Chapter 3656: What's the Point of Being Evergreen for Ten Thousand Ages?

Wu Bolin, sensing his time was up, had now completely run out of options.

He gathered all his spiritual energy into his body, forming a defensive barrier with it, but due to the enormous loss of spiritual energy, his defense at this point could no longer withstand Ye Chen's Thunderclap Order assault.

Now the Thunderclap Order was vastly different from before; Ye Chen's cultivation had improved significantly, and the Mother of Plain Tea's lightning-struck wood had greatly enhanced the Thunderclap Order's power—against ordinary people, even those with some cultivation, a single heavenly thunderbolt would likely reduce them to ashes on the spot. Wu Bolin, relying on his formidable cultivation and burning his meridians, managed to endure several heavenly thunderbolts and still cling to life.

However, his bodily mutilation not only meant his strength was greatly diminished, but also that his entire body's integrated defense had been shattered, leaving him from now on utterly at the mercy of others.

Overwhelmed with terror, he had nearly lost his rationality. His voice trembling, he said to Ye Chen: "Brother, I was born in chaotic times, my life has been like walking on thin ice. I barely managed to reach this situation today, yet I never even had the chance to experience it. I beg you, brother, spare my life—I will tell you a heaven-shaking secret, a secret about the era before the Dharma Decline!"

At this moment, Wu Bolin had completely lost all morale; everything he thought of was merely about staying alive. As long as he could keep living, no matter what price he had to pay, he would be willing—even if it meant revealing the secret of the Gate of Ascension.

After all, taking such a secret to the grave would be meaningless now; if he could trade it for a chance to cling to life, it would certainly be a very worthwhile exchange.

Ye Chen heard his words, merely gave a faint smile, and said: "The secret you speak of must be the reason and purpose behind your coming to Antarctica, right? Otherwise, who would come to such a place?"

Wu Bolin nodded heavily, blurting out: "Brother, you must have come to Antarctica for the same purpose, surely you too heard the legend of the Gate of Ascension—otherwise, why would you travel so far to suffer in this godforsaken place?"

Ye Chen smiled and said: "I'm not actually here to find any Gate of Ascension, but I'm not particularly interested in affairs before the Dharma Decline either—after all, I'm not an archaeologist."

As he spoke, Ye Chen frowned and asked him: "You came here just to find that so-called Gate of Ascension, so you dug such a deep hole, didn't you?"

Wu Bolin's expression instantly turned dazed; he only then realized his so-called secret might actually be worthless—everything he knew was merely the legend of the Gate of Ascension, and that underground cavern below which he could never enter. Moreover, the fact that he had dug the hole so deep was obviously suspicious to any normal person; he didn't even need to say it—Ye Chen could already guess the gist.

To save his life, Wu Bolin could only lie: "Little brother, that Gate of Ascension is the place where the last batch of cultivators ascended, according to legend. Inside may lie vast quantities of rare treasures—those people possessed immense divine powers, and even casually leaving something behind would be enough for us to enjoy for a lifetime. If you spare my life, I will certainly tell you everything I know!"

Ye Chen smiled and asked him: "If you've found the Gate of Ascension, why are you staying outside the cave instead of going in?"

Wu Bolin felt guilty inside and lied: "I intended to go in, I just haven't reached the right moment yet."

"How so?" Ye Chen asked him: "Does that place have working hours? Can't you enter unless it's time?"

Wu Bolin shook his head: "Not exactly—it's just that it's been sealed for ages, and opening it is an extremely complicated matter. I've only just found a few clues. If you spare my life, I will certainly help you crack it!"

Ye Chen smiled: "You really didn't lie."

Wu Bolin thought his lie had been believed by Ye Chen, so he immediately nodded and said: "Yeah, little brother, everything I told you is the truth!"

Ye Chen shook his head, smiling: "No, no, no—I don't mean that."

Seeing Ye Chen smile with ill intent, Wu Bolin quickly asked: "Then… what do you mean?"

Ye Chen smiled: "I mean, you said you usually spend most of your time cultivating and lack social experience—that's true, you haven't lied about that. Because your lying skills are so poor, even elementary school students could do better."

Wu Bolin's heart jolted; he quickly put on an innocent face and said: "Brother, what do you mean by that? I really didn't lie!"

Ye Chen coldly laughed: "You claimed you found clues to cracking the Gate of Ascension, but when I sensed you with my spiritual energy, I clearly saw you were sitting in meditation, not at all like someone trying to figure things out. Moreover, you yourself said the Gate of Ascension was left by the last batch of ascended cultivators—those who could ascend must be far stronger than you or me, I don't know how much stronger. To them, we are like ants. If they built something to keep us out, it would be as simple as humans building a sealed glass jar to keep ants out. A single ant, circling a sealed glass jar, trying to find a way in to save its life—could never figure it out."

Wu Bolin immediately broke out in nervous cold sweat.

In his view, Ye Chen was truly difficult to deal with—unyielding to both soft and hard approaches, and utterly lacking basic human trust. He simply couldn't convince him, just as he himself couldn't enter the Gate of Ascension.

Thinking this through, Wu Bolin wept and said with a mournful face: "Little brother, kill me—you still won't be able to get in. Spare my life, and I might still be of some help to you. Why go to the trouble of exterminating me completely?"

Ye Chen smiled: "I never had any intention of entering the Gate of Ascension, so I naturally don't need your help."

Wu Bolin retorted: "Don't you want to break through the shackles of the Dharma Decline?! Don't you want to one day survive the tribulation and ascend?!"

Ye Chen let out a cold laugh: "Ascension—so what? After ascension, do you think you won't have to struggle anymore? In this world, you're a loser; after ascending, aren't you just an even bigger loser? You should know—perhaps no one has ascended for thousands of years, and over there, their cultivation is thousands of years ahead of yours. You ascend, and you think you've become strong—but have you considered that strength and weakness are relative? With your cultivation, in this world, only about a hundred people could surpass you. Here, you're a person above others. But when you go to a place where everyone around you is stronger than you, you become a person below others. Don't you understand this simple truth?"

Wu Bolin stared, stunned, then suddenly felt Ye Chen's words made some sense.

On Earth, besides this brat before him who took advantage of an opening, the only one who could possibly control him might be Wu Feiyan.

But if, after enduring countless hardships, I ended up in a world full of experts as a novice, that feeling would surely be suffocating, right?

Still, thinking about this now seems pointless—after all, whether I can survive today is still unknown.

So he could only try to persuade Ye Chen: "Little brother, in this world, immortality cannot be sought—already a thousand years is the limit. But after ascension, one does not die or perish—eternally evergreen through ten thousand ages!"

Ye Chen mocked: "Yes, eternally evergreen through ten thousand ages—but so what? In this world, there is a kind of cedar tree that can live for ten thousand years, twice as long as human civilization. Yet this tree, facing loggers, might only need a few dozen minutes to be cut down at the roots. Not dying or perishing—precondition is that no one kills you. After ascension, the heavenly way may not kill you, but there are plenty who can!"