Chapter 292 - 291: The Largest Fragment of the Ascension Ladder
The Heavenly Monarch, having cultivated up to the Transcendance Tribulation Stage, amassed significant spiritual energy within his body, mainly due to his large-scale devouring technique. Not to mention, he had slain countless cultivators and absorbed their spiritual energy.
The amount of spiritual energy stored within him could be only described as terrifying.
Even though the Heavenly Monarch was the weakest Transcendance Tribulation Stage cultivator Jiang Li had seen, his spiritual energy was significant enough to rival that of an experienced Transcendance Tribulation Stage veteran like Commander Liu.
At his death, his spiritual energy dispersed, filling the heavens and the earth.
Jiang Li felt that this process was too slow. With a wave of his hand, the dispersed spiritual energy started moving about the Ancient World like revived children, reaching their ultimate speed.
Jiang Li destroyed the Immortal Dynasty’s Spirit Gathering Array with a flick of his finger, allowing the spiritual energy to break free.
The density of spiritual energy on the entire continent was visibly increasing at an alarming speed.
Yu Feng and Wu Lian, being the closest to the Heavenly Monarch’s corpse, were the first to be hit with the influx of spiritual energy. Their cultivation bottlenecks shattered, and they both simultaneously reached the peak of the Nascent Soul Stage, separated by just a step from the Divinity Transformation Stage.
Wu Lian wanted to break through to the Divinity Transformation Stage in one go but was stopped by Yu Feng.
Yu Feng calmed her down, saying, “First, stabilize your foundation. There’s no need to rush. If you recklessly attempt to break through to the Divinity Transformation Stage, it may cause future troubles.”
In a barely audible whisper, Yu Feng suggested to Wu Lian, “We could cultivate together at night, gradually strengthening our foundations.”
Wu Lian’s ears turned red as she murmured her agreement, “We don’t have to wait till night.”
As Yu Feng’s eyes lit up and he was about to respond, his words were interrupted by Jiang Li’s cough.
“Ahem, not advancing hastily is a wise choice,” Jiang Li approved Yu Feng’s perspective.
“Senior Jiang, what is your cultivation level…?” Yu Feng looked at Jiang Li in awe. If he could have even half of Senior Jiang’s cultivation, he wouldn’t have to face death tribulation.
At the beginning, when the Heavenly Monarch survived the tribulation and became an Immortal, Yu Feng was on pins and needles, fearing that Jiang Li would lose.
Furthermore, even if he won, there should have been quite a struggle followed by a hard-won victory.
Who could have predicted that Senior Jiang was incredibly and unpredictably powerful?
This isn’t the Mahayana Realm; this is a Great Immortal!
“The realm above the Transcendance Tribulation Stage, the Mahayana Realm.”
“Isn’t it transcending the Tribulation to become an Immortal?”
Jiang Li shook his head, “After the Transcendance Tribulation Stage, it’s not just about transforming into an immortal body and absorbing immortal power to become an Immortal. You can also continue cultivating with spiritual energy, turning impossibilities into possibilities, pushing ahead from a high vantage point, and reaching the Mahayana Realm.”
“Although up until now, I haven’t seen anyone else cultivate to this point like me.”
“Senior… Senior Jiang, hello,” stuttered Wu Lian, nervously directing a greeting towards Jiang Li.
In her experience, the more powerful the cultivator, the more unpredictable they are. This senior might appear carefree and friendly towards her junior brother, but she feared he could turn against them on a whim.
Jiang Li smiled at her, emanating an air of reliability similar to a senior family member, “Don’t be so nervous. In fact, I’ve been beside you for over six years, observing you. But you didn’t know it.”
Yu Feng couldn’t help but retort, “Senior Jiang, you make it sound like you’re a peeping tom.”
Jiang Li shot him a look. “You! If you hadn’t kept turning back time and messed up the river of time, why would I have been a mere spectator?”
“My fault, my fault, thanks for saving my life, Senior Jiang.” Yu Feng quickly admitted his mistake.
“What’s going on?” Wu Lian was confused by their conversation. What was this about turning back time and the river of time?
“You explain,” Jiang Li delegated to Yu Feng.
In truth, Yu Feng had long wanted to explain this to Wu Lian but he could never find the right opportunity.
