A thousand enlightenments in one night, starting from being a menial apprentice.

Chapter 353 Nine Steps
Duan Rong was already standing at the steps under the altar.

Nine steps. Nine steps!
The steps were not very high. The ninth step only reached Duan Rong's chest.

Duan Rong stood in front of the steps. Jiang Hanyan, who had been playing the piano with her head down, raised her eyes slightly, glanced at him, then lowered her head again and continued playing the strings.

Jiang Hanyan knew where Duan Rong was standing. She was very familiar with that location.

Nine years ago, she was in the same position as Duan Rong, and fainted after half a step on the stairs. Even so, that year, she was already the one who went the furthest.

Although Jiang Hanyan only glanced at Duan Rong indifferently, she was actually very curious whether this plain-looking boy in front of her could successfully step onto the stone steps or whether he would faint there after taking only half a step like she did back then.

Although Jiang Hanyan did not succeed in stepping onto the stairs that year, in the nine years since she entered the mountain, she had never seen anyone who could stand in front of the stone steps of the altar like she did that year.

The young man in front of him was the first one in nine years.

Jiang Hanyan lowered her head and played the strings, but she had already memorized Duan Rong's appearance in her heart.

Those who were curious about whether Duan Rong could step onto the stone steps were not only Jiang Hanyan on the altar, but also the old guys on the solitary peak, and the many registered disciples behind him, including Xiao Yu, who was staring at him intently.

Duan Rong waited until the slight pain in his soul passed, then he slightly raised his right foot, took a half step, and stepped onto the stone steps.

"Look! He has taken half a step." An elder with white hair and beard on the solitary peak shouted.

Upon hearing this, Zhu He frowned in disgust but said nothing.

Duan Rong took half a step forward, and a slight pain flashed across his soul.

He stood still and waited for the stinging pain to pass. He looked at Jiang Hanyan, who was sitting on the altar, with her head down, playing the piano. A veil covered Jiang Hanyan's face, but it could not conceal her elegant and refined temperament.

Jiang Hanyan noticed Duan Rong looking at her and frowned slightly.

But at this moment, Duan Rong's other foot also stepped onto the stairs.

Both of his feet were on the first stone step.

Stepping up successfully!

Jiang Hanyan's piano music became slightly disordered.

"Yes...successful?"

When Duan Rong stepped on his other foot, his soul was stabbed and he couldn't help but grin.

This was the most painful time he had ever been stabbed.

He took a half step with his right foot and stepped on the steps. His body only leaned forward slightly, but the moment his left foot stepped on the steps, his whole body stood on the first stone step. That was a real step! His whole body took a step forward.

Jiang Hanyan looked at Duan Rong deeply, and then the sound of the piano returned to its steady and clear state.

Jiang Hanyan was aloof by nature, so she naturally knew that almost every twenty or thirty years, someone would successfully step onto the stone steps of the altar.

But in the nine years since she entered the mountain, no one has succeeded in climbing the stairs, and not even one has been able to stand in front of the steps of the altar like she did back then.

Therefore, before Duan Rong, she had never seen anyone who was better than her.

But now there was someone standing on the steps in front of her.

This is a harm to her arrogance.

On the solitary peak, all the elders were beaming with joy.

"My Taiyi clan has a long history of producing talented people from generation to generation."

"This child must be nurtured well, and his talent must not be wasted."

Duan Rong waited until the pain in his soul passed, then took another half step forward and stepped his right foot onto the second stone step.

"Look, it's moving again!"

On the top of the solitary peak, the elders who had been discussing cheerfully just now were silent. They all stared at Duan Rong on the steps.

When Jiang Hanyan saw Duan Rong leaning forward slightly again, her eyes twitched, but the sound of the piano was not chaotic.

Duan Rong was also staring at Jiang Hanyan at this time. He was not attracted by this woman's beauty. He was actually listening carefully to Jiang Hanyan's piano music.

Because he had never known before that the sound of the piano could actually nourish the soul.

If his guess was correct, Jiang Hanyan's piano music might also be a kind of spiritual magic.

