Chapter 134: Ascension Assembly

"What Sky Mist Terrace Ascension Assembly?" Wu Jiuzhi suddenly asked the question that Han Li had also been puzzling over. WWW. feiazw. COM

Han Li had heard the name "Ascension Assembly" mentioned several times since Wan Xiaoshan, but had never had the chance to learn its details. "Could it be some kind of trade fair like the Tainan Assembly?" Han Li wondered to himself.

"No way! You don't even know about the Ascension Assembly? This is the best chance for all young cultivators in Yue Country to enter the Xiuxianda Sect, once every ten years." Hei Mu said, somewhat stunned but also a little excited.

"Brother Wu is so young, he must have been in closed-door cultivation elsewhere; it's understandable that he doesn't know about the Ascension Assembly." The Cyan-Striped Daoist Priest didn't make a big fuss over it.

"Oh! Then can you tell us about it? Being able to join the Qida Sect—that would be reaching heaven in a single step!" Wu Jiuzhi's interest was immediately piqued, and he pressed Hei Mu for more.

"Now is not the time to talk about the Ascension Assembly. The matter of our fellow cultivators going missing is what we should be discussing." Hu Pinggu said, somewhat displeased, though whether she was targeting the youth was unclear.

"It's fine, telling Brother Wu about it is good too; perhaps there are others who aren't very clear on the details of the Ascension Assembly either." The Cyan-Striped Daoist Priest said with a smile, but Han Li felt the man glance at him, whether intentionally or not.

Han Li's heart gave a jolt. Could this Cyan-Striped Daoist Priest have seen through something? He had already tried his best to blur the characteristics of a cultivation novice, and to avoid contact with these people as much as possible, but it seemed he still hadn't escaped this man's eyes. This Cyan-Striped Daoist Priest's eyes really were sharp!

"Since Daoist Priest Qingwen has said so, then I'll tell Brother Wu about it." Seeing this, Hei Mu's spirits also rose, quite unable to contain himself.

So everyone sat back down in their original seats, with the exception of the fatty Huang Xiaotian.

"I know the Ascension Assembly very well, so I'll head back to sleep first. You all continue."

The fatty said coldly, then without waiting for anyone else to speak, he left the room, leaving behind a houseful of people exchanging uneasy glances.

"Everyone don't take it to heart. Brother Huang's cultivation method is rather peculiar, making him quite drowsy; it wasn't intentional discourtesy!" Qingwen, with a face full of upright righteousness, hurriedly made excuses for Huang Xiaotian.

Hearing this, most of the people in the room gave wry smiles. Take it to heart? Who would dare? This fellow's magic power was even stronger than yours, Daoist Priest—a fierce man indeed!

The atmosphere in the room grew slightly awkward.

"Brother Hei Mu, please continue!" It was Wu Jiuzhi who broke the deadlock, urging him on.

Hei Mu laughed upon hearing this, then began speaking again.

"Speaking of this Ascension Assembly, we have to talk about the Foundation Establishment Pill, the pill that drives all Qi Refinement stage cultivators mad…"

It turned out that any cultivator in the Qi Refinement stage who wished to enter the Foundation Establishment stage and become a true member of the cultivation world, besides having to practice their basic cultivation method to the seventh layer, also had to take the spiritual pill "Foundation Establishment Pill," which only the great sects could refine, before they could hope to breakthrough realm bottlenecks and successfully establish their foundation.

This earned the Foundation Establishment Pill the beautiful name of "Ascension Pill," driving those cultivators mad with desire.

And in the Xiuxianda Sect, Foundation Establishment Pills were also extremely scarce.

Because the raw materials for the Foundation Establishment Pill were incredibly hard to find. Even if all the cultivation sects of Yue Country joined forces, contributing materials and effort, they could only hope to produce a few cauldrons of pills, a mere thousand or so, once every ten years.

And even if these pills were completely divided up among the various sects, it was far from enough to meet their own needs, so there was no way any Foundation Establishment Pills could leak out.

However, throughout Yue Country's cultivation world, there were still many cultivators who had practiced their basic cultivation method to the seventh layer, and these people desperately needed Foundation Establishment Pills to attempt breaking through their bottlenecks.

