Chapter 243: But You Are Yuanjun

It's time to deploy the second batch of Ascension Platforms.

Xu Xing opened his palm, and several exquisitely crafted Ascension Platforms materialized, floating gently and rotating in his palm.

Hum~

Before him, the World Evolution Apparatus projected a luminous image, densely covered with world coordinates, their flickering light making one's eyes dizzy.

Xu Xing's expression remained unchanged as he gazed at each of those world coordinates.

Suddenly, he felt a stir in his heart.

"Filter—retain only worlds with cultivation levels above Return to Emptiness."

One by one, the coordinates vanished, and the flickering light gradually calmed.

In the end, only a small fraction of the projected world coordinates remained.

After eliminating several more unsuitable worlds, Xu Xing turned to look at Yueying not far away.

"Yueying, you choose the world coordinates for the second batch of deployments."

The remaining worlds all harbor humanity and are at the Return to Emptiness level—choosing any one would make little difference.

"Yes, Master."

Yueying's expression unchanged, she stepped beside Xu Xing.

"Master, how many should I choose?"

"Four."

Four…

Yueying lifted her gaze to the world coordinates above, paused in thought, then flicked her fingers, releasing four crimson sword qi.

Shiiish! Shiiish!

The sword qi curled around four of the coordinates and drifted to Xu Xing's front.

"Alright, these four it is."

Once again, four sword-intent spiritual forms seized the four Ascension Platforms and shattered through the boundaries, departing.

The luminous projection of the World Evolution Apparatus likewise retracted.

Of these four Return to Emptiness-level worlds, two had once been captured by fellow Daoists and elders from the starry heavens.

When his faint divine thread crossed the Chaos Sea earlier, some of those little ones had even peered through.

Let's see if they can pass the Ascension Platform's evaluation—after all…

Cultivation realm isn't the only criterion for Ascension.

Xu Xing returned to his chair and sat down again, pulling out his phone to inform Ning Ruo about this.

Fugitive Hehuan Hehuan Laozu: "The second batch of Ascension Platforms has been deployed. Two of the selected worlds are ones previously captured by Daoists and elders from the starry heavens."

Ruo: "Good."

Ruo: "Xu Dage should also mention it in the group."

Fugitive Hehuan Hehuan Laozu: "Alright."

All fellow Daoists are already aware of the Ascension Plan—it really should be mentioned in the Boss Group too.

Switched to the chat group interface.

Sword Ancestor: "Fellow Daoists, the second batch of Ascension Platforms has been deployed. @All Members"

Pill Ancestor: "Received."

Artifact Lord: "Received."

Hong Lord: "Received."

Two seconds passed.

Tyrant Lord: "Received."

"…"

This eerie sense of déjà vu.

A while longer passed.

Pill Ancestor: "Somehow, the group feels unusually quiet today /sigh"

Hong Lord: "Because the two most rowdy ones aren't here."

Pill Ancestor: "I wonder if their journey went smoothly."

Hong Lord: "Five against one—no problem."

Hong Lord: "Besides, if anything goes wrong, Brother Dao can lend support anytime."

Pill Ancestor: "True."

Pill Ancestor: "Hong Lord…"

Pill Ancestor: "Actually, I've always wanted to say something to you."

Tyrant Lord: "What is it?! /rubbing hands"

Artifact Lord: "What is it?! "

The two sent this message almost simultaneously.

Clearly, the body cultivators still have faster typing speed than the artifact cultivators.

Shit!

These two jerks were definitely lurking.

Well, Tyrant Lord lurking is understandable.

But Artifact Lord, you're already a ghost in this group—why didn't you even pop up to assert your presence just now? No wonder no one ever replies to you! Hong Lord typed several messages, then deleted them all.

Finally, he sent one.

Seeing Hong Zun: "..."

You can talk all you want, but don't make it so ambiguous!

Ba Zun: "Speak quickly, what is it?"

Xu Xing was also curious; he had just typed a few characters to urge them on.

Dan Zun: "We usually call each other 'Dao Brother,' but why are you using that term too?"

Seeing Hong Zun: "Huh? Is there something wrong with it?"

Dan Zun: "But you are Xiang Yuanjun's elder brother."

Xu Xing froze, swiftly deleted all text, then put away his phone.

!. Read

This damn group isn't even worth watering.

Yue Ying stood behind him, expression calm.

Outside the Tai Xuan Realm.

Above the vast Chaos Sea, five utterly terrifying beings swept past.

The worlds constantly sinking and rising within the Chaos Sea seemed like specks of dust in comparison—utterly insignificant.

It was Bie Xuening, Xiang Yuanjun, Master Mei Zu, Kui, and Huo.

This was naturally the result of deliberate restraint; otherwise, with the five of them at their terrifying scale, even merely passing through the Chaos Sea would leave indelible effects on the regions they traversed.

"Oh dear, I haven't finished speaking yet—why are you in such a hurry to drag me away, Master Jianzun?"

Master Mei Zu was still recounting what had happened in the laboratory.

"To save you time," Bie Xuening said coldly.

(ˉ▽￣～) Pfft~~

I don't believe you—not like you couldn't tell.

"Didn't you think that after you dragged me away, the lab would be left with only Dao Brother and Xiang Yuanjun?" Master Mei Zu continued to stoke the fire.

Xiang Yuanjun: "..."

After a silence, she explained:

"No matter who had asked that question, Dao Brother's nature would have led him to answer exactly that way."

"Then why didn't you ask?" Master Mei Zu countered.

"I don't need to ask," Xiang Yuanjun said calmly.

Her tone was light, yet brimming with confidence.

Master Mei Zu: "..."

She wanted to refute it, but couldn't find a reason to.

Damn it.

She decided to stoke the fire further: "Master Jianzun, look how Xiang Yuanjun is..."

But her words were cut off halfway.

The speaker was Huo.

"Dao Brother has deployed the second batch of Ascension Platforms."

Second batch of Ascension Platforms?

All turned to look, and saw behind them four beams of light slicing through eternal silence, descending and sinking into four powerful worlds floating aimlessly within the Chaos.

"Two of them are worlds previously captured," Kui's lifeless voice rang out, reminding them.

Worlds previously captured...

If so, perhaps some of them contain human cultivators who once witnessed the Tai Xuan Realm?

All gazed downward, refraining from exerting even a trace of power to avoid affecting the worlds themselves.

Not long after...

"Impossible," Bie Xuening assessed.

Indeed, within those two worlds, several human cultivators of the Return-to-Emptiness realm had once visited the Tai Xuan Realm, and their cultivation levels met the Ascension standard.

But in other aspects, they fell short.

They could not possibly meet the Ascension Platform standards set by Ning Ruo and her younger brother.

Some were even extremely malevolent, with cruel and ruthless natures.

Had they been born in the Tai Xuan Realm, they would have perished in the "Tai Xuan Blood Calamity."

Let alone achieving the completion of three thousand external practices and perfecting external fruits to Ascend.

"Indeed," Xiang Yuanjun's gaze swept toward the world housing the first batch of Ascension Platforms. "The earlier world might still have potential."

Even by today's strict Ascension Platform rules, those two human cultivators of the Return-to-Emptiness realm—who refused to Ascend to protect their people—fully met the standard.

No wonder Dao Brother's Sword Intent Spiritual Body personally appeared to instruct them.

"Ling Zu, you truly are remarkable," Huo sighed.

If this method truly succeeds, it will be a feat benefiting a thousand generations. (End of Chapter)