He stepped his right foot onto the second stone step, but only his legs moved, his body just leaned forward slightly, so there was only a slight tingling sensation that passed through Duan Rong's soul.

After Duan Rong stood firm, he suddenly lifted his left foot and stepped onto the second stone step.

As soon as Duan Rongfang stood on the stage, he felt a sharp pain in his soul and he couldn't help but grit his teeth and take a breath of cold air.

"Sigh~"

Seeing Duan Rong's funny look, Jiang Hanyan smiled slightly, but her piano music was not disordered.

Jiang Hanyan was not the type of person who would get startled easily. When Duan Rong stepped onto the first stone step just now, the sound of her piano became slightly disordered because Duan Rong was the first person to surpass her in nine years.

But when Duan Rong stepped from the first step to the second step, she was already able to play the piano as before!
“We have reached the second step!” The elder with white hair and beard from Gufeng Mountain said again.

But at this time, no one responded to his words. The elders were all waiting. They were waiting to know what Duan Rong's limit was.
The third level? The sixth level? Or can I still step onto the altar?

No one knows better than them what it means to step onto the altar.
The strength of the soul is the basis of practice!
Duan Rong didn't let them wait too long, because after a few breaths, he took another half step forward.

The right foot stepped onto the third stone step.

Duan Rong took a deep breath. The pain he felt when he stepped onto the second stone step just now still left him with lingering fears.

Duan Rong raised his left foot and stepped onto the third stone step. The pain in his soul was even worse than before. Duan Rong could not help but grit his teeth and groaned.

At this time, Jiang Hanyan kept staring at Duan Rong, but the sound of the piano in her hand remained the same.

On the top of the solitary peak in the southeast of the valley, no one was talking, even the old man with white hair and beard who loved to talk the most fell silent.

Duan Rong paused for a moment before stepping onto the fourth stone step again.

Next, it’s the fifth stage.

Sixth level.

Seventh level.

With every step he took, the pain in his soul increased. When he reached the seventh step, the pain from deep within his soul made Duan Rong turn pale and his body tremble.

After a long while, Duan Rong raised his head and looked at the altar. "There are two more steps!"

At this moment, a black shadow suddenly passed over the solitary peak in the southeast of the valley and landed on the top of the peak.

"That is……?"

Duan Rong's eyes jumped. He saw a black light flashing by like an afterimage, but he knew that it was obviously a person.

Who on earth could fly at such an incredible speed? And the arc he drew on the top of the lonely peak? Duan Rong really couldn't imagine what kind of power could draw such an abrupt arc at such a high speed?

Duan Rong's eyes suddenly fixed. It was the power of the law!

The black shadow just now was a strong man from the Dongming Realm!
The strong man in the Dongming Realm is most likely the elder of the Elders' Council!
Duan Rong stood on the seventh stone step of the altar, staring blankly at the solitary peak in the southeast of the valley. The black shadow just now fell on the top of the solitary peak.

"There...is it on that isolated peak?" Duan Rong suddenly thought of something.

On top of the solitary peak, a burly man wearing a loose indigo Taoist robe floated down.

When the elders on the lonely peak saw this person coming, they all bowed and clasped their fists, saying, "Master!"

This person is none other than the leader of Taiyi Sect, Chu Qiushan!

Chu Qiushan's stern face showed no expression, and he said calmly: "No need to be polite, just continue watching."

As Chu Qiushan spoke, he stood on the edge of the cliff and looked intently towards the altar in the center of the darkness. He saw a young man standing steadily on the seventh stone step.

Many of the elders on the top of the solitary peak couldn't help but glance at Chu Qiushan's back.

It seems that the young man in the valley has stepped onto the seventh step, and even Chu Qiushan, who has not cared about worldly affairs for many years, was alarmed!

However, it's not surprising when you think about it! This kid has already stepped on seven steps in a row, and he will step onto the altar after two more steps!

