Limitless Ascension: Strength Amid Adversity

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Swish, swish, swish!

All eyes were on Hong Qianye.

After hesitating for a moment, Hong Qianye finally spoke up, “As for the origins of this Star Gate, I’ve only heard rumors and don’t have any solid proof.”

“It’s okay, just say whatever comes to mind,” Ye Junlin waved his hand.

“Rumor has it that in the distant ancient times, there were many transfer nodes throughout the Kunlun Realm that could connect directly to the Grand Thousand Worlds, allowing countless cultivators from the Kunlun Realm to traverse the universe freely. But then something happened, and these transfer nodes were sealed by the sages, never to be reopened again.”

Upon hearing this,

The crowd was taken aback, all staring at the illusory Star Gate.

This thing actually has that kind of function?

There’s a legend that the Kunlun Realm is a massive cultivation planet, and there are many such planets scattered throughout the boundless universe. In the past, cultivators could come and go freely, able to fly out of the Kunlun Realm and explore the cosmos as long as they reached the Transformation Stage.

But for some unknown reason, an invisible force bound the cultivators of the Kunlun Realm, preventing them from flying towards the universe, forcing them to live in this world until they died.

The only way to break this curse is to cross tribulation and become a True Immortal, then ascend to the Immortal Realm, which would grant them the qualification to venture into the universe.

But how easy is it to cross tribulation and become an immortal?

So for 99% of the cultivators, they could only stay in the Kunlun Realm for their entire lives.

And now, this Star Gate could ignore that restriction, effortlessly connecting to various places in the universe. If that word got out, it would surely cause a huge uproar!

The Crown Prince exclaimed excitedly, “Father, if that’s the case, our Great Zhou can expand its territory! This is a rare opportunity!”

In his imagination, the universe undoubtedly contains numerous precious cultivation resources. If the Great Zhou could be the first to open up interstellar expansion, the national strength would surely soar, producing countless powerhouses.

“Exactly,” even the Great Zhou Emperor was intrigued; this was an enormous temptation that no ruler could resist!

“Fools! What are you daydreaming about?”

Ye Junlin sneered.

Hearing this, the father-son duo’s faces fell, and they stuttered, “Ye Junlin, what do you mean by that?”

“Are you so sure that the Great Zhou has the ability to initiate an interstellar expansion rather than being invaded by alien races from beyond?”

“If it really benefitted the Kunlun Realm, why would the sages seal off such Star Gates?”

“For example, what was that mysterious person’s motive for going through so much trouble to send demons to occupy this place?”

“Use your brains!”

Ye Junlin’s series of reprimands doused the father-son duo’s ambitions like a bucket of ice water. Reflecting on the recent turmoil, they felt a sense of dread.

So far, many cultivators in the Kunlun Realm had thought this world was a cage, that they could never see the outside scenery.

But now it seemed, it might be a form of covert protection!

“Besides, do you even know how to open it?” Ye Junlin scoffed.

The father-son duo shook their heads again, feeling their cheeks burn with shame.

Right!

They didn’t even know how to open the Star Gate but were fantasizing about expanding territory. It was laughable!

“Alright, keep it up. With this Star Gate around, the good days for the Great Zhou are yet to come,” Ye Junlin turned to leave the Ancestor Tomb.

He had intended to investigate the situation, but with his curiosity satisfied, he naturally didn’t want to linger.

“Well, we can only keep our guard up now.” The Great Zhou Emperor’s face was grim as he realized the nation’s future would be rocky.

Fortunately, being at the Tribulation Stage, supported by the vast national fortune, even if the demon army attacked again, he believed they could repel them.

After all, the current Great Zhou Dynasty was at its peak of national strength, and the Emperor had confidence in that!

“Master, if what you say is true, those dark beings from the Underworld Abyss should be damned! They willingly betrayed the Kunlun Realm, becoming lackeys for the alien races!”

Li Wujie spoke up from behind, his eyes exuding a fierce killing intent.

Ye Junlin’s gaze flickered, “What I’m most interested in now is what exactly happened to the Kunlun Realm back then. I’m afraid this answer has to be sought from the Immortal Realm.”

After all, only by ascending to the Immortal Realm could one traverse the universe. From this perspective, it definitely had to do with the big shots of the Immortal Realm.

“The Immortal Realm!”

Li Wujie showed deep respect; that was the place countless cultivators yearned for.

Rumor had it that the Spiritual Energy in the Immortal Realm was unimaginably dense. Just throwing a smelly stone from a latrine into it would eventually allow it to gain intelligence and start its cultivation journey over time.

“However, the Immortal Realm is just as ruthless, if not more so—only the strong survive!” Hong Qianye’s eyes gleamed with a cold light, secretly sneering.

