The record holder of the 801st step, Jiang Heng, was a superpower frequently mentioned in the novel but who had never made a direct appearance. Zhang Yiyi was naturally aware of this figure.

This person, now one of the three major Great Ascension realms of the sect, was the only genius in the entire cultivation world who, in thousands of years, had reached the Great Ascension realm before the age of a thousand. In another five hundred years, he would ascend to the upper realms.

Zhang Yiyi climbed step by step, each of the hundreds of steps feeling as if she carried a thousand jin of weight. The immense pressure made her bones feel as if they were about to burst, as though she would die and be reincarnated at any moment.

On the long path of the heart test, apart from herself, she could see no one else. Only the never-ending stairs transformed into the various demonic obstacles in people's hearts—desires, temptations, fears, and despair—all attacking her with a hundredfold intensity, threatening to pull her into a bottomless abyss and shatter her soul.

Sweat beads as large as soybeans had long soaked her clothes repeatedly. Zhang Yiyi's whole body ached painfully but could never become numb.

She walked slowly as if each step was a final struggle, yet her resolve remained remarkably firm. Contrary to expectations, she continued to advance step by step at a pace that seemed almost laughable.

When she finally reached the 300th step, more than 200 people had already been eliminated, and she had become the last person remaining on the heart test path.

At the 400th step, she seemed on the verge of collapsing and being eliminated, yet she continued steadily despite the envy and curses of many.

As she was about to step onto the 500th step, her frail figure finally halted, unable to maintain the previously endless slow pace.

Many people breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that it had reached its limit. With just a trifling three spirit roots, continuing like this would only embarrass them, making their faces go to the mud and irretrievably lost.

"Eh, why is she still standing there, not moving?"

"Yes, it's been almost half an hour. She should either continue or have already come out. Could something have gone wrong?"

"She's probably just putting on an act to grab attention. Wait and see; she'll be eliminated soon." Zhang Yiyi, of course, was unaware of the various thoughts from the outside world. At this moment, she was facing the greatest test, with the possibility of being forcibly expelled at any time.

"Leave, or you will die."

The aged sigh echoed in Zhang Yiyi's mind, intensifying the original pain several times over. "No, this is not my limit!" Zhang Yiyi's inner voice resolutely refuted, resisting the heavenly pressure that could decide her life or death at any moment.

"Even if you can persist a few more steps, what's the point? The path of cultivation has no end. You are destined never to reach the end, so why endure all this suffering in vain?"

The voice struck Zhang Yiyi's soul again, its impact growing stronger, leaving no room for rebuttal.

"How can it be meaningless? Taking one more step means seeing a different view. Because there is no end, the next journey will always have different wonders waiting for me."

"Perhaps the road ahead is no different, not exciting at all, and might only hold despair and endless pain."

"That's okay. I will still cross over and keep moving forward, looking ahead."

"Arrogant child, what's there to expect on a road without an end or hope?"

"Of course, it is worth looking forward to! I want to see what kind of scenery is beyond this world, whether the void has an end, and what lies beyond that end!"

Hearing these words, the aged voice laughed heartily, then fell silent.

At the same time, Zhang Yiyi suddenly felt a surge of energy burst through her meridians, causing the pressure on her body to drop sharply. Her entire body was freed from its shackles, becoming incredibly comfortable and filled with powerful strength.

"Crack, crack," the sound of spiritual energy rapidly flowing into her body was heard. Within moments, she had directly broken through from Qi Refining Stage 1 to Qi Refining Stage 3. "What's going on? Did she have a sudden enlightenment?"

"This can happen? This luck is too outrageous!"

"Three spirit roots are just three spirit roots. A sudden enlightenment still didn't get her to the mid-Qi Refining Stage. Such a waste."

Despite the comments outside, Zhang Yiyi continued her steady but slow advance with an unchanged expression.

550 steps, 560 steps, 570 steps, 580 steps, 590 steps, 600 steps...

In the increasingly stunned amazement of the crowd, Zhang Yiyi's best performance still did not stop.

By the end, only three people were left on the heart test path. Zhang Yiyi, showing extraordinary tenacity, was still climbing the path, and it seemed she was getting increasingly relaxed.

Everyone watched in disbelief until Zhang Tongtong and another young man almost simultaneously reached the 700th step, shifting the crowd's attention temporarily.

At the 701st step, Zhang Tongtong finally could not hold on and was forced to leave the heart test path.

At the 709th step, the other young man, Fu Jin, also ended his heart test journey.

Two new disciples of the Yuntian Sect had appeared, each reaching the 700th step and showing outstanding temperament. This stirred many elders in the sect, and even the Sect Master made an unexpected appearance.

"Eh, someone is still on the heart test path, and it's a three-spirit-root girl. She even had a sudden enlightenment earlier."

Sect Master Dongfang Bohong, to his surprise, saw Zhang Yiyi, who had already reached the 680th step.

"This little girl's will is excellent, but her spirit roots are really lacking. If she had dual spirit roots, even a higher purity would suffice."

Another elder commented with some regret. Such aptitude, no matter how good the temperament, still could not compensate. Ultimately, the path of immortality is limited.

Not to mention the Great Ascension, even reaching the Transformation Stage was unlikely. At most, she would achieve the Great Perfection of the Nascent Soul Stage.

The Sect Master did not counter the elder's viewpoint. As he watched the small figure once again reach the 690th, even the 700th step, he was astonished and even more regretful.

The 700th step—only fewer than twenty new disciples of the Yuntian Sect in ten thousand years had reached this stage. Unexpectedly, this year three had appeared at once, but the last one had such poor spirit roots.

Regretful or envious, Zhang Yiyi had once again exceeded everyone's psychological limits, continuing her journey up to the 719th step, and frighteningly, she seemed to still have strength.

"Third Elder, is there any way to obtain a Spirit Washing Herb for the sect at the greatest cost?" When Zhang Yiyi reached the 729th step, Sect Master Dongfang could no longer restrain himself and pulled the sleeve of the Third Elder, asking somewhat out of character.

If there were a Spirit Washing Herb to wash away one spirit root and become a dual-spirit-root cultivator...

It was understandable why he was so excited. Apart from the 801st step record of Jiang Hengzhen, no other new disciple of the Yuntian Sect had ever gone further in the heart test path than Zhang Yiyi in ten thousand years.

"There's no way. The Spirit Washing Herb has been extinct for over a thousand years." The Third Elder understood the Sect Master's thoughts but was helpless.

While the Sect Master and the elders were deeply pained, Zhang Yiyi suddenly stopped, even retracting her right leg that was about to step onto the 730th step.

A terrifying premonition surged instantly as if any further step would lead to something dreadful that would directly strangle her.