The two passed through a sea of clouds, and the scene before them shifted as if separated by an invisible giant hand.
Beyond the sea of clouds, the outline of a celestial staircase appeared.
The staircase was paved with white jade, ascending from the mountain's peak into the clouds above, its end out of sight.
It stood there quietly, as if connecting the earth and the sky.
There was nothing on either side of the staircase, only swirling mists, making the path seem exceptionally solitary and lofty.
The imposing aura it emanated made Su Ling'er feel laughably insignificant.
Although the pressure was like a great stone weighing down on her, it wasn't malicious.
"Miss Su, this is the Asking Dao Ladder." Her senior brother's voice came from beside her.
The Asking Dao Ladder.
Legend had it that only the most elite Cultivation sects on the continent possessed such a marvel, used to test the Dao hearts of their disciples or clan members.
According to legend, the Asking Dao Ladder contained a Path of Inquiry of one thousand and eight steps. With every step came the pressure of the Great Dao and Heart Demon Illusions.
It didn't test one's Cultivation or Spirit Root, only the most fundamental quality of a Cultivator—their Dao heart.
But this was the Guixi Sect.
A demonic sect.
'A group of fiends who take pleasure in killing... do they need Dao hearts too?'
'Aren't they cultivating an inhuman demonic path?'
'What use do they have for a Dao heart?'
The whole thing felt inexplicably strange.
'Perhaps this Asking Dao Ladder, like Mr. Qian and the True Understanding of Ten Thousand Transformations Returning to the Origin, was stolen from some other renowned righteous sect?'
'But if that's true, it means their strength is on par with the most powerful major sects in the world.'
Even as these thoughts raced through her mind, her eyes were glued to the staircase that led to the boundless sky.
After all, Qingxu Temple had nothing this good.
Forget an Asking Dao Ladder; even a simple Calming Stone was a luxury reserved for the Sect Leader, the elders, and the Direct Disciples.
A sour feeling of envy and a subtle, irrepressible longing welled up from deep within her.
She wanted to walk it, too. She wanted to know how far her heart could take her!
Even if it was a demonic sect's Asking Dao Ladder, she wanted to try it!
Just then, a figure appeared at the entrance of the celestial staircase, blocking the way.
The face was still expressionless, the eyes unfocused.
It was Qian Buyu again.
Mr. Qian extended a hand, palm up.
Su Ling'er was confused. 'What does this mean?'
Lin Qingfeng spoke up from the side to remind her, "Miss Su, you need to pay ten low-grade Spirit Stones to climb the Asking Dao Ladder. The Spirit Stones you got from the Demon-Locking Tower last time should be just enough."
'Building this sect marvel cost a fortune back then,' Lin Qingfeng thought, 'and now this game is actually charging me, the guild leader!'
'Ten Spirit Stones every time!'
'This is a sect building I spent a ton of money to unlock!'
'Why are they charging me?'
'Charging other disciples is one thing, but charging me, the guild leader? What a rip-off!'
'Shouldn't this money be going into my own pocket?'
'Scam artists!'
Su Ling'er's mind went BUZZ.
'A fee?'
'Ten low-grade Spirit Stones?'
'They want the ten Spirit Stones I just earned as a reward?'
'Are the Spirit Stones I just got about to leave me already?'
'Wait...'
'So that's it!'
She understood everything at once. It was a trap!
'First, he used the threat of death to wear down my spirit. Then, he saved me with that world-shaking Sword Technique. Finally, he's using these ten Spirit Stones I risked my life for as bait to lure me into this trial!'
'And I walked right into the trap he wove, step by step!'
'Every single step was part of his scheme!'
'First Senior Brother is terrifying!!!'
Su Ling'er felt a chill run down her spine and spread through her whole body.
She glanced at Lin Qingfeng's profile, feeling as if an unknown monster was hidden behind that face.
Resigned, she could only take out the cloth pouch that hadn't even had a chance to warm up, and place all ten of the recently acquired Spirit Stones into Qian Buyu's hand.
Qian Buyu took the Spirit Stones and stepped aside, his face still blank.
The path to the clouds was open.
Su Ling'er took a deep breath, trying to calm herself, and looked up.
On the celestial staircase, a few lonely figures were crawling slowly upward.
The actions of some disciples were so bizarre that Su Ling'er's recently calmed heart began to pound again.
