Chapter 1088: Consecutive Ascensions
After seven more days, An Miaoli finally felt completely at ease. The child was extremely resilient and showed no signs of being affected.
As for the three-thousand-year gestation period, she could wait.
Ye Chen told her to rest. Once he finished arranging matters here, he would bring her into the Immortal Realm. As for the Seven Extremes Heavenly Maiden, he could not keep avoiding the issue forever. He had already decided that once he grew strong enough, he would suppress and erase her avatars one by one, then merge them into An Miaoli's body. If fusion was inevitable, then why couldn't An Miaoli be the dominant one?
With these thoughts in mind, Ye Chen stepped out of An Miaoli's cave residence.
The moment he walked out, someone covered his eyes from behind.
Ye Chen smiled. Of course he knew who it was.
The next moment, he felt something rest on his shoulder as the person behind him said seriously, "Uncle, don't turn around. It's me, Auntie… I think one child is too few. The baby might get lonely after it's born. So you and Yuyi should have one too. They can keep each other company."
Ye Chen laughed. He could not have another child—otherwise the Primordial Chaos Myriad Worlds Tree's origin energy would be drained dry. Still, he could not favor one over the other too obviously.
He turned, swept the person into his arms, and carried her back into the cave residence amid her surprised cries.
Although ascending was important, Ye Chen felt there was no need to rush these last couple of days.
When Ye Chen finally stepped out of An Miaoli's cave residence again, the sky outside had already darkened.
It was not nightfall. Someone else was ascending.
Sensing the terrifying power of the tribulation, Ye Chen guessed that the Eight-Crown King, Qin Chuan, was undergoing his ascension.
After watching for a moment, Ye Chen stretched lazily. He felt it was about time for him to ascend as well.
However, he noticed that Elder Lin Qingtan had been waiting for him for some time, looking at him with anticipation. Behind her, Li Feihuang stood obediently like a young wife, her red hair slightly disheveled.
Ye Chen could not help shaking his head. Women would be the death of him. Yet he was too soft-hearted. If he did not do something now, the master-disciple pair would surely be left anxious and uneasy.
With a wave of his hand, he took the two women into Elder Lin's cave residence.
Demonic patterns transformed into chains and tentacles. For a time, Elder Lin's cave residence resembled the lair of a female adventurer.
…
Yan Ruyu had already led Yan Wenwen, the little Peacock King, and the other members of the Peacock Clan into the Immortal Realm under the watchful eyes of countless cultivators. Everyone looked on with deep envy.
But after the envy came dejection. The second person to ascend in this era had left, and the excitement was over. They could only remain trapped in this cage, preparing for the coming Age of Dharma Decline.
They were curious, however, why the Heavenly Emperor's heir had not gone with her. Had he been abandoned by the woman he had fawned over once again?
Before they could figure it out, another ascension tribulation appeared.
Countless cultivators rushed over and saw the Eight-Crown King bathing calmly in the sea of lightning as if it were a gentle shower. When the tribulation ended, no one knew which era's top heavenly pride he had defeated in the imprint battlefield. But everyone clearly saw that after ascending, the Eight-Crown King glanced once in the direction of the Jade Pool Holy Land, then waved his hand without hesitation to open the immortal gate and departed.
The cultivators were stunned. How was there still Immortal Qi? Three people had ascended in this era already. This was too ridiculous.
Still, considering that the Eight-Crown King had dominated this realm for a million years, it was plausible that he had found a way to preserve an extra strand. Everyone could accept that explanation.
Only the cultivators of the Dao One Holy Land wept bitterly. They had felt less regret when they saw the Eight-Crown King had not left earlier. Now he too had ascended. Their grief was inconsolable.
As the crowd watched the sobbing Dao One Holy Land disciples, many thought of the Heavenly Emperor's heir. Given the Eight-Crown King's carefree nature, he should not have minded bringing Ye Chen along. Yet he had left alone.
Could it be that the Heavenly Emperor's heir still had a strand of Immortal Qi?
For a time, countless hearts itched with curiosity.
Soon, another ascension tribulation appeared.
Everyone rushed over again, guessing that this time it must be the Heavenly Emperor's heir.
