"Uncle Li Xuan, which hotel are you staying at?"
After getting off the high-speed train, Ivan quickly followed Li Xuan with his suitcase.
Li Xuan was taken aback. He hadn't thought about staying in a hotel at all. According to his original plan, he intended to find a place with abundant spiritual energy for cultivation after arriving at Phoenix Mountain. However, being followed by this Ivan made Li Xuan feel somewhat helpless.
"Uncle Li Xuan, you haven't even booked a hotel, have you? How about this, I've booked a room at the Jin Hao Grand Hotel. Uncle, you should come there too. It's getting late now, and finding a hotel might be troublesome." Seeing Li Xuan's expression, Ivan immediately said.
"I think I'd better..." Li Xuan frowned slightly. Just as he was about to refuse, Ivan had already grabbed his hand and hailed a taxi at the station entrance. Li Xuan sighed helplessly. It seemed he could only leave later that night.
"Master, Jin Hao Grand Hotel," Ivan said to the driver after putting his suitcase in the trunk and getting into the car.
"Alright, please sit back, we'll be heading off now." The driver, a slightly overweight middle-aged man, glanced at Li Xuan and Ivan in the rearview mirror and said. As soon as he finished speaking, the car started moving.
Half an hour later, the taxi slowly came to a halt. Li Xuan looked out the car window, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes. This Jin Hao Grand Hotel was actually a five-star hotel.
Ivan being able to book such a hotel suggested he might have quite an background.
"Uncle, let's go." Ivan paid the taxi fare and then smiled at Li Xuan. As soon as he finished speaking, Ivan got out of the car first and walked towards the trunk to retrieve his luggage.
Li Xuan got out of the car as well and, led by Ivan, they walked towards the hotel entrance. Under the guidance of the doorman, they soon arrived at the reception.
A few minutes later, Li Xuan entered his room and breathed a sigh of relief. Ivan was truly a bit overwhelming for Li Xuan. Moreover, based on his observations, Li Xuan realized that Ivan was clearly not from an ordinary family. His speech, demeanor, and actions clearly indicated the poise of a young lady from a distinguished background.
However, it was Ivan's overly familiar attitude that made Li Xuan feel immense pressure. Only after entering the room did Li Xuan finally relax. Glancing at the time, Li Xuan immediately sat down cross-legged and began to practice his breathing exercises.
Time passed gradually. When Li Xuan opened his eyes, it was already midnight. During this time, Ivan had knocked on Li Xuan's door, but Li Xuan had ignored it. He had also received more than ten text messages. After sensing with his eyes closed, Li Xuan immediately got up and opened the door to leave.
"Hello, Room 8108 is checking out." Li Xuan approached the reception and said with a smile.
"Certainly, please wait a moment." The receptionist, with a professional smile, took Li Xuan's room card and quickly processed it.
Phoenix Mountain. As night deepened, the number of tourists naturally dwindled. Furthermore, Phoenix Mountain covered a vast area, and the scenic area had patrol teams patrolling 24 hours a day. This was not only to ensure that all tourists had left the scenic area but also to prevent some tourists from entering the area at night.
After a patrol team left, a figure silently appeared under a lamppost. This person was Li Xuan, who had left the hotel.
"Phoenix Mountain has indeed not been a wasted trip for me," Li Xuan murmured to himself with joy after sensing the surroundings.
During his sensing, Li Xuan discovered that the spiritual energy density here was significantly more abundant than that at Baoxiu Garden. Li Xuan glanced around and then his figure moved, quickly darting towards the depths of Phoenix Mountain under the cover of night.
Phoenix Spring. As the spring water flowed, the gurgling sound masked the sound of Li Xuan's approach.
This Phoenix Spring was located at the summit of Phoenix Mountain, and above it lay a natural Phoenix Sky Lake. Li Xuan did not know how this lake was formed.
Despite the darkness, mist enveloped the surface of the lake. Wisps of spiritual energy drifted, making the place resemble a fairyland. Many tourists came here specifically for this Phoenix Sky Lake.
"The spiritual energy here is indeed rich, but how it was formed is a bit puzzling. However, I don't understand many things in this world, so this is just one more thing. Well, I should absorb the spiritual energy first."
Li Xuan smiled and shook his head. Then, his spiritual sense swept over the lake, and he discovered a natural stone cave on one side of the mountain peak. This stone cave directly faced the Phoenix Sky Lake and could only accommodate one person. For Li Xuan, it was like a pillow appearing just when he felt sleepy.
After inspecting the stone cave, Li Xuan confidently sat cross-legged, circulated the cultivation mantra of the Li family's mental technique, and slowly absorbed the spiritual energy from the surroundings.
As time passed, the dark night gradually brightened. If anyone were present, they would be shocked to see the ripples and mist on the surface of the Phoenix Sky Lake converging towards the stone cave on the mountaintop.
The next day, at 8:30 AM.
At the Jin Hao Grand Hotel, the door of Room 8107 opened, and Ivan's figure appeared in the corridor.
"Uncle Li Xuan, are you awake?" Ivan pressed the doorbell and then shouted into the room.
