Chapter 462 - 438: Ascension Passage

Chapter 462: Chapter 438: Ascension Passage

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM...

Before the Divinity Transformation Middle Stage powerhouse could even finish his threat, the barrage of black lightning and other attacks overwhelmed the Map of Mountains and Rivers. The attacks pierced its defenses and viciously struck the powerhouse, the Great Qian Ancestor, and the other cultivators.

Instantly, these cultivators were obliterated on the spot, their defenses shattered before they even had a chance to burn their Primordial Spirits.

Even the Divinity Transformation Middle Stage cultivator only managed to last a moment longer than the others.

And just like that, the battle was over.

With a wave of his hand, Zhang Chi collected the spoils of war.

Thus, the cultivators dispatched by Great Qian were completely annihilated; not a single one escaped.

In truth, many of these cultivators had methods of resurrection.

After all, if the Third Prince of Great Qian had a last-resort method to resurrect himself back then, it stood to reason they would too. Unfortunately for them, they died inside the Grotto Heaven controlled by Zhang Chi. The unique environment and powerful arrays here severed all their connections to the outside world.

As a result, many of their techniques, such as the Puppet Substitute Technique, were rendered completely useless.

"Yes!"

"We actually won! This is incredible!"

"Haha, now Great Qian is ours, and the Ascension Passage belongs to us too!"

Xiahou Jiao and the other cultivators were stunned. It was a long moment before they finally snapped out of it and couldn’t help but break into cheers.

At first, they couldn’t even believe what they were seeing was real.

After all, Great Qian had always seemed invincible, and this time, the Great Qian Immortal Dynasty had even summoned a powerhouse from the Upper Realm.

"Wait, everyone, let’s not get ahead of ourselves," one of the Divinity Transformation cultivators said, his joy tempered by reason. "It’s all thanks to Junior Brother Zhang that we managed to survive this time. He deserves the most credit for killing our enemies. Therefore, the Ascension Passage should belong to him!"

"That makes sense!"

"We got too excited and spoke out of turn!"

Upon hearing this, the cultivators all nodded in agreement.

"Haha, there’s no need for that, everyone," Zhang Chi said with a laugh. "We snatched victory from the jaws of defeat, and every single one of us played an indispensable role. Therefore, the Ascension Passage belongs to all of us."

"Junior Brother Zhang, you..."

Hearing his words, everyone was deeply moved.

It took them a moment to find the words to express their gratitude.

Afterward, Zhang Chi and the others left the Grotto Heaven. They traveled aboard the Supreme Profound Immortal Mansion, traversing the void and quickly descending upon Qian Capital, the heart of the Great Qian Immortal Dynasty. There, they killed or subdued the remaining high-ranking members of the Royal Family.

Soon, the heart of the Great Qian Immortal Dynasty fell under the cultivators’ control, including the Ascension Passage.

Furthermore, the Great Qian Immortal Dynasty’s treasury was found and its contents divided among them.

Of course, the vast majority went to Zhang Chi, with only a small portion going to the other cultivators.

After all, Zhang Chi’s contribution had been the greatest by far, while the others had merely played supporting roles.

Meanwhile, large numbers of cultivators from the Xingluo Sea and the Ancient Wilderness Snowfield were rushing to various locations across the Great Qian Immortal Dynasty. Before long, they would have the entire dynasty under their complete control.

Moreover, with hardly any Divinity Transformation Cultivators left in the Great Qian Immortal Dynasty, any pockets of resistance would be unable to make waves. Most of the dynasty’s cultivators weren’t foolish enough to resist anyway.

However, what the Divinity Transformation Cultivators truly cared about wasn’t any of this, but the matter of Ascension.

Even the three Palace Masters of the Desert Divine Palace were in no hurry to reclaim their territory, the Endless Desert Sea.

"Junior Brother Zhang, and everyone else, what are your thoughts on this?"

