From Covering the Sky, I Became a Transcendent

Chapter 20: Nine-Level Stairs
The ancient city of Xuanwu is not quiet at night. There are pedestrians in the streets and alleys, and melodious music can be heard from the palaces.

Everywhere is brightly lit, like a dream. This is a city that never sleeps, and it has been particularly lively in recent days.

Monks from all over the world gathered here, and even many important figures came here to pay attention to the affairs of the secret realm.

Si Chen came out of the inn, accompanied by a guide he had just hired, named Xiao Fan, a cultivator who had just opened up the Sea of ​​Bitterness. He had a handsome appearance and was a smart person.

"Sir, this is your first time here, may I know your name?" Xiao Fan asked respectfully.

"My last name is Ye." Si Chen blurted out without thinking much.

"Tell me, what fun places are there in Xuanwu Ancient City at night?"

Xiao Fan immediately understood the fun part: "I understand, Master Ye."

Before he became a monk, he thought all monks were noble, with immortal demeanor, and devoted themselves to cultivating to become immortals. After he became a monk himself, he discovered that monks were no different from mortals. They just as much liked to drink and eat meat, and just as much liked... the mortal world.

Those gray-haired supreme elders and old emperors love to go to places of romance the most.

"A serious place." Si Chen saw Xiao Fan's obscene face and immediately guessed what he was thinking and corrected him immediately.

He is only ten years old, still a child, what can he do!
"Yes, there are all kinds of buildings in the city, like stone archways, fairy towers, shops, and so on." Xiao Fan thought to himself that he was wrong and quickly made up for it.

"But at this time of night, many places are closed. I wonder if you have any needs, young master?"

"Let's walk around. Where is the most prosperous place at night? You lead the way." Si Chen said.

So Xiao Fan took Si Chen and walked towards the city center.

There is a night market in Xuanwu Ancient City at night. Precious materials are displayed in the streets and alleys, and various shouts can be heard one after another.

Sanyang warm jade, red chalcedony, divine blood soil, star stone...all kinds of precious materials are available.

There are also various precious medicinal materials, such as Nine-Leaf Phoenix Grass, Red Moon Fruit, Black Jade Lotus, Dragon Blood Grass... They are fragrant and are absolutely treasures.

"There are a lot of good things here!" Si Chen commented on them one by one. There were many materials that Xiao Fan didn't recognize, but he could tell them by name.

There was no way, the lessons given to him by the old men in the church were not in vain.

In addition, he has an extraordinary memory and a photographic memory, so he can recognize about 80% of the materials in the universe.

"You are joking, young master. What kind of treasures could there be here? The real good things are all in the palace in heaven." Xiao Fan looked at Si Chen with admiration. To be able to know so many materials, he must have an extraordinary background.

Si Chen shook his head. Although these materials were not of high quality, they were not easy to find in the outside world.

"Have you heard? The fairies from Guanghan Palace are holding a banquet in Changshengque to entertain all the geniuses. It seems that they want to discuss the matter of this secret realm. Let's go quickly." A cultivator passed by with an excited look on his face.

"Why are you so excited? You're not a genius." His partner was speechless, but was still dragged away.

"Where is the Changshengque?" Si Chen turned and asked Xiao Fan.

"It's right in front. It's opened by the Changsheng Taoist Temple."

……

Walking along the ancient street, you will see palaces in clusters, full of brilliance and splendor.

This is a fairy palace standing in the air, with jade-like buildings and flowing light, just like the pavilions in the fairyland.

In front of the fairy palace, there is a white jade gate, and below it is a nine-step glowing jade ladder.

Many people had already arrived but did not go in, they were stopped by the gate.

"What is this? A test?" Xiao Fan looked at the door in surprise. "This is the nine-level staircase, which is used by major sects to test the potential of new disciples. Few people can complete it." An old monk introduced it. He was one of the few elderly people present.

However, this old monk was a bit unrefined, with a lip mark on his face.

Si Chen looked at the old monk with a strange expression. The monk blushed and said, "I just came to see which geniuses are coming to my Xuanwu Ancient City this time."

To ease the embarrassment, the old monk continued to explain: "This kind of stairs, the higher you go, the greater the pressure. Those who can reach the fifth level are already very talented young people, and those who can complete the whole journey are all descendants of major sects."

"Old man, how many people have gone in so far?" Xiao Fan asked.

"Three, the young master of White Tiger Manor, and two disciples of a great sect whom I don't know, and no one else."

As they were talking, a cultivator wanted to go up and climbed up the jade ladder. He passed the first three levels easily, and everyone exclaimed.

"This is not difficult." Xiao Fan looked at the old monk with a look of doubt.

The old monk shook his shoulders and motioned for him to continue reading.

When the man reached the fifth floor, his steps had slowed down, sweat appeared on his forehead, and he looked very tired. When he reached the seventh floor, his face turned pale, his steps became weak, and he could not go any further. He was bounced out by a mysterious force.

Everyone sighed, feeling somewhat disappointed, as they had thought it was yet another genius.

"The people of the Golden Crow tribe are here."

In the air, several young men wearing golden feathered robes arrived. Each of them had long golden hair, as if made of divine gold. They were surrounded by golden flames, and even their eyes were golden.

"He's the fourth prince of the Jinwu clan, not his brother."

In this life, the Jinwu clan has four princes, each of them is extraordinary. Among them, the third prince has the highest talent, and few people on Ziwei Star can match him.

The Fourth Prince of the Golden Crow is not bad either, his cultivation has also reached the fourth level, comparable to the saints of many major sects.

Many cultivators' faces changed and they retreated, not wanting to clash with the young people of the Jinwu clan. The people of this clan were very strong and overbearing in character, so they would not provoke them if possible.

The Fourth Prince of Jinwu glanced at the people below with disdain. He asked a few young men to wait outside and walked towards the jade ladder.

He went up eight floors in a row, pausing only at the ninth floor, and then entered the Immortal Palace of Eternal Life smoothly.

Seeing this scene, the young men of the Jinwu tribe felt very proud. They held their heads high and looked at people through their nostrils, just like a peacock spreading its tail.

Si Chen looked at the scene indifferently. He had not planned to go in originally, but now it seems that it is necessary to go in.

"The four princes of the Golden Crow clan are all gifted with natural talents." The old monk exclaimed in admiration.

"They are just a group of mixed-breed birds with impure blood." Si Chen said indifferently.

What he said was true. These Golden Crows were indeed not pure-blooded. Of course, there were no pure-blooded real dragons or unicorns in the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths, but there was one phoenix.

The Golden Crow, the True Dragon, the Phoenix, these creatures were able to grow to the level of Immortal King in the ancient times. They were even able to fight with Immortal Kings when they were quasi-Immortal Kings. What powerful bloodlines they had.

Such a powerful bloodline is no longer effective nowadays. It takes millions of years to produce an emperor at the ultimate level. It is really a pity.

The key point is that the emperor was a tragic unlucky man, also the least dignified emperor in history. He was suppressed by Ye for his entire life and did not even dare to leave his ancestral star. In the end, he was relieved by death.

"Ah? Fellow Daoist, you can't say such things casually. If they hear them, they will hunt you down until you die." The old monk hurriedly dissuaded him.

Si Chen didn't care. He walked out of the crowd and climbed the jade ladder in everyone's surprised gaze.

(End of this chapter)