Chapter 504 - Leviathan Roars (I)

Chapter 504

Leviathan Roars (I)

I paused, uncertain.

I should have probably asked Lao Shun precisely how much they were worth, but I don't think we'll be exchanging money here. Even if I'm a bit of an idiot when it comes to the worth of these things, I can with certainty say they aren't the kinds of pills you can buy with money.

So, that leaves the bartering--I could ask for materials, for favors, for anything, really. And from the look on his face, he's confident he has something to match the approximate value of the pill.

"Ah, but before you say anything," he said. "Our last conversation still stands: I cannot house you and the kids for longer than we discussed. And, should it ever come between disclosing your identities and the future of my sect, I will not hesitate in the slightest."

Fair.

I wasn't gonna ask for it anyway, but seeing him stand firm on that was kind of inspiring. I'm same--if the choice were between saving my kids or his sect, there would be no hesitation.

"... I don't need anything," I said, procuring a pill and tossing it to him. Truthfully, the only thing I needed was Spirit Stones, but I feel like asking for them was... uh, iffy. "Just your approval to approach the phoenix."

"Hm? The phoenix? What phoenix?" He looked at me oddly as he caught the pill, his fingers trembling slightly.

"The one in the giant ball of fire."

"... oh. Forgive me," he said. "Our local myths may be grand, but..."

"No, there's one in there," I said with a shrug. "He's been yapping at me all this while," and he really, really was. Like, we're talking hundreds of times per hour.

"..." Well, he clearly didn't believe me.

To be fair, though, I don't need him to believe me; I just need him to let me go there and keep others away.

"We can go there," he said, clearly thinking I had some ulterior motive. I shrugged and took a swing of wine, standing up. "Hm? Right now?"

"No time like today," I said. We weren't gonna hang around here for long, so the quicker I dealt with the thing, the quicker we could leave.

"Very well," he nodded, having already deftly hidden away the pill, likely from fear of me asking it back.

We walked back out of the gazebo and the garden and the rather complex array that I could not see through in the slightest.

Once outside, we treaded the path in silence with him in the lead and me following a few steps back; he was greeted any time we came across anyone, though he remained silent. Even when it was old farts who were clearly Elders of the Sect, he still didn't greet them back.

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It took us about fifteen minutes of brisk walking to descend to the center of the sect and the stairs that led up to the platform where the massive sphere of fire resided.

[Phoenix cries out in delight, telling you to climb up immediately]

That thing never stopped yapping, and though the system was merely translating its intent, I could practically feel the excitement from these mechanical words on the 'screen'.

"A fair warning," the man said. "Halfway up these stairs, a defensive array activates. While we have a method to handle it, you are an outsider and will bear the full brunt of it."

... will I?

[Phoenix assures you the journey to the top will be the coziest walk you have taken in your life]

"Let's go," I said and took the first step; a soundless scoff resounded behind me, but I ignored it.

There were quite a few people who had gathered nearby and were watching us, whispering one thing or another. Even though I couldn't hear them, I could roughly guess what they were saying. Probably something along the lines of:

'Tsk, look at that ugly moron trying to climb the Godly Heavenly Beautiful Stairs. I bet he won't reach even a quarter of a way to the top!'

'Forget that; he'll be lucky if Sect Master takes pity and saves his life'

'If he gets to the top, I'll eat a raw log of wood--'

Random crap like that, most likely.

The stairs were wide, about forty feet across, and there were close to a thousand of them. However, they were rather easy to climb; it felt as though there was a pulling force above tenderizing the steps, making it so that I didn't even have to exert any energy to climb.

We kept climbing in silence, though I could feel his heated gaze on my back, one full of expectations. Not of my success, I don't think, but more so how he'll repay the pill by 'saving my life'.

We eventually reached that vaunted 'halfway point' where I was supposed to start melting... but, well, I naturally didn't. I intentionally stopped a few steps up and glanced back, only to see his shocked expression straighten like the string of the bow that had just been loosened.

Rather than saying anything, I simply smiled and continued the climb.

The scenery began to shift slightly as the quality of the steps increased; it was merely the difference of what was worn down versus what wasn't. They probably used the stairs as part of their annual Sect Competition, and the 'way they could handle it' was one of those measuring aspects of the competition.

Master the art more, and climb further up.

It took us a good half an hour to climb all the way to the top. The platform was actually much, much larger than I thought while looking at it from the distance. At the minimum, it was the size of a football stadium, stands included, which just made the sheer scale of the sphere of fire that more terrifying.

It loomed over like a cataclysmic little thing ready to rip the world asunder if it moved just slightly.

"... how did you do it?" the voice came from the back as I turned around. He was looking at me with a rather hostile gaze, Qi in his hand readied.

"Do what?"

"Don't play a fool."

"... I didn't do anything," I said, pointing up. "I told you. This thing has been yapping at me ever since I woke up. Why wouldn't it let me climb here?"

"Stop lying!!" he exploded in anger. "If you don't tell the truth immediately, don't blame me for being ruthless!"

"... hey, big guy. Want to help me here?" I mumbled, glancing up at the sphere.

The immobile, unmoving, silent thing... moved.

It was a slight movement--a singular ember of the fire dislocated from the sphere and flew gently toward the Sect Master. The latter's jaw turned unhinged as he watched the ember reach him and just... explode.

The explosion was so violent that it blew him backward like a cannonball, shooting him in a beautiful arc a good few miles while I barely felt any aftereffects.

"Phew," I whistled at the genuinely funny smoke trail in the sky that he left behind.

[Phoenix says it has done you a favor, and now you must give it Fire]

[Phoenix hurries you, saying you would be a bad person if you didn't repay the favor]

"That's not how things work, big guy," I said, rolling my eyes. "If I leave, you'll stay in this place forever. Once Dao of Fire dies, there will be no saving you. So, tell me," I added. "What can you give me for the Fire?"