Book Twelve — Immortal Strife
Swoosh~ Swoosh~ Swoosh~
Only the sharp howls of the wind sounded out by his ears, and Chen Xi was entirely unable to control his body.
His eyes and Immortal Perception were unable to sense anything, and only his instincts were telling him that he seemed to be moving through layer after layer of spatial barriers and dimensional walls as he ascended.
Moreover, the higher he ascended, the more the Temporal Laws in the surroundings surged. They were like a torrent that ceaselessly washed through his body, causing his body and soul to undergo marvelous transformations over and over again.
His Immortal Perception transformed into Immortal Sense, and it surged within his sea of consciousness that was behind the center of the space between his brows.
His Immortal Energy transformed into Immortal Force, and it whistled through his entire body.
Even his skin, bones, tendons, blood, vital energy, and even the hair on his body were undergoing a swift transformation.
This was ‘ascension.’
It was a type of transformation of one’s essence. So long as one succeeded, one would be able to be ranked amongst Heavenly Immortals and lived alongside the ages!
But this sort of transformation consumed an extreme amount of strength. The amount of Immortal Energy in Chen Xi’s Blackhole World’s was extremely enormous, yet during this process, it was being consumed rapidly, and even the Dark Parasol Sapling was unable to keep up with this sort of consumption.
Bang!
Sharp pain surged into the depths of his soul, causing Chen Xi to instantly go pale.
Before he ascended, he’d found out that his body, soul, and Immortal Energy at the Earthly Immortal Realm would transform during the process of ‘ascension’ and completely transform into the foundation of a Heavenly Immortal.
But he’d overlooked something, and that was that the strength of his body, soul, and Immortal Energy was too enormous while his foundation was extremely solid. It was at least over a hundred times greater than an ordinary expert at the ninth level of the Earthly Immortal Realm.
So, it was similarly over a hundred times more difficult for him to transform completely when compared with an ordinary Earthly Immortal.
This was one of the disadvantages of having a foundation that was too deep. Even though he possessed a status of absolute supremacy amongst those of the same cultivation, it was similarly even more difficult for him to advance in cultivation when compared with others.
Moreover, it was even more painful than others.
Just like this moment. He felt as if his entire body was being devoured by a myriad of ants and numerous dull knives were slicing his body, and this sharp pain that came from the depths of his soul caused his entire body to tremble.
Finally, he fell completely unconscious after an enormous bang resounded.
After an unknown period of time, when Chen Xi regained consciousness, he felt his entire body was immersed in a pool of water, and it was wet, uncomfortable, and even suffocating.
Swish!
In the next moment, he felt he was carried up and thrown onto the ground with a thump.
At the same time, a voice of ridicule sounded by his ears. “He actually fainted within the Immortal Transformation Pool. This natural endowment of his is truly terrible. I wonder how he ascended here.”
“Alas, each generation is worse than the previous. For the sake of pursuing advancements in their cultivation, the cultivators in the Mortal Dimension blindly swallow spirit pills and medicine, so they seem to have advanced, yet their foundations are extremely fragile like a lead spearhead that looks like silver. Pleasant to the eye but useless in reality.” Another aged voice sounded out and sighed with emotion.
A wave of roaring laughter filled the area when these words were spoken.
Immortal Transformation Pool?
So, I really have arrived at the Immortal Dimension.
Chen Xi felt completely at ease in his heart when he heard these words, and he paid no attention to the noise by his ears as he opened his eyes.
Before his eyes was an extremely brilliant and scorching sun that hung high above the boundlessly distant sky. The sun sparkled and flowed with golden light, and it was extremely vast. Within the sun were some flame spirits, Suncrows, and flaming birds that were formed and accumulated in it, and it was an extremely miraculous and extraordinary sight that was completely different to the Mortal Dimension.
Chen Xi’s eyes narrowed as he stood up, and only now did he notice that the place he stood in was a vast and spacious hall, and a plaque that had ‘Ascension Hall’ written on it hung on the hall’s entrance.
There was a pool that was shrouded with a fog Immortal Force outside the hall, and it emanated rays of light.
At the side of the pool was a jade table, and behind the table was an old man and a thin and tall middle aged man.
Nearby where Chen Xi stood was another ten plus figures, both men and women; young and old. At this moment, the gazes they shot at him were filled with ridicule.
Chen Xi didn’t pay attention to all of this, and he just curiously sized up the surroundings.
According to rumor, the Immortal Dimension was boundlessly vast, and its sky was even divided into thirty three levels. These skies were filled with paradises that ancient sects and great figures of the Immortal Dimension resided in.
On the other hand, ‘Ascension Halls’ and ‘Immortal Transformation Pools’ were distributed within every single territory of the Immortal Dimension. They were controlled by Immortal Monarchs, and they were in-charge of the matters of receiving and recruiting those that had ascended.
It was precisely because of this that Chen Xi was unable to determine exactly where in the Immortal Dimension he was.
But the Immortal Force here was extremely abundant.
Chen Xi breathed lightly and was able to sense that the air here was suffused with pure Yang Immortal Force that surged towards him, and it seemed as if the entire world was enveloped by boundless Immortal Force.
But when he intended to utilize his Immortal Sense to sense the energy of the Laws in the Immortal Dimension, he bitterly noticed that no matter if it was his sea of consciousness or body, they were completely empty, so he was utterly unable to sense anything.
Fortunately, he was relieved to find that the scale of his sea of consciousness had widened by more than ten times, and even the scale of his Blackhole World had become extremely vast. Compared to before they’d undergone a qualitative transformation.
