Looking at Lu An on the steps, a wave of energy suddenly surged around him, and his aura soared.
With a loud shout, his aura finally reached its peak.
A cracking sound echoed, as if something had shattered.
Lu An felt his dantian suddenly expand, and his meridians thickened noticeably. His soul in the sea of consciousness grew by more than double, surpassing even that of late-Foundation Establishment cultivators.
Since his primary cultivation technique was the Yi Mu Sheng Hun Jue, his soul was exceptionally powerful.
In contrast, the increase in his physical strength and true qi was relatively small, even less than that of an ordinary cultivator's breakthrough.
This was unavoidable; the Yi Mu Sheng Hun Jue primarily focused on the soul aspect, so his body and technique were naturally not as impressive.
However, this did not mean that Lu An's true qi and physical strength were weak; on the contrary, both were still at a top-tier level among cultivators of the same realm.
The reason for this was the existence of the Extreme True Intent.
As his Extreme True Intent increased, his physical strength and true qi continuously grew stronger, just not as much as his soul.
If Lu An's soul had surpassed the typical level of a late-Foundation Establishment cultivator, then his "body" and "technique" had just barely touched the threshold of late-Foundation Establishment.
Even so, this was enough to crush cultivators of the same realm.
Lu An stood up, clenched his fists, and smiled slightly.
His current strength had more than doubled compared to before, and the Water Sky Dharma Assembly was not yet over.
The Qing Shan had a total of nine hundred ninety-nine levels, and every hundred steps provided a reinforcement. He had just received two reinforcements.
If he could reach the top of the Qing Shan, he would receive seven more reinforcements; he wondered if that could help him break through to late-Foundation Establishment.
Thinking of this, Lu An shook his head slightly.
The spiritual energy required for late-Core Formation was far beyond that of early to mid-Foundation Establishment. The only reason he had broken through to mid-Foundation Establishment was due to his substantial previous accumulation.
Having just broken through, relying on subsequent reinforcements to break through again seemed highly unlikely.
Nevertheless, he intended to absorb as many reinforcements as possible; this would greatly shorten his future cultivation time.
He narrowed his eyes slightly and continued to climb upward.
A month of time is insignificant for cultivators. However, for the contestants scaling Qing Shan, every second brought immense pressure.
During this month, the Qing Shan Rankings changed numerous times before finally stabilizing. The reason was simple: everyone had reached the edge of their limits and could no longer continue climbing.
The rankings on the Qing Shan had been set and remained unchanged for a long time.
First place: Wu Zisi, 599 levels.
Second place: Ji Xidong, 501 levels.
Third place: Ji Daoquan, 492 levels.
...
As Wu Zisi ascended each step, he left behind a black mist of malevolent energy that made Ji Xidong's climb excruciating. Even Ji Daoquan was affected, but neither could do anything about it.
Initially, Ji Xidong had considered dragging Wu Zisi down with a magic treasure, but he soon discovered that neither treasures nor techniques could reach someone on a higher step. With no other option, he could only watch as he fell further behind.
Meanwhile, Wu Zisi was stuck on the 599th level, unable to advance despite any method he tried. The 600th level's reinforcement was so close, yet he was unwilling to stop here.
However, as the leading competitor from Zhao, he found some comfort in his position, feeling somewhat smug.
"Hmph, the human race is indeed an inferior species."
He glanced proudly at the Qing Shan Rankings, seeing his name far ahead, and couldn't help but smile.
Just then, he suddenly furrowed his brow.
The rankings below were continuously changing, and one name was rapidly climbing.
At this point, how could someone still have the energy to continue?
He focused his gaze and saw a name he had never encountered before in the 20th position.
20th place: Lu An, 399 levels.
Before he could examine it closely, Lu An's name suddenly disappeared. Searching upward, he found Lu An again in the 15th position, and the number had changed.
15th place: Lu An, 400 levels.
A shock hit him; 400 levels was a significant barrier, one that had stumped many others, which explained why Lu An's rank had suddenly increased by five places.
He felt something was off. He had left behind a black mist on the 300th level; how was this person seemingly unaffected?
Before he could gather his thoughts, the Qing Shan Rankings shifted again.
14th place: Lu An, 412 levels.
13th place: Lu An, 426 levels.
...
Wu Zisi stared, utterly dumbfounded as if he had seen a ghost.
4th place: Lu An, 490 levels.
Only then did he snap out of his shock.
"Not good, my position is unstable! I have to keep climbing!"
His expression serious, he gathered all his strength and charged toward the 600th level.
Not just him; the audience outside also noticed the changes in the Qing Shan Rankings.
"It's him, Lu An!"
"Oh my gosh, was he hiding his strength before?"
"The competition isn't over yet; he might really push that Zhao competitor down. Our Qi Kingdom might be saved!"
However, not everyone was so optimistic. At least half the crowd wore expressions of concern.
The rankings had been suppressed by Zhao, and they were unwilling to accept that. But with Lu An still nearly a hundred levels behind the leader, overcoming that distance was no easy feat.
Especially at such heights, every step faced pressure far beyond that of earlier levels.
Though they hoped Lu An could win, they were skeptical; the reality was clear, and Lu An's chances seemed slim.
Lu An, however, did not think about any of that. He just wanted to absorb all the remaining reinforcements.
At this moment, standing at the 490th level, he could already see Ji Xidong and the others' positions.
However, the steps above were shrouded in black mist, making them hard to discern.
Lu An didn't mind; instead, he thought as he walked, "Whose malevolent energy is this? It's so pure, even stronger than what I absorbed in the Xueming Array."
"Does this person know my Soul-Devouring Sword needs malevolent energy to advance? What a good person."
He stepped onto the 491st step, and the black mist immediately began to envelop him.
However, as soon as he got close, a terrifying suction from the Soul-Devouring Sword surged forth, causing the dense mist around him to dissipate rapidly until it vanished completely.
Feeling the Sword's excitement, Lu An smiled slightly and stepped into the 492nd level.
Ji Daoquan, a competitor from Han, was also on this level, desperately using his technique to fend off the encroaching malevolent energy, completely unaware of Lu An's arrival.
"Hmm? Why is this malevolent energy becoming weaker?"
"I can move!"
Noticing this change, he was overjoyed and suddenly opened his eyes wide.
Around him, the malevolent energy had completely dissipated, and a young man in a green robe stood beside him.
Startled, he trembled all over and blurted out, "Who are you?"
The young man had arrived at his side without him noticing. If he had intended to attack, he probably would have died countless times already.
Realizing this, he felt a wave of fear and chided himself for being careless.
Lu An heard the question and expressionlessly pointed at the Qing Shan Rankings in the sky. "Me? I'm Lu An from Da Qi."