26 It's Been A While

Chapter 26- It's Been A While

In reality, Su Mu couldn't care less about how the High Heaven Pavilion Elders would react after learning what happened in this Heaven's Inheritance Cave. But what matters to him was right by his side. Although a certain beauty with a veil was too embarrassed to face him so she ran away from the Heaven's Inheritance Cave.

"Don't pick fights right now, Elder Sisters." Hu Mei'er interrupted.

"But aren't you enjoying it the most?" Su Mu said, giving Hu Mei'er a good smack on the top of her head, making her pout. Before Hu Mei'er could reply, they were interrupted by a shout from afar.

"There's something in the sky!" Suddenly, shocked voices were heard from everyone.

Su Mu and the others turned their gazes to the sky alongside everyone else, only to find a golden light glittering from within the vortex. That golden light was dazzling, illuminating everything around it. It was like a hand that tore the sky open, showing the treasure hidden within.

Amongst the sea of people and widespread confusion, someone could be loudly heard yelling, "What is that?!"

Everybody narrowed their eyes and looked closer at the light in the sky.

At the top of where the light originated, everyone thought that they saw the shadow of an angel standing at the corner of a house. From within, something was gradually descending.

A little more time passed, and those with high cultivation bases discovered that it was not the corner of a house, but stairs; golden stairs that shimmered with the brightest hint of value. These stairs were very long, with landings in between them. These stairs gradually came into everyone's view. The descent of the golden stairs was sluggish. Along with it, the vortex also began to fluctuate.

"There are at least 10,000 steps." Su Yan muttered, making others nod.

"You guys should rest until the stairs descend. It'll at least take two or three days for them to completely descend." Su Mu said. Although he knew that the legacy belonged to him and Su Yan, it'll still be a good experience for Hu Jiao'er and Hu Mei'er.

"We really should." Hu Jiao'er muttered.

Su Mu left the crowd and found himself in a secluded corner and sat cross-legged. Not long after that, Su Yan decided to take a seat next to him, followed by Hu Jiao'er and Hu Mei'er. They all made sure to not disturb Su Mu's meditation.

The younger generation looked at the calm disposition of Su Mu, Hu Jiao'er, Hu Mei'er and Su Yan helplessly. Since they were nowhere close to being experts, they were unable to detach themselves from their worldly desires and display the kind of composure those four showed. Therefore, they looked quite immature compared to the four of them.

But the envy and jealousy they felt after seeing Su Mu surrounded by four beauties was not hidden at all. But they couldn't do anything as Lan Chu Die and Du Yi Shuang were not letting anyone get close to Su Mu. Even Fang Zi Ji was helpless against Du Yi Shuang's stubborn attitude.

But little did anyone know, Su Mu fell asleep the moment he closed his eyes. Sleeping was one of the things he enjoyed as much as using his sword and Dual Cultivating.

When someone coughed lightly, they began to gather their thoughts with a tinge of embarrassment, then scattered to find a place to meditate. Some ordinary disciples also formed a group, and started to talk and made noise. Amidst the noise, there was still a lingering overtone of shock and awe.

After waiting for three whole days, the thing hidden in the sky was finally exposed and showed a complete picture of what was behind it. All the people that were waiting stood up and looked at the thing five kilometres away.

Cultivators who were standing below watched a huge palatial construction emerge from the sea of clouds down directly in front of everyone. In front of it was a huge number of steps, which were so numerous that everyone thought that they would not be able to climb them.

All the disciples of the three sects became anxious and excited at the same time. Although they did not have as much information as Su Mu and the others, they could all easily tell that this colossus building must hold great treasures. Now, everyone was just waiting for the flight of stairs to reach the ground so they can start climbing.

Finally, under the attentive gaze of countless people, the flight of stairs made contact with the ground. A loud pounding could be heard as the ground trembled. The clouds and objects in the sky then vanished into obscurity.

The pounding and trembling continued for quite some time before settling down. The flight of stairs also landed on the ground and was now stable.

Suddenly, one scream after another sounded out and several hundred people rushed to the flight of stairs. Lan Chu Die and Du Yi Shuang also joined them after getting Su Mu's permission. Although they said that they wanted to tell Su Mu something, he told them to come and find him at the High Heaven Pavilion later.

While this was going on, Su Mu, Su Yan, Hu Jiao'er and Hu Mei'er were walking towards the staircase at a medium pace.

Although it looked like Su Mu was relaxed, he was just waiting for Long Jun to enter the staircase. And, for some reason, Long Jun was purposefully walking not too far away from them. He was trying to get into the same sub-space as Hu Jiao'er and Hu Mei'er.

After walking for 5 kilometres, the five arrived in front of lavish, green and golden jade steps. In front of the gigantic flight of stairs was a dim screen of light. It faintly resembled multiple gates placed next to each other.

The disciples from the three sects tried to find a way through the screen of light. Over time, the number of people that were present was reduced. The disciples were either going in groups or one by one into the gate of light, reducing the population at the bottom of the steps.

The entire scene was extremely bizarre. Although there was a screen of light in front of them, they were able to see the flight of stairs behind it. How was it that when people managed to find a way past the screen of light, they went completely invisible? Did the screen of light consume them?

"Su Mu, where did those people go?" Hu Mei'er, who was less courageous than her sister asked in a fearful voice.

"Where is the courage you use to tease Jiao'er and Su Yan?" Su Mu replied with a chuckle. "Don't worry, you guys will be together if you step on the same screen."

"Is that so?" Su Yan muttered.

"Do you guys wish to jump in together?" Su Mu asked, turning towards them.

