Chapter 418: Climbing the Peak

"Brother Han, don't worry about me. I have no enmity with these people; I'm just an insignificant nobody. Even if they catch up, they probably won't do much to me. You go on quickly," Lu Yuqing said again.

Han Li frowned, then suddenly stepped over to Lu Yuqing, reached out, and wrapped an arm around her slender waist, lifting her up.

Lu Yuqing was stunned, and before she could react, she was already in his arms.

Holding Lu Yuqing, Han Li immediately transferred the gravity that had been weighing on her onto himself.

But this amount of gravity was naturally something he could bear. He tapped his feet and quickly ascended the steps with a clatter.

"Brother Han..." Lu Yuqing opened her mouth and murmured.

"Since I promised to take you along, as long as it's within my power, I will naturally keep you safe," Han Li said calmly, looking straight ahead.

Lu Yuqing gazed at Han Li's composed face, a flicker of admiration passing through her beautiful eyes before she lowered her head.

The Cold Flame Ancestor and Xiong Shan ahead noticed Han Li's situation, and both showed a trace of surprise.

"Fellow Daoist Cold Flame, your helper is quite the sentimental fool, daring to carry a burden on this Silver Stairway. Admirable, admirable," Xiong Shan said with a hint of mockery in his eyes.

The Cold Flame Ancestor frowned. The gravity restriction on this silver staircase was extremely formidable; even with his physical strength and years of preparation, he dared not be careless.

Han Li carrying someone doubled the difficulty, not just adding a simple layer.

The Cold Flame Ancestor remained silent, his expression toward Han Li growing somewhat colder.

Han Li slowly activated his physical strength, and his speed increased rapidly, doubling in an instant, nearly matching the pockmarked old man. The distance between them stopped closing.

Seeing this, the pockmarked old man's face darkened.

The expressions of the Cold Flame Ancestor and Xiong Shan ahead also changed.

They had never expected that Han Li, now carrying someone, would climb faster than before, even slightly faster than them, slowly catching up.

Surprise flashed in their eyes. They took a deep breath, and the starlight and golden light on their bodies brightened as they immediately quickened their pace.

Time passed bit by bit, and in the blink of an eye, over half an hour had gone by.

Everyone had already passed halfway up the silver staircase.

The Cold Flame Ancestor and Xiong Shan were still in the lead, but Han Li had almost caught up, only about twenty-some steps behind.

The pockmarked old man followed closely behind Han Li, about a hundred steps behind.

As for the others from Ghost Cry Sect, they were far behind, reduced to tiny black dots, no longer visible.

At this point, the gravity on the silver staircase had reached an extremely terrifying level.

None of them could climb at their previous speed; they all slowed down one after another.

The Cold Flame Ancestor was wrapped in bright starlight, like a layer of luminous gauze, appearing mysterious and powerful.

He walked at the front, step by step, at a relatively constant pace.

Xiong Shan was surrounded by dazzling golden light, his skin also turning gold and covered with patterns. He looked like a golden statue, exuding an immense aura of physical power.

He was a few steps behind the Cold Flame Ancestor but also advanced steadily.

Seeing Xiong Shan's current form, the Cold Flame Ancestor showed some surprise—this was a rather impressive body-tempering secret technique.

When the two had come to the Youhan Palace last time and climbed this staircase, Xiong Shan hadn't known this body-tempering technique; he must have practiced it over the years.

But that was nothing; he too had made many preparations over the years.

The Cold Flame Ancestor looked further back.

Han Li was also emitting a layer of starlight, carrying Lu Yuqing and advancing steadily, showing no signs of strain. He kept pace with the two ahead without falling behind, appearing completely at ease.

Lu Yuqing, however, had her eyes tightly shut and remained motionless, as if asleep.

This scene startled the Cold Flame Ancestor.

Han Li's physical strength far exceeded his imagination.

Below, Han Li seemed to sense the Cold Flame Ancestor's gaze and looked up, their eyes meeting.

The Cold Flame Ancestor's heart suddenly skipped a beat. He forced a smile at Han Li and quickly turned his head away.

Han Li's expression was indifferent. He shifted his gaze from the Cold Flame Ancestor and looked toward the top of the silver staircase.

According to his estimate, the silver staircase had about ten thousand steps, and there were still over three thousand steps to the top.

He had only used a small portion of his physical strength so far. If the gravity restriction on the remaining steps increased at the same rate as before, he should be able to make it.

But...

Han Li looked behind him.

The pockmarked old man was following closely, black light flickering around him, not falling behind at all.

Han Li's eyes flickered. The pockmarked old man's physical strength was average, giving him no advantage on this staircase. But as a Golden Immortal, if he continued at this pace, although he might not catch up, he could probably follow to the end.

Once they left the special environment of the silver staircase, the pockmarked old man would definitely attack them immediately.

