Volume 1, Chapter 190 – Dragonsoar’s Scheme

This was no deliberate show of force. With nine Immortal Ascension experts gathered in one place, their Dao Resonance and auras naturally intertwined and collided, creating a field of their own.

An ordinary Tribulation Transcendence cultivator would probably have struggled even to remain standing here.

The same languid smile played on Empress Qingxuan’s lips, and she carried herself with the ease of someone returning home.

Empress Lingshuang’s expression remained cool and aloof. She calmly met the gazes directed at her from every side, her eyes lingering briefly on the Desolate God in particular.

Gu Han remained perfectly composed, her calm gaze sweeping over everyone in the hall.

At last, her eyes settled on Sovereign Longteng and Sacred Lord Yaoguang atop the raised dais, and she inclined her head in greeting.

“Please forgive me for failing to welcome you properly after your long journey, Fellow Daoists.”

Sovereign Longteng was the first to speak. His voice was warm and mellow, as pleasant as a spring breeze, yet it carried the natural authority of an emperor.

“You are too courteous, Fellow Daoist Longteng.”

Empress Qingxuan replied with a soft laugh,

“It is my honor to receive an invitation from the Sovereign.”

Empress Lingshuang also inclined her head slightly.

“Since the Sovereign extended an invitation, I naturally had to attend.”

Gu Han remained calm, neither deferential nor arrogant.

“You flatter me, Sovereign. It is my good fortune to take part in such a grand gathering.”

“Please, take your seats.”

Sovereign Longteng raised a hand toward the three vacant jade seats.

Empress Qingxuan headed naturally to the right and took the empty seat beside Venerable Baiyun.

Empress Lingshuang went to the left instead, taking the vacant seat above the Desolate God. That was her designated place.

After a moment’s consideration, Gu Han walked to the last vacant seat on the right and sat beside Empress Qingxuan.

With that, all ten Immortal Ascension experts publicly known on the Canglan Continent had assembled!

Central Province: Sovereign Longteng, Sacred Lord Yaoguang, and Old Man Tianji.

Eastern Region: Empress Qingxuan and Venerable Baiyun.

Western Region: Buddha Lord Wufa and Demon Lord Wutian.

Northern Region: Empress Lingshuang and the Desolate God.

Southern Region: the Yaochi Empress.

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All ten Immortal Ascension experts had gathered in the Central Province. Such a sight had rarely been witnessed in tens of thousands of years.

The atmosphere in the hall was solemn and grave.

Whether intentionally or not, everyone’s gaze lingered on Gu Han for an extra moment.

This newly ascendant Yaochi Empress had risen to prominence under a veil of mystery.

Her strength was unfathomable, and rumors even claimed that she possessed a supreme treasure suspected of being a quasi-immortal artifact.

“Now that everyone is here, let us begin!”

Sovereign Longteng spoke slowly, his voice carrying throughout the great hall.

“As you all know, the Canglan Continent’s path to ascension was severed eight hundred thousand years ago.”

“Over the years, countless peerless geniuses have found themselves trapped in the Immortal Ascension realm. In the end, their lifespans ran out, and they dissolved into the Dao.”

As he spoke, the atmosphere in the hall grew heavier.

The severing of the path to immortality was the greatest weight pressing upon the hearts of every pinnacle expert on the Canglan Continent.

No matter how peerless one’s brilliance or how one’s might shook an entire region, after a hundred thousand years, one would still become a handful of dust and return to heaven and earth.

Every one of them had reached this point through exceptional talent, opportunity, and strength of character.

Yet when faced with that elusive “path to immortality,” they felt just as powerless.

“I have devoted tens of thousands of years to exhausting every avenue, consulting countless ancient texts and secret records, and exploring numerous ancient ruins. In the end, I arrived at one conclusion…”

Sovereign Longteng’s voice rang out once more.

“The Canglan Continent’s path to immortality was not severed for any other reason.”

“Rather, the Great Dao laws of this world became incomplete in some way. Or, to put it differently, the Heavenly Dao fell into slumber.”

“As a result, the final gate of ascension could no longer open as it should. Or perhaps… it was forcibly closed.”

The moment he said this, shock filled everyone’s eyes.

According to ancient legend, the path to immortality had been severed during a battle between unknown mighty experts.

Yet now Sovereign Longteng was claiming that something had gone wrong with the Heavenly Dao of this world?

How could the others not be shocked?

“The Great Dao is incomplete? The Heavenly Dao is asleep?”

After a long silence, Buddha Lord Wufa was the first to ask,

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“Do you have evidence for this claim, Sovereign?”

“Naturally.”

Sovereign Longteng nodded.

“Think back, if you would. Since the path to immortality was severed, has there ever been a true ‘lightning tribulation’?”

Everyone fell into contemplation at his words.

Lightning tribulations were the ordeals and baptisms sent down by the Heavenly Dao whenever cultivators defied heaven and broke through to a higher realm.

Yet on closer consideration, aside from the lightning tribulations cultivators above the Void Return realm underwent when breaking through, those below Void Return essentially never faced heavenly tribulations at all.

