Vol 7 Chapter 15: Searching for the Path to Ascension

"He's already dead."

"So he really is dead..."

"Senior... you, didn't leave?" Hu Yousong asked in surprise after recovering from his shock.

After waking up, he had actually contacted the Mount Lu Recluse, but unfortunately she said she knew nothing and everything should wait until Lin Jing returned.

Since that ancient immortal had been killed by Lin Jing with a single slap, Hu Yousong naturally didn't dare ask too many questions.

"Just because I left, doesn't mean I can't come back?" Lin Jing smiled. "One day in the future, that junior brother of yours might also return."

If ascending to Earth could also lead to immortality, then Lin Jing believed that Taoist would definitely choose Earth over the current Immortal Realm.

"Oh, oh." Hu Yousong quickly bowed deeply. "Thank you for your intervention, Senior. Otherwise, the cultivation world would have been thrown into chaos by that old man... who knows what state it would be in now."

"I dare to ask, Senior, regarding that Immortal Movement Art he passed down, can you identify what problems it might have?"

Hu Yousong's biggest headache now was the turmoil caused by half the cultivators above foundation establishment switching to practicing the Immortal Movement Art.

If not for the sudden decline in spiritual energy during the previous period, he suspected these people's cultivation would have immediately broken through to golden core and Nascent Soul, becoming increasingly uncontrollable and unmanageable. Fortunately, he had also switched to practicing it and had the treasures left by his junior brother, so he wouldn't be surpassed by others. Otherwise, he'd truly worry about being unable to suppress the cultivation world.

Once this cultivation method started rolling, he himself didn't dare abandon it. The reason he hadn't switched back for so long was precisely because he feared falling behind in cultivation realm.

This Immortal Movement Art's cultivation speed was truly outrageous, just like a demonic technique!

"Those who practice this Immortal Movement Art are sacrifices for something. When they reach great accomplishment, they will all be harvested," Lin Jing said.

Hu Yousong's vision went dark.

"But that immortal has already been killed by me, so there's no need to worry about anyone forcing you to become sacrifices. While your cultivation is still low, you can waste a little time and still have a way back - you can switch back to your original cultivation methods."

"Of course, if you're willing to continue practicing the Immortal Movement Art, there won't be any major consequences either. It's just that the highest you'll ever reach is the Void Mystical Stage."

"If this were the Earth of before, this realm would indeed be quite good. But going forward... Earth's changes will only become greater and greater. While everyone achieving immortality might be difficult, for cultivators with some talent, the Void Mystical Stage definitely won't be the end. So you need to carefully consider your own future."

"This junior... understands." Upon hearing this, Hu Yousong immediately nodded. Lin Jing had made the pros and cons very clear.

"Since that's the case, if similar situations occur, you can crush this talisman stone. If I can sense it, I'll help resolve it." Regarding other matters, Lin Jing didn't say much. Given the current cultivation levels of other Earth cultivators, even if they knew about the Demonic Race matters, they wouldn't be able to help at all.

"Respectfully seeing off Senior—"

Lin Jing left. He could feel that Earth's spiritual energy was still increasing at a terrifying rate. Therefore, he needed to cultivate as quickly as possible. If Earth became capable of supporting Immortal Lords before he managed to cultivate to the Immortal Lord realm... then he probably wouldn't be able to protect himself.

"What method is the Demonic Race using to accelerate the Ancient Immortal Realm's spiritual energy recovery?"

"This spiritual energy recovery speed doesn't conform to normal patterns. The Imperial Consorts also said this spiritual energy must be coming from outside the realm... The current Immortal Realm? Even if the Demon Lord possesses the Heavenly Dao's Supreme Treasure, he can't simultaneously oppose the entire Immortal Realm. Of course, no Immortal Emperor's lineage is willing to truly fight the Demonic Race to the death either."

"In short, it's difficult for the Demon Lord to move the foundation of the current Immortal Realm to benefit another Ancient Immortal Realm. So, could this spiritual energy be what he's absorbing from the Lower Realm through the Heavenly Dao's Supreme Treasure?"

