Chapter 15: Ascension

Tai Ming, Ying Hua, Jin Xiong, Cang Huang, Qing Long, Tu Long, and Shui Long, these seven, jointly governed the Three Cauldrons Sect and managed all affairs in the cultivation world.

The first step was to strictly restrict cultivators on various planets from leaving their homes. As a result, every cultivator at the Yuan Ying stage or above was given a Soul Card. The Soul Card served as an identity card for each cultivator, containing their unique soul imprint—something absolutely unique in the cultivation world. Any cultivator at the Yuan Ying stage or above could use teleportation to leave their planet and travel to other planets through the stars. With the Soul Card, it was possible to determine whether a cultivator had obtained permission from the Three Cauldrons Sect to go to another planet; those who left without permission were executed on the spot.

Cultivators on each planet were thus brought under strict control.

The second step involved collecting all cultivation techniques, ranking them by quality, and making them publicly available to everyone. At the same time, the Three Cauldrons Sects on various planets widely promoted the deeds of Qu Yi, portraying him as an invincible symbol. Gradually, both mortals and cultivators on these planets began to worship Qu Yi.

The third step saw the Three Cauldrons Sects on each planet catalog all those in the Qi Attraction stage, Foundation Building stage, Golden Core stage, Yuan Ying stage, Outward Emergence stage, Divination stage, Fusion stage, and Tribulation stage. They strictly divided the planets into zones, with cultivators of each level practicing in their respective zones. As their cultivation improved, they would move to other zones. During this process, those who did not worship Qu Yi were executed, making it clear to all cultivators that only by believing in Qu Yi could they continue cultivating.

The fourth step was that when cultivators needed resources as their cultivation advanced, they either went to cities near the Three Cauldrons Towers to purchase them or traded at merchant alliances. In both places, specialists would assess whether the cultivator truly believed in Qu Yi from the bottom of their heart. Only those who believed in Qu Yi could obtain resources; otherwise, they would be secretly killed.

These four steps were completed within ten years. By then, a strong atmosphere had emerged throughout the cultivation world: only by believing in Qu Yi could one cultivate. Mortals who obtained cultivation techniques and embarked on the path of cultivation, filled with gratitude, easily came to believe in Qu Yi. Even those who had already been cultivating were forced to believe in Qu Yi under immense pressure.

Once an atmosphere of belief in Qu Yi was established, belief itself became a habit. Once accustomed to it, people naturally continued to believe in him.

Over the past ten years, Qu Yi’s true self had spent time traveling with Bai Man across various realms in the cultivation world, while his five avatars continued to practice relentlessly in the Flower Valley of Liupan Star. Now, Qu Yi’s true self sensed something and used the Boundless Stars to return directly to the Flower Valley. Under five giant inverted bell flowers, Qu Yi’s five avatars sat firm as rocks. Suddenly, the Fire Lord opened his eyes, and a wave of heat surged through the surrounding space; it seemed as though all the spiritual energy in the world had been transformed by the primal energy of fire. “True self, I have grasped the power of fire, the primal energy of fire,” said the Fire Lord, smiling faintly at Qu Yi, who had just arrived. There are six primal energies of fire: the power of warmth, the power of heat, the power of ascent, the power of soaring, the power of explosion, and the power of splitting. Over the years, the Fire Lord had used the Star Luo Ding to become familiar with various materials for crafting, and by creating the Three Cauldron Tower and the Soul Compass, he had mastered the control of vital energy with great skill and familiarity. Thus, he was the first to comprehend one of these primal energies—namely, the power of heat, which he knew best. Qu Yi’s true self nodded with a smile, then his expression turned serious. It turned out that he suddenly sensed that the chaotic energy in his dantian had divided into five regions, with one of those regions’ chaotic energy expanding like heat. The power of fire that the Fire Lord had grasped seemed to be connected to the chaotic energy within Qu Yi’s true self. “Haha, Qu Yi, it seems that from now on, your cultivation will simply involve observing changes. As long as your five avatars achieve success in their practice, corresponding changes will occur within you,” said the Artifact God, who had remained silent for a long time. Qu Yi’s true self was surprised but soon smiled. Previously, he had been very worried about not having any techniques to cultivate chaotic energy or any experience to rely on. Now, he no longer needed to worry—once his five avatars succeeded in their practice, his true self would ascend automatically. “Fire Lord, thank you for your hard work,” said Qu Yi’s true self with a faint smile. The Fire Lord nodded and sat back down, stabilizing the power of heat he had just grasped. … Another year passed, and the Gold Lord also opened his eyes, then smiled faintly: “I have grasped the power of sharpness.” There are six primal energies of gold: the power of firmness, the power of sharpness, the power of solemnity, the power of pressure, the power of restraint, and the power of convergence. Naturally, Qu Yi’s true self, who was sitting nearby, also sensed the five regions of chaotic energy in his dantian. In one of those regions, the chaotic energy spun rapidly like a sharp blade.