All in all, Chen Xi was a Heavenly Immortal now. But his strength was temporarily in an empty state that was in urgent need of replenishment. At that time, he would be able to have a deeper understanding of this completely new cultivation realm.
“Elder Wang, you can begin.” Meanwhile, the old man behind the jade table opened his eyes and spoke slowly.
“Alright.” The thin middle aged man’s gaze was sharp like a hawk, and it swept past Chen Xi and the others before he said indifferently, “Now, all of you step over one by one and claim your Immortal Tokens.”
Chen Xi was clearly aware that Immortal Tokens were actually a form of proof of identity, and it wasn’t of any other use.
Its only use was perhaps that once one possessed an Immortal Token, then no matter if one entered a sect or power of the Immortal Dimension, then it could be utilized as proof of one’s identity.
The middle aged man’s voice hadn’t finished resounding through the air when a thin young man instantly charged over to stand before the table and said in a respectful voice, “I’m from the Azurewood World, the Enlightenment Qi Sect’s Wang Lin. Senior, please grant me an Immortal Token.”
“The Enlightenment Qi Sect?” The thin middle aged man thought for a moment and confirmed that he hadn’t heard the name of this sect before he took out an empty Immortal Token and drew on it briefly, and then he passed it over. “One thousand Immortal Stones.”
Wang Lin was stunned and then said with great difficulty. “Senior, the storage magic treasure this junior brought along was damaged during my ascension. I’m truly unable…”
Before he could finish speaking, the middle aged man’s face sank before he flicked his sleeve and said, “Then why didn’t you say so earlier? Since it’s like that, then you can stay at Cloudray City and be a servant for the Cloudray Sect. You’ll get an Immortal Token when you’re able to earn sufficient Immortal Stones!”
A servant? Wang Lin’s face revealed a wisp of rage when he heard this. Since they were able to cultivate to the point of ascension, all of them were existences that commanded the winds and the clouds in the Mortal Dimension. However, right after he just entered the Immortal Dimension, he was about to be reduced to a lowly servant, so how could he endure this?
Not to mention him, even the others were stunned and revealed wisps of indignation.
“You’re courting death! Do you really think you’re a great figure? Idiot! This isn’t the Mortal Dimension, so there’s no room for you to act wildly!” His voice hadn’t finished resounding through the air when an iron whip suddenly appeared in the middle aged man’s hand, and it was coiled with the energy of profound Laws as he directly whipped Wang Lin.
Slap!
Blood sprayed as Wang Lin let out a shrill howl as he flew over 30m away. The skin and flesh on his back had split open to reveal a bone deep injury that gurgled with fresh blood, and he instantly passed out!
The expressions of everyone revealed shock when they saw this. The middle aged man was obviously a Heavenly Immortal that had condensed the energy of the Laws, so dealing with all of these newbies that had just ascended was simply as easy as trampling on ants.
“Hmph! Trash.” The middle aged man grunted coldly and didn’t spare Wang Lin another glance before his gaze glanced coldly like a blade towards the others, and then he said, “All of you have seen what happened to him. I’ll get to the point, those without Immortal Stones, stand out obediently and don’t waste the time of others!”
Everyone looked at each other, and in the end, a few more people stood out with dejected expressions.
At this moment, even if they commanded the winds and the clouds and were filled with arrogance in the Mortal Dimension, they had no choice but to face reality, and this reality was that they were new to the Immortal Dimension, so it was better to obediently exercise forbearance.
“Hahaha! Senior’s methods are great and impartial, it’s truly admirable.” Right at this moment, a group of three walked out while led by a young man. The young man wore a tall crown, possessed a noble, dignified, and graceful bearing, and he held a folding fan in his hand.
A man and a woman followed by his side with respectful and submissive expressions, and they were obviously servants.
This scene instantly shocked the other ‘ascenders’ because since he was able to bring servants along as he ascended, this fellow’s identity was surely extremely respectable.
The middle aged man’s eyes narrowed as he said, “I presume Young Master knows the rules of the Immortal Dimension?”
Swish!
The Young Master unfolded the fan in his hand and fanned it as he laughed lightheartedly, and then he said, “Of course. Xiao Yun from the Endless World’s Solitary Origin Dao Sect. These are my attendants. Senior, please record our arrival.”
As he spoke, the male and female attendants walked forward and handed over a storage pouch respectively.
The Solitary Origin Dao Sect!
The middle aged man and old man were stunned in unison before they put away the storage pouch, and their expressions eased up after checking it briefly. “The Solitary Origin Dao Sect? That’s an extraordinary sect even in the Immortal Dimension. May I ask if Young Master’s ancestor is related to Daoist Xiao Long?”
Xiao Yun roared with laughter. “Senior is really wise. Daoist Xiao Long is my Ancestor.”
Hiss!
The middle aged man and old man instantly gasped because Daoist Xiao Long was a great existence at the Golden Immortal Realm. Presently, he was the hottest figure in the entire Solitary Origin Dao Sect.
Even the Cloudray Sect that stood behind them didn’t dare offend him.
Both of them instantly stood up and passed over three Immortal Tokens before they said with a smile, “I never imagined that it would be a descendant of Daoist Xiao Long. You really are a dragon amongst men and possess a striking appearance.”
This scene caused all of the other ‘ascenders’ to feel extreme disdain, but no one dared to speak of it.
It could be helped, one had to lower one’s head in the territory of another.
“Seniors are really understanding. Hahaha! I won’t disturb you any longer. Farewell.” Xiao Yun glanced at the other ‘ascenders’ with a complacent expression, and he was in high spirits as he waved his hand and intended to leave with his attendants.
“Wait!” However, right at this moment, a sonorous voice that was like a thunderclap suddenly rumbled from the distance.