Chapter 295: Seekers of the Ascension Trial

It turned out she was injured; at first I thought she was just aloof and didn't want to see anyone.

"What kind of injury? Tell me—I'm from Ji Shi Valley, I guarantee I can heal you!"

Alchemy, healing, ecological transformation—all are areas Ji Shi Valley excels in; fifty percent of all medical and ecological transformation techniques in the Tai Xuan Realm originate from Ji Shi Valley.

Nangong Ruo hesitated, seemingly tempted, but ultimately refused.

"My injury comes from a powerful Nascent Soul cultivator who used the 'Damage Outer Form' force technique—even Ji Shi Valley's methods couldn't heal it in a short time."

At least not anything below Foundation Establishment level.

"Oh." Lin Xuanxuan nodded slightly.

A powerful Nascent Soul cultivator? She truly had no way to help.

"But why would a Nascent Soul cultivator bother you?"

This…

Meeting Lin Xuanxuan's curious gaze, Nangong Ruo fell silent.

How could she explain it?

She couldn't possibly say she'd been gossiping behind someone's back and got caught and beaten up for it.

"It was my fault."

Gossiping behind someone's back is wrong; she would remember this lesson for the rest of her life!

Huh?

Lin Xuanxuan was still curious, but seeing her unwillingness to discuss it, she let it drop.

Zhang Yunlu, who had listened to all of this from the side, fell into thought.

A powerful Nascent Soul cultivator?

She unexpectedly thought of her senior sister—after all, her senior sister also knew the 'Damage Outer Form' force technique, and her mastery was extremely high, directly taught by their master.

And why would her senior sister randomly pick a fight with her…

No.

Could it be that Nangong Ruo's insults about her that night were overheard?

Unlikely—her senior sister had parted from her, and then she met Nangong Ruo, with only a short time in between.

It couldn't possibly be that the two ran into each other so soon…

Lin Xuanxuan shoved the remaining snacks and pills into her mouth, cheeks bulging: "We'll reach Jingcheng tomorrow."

"They say Xiao Fan, the one who killed the Emperor, is there too—should we go take a look?"

"Mm."

Nangong Ruo nodded, not refusing.

As long as she doesn't run into Chi Jiuyu, she'll go anywhere!

…

…

Tai Xuan Tian, the Ascension Sacred Site, exists beyond reality, in the unseen void.

"Jiuyu Xiang Jianzong…" Xu Xing chuckled wryly.

This guy still hasn't given up—he's even set his sights on me now.

Then Xu Xing turned his gaze toward the capital of the Songyun Dynasty.

After being dealt with by Master Xiao Yu of the Tai Shang Dao Sect, the Impure World's Demon Sovereign Cheng Yu fled the Impure World and went there.

Many mortal realm cultivators, due to the Emperor's murder, are also rushing toward Jingcheng.

More interestingly, the few people from the valley entrance—the body cultivator Chen Yan, the old Taoist, the sword cultivator, and the big monk—had left Tai Xuan Tian and arrived in the Impure World, only to learn the Demon Sovereign had been gravely wounded and fled.

From start to finish, they never encountered a single cultivator on the trial.

After all, each sect in this Tai Xuan trial had only dozens of participants; spread across these three realms, the numbers were sparse.

Ziqing Temple was destroyed because Ba Zun had dumped his disciples into the region under Ziqing Temple's jurisdiction.

And then Ziqing Temple met its tragic end.

After that, they scattered individually, becoming like sand tossed into an ocean—hard to see any ripples.

These three realms are still vast; with hundreds of cultivators spread across them, as long as they don't deliberately cause trouble, the disturbances won't be large.

Without this world's chat channel, apart from a few Return to Void and Soul Transformation cultivators, the others might never meet again after separation.

Of course, the Dingnan Wang Fu was a special case.

"It'll still last a while."

We're only just beginning.

In Anqin County—the location of Dingnan Wang Fu—the Longxiang Qingtianzong Foundation Establishment junior defeated the Chengyun Sect's Jin Dan, then went to "talk" with the Dingnan Wang for an entire night.

Now, he has gathered like-minded trial cultivators to take over the entire Anqin County, seemingly aiming to change something.

All of them are the young generation of Tai Xuan, full of spirit, determined to intervene in injustice and correct unfairness!

As for their various actions…

Xu Xing knew his limits and never judged such matters.

He'd wait until the trial ended to see.

If they truly performed well, he'd give them a small personal reward.

Overall, the trial has proceeded smoothly—only Yang Lin, that little brat, suffered failure—but…

"Xuan…"

He felt that sudden intuition again.

As the Origin of Transcendence, Xuan's methods are too numerous—even he couldn't fathom what Xuan truly intended.

Just like that battle long ago, everyone thought thirteen True Immortals working together could annihilate the Cang Clan entirely, yet in the end, they still saved many of them with a sudden move.

Afterwards, they went even further, binding the Cang Clan to the Xuan Realm, forcing them to wear down Hun Tian Yi through endless time-consuming struggles…

As he pondered, Xu Xing lifted his gaze toward the valley entrance.

Someone is coming.

………

Several streaks of light slashed across the horizon, like falling stars, each radiating distinct qi signatures.

Some sharp, some heavy, others clear, ethereal, and floating.

Boom!