This man's aura was obscure, and his strength unknown. Han Li was not afraid, but he was still a nuisance.

His mind raced, and the starlight around him intensified. He increased his pace by fifty percent.

The Cold Flame Ancestor and Xiong Shan, sensing Han Li's sudden speed increase, were stunned. But they had no time to dwell on it and could only continue climbing with all their might.

In just a few breaths, Han Li caught up to the two of them and was about to overtake them.

The Cold Flame Ancestor frowned. Although he had agreed to an alliance with Han Li, ahead lay the Youhan Palace, and he had prepared painstakingly for years for this very moment. He would not let Han Li take the lead.

He let out a low shout, formed hand seals, and the starlight on his body blazed again. A crystalline membrane appeared on his skin—the True Extreme Membrane.

The Cold Flame Ancestor's body enlarged, his limbs thickened, and he strode forward, his speed increasing once more.

Seeing this, Xiong Shan began to chant.

A layer of golden light emerged on his body again, his skin deepened in color and took on a metallic sheen, turning him entirely into a golden statue.

Not only that, but Xiong Shan's originally short stature suddenly grew taller, transforming into a tall, long-limbed golden giant.

Clatter, clatter, clatter!

The golden giant strode forward, his speed also surging significantly.

The three of them accelerated simultaneously, leaving the pockmarked old man behind.

The pockmarked old man was taken aback, then both shocked and furious.

Although his cultivation far surpassed the three ahead, his physical strength was average, and he had made no preparations for this place. Maintaining this speed was already pushing him to his limits.

Watching the three ascend rapidly, the pockmarked old man grew anxious.

He waved his hand, and a white light appeared—a white talisman.

The talisman bore a pattern of a giant deity-like figure, emitting powerful fluctuations of spiritual energy.

Puff!

The pockmarked old man slapped the white talisman onto himself, and it flashed before merging into his body.

A dazzling white spiritual light burst from his body, spreading outward.

The old man's body trembled, and white spiritual patterns emerged on his skin, rapidly spreading across his body. His physical aura surged.

Taking a deep breath, the old man strode forward in hot pursuit.

"Giant Spirit Divine Strength Talisman!" Han Li raised an eyebrow, recognizing the white talisman as a powerful immortal-grade talisman that could enhance physical strength.

But he paid it no mind, not slowing his pace. Talismans were ultimately external forces and could not last long.

In the blink of an eye, another meal's time had passed.

They had been chasing each other, advancing a considerable distance. Now they were not far from the end of the staircase, about a thousand steps away.

The situation among them had changed again.

Although the Cold Flame Ancestor and Xiong Shan had sped up, Han Li still caught up, but then he did not overtake them.

The three now advanced side by side, almost neck and neck.

The pockmarked old man seemed to be in trouble. The white spiritual patterns on his body flickered, as if about to dissipate. Sweat beaded on his face, and his chest heaved slightly as he panted.

He had been only a little over a hundred steps behind, but now he had fallen two or three hundred steps behind.

The pockmarked old man's steps gradually became sluggish, but the three ahead moved as usual, climbing rapidly, the distance between them growing.

The power of the talisman was ultimately no match for the hard-earned physical strength of the three.

The pockmarked old man watched the three ahead, his expression shifting uncertainly.

Seeing them move farther away, with only two or three hundred steps left to the top and no sign of slowing, his face turned somewhat livid.

Struggling in his eyes, the pockmarked old man suddenly took out a palm-sized black jade box. A warm, moist aura emanated from the box, indicating that the material was extremely precious.

The jade box was covered with layer upon layer of talismans, each one shimmering with spiritual light, extremely extraordinary. They wrapped the box tightly, showing great care.

The pockmarked old man opened his mouth and spat out a stream of black light, enveloping the jade box.

The talismans flickered with spiritual light and then flew off the box one after another, their light completely fading. They were disposable talismans.

Ignoring the spent talismans, the pockmarked old man carefully opened the jade box.

Inside was a pigeon-egg-sized black pill, emitting waves of black radiance.

Within the black radiance, one could faintly see the shadow of a miniature beast.

The beast resembled a dragon but was not quite a dragon, with a single horn on its head and a pair of wings on its back, looking extremely majestic.

An immensely powerful aura of essence emanated from the black pill, mixed with traces of law power.

A trace of reluctance flashed in the pockmarked old man's eyes, but he still opened his mouth and inhaled, drawing the black pill into his mouth and swallowing it.

Although the three ahead were climbing quickly, the aura of the black pill was very strong, and they immediately noticed it, turning to look back.

"This is... the Beast Embryo Profound Origin Pill!" Xiong Shan's pupils contracted as he exclaimed.

"Beast Embryo Profound Origin Pill... Fellow Daoist Xiong, what kind of pill is that?" the Cold Flame Ancestor immediately asked.