Lin Fan was actually strolling around the area, just to familiarize himself with the surroundings.

In fact, every time Lin Fan arrived at a new place, he would take the time to acquaint himself with the surroundings if possible, as once you're familiar with them, you can be better prepared to deal with any danger that might arise.

Moreover, venturing into the Heavenly Ladder is considered the most dangerous endeavor within the Holy Soul Domain, and even the strongest at the Peak of the Holy Venerate Realm might never return after climbing it. Therefore, Lin Fan believed there might be some connection with the surrounding scenery; he planned to investigate further to see if he could uncover anything.

What a pity, though...

After a lengthy search, Lin Fan still couldn't find any useful clues.

"Hmm?"

At a certain moment, Lin Fan suddenly stopped. His brows furrowed slightly as he thought to himself, "What's going on? This place gives me a sense of... familiarity?"

The surrounding hills and stones, the grass and trees, all gave Lin Fan a feeling of déjà vu.

Could it be that he had been to this place before?

"No, that's not right!"

Lin Fan quickly realized that it wasn't he who had been to this place, but...

The Universal Image had!

Because the Universal Image had once visited here, everything about this place had been recorded within it. And for this reason, Lin Fan was struck by that familiar feeling.

At this moment, Lin Fan felt a hint of excitement in his heart.

Since the Universal Image had been here, then all was not unsolvable; perhaps inside the palace above the Heavenly Ladder, there might be another way out.

Lin Fan felt slightly reassured.

He even sensed that this attempt to scale the Heavenly Ladder might not end in disappointment.

...

When Lin Fan returned, Gao Feiyan had already stopped her cultivation practice.

"Where did you go?"

Gao Feiyan asked.

Lin Fan smiled and said, "Just wandering around the vicinity!"

Gao Feiyan nodded, then she followed up with another question, "Are you sure you don't want to make any adjustments?"

Lin Fan shook his head, "No need!"

Tonight's moon was big and round.

After midnight, the large moon illuminated the entire earth.

Lin Fan and Gao Feiyan stood quietly there, both not speaking, silently watching the sky.

At a certain moment, a massive palace gradually appeared in the void.

"The Heavenly Palace has appeared!"

Gao Feiyan exclaimed with joy.

At this time, Gao Feiyan's face was full of excited expressions, unable to hold back she said, "Wow, this Heavenly Palace is huge!"

Truth be told, Gao Feiyan had seen quite a lot, but this was her first time seeing such a massive Heavenly Palace.

Lin Fan said nothing.

He continued to watch the Heavenly Palace quietly.

Lin Fan thought to himself, "The Heavenly Palace gives off a strange feeling, especially... the material it's made of is very odd. It doesn't seem to be from the Holy Soul Domain, could it be... that the Heavenly Palace comes from the Immortal Domain? Or even... the Divine Domain?"

Gao Feiyan looked at Lin Fan again and asked, "What are you thinking about?"

Lin Fan replied, "Do you not feel that the materials used to build the Heavenly Palace are quite special?"

After Lin Fan's prompting, Gao Feiyan finally realized and said, "That's true, the material used for building the Heavenly Palace doesn't seem to be from within the Holy Soul Domain?"

Lin Fan said indifferently, "Perhaps, this Heavenly Palace is not as simple as we imagined!"

Gao Feiyan looked at Lin Fan with a hint of suspicion and asked, "You mean..."

Lin Fan this time remained silent.

While Lin Fan and Gao Feiyan were talking, a Heavenly Ladder suddenly stretched out from within the Heavenly Palace, descending step by step until it reached the ground.

This was the legendary Heavenly Ladder.

Its entirety was shrouded in a silvery-white glow as if there was a special kind of energy within it.

"Let's go, let's challenge the Heavenly Ladder now!"

Gao Feiyan couldn't wait and dashed out, intending to take on the Heavenly Ladder immediately.

However, Lin Fan grabbed hold of Gao Feiyan and said, "Don't!"

Gao Feiyan turned her head back, looking puzzled at Lin Fan and asked, "What do you mean?"

Lin Fan said, "Now is not the best time to challenge the Heavenly Ladder."

"What?"

Gao Feiyan said, "You know when the best time to challenge the Heavenly Ladder is?"

Lin Fan nodded and said, "I have already observed and calculated it just now. The best time to challenge the Heavenly Ladder is actually just as dawn breaks. At that time, the energy surrounding the Heavenly Ladder is at its weakest. It will be the easiest for us to succeed if we make our move then."

"You can calculate that?"

Gao Feiyan looked at Lin Fan as if he was some sort of monster.

Lin Fan did not explain further and simply said, "Trust me!"

After a moment of hesitation, Gao Feiyan said, "Okay, I trust you!"

While speaking, Gao Feiyan gave Lin Fan another curious glance, her interest in him deepening. She found it amazing that Lin Fan could even calculate the movements of the legendary Heavenly Ladder.

But...

What Gao Feiyan didn't know was that Lin Fan did not deduce this through calculation, but rather, he obtained the information from the Universal Image.

The two continued to wait here.

Time ticked away, second by second.

At first, Gao Feiyan could really wait together with Lin Fan, but as time kept slipping away, she could hardly bear it any longer. In fact, if it weren't for Lin Fan holding her back, Gao Feiyan would have already rushed to challenge the Heavenly Ladder.

It was finally about to dawn.

The entire Heavenly Ladder began to look increasingly ethereal, as if it could dissipate at any moment.

Gao Feiyan said to Lin Fan, "Let's not wait any longer; we can't keep waiting. If we continue, the Heavenly Ladder will soon disappear. If we wait until it disappears, we'll have to wait another day!"

While speaking, Gao Feiyan was about to rush out.

This time, Gao Feiyan was desperate to break free and rush out.

Lin Fan still grabbed hold of Gao Feiyan, saying, "Don't worry, wait a bit longer!"

Gao Feiyan said, "But..."

Lin Fan interrupted Gao Feiyan's words, saying, "Trust me!"

Gao Feiyan looked into Lin Fan's earnest eyes and finally nodded her head.

Time continued to pass by, second by second.

The sky gradually brightened.

The Heavenly Ladder became even more translucent.

It seemed that it would vanish in the next moment.

It was at this instant that Lin Fan said, "Let's go!"

Then, without any hesitation, both Lin Fan and Gao Feiyan dashed forward and immediately set foot on the Heavenly Ladder.

And at the very moment the two set foot on the Ladder, the Heavenly Ladder disappeared without a trace, and with its disappearance, Lin Fan and Gao Feiyan also vanished.

...