Chapter 371 262: The Profundity of [Illuminating the Dark and the Light], Ascension is a Hoax

"Once this step is taken, there is no turning back."

Yan Fei's green robes were stained with blood, as if soaked in crimson. Infinite Sword Qi pierced his body, a torment no different from death by a thousand cuts.

Yet his expression was calm as he ascended step by step. Before long, he stood in the vast sky.

He pushed his internal breath to its absolute limit. Cascades of Sword Qi unfurled for dozens of miles, like a vast ocean brimming with razor-sharp energy.

CRACK!

The void shattered in an instant, cracks crisscrossing it like writhing dragons and snakes!

Decades ago, atop the Great Snow Mountain, Si Jiancan had taken the final step and underwent Feathered Ascension.

Tonight, during the Shangyuan Lantern Festival, Yan Fei of the Pointing to the Profound Abbey opened the Celestial Gate with his sword, seeking to shatter the void!

The night sky seemed to be sliced open. A tide of pure, potent Spiritual Energy surged forth, rushing toward Yan Fei.

'Is this Immortal Spirit Qi?'

Yan Fei felt every one of the 108,000 pores on his body open wide, greedily swallowing the inexhaustible Spiritual Energy. It was like drinking Jade Dew, an intoxicating sensation.

Though his body was ravaged and his blood Essence drained, Yan Fei's eyes shone with a brilliant light as he burst into loud laughter.

"Even in death, I have no regrets!"

The next moment, his physical body burst into pieces, which were then obliterated by the Sword Qi.

Immediately after, the resonant ring of a sword echoed through the sky, instantly spreading throughout the capital city.

Where it passed, the shattered void rippled like disturbed water, sending out astonishing shockwaves.

Dark clouds roiled, lightning flashed, and thunder rumbled. One by one, the ever-burning lamps went out.

The many Spirit Refining Grandmasters situated on the five-colored Magic Altar all felt a chilling sensation, as if a sharp sword were pressed against the spot between their eyebrows.

"Mister Yan's swordsmanship has reached the pinnacle! With a peerless strike like this, I wonder if he can truly break open the Celestial Gate and achieve Feathered Ascension to become an Immortal..."

Yao Yun's expression was calm as he awaited the outcome.

"Donor Yan has finally achieved the Sword Dao he sought. Amitabha Buddha."

Xu Zhu brought his palms together, bowed his head, and began chanting scriptures.

Everyone reacted differently as the beam of sword light streaking across the night sky grew ever more brilliant.

Heaven and Earth truly lost their color; everything else seemed to dim in comparison.

After a full fifteen minutes, the sky, which had seemed to be torn apart, slowly began to mend.

The bright moon remained, its clear radiance shimmering.

Only the figure in green robes was gone, the beam of sword light had vanished, as if it had never been there at all.

"Amitabha Buddha."

Xu Zhu also rose. With his monk's robes fluttering, and before the portal of ascension could close, the high monk of Vulture Palace began to shatter the void himself.

In an instant, the sound of Zen chanting filled the heavens!

...

...

The moon was enormous, like a divine eye, calmly watching over the mortal realm.

'Yan Fei's sword was passable. He used the esoteric principle of flowing through the six voids and making use of all things to create the [Wind Riding] Spell.'

'This monk, on the other hand, was more inventive. He integrated and mastered external body-tempering arts, forging the physique of a Great Vajra...'

Jiang Yi's Divine Sense hung high above, like the sun and moon in their cycles, observing the world of red dust below.

As Si Jiancan, Yan Fei, Xu Zhu, and the others shattered the void and ascended to the Spirit Realm, the [Myriad-Chariot Imperial Law Dao Foundation] he had forged grew ever more solid.

'This way, I can begin to perform Qi Collection to forge Life Essence.'

With a flash of his Divine Sense, Jiang Yi leaped up, landing in that boundless and profoundly mysterious [Foundation Establishment Realm].

Just as cultivation in the Qi Cultivation Realm required using all sorts of Spiritual Mechanism Qi to cleanse the Cultivation Furnace and lay a solid foundation, advancing to the Foundation Establishment Realm first required using one of the [Five Elements] to forge a base and nurture a Dao Foundation.

Once the Dao Foundation was formed, Magical Power would transform, Life Essence would sublimate, and Heaven and Earth would celebrate it.

If it were the [Metal Element], mountains of Copper Essence and iron mother would surely pile up, and the sharp energy of blades and weapons would coalesce.

If it were the [Water Element], a great rain would fall from the sky, the land would sink to form lakes, rivers would swell, and spiritual water would engulf the marshes.

For someone like Jiang Yi with the [Fire Element], once his body and spirit merged and he completed his Life Essence Integration to step into the [Foundation Establishment Realm], Heaven and Earth would inevitably produce a celebratory phenomenon.

Not only would spirit flames erupt from the ground to burn mountains and boil seas, but fire sparrows and fire crows would fill the sky, and Fire Phoenixes and Fire Jiaos would bow their heads in welcome.

It was precisely because the commotion would be so great and the spectacle so grand that he chose to stand on the threshold of Foundation Establishment without crossing it.

'The Celestial Book warned me, allowing me to perceive that someone had laid an ambush in the Spirit Realm. That's why Si Jiancan, Yan Fei, and the others were useful.'

Jiang Yi raised his hand and, with a flick of his fingers, produced a flicker of flame.

The faint Ding Fire did not appear bright; it was like a hidden radiance, yet it emanated outward.

