I get stronger every day I live.

Chapter 141 The Mystery of Ascension (Four Thousand)
"You stay, I have something to say."

Lai Yang immediately recognized Lan Qingxian's voice and stopped in his tracks, feeling puzzled.

Everyone else has left, what does Lan Qingxian mean by asking him to stay alone?
Just as Lai Yang was wondering what Lan Qingxian wanted to say to him, all the elders had already left the Immortal Peak.

After everyone left, Lan Qingxian and Lai Yang were the only ones left. Lan Qingxian then looked at Lai Yang and asked in a clear, cold and pleasant voice, "Do you know why I asked you to stay and talk?"

How would I know if you don’t tell me? I’m not a worm in your stomach, so how can I know what you’re thinking?

Lai Yang rolled his eyes secretly in his heart, feeling speechless. Riddler, get down here.

"Master, please speak frankly. I really don't know why you asked me to stay and talk to you. But what instructions do you have?" Lai Yang shook his head and said in confusion.

"I won't keep you in suspense. Do you know the path to immortality?"

"Path to Immortality?" Hearing these three words, Lai Yang's face showed a look of hesitation, then he shook his head and said, "I haven't heard of it."

"Since you don't know, I will tell you. The Path to Immortality is the most mysterious place in the Asking Immortal Continent. It is also a holy place pursued by countless immortal cultivators. Because the Path to Immortality hides a great opportunity to become an immortal, it opens once every thousand years."

"The opportunity to become an immortal? Sect Master means that the path to immortality can allow people to become immortals and ascend to heaven?"

"It's rumored that there's a passage to the upper realms on the Immortal Path. Now, the path to ascension on the Immortal Continent has been forcibly cut off by a powerful being. Surviving the tribulation and ascending to heaven has become a luxury. Only by ascending the Immortal Path can one truly become an immortal and find the ethereal and endless path to immortality."

Lai Yang caught a few key words in Lan Qingxian's words and was immediately startled. He asked in confusion, "The path to ascension on the Wenxian Continent was forcibly cut off by a powerful being? Why is this so?"

"This matter has puzzled countless people, and I, too, am puzzled." Lan Qingxian shook his head, stood up, hands behind his back, and gazed into the sky. "Three thousand years ago, after the last group of predecessors who transcended the tribulation and ascended to heaven left, the path to ascension was cut off. Some saw the path forcibly cut off midway, using unknown means. That path became an insurmountable chasm for countless cultivators who transcended the tribulation and ascended to heaven. Even if they could cross the chasm, without a section of the ascension path, the tempering of the immortal body could not be perfected, which would inevitably leave a huge hidden danger for the immortal body of the cultivator."

Lan Qingxian sighed softly, a look of obsession appeared on his face, and his voice was a little heavy:
"Throughout history, countless people have ascended to the heavens, yet not a single one has returned to the lower realms."

"No one knows what happened after they ascended, or what's in the upper realm. Are they unable to return, or are they unwilling to return?"

"Three thousand years ago, my master was one of the last people to ascend from the Wenxian Continent. She was also the leader of the Wenxian Sect the generation before her. My master was one of the strongest of her generation. However, after ascending, she left us with only one word: escape!"

Listening to Lan Qingxian's calm narration, Lai Yang felt inexplicably heavy in his heart: "Escape?"

"Yes, escape. Master only left us this word. She never sent back a single word of news."

"I have never understood what Master meant. Escape? Where does she want us to escape to, and why? Over the years, I have searched for Master's traces in the Asking Immortal Continent but have not found even a single answer. Perhaps the true answer lies after Ascension."

Lan Qingxian said in a deep voice.

Lai Yang hesitated for a moment, and a horrifying possibility came to his mind.

After all, his soul is not a native of this world, and he has read many novels with fantasy and immortal cultivation settings.

If the situation was really what he imagined, then for the cultivators in the Wenxian Continent, it would be the beginning of a hellish collapse.

"Master, have you ever thought about the possibility that ascension might be a complete scam?" Lai Yang couldn't help but speak.

Lan Qingxian's pretty face froze. She turned to look at Lai Yang and asked in a deep voice, "Why do you say that? Tell me what you think."

"Instead of speaking, I'd better give you an analogy. Please wait for me for a moment. I will be back soon."

Having said that, Lai Yang quickly turned and left, as if he was looking for something.

Lan Qingxian didn't understand what Lai Yang was trying to say, but she didn't urge him. Instead, she waited quietly for Lai Yang to give his explanation.

