The Heavenly Ladder

Zhang Xuanlin glanced at Gu Yuanqing again. He had waited these extra few days not only to see the fortuitous opportunity by the Heaven-Connecting Stele, but also to take the opportunity to assess Gu Yuanqing's background.

Gu Yuanqing rose to prominence suddenly during these four years. Besides fortuitous opportunity to have a stroke of luck and a serendipitous encounter, another possibility is that he was possessed by Split Soul.

Although their speech and behavior don't seem quite right, these things can be faked.

But the fortuitous opportunity Heaven-Connecting Stele cannot be faked.

"Could he really be a native of this world? It is said that before a world Destruction, it will gather its fortune to create Person of Heavenly Mandate, who will then fight to the death. Perhaps Gu Yuanqing is such a person, and now this world has indeed obtained such an opportunity."

"If we win, we will transform from floating creatures into Exquisite, and we will no longer have to worry about being devoured by the Demon Realm. If we lose, there will be no more chance for this world."

Various thoughts flashed through Zhang Xuanlin's mind.

A fleeting look of disappointment crossed Ji Qingyun's face. He had heard about the Heaven-Connecting Stele and longed to ascend the Heavenly Ladder himself. After all, he had lived in this Boundary Domain for five hundred years, longer than anyone else in this world, so perhaps he had a chance.

But now the facts have told him the outcome.

"Someone has entered the Heavenly Ladder," Gu Yuanqing suddenly said.

Zhang Xuanlin and the others looked toward the Heaven-Connecting Stele and saw names appearing on it, followed by the number of steps of the Heavenly Ladder they had crossed, all of which were zero at the moment.

Suddenly, the changing names stopped, and Li Shi'an's name was fixed at the top, with the number of steps on the Heavenly Ladder after his name changing to one.

Gu Yuanqing Mountain Observation towards where Li Shi'an was, and saw that he had opened his eyes and was holding a Jade Bottle in his hand.

"Please wait a moment, senior. I'll go get it and be right back."

The next second, Gu Yuanqing crossed space and arrived beside Li Shi'an.

"Why did you log out so quickly? You can only enter the Heavenly Ladder once a day."

Li Shi'an looked at the Jade Bottle, then at the Heaven-Connecting Stele, and asked, "How long has it been since the Heavenly Ladder opened?"

Gu Yuanqing asked, "It was only a few breaths, what happened?"

Li Shi'an muttered to himself, "It's only been a few breaths. I thought a very long time had passed."

Gu Yuanqing sensed something was off about Li Shijie'an and frowned, asking, "Senior, what's wrong with you?"

Li Shi'an took a deep breath, closed his eyes for a moment, and then opened them, smiling, "I'm sorry to have made you laugh, Young Master Gu. I just stepped into the Heavenly Ladder and experienced the Illusion Technique. It was so real inside that I haven't recovered yet. This Heavenly Ladder is indeed wondrous. It felt like an entire lifetime had passed inside, but Outer Realm, only a moment had passed."

Gu Yuanqing noticed that Li Shi'an was still somewhat off, so he said, "Senior, you should rest well first, calm your mind, and not let this affect your cultivation level."

"Old Man understand!" Li Shi'an nodded with a smile.

Suddenly, they heard a loud laugh. The two turned around and saw that it was Ji Dai.

He was laughing, but then he burst into tears.

Li Shi'an asked, "Brother Ji, what's going on?"

Ji Dai was in tears. "So many years have passed, and I still can't forget you!"

Qin Wuya, who was in the neighboring Courtyard, came over upon hearing the noise. "Senior Ji, what's going on?"

Li Shi'an said, "You haven't ascended the Heavenly Ladder yet, have you?"

"I had just finished processing the information from the voice I heard when I heard this commotion, so I came to check it out."

"You'll find out when you go in," Li Shi'an said.

Gu Yuanqing asked, "Is the Jade Bottle in your hand something you obtained from the Heavenly Ladder?"

Li Shi'an nodded and said, "It should be a bottle of Marrow Cleansing Spirit Liquid. Taking it can improve one's aptitude. It should be similar in effect to the Spirit Spring in Young Master Gu's Mountain."

Just then, they noticed that one of the names on the Heaven-Connecting Stele was Shen Yurong, who had surpassed Li Shi'an to reach the very top, and the number of the Heavenly Ladder behind him was two.

Inside the Imperial Palace, Li Haotian did not immediately enter the Heavenly Ladder. He said to Xu Lianying, "Instruct the Heavenly Policy Mansion to record the outstanding individuals on this Heaven Ladder Rankings. These people are likely all exceptionally talented, and it would be best if they could be placed under the control of the Imperial Court court."