The incarnation looked up at the sky. If this were the case, then the Tianyuan Realm might encounter trouble.

...

Upper Realm, Tianyuan.

Back then, to welcome the Heavenly Demon Sect, Tianyuan used the Golden Bell that Old Demon Mo Pine brought back, allowing the Tianyuan Realm to open a small golden age. At the cost of squeezing the entire realm's potential, they opened a ten-thousand-year spiritual energy eruption.

During that period, the Tianyuan Realm would become the most suitable place for cultivation, with extraordinary personal fortune. The price was that after ten thousand years, Tianyuan would enter the age of magic decline, no longer suitable for cultivation.

According to reason, there should still be several thousand years until this deadline. But at this stage, some people had already sensed that the Golden Age... seemed to be declining.

Not just the Tianyuan Realm—many cultivation realms were showing signs of spiritual energy decline. Although not obvious yet, it was indeed happening. If it were just one realm like this, it might not matter much. But since many cultivation worlds were experiencing this situation, the Cultivation Alliance immediately placed great importance on it. Some hermits taking turns on duty in the Lower Realm quickly reported this intelligence to the Immortal Realm.

So that's how it is. The Demon Lord is using the Heavenly Dao's Supreme Treasure to transfer the Lower Realm's spiritual energy, transporting it to the Ancient Immortal Realm, accelerating the Ancient Immortal Realm's recovery... An unrecovered Ancient Immortal Realm makes it too difficult for the Demonic Race's core combat power to enter. Sending those too weak would be meaningless—at most just for intelligence gathering."

"After all, even if weaker cultivators go over, they absolutely couldn't easily take away the Demon Ancestor's remains and the Race-Suppressing Demonic Artifact."

"But this way, the Lower Realm's decline might not affect lower realm cultivators much, but for 'long-lived species' like me existing in the Lower Realm, the impact is significant."

Lin Jing browsed through the Eastern Glorious Immortal Emperor's secret letter and shook his head. The Eastern Glorious Immortal Emperor claimed he would find ways to restrain the Demon Lord, but didn't know how long it would take.

He certainly didn't care—no matter how the Lower Realm changed, he would still be the one who lived the longest. But other Dao Inquiry cultivators might be more sensitive to such changes.

If this continues without being quickly stopped, these cultivators' realms and lifespans might be affected.

"It seems that to avoid this situation occurring, Tianyuan... no, the entire Lower Realm will need to undergo a second ascension wave."

Several days later, many people came to visit Lin Jing, expressing their desire to ascend. Many had cultivated to Dao Inquiry perfection but delayed ascending, mostly believing their foundation was still insufficient. Rather than rashly ascending to the Upper Realm, they preferred to remain in the Lower Realm and refine themselves as much as their lifespan allowed, to better withstand the stronger immortal tribulation.

But now, if the Lower Realm was becoming less suitable for cultivation, it would be better to ascend earlier.

"But the Lower Realm's degradation also indicates that the Ancient Immortal Realm's Earth over there has already recovered to a certain level. It might already be possible to ascend there normally."

"Could this cause some Dao Inquiry cultivators... to accidentally ascend to the wrong immortal realm? Instead of going where they intended, they might ascend to this recently recovered Earth? Although the Lower Realm's ascension channels were modified long ago, accidents are inevitable."

"Additionally, with the Demon Lord making such moves, he definitely has major plans for Earth next. I must also find a stable channel to ascend to the Ancient Immortal Realm, so some powerful cultivators can choose to ascend to the Ancient Immortal Realm and help the incarnation."

Lin Jing left the Tianyuan Realm to search for suitable test subjects to attempt ascending to Earth. If nothing went wrong, he felt Hu Yousong's junior brother was the most suitable candidate, since they were fellow countrymen.

But when Lin Jing arrived at the cultivation world where he remembered the other party being located, he was immediately dumbfounded.

When... did that guy die?