"Yes, can we just ascend directly? Or do we need to prepare something? If we ascend, will we really be ambushed and killed by the Great Qian Immortal Dynasty’s powerhouses in the Upper Realm?"

Deep within the Great Qian Imperial Palace, the Divinity Transformation cultivators gazed at the Ascension Passage, feeling a mixture of excitement and worry.

The Ascension Passage was actually an azure, stone Teleportation Gate, but it radiated a vast and ancient aura.

The Teleportation Gate was not active, leaving only a massive, ten-zhang-tall frame.

Though the Ascension Passage was legendary to the Divinity Transformation cultivators, they actually knew very little about it.

"Patience. I’ll first perform a Soul Search on the Great Qian Ancestor and the other Royal Family Divinity Transformation cultivators. Then, we’ll know everything," Zhang Chi said, remaining relatively calm.

Although he had killed the Great Qian Ancestor and the others, their Primordial Spirits still remained, making them perfect for extracting the information he needed.

"Junior Brother Zhang, you can perform a Soul Search on the Great Qian Ancestor?"

"But his Cultivation is incredibly high!"

"And his Divine Soul is surely protected by some kind of Restriction, isn’t it?"

"You can’t risk your life just to get information!"

The cultivators’ eyes lit up at his words, but their excitement quickly turned to concern as they began to question him.

"Don’t worry. My Divine Thought is very powerful, and I have a special technique that allows me to ignore such Restrictions. You just need to wait a moment," Zhang Chi replied at once with a slight smile.

This would normally have been a secret, but now that he was arguably the strongest in this realm, there was no need to be overly cautious.

In fact, knowing this secret would only make the others hold him in even greater awe.

"I see!"

"That’s good!"

It dawned on the cultivators, and just as he expected, their awe for Zhang Chi grew. They asked no more questions, waiting instead with eager anticipation.

They weren’t worried that Zhang Chi was biting off more than he could chew.

For one, the powerhouse from the Upper Realm had indeed mentioned that Zhang Chi’s Divine Thought was powerful.

For another, they all knew Zhang Chi was no fool; he would never risk his life needlessly.

Then, Zhang Chi immediately entered the Supreme Profound Immortal Mansion. He took out the sealed Primordial Spirits of the Great Qian Ancestor and other members of the Royal Family and performed the Soul Search on the spot. As expected, he succeeded without a hitch.

Afterward, Zhang Chi obtained a great deal of the information he needed.

"Junior Brother Zhang, how did it go?"

When the Soul Search was complete, Zhang Chi resealed the Primordial Spirits to be used for Alchemy later. He then left the Supreme Profound Immortal Mansion and reappeared before the Ascension Passage. Seeing him return, the Divinity Transformation cultivators all stared at him intently.

"The Soul Search was a success, but the situation isn’t good," Zhang Chi said with a slight frown. "What the Great Qian Royal Family cultivator said was true—the Ascension Passage is indeed under someone’s control. It’s just that the details are a little different from what they described."

"What do you mean?"

Everyone’s hearts sank as they pressed him for more information.

"According to the Soul Search, the Immortal Cultivation Realm is divided into the Human Realm and the Spirit Realm. We are in the Human Realm. The so-called Upper Realm is the Spirit Realm. However, ours is not the only Human Realm; there are countless of them."

"Cultivators from these Human Realms who reach the Divinity Transformation Realm can all ascend to the Spirit Realm. However, these Human Realms are controlled by various powerhouses and Immortal Cultivation Influences from the Spirit Realm. Our particular Human Realm is controlled by a Major Sect called the Immortal Feather Sect. Or, to be more precise, the other end of this Ascension Passage is under their control."

"The Immortal Feather Sect controls many Human Realms, and ours is just one of them. The ones responsible for managing this particular Human Realm are a certain Immortal Cultivation Clan within the sect. The powerhouse whose will descended earlier—the one I killed—was a high-ranking member of this clan."

