Ning Gu's clone only breathed a sigh of relief after stepping onto the ninth step. It seemed Lu Ye was indeed sensible. In fact, Lu Ye had considered more than Ning Gu imagined. Killing such a clone would be effortless for him. But what would happen after killing the clone?
Not to mention that Ning Gu's main body would certainly be implicated. He was already on the lowest step, under immense pressure, and if his clone were to be damaged, implicating his main body, that pressure would only intensify. At that point, Ning Gu would undoubtedly have to leave the steps to protect himself. If that were to happen, the consequences would be unpredictable. All their efforts might be in vain, and once trust was broken, it would be difficult to mend. Therefore, if Lu Ye wanted to leave, he had no choice but to let Ning Gu's clone proceed.
Ning Gu's clone quickly reached the top. The incredibly lucky Dao Integration realm cultivator had a companion who was on the ninth step. Seeing Ning Gu's actions, the companion immediately shouted angrily, "Fellow Daoist Yu, be careful!"
Fellow Daoist Yu, who was straining to push the door, looked back and was instantly startled! This was because Ning Gu's clone was already standing before him.
"Ning... Fellow Daoist Ning?" Fellow Daoist Yu had a tense and fearful expression, somewhat confused by the situation, mainly because Ning Gu had moved so swiftly. As he spoke, he glanced downwards. It wasn't until he saw Ning Gu still standing on the lowest step, with one arm severed, that he finally understood, and his expression immediately soured.
Ning Gu's clone extended a hand and declared, "Hand over the item, and I won't trouble you!"
Fellow Daoist Yu's expression flickered for a moment, but he ultimately handed over the token he had just acquired to Ning Gu's clone. With his Dao Integration Sixth Realm cultivation, his Dao weapon provided little amplification, and even at full power, he only commanded 120 units of Dao force. How could he possibly contend with a Ning Gu clone?
Ning Gu's clone indeed had no intention of troubling him. Instead, he went straight to the large door and pushed it. Pairs of eyes on the steps below watched intently. But the large door remained completely still... Ning Gu's clone had clearly used his full strength, yet he still couldn't budge the door even slightly. Yet, Fellow Daoist Yu, who was clearly less powerful than him, had just managed to push the door open to a crack.
"You do it!" Ning Gu's clone instructed Fellow Daoist Yu again.
Fellow Daoist Yu reluctantly had no choice but to continue opening the door, and under his effort, the gap slowly widened. Seeing this, all the Dao Integration realm cultivators immediately understood that no matter how strong a clone was, it was still just a clone and incapable of moving this door.
It made sense; escaping this trap already had a numerical requirement. If clones were useful, then escaping wouldn't be so difficult. In fact, even before Lu Ye arrived, some of them had already tried using their clones to see if they could occupy a spot on the steps. After all, Ning Gu wasn't the only one who practiced clone techniques. The attempts had failed! But they hadn't expected that now, even opening the door was impossible for a clone.
Under everyone's watchful eyes, Fellow Daoist Yu took dozens of breaths to fully push open the door. He didn't hesitate and immediately darted out.
The moment the large door was fully opened, all the Dao Integration realm cultivators standing on the steps suddenly felt a sense of relief. The trap was broken! Everyone understood, and they began to move.
Lu Ye moved the fastest because he had been trying all along. With one step, he reached the top step. However, he didn't rush to leave; instead, he drew his saber and struck at Ning Gu's clone. Ning Gu's clone was clearly prepared for this and immediately activated his Dao force to protect himself.
"How dare you!" Ning Gu's main body roared as he rapidly approached. His companion, Junior Sister Shuang, also brandished a long sword, her body merging with the sword light, and followed closely behind Ning Gu, attacking Lu Ye. With two Dao Integration Peak cultivators attacking simultaneously in such a confined space, even Lu Ye couldn't help but feel a sense of danger.
"Pfft..." Ning Gu suddenly spat out blood, his aura significantly weakened, his eyes filled with both regret and fury. At the top step, as the brilliant saber light dissipated, Ning Gu's clone had already transformed into a mist of blood.
Lu Ye casually scooped up the token, and with a backhand swing of his saber, struck the attacking Junior Sister Shuang directly. The moment their saber and sword touched, both felt the other's powerful strength. As Junior Sister Shuang's body trembled slightly, a hint of suspicion flashed in her beautiful eyes. This was because she clearly felt that Lu Ye's Dao force was somewhat unusual... But she had no time to ponder. As she drifted back, Lu Ye had already used the recoil force to dart into the large door like a swimming fish, disappearing from sight!
"Chase him!" Ning Gu roared through gritted teeth as he rushed past Junior Sister Shuang, his face distorted with rage. He had suffered a great loss. Losing the exotic treasure he had just acquired was one thing, but his clone had also been killed. This loss would take at least a century to recover from. His hatred for Lu Ye surged, and he had only one thought: to kill Lu Ye and exact his revenge. Junior Sister Shuang stopped her movement and followed closely behind Ning Gu, giving chase.
