379 Sky-Climbing Ladder

Firmament Palace was overlord power during the ancient times of the Firmament Continent. Although it had long turned into history, its gate would appear in Firmament Divine Realm every three years.

Geniuses from East Continent would gather here every time it appeared, hoping to attain ancient Legacies that hid within. However, for as long as it had existed, only a few people managed to do so.

Nonetheless, even the smallest bit of Legacy was enough to benefit one's entire life. In the history of East Continent, those that received the Legacy of Firmament Palace had mostly grown to become one of the strongest martial artists in the entire world.

No one knew a thing about Firmament Palace's behaviour, and the purpose behind it.

There had been many with great martial power who tore through space and entered Firmament Divine Realm in an attempt to explore Firmament Palace's secrets, or even forcefully occupy it. However, they all ended up dead.

There was even a rumor that a martial artist at the legendary Imperial Realm had died there during the post-archean era.

Su Mo stopped cultivating and rose to his feet. He was not in a hurry to enter Firmament Palace.

Soon, he heard Han Qianze, Wu Sheng, and the rest returning.

"Firmament Palace has finally appeared!"

"Haha! Here comes our chance!"

The four of them were extremely excited and full of glee.

"What do you guys know about Firmament Palace?" Su Mo asked.

Han Qianze paused to collect his thoughts, and replied, "According to my Icynorth Sect's records, there are nine palaces in Firmament Palace. They are Brightgold Palace, Evergreen Palace, Watermoon Palace, Firescorching Palace, Earth Palace, Wind-cloud Palace, Thunderous Palace, Illuminious Palace, and Darknight Palace."

"The nine palaces correspond to the nine properties that are Gold, Wood, Water, Fire, Earth, Wind, Thunder, Light, and Darkness. Every palace has its own unique Legacy which varies in degree. Whether one could obtain the Legacy is completely up to their talent, strength, and fate!"

"Of course, if you're lucky enough, you can also obtain some peculiar treasures."

"..."

Han Qianze knew more about Firmament Palace than the rest, so he shared its information with the group.

"Talent? Strength? Fate?"

Su Mo nodded and anticipated that he had to pass a series of trials to receive its Legacy.

"Let's get up there too!" Su Mo said to Han Qianze and the rest after he saw many figures in the distance shooting up into the sky.

"Alright! Let's go!"

The five of them then rose into the air and flew straight for Firmament Palace.

However, to their frustration, Firmament Palace seemed to be only several kilometers in the air, but they had yet to reach it after flying for 15 minutes.

"What's going on?" Zhu Shaojing asked out of astonishment.

The others were equally puzzled. They should have reached the palace in only a few breaths given their speed, but 15 minutes had passed and they were nowhere near it.

Su Mo frowned and fell into thought, before saying, "Let's continue flying!"

He was clueless as well, but the only option at the moment was to keep flying upward.

The group continued flying for god knows how far, and they finally neared Firmament Palace after two hours.

Countless geniuses appeared in every direction as well, all flying toward the palace with excitement.

After getting close to Firmament Palace, Su Mo instantly realized that it was completely shrouded by a spherical water curtain.

Upon seeing the other geniuses dashing into the water curtain, Su Mo and the rest did not hesitate to do the same.

Upon entering the water curtain, Su Mo felt his head spinning and it felt as if he was being transported.

After a short while, his dizziness stopped as the five of them appeared above a gigantic square. Su Mo suddenly felt his body sinking. He could not remain in the air somehow, and fell straight down.

Although he was caught by surprise, Su Mo saw everyone else falling as well, and immediately came to the realization that this place was probably equipped with Air-sealing Formation and prevented people from flying.

Thud!

They soon landed, and Su Mo glanced around to find himself on a huge White Jade Square that was five kilometers across. There was an enormous stone gate at the end of the square, and behind it was a sky ladder that led to Firmament Palace.

At this moment, there were already many geniuses at the White Jade Square that teamed up into small groups. The atmosphere was fiery as everyone excitedly chattered over each other.

Su Mo directed his attention to the enormous stone gate and the sky ladder. Overhearing the discussion around him, he immediately learned that the ladder was known as "Sky-climbing Ladder". There were 999 steps on the Sky-climbing Ladder, and one could only set foot upon it after passing through the stone gate. The ladder itself was a huge trial, and one would only complete the first round of the trials after reaching the top of the ladder.

Comprehension dawned on Su Mo, as he realized that he had to complete a series of trials in order to receive the Legacy.

However, he fixed his gaze on the ladder as he didn't know how it could be a trial.

Upon failing to figure it out, Su Mo shook his head and gave up. He would find out anyway as soon as he set foot on the ladder, but the stone gate was currently closed and denied entry.

Su Mo and the rest then waited patiently for the gate to open.

Time passed by slowly as geniuses from every domain started to show up at the White Jade Square. Everyone was staring at the Sky-climbing Ladder with excitement beaming in their eyes.

After an hour, there were already about 6,000 people gathered here and this swamped the square with noisy discussions. There were also many geniuses who discovered Su Mo, and they all stared at him angrily.

Every one of them was a victim of Su Mo's crime. They were completely broke since Su Mo had even taken their weapons away, and their grievance was understandable.

Su Mo ignored their angry stares and started to scrutinize the crowd, only to discover many experts around. There were about 70 people at Lv 8 True Spirit Realm, and they seemed to be geniuses from the four super-sized domains.

He also found many familiar faces of the Hong Domain. Ao Wushuang, Duanmu Ying, Nie Chong, and even Prince of Flaming Cloud, Huo Ling, were all present.

Three figures landed on the White Jade Square at this moment, Su Mo looked over and saw the ninth princess, Hong Qingtian, and Chu Yunfeng.

As they arrived, Chu Yunfeng spotted Su Mo right away and stared at him fiercely.

Meanwhile, Su Mo disregarded him and focused on the ninth princess instead. She was no longer wearing a veil, and her unparalleled beauty attracted the attention of many geniuses.

However, Su Mo was focusing on her cultivation instead of her face. She had astoundingly reached Lv 6 True Spirit Realm!

Su Mo was stunned, "How did she cultivate?"

She was only at Peak Lv 3 True Spirit Realm during the Top-100-talent Competition. When they met previously at Distant Ancient City, she was already at Lv 5, yet, so little time had passed before she broke through again and reached Lv 6. This was incredible!

Su Mo had always thought that his rate of cultivation was amazing and unrivalled within the same generation. However, he was now impressed by the Ninth Princess, and realized that there would always be someone better. His rate of cultivation was rivalled after all!