Instead, they saw Manjusaka with six wings on her back, looking like a thunder goddess. Her wings easily blocked all lightning. In the end, she led the barefooted Nether Maiden of the Nether God Holy Land and several elders through the immortal gate.
Everyone fell silent.
Before long, yet another ascension tribulation appeared.
And then another.
The cultivators were completely numb. They began to doubt life itself.
Wasn't this supposed to be the final era, with only one strand of Immortal Qi and only one person able to ascend? Why were they now ascending in a queue?
Chapter 1089: The Three Thousand Dao Continents!
One ascension tribulation after another shook the entire cultivation world, leaving countless cultivators dazed and doubting life itself.
It was like being constantly told that the world was in a bad state, that everyone was poor, just so you could comfort yourself that you were not alone in your misery—only to suddenly discover that your neighbors were buying luxury cars and new houses. You realized you were the only one who was truly poor.
All the cultivators desperately wanted to know what was going on. Where were all these strands of Immortal Qi coming from? Please, just tell us!
Soon, however, someone noticed a pattern. Every person who ascended was either someone close to the Heavenly Emperor's heir or belonged to a force on good terms with him.
In that instant, everyone understood.
It had to be the Heavenly Emperor's heir. With his monstrous talent, he must have found a way to obtain Immortal Qi in this realm.
For a time, envy and jealousy filled the eyes of countless cultivators. Many clans and holy lands that had top female geniuses but had deliberately kept them away from Ye Chen out of concern for his reputation now regretted it so much that their intestines turned green.
In the Yao Family, which had already declined to less than one ten-thousandth of its former glory, the elderly clan elders and Yao Gu listened to the thunderous booms shaking the void and looked up at the sky, which had been dark for nearly three months without sunlight. Their expressions were incredibly complicated.
One of the elders spoke with mockery on his face, "Back then, I brought Yao Xi back. If our Yao Family had not harbored ill intentions and tried to use our ancestor to ascend, with Yao Xi's sensible nature, she would never have abandoned the family. Whether it was your brother, you, or the clan leader—any of you could have ascended and entered the Immortal Realm. But no, you all had to be too clever for your own good. How tragic… how lamentable…"
Regret filled Yao Gu's eyes as well. Although he had known nothing about the plot back then, thinking of the man he had once called brother-in-law—the one he had gone looking for divine maiden with—now being someone he did not even have the qualifications to meet, he could not help feeling a deep sense of loss. The Yao Family once had a path to the heavens, yet they had destroyed it themselves.
…
Ye Chen stood in front of the cave residence, rubbed his lower back, and resolutely stepped back inside. This time, he was truly going to ascend!
He sealed the cave residence tightly, took out the Primordial Chaos Immortal Qi, and slowly closed his eyes.
In an instant, a profound and mysterious aura surged from within his body as transformation began. With a firm Dao heart, Ye Chen officially started his ascension!
…
In the Immortal Realm, within the Boundless Continent of the Three Thousand Dao Continents.
If Ye Chen were here, he would undoubtedly be shocked by the vastness of Boundless Continent. A single Continent was far larger than the entire cultivation world. And this was merely one of the Three Thousand Dao Continents.
At the center of Boundless Continent lay an enormous turtle shell, boundless and endless, like a continent so vast that even True Immortals could not see its edges. Upon this turtle shell stood countless divine mountains, heavenly rivers, and endless jade palaces and immortal pavilions.
Seven heavenly pillar peaks pierced straight into the sky, majestic and overwhelming, inspiring awe and fear.
This was the Supreme Hall. Legend had it that the Supreme Hall's first Immortal King had slain an Immortal King-level Black Tortoise, using only its shell as the foundation to establish this supreme sect.
Although all three of its Immortal Kings had since fallen in battle, the Supreme Hall remained the most powerful force in Boundless Continent. With seven Immortal Monarchs guarding it, the sect looked down upon all others. Even the Jade Pool Immortal Sect and a few other ancient powers that had once produced Immortal Kings paled in comparison.
Thanks to its deep foundation and the heroic sacrifice of its three Immortal Kings, the Supreme Hall had always been filled with outstanding talents.
