Chapter 277

Li Ming stood frozen for a long time, until that figure nodded toward him.

"Senior, weren't you in the Floating Liu Realm? How could you possibly…"

He still remembered, when he ascended, the senior had slashed away four foreign race's Return-to-Nirvana cultivators with his sword.

"That was merely a sword-intent spiritual body."

Xu Xing casually explained, then walked out; Li Ming hurried to follow, his mind racing.

Sword-intent spiritual body?

It sounded like some form of avatar technique.

But after seeing that boundless, chaotic sea during his ascension, he simply could not imagine any being capable of crossing such an exalted distance with only a single avatar.

Are true immortals really this powerful?

As his thoughts whirled, the two reached the valley's edge; night had fully receded, the daytime sun had not yet risen, and the horizon glowed like molten gold, breathtakingly magnificent.

Snow mulberry trees blanketed the hills, their crystal-clear leaves dyed brilliant gold, refracting dazzling seven-colored rainbow light, enchanting as a painting.

Li Ming's attention was drawn to the scene, lost in this dreamlike spectacle for a long while before snapping back to awareness.

"Senior, where are we…?"

"Ling Yin Fang."

Ling Yin Fang…

One of the Qidaxian Sect's seven great Xian Sects, founded by the True Immortal "Ling Zu."

Information surfaced in Li Ming's mind.

Xu Xing said: "It's temporarily sealed due to the ascension events; normally there are many tourists, very lively."

Xian Sect?

Tourists?

Li Ming paused, unable to reconcile these two terms—he came from the Floating Liu Realm.

Amidst his turbulent thoughts, he saw Xu Xing hand him a storage ring.

"Take it. Go familiarize yourself with this world, then buy what you need."

"..." Li Ming hesitated slightly, then reached out and accepted it. "Thank you, Senior."

With a mental scan, he saw it contained stacks of spirit stones resembling coins, and several small booklets.

"Your assigned identity is that of a free cultivator under my Xiang Jianzong's jurisdiction, in Xuanjian City, Jian Province."

Xuanjian City—the city where he'd stayed after his recent seclusion—was a small personal preference of his own.

"Travel widely across this world, observe everything. If you wish to join a Xian Sect, join. If not, remain a free cultivator. It's entirely up to you."

Li Ming gave a slight nod.

He himself had once held the position of Grand Priest of the Human Race in the Floating Liu Realm, protecting humanity's millions.

Yet beside this senior, he felt like a child walking beside a gentle elder.

Walking along a forest path, the two reached a broad, flat road; Li Ming gazed into the distance, then finally looked away and asked:

"Senior, how many ascended beings like me are there?"

His question received an immediate answer.

"Not many. Currently, only you."

What?!

He was the first ascender?!

"But there are so many worlds—how could that be…?"

He recalled the infinite, sand-grain-numbered worlds within that boundless chaotic sea…

"We never thought about it before, and had neither time nor energy for such matters—so there were no ascenders."

As for the worlds the former Starry Sky companion and this senior had captured, their human inhabitants were simply sent back—they don't count as ascenders.

Li Ming opened his mouth but held back, following Xu Xing across the road.

"The reason we now draw ascenders is, of course, deliberate," Xu Xing said calmly.

Of course!

"May I ask, Senior, what is it you need me to do?" Li Ming said solemnly.

Never mind anything else—just the fact that this senior taught them divine arts in the Floating Liu Realm and slew five foreign race Return-to-Nirvana cultivators for them was enough to make him brave fire and water!

"You need do nothing. Focus on your cultivation, then achieve Dao Union." Xu Xing turned to face him. "Dao Union is a Unique Realm. Once attained, it grants our human race a portion of the world's 'weight.'"

A portion of the world's 'weight'?

Could it be…

"Senior, is the Xian Sect's situation like the Floating Liu Realm—surrounded by enemies of our race, hence…?"

"Surrounded by enemies? That's not quite accurate."

At this, Xu Xing seemed to pause, lost in thought.

"This is not something a Return-to-Nirvana cultivator should know…"

"Enough. I'll tell you."

"Our race does have one great enemy. We need sufficient world 'weight' to eradicate them."

Eradicate?

Li Ming froze—the human race's situation in the Xian Sect seemed fine.

"No more for now. You'll understand once you achieve Dao Union." Xu Xing raised his hand. "One final gift."

As his palm opened, a bead appeared, radiating five-colored light, yet within it was a chaotic, formless void, slowly rotating in his palm.

The morning sun had just risen, golden rays pouring down, yet they failed to overpower the faint five-colored radiance.

"World Seed, find your own method to nurture it in a cave heaven—it will serve you well."

"I am deeply indebted to the elder; how could I possibly accept further..." Li Ming began to refuse.

But Xu Xing waved his hand to cut him off: "Enough. Take it. To me, this thing has no use except to give away."

As his words faded, a chaotic pearl radiating five-colored light landed in his palm—and Xu Xing himself had already vanished.

Li Ming stood in place, staring at the storage ring and the five-colored glowing pearl in his hand, and let out a bitter smile.

In the end, he could only put them away, then bowed deeply, lowering himself fully in reverence.

He was not an ungrateful man; he simply did not know how to repay the elder's kindness.

But... he would forever remember it!

Huh~!

