[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-ascending-to-divinity":3,"chapter-ascending-to-divinity-ascending-to-divinity-chapter-281":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},2280831,4461,"Chapter 281: Plucking a Flower, Sitting in Stillness, Listening to the Thunder","ascending-to-divinity-chapter-281",281,"\u003Cp>Knife Mountain Hell.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Jian walked through it, his body guarded by Wang Dian’s golden light, untouched by karmic force.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Within his pupils.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A frost-white vortex appeared.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Karmic fire.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The next instant.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Jian stopped, gazing at the sinner before him, and lightly brushed his finger.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A thread of blazing white flame emerged silently.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The karmic fire swept over the sinner without sound.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the blink of an eye.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It absorbed all his karmic sins, leaving not a trace!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The origin of karmic fire increased imperceptibly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And the sinner, his sins entirely purged, regained his mortal form, staring at himself in utter shock.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Thank you, Wang Dian!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The sinner snapped back to himself, fell prostrate, weeping and sobbing, bowing his head repeatedly to Jiang Jian, “My karmic debt is gone—I can finally be reborn!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A yaksha hurried forward, bowed respectfully to Jiang Jian, then lifted the sinner into the air and flew toward the rebirth vortex.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Jian’s expression remained calm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With a thought of his mind.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The thread of karmic fire split into two, then into three.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In an instant, it became thousands upon thousands of fine streams of light, surging wildly toward the boundless sinners of Knife Mountain Hell!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>BOOM!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As soon as these fragments of karmic fire appeared, they exploded outward at an terrifying speed!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Like wildfire igniting a prairie, rising in a towering wave!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wherever they passed, every sinner’s karmic sins were absorbed clean, not a speck remaining!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the blink of an eye.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The crimson Knife Mountain Hell turned to frost-white.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>More and more sinners had their karmic debts purged by the karmic fire, regaining their mortal forms.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Radiating from Jiang Jian, the sinners knelt one after another, bowing to him, filled with reverence and gratitude.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Soon.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>These purified sinners were taken away by yaksha guards, sent to the rebirth vortex for reincarnation!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At this moment, as more karmic force was absorbed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The thousands of karmic fire fragments burned fiercely within the hell, their flames growing hotter!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Each hair-thin frost-white flame swelled into pillars as thick as cart wheels!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Countless blazing white pillars swept wildly through Knife Mountain Hell!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Infinite karmic force flowed into them!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though Knife Mountain Hell stretched boundlessly, holding billions of sinners.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>These blazing white karmic fires multiplied geometrically.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gradually swallowing the entire Knife Mountain Hell!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Report, Wang Dian! We’re running out of hands!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A yaksha landed, knelt before Jiang Jian, voice urgent, “Too many sinners await rebirth—our ten thousand guards aren’t enough!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Jian glanced at him, saying nothing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Instead, with a sweep of his sleeve, he stepped forward—and vanished from his spot!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The next instant.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Before the rebirth vortex.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Jian stepped forth from nothingness, gazing at the black-and-white vortex before him, expression calm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He waited.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Waiting for his karmic fire to devour every last trace of karmic sin in Knife Mountain Hell.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the world of the Sutra of the Ten Wheels of Ksitigarbha.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Karmic fire is intangible, invisible.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even the Jade Emperor and all Buddhas and Bodhisattvas cannot control it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They act with extreme caution.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They strive desperately to avoid karmic entanglement and descent into hell.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet Jiang Jian could actively control karmic fire!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In this story world.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Controlling karmic fire was utterly inconceivable!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Moreover.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Jian realized.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only where his mind sensed and his eyes looked did the world become clear.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Beyond that, everything blurred—as if never loaded.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wherever he walked, that place became utterly real.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After he left.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The places he had passed through grew fuzzy again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Precisely because of this.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Jian had come to the rebirth vortex, standing above Knife Mountain Hell.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Every moment, he watched the raging karmic fire, ensuring it never slipped beyond his perception.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As time passed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The vast Knife Mountain Hell gradually cleared.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The cart-wheel-sized frost-white fire pillars had long since become an endless sea of blazing white flame, sweeping every corner of Knife Mountain Hell, devouring without discrimination!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>CRACK!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A clear, crisp sound echoed from deep within his soul!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Jian’s spirit trembled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As he sensed carefully, he immediately knew.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His karmic fire’s origin, nourished by terrifying power, had advanced!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though the karmic force in Knife Mountain Hell was simulated.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was still modeled after residual divine essence from the wonderland.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In essence, it was not entirely false!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even if, like the Ksitigarbha staff,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When brought to the mortal world,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Its heavenly power dwindled to a fraction.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For karmic fire, which had never advanced before, it was already remarkably significant!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The true karmic fire origin burned fiercely deep within his soul.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The original frost-white flame gradually changed color, transforming into terrifying blue-white.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Its rank had truly risen!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Meanwhile.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Knife Mountain Hell.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The karmic sins of billions of sinners were utterly purged!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yaksha guards came and went, exhausted, escorting the purified sinners to the rebirth vortex.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The sea of blazing white fire filling the hell suddenly solidified!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The next instant, it rushed inward, converging.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Finally condensing into a single blue-white flame, which vanished silently.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Beneath the rebirth vortex.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Jian lowered his gaze to his fingers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A twisted flame appeared.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As it burned quietly, the surrounding space collapsed soundlessly, revealing black fissures.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Unstained by sin, untainted by karma.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“This is karmic fire.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Jian brushed his sleeve—the blue-white flame vanished silently.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“One more thing.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His eyes narrowed in thought, and he stepped forward.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His form vanished once more.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When it reappeared.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Jian had already landed below the gate of the Knife Mountain Hell.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Here.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sinning ghosts continued to arrive without end.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“In the story.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha, moved by compassion for all beings, willingly remained guarding Yinshan, forsaking Buddhahood.