"I will go in alone. It'll be unfair to ask for your help." Hu Jiao'er replied with a confident smile, placing her hand on Hu Mei'er's shoulder.

"I can handle myself pretty well." Su Yan said before moving forward.

Looking at her, Su Mu smiled before turning towards the Hu sisters. "Don't worry, this trial doesn't require one to fight someone. I wish you luck."

"Good luck, Su Mu." Hu Mei'er said with a smile.

"Yeah." Hu Jiao'er added.

With those words, Su Mu smiled at the two sisters before he jumped into the same light screen as Long Jun.

Just as he placed his foot on the first step, he felt Yang Qi trying to invade his body. Without thinking about it much, Su Mu started absorbing the Yang Qi as he climbed up at a terrifyingly fast pace. If anyone else were to see this, they would most likely pass out.

On his way up, Su Mu made sure to snap Long Jun's neck using his index finger, which wasn't all that difficult since Long Jun wasn't guarding his back. Su Mu wanted to play around with him for a bit, but he decided against it.

Originally, Su Mu wanted to climb with Hu Jiao'er and Hu Mei'er since he knew Su Yan would prefer to do it alone, but he was in quite a hurry to reach the top of this staircase. It wasn't that he was afraid of someone else getting the inheritance before him, but because it might be his only chance of finding out about what happened to the previous 'him' who should be alive in the 3000 worlds right now.

About the Peak 8th Rank Open Heaven Cultivator, Xiang Chen.

And, if possible, Su Mu wanted to see someone there.

Within an hour, Su Mu had already cleared more than 500 steps, his speed was reduced because he was absorbing all the Yang Qi he could. After 500 steps, the Yang Qi disappeared, replaced by the Cold Yin Qi for the next 500 steps.

With the change of Qi types every five hundred steps, more than 90% of disciples had given up by the time they reached the thousandth step. The sudden change in Qi made it unbearable for those disciples, forcing them to stop. But even after all that, with the help of Seven Divine Steps, Su Mu's speed was constantly increasing. With so much Yang Qi in the environment, it won't take him long to reach the peak.

The process kept repeating itself until Su Mu reached the top of the staircase.

"That was a fun workout. I should've rested at least once. I guess I was too curious to know the truth." Su Mu took a deep breath, stretching his back. With those words, Su Mu's foot landed on the peak.

Just as he stood up on the peak, an otherworldly buzz-like cry rang out, and an invisible pressure suddenly descended on Su Mu. It was a pressure that Su Mu was very familiar with.

'Dragon Pressure. Although insignificant, it's the same presence.'

A smile appeared on his face as Su Mu straightened his back and the overdose of Yang Qi inside his body subsided. "Give up, you can't make me kneel."

As if his words broke an invisible barrier, his body turned featherweight as all the pressure vanished. A huge wave of energy fiercely swept past him, stirring up the Yuan Qi in his body. That wave of energy just now pushed all the male participants down the staircase.

Su Mu looked at the hundred more steps that were placed a few meters ahead of him as he started walking forward.

When he placed his foot on the first step, a burning hot Yang Attribute energy emerged out of thin air towards Su Mu. This energy looked like a red silk thread, intriguingly visible to the naked eye.

Without moving, Su Mu absorbed the Yang Qi as soon as it touched him. With every step, more Yang energy would fills his surroundings. He would absorb them and convert them with his cultivation technique before he advanced.

After ninety-nine steps, Su Mu came face to face with a Yin Qi barrier. Without any delay, he placed his palm on the barrier before releasing half of the Yang Qi he gathered from the ten thousand steps. The Yin Qi barrier was unable to sustain itself after such an attack as it shattered.

The first part of the test questioned a person's will. The second verified a person's capabilities in controlling Yang Qi. Only with sufficient control and capability could one climb the 99 steps and destroy the Yin Qi barrier on the 100th step in one attack.

Looking at the luxurious door in front of him, Su Mu walked inside as he felt a familiar Yin and Yang Qi from the ball floating mid-air at the centre of the room. When the two energies had come together, they did not oppose each other. Instead, they harmoniously coexisted alongside each other. When Su Mu took a closer look, he could see the energy-producing two different forms from time to time.

A Golden Dragon and Ice Phoenix.

Without a word, Su Mu quietly sat cross-legged in front of the ball.

'Even though I knew that a Divine Spirit's source doesn't carry their memories, what was I expecting?' Su Mu thought, giving a dry laugh. What was he aiming for after rushing through the inheritance trails? That wasn't like him. He liked to enjoy every moment of his life to the fullest, so why was he in such a rush?

To search for the knowledge of his original self? Well, no point in thinking about it now.

"Look at yourself. The strongest Dragon Emperor and Ice Phoenix Empress are reduced to such a state. If those idiotic lizards and chickens at the Ancestral Land were to see this, I wonder how they'd react? Ah, right. They live in the No-Return Pass now."

Su Mu waited for a few seconds, wanting to hear someone say that Dragons and Phoenixes are not Lizards and Chickens. But the reality was just as he expected, inside the empty hall, no one corrected him.

Sighing, he continued. "But, even after all is said and done, I guess I'm no better than you guys now, am I?"

"You bastards."

"It's been a while." A small smile appeared on his face as the faces of his only two friends appeared inside his mind.

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A/N-

Me cracking my fingers to write a backstory chapter before Su Yan lemon.

And a question. Should he tell his harem about reincarnation, like only his wives? But not the whole Yang Kai part or who he was, just that he reincarnated and has been living as Su Mu since birth.

Oh, right. The chapter isn't rushed. It's to show that Mc was in a hurry to get up, otherwise, he would've messed around with everyone participating.

Proud Author Note: 5400 words in these two chapters.

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