A rolling wave of qi surged outward, thick with the heat of blood and vitality, compressing the surrounding air into a series of explosive cracks. From within stepped a towering giant, eyes like lightning—a classic physique cultivator of the Longxiang Qingtianzong.

"Can't you make less noise?" came a disgruntled voice.

A cascade of pure light poured down, instantly quelling the swirling dust.

A robed law cultivator descended slowly, sleeves billowing with noble bearing—it was Master Xiao Yu, who had driven the Demon Sovereign Cheng Yu into frantic flight within the Sui Realm.

And this physique cultivator? Naturally, it was "Plucks Stars But Doesn't Grab the Moon," whose true name was Lin Xingyue.

"Who are you to tell me?" No refined physique cultivator's etiquette was triggered.

Only low-realm disciples of the Longxiang Qingtianzong—those at Qi Condensation, Foundation Establishment, or Jin Dan—could lose control of themselves.

A sharp blade of light landed, transforming into a graceful, elegant white-robed sword cultivator.

Zhou Kongming, top-ranked sword cultivator on the Xiang Jianzong's Return-to-Void list, especially skilled in sword arrays, and also the senior disciple of Sect Master Du Ruoheng.

Many elders of the Xiang Jianzong believed he would become the next Xiang Jianzong Master—even he himself believed so…

Until the Little Xiao Shu Zu appeared.

!.

Not just him—even the other promising junior brothers and sisters who might have become Sect Master had all been "dimmed into obscurity."

Earlier, he'd seen on the world chat's public screen a title: "Xiang Jianzong Master…"

Sigh~

He didn't need to think to know it was the Little Xiao Shu Zu's doing—only she would choose such a name.

He glanced at the two of them, said nothing, and turned his gaze back to the horizon.

One more person was coming for this "Ascension" exploration.

Speaking of this Ascension…

The sect had apparently built a new Ascension Hall—he'd asked his master, but his master gave no answer, only saying this was not something he should know.

Hmm…

Still, he was curious.

That's why, upon learning of this realm's "Ascension" matter, he'd invited others to come investigate together.

Whoosh!

Soon, a streak of wind and fire entwined shot across the horizon, crashing violently to the ground, shaking the surrounding earth as if it might collapse.

As wind and fire dispersed, the newcomer wore a black fitted suit, her chest full, skin a sun-kissed tan, features refined and sculpted.

Her hair was cut short to her ears; on her shoulder rested a massive crimson hammer taller than herself, as if forged from molten lava.

The sight was striking—so much so one wondered if her slender waist would snap under its weight.

Qi Ling.

Top-ranked Void Refining expert of the Shenji Lianbao Pavilion, a famed artifact crafter of the Xuan Realm; Zhou Kongming often sought her to forge swords, and they were close friends.

He'd invited her along this time.

"Hey, you're all here already!"

She grinned broadly, then walked over to the group, staring at the pale golden curtain at the valley entrance—more precisely, at the "Ascension Platform" within.

"Why aren't you going in?"

"We just arrived," Master Xiao Yu explained.

"Tsk tsk! I thought you were waiting for me."

"What's there to wait for?" Lin Xingyue shook his head. "Since we're all here, I'll go first and show you how it's done!"

With that, he strode forward directly to the pale golden curtain at the valley entrance.

Physique cultivators have tough skin and thick flesh—they're best suited for this.

Zhou Kongming watched Lin Xingyue's back and suddenly felt an odd sensation in his right arm.

He turned to see Qi Ling prodding him with her elbow.

"Didn't your Xiang Jianzong build an Ascension Platform? Did your old man tell you anything?"

"No, my master said it's not something I should know," Zhou Kongming shook his head slightly, his gaze piercing through the pale golden curtain. "But… I think I've guessed something."

Guessed something?

Then say it already!

Stop being a riddler!

Qi Ling was about to press further.

Thud!

With a muffled thunderclap, terrifying blood qi erupted—the entire valley trembled as if on the verge of collapse.

The next instant, golden light blazed!

Hum~

The void rippled in layer upon layer of distortions, spreading endlessly.

Hm?!

Before the others could react, Lin Xingyue was blasted backward, crashing into the distance and kicking up a vast cloud of dust.

His body was deeply embedded into the ground.

The scene fell utterly silent; the remaining three fixed their gazes tightly on the valley entrance.

As the Jin Guang receded, the seemingly fragile pale golden barrier remained unchanged, just as it had been at the start, not a single ripple disturbed.

"…"

Isn't this Third Realm supposed to be a world of Return-to-Emptiness level?

How could a barrier in a Return-to-Emptiness-level world withstand Lin Xingyue's punch without a single scratch?

Soon, fierce winds whipped at their sleeves as Lin Xingyue returned, carrying dust and sand.

The mud and dust had been shaken off by his blood qi, but his disheveled state was still clear—he wore an Expression Grew Serious.

"I can't break this."

Though I didn't use my full strength, that punch made it clear—this is beyond anything I can shake.

"Let me handle it. Don't keep thinking only of brute force." Qi Ling sheathed her giant hammer and pulled out several devices for dismantling barriers. "What era are we in? Learn to adapt. Use your brain."

Several prismatic devices rose into the air, hovering around Qi Ling.

Today's barrier-disabling devices come in countless forms, and the Divine Mechanism Alchemy Pavilion is precisely the originator of this art!

Lin Xingyue: "…" (End of Chapter)