Ascension?
Yun Qian raised her hand and flicked it lightly. A gust of wind swept through her sleeve, and the white fox vanished like smoke, its shimmering light dissipating into the air.
Lin Huaiyu wasn't annoyed by her actions; instead, he chuckled softly and let her do as she pleased. His black hair cascaded down his back, loosely held back with a single jade hairpin, a few strands falling over his shoulders, making his already exquisite face even more handsome and otherworldly. Especially his beautiful eyes, which were now fixed intently on Yun Qian, a glint of light seeming to flicker deep within them.
Inside the courtyard, the acrid aroma of medicine silently permeated the space between the two. Lin Huaiyu released a small amount of spiritual energy from his slender fingers, drawing a small stream of dark brown medicinal soup from the boiling pot, which lingered above his fingertips, remaining condensed and not dissipating.
Yun Qian frowned slightly, not understanding his meaning, and simply watched his actions quietly. It wasn't until she saw him put the medicinal soup into his mouth, his Adam's apple bobbing, and he swallowed it calmly that she froze, "You..."
Since she has already prepared the medicine here, it means she believes him. Why should he go to the trouble of proving it?
A faint smile appeared on Lin Huaiyu's lips, and his voice was gentle: "Yun Qian, you have your reasons for not trusting me, and I naturally have my reasons for having to prove myself." He paused, his gaze focusing more intently on her face, "If it weren't for you, I would have left on the second day of the Immortal Sect Competition."
A breeze blew by, ruffling the stray hairs on his forehead. His voice was clear and steady: "I've never liked watching those cultivators fight and vie for a hollow title." He looked at her and said, word by word, "I just couldn't help wanting to get closer to you the moment I saw you. I can't even find the reason myself."
“You can use me.” His words were shockingly blunt. “I’ll do whatever you want me to do.”
So don't be afraid of me.
Yun Qian gazed at him, and a taut string in her heart seemed to be gently plucked. She had to admit that, at least at this moment, Lin Huaiyu's eyes held only open sincerity, devoid of any falsehood. To gain his help would be to grasp the sharpest sword in the world. A person who inherited the power of the gods, whose cultivation was shrouded in mystery, was enough to allow her to achieve many things she had never dared to dream of before.
As her thoughts raced, Yun Qian raised her eyes, her clear, cold eyes looking directly at him. She parted her thin lips and uttered a name: "Si Li".
"You kill him for me."
"Okay." Lin Huaiyu's smile deepened, and he agreed without hesitation. He immediately got up, moving as quickly as if he were just going to pick a flower.
The next second, Yun Qian grabbed his sleeve. "I didn't tell you to go now," she said.
“We can do it now.” Lin Huaiyu turned around, her tone as casual as if she were discussing the weather. “Killing him is easy.”
Sili had already reached the Mahayana realm, practically a demigod, and his strength was beyond question. Yet Lin Huaiyu's nonchalant attitude only confirmed the unfathomable depth of his power. Yun Qian needed a more definitive answer, so she pressed, "Just what level has your true cultivation reached?"
Lin Huaiyu obediently stopped what he was doing and squatted down again, bringing his eyes to hers. The two were very close; Yun Qian could even see his long, thick eyelashes and her small reflection in his glassy eyes. He composed himself and answered seriously, "There is no end."
Inheriting the power of the gods, the next realm is the mysterious and profound ascension.
However, despite numerous legends throughout the centuries, no one has ever actually witnessed anyone ascending to heaven.
He was not the only one in the Nine-Tailed God Clan to successfully inherit divine power, but none of them truly broke through the void and ascended to godhood.
Those destined to ascend to godhood imprison themselves in secret realms for centuries, yet still achieve nothing. Therefore, Lin Huaiyu is not fixated on this; he believes that living freely in the present is far more tangible than pursuing the elusive goal of ascension. After all, even becoming a god is not necessarily a fortunate outcome.
Yun Qian nodded slightly.
The completion of the Mahayana stage marks the beginning of ascension. Lin Huaiyu, having reached this stage, failed to ascend. Has anyone in the Three Realms truly succeeded? The same question arose in her mind as Lin Huaiyu's. Perhaps it is precisely because of this unattainable endpoint that cultivators so frantically search for any possible path.
The rumors of the mysterious disappearances of the Cangmin Mountain sect leaders, coupled with the mountain's secluded and mysterious nature, led people to believe that the mountain held a secret method for ascension, and that all the Cangmin Mountain sect leaders had successfully ascended. This attracted countless greedy eyes and the so-called joint attack described in the book.
But Yun Qian knew very well that there was no such secret technique at Cangmin Mountain.
"Don't you want to ascend to heaven?" she couldn't help but ask.
Upon hearing this, Lin Huaiyu seemed to have heard something extremely interesting and chuckled softly, his laughter carrying a hint of mockery: "Ascension?" He shook his head, "Regardless of whether anyone in the Three Realms can truly ascend, the matter itself is utterly boring to me. Living freely and unrestrained is the proper way; why bother pursuing those illusory dreams?"
After laughing, his expression turned serious, and he asked in return, "Could it be true, as the rumors say, that there is a secret method for ascension within Cangmin Mountain, and that all the sect leaders of the past have already ascended? I am genuinely curious about that. Did they really ascend?"
Yun Qian met his gaze. In those excessively beautiful eyes, there was only pure curiosity, without a trace of greed or covetousness. He really was just curious.
She slowly shook her head, her voice calm: "No. At least, I don't know."
The Cangmin Mountain lineage has been passed down to this day, and only four of their disciples remain. If an ancestor truly ascended to immortality, surely he would have protected his disciples? How could it have fallen to such a state, with some dead, some injured, and others falling into the demonic path?
Rather than ascending to immortality, Yun Qian leaned towards a cruel conjecture: perhaps all the sect leaders of past generations had perished in that mysterious forbidden area behind the mountain. Naturally, she wouldn't reveal this thought to Lin Huaiyu.
“I knew it.” Lin Huaiyu said with an expression that said it all. “No one in this world can ascend.” He said with certainty, “Ascension is probably just another way of saying death.”
Yun Qian gazed at him, then spoke again, her voice tinged with a barely perceptible probing: "If... I mean if, there really is an ascension manual on Cangmin Mountain, would you want it?"
Lin Huaiyu turned his head, his gaze meeting hers again. His tone remained as casual as ever, yet beneath it lay an undeniable seriousness: "You don't need to test me. We, the Nine-Tailed Gods, have always relied solely on our own strength to ascend." He slightly raised his chin, displaying the innate arrogance of the Nine-Tailed Clan. "Know that the highest level of cultivation in this world will only be those destined by the Nine-Tailed Gods. If I wish to ascend, I will achieve it through my own abilities. Those external secret manuals are nothing but illusions." He paused, concluding, "Others' paths will ultimately remain theirs."
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