“I have a hidden treasure related to the Immortal Realm within my body. Every time I die, I am reborn seven years in the past when I was still a mere mortal.”
“I keep dying and resurrecting, analyzing the causes of my deaths, carefully trying to live longer each time.”
“Unfortunately, my luck was terrible and I died many times. I died so many times that I lost count, probably tens of thousands of times.”
Wu Lian gently held Yu Feng in her arms, her heart aching for him.
“When I had lost all hope, Senior Jiang showed up. He pointed me in the direction of life, helped me through the death tribulation, and saved me from the cycle of reincarnation.”
“Elder Sister, you too were saved by Senior Jiang.”
“Me?” Wu Lian was confused about how this related to her.
“Yes, during my numerous deaths, I helplessly watched as you were killed by our third, fourth, and fifth elder brothers time and time again.”
“No matter how many times I tried to change the outcome, I never succeeded. All I accomplished was experiencing your countless deaths.”
“When Senior Jiang learned about this, he guided me to incite infighting among the third, fourth, and fifth brothers, revealing our master’s true intentions and saving you from death.”
After living in the outside world for three years, Wu Lian had matured far beyond her previous naivety. Yu Feng truthfully explained what had happened with their third and fourth elder brothers.
Wu Lian was stunned. She hadn’t known that she’d died hundreds, even thousands of times. She was still alive now due to Yu Feng’s efforts and Jiang Li’s guidance.
She saw the expressions on her junior brother’s face when he described her countless deaths – regretful, heartbroken, anguished. Even though she was still alive, the memories had deeply hurt her junior brother. Only time could soothe those wounds.
All she could do was spend the rest of her life with him.
“Thank you, Senior Jiang, for saving my life.” Wu Lian sincerely bowed to Jiang Li in gratitude.
“Yu Feng, I trained you to reach the Nascent Soul Stage not purely for altruistic reasons. Only when you reach this stage can I extract the fragment of the Ascent to Immortality ladder from within you.”
“Senior Jiang has done so much for me that his kindness is overwhelming. Please, feel free to take the fragment.” Yu Feng understood that Jiang Li mentioned self-interest simply out of courtesy, and had actually been selfless all along.
Otherwise, there was no need for him to have put so much effort into training him. Even if Jiang Li merely observed, he could have cultivated to the Nascent Soul Stage on his own, albeit poorly.
The golden fragment from the Ascent to Immortality ladder was the largest that Jiang Li had ever seen and it still retained some energy. This meant that it could still aid Yu Feng in further resurrection.
Jiang Li merged this fragment with those he already possessed, forming a new piece.
The ladder to immortality was now starting to take shape.
Jiang Li held it as if he was holding a broken, golden ladder.
As the Immortal Elder had said, the Ascent to Immortality ladder could shrink or expand. The current ladder was in its smallest form. Once Jiang Li collected all the fragments and assembled a complete ladder, he could ascend to the heavens and promote to the Immortal Realm.
Unfortunately, it seemed there wouldn’t be any welcoming committee of immortals for this newcomer to the Immortal Realm, which Jiang Li found rather disappointing.
When the Immortal Elder heard Jiang Li’s lament, he thought the kid must be seriously ill.
“Would you like to go to Jiuzhou with me or stay here?”
Going to Jiuzhou certainly offered better opportunities, but Yu Feng couldn’t bear to leave. Here, they were the only cultivators left amongst ordinary people. If they left, this place would become solely a world of mortals.
Yu Feng wanted to stay here, impart knowledge about cultivation and reform the state of affairs. Jiuzhou was his model.
“Senior Jiang, I wish to personally thank my masters in Jiuzhou, and then further my studies there. Once I have made some achievement, I will return here to teach ordinary people how to cultivate.”
“To repay kindness with gratitude, that’s good.” Jiang Li smiled, feeling that he indeed had not misjudged.
“However, you don’t have to go to Jiuzhou to see your masters, you can meet them right now.”
Jiang Li moved aside to reveal a passage formed by the Tower of Brahma.
The sect masters of the Spirit Medicine Sect, Beast Control Sect, Luban Sect…countless cultivators of the Body Integration Realm stepped through the passage and arrived in the Ancient World.