Chapter 203: Legend of Ascension, Heart’s Ultimate Longing and Place Among the Immortals

The words "ascend to the Middle Realm" echoed in Yu Liang’s mind like a heavenly bell, sending a violent shiver down his spine.

He stared at the glowing holographic screen as his eyes remain fixed on that single, profound sentence.

In the world, there were many things that could make a cultivator’s heart tremble, supreme artifacts, heaven defying pills and chance encounter, or the terrifying aura of an ancient expert.

But nothing, absolutely nothing, could compare to the sheer weight of the word "Ascension."

In this vast and boundless Lower Realm where Yu Liang currently resides, the Middle Realm was not just a location where one can visit anytime they want, it was a myth, a legend, the ultimate destination of all cultivators hearts.

The ancient scrolls and the slips recorded in the library of the city when he went last time that the Middle Realm was a world beyond the heavens.

It was a plane of existence where the spiritual energy was so dense it flowed like rivers and formed lakes of liquid spirit.

There, the mountains were made of Top Grade Spiritual Stones, and even the wild flowers and animals possesses innate divine abilities.

Let’s take Top Grade Spiritual Stones, they are very precious cultivation resources containing an exceptionally high concentration of pure spiritual energy.

Their value far surpassed that of Low, Mid, and even High Grade Spiritual Stones, making them highly sought after by cultivators who wished to accelerate their cultivation.

Even a single Top Grade Spiritual Stone could provide enough spiritual energy to support a cultivator’s training for an extended period of time.

Unlike ordinary spiritual stones, Top Grade Spiritual Stones contained energy that was purer, denser, and easier to absorb.

Cultivators could use them to replenish their spiritual energy during intense breakthrough process, assist in breaking through cultivation bottlenecks, and enhance the efficiency of their cultivation.

They were also valuable materials for activating powerful spiritual formations and maintaining large scale protective arrays like using it as main fuel for 3-4 Tier 9 arrays combined.

Due to their rarity, Top Grade Spiritual Stones were rarely.... No, they are absolutely not used in ordinary transactions.

They were primarily exchanged among High Level Powerful Cultivators, Major Sects, Ancient Clans, and Influential Forces.

In the Middle Realm they are abundant, that’s the Nascent Soul realm was merely the starting point, and the Soul Transformation realm was just as common as the Qi Condensation Realm in the Lower Realm.

It was the true playground of immortals, where the ultimate mysteries of the Heavenly Dao were laid before one’s eyes.

To reach that world, one must undergo the terrifying Nine Heavens Divine Tribulation. Only those who could survive the lightning of the heavens, tear open the gap with their own hands, and step through the Ascension Passage could leave the Lower Realm behind.

But it had been over three hundred thousand years since the last recorded ascension.

The legends spoke of the Venerable Sword Emperor and the Nine Cauldron Alchemy Saint, figures who shattered the void and ascended, leaving behind only broken artifacts and endless myths.

Since their departure, the Ascension Passage, it seems to have been sealed by the will of the heavens. The spiritual energy in the Lower Realm is already thin and that’s why most people think that path to the Middle Realm was completely cut off.

To the current cultivators of the Lower Realm, ascension was nothing more than a fairy tale, a beautiful illusion used to coax children into cultivating.

And for a long time, Yu Liang also felt the exact same way.

He closed his eyes as his mind drifted back to his early days. When he just first awakened his so called talent and stepped onto the path of cultivation, he was just a struggling, low level cultivator.

Back then, his greatest worry was how to earn a few low grade spirit stones to buy a basic cultivation manual. His biggest dream was to establish a small, comfortable family and live a peaceful life.

Ascension? The Middle Realm? Immortality?

Back then, those concepts were so distant that he couldn’t even imagine them. It was like a frog at the bottom of a dry well trying to comprehend the vastness of the endless ocean.

The gap between a mortal struggling in the mud and an immortal roaming the nine heavens was simply too vast, too insurmountable for him.

He thought that reaching the Peak of Body Tempering Realm realm would be the limit of his lifetime, and breaking through to the Foundation Establishment Realm was a miracle he never dared to hope for.

The Middle Realm was a dream reserved for the earth shaking geniuses of Sects or Families, not for a nobody like him.

But then, the System awakened.

With the System, the impossible became possible. He built the Heaven’s Table, crushed the arrogant Zhao Family, and spent trillions of spiritual stones as if they were mere dust.

His cultivation skyrocketed, his wealth became unfathomable, and his status reached a height that shook the entire Jade City.

Step by step, the distant, blurry dream in his mind slowly gained color and form. As his strength grew, his vision expanded. He realized that the heavens were not impassable chasm, they were just waiting for someone with enough power to break them.

The dream of ascension shifted from a "childhood fairy tale" to a "achievable goal," and now, as he stared at the Primordial Void Devouring Dragon, it transformed into an absolute, undeniable certainty.

"Now... it is finally achievable," Yu Liang whispered as his voice trembled slightly with a mix of excitement and profound emotion.

He looked at the 100,000 System Points required for the Ultimate Grade divine beast. With his current balance of over 3.6 million points, this was well within his reach. But more importantly, this beast was the key.

In the legends, those who attempted to ascend often failed not only because of their own strength, but because they sufficient requirement which could also be a lacking of a powerful companion to help them withstand the final, most terrifying heavenly tribulation.

A 100% chance to ascend to the Middle Realm meant that this Primordial Void Devouring Dragon possessed a bloodline and potential that has that capacity. If he hatched and nurtured this beast, it would be his ultimate trump card for the future.

A deep, burning longing ignited in Yu Liang’s Dao heart.

He didn’t just want to ascend for himself. He thought of Mei Hua, his beautiful and capable wife, whose Nascent Soul cultivation was already shaking the Realm. He thought of the loyal subordinates he was about to gather in the Outer City. He wanted to take them all with him. He wanted to stand at the peak of the Middle Realm too, to look down upon the stars, and to uncover the ultimate truth of the universe.

The distant dream was no longer a dream. It was his destiny.

Yu Liang opened his eyes, the confusion and hesitation were completely gone, replaced by a sharp resolve.

Even the spiritual energy in the seclusion room violently surged in response to his emotions, forming a miniature vortex around his body.

"System," Yu Liang commanded. "Purchase the Primordial Void Devouring Dragon!"

[ Ding! Deducting 100,000 System Points... ]

[ Purchase Successful! ]

[ The Ultimate Grade Divine Beast has been delivered to the Host’s Inventory ]

Yu Liang let out a long, breathless sigh. He looked up at the ceiling of the seclusion room, as if he could see through the stone, through the clouds, and into the boundless world beyond.

"Middle Realm... wait for me," Yu Liang murmured as a confident smile spread across his face. "I will tear open the gates and I will come to claim my place among the immortals!"