It wasn't until the three figures disappeared that the other Dao Integration realm cultivators finally let out a long breath. They then rushed toward the open door, entering one after another. They had thought that passing through this door would allow them to escape the trap that had held them for days. However, when they clearly saw the scene before them, everyone was stunned.
The scene that met their eyes was surprisingly identical to the space where they had previously been trapped! No, it wasn't quite the same. In the previously trapped space, there had been thirteen steps, but here there were more, around twenty. Another difference was the absence of an exotic treasure, and the portal at the top step was not closed; it was already open.
What did this mean? Had they just jumped out of one trap only to enter another? Moreover, with twenty steps, more than the previous thirteen, wouldn't it be even harder to escape? While all the Dao Integration realm cultivators were astonished, they felt an even greater sense of anger at being toyed with.
No one knew whether this trap was man-made or naturally formed, but since they were already trapped, dwelling on it was pointless.
At this moment, on a certain step, Lu Ye stood holding his saber. Two steps below, Ning Gu and Junior Sister Shuang, who had pursued him, stood side by side. Ning Gu glared furiously at him; the vengeance for his clone was no small matter. If possible, he wanted to kill Lu Ye right now. But he had already noticed something amiss. Lu Ye's strength wasn't merely that of the Dao Integration Ninth Realm, as his clone had died too easily!
Lu Ye was also quite helpless. His original plan had been perfect: kill Ning Gu's clone, seize the token and exotic treasure, then escape the trap to freedom, like a fish in the vast sea or a bird in the high sky. He had figured Ning Gu and Junior Sister Shuang wouldn't have time to pursue him once he was out. Anyway, Ning Gu had schemed against others first, so why couldn't Lu Ye take advantage of the situation? But he never expected that this trap actually had a second layer! He was completely bewildered when he rushed in through that portal. If there was a second layer, were there third or fourth? If this was an endless loop, everyone might as well just wait for death.
Fortunately, at this moment, both he and Ning Gu, along with Junior Sister Shuang, had already noticed that this second layer of the trap was different from the first! It wasn't merely that there were more steps. Instead, it lacked the restrictions of the first layer of the trap. At this moment, Lu Ye was standing on the tenth step, but below him were only Ning Gu and Junior Sister Shuang, who were on the eighth step.
This meant one thing: to escape this trap, there was no longer a requirement for a specific number of people. However, it placed higher demands on strength. As Lu Ye ascended from the first step to his current position, the pressure he had to endure grew increasingly, and the pressure at this location was already considerable for him. With half the steps still ahead, the pressure would undoubtedly be even greater!
Ning Gu and Junior Sister Shuang had clearly also noticed this, but their lower position meant the pressure was significantly less for them. Ning Gu immediately scoffed and launched a secret art towards Lu Ye. However, to his astonishment, this secret art, originally immensely powerful, rapidly diminished in strength as it flew towards Lu Ye, as if the art itself was under immense pressure. Although it was only a distance of two steps, when the secret art struck Lu Ye, he was completely unharmed!
Ning Gu was furious and roared, "Kill!" He immediately advanced alongside Junior Sister Shuang, rapidly closing in on Lu Ye. Lu Ye frowned, retreating step by step upwards, always maintaining a distance of two steps from Ning Gu and Junior Sister Shuang. If it came to a real fight, he wasn't actually afraid. With his Talent Tree clone summoned, he wouldn't be alone, and facing Ning Gu's group would be no problem at all. But this second layer of the trap was indeed somewhat strange, and before fully understanding the situation, he didn't want to expose the existence of his clone.
Two approached while one retreated, and a moment later, Lu Ye stopped at the sixteenth step. The pressure at this position was already immense; even with Lu Ye fully activating his Dao force, his body couldn't help but tremble. Ning Gu and Junior Sister Shuang weren't doing any better. They were still two steps below Lu Ye, yet Ning Gu's figure was already hunched as if he were carrying a star, and Junior Sister Shuang also wore a strained expression. They dared not go any higher; this position was essentially their limit. Perhaps they could ascend one more step, but there was no way they could reach Lu Ye's position.
Astonishment filled Junior Sister Shuang's eyes. Her limit, as a Dao Integration Peak cultivator, was actually inferior to Lu Ye's; this was simply outrageous. She could only deduce that Lu Ye had hidden his strength and was also a Dao Integration Peak cultivator!
"Have you noticed?" Lu Ye suddenly spoke, very solemnly. "This is a dead end!" He couldn't even ascend all twenty steps, let alone Ning Gu and Junior Sister Shuang. Both of their Dao weapons were offensive, with their defensive power amounting to only 200 units of Dao force, which was why their performance was worse than Lu Ye's. If the three of them couldn't ascend further, there was no hope for anyone else.
To break this trap, while there was no requirement for the number of people, the demand for strength had already reached a level unreachable by Dao Integration realm cultivators! In other words, from the moment they stepped into the first trap, they had already entered a dead end!
The breaking of the first layer of the trap had brought joy to everyone, but what followed was an even deeper despair. If this trap was man-made, then the master who set it must have a truly malicious character. This was simply a mockery of human nature.
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