Ascension

"If you had devoted yourself wholeheartedly to the immortal path, you might have had a chance to surpass me." Old Demon Ye's enthusiasm suddenly waned, his tone tinged with regret. Had the Reception Platform not offered him this chance at 'ascension,' he would have reigned supreme throughout the Beichen Realm, trampling all former rivals beneath his feet. To stand alone at the pinnacle with no one by his side. It would indeed be lonely. Around the cyan platform, the spatial turbulence grew denser by the second. Soon, it would be too late for anyone to leave. Beneath the platform, the Nascent Soul cultivators of the Celestial Alliance watched with deep concern. Old Demon Ye had stated earlier that only the late Nascent Soul stage offered a sliver of hope, and his words had clearly been no exaggeration—Demon Monarch Tongyou and Daoist Canghong had already been forced to withdraw. Only Daoist Priest Zhenyi held on. The Twin Battle Generals of the Celestial Alliance were Daoist Priest Zhenyi's true disciples, practically raised under his watchful eyes and as close to him as sons. At this moment, they were like ants on a hot skillet, frantic with anxiety. Daoist Priest Zhenyi's figure swayed within the tempest, his eyes shut tight, turning a deaf ear to Old Demon Ye's taunts. Strange light shimmered across his body as he unleashed every technique at his disposal. Giving no thought to retreat, he staked everything on a final, resolute gamble! A flicker of surprise crossed Old Demon Ye's eyes. Casting aside his mocking expression, he looked squarely at Daoist Priest Zhenyi. By then, Ziwei Palace was soaring higher and higher, disappearing into the spatial storm. A new tract of land appeared in the sky, wedged within the gaping void. The Immortal Palace was ascending! "It is time," Old Demon Ye murmured, tapping his foot lightly. The Reception Platform shuddered. The cyan platform trembled, unleashing a pillar of cyan light that surged into the depths of the void. Ancient talismans drifted through the air as the cyan glow enveloped everyone on the platform. "Do not forget your promise to me!" Bai snapped his eyes open and let out a resounding shout, forming an incantation gesture. The Demon Binding Rope around Jade Bone shattered inch by inch, unleashing every shred of its remaining power. Immediately following that, the flesh and bones across Bai's body writhed and crackled loudly. *Crack! Snap!* He severed his own hands and feet. Yet that was not enough! As a refined corpse, Bai seemed incapable of feeling pain. Without the slightest ripple in his gaze, he mechanically drew out every single bone from his body and laid them out before him. Each bone bore a Bone Curse and was arranged in a precise pattern. He was walking the same path as the mysterious figure from the water dungeon, intending to refine himself into a bone formation! Even to Nascent Soul cultivators, this sight was unimaginably horrifying. *Thud!* In the end, only Bai's head remained, falling into the formation's core. Even Old Demon Ye was stunned. He held Bai in high regard, yet he had refrained from recruiting him because he had his own calculations. Given Bai's and Qingjun's strength, it would have been impossible for them to safely navigate the spatial turbulence. They would inevitably have had to ask him for help, and all he wanted were the secrets inside Bai's head—a remnant soul would have been more than enough. *To think this fellow would mutilate himself like this. Could there still be something I failed to foresee?* Old Demon Ye wondered to himself. The bone formation reached completion! At that instant, those on the cyan platform felt their bodies tighten. Borne along by the cyan light, they flew uncontrollably toward the void. The Immortal Palace lay directly in the path of the cyan beam. Part of the spatial storm's fury was blocked by the palace, but anyone lacking sufficient strength would still be crushed into paste by the tempest, leaving not a trace of bone or flesh behind! In the blink of an eye, the spatial storm was right above their heads. *Boom!* The cyan light took the brunt of the impact. The bone formation gleamed with a pale, ghostly light, shielding Qingjun. Daoist Priest Zhenyi spat out a mouthful of blood, his face turning as pale as golden paper. With a bitter smile, he lifted his eyelids to look at Old Demon Ye, uttering a sigh that was half lament and half self-mockery. "I am not your equal." Seeing this, the Twin Battle Generals dropped to their knees, crying out in grief, "Master!" Old Demon Ye's attention remained entirely on Qingjun and the bone formation. The bone formation creaked and splintered. A beam of soul light wrapped around a piece of rotten wood shot out from the formation and sank into a small wooden carving at Qingjun's waist. The carving, originally featureless, gradually took on Bai's likeness. At the same