unavoidable.

Li He with the spear decided to stop running. He halted, stood on the stone steps, gazed at the summit direction; sweat dripped from his chin as he regretfully gazed at Li Jiang, asking, "Brother, did we fall into a trap? These stone steps seem endless."

Li Jiang rolled his eyes at his dumb brother, thinking to himself: You just realized?

"Seems like we’re caught in a trap."

"What do we do now?"

"If we can’t go up, let’s head back and discuss a strategy with Second Uncle."

"Alright!"

Nodding, the two promptly dashed downwards.