Thus, on the one hand, Foundation Establishment Pills were extremely scarce, all hoarded by the great sects; on the other hand, the number of wild cultivators demanding "Foundation Establishment Pills" kept growing, yet they couldn't find a single pill outside. This created a sharp contradiction between the two sides, and at one point made those low-level cultivators, burning with rage, greatly hostile toward these sects.

The people of those Xiuxianda Sect naturally also sensed this ominous trend, but for the moment had no solution. After all, they themselves didn't have enough "Foundation Establishment Pills"—how could they possibly spare any for people outside their sects!

But there was no problem under heaven that couldn't be solved. In the end, this crisis was resolved by a genius within a certain sect.

He actually came up with an idea: every time Foundation Establishment Pills came out of the furnace, select some wild cultivators with outstanding aptitude from outside, let them join these great sects, and then give them Foundation Establishment Pills.

Doing this would keep the Foundation Establishment Pills from leaking outside—water doesn't flow into outsiders' fields—while also dispelling the dissatisfaction of other low-level cultivators. After all, being able to join the Xiuxianda Sect, how could these cultivators not be willing? And it would also allow them to pick out disciples with excellent aptitude—truly a win-win-win situation.

However, the selection method naturally had to be fair and strict, leaving no room for gossip, or it would produce the opposite effect.

So these sects chose the most classic, most convincing method of the weak being prey to the strong: using martial tournaments to let those with exceptional strength fight for the qualification to join their sects.

And the Qida Sect each put up ten disciple slots and ten Foundation Establishment Pills, to be awarded to the final victors.

Of course, they would set certain age restrictions, not accepting anyone over forty years old, since even those with the best aptitude really had no future for cultivation at that age.

And so the "Ascension Assembly" was born!

And those who won on the tournament stage were indeed mostly those with the deepest magic power and outstanding aptitude, much to the delight of the cultivation sects who obtained these quality disciples.

The resentment of other cultivators also dissipated with the holding of this assembly; their attention was all focused on this once-in-ten-years opportunity to leap from carp to dragon.

The Ascension Assembly continued to be held session after session, and each time seventy lucky ones became disciples of the Qida Sect, driving the other cultivators even more mad with desire.

In the end, almost every Qi Refinement stage cultivator of the right age who considered themselves strong would desperately try their hand at the tournament a few times, hoping for the luck of a dog taking a dump—to transform from fish into dragon!

But the tournament wasn't that easy to fight in. After all, magical techniques couldn't be controlled just because these low-level cultivators wished it; each time quite a few people were injured or killed, and deep enmities were forged between the competitors!

Hei Mu spoke for nearly an hour, and Wu Jiuzhi listened with great interest, gaining much! And Han Li, who listened alongside, benefited even more, gaining a deeper understanding of matters in the cultivation world.

"If I win the tournament, wouldn't I also become an entry disciple of a great sect?" After hearing it all, Wu Jiuzhi's face was full of longing.

"Dream on! With your level, going to the tournament means injury or death!" Hu Pinggu couldn't help but mock him a few times after hearing Wu Jiuzhi's daydream.

"Oh, why? Am I not good enough? Wouldn't the eighth-layer cultivation method qualify me for the tournament?" This time Wu Jiuzhi didn't get angry, but instead earnestly asked Hu Pinggu for guidance.

Hu Pinggu was somewhat surprised, but after a moment's hesitation, she still said:

"Kid Wu, do you know what kind of people the seventy victors of last year's tournament were? And how many cultivators at your level were injured or killed on the tournament stage?"

"I humbly ask Lady Hu for guidance!" Wu Jiuzhi said quite sincerely.

"I witnessed the entire championship battle of that Ascension Assembly with my own eyes; even now I still feel lingering fear." Hu Pinggu seemed to recall something terrifying, her face turning a little pale.

Seeing this, her husband Big Beard quickly placed his hand on her shoulder to comfort her. Hu Pinggu turned to look at her husband with deep affection, and her expression eased considerably.

"My husband and I don't plan to participate in the tournament; we only intend to go watch. We've prepared to stay in the Qi Refinement stage for the rest of our lives. Since you still have great ambitions, I'll tell you some of the dangers of the tournament, so you don't die without knowing why." Hu Pinggu said calmly.

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