time, having endured wave upon wave of devastation, Jade Bone could hold out no longer. With a roar of unwilling fury, he perished completely. He had not died in the dungeons of Sin God Palace. He had survived from antiquity into the present age. Yet he had fallen at the hands of a group of Nascent Soul cultivators. Upon Jade Bone's death, a wisp of grey qi shot directly between Qingjun's brows, far more potent than before. Her slender body trembled slightly, and she lifted her head. What had just happened to Old Demon Ye unfolded once again: Qingjun's aura skyrocketed, breaking through to the late Nascent Soul stage in a mere breath, standing on equal footing with Old Demon Ye! At this moment, even the collapse of heaven and earth could not eclipse her peerless grace! Beneath the platform, the onlookers were numb with shock. In a single day, the Beichen Realm had witnessed the birth of two great cultivators! They could guess that Qingjun's breakthrough was not entirely conventional. It seemed she had swallowed Jade Bone to empower her Heart Demon Puppet Seal and then merged it with herself. It was not a natural breakthrough like Old Demon Ye's. Such a method would either leave hidden flaws or only allow her to sustain the late Nascent Soul stage temporarily before slipping back down. Yet this minor imperfection did not detract in the least from how breathtaking she was to all who watched! How young was she? She and Old Demon Ye did not even belong to the same era. "You..." Old Demon Ye stared blankly at Qingjun, momentarily at a loss for words. It seemed he was not alone after all. Her talent was something even he felt humbled by. With a wistful sigh, he said, "A talent like yours has been rare throughout the ages. Yet those who came before were not as fortunate as you; in the end, they were trapped in this cage, wasting their entire lives away and turning into a handful of yellow earth like ordinary mortals." Her cultivation stabilizing, Qingjun summoned the Five Directions Pagoda and shot Old Demon Ye a cool glance. "You talk too much." "What lies beyond the Reception Platform is unknown territory, bound to be fraught with peril. We can cooperate," Old Demon Ye said, changing his plan to recruit her directly. "Focus on surviving first," Qingjun said impassively. Old Demon Ye frowned. With a flick of her finger, a beam of flowing light shot downward, heading straight for Qin Sang. Qin Sang swept his divine sense over it and found that it contained messages left for him by Qingjun and Bai. The gazes of the crowd followed the light, their expressions varied. Sensing their unusual stares, Qin Sang gave it a moment's thought. Instead of putting the light away, he openly displayed its contents for everyone to see. His relationship with Bai and Qingjun was known to all. The others would certainly suspect that they had left something behind for him before departing, which would only invite trouble later on. Characters floated in the air. The crowd started, then gave Qin Sang a grateful look before hungrily devouring the words. By this point, the Outer Hall was collapsing at an accelerating pace. Rolling plumes of dust and smoke could already be seen from where they stood. "Not good!" "The Outer Hall is about to be destroyed! Run!" ... Coming to their senses, the cultivators scrambled to summon their escape lights and flee. Qin Sang's pupils contracted sharply. If the Outer Hall was destroyed, the Reception Platform would be annihilated along with it! Neither he nor Bai had foreseen this turn of events. In Bai's message, he had explained how to activate the Reception Platform without resorting to the bloody methods Old Demon Ye had used, though the preparations required were still dauntingly difficult. Once Qin Sang's cultivation was high enough, he could reactivate the platform. Without the Immortal Palace blazing a trail, the cultivation requirement for the 'ascender' would be even harsher—even newly minted great cultivators like Old Demon Ye and Qingjun might fall short—yet it remained a glimmer of hope. That was why Qin Sang had felt no need to hoard the message; displaying it openly mattered little, as everyone would have to rely on their own abilities. Who could have thought that even this final ray of hope would be severed! Qin Sang's expression shifted erratically before he abruptly looked up. More than half of the Immortal Palace had sunk into the void. The cyan light flew in right behind it. At the moment the cyan light vanished, Qin Sang's gaze met Qingjun's across the floating characters. Separated by two worlds from this day forth, who knew when they might meet again? Qin Sang felt a hollow sense of loss. Of the floating characters forming the message, most belonged to Bai. Qingjun had left only two sentences. "Junior Brother, I leave the Yuanshen Sect in your hands." "I will wait for you on the road ahead!" (End of Volume 3)