The Ascension Assembly

Chapter 134: The Ascension Assembly

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“What is this ‘Ascension Assembly at the Heavenly Mist Terrace’?” Wu Jiuzhi suddenly asked, voicing the question that had also been lingering in Han Li’s mind.

Han Li had heard the term “Ascension Assembly” several times now, starting with Wan Xiaoshan, but he had never had the chance to learn its details. Could it be another trading fair like the Tainan Gathering? he wondered to himself.

“No way! You don’t even know about the Ascension Assembly? This is the best opportunity the young cultivators of Yue have once every ten years to enter a major immortal sect.” Heimu looked surprised but also excited.

“Brother Wu is so young; he must have been cultivating in seclusion all this time. It’s understandable that he hasn’t heard of it.” The blue-patterned Daoist was not alarmed.

“Oh? Can you tell us about it? Being able to join one of the seven great sects—that’s a leap to heaven!” Wu Jiuzhi’s interest was immediately piqued, and he pressed Heimu for more.

“Now is not the time to discuss the Ascension Assembly. The matter of our missing rogue cultivators is what we should be discussing now.” Hu Pinggu said this with some displeasure, though it was unclear whether she was targeting the young man.

“It’s fine. Telling Brother Wu a bit about it might help. There may be others here who are not entirely clear on the details of the Ascension Assembly as well.” The blue-patterned Daoist spoke with a smile, but Han Li felt that the man had deliberately glanced in his direction.

Han Li’s heart tightened. Has this blue-patterned Daoist seen through me? He had tried his best to blur the traits of a novice cultivator and had avoided contact with these people as much as possible, but it seemed he hadn’t fooled this man. This blue-patterned Daoist really has sharp eyes.

“Since the Blue-Patterned Daoist says so, I’ll tell Brother Wu about it.” Seeing this, Heimu’s spirits rose, and he seemed eager to speak.

Thus, everyone sat back down in their original seats, with the exception of the fat man Huang Xiaotian.

“I know everything there is to know about the Ascension Assembly. I’ll go back to sleep now. You all continue.” The fat man said this coldly, and without waiting for anyone to respond, he left the room, leaving the rest staring at each other in bewilderment.

“Please don’t mind him. Brother Huang’s cultivation method is quite peculiar; he tends to be very sleepy. He didn’t mean any offense!” The blue-patterned Daoist quickly spoke up, his face full of righteous intent, making excuses for Huang Xiaotian.

Upon hearing this, most of the people in the room smiled wryly. Mind him? Who would dare? That man’s magic power is even stronger than the Daoist’s!

The atmosphere in the room became somewhat awkward.

“Brother Heimu, please continue!” Wu Jiuzhi broke the silence, urging him on.

Heimu chuckled and began his explanation again.

“Speaking of the Ascension Assembly, one cannot avoid mentioning the Foundation Establishment Pill. This is the pill that drives all Qi Condensation cultivators mad…”

It turned out that for any Qi Condensation cultivator who wished to enter the Foundation Establishment stage and become a true member of the immortal cultivation world, besides cultivating their basic techniques to the seventh layer, they absolutely had to consume the miraculous pill “Foundation Establishment Pill,” which could only be refined by the great sects. Only then was there hope of breaking through the stage’s bottleneck and successfully establishing their foundation.

This earned the Foundation Establishment Pill the fine reputation of being the “Ascension Pill,” driving cultivators to madness over it.

Even within the great immortal sects, Foundation Establishment Pills were extremely scarce.

The reason was that the ingredients for the Foundation Establishment Pill were incredibly difficult to find. Even if all the immortal sects of Yue joined forces, contributing both manpower and resources, it would still take a full decade for them to produce a few batches—a mere thousand or so pills.

Even if these pills were divided exclusively among the sects, they would still be far from sufficient to meet their own needs. Thus, it was absolutely impossible for any Foundation Establishment Pills to make their way outside.

However, throughout the entire immortal cultivation world of Yue, there were many cultivators who had already reached the seventh layer of basic techniques. These people urgently needed Foundation Establishment Pills to attempt a bottleneck breakthrough.

