Chapter Fifteen: Life and Death?

  Time flies, and it's already been three months.

  Heavy snow fell, covering the entire Wanlong Sect with a thick layer of snow. On the thousand-layered stairs of the Wanlong Sect, the struggling skeletons were like snowmen, while on the highest level of the stairs, Chan Qingfeng sat cross-legged on the ground, his entire body covered in heavy snow, motionless like a stone statue. Behind him, the snowy ground revealed dense footprints, and several disciples of the Wanlong Sect curiously sized up Chan Qingfeng.

  It has to be said that Zhen Qingfeng's reputation has already spread throughout the Wan Long Sect, attracting the attention of many disciples and high-ranking figures within the sect.

  After all, it is rare for someone who is only one step away from success, just like Zen Qingfeng, to not take that step.

  "Is this the second person to reach the top of the Thousand Layered Staircase without stepping on it? I think that's all, otherwise, how could the heavy snow cover his body?" A disciple of the Wanlong Sect wearing beast skin looked at Chanqingfeng and said calmly. The heavy snow was flying but there wasn't a single snowflake on this person's body.

  "That Wang Dudou, who was then at the height of his power, once said that this man is unfathomable and probably not just making empty claims!"

  Only three people have passed the assessment so far, and that Wang Dudou is the first cold-blooded young man to pass the assessment! This son is very powerful, in just three short months, he has made a name for himself in the Wanlong Sect, it can be seen that he is not ordinary.

  The gossip behind him was like the sound of the wind, and did not enter his ears. He let the heavy snow fall on his body, but he was unmoved!

  He is like a mountain, all things move, but his heart remains still.

  In stark contrast to Zen Qingfeng, on the 607th floor, Qin Long was taking steps up the stairs over a period of three months. During this process, he withstood immense pressure that gradually increased his strength, but still couldn't withstand the increasingly strong pressure.

  Qin Long's lean body was tense with muscles tightly wound, his fists clenched as a "gathering" sound emanated from within him. He rapidly accumulated power, absorbing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth to transform it into pure power to resist this overwhelming pressure, attempting to step onto an even higher level.

  Alas, he cannot be as carefree as Zen Qingfeng, every step is as difficult as ascending to heaven.

  Looking ahead at the stairs covered in heavy snow, Qin Long took a deep breath and slowly closed his eyes. A surge of pale purple yuan energy burst forth from his body, filling him with a dense network of lightning that formed a protective barrier around him, repelling the invasion of the snow.

  "Rise!" Accompanying Qin Long's low shout, he suddenly opened his eyes wide, and with great difficulty lifted his right foot, forcibly stepping onto the 608th step.

  "Boom!" A loud cracking sound came from Qin Long's right foot, accompanied by the sound of his bones shattering. However, at the same time, his life force bone suddenly burst forth with a purple glow, forming a purple aura on his back. The surging power forced Qin Long to make his right foot touch the ground, but at this moment, he could no longer hold back and his body collapsed onto the 608th step of the staircase.

  After a moment, Qin Long's body once again formed a spiritual energy vortex, and the heavenly and earthly spiritual energies madly surged into Qin Long's body like a hundred rivers returning to the sea.

  Someone once said that cultivating is like human greed, and once you start, there will be no end.

  If cultivation has a shore, if someone can stand on the other side of cultivation and look down, they will see countless lives struggling to climb up. They may be at the bottom of the world or like Qin Long, who has gone through countless hardships in order to gain powerful strength. Among them are also top-notch strongmen in the world, yet they still cannot stop their footsteps from climbing upwards.

  However, anyone who has stepped into the other side of cultivation is one of the hardworking souls from yesterday. This is a process that everyone must go through, and in this process, the vast majority of souls eventually become a dead soul, while only a very small number of people finally set foot on the faintly visible other side of cultivation.

  At this time, Qin Long was on the edge of life and death.

  The six hundred and seventh floor was already his limit, he had the audacity to step onto the six hundred and eighth floor, he succeeded, but the pressure of this floor was not something that even the Refining Bone Six Yang could withstand, the extremely strong pressure seemed to want to crush Qin Long's body and spirit into powder.

  Qin Long was terrified, he frantically activated "Lei Dong Jiu Jie", allowing his Ben Ming force bone to absorb the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, attempting to make his Ben Ming force bone burst out with an even stronger power of thunder to counter this overwhelming pressure.

  No matter how strong the power of his innate force was, it couldn't erase the threat brought by this mortal pressure. He was like a dying man, wanting to lift his head to look up at the sky, wondering why it was so unfair. But this pressure made him unable to move, and he could only stare at the white snow on the ground.

  Despairing eyes burst forth, endless unwillingness and nostalgia made Qin Long's body squirm, he fantasized about standing up, he fantasized about resisting this overwhelming pressure.

  But under this pressure, he was like an ant shaking a tree, how easy is it to talk? No matter how hard he struggled, he couldn't resist.

  Gradually, Qin Long's body was unable to move, he felt his consciousness slowly dissipating, this was the first time he was so close to death, close enough to step into it at any moment.

  "No!!" Qin Long's eyes bulged out in despair, his anguished roar was as thin as a mosquito's hum, covered by the howling cold wind.

  "No! I don't want to die!" Qin Long growled.

