Demoness, where are you Fleeing to?
Chapter 245 - 211: Ascending the Heavenly Ladder_1

Chapter 245: Chapter 211: Ascending the Heavenly Ladder_1

"Prize?" Li Xuan looked sideways with a hint of curiosity in his eyes, "What kind of prize, silver coins?"

He understood the ill intention behind Daoist Xuanchen’s words, yet he was intrigued by the word "prize."

However, from his past life’s memories, the biggest prize offered by large corporations at temple fairs would not exceed ten thousand taels.

If that’s the case, he wouldn’t really be interested. Recently, he had earned a hefty sum of money, and his purse was stuffed once again.

Of course, ten thousand taels was not a small amount, but compared to Xue Yunrou beside him, it was nothing noteworthy.

"If you pass any of the three levels in this sky ladder, you will get three thousand taels of silver. If you pass all three, you will get twenty thousand taels." Daoist Xuanchen said. Seeing the excitement in Li Xuan’s eyes fade, he realized that Monk Zhenru was right, such mere worldly objects were not enough to captivate him.

Therefore, he changed his approach, "This is the reward for common people. As for cultivators, there’s an extra prize. While the difficulty increases, there is also a worldly rarity for each level. The first level offers a Zhixuan Elixir from Longhu Mountain, the second level offers a young Divine Blood Azure Phoenix, and the third level offers a Huoyun Phoenix."

Xue Yunrou looked at Daoist Xuanchen with an even icier glance.

She didn’t know about the Divine Blood Azure Phoenix, but the Zhixuan Elixir for the first level and the Huoyun Phoenix at the third level were both his possessions.

"The Divine Blood Azure Phoenix and the Huoyun Phoenix?"

Son Zian, who was sitting opposite to Li Xuan, couldn’t help but show a surprised expression, "You really are generous with your prizes. Both are rare divine creatures with precious bloodlines. Even the Zhixuan Elixir at the first level is extremely valuable. It not only helps one briefly reach the Unity of Heaven and Man but also strengthens the Shenpo."

He whipped out the folding fan in his hand and glanced at Li Xuan, "Such divine objects allure me as well. It so happens that Qianqian’s birthday is upcoming, and I’ve been thinking of getting her a present. That Huoyun Phoenix would be perfect, and even more so, because they come in pairs. Brother Li, why don’t we go and check it out?"

Li Xuan thought to himself, if you want to go, go. Why do you have to drag me into it? From the sound of it, he seemed to be implying that he was certain to win.

However, the three prizes Xuanchen mentioned indeed tempted him.

If they really were the Divine Blood Azure Phoenix and Huoyun Phoenix, the total value of these items would already exceed 500,000 taels of silver.

He couldn’t fathom why Xuanchenzi would be willing to part with such treasures. Did he really believe that no one could pass the three levels?

Yue Qianqian immediately shook her head, "Cousin, no need to go through the trouble. Father has already prepared a guardian Spirit Pet for me. Once I reach the fourth house level and establish a Spirit Contract, it will be a Baize with my perfect bloodline."

Xue Yunrou forcibly pulled Li Xuan to the front and puckered her lips in protest, "Don’t look at them. They’re no fun at all. Let’s go see the sugar figurines instead. The craftsmanship is amazing! Just look at that phoenix, it’s so incredibly lifelike. It could compete with famous painters."

Li Xuan thought for a moment and decided to go along with Xue Yunrou’s wishes and head towards another stall. But just at that moment, Daoist Xuanchen spoke again in a relaxed tone, "I recall that you were recently cultivating the Thunder Body postnatal technique, weren’t you? In that case, the Zhixuan Elixir would be of great help. And the Huoyun Phoenix would be a great aid to your future Fire Method work. It would be a real shame to miss out."

Li Xuan paused momentarily upon hearing this and then chuckled, "After hearing your explanation, I’m somewhat intrigued."

He immediately took a step forward in the direction of the stage. Xue Yunrou not only clung tightly to his arm but also pursed her lips and leaned closer to his ear, "Don’t be fooled! My senior brother harbors ill thoughts and only wants to see you embarrass yourself in front of me."

"I know." Li Xuan nodded in acknowledgment, "But I’m just going to take a look, I won’t lose anything."

But Xue Yunrou only yanked harder, "Brother Li, there’s no need to go. We can afford to buy the Huoyun Phoenix and the Zhixuan Elixir."

Li Xuan felt the strength of the girl’s pull. It gave him a warm and amused feeling, "From what I see, the first two levels seem to be a test of chess and poetry skills. I know a bit of both. I don’t think I’d be unable to answer any questions at all. Yunrou, don’t underestimate me."

Xue Yunrou looked at Li Xuan skeptically. After pondering for a while, she begrudgingly relaxed her hold and moved on with Li Xuan to the front of the stage.

The aspect she loved about him wasn’t his skills or accomplishments, but rather, his character and his willingness to rush in without hesitation when she was in danger.

Even if Li Xuan were not able to pass a single stage or even become a laughingstock, would she stop loving him?

She knew the intentions of Brother Xuanchenzi all too well. How could those disgraceful acts shake her feelings for Xuan?

Moreover, she could still help, advise and plan for data. There’s no way Li Xuan couldn’t pass one or two attempts. They were not scholars who specialized in this field and they didn’t need to compete with them.

"The person defending the chess stage is Wang Jing, Wang Xiquan. He is an up-and-coming star in the chess area of Jiangnan and is known as the Chess Master in Guozi Bureau. His dead-or-alive puzzles are still unsolved by anyone in Nanjing City."

Daoist Xuanchenzi followed, smiling, "Why not give it a try, my junior sister? I remember you were once obsessed with chess, almost to the point of neglecting your cultivation."

After Li Xuan’s arrival, he first looked at the white banners hanging next to the stage. On these banners were drawn chess puzzles, including official son puzzles and hand talk puzzles, as well as several dead-or-alive puzzles.

At first, his face was calm, but as he reached the final puzzle, Li Xuan’s expression became slightly tense.

"These all seem pretty easy." Song Zian stood by, full of pride with his hands behind his back, "Li Duwei, do you understand these chess positions?"

Li Xuan was taken aback and slightly smirked, thinking to himself, am I so underestimated? He didn’t respond to Song Zian’s provocation, instead, nodded politely," I think I’m getting there. If these puzzles were created by brother Wang, then indeed his chess skills are deserving of a national title."

Upon hearing this, Daoist Xuanchenzi couldn’t help but chuckle. He thought to himself, this playboy who spends days in brothels, what does he know about playing against or hand talking? It’s likely he can’t even understand these puzzles and is just bluffing. Fortunately, Xuanchenzi hoped for this, as he was worried about how to provoke Li Xuan to take the stage.

"Since Li Duwei understands, how about trying it out?"

At this point, Song Zian smiled at Li Xuan, "How about both of us take a shot at solving it? We can see who gets it first."