On one hand, Foundation Establishment Pills were extremely scarce and completely controlled by the great sects; on the other hand, the number of rogue cultivators seeking Foundation Establishment Pills was growing larger and larger, yet they could not find a single pill in the outside world. This created a sharp contradiction between the two groups, and for a time, it made the angered low-level cultivators deeply hostile toward these sects.

The leaders of the great immortal sects naturally sensed this dangerous trend, but for a time, they could find no solution. After all, they themselves did not have enough Foundation Establishment Pills; how could they possibly give any to those outside the sects?

But there is no problem under heaven that cannot be solved. In the end, a genius from one of the sects came up with a solution.

He devised a plan: whenever a batch of Foundation Establishment Pills was produced, a selection of talented rogue cultivators from the outside world would be chosen to join the great sects, and then the pills would be given to them.

This way, the Foundation Establishment Pills would not flow out of the sects—keeping the benefits within the family—while also alleviating the dissatisfaction of other low-level cultivators. After all, who among these cultivators would not be overjoyed at the chance to join a great immortal sect? Additionally, it allowed the sects to pick out talented disciples. It was truly a win-win-win situation.

Naturally, the selection method had to be fair and just, leaving no room for criticism, or it would produce the opposite effect.

Thus, the sects adopted the most classic and convincing method—the law of the jungle. They held arena matches, allowing those with superior strength to earn the qualification to join their sects.

The seven great sects each set aside ten disciple slots and ten Foundation Establishment Pills to award to the final victors.

Of course, they imposed an age restriction, refusing to accept anyone over forty years old. Even if such people were talented, they had no further cultivation potential.

And so, the “Ascension Assembly” was born.

Those who emerged victorious in the arena were indeed mostly the ones with the deepest magic power and the best aptitude—true talents. The immortal sects that obtained these excellent disciples were overjoyed.

As for the resentment of other cultivators, it vanished with the establishment of this assembly. All their attention was now focused on this once-in-a-decade opportunity to leap through the dragon’s gate.

The Ascension Assembly continued edition after edition, and each time, seventy lucky individuals became disciples of the seven great sects, driving even more cultivators into a frenzy.

In the end, almost every Qi Condensation cultivator of appropriate age who believed they were strong enough would desperately try to challenge the arena a few times, hoping to strike it lucky and transform from a fish into a dragon.

But the arena was not so easy to fight in. After all, these low-level cultivators did not have perfect control over their spells. Each time, many were injured or killed, and the battles often sowed deep grudges between the participants.

Heimu spoke for nearly an hour, and Wu Jiuzhi listened with great interest, feeling he had gained a lot. Han Li, who had been listening alongside, also benefited greatly, gaining a deeper understanding of the immortal cultivation world.

“If I successfully challenge the arena, won’t I become a formal disciple of a great sect?” Wu Jiuzhi’s face was filled with longing after hearing the tale.

“Dream on. A guy like you wants to fight in the arena? At best, you’ll be injured; at worst, you’ll die.” Hu Pinggu couldn’t help but mock him after hearing his daydream.

“Oh? Why not? I’ve reached the eighth layer. Isn’t that enough to qualify?” Wu Jiuzhi, surprisingly, didn’t get angry. Instead, he seriously asked Hu Pinggu for advice.

Hu Pinggu looked slightly surprised, but after hesitating for a moment, she replied:

“Little Wu, do you know what kind of people the seventy victors from last year’s assembly were? And how many cultivators at your level died or were injured in the arena?”

“I ask for your guidance, Madam Hu!” Wu Jiuzhi said earnestly.

“I witnessed the entire battle for supremacy at that Ascension Assembly with my own eyes. Even now, the memory fills me with lingering fear.” Hu Pinggu seemed to recall something terrifying, and her face paled.

Seeing this, her bearded husband quickly placed a hand on her shoulder to comfort her. Hu Pinggu turned to look deeply at him, and her expression softened.

“We, a couple, have no intention of participating in the arena matches. We only plan to go and watch. We’ll spend the rest of our lives in the Qi Condensation stage. But since you still have ambition, I’ll tell you a few things about the dangers of the arena, so you don’t die without knowing why.” Hu Pinggu said flatly.

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(End of Chapter)