341: Ascension Platform

The First Heaven of the Immortal Realm — Lingxiao Heaven.

Nine layers of cloud seas surged, golden light descended in myriad rays, Immortal music drifted, bells and drums chimed in unison, white cranes led the way, and Qilins stepped on clouds.

Today was the century-old "Ascension Ceremony," and the entire Immortal Realm was shaken by it.

Millions of Immortals came from the Nine Heavens, from the desolate regions, and from the depths of the netherworld to observe the ceremony.

However, only a very small number of people knew this:

The so-called Immortals were not Immortals at all, but just ordinary Cultivators.

The so-called Immortal Realm was not the Immortal Realm either, but just a world larger than the Spirit Realm.

The only way to reach the true Immortal Realm was—

The thousand-zhang tall, pitch-black giant tower before their eyes: the Ascension Platform.

Only those who reached the Saint Immortal Realm could ascend the platform, receive the "Heavenly Revelation Baptism," and be guided to the legendary Grand Void Immortal Realm — an eternal land where Spiritual Qi liquified, Immortal Qi was like clouds, and all things could achieve Dao.

But for a hundred thousand years, over ten thousand Ascenders had gone, and none had returned.

Therefore, no one knew what Ascension truly was!!

Above the Ascension Platform, a lone figure stood.

He wore a star-patterned robe, his hair like silver snow, his eyes as deep as an abyss, and nine miniature stars circled his body. Each star sealed the remnant souls of nine True Immortals — enemies he had suppressed with the "Starfall Great Array."

His name was Yao Ye, nicknamed Starfall Heavenly Monarch, Lord of Starfall Hall, at the Peak of the Saint Immortal Realm, just one step away from the Heaven-Reaching Realm.

He was originally the son of a mortal from the Seventh Heaven. From a young age, he awakened the "Star Vein Body," allowing him to harness the power of the stars. He broke through class barriers with his own strength, fought his way into the Fifth Heaven, established the Starfall Hall, and became the overlord of the Fifth Heaven.

Now, he had cultivated for ten thousand years, his Lifespan was nearing its end, so he decided to risk Ascension to explore the limits of Immortal Cultivation.

"Yao Ye!" Immortal Emperor Haotian sat on the Nine Heavens Dragon Throne, his voice like thunder, "You have passed the Nine Heavenly Tribulations, condensed an Immortal Fetus, and may ascend the Ascension Platform to receive Heavenly Revelation."

"The road ahead is vast and unknown. You may ascend to the Immortal Realm or fall into the Void Realm. Have you considered it carefully?"

Yao Ye's gaze was like lightning, sweeping across the Nine Heavens, and he said softly:

"I, Yao Ye, have never believed in fate. They say Ascension is a near-certain death, but I don't believe it. I will definitely return, and I will let everyone know the truth of Ascension!!"

Some said it was because the Grand Void Immortal Realm was a true high-dimensional world, and once you went, you couldn't come back.

Others said Ascension was a scam, and all Ascenders would be killed or enslaved by the Upper Realm.

Yao Ye perused various ancient texts and traveled extensively, learning that beyond the Heaven-Reaching Realm there was Territory Suppression, and even Divine Beings! This indicated that the Grand Void Immortal Realm must exist!!

Without hesitation.

Yao Ye took a step and ascended the Ascension Platform!

In that instant—

Buzz!!!

The pitch-black giant tower roared to life, a golden pillar of light shot into the sky, piercing through the clouds, reaching into the unknown Void Realm.

Winds surged, heaven and earth changed color, and countless people knelt in worship.

"Look! True Immortal Qi has appeared!"

"That's... golden mist, drifting down like threads!"

At the edge of the light pillar, wisps of faint golden mist slowly scattered, like a divine rain descending upon the world.

All observers wore expressions of wild joy, frantically absorbing it.

Some broke through their Bottleneck on the spot, while others' Lifespan surged by a hundred years.

This was the blessing of the Ascension Platform—

Even a trace of Immortal Qi was enough to change one's destiny.

Of course, one could not simply come to observe the ceremony.

All observers were carefully selected individuals of a certain status and position.

Below the Ascension Platform, eight major areas were arranged, gathering the most powerful forces and figures of the Immortal Realm.

Each area represented one of the Heavens.

The First Heaven · Lingxiao Heaven: The core of the Immortal Court, the pinnacle of power. Immortal Emperor Haotian's face was as handsome as jade, his eyes as deep as the starry sky. It is said that he has lived for a hundred thousand years and was one of the first Ascenders, but halfway through his Ascension, he regretted it. With a great Divine Ability, he forcibly tore open the Ascension passage and escaped, but in doing so, he glimpsed many Immortal secrets, thereby breaking through the Saint Immortal Realm and becoming the only Heaven-Reaching Immortal Emperor!!

