Chapter 179: Blue Torrent

“What a sight within the Saint Tower…”

Inside the Saint Tower, Zhou Yuan lifted his head. He gazed at the colossal mountain before him, so majestic that its peak was out of sight, and a look of surprise couldn't help but appear on his face.

The gigantic mountain radiated holy light, veiled in a faint mist, its highest summit hidden within the clouds, impossible to discern.

At this moment, thirty figures, propelled by Genesis Qi, hovered at the foot of the mountain, looking up at the sacred peak.

Before them lay a stone stairway forged from colossal bluestones. Each step was taller than a person, and the staircase ascended continuously until it vanished from sight, appearing from a distance like a colossal, crouching azure dragon.

The bluestones were ancient and mottled, seemingly imbued with a mysterious aura.

This was the only path leading to the summit of the entire sacred mountain.

“It seems that to obtain that great fortune, we must ascend this stone staircase directly to the summit,” Luluo said, her small hand shading her eyes as she gazed at the massive, seemingly endless stone steps.

“These steps won’t be easy to pass,” Zhou Yuan remarked, staring at the azure stone staircase.

Through his spirit perception, he vaguely sensed dangerous fluctuations lurking upon it.

The others nodded as well. Although their spirit perception wasn't as sharp as Zhou Yuan's, they understood that as the final challenge, it wouldn't be simple.

“The Saint Tower is fading?” Zuoqiu Qingyu suddenly exclaimed in surprise.

Zhou Yuan and the others looked up and indeed saw that the Saint Tower they had entered was beginning to become illusory. This change completely exposed the interior scene to the gaze of the many proud talents outside.

However, the Saint Tower merely became illusory but still remained, as if its sole purpose was to protect the sacred mountain.

This change also caught the attention of countless proud talents in the Saint Vestige Land, immediately causing a clamor of astonished exclamations.

“Is that the interior of the Saint Tower?”

“Is that sacred mountain the final gateway to the Holy Land?”

“It looks quite simple, doesn’t it?”

“The final challenge won’t be easy. Just wait and see; there should be a good show…”

Zhou Yuan and the others inside the tower naturally couldn't hear the countless whispers in the Saint Vestige Land. At this moment, all their attention was focused on the mysterious azure stone staircase.

The thirty-eight figures fell into a brief silence. After a while, someone finally couldn't wait any longer and carefully darted forward, landing on the azure stone steps.

As soon as that proud talent landed on the steps, he activated Genesis Qi to protect himself. However, the traps everyone expected didn't appear, and the proud talent remained unharmed…

“Nothing happened?”

The proud talent was momentarily stunned, then his eyes lit up with joy. With a swift movement, he began to ascend the massive stone steps.

Seeing him move, the others couldn't stand still either. They gritted their teeth, and with whooshing sounds, they continuously landed on the colossal stone staircase.

“Let’s go too. Be careful, everyone; it shouldn’t be that simple here,” Zhou Yuan said to Yaoyao and the others upon seeing this.

The others naturally nodded.

Thus, the group descended and landed on the massive azure stone staircase.

In less than a minute, everyone had landed, then carefully leaped and climbed the steps, rapidly ascending.

“It seems… there really isn’t any danger?” After several minutes, still nothing happened. Unable to wait any longer, one proud talent erupted with Genesis Qi underfoot, his speed suddenly accelerating. Like a shadow, he shot upwards, covering dozens of steps in just a few breaths.

Seeing this, Luluo also grew impatient and wanted to speed up.

However, just as she moved, Zhou Yuan grabbed her slender wrist. He looked up towards the end of the staircase and said, “Something’s not right. Don’t be impulsive.”

Just as Zhou Yuan's voice faded, everyone vaguely felt the world around them subtly vibrating.

Yaoyao, with her bright eyes, gazed at the end of the staircase and suddenly said, “It looks like something is rushing down.”

Zhou Yuan's eyes narrowed. He looked closely and indeed saw an azure light pouring down from the end of the staircase…

Rumble!

The rumbling sound of the vibrating world grew louder and clearer. At this point, Zhou Yuan and the others finally saw clearly: an azure torrent, like a massive flood, was pouring down the staircase from its end, covering everything in its path.

The azure torrent was immense and boundless, seemingly capable of destroying everything in its path.

“That’s… a torrent of Genesis Qi!” Zhou Yuan’s pupils constricted, a hint of shock in his voice.

Such a vast and mighty torrent of Genesis Qi crashing down created an absolutely earth-shattering momentum.

Underneath that torrent, Zhou Yuan and the others felt like ants caught in a flood.

“Quick, take cover and defend yourselves!” Zhou Yuan exclaimed sternly, his expression grim.

Just then, the azure torrent, formed by condensed Genesis Qi, surged forward. The proud talent at the very front bore the brunt of it and was instantly swept away…

That proud talent barely had time to let out a scream. Even though he had activated his Genesis Qi to resist, he was instantly engulfed by the torrent, swept downwards, and ultimately propelled off the azure stone staircase…

The azure torrent continued unabated, carrying him out of the Saint Tower and flinging him towards the Saint Vestige Land.

“He was actually thrown directly out of the Saint Tower!” Everyone’s heart turned cold at this sight. It turned out that as long as one left the azure stone staircase, they would lose the qualification to contend for the great fortune.

From then on, no one dared to show even the slightest contempt.

Boom! Boom!

The torrent rapidly grew larger in Zhou Yuan's eyes. He took a deep breath, and luminous patterns appeared on his palm. The light then surged, transforming into a tortoise-shell-like light pattern about ten feet wide directly in front of him.

“A third-grade Genesis Rune: Grand Tortoise Shell!”

He stomped his foot, and Genesis Qi surged beneath him, firmly gripping the ground.

Just as Zhou Yuan completed these defenses, the azure torrent crashed down, striking the Grand Tortoise Shell rune. Immediately, the light shield began to tremble wildly…

An indescribable impact forced Zhou Yuan’s feet back a step, but he instantly braced himself, holding his ground firmly.

“What a terrifying impact!”

Veins bulged on Zhou Yuan’s forehead, as dark golden Genesis Qi began to surge from within his body, resisting the continuous, seemingly endless onslaught.

It felt like walking on the steps while a flood crashed down from ahead.

“Ascending to the summit is truly difficult. Right now, merely holding on requires full concentration, let alone reaching the unseen peak,” Zhou Yuan said with a wry smile.

He glanced around. Not far away, Luluo, Zuoqiu Qingyu, Zhen Xu, and others were all struggling to hold their ground amidst the azure torrent's impact, each employing their own methods.

Further ahead, Wu Huang, Ye Ming, Li Chunjun, and others were also using their respective techniques.

At the same time, screams occasionally echoed, indicating someone who couldn't hold on, was overwhelmed by the torrent, and was ultimately propelled out of the Saint Tower…

“Right now, we must first gradually adapt to this azure torrent before we can continue climbing.”

Zhou Yuan gradually calmed down, but the next instant, his expression suddenly changed drastically. He frantically scanned his surroundings, because he realized he couldn't see Yaoyao on the stone staircase!

Could it be that she was swept out of the Saint Tower by the azure torrent at the very first moment?!