"Yes!"

In Small City on the edge of the Great Qian border.

"Shen San, what are you daydreaming about? I told you to get to work this morning, and here you are slacking off. What, you want to climb the Heavenly Ladder to heaven too? Don't you even look in the mirror? Don't you know what you're made of?"

"Steward Qi, why can't I?" A boy of about sixteen or seventeen, dressed in servant's clothes, was carrying a broom.

"You dare talk back? Let me tell you, stop daydreaming and get to work. If you don't clean this Courtyard properly this morning, don't eat! Also, stay away from the young lady. Who do you think you are? Do you think you have the right to think about things like that?"

Then, Steward Qi gave a haughty snort and left the Courtyard.

"Look down on people like that. In a few days, I won't be working here anymore," the young man muttered under his breath, hiding a Jade Bottle in his arms even more securely. His real name was Shen Yurong, the third child in his family; everyone called him Shen San. Apart from his parents, almost no one knew his real name.

Having conquered two levels of the Heavenly Ladder, acquired a bottle of Restoration Pill and a Cultivation Method, his already restless spirit was ignited.

The Heavenly Ladder is the road to heaven.

He came from an ordinary family, struggling to even put food on the table, let alone pursue spiritual cultivation. But now, an opportunity has come, and he believes that if he seizes it, he can rise above others!

People like Shen Yurong are everywhere in the world. Cultivation requires talent, wealth, and Cultivation Method; otherwise, one cannot even enter the Origin Scholar realm.

Now that Heaven has given us this opportunity, it is the greatest opportunity for those who are unwilling to be ordinary. As long as you can climb the Heavenly Ladder to heaven, you can have everything you need.

On this day, almost everyone in the world entered the Heavenly Ladder, but very few were able to climb to the second step.

The back mountain of North Spring.

"Young Master Gu, have you ever climbed the Heavenly Ladder?" Zhang Xuanlin asked.

Gu Yuanqing smiled and said, "Not yet."

"Why is that? Even if a lifetime passes inside the Heavenly Ladder, it's only a blink of an eye in the Outer Realm," Zhang Xuanlin said.

Gu Yuanqing said, "No rush. What I obtained from the Heavenly Ladder is nothing to me. Senior, are you really determined to leave?"

Zhang Xuanlin glanced at the Heaven-Connecting Stele again, sighed, and said, "It's time to go. We've seen what we needed to see. There are some things we must deal with ahead of time, otherwise it will be too late to regret when disaster strikes. Please trouble Young Master Gu to escort us out of the mountain."

Gu Yuanqing hesitated for a moment. "Is it really not feasible inside the mountains?"

"Indeed, it doesn't Old Man. I've already tried. Even though Young Master Gu has released the suppression of my Divine Sense, the Array Formation on this mountain seems to be a world of its own. My Divine Sense is completely unable to break through the space and contact my true self through the Void." Zhang Xuanlin was also amazed.

"Alright then!" Gu Yuanqing waved his hand, and the two of them arrived outside North Spring Mountain.

Zhang Xuanlin immediately felt the suppression he had been experiencing disappear. He tried to contact his true self, but after a moment, he couldn't help but shout, "Old Man Young Master Gu, I may need to go further. It seems that even here beside this mountain, I still cannot break through the barrier to contact my true self."

Gu Yuanqing gathered the aura of North Spring Mountain and transmitted his voice, "Try it now."

When Zhang Xuanlin tried again, he indeed sensed the aura of the true body through Secret Method. When he looked at North Spring Mountain, he felt a chill in his heart. This scene explained a lot.

The fact that the formation outside North Spring Mountain could still block his connection with his true self indicates that the essence of the Array Formation within North Spring Mountain might be at a level higher than his true self's!

A moment later, Ji Qingyun, who was standing next to him, suddenly flashed with light and disappeared into thin air.

Just as Zhang Xuanlin was about to be led away, he suddenly took out the Sky Burning Tower from his Storage Bag and threw it into the mountain.

"All that was before was just a transaction. Let's consider this tower a way to establish a good relationship with Young Master Gu. Perhaps you'll find it useful."

As soon as the words fell, Zhang Xuanlin's Heavenly Human Divine Sense broke through space and was guided away. Then, the Puppet's body flashed with light, as if it were being pulled away from somewhere.

Gu Yuanqing did not stop him, but his Heavenly Eye had already been activated, his gaze piercing through space and landing in a secret chamber at the bottom of Lingxiao Mountain, where the vanished Puppet had reappeared.

He tossed the Sky Burning Tower in his hand and murmured to himself, "A karmic connection, perhaps?"