The red light flashed for a few times and then disappeared. The white light on the Bing Puppet's body went out. It bowed towards the Jade White Token, and then slowly disappeared.
Huo Xiumao took a mirror to reflect his appearance and went to his mansion on Chuxiao Peak. He asked Jing Yingrong to sit down in the hall, dismissed the attendants, and made a pot of tea with his own hands.
"This is the amethyst frost leaf produced in Zichun Valley. Please taste it, senior."
Huo Xiumao looked at Jing Yingrong expectantly.
Jing Yingrong took a sip from the teacup and said, "Can we talk now?"
"Huh?" Huo Xiumao was stunned for a moment and then quickly realized, "Oh, that's right, senior, I'm actually here to investigate you on the order of my master, Taoist Master Yunmeng."
Jing Yingrong: "Why are you investigating me?"
Huo Xiumao told Jing Yingrong the news he heard from Daojun Yunmeng, word for word, and at the end, he said: "When I found out that the person to be investigated was you, senior, I was very happy. Fortunately, Master chose me. If it were someone else, it might cause trouble to you, senior."
While Huo Xiumao was telling the story, Ji Yanzhu in the sea of consciousness was apologizing to Jing Yingrong: "I'm sorry for causing trouble to you."
Jing Yingrong: "It doesn't matter."
After hearing the cause and effect, she said to Huo Xiumao: "You don't want to cause trouble to me, what should you do?"
Huo Xiumao pondered for a moment, then he raised his eyes and stared at the reflection in the mirror, and said: "Before determining the method, I have a few questions to ask senior. Senior can refuse to answer. If you are willing to answer, please tell the truth."
Jing Yingrong smiled slightly and said, "Okay, you ask."
Huo Xiumao was stunned. He didn't come back to his senses until Jing Yingrong tilted his head in confusion.
Ji Sha Jian: "Look, his face is red again."
Jing Yingrong: "Yeah."
Ji Sha Sword: "Do you know why this time?"
Jing Yingrong: "Maybe it's because he thinks I'm good-looking."
Ji Sha Sword: "...makes sense."
Ji Jie Bi laughed loudly: "There is progress!"
"Ahem," Huo Xiumao coughed twice to cover up his confusion, "Then, the first question - Senior Jing, is your cultivation level fake?"
Jing Yingrong: "Yeah, fake."
Huo Xiumao looked like "it's true" and said, "Then can you tell me your true cultivation level?"
Jing Yingrong frowned slightly and said, "I don't know."
Huo Xiumao was stunned for a moment. He looked carefully at the expression reflected in the mirror, rolled his eyes, thought about the sentence and asked: "Let me ask another question, is your strength higher than that of the Transformation God?"
Jing Yingrong: "Yes."
Huo Xiumao asked: "What about returning to the void?"
Jing Yingrong: "It's stronger than returning to the void."
Huo Xiumao took a breath. He seemed to want to continue on this issue, but he opened his mouth again and again, and the content of his words changed the moment he came out: "Does the strange movement of Liexia Altar have anything to do with you?"
Jing Yingrong said decisively: "I didn't do it."
Ji Yanzhu said with a smile, "I did it." - However, Huo Xiumao couldn't hear it.
There was a trace of surprise in Huo Xiumao's eyes. He lowered his head and pondered, then looked at the reflection in the mirror and said seriously: "Will it be detrimental to Taichu Temple if you come to Taichu Temple?"
Jing Yingrong shook his head: "No."
"Okay, I understand."
After saying that, Huo Xiumao raised the corners of his mouth with a gentle smile.
Jing Yingrong: "Are you done asking?"
"Finished asking."
"Have you decided on the method?"
"Well," Huo Xiumao answered decisively and forcefully, appearing confident, "I know what to do. Please don't worry, senior, leave everything to me."
Jing Yingrong: "Are you going to deceive your master?"
Huo Xiumao was stunned for a moment. He showed some hesitation, but he still answered honestly: "This is inevitable."
Jing Yingrong thought for a while, then asked with some confusion: "I am kind to you, and your master is also kind to you in teaching me. Why did you lie to your master instead of me?"
This question stopped Huo Xiumao. His mouth was slightly open, with a look of confusion on his face.
"Indeed... I can indeed say nothing, find an opportunity to get close to you, senior, and investigate secretly. But -"
Huo Xiumao took a deep breath and his eyes became firm: "I said that day, I will repay your kindness to me a hundred times. Without your guidance, I would not have been able to come to Taichu Temple. So, if I had to choose, I would prefer Senior you."
Jing Yingrong said nothing.
Huo Xiumao said half-jokingly: "I don't know why, but I think it's easier to lie to Master than to lie to you, senior."
Unexpectedly, Jing Yingrong replied: "Yes, yes."
Huo Xiumao was stunned.
Jing Yingrong asked: "What do I need to do?"
Huo Xiumao smiled lightly and said, "You don't have to do anything. I will come to you often in the future. Just don't find me annoying."
Jing Yingrong: "Yeah."
"By the way, I can't call you senior in front of others. I should call you -"
Speaking of this, Huo Xiumao remembered something, his expression became strange, and he was quite confused about whether to laugh or cry.
"If you successfully enter the Taichu Temple, then on the surface, senior, you will be my junior sister!"
…
Five days later.
Everyone was taken to the foot of Taiyue Mountain, and in front of them was an extremely wide staircase to the sky.
"Those who arrive at the square above within seven days can enter the next round of selection, otherwise they will be eliminated."
The elder of Taichu Guan said, "Any method is allowed, and you can use your own methods."
Everyone looked up and saw that the ladder was hanging upside down and they couldn't see where the square was.
Tang Zhile said: "Come on, come on, this is the rumored step to heaven!"
"Can you fly up directly?"
"What are you dreaming about?" Tang Zhile rolled his eyes, "After you go up there, your cultivation will be useless. The higher your cultivation level, the greater the suppression you will receive, so you have to go up honestly. Hey, when I talked about it last time, you Didn't you listen carefully?"
"Ahem... I didn't notice. Wouldn't it be stronger than the physical body? But people with high cultivation levels generally have stronger physical bodies."
"...It's not that simple. You'll know when you get up there later. I remind you again, be sure to conserve your strength during the first part of the journey, otherwise it will be enough for you later."
"I know, I know."
People from the Zhenwu Academy replied one after another.
As soon as the elders of Taichu Temple announced the start, many people rushed forward impatiently, and some even directly sacrificed their magic weapons to fly with their weapons.
However, when they climbed up the stairs, their movements suddenly became extremely slow. The people who were flying fell down one by one, crushing the people below, and the stairs were instantly full of chaos.
Tang Zhile snickered: "A bunch of idiots."
Seeing that the person in front suffered a loss, the others were not in a hurry and climbed the stairs calmly.
Jing Yingrong raised her left foot and stepped onto the first step.
In this instant, the entire heavenly steps collapsed.
