I fabricated myths to guide the revival of spiritual energy.

[Beijing - An old residential community]

[Time: 19:00 PM]

The evening news was playing on the television.

This is probably the highest-rated episode in the history of television. Without a doubt.

"...According to the latest instructions from relevant departments, we are now broadcasting the full text of 'Human Potential Development Guiding Techniques' (i.e., 'Changchun Gong') brought back by the Kunlun Special Operations Team. Citizens are advised to prepare recording equipment or download the electronic version from major official websites..."

On this ordinary night, in millions of families, whether old or young, everyone listened intently to the obscure yet rhythmic text.

There were no so-called "expert interpretations" or "GG interruptions".

The state apparatus, with an extremely serious attitude, placed this key to unlocking the door to evolution into the hands of everyone.

"Focus your mind on the dantian... let your qi flow along the Du meridian..."

A middle-aged office worker, just off work, sat cross-legged on the sofa, trying to breathe according to the mantra.

Five minutes later.

"Cough cough cough! My legs are numb, I can't feel anything at all! Is this a fake?"

This kind of scene happens in every corner of the world.

Most people who practice according to the method do not experience the legendary "qi sensation" except for feeling that their breathing is a little smoother.

Because they don't know that at this moment, the spiritual energy on Earth is as thin as water vapor in the desert.

Only at the source can there be living water.

Thus, all eyes once again focused on the source—Kunlun.

……

[At the foot of Kunlun Mountain - Entrance to the Ladder of Inquiry]

[Time: 06:00 the next morning]

Overnight, this place was transformed into a refugee camp and also into a marketplace of fame and fortune.

Although the army blocked the main roads, it could not stop the crowds that came from all over the mountains by various means.

At this point, the number of people gathered at the edge of the "Mist Zone" had exceeded three thousand, and was still increasing.

That long, blue stone staircase leading to the clouds is like a silent test, stretching across the space between heaven and earth.

"Get out of the way! Everyone get out of the way!"

A burst of noise shattered the morning's tranquility.

A dozen bodyguards in black suits forcibly pushed through the crowded people, clearing a path.

Walking in the middle was a portly, ruddy-faced businessman. He was the chairman of a real estate group in the south, worth billions. He had taken his private jet to Golmud overnight and then spent a lot of money to hire an off-road convoy to get here.

"Director Li! This is Wang Dafu!"

The wealthy businessman shouted at Zhao Feng, who was maintaining order, "I want to donate! I can donate 1 billion yuan to Kunlun for development! Let me go up first!"

Zhao Feng gave him a cold look and pointed to the sign next to him.

The sign only had eight characters left by Gu Qing:

All beings are equal; each relies on their own abilities.

"You can go up," Zhao Feng said expressionlessly, "but you'll have to climb up yourself. You can't bring bodyguards, and you can't bring any money."

"Fine, I'll crawl!"

Wang Dafu gritted his teeth. He regularly went to the gym and felt his physical condition was pretty good.

He straightened his expensive custom-made suit and, amidst tens of thousands of envious or jealous gazes, became the first to step onto the moss-covered stone steps.

step.

Two steps.

Wang Dafu strode confidently up the first ten steps. He glanced back at the crowd and gave a smug smile.

"What kind of magical skill is this? It's just climbing stairs..."

However, when he stepped onto the eleventh step...

boom!

No one heard the sound, but it exploded in Wang Dafu's mind.

What was originally just a slightly steep stone staircase suddenly transformed into a mountain of knives in his view.

The birdsong around him disappeared, replaced by the wails of countless debt collectors—the sounds of those holdouts he had driven to their deaths when he forcibly demolished urban villages to acquire land.

"Give me back my life...give me back my house..."

Countless rotting hands reached out from the cracks in the stone steps and grabbed his ankles.

"Aaaaaah!!"

Wang Dafu let out a piercing scream, his whole body convulsed violently as if he had been electrocuted, then his eyes rolled back, he foamed at the mouth, and rolled down the steps.

It rolled all the way to Zhao Feng's feet, like a puddle of mud.

The entire room fell silent.

"Take him away." Zhao Feng waved his hand. "Next."

……

【Kunlun Mountain - Summit - Observation Mode】

Gu Qing was watching this "grand show" with great interest through the system's perspective.

"System, is Wang Dafu's 'inner demon' that severe?"