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Such a revered Bodhisattva should have attained Buddhahood.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Amidst surging emotions,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Jian, enduring the searing agony of his soul, forcibly severed a strand of karmic fire’s origin!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This severance was true detachment!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Jian intended\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>to leave this strand of karmic fire forever before the Knife Mountain Hell.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So that every sinning ghost, before entering the Knife Mountain Hell, would instantly have its karmic sins cleansed and be sent directly to rebirth!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thus,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>the Knife Mountain Hell would truly be emptied!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>the enhancement the karmic fire had just gained was immense.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even now, by severing a small portion,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>it still far surpassed its previous state—utterly incomparable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The strand of pale-blue flame circled once, then halted before the Knife Mountain Hell, twisting and shifting until it became a colossal gate of karmic fire!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>all that remained was to wait for the remaining sinning ghosts to be carried away from the Knife Mountain Hell and into the cycle of rebirth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The great vow made by the Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha would instantly be fulfilled!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After all,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>the Knife Mountain Hell was one of the true Eighteen Hells.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Bodhisattva’s words, “the hells,”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>though unspecified, could refer to any one or all of them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But if the Knife Mountain Hell were truly emptied,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>in some sense, the vow “until the hells are empty” had already been perfectly fulfilled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As time passed,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Jian seemed to sense\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>an indescribable presence emanating from behind Yinshan.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“King Yama.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The voice of the Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha suddenly entered his ears.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Jian’s gaze sharpened; the scene before him shifted instantly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the blink of an eye, he had left the Knife Mountain Hell and returned to the rear of Yinshan, before the Bodhisattva.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Bodhisattva, clad in dark-black Buddhist robes, descended from his dais, his eyes devoid of sorrow or joy, gazing at Jiang Jian.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“This karmic fire is not a power meant for you.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His words were calm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet to Jiang Jian’s ears,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>they sent a sudden tremor through his spirit!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In that instant,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>he clearly recalled\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>the words spoken by the true Long Jun before his demise:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“All my memories feel so real.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“So much so,”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“that I often doubt whether the world I inhabit truly exists.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Or perhaps,”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“it is merely the delusion of a madman.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As the Dragon Lord whispered these words, his consciousness faded quietly, dissolving into a dreamlike bubble.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Jian suddenly lifted his head, gazing at the Bodhisattva.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Deep within his spirit, a persistent sense of unreality and disconnection lingered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Was this living being merely a fabrication?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Or did it,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>in some distant world, truly once exist?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Jiang Jian knew the answers to these questions were beyond reach.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He very likely would never learn the truth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You have passed the trial.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Bodhisattva finally spoke. “Your actions surprised me.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He paused, then chose not to elaborate further.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Instead, he changed the subject.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I must leave Yinshan to listen to the Thunder’s voice.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“From now on, you shall guard Yinshan in my stead, as Lord of the Ksitigarbha Hall.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hearing this,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Jian exhaled slightly in relief.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Bodhisattva swept his sleeve.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Ksitigarbha Jade Seal appeared, hovering before Jiang Jian.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The seal was dark-black, engraved with images of karmic suffering and myriad forms of sentient beings.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At every moment, streams of black light circled it, enfolding the seal, making its jade radiance overflow, emitting tiny glimmers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Jian extended his sleeve and took the Ksitigarbha Jade Seal.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It appeared light, yet felt heavy in his grasp.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Its touch was icy-cold, like snow and ice.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The Miraculous Realm of Yinshan.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Jian’s gaze grew solemn.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the story world, this was merely a token of the Ksitigarbha Hall.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But in the real world,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>once he held this object, it meant he had truly become the Master of the Miraculous Realm of Yinshan!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Suddenly,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Jian sensed\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>that the colossal divine form behind the Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha was radiating ten thousand rays of light, torrents of karmic golden radiance surging forth, illuminating the heavens!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At the same time,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>the Bodhisattva before him was enveloped in swirling Buddhist light, about to depart.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha,”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Jian suddenly spoke.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The golden Buddhist light surrounding the Bodhisattva paused slightly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Jian stepped forward, his thoughts racing, bowed respectfully, and ventured: “I wish to learn a divine technique.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In his mind,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>since the Ksitigarbha Staff and the Book of Life and Death could manifest from illusion into reality by drawing upon the divine essence stored in the Miraculous Realm,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>then,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>the countless strange divine techniques from the story world should also be capable of manifesting in reality!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If he used the Ksitigarbha Jade Seal to take the Book of Life and Death,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>his three opportunities to manifest illusions as reality would be reduced to only one!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Jian understood\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>that his resources were already well-prepared.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the short term,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>he would not lack usable treasures.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Moreover,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>most of these supreme treasures consumed soul-source energy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even if he possessed ten supreme treasures, given his current soul condition, he could only activate one or two at a time—never more.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thus,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Rather than exhausting your mind to select another treasure and take it out,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It would be better to find another way and cultivate a divine ability.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the real world.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Divine abilities are exceedingly rare.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Each divine ability acquired greatly enhances the foundational reserves of a Divine Palace cultivator.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Upon hearing these words.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Bodhisattva Master turned his head and looked at Jiang Jian.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Between his slender fingers, petals had somehow appeared, drifting and scattering downward.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After a moment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As Jiang Jian’s spirit slightly tensed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Master finally spoke.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Good.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What technique do you wish to learn?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of Chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",1882,"2026-06-20T01:21:35.424Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","9e3a6abaac0688b923f60ebda8159767d7e1519f4dfb295b12b086ea1ffb2807","ascending-to-divinity-chapter-282","ascending-to-divinity-chapter-280",306,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fascending-to-divinity-cover.jpg"]