Chapter 114 Preparations for Ascension

After Yan Li broke through, Jinming Peak became lively. First of all, a celebration was definitely needed. This was something Yao Sisi didn't need to do herself. She also had disciples, although these disciples were not taken in by her. Some were Qi Mu's personal disciples, and some were assigned from the sect's welcoming ceremonies over the past few decades.

Most of the disciples assigned here were ordinary inner disciples. Some were sent to her peak according to their spiritual root attributes. In fact, since she founded Jinming Peak, it hasn't been many years and she hasn't participated in sect allocations many times. There aren't many people on the peak, but even so, it's enough to hold a celebration.

For the next few days, the entire Jinming Peak was filled with joy. Although few people attended the sect's welcoming ceremony, many of the peak's members broke through to new heights. Take Yao Sisi, for example. To others, breaking through seemed as easy as drinking water, but she diligently broke through, consuming resources and a great deal of time. She was almost at the end of her lifespan, and some people only reached the Nascent Soul stage at hundreds or thousands of years old. How old was she? Some veteran Golden Core cultivators were even older than her.

Comparing yourself to others is infuriating.

The protagonist of this breakthrough is Zhi Xiu Yan Li. He had been cultivating in seclusion on Jinming Peak, and because he was trapped outside the sect when he was young, he did not have many friends. Logically speaking, his breakthrough should not have attracted too many people. People only knew about him because of Yao Sisi's gossip.

The sect has a large number of members, and where there are many people, there must be someone skilled in Yin and Yang and Bagua. There is no such thing as not believing or spreading rumors. Whenever Bagua appears, we must seriously gossip about it. We believe that the more outrageous and dramatic the Bagua is, the higher its circulation rate will be. For example, we don't even know where the version has been updated to.

However, these gossips are kept within the sect, and everyone knows that these public gossips are generally not reliable.

The power of gossip makes everyone very curious about Yan Li. You can tell from the crowd that gathered when he broke through. It's hard to say how many people really came to observe his breakthrough experience, or just to gossip and have fun.

Therefore, many people from the sect came to this celebration. Although most of them came out of respect for Yao Sisi, the master craftsman, especially because the crafting of the lightning tribulation-resistant magic weapon was so skillful that it was breathtaking. Who wouldn't want a few more lightning tribulation-resistant magic weapons if they wanted to ascend?

Anyone with a bit of ambition would want to take advantage of the celebration to build relationships, or at least rent something, which is better than being all alone and facing the calamity alone.

It all depends on human effort.

Golden Peak was decorated with lanterns and colorful streamers, creating a festive atmosphere. However, Yao Sisi was very distressed. She felt that since Yan Li's successful breakthrough, Qi Mu had been unable to control him. Originally, he was trapped in the back mountain not by choice, but by his own will. Now that his cultivation had improved, he was determined to get revenge and was always picking fights with Qi Mu.

Then Qi Mu came back to her place to hide for a while. Although he didn't say anything and just wanted some peace and quiet, it wasn't good for a man and woman to be alone together, and she still needed to find time to cultivate.

At first, Qi Mu could barely tolerate hiding like this, but later Yan Li found out that Qi Mu was hiding here, so he came too.

Yao Sisi: "..."

Isn't it a bit inappropriate for two men to be alone with one woman?

What are you all doing coming here all the time? She's about to ascend to heaven.

Cultivation, cultivation, cultivation—only cultivation can bring me happiness.

She focused on cultivation, especially since the nurtured flower umbrella was filled with lightning, carrying endless destructive power. She had to consume all of this lightning and use it to temper the umbrella body, transforming the violent energy into gentle energy, so that the magical artifact could be used again.

If it were someone else, it might take longer to nurture, but this was something she had refined herself, so the process was much faster than others.

In two or three years, she will be fully prepared and able to attempt the ascension tribulation.

Thinking about it, she became a little excited. Ascension! This was something she never dared to dream of in her previous life.

However, during the celebration, there were many outsiders coming and going on the mountain. Qi Mu and Yan Li often ran to her cave, and she had to receive guests from time to time. As a result, when people came, they saw two "beauties" residing in her cave. It was hard not to have some thoughts.

Yao Sisi: "..."

Does she even care about her reputation anymore?

Ascension is the only solution.

But because of her ascension, the two of them became even more clingy. Were they sticky bean buns in their past lives? Why do they like being so clingy?

Yao Sisi seemed like a cold-blooded monster whose emotions had been drained, yet the seeds of love stirred within her, even though she remained motionless.

After finishing the ceremony, she locked herself in her cave, not allowing anyone to disturb her. She set the cave's barrier to full defense, cutting off all contact with the outside world unless it was a matter of life and death.

She focused intently on nurturing the flower umbrella artifact, consuming the lightning energy within to refine its body. She slightly raised her hands, palms facing each other, and soft yet mysterious rays of light continuously flowed from her palms, slowly pouring into the flower umbrella.

The umbrella contains raging lightning energy, which, like a wild horse, rampages and causes great damage, making the initial nurturing and tempering process difficult.