If he could step onto the altar, he would be the first person to do so in the past 180 years!
His future achievements are limitless!
How could Chu Qiushan still sit still?
Duan Rong had already vaguely guessed that the elders of the Council of Elders might be on the top of the solitary peak in the southeast, watching the assessment?
He couldn't help but smile. These elders really have nothing to do?! Do they even have to watch the assessment of registered disciples to become outer disciples?
But looking at the figure just now, he came at this time. I guess he came just to make up the numbers because the assessment is almost over.

Duan Rong retracted his gaze and looked at the last two steps in front of him, and he took another half step forward.

And then, another half step!
Duan Rong stood on the eighth stone step!
The moment he stood on the eighth step, the stabbing pain in his soul gave him a splitting headache. Duan Rong grabbed his head with his hands. The pain from the deepest part of his soul came like a tide, wave after wave.

Duan Rong's body was shaking constantly, and a layer of cold sweat suddenly broke out on his forehead, back and stomach.

Xiao Yu stood in the distance, staring at Duan Rong's body, which was shivering like a fallen leaf in the autumn wind. Fear and worry flashed in his eyes, and he murmured, "Duan Rong..."

The pain coming from the depths of his soul slowly faded away after a few breaths.

Duan Rong let out a long breath, and his eyes instantly became clear again.

"The eighth step has also been stabilized!" said a man on the solitary peak.

The person who spoke this time was Zhu He.

Zhu He was talking to Chu Qiushan. When he spoke, his eyes were looking at Chu Qiushan's back.

But Chu Qiushan said nothing, his burly figure stood as majestic and motionless as a mountain.

Chu Qiushan actually wanted to resign from the position of sect leader a long time ago. He really didn't want to worry about the mundane affairs of the sect anymore.

One hundred and eighty years ago, he stepped onto the altar here. At that time, he was just an ignorant registered disciple. He did not know what it meant to step onto the altar.

However, he is already over 200 years old this year. In the past few decades, he has been trapped in the middle stage of the Cave Nether Realm. He has tried many methods but has been unable to make any progress.

"Does stepping onto the altar mean that one has reached the middle stage of the Cavernous Realm?"

Chu Qiushan stood on the top of the mountain, the mountain breeze blowing into his clothes. He stared at the altar in the valley and the young man on the stone steps of the altar, frowning and thinking.

He knew that the ancestor of Taiyi Sect, Lu Yinlin, not only stepped onto the altar, but also walked step by step to the large cauldron in the center of the altar.

But after he stepped onto the altar one hundred and eighty years ago, he was no longer able to go any further.

He was looking at the altar at this moment.

The distance from the stone steps of the altar to the large cauldron in the center was actually not far, but in his eyes, it seemed as far as thousands of mountains and rivers.

If he can't even break through to the late stage of the Cave Netherworld Realm, then the Nascent Soul Realm is nothing but a mirage to him, right?
Chu Qiushan knew that he was different from Zhu He and the others. Zhu He and the others already knew that it was impossible for them to break through to the Nascent Soul stage.

But he has not given up yet. Because he feels that he still has hope. But is there really still hope?

Duan Rong looked at the altar in front of him. There was only the last stone step.

After stepping up this step, he stood on the altar!
But a hint of hesitation flashed across his eyes. The ecstatic pain he felt when he stood on the eighth step just now made him a little scared.

Standing on the altar, he could directly advance to an outer disciple. This was still attractive to him. He had crossed the red line and was exempted from the second assessment.

But there is still one last test, who knows what will happen?

Duan Rong thought for a while and decided to give it a try.

His right foot stepped on the altar.

He just stepped on it with his right foot and leaned his body forward slightly, and a huge pain surged up and submerged Duan Rong in an instant.

Duan Rong gritted his teeth and endured it, a layer of cold sweat appeared on his forehead, sliding down the tip of his nose and chin.

Duan Rong's eyes were fierce. Up to now, he had never felt the profound fear of death.

He knew he hadn't reached his limit yet.

He had a feeling. He could step onto this altar.

Duan Rong raised his head and straightened his body.

The heel of his left foot was slightly off the ground when he landed on the eighth stone step. As his left heel was lifted, his body began to lean forward slightly.