[The scan reveals that this person carries an extremely heavy burden of karmic debt. The mechanism of the Ladder of Inquiry is "spiritual manifestation." The darker one's heart and the more wrongdoings one has committed, the stronger the mental pressure they will experience.]

"What if he's a good person, but physically weak?" Gu Qing asked.

He would feel tired, but not afraid. The Ladder of Inquiry filters out the 'heart' (the Way) and not the 'muscle' (physical strength).

Gu Qing nodded.

This is the effect he wanted.

The cultivation world has no need for those wicked scoundrels; even if they were given power, they would only bring trouble in the future.

"Look, who's that?"

Gu Qing's gaze suddenly locked onto a corner of the crowd.

There was a young man there, wearing a tattered down jacket and carrying a huge backpack. He looked unremarkable, blending into the crowd like an ordinary backpacker.

But while everyone was horrified by Wang Dafu's miserable state, he silently walked out and stepped onto the stairs.

One step, two steps, three steps...

He walked slowly, but steadily.

When he reached the eleventh step, his body swayed slightly, as if he had seen some kind of illusion, but he only closed his eyes and paused for three seconds before lifting his foot again.

The twelfth level.

Level 13.

[Subject scanned: Chen Ping (pseudonym)]

[True Identity: Interpol Class A wanted criminal, professional assassin.]

[Karma Value: High.]

[Willpower: S-rank.]

"Hmm?" Gu Qing raised an eyebrow. "Even an assassin can withstand the Heart-Questioning Ladder?"

[System Notification: Although this person is a ruthless killer, he possesses extremely firm beliefs. He feels no guilt or fear for his killings; his "Dao Heart" (even his Dao of Killing) is exceptionally pure. The Ladder of Inquiry cannot stop someone whose heart has no flaws.]

"interesting."

Gu Qing touched his chin.

"The cultivation world is indeed not only filled with the light of righteousness, but also needs this kind of sword that walks in the darkness."

……

【The Ladder of Inquiry - Step 500】

As time goes on, more and more people are willing to try.

Thousands of people covered the long stone steps.

But the scene was extremely tragic.

Someone climbed halfway up the mountain and suddenly burst into tears, kneeling on the ground to confess to their infidelity.

Someone went berserk, attacking the surrounding air and yelling, "Don't kill me!"

Many more people, however, exhausted their last bit of strength under that terrifying "gravitational pressure" and collapsed on the roadside.

Amidst this widespread devastation, only a very few people are still holding on.

There was a thin girl who looked only sixteen or seventeen years old.

She was pale, clearly malnourished, and even had congenital asthma.

With each step she took, a bellows-like sound came from her throat.

Although she was in extreme physical discomfort, the surrounding spiritual energy was just enough to support her body.

Her eyes, however, were frighteningly bright.

She had no karma; the illusions she saw were only poverty and illness.

For more than a decade, illness has been her nightmare, but now it has become her only motivation.

"As long as... I can climb up..."

The girl bit her pale lips tightly, blood seeping out, "So that I... can live..."

"I'm not afraid of death... I'm only afraid of... living like a lump of mud..."

She has climbed to the 2,000th step.

Even that professional assassin was only catching his breath at level 1800.

Gu Qing looked at the stubborn girl's figure.

[Subject scanned: Lin Xiaowan.]

[Qualification: Dual Water and Wood Roots (Rare)]

[Status: Physical body on the verge of collapse, mental energy activity exceeding critical levels.]

"A promising talent."

Gu Qing's gaze softened.

This vitality that bursts forth in dire straits is the essence of cultivators defying fate.

"System, give this girl a buff."

Gu Qing tapped it gently.

"Reduce the gravitational pressure around her by 20%, and guide a wisp of spiritual energy to protect her heart meridian. Don't let her die of exhaustion on the way."

The instruction has been executed.

……

sunset.

The first day of screening is nearing its end.

Of the thousands who tried, only nine were able to break through the three thousand steps and enter the depths of the fog.

None of these nine people were high-ranking officials or wealthy tycoons.

There's a hitman, a sick teenage girl, two veterans, and a down-on-his-luck university lecturer...

They are "marginalized" or "losers" in this society.

But here, under Kunlun's rules.

They were the first batch of "seeds" selected.

Gu Qing watched the nine figures disappear into the sea of ​​clouds, then slowly stood up.

"This is the cruelty and allure of the cultivation world."

"The old class system was shattered here."

"The new myth will be written by these people."