Her gaze fell on one of the disciples.
He was burly and was currently stopped at the 31st step.
She watched as he strained to take another step upward, and then... he just lay down stiffly on the white jade steps.
Su Ling'er watched, completely baffled.
Then, under her confused gaze, the man clasped his hands behind his head and began doing sit-ups, one after another.
"One! Two! Three! Four!"
He shouted the count at the top of his lungs as he did them, his clothes quickly becoming soaked with sweat.
But not a single drop of moisture stained the white jade steps.
Su Ling'er was speechless.
'What... what is he doing?'
'A demonic sect's training method?'
'Is he enduring the pressure of the Great Dao and using this method to temper himself at the same time, hoping to gain some deeper insight into the Dao?'
Lin Qingfeng glanced over, understanding immediately.
'Doing physical training under the pressure of the Asking Dao Ladder is a common thing for people with insufficient Willpower attributes.'
'The pressure from the ladder multiplies for players whose Willpower and Dao Heart attributes are approaching their critical threshold.'
'If the requirements of a step exceed a player's stats in these two areas, the pressure they experience becomes exponential, and forcing their way up will get them kicked off the ladder quickly.'
'But if their stats are close to the threshold without exceeding it, they can still feel the pressure of the Great Dao within their limits, though they'll struggle to move.'
'The benefits of this extreme pressure lead some players to do physical workouts, which can simultaneously train their Physique, Strength, and other Body Refining attributes.'
'If you train in this environment often, you might even get lucky and increase your Willpower attribute. It's a pretty standard move.'
His gaze shifted higher up to a female disciple.
She was kneeling on the steps, clutching her hair.
She would alternate between sobbing and cackling, muttering something unintelligible. Her eyes had lost their focus, and she looked like she had lost her mind.
Behind him, Su Ling'er's heart leaped in shock. 'Could that be... possession by a Heart Demon?'
'Has she... gone crazy?'
'But actually, she's just entered the ladder's random Heart Demon state.'
'When your Dao Heart attribute isn't high enough, you fall into this state. It wears off after a while.'
'If you can break through it, you can advance to the next step. If you can't break through within the time limit, you'll be ejected from the ladder, and the Heart Demon state will eventually fade.'
As they watched, a few disciples were coming down from the Asking Dao Ladder, preparing to head to the Artifact Refining Pavilion to practice the Sword Refining Skill.
"Yo, First Senior Brother! Bringing the little junior sister to play on the Asking Dao Ladder!"
"Go for it, junior sister! The higher you climb, the more rewards the Asking Dao Ladder will grant you. But it's just a one-time reward for each step you reach."
"Yeah, and it's okay if you don't get very high. You can always come back and challenge it again later."
"But if you climb to the 30th step this time, you won't get a reward for reaching the 30th step again next time. You have to reach the 31st step to get the reward for the 31st step."
"But Miss Su, you..."
The disciple who was speaking trailed off, because the junior sister's aptitude was just too poor.
He wasn't very optimistic about how high she could climb.
But it didn't matter.
The Asking Dao Ladder was right here, and you could climb it anytime for ten Spirit Stones.
If she couldn't climb high now, she could always come back and try again later when her Willpower and Dao Heart were stronger. It was no big deal.
After exchanging greetings with them, Lin Qingfeng turned to Su Ling'er.
"Go on, Miss Su."
"Their path is not necessarily your path. Your Dao is one you must walk for yourself."
"Go and see how far you can go."
Su Ling'er knew she had no choice, and besides...
She slowly raised her head, looking at the endless white jade staircase.
Clouds flowed over the steps, and the roars of the burly man and the mad laughter of the woman flooded her ears.
In the deepest part of her heart, she also wanted to know. She, Su Ling'er, with her abysmal constitution and a Four-Element Pseudo Spirit Root, had never been truly valued at Qingxu Temple.
She had probably been given this life-or-death mission because she was the most diligent, proactive, and uncomplaining worker in the outer sect.
And as an outer sect disciple, if she died, Qingxu Temple would only lose a diligent handyman. That was likely why the Sect Leader had chosen her.
But a Dao heart, something that didn't depend on talent or aptitude...
She, too, wanted to know just how far her Dao heart could take her!
She no longer looked at Lin Qingfeng or paid any mind to the others. Resolutely, she stepped onto the first white jade step.