  He was like a drowning man, frantically slapping the water, hoping to find a lifeline. He quickly thought back, thinking of what could help him get through this difficult time.

  But this pressure didn't give Qin Long time to think, still devouring Qin Long's consciousness, wanting to crush the ant that dared to climb higher.

  Gradually, Qin Long stopped struggling, his pupils slowly dilating, and at this moment, he truly stepped into the edge of life and death.

  The faint aura vortex still floated around Qin Long's body, and before his death, Qin Long had not given up on survival. He suddenly thought of the words on the scroll.

  "When life emerges, it is extinguished everywhere, and the illusion of birth and death is also in an instant. Calmness settles in the heart, and sinks into the bones, with the power of death, the mechanism of life is condensed, and the thought of life and death is all under my control!" Qin Long's pupils suddenly burst out a spark in his slowly expanding eyes, and at this moment of life and death, Qin Long had an epiphany about the "life and death" on this scroll.

  From ancient times to the present, spiritual cultivation techniques have almost disappeared in this realm. The existing techniques are all under the control of various major forces. This is not because spiritual cultivation techniques can only be absorbed by practitioners who absorb the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, or that powerful spiritual cultivation techniques can open up another profound and boundless realm for practitioners. As time has passed, powerful spiritual cultivation techniques have disappeared, leading many people to mistakenly believe that any spiritual cultivation technique can open up a profound and boundless realm, which is why spiritual cultivation techniques are so precious.

  At this time, Qin Long, who was experiencing the thin line between life and death for the first time, vaguely understood the profundity of "life and death". He stopped struggling and, as "life and death" had said, calmed his mind, sank into his bones, and quietly felt the power of death.

  On the last step of the thousand-layered stairs, the snowflakes that had been quietly falling on Chan Qingfeng were suddenly dispersed, and Chan Qingfeng also raised his head to gaze at the massive spiritual vortex that had formed in mid-air!! The Wan Long Zong disciples behind him all looked up at the vortex with curiosity, their faces filled with shock and amazement. Such a strange phenomenon was rarely seen, and it left them stunned.

  "It seems that there is still an unexpected person on the stairs! Originally thought that with this person, a total of four people would pass the assessment, but from this whirlpool, it's likely that one more person will emerge."

  "It's actually quite anticipated, whether the spiritual cultivation that triggered such a magnificent spiritual vortex can pass the assessment."

  "Huh, it seems that another person is about to successfully pass the assessment, with only a few dozen layers of stairs left." The crowd's gaze shifted from the spiritual vortex in front of them to a sturdy figure around the 950th layer. If Zhen Qingfeng looked down at this moment, he would certainly discover that this sturdy figure was none other than Luo Feng, the robust man who had mocked Qin Long with his companion, the handsome young man, before they even reached the foot of the mountain.

  His muscles were as hard as iron, his blood vessels bulging like a dragon coiled around his body. His expression was slightly ferocious, and he must have reached his limit, struggling with all his might. He raised his head to gaze up at the less-than-fifty-layered staircase, his eyes flashing with intense light. But when he saw Chan Qingfeng sitting cross-legged on the last layer, gazing calmly ahead, his expression faltered, and he felt a mix of shock and confusion.

  When Zen Qingfeng walked in, he was meditating to recover, so he didn't see Zen Qingfeng. At this time, seeing Zen Qingfeng near the highest level, how could it not shock him?

  When he thought of Zen Clear Wind's sentence: "I hope that on the thousand-layered staircase, I won't be able to see you guys!", Luo Feng's expression became stiff.

  At this moment, everyone felt that the heavenly energy in the space was suddenly sucked away, and the huge spiritual vortex disappeared quickly, leaving everyone in shock.

  Qin Long, who was lying on the 608th floor, suddenly opened his eyes, with a hint of strange gray light flashing in them. He slowly got up, and a "crackling" sound like stir-frying beans echoed within his body. Feeling the changes within himself, Qin Long's gaze slightly condensed, and he discovered that his body was filled with a vital energy.

  "What's going on?" Qin Long was surprised and delighted, but also a little puzzled. He had previously quietly sensed the power of death, with an unclear and inexplicable enlightenment. But now that he woke up, he found that his skeleton was intact, which was exactly the symbol of the Seven Yang Bone Refining!

  "Has he entered the Seventh Yang of Bone Refining?" Qin Long found it hard to believe. Just a moment ago, he was on the verge of death, but now, he had suddenly broken through his original boundary, and such a huge contrast made him unable to react for a while.

  Taking a deep breath, the terrifying pressure no longer made Qin Long feel as uncomfortable as before. However, he didn't immediately climb to a higher level, but instead sat cross-legged and fell into contemplation, through which he gained insight into the mysteries of the "Scroll of Life and Death".

  "It seems that the scroll is not so simple after all!! Perhaps one day, I can use the scroll to comprehend the power of life and death? If life and death are both in one thought, and can be controlled, then..." Qin Long's eyes flashed slightly, and he slowly closed his eyes.

  Qin Long, who was immersed in his cultivation, did not know that the pale purple power of thunder he possessed now had a hint of gray mixed in it, but this gray was too faint and could almost be ignored.

  After consolidating his cultivation, Qin Long continued to climb the stairs.

  PS: Two chapters updated together, please collect and vote for recommendation!