'Ding Fire belongs to yin. It is vigorous but not fierce, waning but never exhausted. Its form is like a candle flame; it can illuminate the nine deep springs of the underworld, see into the hearts of ghouls, and hear the thoughts of the benighted.'

The corners of Jiang Yi's lips curled up slightly. The most formidable technique of a Foundation Establishment True Master was the sublimation of Daoist Skills, nurturing a Dharma Nature to generate a profound mystery.

An ordinary Foundation Establishment Cultivator would have to spend a full sixty-year cycle in seclusion, polishing their Magical Power and studying True Skills, just to nurture a profound mystery of Dharma Nature from their Dao Foundation.

But Jiang Yi had condensed his Dao Foundation from True Qi of the highest grade, making him an extraordinary case that could not be judged by common standards.

Even though he suppressed his Cultivation Furnace and only allowed his Divine Sense to ascend to the [Foundation Establishment Realm], barely stepping half a foot over the line, the [Myriad-Chariot Imperial Law Dao Foundation] forged from his profound reserves was enough to skip the long, arduous process.

'The Fire Element Daoist Skills from my Cultivation have now all transformed into this one profound mystery: [Illuminating the Dark and the Light].'

Jiang Yi smiled. The profound mystery of [Illuminating the Dark and the Light] was condensed from Ding Fire, and it could illuminate places that were unknowable and unseen.

He had secretly helped Si Jiancan, Yan Fei, and the others shatter the void for the sole purpose of having them scout the path.

'Let's see just who is laying this trap.'

Jiang Yi glanced to the side. As he deployed the profound mystery of [Illuminating the Dark and the Light], a blurry image gradually appeared within the flicker of Ding Fire.

...

...

The story returns to Si Jiancan. Having shattered the void and ascended to the upper realm, he felt his Heart Spirit sink into a vast ocean, plummet into a great abyss, and drift aimlessly with the currents, not knowing where he was going.

After an unknown amount of time, the Dharma Master of the Great Snow Mountain finally glimpsed a speck of light.

Then, an immense pulling force dragged his Heart Spirit downward, causing him to slowly descend.

'I've really become an Immortal!'

Si Jiancan was ecstatic. According to the records of the Great Snow Mountain, the upper realm beyond the shattered void was a paradise of outstanding people and spiritual treasures.

Spiritual flowers and Spirit Plants were innumerable, rare and exotic beasts were endless, and even the weeds in the fields and the rocks by the roadside were said to be extraordinary.

'If I cultivate in such a wondrous realm, how could I fail to achieve the Dao and live forever!'

Through the "Great Formless Bowl for Observing Birth and Destruction," an artifact left behind by a high god of the Great Snow Mountain, Si Jiancan had learned a little about the state of the upper realm.

Those Great Divine Power Users could treat eight thousand years as their spring and another eight thousand as their autumn, living eternally and roaming the cosmos.

Such Divine Techniques were simply inconceivable!

Filled with yearning, Si Jiancan dreamed of his bright future: setting foot in the upper realm, joining a Sect, biding his time, and then soaring to prominence.

DONG!

With a deep, resounding boom like a great bell, Si Jiancan landed heavily.

Although his physical body had been destroyed, his Heart Spirit, nourished by Spiritual Energy, slowly transformed into a soul, albeit one so faint it seemed a gust of wind could scatter it.

"More raw material has arrived! Quick, go get Senior Brother Zhao!"

Si Jiancan was a little dazed. He looked around, and what he saw was completely different from the celestial palaces of dragon pools and jade terraces he had imagined.

This place was suffused with a sinister yin energy, a sorrowful wind howled, and the clouds were bleak and dreary. It was clearly not a benevolent land.

'Talent? The True Masters of this Spirit Realm certainly have sharp eyes, to see my extraordinary nature at a single glance.'

'Could that 'Senior Brother Zhao' be the one to guide me into the Sect?'

As Si Jiancan pondered this, he looked up and saw a half-disc of a blood-red sun hanging high in the sky.

Before he could even feel surprised or wonder why the world looked this way, that "Senior Brother Zhao" appeared in a flash.

The man held a long banner made of white bone and wore black robes as dark as storm clouds. A sinister wind swirled around him, from which faint cries of anguish could be heard.

"Not bad, not bad. A fine piece of material indeed. My 'Ten Thousand Souls Banner' is in need of a sturdy, fresh soul just like this!"

Senior Brother Zhao's face was grim and sinister. Even his laugh sounded like a night owl's hoot, carrying a chilling undertone.

"It's a pity there's no physical body. The Mortals from the lower realm get worse with every batch."

With that, Senior Brother Zhao gave the white bone banner a gentle shake. Several clusters of sinister wind, each as large as a millstone, lunged at Si Jiancan and swept him up.

"The Demon Dao!"

Si Jiancan snapped back to his senses, his Heart Spirit trembling in horror. To think that this would be his fate after shattering the void!

He used all his strength to turn and shout back in the direction he had come from:

"Don't ascend—"

Senior Brother Zhao sneered.

"Realizing it only now? Too late. If the world membrane wasn't so difficult to break through, how could we have let you ants grow until today!"

"For common Mortals like you, every extra breath of Spiritual Energy you take is a waste of the Celestial Lord's creation. You're better off aiding my Cultivation!"

As his voice faded, the white bone banner stirred. A sinister wind gusted, lifting his form and carrying him away into the clouds.