Later, many Ascenders tried to emulate Haotian Immortal Emperor, attempting to escape halfway through their Ascension, but they either perished or were forcibly Ascended, all failing.

Haotian Immortal Emperor was truly the foremost person in the Immortal Realm!

Below Haotian Immortal Emperor, there were five major organizations, which were the Five Directional Emperors.

They were the Ministry of Metal's Heavenly Engineering Institute, led by the White Emperor Shaohao, primarily responsible for weapons, Puppets, and military industries;

The Ministry of Wood's Heavenly Agricultural Department, the Green Emperor Taihao, responsible for grain, Spirit Medicine, and birth control;

The Ministry of Water's Heavenly Water Mansion, the Black Emperor Zhuanxu, responsible for weather, rainfall, etc.;

The Ministry of Fire's Heavenly Fire Hall, the Flame Emperor Jiang Lieshan, responsible for divine punishment, Lightning Tribulation, and public executions;

The Ministry of Earth's Heavenly Pivot Platform, the Yellow Emperor Xuanyuan, responsible for central dispatch, Laws, and oversight;

Between the five ministries, twelve jade seats were arranged in a circle, which were the rotating positions of the Twelve Zodiac Star Officials.

These included the Rat Star Lord, Ox Star Lord, Dragon Star Lord, Monkey Star Lord, etc., representing the twelve zodiac signs.

In addition, there were the Immortal Realm's strongest twenty-eight mansions, twenty-eight battle generals, arrayed to patrol the heavens.

This was the layout of the First Heaven.

The Second Heaven, also known as the Heavenly Secret Realm, was the direct jurisdiction of the Immortal Court, primarily used to monitor the entire Immortal Realm, and the Heavenly Soldiers and Generals were mainly concentrated in this layer;

The Third Heaven's Immortal Dwelling Land was where Cultivators, Elders, Star Lords, Immortal Officials, and others loyal to the Immortal Court resided and relaxed.

Here, cloud seas surged, spiritual Peaks rose like swords, white cranes carried pills, and spiritual deer led the way, a true blessed land for Immortals.

Old-brand True Immortals, Golden Immortals, reclusive powerhouses, Supreme Venerables, and even ancient mighty beings who once shook regions all resided here.

The Fourth Heaven, also known as the Hall of Renowned Schools, was where the Immortal Realm's top Immortal Cultivation Sects gathered.

The Fifth Heaven, the Heaven of Contention, was the most bustling, chaotic, and "hope-filled" layer of the Immortal Realm.

The Heaven of Contention had tens of thousands of Immortal Cultivation Sects, Loose Cultivator Alliances, and trial valleys.

School gates stood in abundance, and arenas were everywhere. Every day, people dueled, broke through Realms, and fell.

The Immortal Martial Arts Competition, held once every century, was a grand event in this Realm.

All Schools in the Realm could register, and the competition content included:

Spell battles, array breaking, Alchemy, beast taming, flag capture, and so on.

The top ten Schools could be promoted to the Hall of Renowned Schools, enjoying supreme glory.

The bottom three would be demoted to the Sixth Heaven, losing everything.

On the surface, this appeared to be "fair competition," but in reality, the Immortal Court constantly purged and incited internal strife among Cultivators.

The Sixth Heaven, the Primordial Chaos Realm: It was the most complex melting pot of races in the Immortal Realm.

The Human Race, Yao Race, Beast Race, Ghost Cultivators, Spirit Race, etc., were all settled here.

There were no restrictions here, only the "Law of the jungle" where the strong preyed on the weak.

The Immortal Court established the "Heavenly Patrol Army" here, only maintaining minimal order to prevent large-scale riots, and was not responsible for anything else.

The Seventh Heaven, the Scorched Earth Realm, was a destroyed layer, barren and uninhabited. Ten thousand years ago, a top powerhouse was born here who rebelled against the heavens and almost attacked Lingxiao Heaven.

The Immortal Court mobilized the Five Emperors to join forces with the Twelve Star Lords to suppress and kill him, his blood spilling across the land.

After the war, the Immortal Court drained all the Spiritual Qi from this Realm, the earth cracked, the sky was dim, no vegetation grew, and the Spiritual Veins were completely severed.

From then on, the Seventh Heaven became a "death row exile."

Now, only a few criminals, escaped slaves, and mad Cultivators barely survived here.

The Eighth Heaven, the Storage Realm, integrated production, refining, manufacturing, planting, storage, and allocation, serving as the logistical lifeline that maintained the operation of the Nine Heavens.

The Ninth Heaven, the Enslavement Realm, was the lowest layer, where the Red Slaves lived.

Of course, the Ninth Heaven was not qualified to participate in the observation ceremony, so only representatives from eight areas came this time.

"Look, the most crucial Heavenly Tribulation is coming!" At this moment, everyone's attention was focused on the Ascension Platform.

Yao Ye was about to make his final push!!