[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-ascending-to-divinity":3,"chapter-ascending-to-divinity-ascending-to-divinity-chapter-274":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","Ascending to Divinity",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2280824,4461,"Chapter 274: Carrying the Wind Across the Sea, Mars Stands Still at the Heart","ascending-to-divinity-chapter-274",274,"\u003Cp>Several seconds passed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Baimu finally snapped out of it, sizing up Jiang Jian as if he were some rare creature: “The Yinshan Wonder Realm? That’s the place of reincarnation and rebirth recorded in the Sutra of the Ten Wheels of the Earth Store!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Such a grand wonder realm, formed from void into substance, holds unimaginable power—it can greatly increase the chance of glimpsing the Spirit Platform!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You just said you wanted to swap your reward?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His eyes widened, his face still etched with disbelief.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Jian fell silent for a moment, then said: “Vice Director Zhang, I was already one of the ten favored ones of Yinshan.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Baimu immediately shook his head: “You mean you intend to compete for it yourself?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The other favored ones are almost all Nascent Soul cultivators!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You’re only at the Surge Spring realm—you’re no match for them!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He paused, then added.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Moreover.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You’ve accomplished a great deed by delivering the World’s Origin.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“This reward was personally designated by the higher-ups, specifically to ensure you receive Yinshan.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Such a generous gift is unprecedented.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Shuodaozheli 。\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Baimu’s earlier expression of envy now turned to resignation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>War is currently underway; the Earth-Moon situation shifts by the moment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Most of the top forces on the surface are trapped within the Ninefold Realm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If Shen Xi’s proposal succeeds,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>the Tianjing Central Hub within the Ninefold Realm, along with the noble clans and sects beneath it, can break free ahead of schedule.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The overall combat power of the surface world will surge instantly!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This would provide unimaginable aid to the Yu Xing Palace in coordinating the overall strategy and arranging surface defenses.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As the architect, Shen Xi, and as the executor, Jiang Jian, naturally deserve the foremost credit.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Jian, moreover, is himself one of the favored ones of Yinshan.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Given these circumstances, the higher-ups specially granted this generous reward—though it seems like a coincidence, it is entirely reasonable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As the two spoke,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>the black aerial vessel pierced through the clouds, ascending rapidly toward the Ninth Realm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Ninth Realm is where the Tianjing Central Hub resides, closest to Earth’s stellar ring.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At the same time,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>it is also the largest fragment of Earth’s primordial stellar ring.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Its current form is peculiar: it hovers above Earth, beneath the stellar ring, as a semi-dimensional space.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Around it,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>there lies a sea, shifting between real and illusory, encircling it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The seawater is pitch-black, infinitely deep.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>According to records,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>this sea is called the “Sea of Suffering.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Centuries ago, the Black Robe King of Assassins used immense spiritual power to condense boundless resentment into this sea.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Any living being that accidentally falls into it is instantly corroded by resentment, their spirit and soul dissolving away.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even stranger rumors claim that within the depths of the Sea of Suffering dwell unknowable beings that feed exclusively on human souls—terrifying beyond measure.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Sea of Suffering is Tianjing’s strongest barrier.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If the Tianjing Central Hub had not been trapped within the Ninth Realm,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>and if it activated its grand array, triggering a tidal wave of the Sea of Suffering, the pitch-black waters would cascade down from the heavens,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>even capable of fully shielding the entire Chang’an Prefecture!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“We’ve arrived.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After a long while, Zhang Baimu suddenly spoke.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Jian ended his cultivation, opened his eyes, and looked out the window.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The sight before him was profoundly shocking!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The pitch-black sea stretched endlessly, suspended high above the heavens, impossibly deep!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Below, the darkness grew ever more ethereal,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>until it fully merged with space, becoming transparent—strange beyond words.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Looking upward, one saw the boundless expanse of Earth’s stellar ring.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The ring’s luminous band seemed close, as if hovering just above their heads, shimmering and flowing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet in truth, the distance was immense.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At the center of the pitch-black sea stood a hundred-zhang pavilion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Majestic, towering, magnificent and noble.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This pavilion is called “Shouxin Pavilion.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It is the gateway to the Ninth Realm, the entrance to the Tianjing Central Hub.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The plaque above it was inscribed in the personal hand of the Chang’an Lord, the True Lord of the Surface.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At this moment,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>the black aerial vessel slowed and came to a halt.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I can only take you this far,”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Baimu said to Jiang Jian. “Someone will meet you at the shore of the Sea of Suffering.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The cabin door opened.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Understood.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Jian replied, stepping off the vessel.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was the edge of the pitch-black sea, where countless arrays interwove to form a floating airfield.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Looking out,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>the airfield was dotted with all manner of warships.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>These vessels varied in function and type—not only the most advanced star-piercing ships, but also colossal sky-shrouding aerial titans.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Many of these types had never appeared in textbooks.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Jiang Jian.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A cold, clear voice came from ahead.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Jian turned his gaze toward the sea.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A girl in a star-woven silk robe, head slightly raised, stood upon a small skiff, approaching him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A few seconds later,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>the skiff halted before him, stirring ripples in the pitch-black sea.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Strangely,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>whenever these black waters of the Sea of Suffering surged onto the airfield’s stone platform, they instantly vanished into nothingness.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I’m Lu Qingqing.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The girl in the silk robe spoke softly, brushing her robe aside with a graceful turn.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The hem of her robe fluttered, embroidered with woven stars—exquisitely beautiful.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Jian’s gaze sharpened slightly; he stepped forward and boarded the skiff beside her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This girl’s spiritual essence was the same as his own—both at the Surge Spring realm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet Jiang Jian sensed a faint threat emanating from her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This sense of danger was one even Zhang Baimu, a Nascent Soul cultivator, had never evoked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Her own spiritual essence, though solid and profound, should not be enough to threaten me.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Jian’s eyes narrowed in thought. “This feeling of danger must come from an external source.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The skiff stirred, carried by the wind across the sea, heading toward Shouxin Pavilion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet neither of the two on board spoke.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Qingqing stood at the bow, gazing ahead, her star-woven robe fluttering gently, releasing faint, sweet scents.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As the skiff rocked,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>the pitch-black sea surged, nearly reaching their ankles.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I never intended to give up on Yinshan,”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>the girl suddenly spoke. “But now, I’ve changed my mind.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As she spoke,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>she never turned around.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Jian stood behind, watching her back, silent for a moment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The meaning behind her words was unmistakable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This unknown girl, Lu Qingqing,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>is also one of the favored ones of the Yinshan Wonder Realm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"How so?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Jian asked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Qingqing turned slightly, her tone calm: \"Guess.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her profile was beautiful.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A strand of black hair clung to Bai Xi’s ear, falling downward.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet deep in her eyes lay mist, obscuring what lay within.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",1129,"2026-06-20T01:21:35.424Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","7eb52590e81cd8d28c3967b2c10189e2121c442bc062e398a4c2e8593525efc5","ascending-to-divinity-chapter-275","ascending-to-divinity-chapter-273",306,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fascending-to-divinity-cover.jpg"]