A gentle breeze stirred.
The mountains trembled.
Li Shuang stood atop the peak, flowers and grass swaying, birds and beasts chirping. The sixth mountain still stood silently, yet it inexplicably gave the impression that it was supporting Li Shuang.
Li Shuang!
She officially cleared the sixth mountain!
However.
Her spiritual cultivation surged for a while, but ultimately remained at the peak of the Soul Transformation stage, never taking that final step.
But no one thought that Li Shuang was incapable of entering the Integration stage.
They saw it clearly.
Li had, in the end, voluntarily given up on entering the Integration stage.
Why give up?
The reason was also clear at a glance.
True geniuses always harbored greater ambitions.
Entering the Integration stage now would only grant her the power of a single mountain.
Simply put, the power of the Integration stage could only affect the area of one mountain.
Only within this small range could cultivators merge with heaven and earth, controlling the forces of nature.
For ordinary people, being able to break through at all was good enough.
However, for peerless geniuses, such a breakthrough was far from sufficient.
If one accumulated a deeper foundation before entering the Integration stage, they would receive greater blessings from heaven and earth upon breakthrough.
Li clearly wanted to wait until her foundation was even more profound before making a breakthrough in one fell swoop!
This was the ambition and confidence that only true geniuses dared to possess.
Grand Ancestor Xuanwei looked at Li Shuang, standing tall on the peak of the sixth mountain, with only one thought in his mind!
It's over!
Clearing the sixth mountain at the age of 35!
This even broke a record for clearing the Grand Dao Mountain.
This Li would become famous overnight!
Li would soon discover that his favor, as a Tribulation Transcendence stage expert, was nothing. Super sects, one after another, would extend olive branches to her.
How could super sects lack Tribulation Transcendence stage experts?
If these experts arrived and discovered that Li was actually a Supreme Spiritual Root...
What kind of scramble would there be for her?
Grand Ancestor Xuanwei dared not even imagine!
The man following Grand Ancestor Xuanwei was also slightly shocked.
He had previously been puzzled as to why the Grand Ancestor suddenly harbored the thought of taking on a true disciple. Now it seemed, the Grand Ancestor was indeed the Grand Ancestor. His foresight was completely incomparable to that of a small fry like him!
The Grand Ancestor must have seen early on that this Li possessed such peerless talent in understanding the Grand Dao!
Demon Heaven Sect.
You Lan was calmly sipping tea.
Across from her, a black-clad cultivator with white hair and beard was smiling at her.
"You will certainly be first in the Divine Soul Golden Altar this time. So why do you still work so hard? Relax, relax, you should relax occasionally." The cultivator took a sip of tea.
You Lan looked up at him, her voice serious: "Master, I have been drinking tea with you for three whole hours. I really should go cultivate."
First on the Genius Ranking?
First on the Divine Soul Golden Ranking?
These were never her pursuits.
In this world, geniuses were as numerous as carp in a river, but she only ever surpassed herself.
Even those peerless experts of the Tribulation Transcendence stage, in You Lan's eyes, were merely goals she had to surpass.
"So urgent?" The old man said with a deliberate smile, "Is it because of that Li?"
You Lan paused: "Li?"
That name seemed somewhat familiar.
The next moment, she plucked the name from the vast sea of her memories.
Then, she showed a somewhat wry smile: "What does it have to do with her?"
"You don't know yet?" The old man chuckled, "In two years, her cultivation soared from the Golden Core stage to the Soul Transformation stage, and now, she's attempting the sixth Grand Dao Mountain! If she really succeeds, she'll be the youngest person to clear the sixth mountain. At that time, many will think her talent surpasses yours."
You Lan immediately laughed softly: "Master, don't tease me. The sixth mountain is not that easy to break through."
She had also found it easy to break through the first five mountains.
But this sixth mountain...
It had taken her decades to gradually reach the summit.
Moreover.
The record for the youngest age to clear the sixth mountain was set by a peerless genius ten thousand years ago, who cleared it at the age of forty-two.
To advance that record by seven years in one go?
Don't be ridiculous!
The old man couldn't help but laugh too: "Alright, alright, I was just teasing you. Otherwise, you're so young, yet you always have such a serious face, it's too worrying to look at."
You Lan took the last sip of tea with a hint of helplessness, then stood up: "Master, I really must go cultivate."
"Go on, go on," the old man waved his hand.
You Lan respectfully bid farewell and left.
However.
Just as she turned around.
The old man's shocked voice suddenly rang out: "What??!! Li succeeded in clearing it!"
You Lan was completely exasperated. She turned around: "Master, there you go again, can't you just..."
Suddenly, her pupils constricted sharply.
She suddenly realized.
Her unreliable master was not joking.
He held a communication token, his expression shocked. The next moment, he directly projected a water screen image.
You Lan stared intently at the water screen.
On the water screen, it was naturally that Li.
She was climbing step by step towards the mountain peak.
At first.
Li's climb was arduous, and she was almost certain that Li would not succeed this time either.
But...
After a long period of silence, she seemed to have suddenly grasped some technique, and began climbing rapidly, step by step.
This speed...
You Lan rushed over, her eyes wide, staring fixedly at the water screen.
The old man couldn't help but be stunned for a moment, a strange feeling welling up in his heart.
His disciple, born with a supreme spiritual root, coupled with a firm heart devoted to the Dao, had a smooth journey all the way. After he took her in as his disciple, she progressed rapidly, and it wasn't long before she occupied the top spot on the Genius Ranking.
Then.
That position had never changed hands.
You Lan was confident.
You Lan was proud.
Even her master was just a goal for her to surpass.
But now.
He saw a hint of panic in the eyes of this proud and arrogant disciple.
She... felt threatened.
On the water screen.
Li Shuang climbed faster and faster, until finally, she reached the summit.
Before reaching the summit, she even gave up an opportunity to enter the Integration stage.
You Lan watched intently, her expression becoming exceptionally stern.
She hadn't immediately entered the Integration stage either back then, and now, this Li had made the same choice as her.
This was not surprising.
All peerless geniuses who were confident in themselves would probably make such a decision.
However...
With Li's ascent to the summit, the record on the sixth Grand Dao was advanced by seven years in one go!
If spiritual power cultivation was disregarded, this Li was actually on par with her in terms of Grand Dao comprehension?
How was this possible?
You Lan's face grew darker and darker, and it seemed as if a hurricane was forming in the area around her.