Chapter 452: The Ancient Secret Collection Opens

So this time, their parting would likely be a long one.

Because of this, Bai Ling was truly reluctant to see him go.

After all, the last time they had parted, an entire lifetime had passed before Xu Lei had any contact with Bai Ling again.

But with the Celestial Palace’s rules being what they were, there was nothing to be done.

So, before Xu Lei went inside, Bai Ling kissed him deeply.

But in the end, Xu Lei still had to go.

After entering, Xu Lei saw the same three old men from before, still playing Pai Gow.

The First Heaven hadn’t changed much, though of course, some people had advanced.

However, not that many had managed to do so.

The cultivators on the First Heaven were, by nature, relatively weak.

Even when the Saint Master bestowed precious resources, the majority still went to the higher levels; the First Heaven received very little.

Xu Lei then sighed inwardly. ‘I wonder how long it will take for me to reach the Ninth Layer.’

‘I don’t know if I’ll ever get the chance to see Qing Lian, Zhao Xin, Hui Ming, and the others again in this lifetime.’

‘After all, they’ve already reached much higher levels.’

Thus, Xu Lei resolved that he had to ascend as quickly as possible.

‘Maybe I can even get some resources from the Saint Master.’

“Hahahahahaha, another new arrival? A rookie?”

“Finally, someone else to join us?”

“But he’s so young. Could he be another genius, like that Jue Xuan from before?”

Some of the people on the First Heaven watched Xu Lei, their voices buzzing with discussion.

Xu Lei immediately asked one of the Pai Gow-playing old men where the assessment grounds were.

He had, of course, been there in his past life and knew the way, but he asked now to keep up appearances. He couldn’t let anyone guess that he had been reincarnated.

The old man answered readily.

“But I’d advise a newcomer like yourself against it. It makes no difference whether you go for the first time or not, because you’ll definitely fail. You’d be better off going back to focus on your Cultivation.” After giving the directions, the old man couldn’t help but slip into lecture mode.

“Thank you for the advice, senior.” Xu Lei smiled and gave a slight bow with his hands clasped.

He then headed toward the assessment area of the First Heaven.

When he arrived, Xu Lei saw the door open just as he got there.

A young man trudged out, completely dejected. Clearly, the results of his assessment had not been what he’d hoped for.

“It’s just too hard. The assessment is way too hard,” the young man lamented, looking up at the sky.

However, once Xu Lei was inside, he moved with practiced ease, executing a flurry of powerful moves and swiftly defeating the Puppet within.

The Artifact Spirit of the Celestial Palace then announced that Xu Lei had passed.

A reward descended, along with a ladder, allowing Xu Lei to ascend to the Second Heaven.

At that moment, many of the people on the First Layer were completely stunned.

“He passed on his first try?”

“Is he another genius?”

“Is he that incredible?”

This was especially true for the three old men playing Pai Gow. They had aged considerably since Xu Lei first saw them upon his arrival.

Seeing Xu Lei advance, they were exceptionally envious.

After all, only by reaching a higher tier could one obtain more resources, grow stronger through Cultivation, and live longer.

In their current state, they had no idea how much longer they had left to live.

Xu Lei paid them no mind, directly accepting the reward that descended from the Celestial Palace.

Then he climbed the ladder to the Second Heaven.

The reward was a small vial of Jade Liquid and one Elixir.

The Elixir was an addition to what he received last time.

Xu Lei examined the Elixir in his hand. It was intensely fragrant and pulsed with dense energy.

After arriving in the Second Heaven, Xu Lei contemplated, ‘Should I continue on to the Third Heaven?’

But then, Xu Lei spotted a somewhat familiar figure: Jue Xuan.

He was still on the Second Heaven and hadn’t advanced to the Third Heaven yet.

After a moment’s thought, Xu Lei decided to stay put as well.

‘After all, I can’t afford to stand out too much.’

‘If Jue Xuan were ascending, then going up with him would be fine.’

‘The two of us would split the attention.’

‘But if I ascend alone, who knows what trouble might come of it?’

‘It’s impossible to say for sure, of course.’

‘But now that I have Cultivation resources, I should focus on absorbing them first.’

‘Besides, when it comes to Cultivation, having more resources doesn’t automatically guarantee greater progress.’

‘It takes time to absorb resources bit by bit.’

‘There’s no real benefit to ascending to the Third Heaven right now. I’d get more resources, but I wouldn’t be able to absorb them all at once anyway.’

‘And it’s not like I’d be able to see Qing Lian, Zhao Xin, and Hui Ming. According to Bai Ling, they’re already on the Eighth and Ninth Heavens.’

So, Xu Lei chose a residence and settled in.

He began to cultivate in seclusion.

He rarely came out.

He avoided running into Jue Xuan.

He just stayed in his residence, completely absorbed in his Cultivation.

After he absorbed the Elixir, it transformed into energy that boosted the growth of his Power.

In the blink of an eye, ten years passed.

「Ten years later.」

Xu Lei finally advanced another Small Realm, reaching the Third Tier of Bodhisattva Realm.

The Cultivation environment in the Celestial Palace was excellent, and the Elixir had proven to be quite useful indeed.

Xu Lei suspected it might be an Elixir that the Saint Master had found, one left behind by the Ancient Immortals and Buddhas.

‘Of course, that’s not certain. Could an Elixir from the Ancient Immortals and Buddhas really be preserved for this long?’

‘Or maybe the Saint Master found the formula for the Elixirs of the Ancient Immortals and Buddhas and refined them himself?’

‘Either way, it didn’t seem like a product of this era’s civilization.’

‘But it didn’t matter. As long as I’m benefiting, that’s all that counts.’

But on this very day, to Xu Lei’s surprise, the voice of the Celestial Palace’s Artifact Spirit suddenly rang out across the Second Heaven. Someone had passed the assessment. It was Jue Xuan.