Chapter 134: First on Qing Shan

After saying this, Lu An didn't engage in further conversation and continued to ascend.

The black mist ahead was still waiting for him to absorb, so he wouldn't waste words with Ji Daoquan here.

In the next moment, he stepped onto the lower level and plunged into the black mist.

Ji Daoquan opened his mouth, wanting to say a thousand things, but not a single word came out.

Lu An's calm demeanor and leisurely strides had a profound impact on him.

With the black mist now dispersed and the corrosive malevolent energy absent, he could move freely again, pressing onward to the lower levels.

However, upon seeing Lu An, he suddenly felt that climbing further had lost its meaning.

At that moment, the black mist on the steps in front of him dissipated again, and Lu An stepped onto the next level.

Ji Daoquan's expression fell, and without hesitation, he crushed the jade token in his hand, teleporting away.

Fourth place—his ranking was now set.

As Lu An stepped into the 500th level and received his cultivation reinforcement, he finally spotted Ji Xidong's figure.

Noticing something unusual behind him, Ji Xidong quickly turned around, suddenly widening his eyes.

"Junior brother? You, you..."

Lu An smiled slightly, stepped onto Ji Xidong's level, and absorbed all the malevolent energy before speaking:

"Brother, I told you I would catch up, and I haven't gone back on my word."

With the malevolent energy gone, Ji Xidong felt greatly relieved and smiled.

Seeing Lu An catch up brought him genuine joy.

"Well done! I didn't expect you to have this kind of strength; you're only in Foundation Establishment..."

"Wait, you've broken through to the mid-stage?"

Lu An nodded and slowly replied, "Thanks to the reinforcements from each hundred levels, I barely managed to break through. Your cultivation should be nearing completion, right?"

A hint of bitterness appeared at the corners of Ji Xidong's mouth as he shook his head.

"If I could reach the 600th level, I would be complete, but I'm still a bit short."

"Moreover, with the black mist ahead, I'll need to expend some cultivation to resist it; it seems impossible now."

Upon hearing this, Lu An couldn't help but smile and said, "If I can deal with this black mist, will you be able to fight again?"

"You can deal with the black mist? That malevolent energy is unusual. I saw you using that long sword to absorb the black mist, but I assume there are limitations, right?"

He thought the Soul-Devouring Sword had a space inside it to store the black mist.

Such treasures were common; he had a fire gourd that could collect raging flames.

But once the quantity reached a limit, it could no longer be used.

However, he didn't know that the Soul-Devouring Sword didn't store the mist but rather consumed it directly, converting it into its own energy.

Previously, in the Xueming Array, the Soul-Devouring Sword had already reached the third tier of inferior quality.

If it continued to absorb the subsequent black mist, it might even make a breakthrough.

After all, this malevolent energy was extremely pure, far surpassing what was found in the Xueming Array.

Lu An chose not to explain and simply continued forward with his sword.

"Just follow me, brother."

Despite his doubts, Ji Xidong saw Lu An's confidence and no longer hesitated, rising to follow him.

Next, Lu An led the way, absorbing the black mist, while Ji Xidong waited for the mist to dissipate before stepping onto the next level.

With their cooperation, their speed did not slow at all as they continued to close the distance to Wu Zisi.

At the 599th step, Wu Zisi looked exhausted. The 600th step loomed before him like an insurmountable chasm, preventing him from advancing even a step.

Meanwhile, the numbers after Lu An's name on the Qing Shan Rankings kept changing, and Ji Xidong was catching up as well.

Feeling the pressure, Wu Zisi found himself powerless.

At this moment, he could see the two figures and a cold glint appeared in his eyes.

"I can't get past, and neither of you will either!"

He stopped wasting effort and instead sat cross-legged, waiting for them to arrive.

Soon, the two reached the step below him.

Seeing Lu An had a way to dispel the malevolent energy made Wu Zisi's expression fluctuate.

Lu An, unaware of his thoughts, approached him and asked flatly, "Did you release this malevolent energy?"

Wu Zisi sneered inwardly and replied, "So what if I did?"

However, Lu An's next reaction caught him off guard.

"Do you have more? Can you release some more?"

"Huh?"

Lu An frowned, thinking he hadn't understood, and clarified: "I mean that malevolent energy—can you release more? I didn't absorb enough earlier."

Upon hearing this, Wu Zisi was instantly furious.

Malevolent energy? Not enough?

How dare that despicable human mock me to my face!

He pointed a trembling finger at Lu An, but not a single word escaped his lips.

Seeing Wu Zisi's reaction, Lu An lowered his voice and said to Ji Xidong, "Brother, let's keep our distance from him; there seems to be something off."

He gestured toward his own head.

Ji Xidong chuckled softly but said nothing.

On the opposite side, Wu Zisi seemed to be provoked by something, shouting, "As long as I'm here, you two will never pass!"

Though Lu An had lowered his voice, with Ji Daoquan's cultivation at the Foundation Establishment stage, how could he not hear from such a close distance?

Lu An glanced at Ji Daoquan and thought, "Brother, since you want to settle this with him, I can only help you this far."

Earlier, he had repeatedly angered Wu Zisi, and now his mental state had revealed a crack—this was the chance to win.

On their journey, Ji Daoquan had told him he wanted to deal with this person to avenge the malevolent energy that had tormented them.

Moreover, as a disciple of the national master, he felt he should have a showdown with Wu Zisi, a person from Zhao.

At first, Lu An had naturally refused. Wu Zisi had reached full Foundation Establishment, making him a tough opponent.

If he teamed up with his brother, victory would be assured, but Ji Daoquan insisted he could handle it alone, even invoking the name of his master to pressure Lu An.

With no other choice, Lu An agreed.

He understood his brother was worried about affecting his future results, which was why he insisted on taking care of this matter.

This sentiment was etched in Lu An's heart.

After a moment of silence, Lu An looked at Ji Daoquan and slowly said, "Brother, don't die."

Having said that, he turned to leave.

Ji Daoquan, however, grinned widely and called out, "Junior brother, wait for me to celebrate!"

Seeing Lu An about to leave, Wu Zisi was unwilling and immediately prepared to attack.

But a cold glint flashed before him.

"Your opponent is me."

Ji Daoquan had put away his previous smile, now his face was serious and cold.

In an instant, the two clashed in battle.

Lu An didn't look back at their fight, seemingly possessing absolute confidence in Ji Daoquan.

Now he stood at the edge of the 600th step, and with a quick movement, he stepped inside.

Over the past month, his Extreme True Intent had reached an astonishing level, occupying almost seventy percent of his total true qi.

It's known that for an ordinary person, even a trace of Extreme True Intent in their true qi could exert dominance over other cultivators' true qi.

But now, Lu An's Extreme True Intent surpassed even the amount of true qi he possessed—truly shocking.

He wondered if, upon completing all the steps, his true qi would fully transform into Extreme True Intent.

At that time, would any other changes occur?

As Lu An stepped onto the 600th level, a huge uproar erupted outside.

The Qing Shan Rankings changed once again.

First place: Lu An, 600 layers.