In the following year, Earth Lord, Wood Lord, and Water Lord also successively grasped the primal forces. Earth Lord understood the force of bearing; Wood Lord understood the force of yielding; Water Lord understood the force of moistening. Within Qu Yi’s true body’s dantian space, the five regions formed by chaotic energy now exhibited five distinct forms, corresponding to the forces of sharpness, yielding, moistening, heat, and bearing. Once all five avatars had mastered the primal forces, Qu Yi’s true body immediately noticed that his soul realm soared dramatically. The once ethereal and mysterious soul within his soul space seemed to take shape, resembling the outline of a flower. His soul had indeed formed the shape of a flower. Moreover, this flower did not resemble the shape of the Soul-Embracing Flower’s core; instead, it was a uniformly distributed, dignified, and solemn floral form. His soul realm had reached perfection, and Qu Yi immediately realized that he would ascend in one month. Ascension was related to the soul realm—once perfection was achieved, one would be sensed by some hidden rule, and then an attracting force would propel the cultivator to a higher world. … In the Flower Valley, many people had already gathered. Those close to Qu Yi, such as Bai Man, Qu Hanxin, Wu Yuan, Mu Han, Golden Qilin, and Illusory Dancing Butterfly. High-ranking members of the Three Tripod Gate, like Tai Ming, Ying Hua, Jin Xiong, Cang Huang, Blue Dragon, Earth Dragon, Water Dragon, and Wei Yan, as well as some elders at the Tribulation stage from the Three Tripod Gate. Old acquaintances from Tianhua Star, such as Sky-Tone Insect, Ice-Blood Ant, Three-Tail Dragon, Dong Qing, Dong De, Yan Ren, Qing Chuan, Shi Jue, and Leng Yu; those under Qu Yi’s control, like Silver-Faced Howling Dog, Blue Dragon, Li Heng, Shuo Bai, Liang Qu, Shuo Shang, Shuo Rui, and Shuo Xu; the three thousand cultivators from the Three Tripod Gate who initially followed Qu Yi on Tianfeng Star, as well as those from the Li, Wang, and Zhang families whom Qu Yi had saved. Everyone came to bid farewell to Qu Yi, knowing that he would ascend to the immortal realm and leave the cultivation world today. “Wu Qing, Wu Yuan, you two are already in the later stage of tribulation. Keep practicing hard. I will go to the Demon Realm and Fiend Realm to find you later.” “Golden Qilin, Illusory Dancing Butterfly, as husband and wife, you must take charge of the Three Tripod Gate and manage it well, so that everyone in the cultivation world will worship me.” “Hanxin, after I leave, stay by your mother’s side and never let her worry, remember that.” “Tai Ming, Ying Hua, Jin Xiong, Cang Huang, Blue Dragon, Earth Dragon, Water Dragon, Wei Yan, help Golden Qilin run the Three Tripod Gate together. Once my cultivation reaches the level of Heavenly Immortal, I will lift the shackles from your souls.”

“Great, your cultivation level has advanced again. You’ll surely be on the list of Three Cauldrons Sect’s experts from now on.”
“Friends, I’ll head to the Immortal Realm ahead of you. Let’s meet again in the upper realms someday.” ……
Qu Yi said these words to each person who came to see him off.
Everyone wore a sad expression, staring at Qu Yi tightly, unwilling to see him ascend and leave.
Of course, the one who was most reluctant to part with Qu Yi was Bai Man.
After saying goodbye to everyone, Qu Yi went over to Bai Man, took her hand, and looked at the crowd with a smile. “Everyone, before ascending, I need to say something to my wife. Please give us some privacy.”
Hehe…
Qu Yi’s words immediately dispelled the somber atmosphere and sparked understanding laughter.
Everyone flew away, leaving only Bai Man by Qu Yi’s side.
Qu Yi gazed at Bai Man affectionately, while Bai Man stared at his face, her eyes already filled with tears.
“Qu Yi, I’m worried leaving you to go to the Immortal Realm alone,” Bai Man said softly, her voice tinged with sorrow.
At that moment, memories of their past flashed through Bai Man’s mind—starting from the Cui Mu Planet’s Immortal Cloud Sect, where they were fellow disciples; going to the Misty Demon Mountains together; avenging their sect’s destruction; leaving Cui Mu Planet to explore Tian Feng Planet; and wandering across various places in the cultivation world.
The joy and happiness they shared, as well as the longing and worry when separated, filled Bai Man’s thoughts.
Qu Yi touched Bai Man’s face, smoothed her hair, and continued to gaze at her deeply, as if trying to engrave every detail of her face in his soul forever.
Suddenly, Qu Yi looked into Bai Man’s eyes and said seriously, “Bai Man, I used to call you ‘sister’. Now that I’m about to leave, I want to call your name properly for once.”
“Mm…” Bai Man trembled, more tears welling in her eyes.
Qu Yi hugged her tightly and then said, “Bai Man, I’ve always wanted to say something to you. Now is the time.”
Suddenly, Qu Yi released Bai Man, raised his hands to the sky, and pushed. A golden light column appeared in the air—the guiding light had arrived.
Qu Yi stepped into the light column, keeping his eyes on Bai Man as he smiled and said, “Bai Man, I love you.”
As soon as he finished speaking, the light column vanished, and Qu Yi disappeared.
Tears streamed down Bai Man’s face as she collapsed to the ground.
Episode 10: Ascending to the Immortal Realm