Chapter 255: Thirty-Eight Rungs

Walking into the Dark Spirit Pool, what appeared before Li Luo and the others was a pitch-black, bottomless giant pit. There was no water in the pool, yet it contained extremely vast Heaven and Earth energy. This energy seemed to form a massive vortex, swirling within the deep pit, giving off a somewhat terrifying feeling.

The surroundings of the giant pit were not smooth; many huge boulders extended out, crisscrossing throughout the pit, with gaps of about ten-plus meters between the boulders above and below.

"Are you ready? It is said that there are thirty-eight rungs in this Dark Spirit Pool. Each time you descend a rung, energy will pour into your body. The lower the level, the more powerful the effect."

"Let's set our initial goal at the thirty-fifth rung," Li Luo said with a smile.

Bai Mengmeng stuck out her tongue and said, "Captain, that requirement is too high for me. I feel my limit is around the thirty-second rung."

Among the three, Bai Mengmeng's strength was considered the weakest; she was currently only at the Flower Seed stage, the first level of the Resonance Master realm.

"Just do your best. Being able to go down one more rung will improve the cultivation effect. Besides, this is our first time entering the Dark Spirit Pool, so the effect is the strongest it will ever be; we can't waste it." Li Luo nodded, knowing this couldn't be forced. Moreover, at times like this, they could only rely on their own abilities, and there wasn't much they could do to help each other.

After speaking, the three said no more. With a movement of their figures, they leaped off the boulder, their forms drifting through the waves of energy. After a dozen breaths, they landed on the boulder at the lower level.

The moment they landed on the boulder, they could feel the surrounding Heaven and Earth energy becoming extremely active, and then it began to converge into their bodies one after another.

Heaven and Earth energy surged in through their nostrils, rushing through their bodies and bringing a feeling of extreme comfort.

All three couldn't help but let out a soft moan.

However, this feeling came and went very quickly. In just a few breaths, the three noticed that the infusion effect was disappearing, and they were immediately left feeling unsatisfied.

"That was too fast, but my Resonance Power did indeed increase a little," Xin Fu complained first, then said with some pleasant surprise.

Li Luo nodded. He also felt that the Resonance Power seeds within his two Resonance Palaces had become brighter and more active, and the Resonance Power within them had indeed grown, though the extent of this growth was not very high.

But that was normal; after all, it had only just begun.

"Captain, I noticed your infusion seemed to last a few seconds longer than ours..." Xin Fu suddenly said.

Li Luo was startled and said, "Really?"

The infusion time was too short, gone in the blink of an eye; he hadn't even noticed if it had lasted a few seconds longer...

Bai Mengmeng thought for a moment and said, "It does seem to be a bit longer than ours."

The infusion on this first level only lasted five or six seconds in total, as fast as a blink. If Li Luo had a few extra seconds, didn't that mean the effect was twice as strong as theirs?

"Let's try going further down."

Li Luo wasn't entirely sure about this either. He said this and then was the first to leap down to the next level, with Xin Fu and Bai Mengmeng immediately following.

In the next few minutes, the three of them descended ten rungs in succession.

After testing ten rungs, Li Luo discovered that his energy infusion time was indeed more persistent than that of Xin Fu and Bai Mengmeng.

The result was that after ten rungs, he could already feel his own Resonance Power strengthening step by step, and the Resonance pattern on the surface of his Resonance Power seeds had become increasingly bright, resembling a swimming dragon.

"It might be because of my dual resonances," Li Luo said, spreading his hands in response to their envious gazes.

Xin Fu and Bai Mengmeng nodded; that made sense. The Heaven and Earth energy in this Dark Spirit Pool also had many different attributes. For example, they could only absorb one type, while Li Luo, with his dual resonances, could absorb two, which was clearly a significant advantage.

The two stopped worrying about it, while Li Luo's gaze began to stare at the stone rungs further down with fervor. Having walked these ten rungs, he actually understood the changes happening within his body better than Xin Fu and Bai Mengmeng.

This Heaven and Earth energy surging into his body was essentially like food entering the stomach, but he was different from others; others only had one stomach to digest with, but he had two...

His infusion time was longer because the two Resonance Palaces within his body were greedily devouring and refining it, and the speed of absorption was far more efficient than the single Resonance Palace of Xin Fu and Bai Mengmeng.

The results achieved were naturally far superior to others.

Therefore, Li Luo was very much looking forward to seeing how much his strength would improve if he could finish all the stone rungs in this Dark Spirit Pool.

For him, this would be a rare opportunity.

With anticipation in his heart, Li Luo stopped lingering and began to leap down toward the depths of the Dark Spirit Pool again.

Time passed, and before they knew it, an hour had gone by.

The three of them reached the thirtieth rung.

At this time, boiling Resonance Power was rising from the surfaces of their bodies; it was a sign that the Resonance Power within them was extremely active. After these thirty rungs, the repeated energy infusions had truly left the three of them feeling stuffed.

But no one chose to stop there; on the contrary, everyone looked greedily and longingly toward the levels further down.

The improvement brought about by this short hour was probably equivalent to two or three months of ordinary hard cultivation!

However, after reaching the thirtieth rung, even with Dark Spirit Leaves in their mouths, the three of them began to perceive layers of pressure surging in from all directions. Clearly, the energy pressure here had become very strong, and even the Dark Spirit Leaves could not provide complete protection.

Therefore, if they wanted to go further down, they would have to bring out their true abilities.

The three looked at each other, said nothing, and leaped directly toward the thirty-first rung.

Not far away, two other teams had also landed, but when everyone arrived here, their bodies were stiff, and sweat appeared on their faces; clearly, they were all enduring immense pressure.

Eventually, one person turned pale, their figure suddenly leaping upward, and under the impact of the energy waves, they went straight up, and after a moment, they rushed out of the Dark Spirit Pool.

Clearly, they could not withstand the energy pressure here and chose to retreat and give up.

The three of them were in no mood to pay attention to others giving up, because they were also feeling their bodies becoming heavy, as if they were carrying a ten-thousand-pound boulder.

Bai Mengmeng, the weakest of the three, had her fair little face turn increasingly pale, her teeth biting her lip tightly, with the bite marks clearly visible.

Li Luo glanced at her, and she understood his meaning, immediately shaking her head stubbornly.

Li Luo nodded, and then the three leaped down again.

Rung after rung.

Finally, they reached the thirty-fourth rung.

By the time they reached this position, Bai Mengmeng had completely reached her limit, but her persistence brought her a harvest; the Resonance Power within her suddenly became active, and the Resonance Power fluctuations climbed step by step.

She finally achieved a breakthrough, advancing from the lower level of the Flower Seed stage to the upper level of the Flower Seed stage.

After completing this breakthrough, she let out a soft breath and made a gesture to Li Luo and Xin Fu, indicating that she intended to stop there.

Bai Mengmeng was not a person with great ambition, and she didn't have much interest in challenging her limits, so she felt this was enough.

Li Luo nodded slightly. That Bai Mengmeng could reach this point was already quite surprising to him; this should be her limit. If she were to force it further, it would instead damage her own body.

Bai Mengmeng did not linger long; with a movement of her delicate body, she leaped up.

Watching Bai Mengmeng's figure disappear, Li Luo and Xin Fu looked at each other, and then, without the slightest hesitation, their figures leaped down, landing straight on the thirty-fifth rung.