Years ago, when he crossed tribulation to become an immortal, he didn’t ascend to the Immortal Realm right away but chose to remain in the Central Region, honing himself because he had heard that the Immortal Realm was hierarchical and could even lead to losing one’s freedom.

In this day and age, those who could cross tribulation to become immortals were all monstrous talents, dominating in the Kunlun Realm and bathing in the worship of countless cultivators.

But they ended up ascending to the Immortal Realm, only to start from the bottom—it was a shock that many could hardly bear!

There’s a saying: better to be the head of a chicken than the tail of a phoenix!

If you had a background in the Immortal Realm, it wouldn’t be so bad; you’d have seniors to guide you. But if you didn’t, your situation would be even more difficult!

And Hong Qianye had started from scratch, relying solely on his wits to claw his way up to become a True Immortal powerhouse.

He had attracted too many hostile forces while in the Central Region, so if he ascended to the Immortal Realm, he feared he’d be hunted down and killed by those above him.

Staying in the Central Region, at least he could keep his life!

After all, the immortals from above can’t just come down casually, making True Immortals the ultimate power in the lower realms.

Unfortunately, the cultivation environment down here was too poor to support a True Immortal’s breakthrough, which is to say, it had its pros and cons.

For this reason, most cultivators who successfully crossed tribulation would choose to stay in the lower realms, unless they were nearing the end of their lifespan and had no choice but to ascend.

Then,

Everyone rode the Kunpeng away from the Great Zhou.

Facing the bright sunshine,

Ye Junlin lay back in his chair, hands behind his head, completely relaxed as he pondered all the events in the Great Zhou, his mind racing.

It was clear to anyone with eyes that the Underworld Abyss creatures suddenly launching an invasion had someone manipulating behind the scenes, aiming to take control of the Star Gate and facilitate the alien invasion into the Eastern Domain.

Soon, the other four domains would face the same situation.

A crisis targeting the Kunlun Realm was quietly approaching.

As for Ye Junlin,

He felt nothing.

After all, he was someone who had crossed over and had a system that felt like cheating. If anything threatened him or his loved ones, he could just flick a finger and extinguish it.

Ye Junlin’s principle was to relax when he needed to and put on a show when it was needed!

Don’t feel excessive urgency, don’t impose pressure on yourself.

Life is about living freely!

“Oh right, I almost forgot about this,” Ye Junlin suddenly remembered and took out a bag of pet food from his system’s backpack.

When he opened it, a rich milky aroma wafted out.

That’s right, this was top-notch pet beast food!

“Hmm? It smells so good~” Bai Xiaoxi’s nose twitched, and when he saw the bag of food in Ye Junlin’s hand, his eyes sparkled as he hurried over.

“Master, can I let Mouse try some?”

Seeing Bai Xiaoxi’s drooling expression, Ye Junlin couldn’t help but laugh, “This is for the pet beast.”

“Pet beast?”

Bai Xiaoxi tilted his head, “But Mouse is a beast too!”

Hearing this, Ye Junlin chuckled silently.

He almost forgot that his disciple’s original form was a little white mouse, and he had taken it in as a pet, fitting perfectly into the pet beast category.

“Alright, you can have this bag as a snack!” Ye Junlin said.

“Yay! Thank you, Master!” Bai Xiaoxi beamed, holding the bag above his head like a child, shouting excitedly.

Nearby, Hong Qianye sat cross-legged, inwardly scoffing, “This foolish mouse spends all day thinking about eating and not cultivating, just like that damned Ye Junlin.”

Hong Qianye could see that Bai Xiaoxi seemed to possess tremendous potential, but ever since joining Ye Junlin, he had done nothing but follow him around, willingly becoming his number one sidekick.

Up to now, he was still stuck at the early Transformation Stage!

In his view, this waste of talent was a waste of life!

Bai Xiaoxi reached out, grabbing a large handful of food, each piece resembling a milk jujube, shimmering with a white glow.

Then he started popping them in his mouth, eyes squinting in enjoyment.

“Delicious~”

Bai Xiaoxi munched on the treats, getting more and more addicted, unable to stop!

Before long, his body began to radiate brilliant light, each pore bursting out with pure spiritual energy.

In the next second, the energy within him surged explosively, causing Bai Xiaoxi’s cultivation level to rise rapidly!

Mid Transformation Stage, late stage, peak…

Breakthrough!

Unity Stage!

And it didn’t stop there; as Bai Xiaoxi kept munching, his cultivation continued to climb.

By the time he finished the whole bag, his realm had directly shattered into Great Ascension!!

“This, this, this…!” Hong Qianye was left dumbfounded, his existing beliefs shattered before this spectacle. He suddenly realized he could completely make no sense of this world anymore.

It was simply outrageous!