With a long exhale, Li Ming leapt into the air, transforming into a green aura that streaked toward the horizon, vanishing in an instant.

…………

Inside the Ascension Hall.

With Li Ming's departure, the several Xian Sect leaders resumed their conversation. Qin Wei and Cheng Junming exchanged a few sharp remarks, but remembering their ancestral masters might still be watching, they each stopped short.

"We rarely get together—why not take this chance for a meal?" Li Wanwan suggested.

Now that Li Ming had left, she no longer needed to maintain her doll-like facade for the sake of her sect leader's dignity.

"Good. I have some matters regarding cooperation between the Xiang Jianzong and Ling Yin Fang." Du Ruoheng nodded slightly.

Mainly concerning the Ascension Platform and the Immersion Pool.

"Agreed." Cheng Junming flicked his dust whisk lightly.

"Mm."

Chang Yue remained indifferent.

Seeing her nod, Qin Wei naturally had no reason to disagree.

The Hehuan Sect leader Shen Qingjun and the Shenji Lianbao Pavilion leader Guo Hong also agreed in turn.

Immediately, the group left the Cloud Terrace and followed Li Wanwan toward the exit of the Ascension Hall.

!. Read

As for that Ascender...

Since the Xiang Jianzong himself spoke, we need only observe—no interference with his actions.

Above.

Xu Xing stood in empty air, watching the several sect leaders emerge from the Ascension Hall, and only when they had left the secluded valley did he lift his gaze toward the distance.

"Such a stubborn little cockroach..."

With a sigh, Xu Xing vanished again—this time directly heading for the Inner Sect.

Just as the sect leaders planned to gather.

Though there were only three of them, they could still gather.

……

……

Noon. The sky shone brightly.

Jianzhou, Xuanjian City.

After repeatedly using several large teleportation arrays, and given his own Return-to-Void cultivation level, Li Ming finally arrived here.

Since this was the identity the elder had chosen for him, he selected it as his first destination.

By the roadside, a fly-infested eatery specializing in duck blood vermicelli soup had square tables set outside.

Because it was noon, the shop was not crowded.

Li Ming sat upright at the table, his green robe replaced by a light gray outer coat over a T-shirt.

To understand a city, one must start with its most unassuming corners.

When he was still in Fuliu Realm, before becoming Grand Sacrificer, he had traveled many places and had some experience.

Though this was the Immortal Realm...

Some experiences should still be universal.

He observed the shop's interior, his gaze casually sweeping over the nearby patrons.

Qi Condensation, Foundation Establishment, Jin Dan—even a Nascent Soul was here!

In Fuliu Realm, seeing such a scene, he would have assumed it was a shop run by some world-famous Spirit Chef.

But along this journey, though he had not stopped to examine closely, he had seen this scene far too many times.

In this Immortal Realm, it seemed nearly ninety-nine percent of people had embarked on the cultivation path.

Moreover, there existed institutions called "schools," similar to academies and private tutors, yet teaching the Dao of cultivation.

No wonder this was the Immortal Realm—its prosperity far exceeded his expectations.

Li Ming sat upright, his spiritual sense silently observing the glowing object beside him called a "mobile phone."

According to the information he learned from the Immersion Pool, this "mobile phone" was a communication device, equivalent to the transmission talismans of Fuliu Realm.

The more he watched, the more amazed he became.

Its spiritual energy fluctuation was extremely faint, yet it could transmit messages across vast distances—to another person... even many people!

If such a miraculous device appeared in Fuliu Realm, every dominant race would surely seize it.

By the way, this "mobile phone" can also connect to the Spirit Net.

Spirit Net...

That elder from Long Xiang Qing Tian Sect had mentioned that the Spirit Net was full of deceitful elements—information there could not be fully trusted.

He was just pondering in his mind.

Then the boss had already brought over several bowls of duck blood vermicelli soup and placed one in front of him.

"Thank you."

Hearing this utterly serious thanks, the boss's eyes flickered with a strange look, recalling the events of the past few months.

This man came alone, didn't play with his phone while waiting for his food, and spoke in the strangest way.

Damn it!

Could he be another ancient cultivator who just emerged from seclusion?!

"The guest's accent doesn't sound local—he must be from somewhere else?"

"Me? I suppose I count as a local, but I've been away for many years and just came out of a Secret Realm recently. I heard some ancient cultivators had emerged here, so I came back to take a look." Li Ming responded smoothly.

"Oh, so that's why. Lately, quite a few people have returned."

The boss exhaled in relief and walked back to the kitchen.

Li Ming also exhaled in relief, picked up the chopsticks from beside him, his expression showing not the slightest anomaly.

I almost got found out.

The elder seemed to have mentioned that humanity had a great enemy, but why, along the way, did everything appear so peaceful and prosperous?

'Below the Union with the Dao, it cannot be known…'

Could this be related?

What kind of great enemy could be so dangerous that even knowing about it was forbidden?

At the very instant this thought arose in his mind!

Li Ming suddenly felt a wave of dizziness; in his perception, a divine figure coalesced from seven-colored divine radiance appeared, a brilliant divine halo glowing behind his head, manifesting countless lights and shadows that seemed to encompass all scenes of the past.

"Heaven gives all things to nourish humanity…"

A long sigh seemed to travel from the distant past to the present, echoing in his heart. (End of Chapter)