At this moment, Duan Rong suddenly saw that Jiang Hanyan, who was sitting cross-legged in the center of the altar playing the piano, suddenly opened her eyes wide and stared at him in a daze.

At this moment, Jiang Hanyan had actually stopped playing the piano. Her slender hands, as if petrified, hovered over the piano in the posture of plucking the strings.

Jiang Hanyan's eyes were fanatical and sad.

This was her first real gaffe!
As long as Duan Rong takes that last half step, he will be standing on the altar!

The first person in 180 years!
Jiang Hanyan looked at Duan Rong with a kind of fanaticism in her eyes.

That fanaticism came from the idealized self deep in her heart.

She had fantasized countless times that she would step onto the altar and become another legend after the sect leader Chu Qiushan.

She has always had this ambition!

At this moment, she looked at Duan Rong, and the suppressed humiliation in her heart rose up!

Although she was born in a wealthy family and had been well fed since childhood, her mother was a concubine. If she made a small mistake, she would be humiliated and beaten by the mistress.

Jiang Hanyan grew up in such an environment!
Later, she practiced martial arts, and her talent gradually emerged, and she became the direct disciple of Lin Youjian, the elder of Taiyi Sect.

It was at this moment that her pride overwhelmed the humility of her youth.

But the deep scar remained in her heart. As long as her pride was broken, the lowliness would surface and envelop her again.

Duan Rong looked at Jiang Hanyan's loss of composure and suddenly felt a strong sense of alertness in his heart.

Although the Red Crane initially flew with the wind and landed on the top of the solitary peak, Duan Rong and Xiao Yu were still standing at the entrance of the canyon. The solitary peak was blocked by the huge statue in the east, and Duan Rong could not see the Red Crane's figure falling.

But not long after, Jiang Hanyan jumped out from the southeast and landed in the center of the altar, and he saw it.

Standing on the top of that isolated peak were all the elders of Taiyi Sect. The fact that this woman was able to jump down from the peak clearly showed her identity.

Moreover, the music she played was a kind of spiritual technique.

All these prove that this woman is probably the sect's core disciple.

But how could a core disciple be so out of control when he saw that he, a registered disciple, was about to step onto the altar for the assessment?
His eyes were wide open, his face was pale, and he looked like he was petrified?
The fact that a core disciple could react so strongly showed that stepping onto the altar was definitely not as simple as directly advancing to an outer disciple.

Just imagine, how could a core disciple care about the fact that a registered disciple could be exempted from two assessments and directly promoted to an outer disciple?

Duan Rong looked towards the isolated peak in the southeast again.

He slightly raised his left heel and pressed it down again.

He already knew why those elders were at the top of the lonely peak. They were not here to watch the assessment of the registered disciples to become outer disciples. They were here to see if anyone could step onto the stone steps of the altar, or even onto the altar.

What does it mean to step onto the altar? Can it make a core disciple so horrified, as if petrified?! Can it make a group of powerful people in the Cave and Nether Realm watch at the top of the mountain?!

Duan Rong quickly realized that this was a talent test!
The core disciple was shocked because she knew what kind of talent it meant to step onto the altar!
Duan Rong's ears once again heard what Xiao Zongting said in Xiangu County.

"Martial arts are centered on mental strength!"

But at this moment, Duan Rong gave up.

He knew that if he took that half step, the world would be shocked!
His reputation as a genius will spread throughout the sect!

But it’s lonely at the top!
He has a lot of secrets! Stopping here might be the wisest choice.

He has to become a genius. Only in this way can others feel that he is valuable and cultivate him.

But he didn't want to become a genius that even the sect's core disciples would be shocked.

What that meant, he had no idea.

Maybe he just can't control it?

Will those powerful people in the Cave Netherworld begin to interfere in everything he does? He has no idea about the abilities of the powerful people in the Cave Netherworld. Can he really handle it?

In his sea of consciousness, there is still the original blood core of the Filthy Blood Divine Art.

The other side of achieving success overnight may be being shattered to pieces.

At this moment, taking a step back may open up a new world.

(End of this chapter)