"And the Great Qian Immortal Dynasty Royal Family are all members of a branch of this Immortal Cultivation Clan from the Upper Realm. They were tasked with establishing the Great Qian Immortal Dynasty for two reasons: first, to control this Immortal Cultivation Realm and claim its resources for themselves; and second, to gather the Immortal Dynasty’s fortune to be used in refining two Spiritual Treasures: the Heirloom Seal of the Realm and the Map of Mountains and Rivers."

"But now, we have ruined their plans. So if we try to ascend, they will definitely be waiting for us on the other side. And just as the Great Qian Immortal Dynasty cultivator said, they will kill us on sight!"

Zhang Chi didn’t beat around the bush, quickly and concisely explaining everything he had learned.

"Is that really how it is?"

"Then was all this for nothing?"

"What was that Upper Realm powerhouse’s Cultivation?"

"What’s the Upper Realm like?"

The cultivators were stunned and filled with despair, but at the same time, they couldn’t suppress their curiosity.

"Since the Upper Realm is called the Spirit Realm, its Spiritual Qi is certainly much more abundant than in our Immortal Cultivation Realm. As for anything more, I don’t know, because the Great Qian Royal Family cultivator’s knowledge was limited. That powerhouse from the Upper Realm was a Void Refining Early Stage expert, a realm above Divinity Transformation," Zhang Chi explained simply.

"A Void Refining Powerhouse? We’d stand no chance against them!"

"Exactly! And even if we could, they still have their clan and the Immortal Feather Sect backing them!"

A deeper despair settled over the group.

"Actually, there’s no need to worry," Zhang Chi interjected. "First, this Human Realm belongs to the Immortal Feather Sect, not the clan of that powerhouse from the Upper Realm. This means that clan has to periodically turn over materials to the Immortal Feather Sect. Furthermore, Ascenders like us are one of the Immortal Feather Sect’s sources of new disciples."

"Therefore, if they fail to complete their mission, the Immortal Feather Sect might replace them with new managers. That would be our opportunity. Of course, it’s also possible the Immortal Feather Sect might send powerhouses to this realm themselves, in which case the outcome is hard to predict."

"But even if we can’t use this Ascension Passage, without the Great Qian Immortal Dynasty in our way, we can focus on finding a Spatial Node to sneak across. If we do that, we won’t have to worry about the powerhouses from the Immortal Feather Sect!"

"Besides, there are many restrictions on powerhouses from the Upper Realm coming here. So as long as we control the Ascension Passage on this side, we don’t have to be too afraid of them!"

"That makes sense!"

"We were so tense just now that we nearly forgot about Spatial Nodes!"

Hearing his analysis, the cultivators calmed down considerably.

"Junior Brother Zhang, what do you think we should do next?" Xiahou Jiao asked.

The other cultivators also turned their gazes to Zhang Chi.

Although Zhang Chi was the most recent among them to reach Divinity Transformation, he was undoubtedly the strongest, and his words carried the most weight.

"First, we should consolidate our recent gains. At the same time, we’ll wait for the Spirit Realm to contact us, at which point we can try to negotiate. If they’re willing to cooperate, we might still be able to ascend normally."

"However, that’s unlikely, as they must already hate us to the bone. And even if they did agree to cooperate, they generally can’t be trusted."

"Fortunately, the Soul Search gave me more information about Spatial Nodes. Once I organize this information, I’ll most likely be able to find coordinates to sneak into the Spirit Realm. When that time comes, we won’t need this Ascension Passage."

Taking the lead, Zhang Chi laid out his plan.

"Really?"

"That’s wonderful!"

"Then we’ll do as you say, Junior Brother!"

The cultivators’ despair turned to joy, and they were once again filled with anticipation.

After some further discussion, the cultivators dispersed to attend to their own affairs.

With the Great Qian Immortal Dynasty newly conquered and Ascension temporarily off the table, they, as high-ranking members of major powers, had much to do.

Zhang Chi, however, paid no mind to these matters. He immediately re-entered the Supreme Profound Immortal Mansion and began to take stock of his gains from the battle.