"Uncle Li Xuan, are you... Who are you?" After waiting for a few seconds, Ivan rang the doorbell again and shouted. But the next moment, as the door opened, Ivan's pupils contracted sharply, and he pointed in shock at a woman who appeared at the doorway.
"Shouldn't I be the one asking you that? Little sister, you're knocking on my door early in the morning, and you don't even know who I am?"
Su Qing was also speechless. She had been sleeping soundly when someone rang the doorbell. And after opening the door, she was questioned first. Moreover, judging by the woman's expression, she clearly didn't recognize her.
"You're not... Uncle Li Xuan, when you were lonely last night... you know, is Uncle Li Xuan still asleep?" Ivan was stunned, then looked at Su Qing, who was wearing pajamas, and said. As if feeling her words were a bit rude, she quickly changed the subject.
"What Uncle Li Xuan? Little sister, I'm just staying at a hotel, and people are questioning me. By the way, who are you? You're knocking on my door early in the morning, what do you want?"
Su Qing was also confused. She had finally come for a relaxing trip, only to encounter someone knocking on her door in a five-star hotel. If it weren't for the fact that the person in front of her was a woman, Su Qing wouldn't have opened the door.
"You're alone? No, isn't this Uncle Li Xuan's room?"
Ivan was stunned, then took a step back and looked at the room number, muttering in confusion, "That's right, it's 8108. Um, is Uncle Li Xuan really not inside? Don't worry, I understand young people's lives."
Seeing Ivan's knowing expression, Su Qing was both amused and exasperated. She stepped back and said, "Fine, if you don't believe me, come in and see for yourself if this Uncle Li Xuan you're talking about is here."
Ivan hesitated for a moment, then puffed out her chest and walked in.
A few seconds later, Ivan's face turned somewhat embarrassed as she retreated to the doorway and said to Su Qing, "Um, I'm sorry to have disturbed your rest. Perhaps I misremembered."
After checking, Ivan confirmed that Li Xuan was not in the room. Although Ivan was a bit puzzled, she still apologized to Su Qing.
"Forget it, I checked in at 1 AM last night. Perhaps the Uncle Li Xuan you mentioned checked out. If you want to know if that's the case, why not go downstairs and ask the front desk?" Seeing that Ivan didn't seem to be lying, Su Qing's expression softened considerably.
"Yes! Thank you, beautiful sister. I'll go ask the front desk now, and I'll treat you to a meal later." Ivan's eyes lit up at this. Without another word, she ran towards the elevator.
"..." Su Qing was speechless at this and then shook her head slightly before returning to her room.
"What? Checked out at 12 AM last night?" Ivan was also stunned after asking the front desk. If Ivan remembered correctly, they had checked in at 11 PM.
"Yes, madam. The records show that your friend did indeed check out at 12:10 AM last night." The receptionist nodded with a smile.
"Okay, thank you." Ivan pouted. She now understood that Li Xuan had probably done it intentionally.
Although she didn't quite understand why Li Xuan would do this, she eventually turned and walked towards the hotel entrance. After all, she had come to Phoenix Mountain for sightseeing, and Ivan wouldn't let Li Xuan spoil her trip.
*Hoo.*
In the stone cave at the summit of Phoenix Mountain, Li Xuan slowly exhaled a breath of turbid air. As he opened his eyes, a smile appeared on his face. After a night of cultivation and absorption, the spiritual energy consumed in healing Li Lao, Li Enzhong's father, had finally been recovered.
Not only that, but Li Xuan had also successfully advanced from the early stage of the Mortal Embryo realm to the middle stage. If he hadn't left 30% of the spiritual energy behind, Li Xuan might have even reached the advanced stage.
"The order of heaven and earth in this world seems a bit peculiar, but to complete this trial smoothly, it will likely take some time," Li Xuan murmured to himself after pondering for a moment.
After regaining his memories, Li Xuan discovered that he could not directly end this soul trial. Moreover, through deduction, Li Xuan could only end it when his current body reached the end of its natural lifespan, as people on Earth would say.
As for the time aspect, Li Xuan had inquired about it from the Heavenly Dao Brush before he started. The time in this space-time was different from that in the Soul Realm. Just as people on Earth said, a day in heaven was ten years on earth.
However, what made Li Xuan feel helpless was that without cultivation, it would be difficult for him to protect himself on Earth. But once he cultivated, his body's lifespan would naturally increase significantly.
This process was undoubtedly a self-contradictory existence.
"Never mind, since I've already started cultivating, I'll continue," Li Xuan pondered for a moment, ultimately unable to find a suitable solution. He then sighed slightly, stood up, and quickly left the stone cave.
Li Xuan had already absorbed 70% of the spiritual energy here, and it would take some time to recover to its previous state. To continue absorbing spiritual energy for cultivation, he would have to find another place.
"Ah, someone fell!" Just then, a startled cry rang out.
Li Xuan looked over and saw a figure fall from a stone bridge. Seeing this, Li Xuan's figure moved, and he swiftly darted towards the stone bridge.
Because Li Xuan saw that the person who had fallen was Ivan.