With each surge of lightning energy, the surface of the umbrella shimmered with flickering electric light, accompanied by subtle crackling sounds. To make the umbrella even stronger, Yao Sisi gritted her teeth and guided the lightning energy within it little by little, trying to make it operate according to her will.

Time passed second by second. She sat motionless inside the cave, concentrating all her energy to carefully sense the flow of every bit of energy within the flower umbrella.

Fine beads of sweat gradually appeared on her forehead, sliding down her cheeks and wetting her clothes, but she was completely unaware of it.

When Yao Sisi emerged from seclusion again, it was two years later.

The flower umbrella has now been fully refined and is of a higher grade than before. Although its upper limit is limited by the materials, it is still extremely effective against the lightning tribulations of this world.

To make the umbrella even stronger, it needs to be forged with higher-grade materials. However, the materials used for the umbrella itself are already rare treasures in the world. To reach a higher level, one would have to ascend to the upper realm. Part of the umbrella was taken from Yan Li's original body material. She had no intention of taking it with her. Besides, as a plant cultivator, it was extremely difficult for Yan Li to undergo the tribulation of lightning. This umbrella could protect his life, so even if he failed to ascend, he would not perish.

After the flower umbrella was refined, Yao Sisi began to work on the ascension. However, she didn't know much about what would happen after ascension. But she was certain that she could take some things with her, so that she wouldn't ascend empty-handed after the tribulation.

Most things from the lower realm are not scarce in the upper realm. As long as you are willing to spend resources, you can basically buy them. However, resources are not easy to earn with your own hands. They need time to accumulate, and time is what cultivators lack most.

Yao Sisi was lucky; she was not too old after ascending to heaven, and had plenty of time. Others don't have that much lifespan to consume.

Yao Sisi plans to collect some resources from this world and bring them up, especially some special materials. When she integrates the materials from the upper world, her weapon-refining skills may greatly improve, and she may be able to create some famous weapons and make a name for herself. Even if she is only slightly famous, it will be easier to deal with resources in the future. With fame comes profit, and wouldn't it be great to have both fame and profit?

After leaving the pass, Yao Sisi did not return the flower umbrella. Instead, she assigned everyone the task of collecting materials, especially local specialties, which might fetch a good price in the upper realm.

Aside from that, she started refining artifacts again, this time specifically for cultivators at the Nascent Soul stage and above. She hardly needed any materials for the Golden Core stage, especially since she had already collected some decent growth-type materials from crafting natal magic treasures for Golden Core cultivators before. This time, she took the initiative to refine artifacts in order to collect materials.

When a weapon refiner crafts a magical artifact for someone, the other party will provide enough materials. Any leftover materials are the refiner's own. However, if even with enough materials, the artifact still cannot be crafted, then the refiner will have to compensate the other party.

Yao Sisi's reputation for weapon crafting had long been established; everyone in the sect knew her, and even people outside the sect came to visit her out of admiration.

This time, she had a very clear purpose in refining the weapon. Who she would refine it for depended entirely on what materials she needed. However, she would only say to outsiders that it depended on fate. She certainly couldn't say something that would offend people. Although she would soon ascend to immortality and most people in this world would no longer be of much concern to her, she still preferred to speak politely.

All weapon-refining masters have their pride and temper, which is inevitable. Outsiders are diverse, and just because you're nice doesn't mean everyone else will be. If she didn't have the strength to try, she would be captured and forced to refine weapons for others.

Having an eccentric temper, if done appropriately, can be a way to protect oneself.

Since she mostly stayed within the sect, the guests were usually very polite. Yao Sisi naturally didn't want to be the bad guy. She received guests every day, had brief conversations with them, and judged the magic weapons they were refining and the materials they needed. However, she wouldn't give a result immediately after the conversation, but would have her disciples write it down. If they didn't send a message to her within three days, then it was a missed opportunity.

This material collection has been going on for over a year, and Yao Sisi is determined to make sure that all the powerful cultivators in this world hear this news and have time to come over.

The results were also very encouraging. She indeed saw a lot of materials that she wouldn't normally see. It just goes to show how much good stuff these established forces have. They usually keep it hidden away, only revealing it when it involves themselves.

Yao Sisi took on the task of crafting over thirty magical artifacts, seven of which were designed to resist lightning tribulations, and the rest were all available. She also collected over a thousand rare materials. As a weapon refiner, she couldn't help but develop a professional habit when she saw good materials, and the more she looked at them, the more she liked them...

Yao Sisi admired the materials one by one like a fetishist, following her own pace completely, and then went into seclusion again.

This seclusion was mainly for refining magical artifacts. Two or three years passed before she finally sent out the message that the artifact was finished and waited for the other party to pick it up.

At this time, Yao Sisi was in very good condition. She did not work day and night to refine the magic weapon, nor did she need to rush the production schedule. After refining each magic weapon, she would rest for a few days to recuperate and go out for a walk.

She wasn't taking on so many orders to become a slave laborer; she just needed the materials and to hone her skills. Life is like crafting a weapon—only by striking a balance can one achieve perfect quality.

Once these magical artifacts were finished being crafted, Yao Sisi could finally relax and go into seclusion to await her ascension.

The future is truly full of possibilities.