“This may appear to be a good thing, but it is actually a sign that, after the Heavenly Dao fell dormant, the laws of heaven and earth ceased to function properly and weakened in power.”

Sovereign Longteng spoke gravely. “That is the first point.”

“Second,”

he continued,

“I once discovered half of a damaged stone inscription within an ancient secret realm. What little remained vaguely recorded…”

“that this world had once suffered a ‘Calamity of the Great Dao,’ and it was for that reason that the path to immortality disappeared.”

“A Calamity of the Great Dao?”

Venerable Baiyun frowned slightly.

“Sovereign, where is that inscription now? Could you allow us to examine it?”

Sovereign Longteng shook his head.

“The inscription crumbled to dust moments after it appeared. I had time to record only a few scattered fragments.”

At this explanation, doubt flickered in the eyes of several people.

“Longteng,”

Demon Lord Wutian rasped, his scarlet eyes gleaming,

“you’ve talked in circles long enough. What exactly are you trying to say?”

“Could it be that you’ve found a way to reopen the path to immortality?”

Everyone’s attention focused on Sovereign Longteng once more.

Meeting their gazes, Sovereign Longteng slowly nodded and answered with absolute certainty,

“Indeed!”

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“I believe that since the Heavenly Dao of this world suffered some form of trauma, causing the path to immortality to close,”

“then if we wish to reopen it, our only choice is to join forces and ‘mend the heavens’!”

“Mend the heavens?!”

The Desolate God’s voice boomed like a great bell, filled with disbelief.

“How? And with what? Longteng, surely you cannot be serious?”

“I am entirely serious.”

Sovereign Longteng’s expression was solemn.

“We cultivators refine ourselves and comprehend the laws of heaven and earth.”

“If all ten of us employ our respective means to repair the unseen ‘scar in the Great Dao,’ we may yet have a glimmer of hope of reopening the ‘path to immortality’ for this world!”

“When that time comes, we will be able to follow that path to the legendary Immortal Realm and glimpse the realms beyond Immortal Ascension.”

As Sovereign Longteng’s voice faded,

the hall fell into deathly silence.

Everyone was processing this astounding information, weighing its feasibility against its risks.

Join forces to “mend the heavens” and reopen the immortal gate?

The idea sounded utterly insane! And indescribably… dangerous!

If things truly were as Sovereign Longteng claimed, and the Heavenly Dao had been forced to close the immortal gate,

then if the Heavenly Dao were provoked into wrath, even all ten of them together might not withstand its fury!

“Fellow Daoist Longteng,”

Empress Qingxuan’s languid voice broke the silence. She toyed with a lock of hair between her fingertips, a probing smile in her eyes.

“This method of yours for ‘mending the heavens’ certainly sounds grand and ambitious. But how great are the risks? Have you considered the consequences?”

“Do not ask us to be moths flying into the flame.”

Her question was blunt, but it gave voice to what everyone was thinking.

Sovereign Longteng looked at Empress Qingxuan, his expression solemn.

“There are naturally risks, and they are by no means small.”

“But after lengthy calculations, I have concluded that if all ten of us work together, coordinate properly, and use a supreme treasure capable of harmonizing the Dao laws as the core, our chances of success should exceed fifty percent!”

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Fifty percent!

For beings at their level, such odds were enough to tempt them, but also enough to put them on guard.

“A supreme treasure?”

Old Man Tianji slowly opened his eyes, his voice ethereal.

“Would the treasure you speak of be your Dragon Soul Sword, Sovereign?”

“Precisely.”

Sovereign Longteng admitted it without hesitation.

“The Dragon Soul Sword is a quasi-immortal artifact of this world, bound to its fortune. Its stabilizing power is unmatched, making it the ideal formation core.”

“Hah.”

Demon Lord Wutian gave a cold laugh.

“So after all that talk, the plan still places you, Longteng, at its center. Who knows whether you might tamper with it in secret?”

“You worry too much, Fellow Daoist Wutian.”

Sovereign Longteng’s expression did not change.

“This undertaking concerns the future of the Canglan Continent, as well as our own paths and safety. How could I possibly do such a thing?”

“When the time comes, every step of the process will be conducted openly and jointly overseen by everyone present.”

He paused, sweeping his gaze over the gathering. His tone became sincere and deeply compelling.

“Fellow Daoists, are you truly willing to stop here, only to exhaust your lifespans tens of thousands of years from now and dissolve into the Dao?”

“Do you not wish to see what the legendary path to immortality looks like, or what wonders await in the Immortal Realm?”

“This attempt to ‘mend the heavens’ is certainly dangerous, but it is also the greatest opportunity the Canglan Continent has seen in nearly a hundred thousand years!”

“If we succeed, not only will the path to immortality reopen, but our own paths will broaden as well. It may even benefit countless generations of cultivators to come!”

“This is an undertaking that will serve the present age and benefit generations to come!”

“I ask that every Fellow Daoist consider it carefully!”

His words were like a massive stone cast into a tranquil lake, stirring towering waves in the heart of every Immortal Ascension expert.