At the same time, Lan Qingxian's heart was in a mess.

Lai Yang's words just now fell on her heart like a bolt from the blue. Although she couldn't believe that ascension was a so-called scam, she couldn't get rid of the distracting thoughts in her mind.

A moment later, Lai Yang returned to Lan Qingxian's residence on the fairy peak.

Lan Qingxian saw a tall wooden box in his hand.

There were many ants in the square wooden box, and a spider was perched on the top of the box. The spider had woven a dense web at the exit of the box, almost completely blocking the ants' way out.

The moment he saw the insect box, a flash of enlightenment seemed to pass through Lan Qingxian's mind, and then he felt his heart unstable, his emotions fluctuated violently, and even his cold and beautiful face couldn't help revealing a hint of fear.

Seeing Lan Qingxian's reaction, Lai Yang knew that she understood what he wanted to say.

However, Lai Yang patiently explained, "If the entire Wenxian Continent is compared to a box, then we are the ants living inside it, and the four sides of the box are the hardships we must endure to ascend. But the ants don't know that what awaits them after ascending isn't freedom, nor a wider world, but... a complete hunting scam designed to select the strongest and most juicy prey. If the strongest ants try to escape the box that traps them, they will die and become food for the hunters."

That’s right, this is the darkest and most desperate ascension setting in the world of immortal cultivation.

This was just a simple metaphor, but in fact, if it were true, there would definitely not be only one hunter after the ascension.

It will inevitably be a huge force that is impossible to resist.

Lan Qingxian's pretty face turned pale. "What evidence do you have?"

Lai Yang shook his head and said helplessly, "I was just saying it casually. Ultimately, this is just an extreme assumption. Perhaps there's nothing behind the ascension. It's just that for some reason, those who ascend can no longer return to the lower realms, and the ascension path being cut off was just an accident. The word your master sent back might just be something she didn't have time to finish. It's just a single word. If you don't understand it based on the objective situation, there are many possibilities."

"The theory I've proposed is merely an extreme version of this. But if we don't pursue a freer and more expansive world, and instead restrain our inner desires, living comfortably like an ant under a wooden box, isn't that a kind of happiness?"

"When there are abundant and more delicious prey, the ants living at the bottom will not be in any danger, and this world has never lacked strong ones."

"And the reason why some people cut off the path to ascension might be because they witnessed everything firsthand and made a desperate move to prevent more of their compatriots from falling into this ascension scam."

Lai Yang explained calmly.

The most despairing thing about this setting is that with limited resources, no matter how powerful the ants become, they are still just ants after all, and they can never escape from the box.

Unless there is forced intervention from external forces, such as... a time traveler with his own system.

Lan Qingxian clenched her fists slightly, feeling extremely uneasy.

"Master, don't take it seriously. I was just talking nonsense. I just tend to assume the worst."

Suddenly, Lai Yang changed the subject and wiped away the wooden box and the insects and ants.

Lan Qingxian already regarded the ants in the box as people from the Wenxian Continent, and Lai Yang's actions were tantamount to telling her.

Ants and spiders were nothing; their fates were controlled by the person behind the scenes. Lai Yang could wipe them out with a single thought. Lan Qingxian took a deep breath, her chest rising and falling noticeably. She needed time to process and reflect. She immediately waved her hand and ordered him to leave: "You should go back first. I need to practice in seclusion for a while. Please do not disturb me."

"You're letting me go now? You haven't told me what you want me to do yet, Sect Master." Lai Yang reminded.

"I'm not in the mood right now. Let's talk about it later. Get out."

As soon as she finished speaking, Lan Qingxian waved her hand and Lai Yang's figure was immediately teleported out of the fairy peak.

"This bastard actually dared to destroy my Dao heart." Lan Qingxian murmured coldly.

If Lan Qingxian's Dao heart had not been firm enough, after Lai Yang's analysis, someone with a weaker mind would probably have had their Dao heart shattered on the spot and their realm dropped.

Lan Qingxian simply drove Lai Yang out and didn't give him a severe lesson, which was already considered very good.

She never imagined that her original intention was to ask Lai Yang's opinion and invite him to join her in the upcoming road to immortality to seek opportunities.

Now that she heard what he said, how could she concentrate on her cultivation?

According to Lai Yang's idea, the stronger one is, the faster one will die.

Of course, it was impossible for her to give up.