Inside a certain divine mountain within the Supreme Hall, several middle-aged men sat cross-legged, each radiating the mighty aura of immortals.
"Elder, the young master of the Heaven Immortal Sect was born with the Samsara Immortal Body. He once obtained half of the Heavenly Emperor Scripture, mastered the Heavenly Emperor Fist, and even forged his own path from it…"
"He wishes to walk the Dao of Samsara. The Samsara Other Shore Immortal Scripture created by our Supreme Hall's Samsara Immortal King would suit him perfectly. Therefore, he hopes to become the personal disciple of the Other Shore Immortal Monarch, who also walks the Samsara Dao."
"The Heaven Immortal Sect has an Immortal King ancestor who is said to be close to mastering a second great dao. Furthermore, the reincarnation of the Seven Extremes Heavenly Maiden is currently cultivating in their sect and has been accepted as that Immortal King's disciple. Once the seal on the Emperor Pass breaks, the Heaven Immortal Sect will likely avoid the flames of war and may even directly defect to the Other Domain…If we can facilitate this connection, we might be able to use this favor to avoid death and the end of our Dao."
One of the men spoke with visible excitement.
The black-robed elder seated in the center had a restrained aura and a flicker of temptation in his eyes, but he soon shook his head with a bitter smile. "The Heaven Immortal Sect is indeed worth befriending. However, the Other Shore Immortal Monarch hates those who collude with the Other Domain the most. He once tried to kill the reincarnation of the Seven Extremes Heavenly Maiden. Moreover, he is fully focused on breaking through to the Immortal King realm and is the most likely among our seven Immortal Monarchs to succeed. He is currently unwilling to take any disciples. Even if he were willing, he would never accept that person."
At those words, all the elders of the Supreme Hall sighed.
Everyone knew the Immortal Realm was a sinking ship, yet they had nowhere to flee. The despair was overwhelming. The upper echelons still held firm—especially the seven Immortal Monarchs, who remained resolute. But those below them did not want to die.
After all, during the previous invasion, the Other Domain had only sent the power of a single realm, yet three Immortal Kings and the Heavenly Emperor had still fallen. The Western Empress had died as well. Some of the other Immortal Kings had been gravely wounded and died afterward, while others had vanished without a trace.
The Immortal Realm had never been this weak. Under such circumstances, they could not muster even the slightest confidence. Many had already begun seeking a way out.
"We spent vast resources to send Gu Shan to the lower realm, yet he not only failed to bring back the World Tree Heart but also died there, his soul lamp extinguished. Truly a useless piece of trash who fails at everything!"
"The lower realm definitely couldn't have killed him. It must have been heavenly prides from other forces who descended, or perhaps those remnant races from the Other Domain!"
"Without the World Tree Heart, we've lost yet another escape route. This time, we're truly finished!"
"Knowing destruction is right before our eyes, yet we don't even have the qualification to surrender. How truly despairing!"
In the end, the group could only sigh and disperse. As for the request from the Heaven Immortal Sect, they had no choice but to politely decline. It was not that they were unwilling—it was simply impossible.
Unless… they could obtain a Supreme Token. Those were relics left behind by the three Immortal Kings. Once presented, even the seven Immortal Monarchs would have to show respect and accept the person as a disciple. However, the Supreme Tokens that had circulated outside were already extremely rare, and after so many years, those that remained in the outside world had mostly been used up. There were none left.
In this situation, they truly had no solution.
…
On the other side of Boundless Continent, within an immortal sect that sat high upon a round moon, several inner sect female disciples were chatting in the square.
"Senior Sister Nangong Wan seems to have run into some problem. She has been stuck at the True Immortal realm for five hundred years with no progress. Her once peerless talent seems to have vanished overnight!"
"It's not just that she stopped progressing—she has actually regressed. Senior Sister Nangong Wan has already fallen to the early stage of True Immortal."
"Her fiancé has already reached the peak of Celestial Immortal and is about to break through to Profound Immortal. It seems he is no longer willing to wait for Senior Sister Nangong."
"What do you mean? Could she be forced to break off the engagement?"