If they lost their strength, if a disaster struck one day as Lai Yang said, people with weak cultivation would not even be able to protect themselves.

She would never let others decide her fate.

On the other side, after Lai Yang left Xianfeng, he kept thinking about what Lan Qingxian said.

The road to ascension was blocked by someone. The previous generation leader of the Wenxian Sect left a message of escape, and the road to ascension opened once every thousand years.

Hearing so much explosive news all of a sudden made him feel a sense of crisis again.

Lai Yang said those words to Lan Qingxian, but he also said them to himself.

He originally thought that this was a normal world of cultivating immortals, but he never expected such a thing to happen.

There are people who never come back after ascending, the ascension path that has been cut off, and the immortal path that hides the way to the upper realm.

If no one has ever ascended and returned, then who spread the news of this supposedly hidden path to the immortal realm? And what was their purpose?
The first thought that came to Lai Yang's mind was that someone was deliberately spreading the news in order to set up a trap to lure more people into the path to immortality.

So what if the road to ascension is blocked? There are many ways to select high-quality ingredients. Wouldn't it be more convenient and simple to trick people into fighting on the road to ascension?

As long as the cultivators still have the desire for immortality, they will never stop pursuing immortality, even if it means their death.

Because of this, this is an unsolvable deadlock that cannot be stopped at all.

Don't say that Lai Yang doesn't know whether this is the truth or not.

Even if he put the truth in front of others, they would not believe what he said.

In order to become an immortal, many people would resort to any despicable, dirty and mean means.

You risk the wrath of the world by telling people that ascension is a complete scam, cutting off people's path to immortality and destroying their Taoism. You will probably be caught on the spot and refined in an instant, and become mortal enemies with countless people who are cultivating immortality.

For the next two days, Lan Qingxian went into seclusion to reflect on life.

Lai Yang entered the Collection Pavilion of the Wenxian Sect, looking for various information about the ascension of past generations and the path to immortality.

However, there is very little information recorded about ascension, and most of it is completely useless.

The records about the road to immortality are full of mystery. They describe the various dangers within the road, but most of them are information about the outer areas.

For example, there is a road paved with bones that will corrode people's souls, strange flames, and unknown creatures hiding in the fog that hunt cultivators.

There was no information about the depths of the road to immortality. All we knew was that there was a dangerous forest blocking everyone's way.

Those who entered the forest never returned, just like those who disappeared completely after ascending.

The Road to Immortality is the largest forbidden zone for life in the entire Wenxian Continent, but it is also a holy place that countless people dream of.

Because most of those who can come out alive from the road to immortality have broken through the seventh realm or above, becoming giants in the contemporary world of immortal cultivation, and are respected and worshipped.

And this is only the benefit that the opportunities in the outer area of ​​the road to immortality bring to everyone. It is conceivable that there are opportunities to become immortals in the depths, so how can people doubt it.

The road to immortality is right before your eyes, emitting endless and fatal temptations. If you successfully step on it, you can reach the sky in one step. How can countless chosen ones resist the urge in their hearts and not want to take a gamble?

After reading all the records about ascension and the path to immortality, although Lai Yang did not get much useful information, he at least confirmed one thing.

And it's a good thing.

That is, although the road to immortality is dangerous, it does contain countless powerful opportunities, and as long as you don't commit suicide by rushing into the deep forest, there is a chance that you will come out alive.

In addition, it has been tens of thousands of years since the founding of the Wenxian Sect, and many major events have occurred in the Wenxian Continent during this period, but there has not been any invasion from the upper realm or any terrible catastrophe. Strictly speaking, these are all internal strife issues within the Wenxian Continent.

This means that Lai Yang doesn't have to worry about being eaten like a leek by some mysterious powerful being from the upper realm one day if he keeps hiding.

It's really something to be happy about.

Including the time he traveled to this world, he had been practicing for only a hundred years at most, and his physical body had already reached the Tribulation Crossing Realm.

If he were given tens of thousands of years to develop, even if an immortal were to descend, he could kill a large number of people with just one fart.

For a moment, Lai Yang couldn't help but feel much more at peace.

Then he left the Wenxian Sect's Collection Pavilion and returned to Yuanyang Mountain to continue his peaceful and ordinary life of cultivating immortals.

Pay attention to the growth of the Yuanyang Fruit Forest every day, ensure the normal operation of the formation, and then arrange people to work and practice and develop slowly.

(End of this chapter)