“I can’t!” Xiaoming said firmly.

  “Then forget about it.”


  Li Qingshan did not insist on it either. It was merely an attempt anyway. He studied “Xiaoming” curiously. Just how powerful was he supposed to be before he declined from the loss of fighting spirit? Probably at least enough to easily crush him right now!

  Gazing at the blood-red sky, the blood-red swirl that led to the Asura realm was still riddled with cracks. Unlike demon caverns opened up by the Demon domain, the connection between Asura Fields and the Asura realm was not exactly close, so it repaired itself much more slowly.

  However, he was confident that even if it completely repaired itself, the owner of the huge eye would not enter here so easily and endure the counterattack from the World of the Nine Provinces. This was what he was relying on the most when he tried to probe a response out of Xiaoming, as well as when he issued his promise. This was also what he was relying on the most when he faced the Demon domain and the Hungry Ghost realm.

  Standing within this well known as the “nine provinces”, it held him down, but it was also his greatest protection, saving him the trouble of facing powerful cultivators of the vaster universe.

  But at this exact moment, having reached the fifth layer of the phoenix and balanced the demonic and divine transformations, he had already touched the edge of the well. If he took another step further, he could leap out of the well and venture to a larger and more dangerous world.

  Whether it was Qiongqi, sovereign Li, or the child of a god right before him, they were merely an indication of what to come.

  There, the tremendous advantage from the Nine Transformations of the Demonic and Divine would diminish. His enemies would no longer be cultivators alone. There would even be figures of gods, immortals, buddhas, and demons.

  Upon thinking about that, he could not help but shudder slightly inside, not out of fear or cowardice, but out of indescribable excitement and anticipation.

  But right now, his path to the Asura realm had been severed—who knew if the owner of the huge eye was waiting on the other side. As a result, all that remained was ascension!

  As the ultimate goal of all cultivators in the world, he faced a problem right now—how was he supposed to take this final step? And where would he end up once he took this final step?

  The first question was enough to stump countless cultivators in the world. Who knew how many geniuses and powerful cultivators halted there. Even the Golden Cicada Spirit King had been stuck at that step for many years.

  This was different from a regular tribulation. Instead, they would be completely transcending this world.

  When he suppressed the demon cavern as a spirit turtle, Li Qingshan had already discussed this problem with the Great Banyan Tree King. The Great Banyan Tree King who was determined to “turn into the well” gave a relatively detailed explanation.

  The Great Banyan Tree King said, “We actually share a mother.”


  “Don’t tell me we’re long-lost brothers?”


  The spirit turtle laying under the tree shade opened its eyes and looked at the lush tree with a strange gaze.

  “Not that. I’m referring to this world. It is the mother of all living beings of this world. Whether it’s our souls or our body, everything we possess comes from it. Although every single creature seems like an individual entity on the surface, we are closely linked to this world from the very beginning. During the process of cultivation, this link becomes even tighter. We’re all chosen and blessed by the heavens.”


  “Oh, so cultivation is like an infant drawing nutrients from its mother through its umbilical cord.” Li Qingshan realised.

  “Correct. The more it spoils and loves you, the less willing it is for its child to leave it. And since when were children willing to leave their mother?”


  The Great Banyan Tree King’s voice was filled with deep emotion, like a child longing for home. His vow to become the god of the nine provinces was not just for the sake of his wild ambitions.

  “I don’t think so. Having reached our cultivations, we’ve all gathered a tremendous amount of spiritual qi from this world. The will of the world is probably reluctant to lose this energy, which is why it binds and constrains us. It would rather have us die here and return everything back to the world than have us leave. If the world is a mother, then all ascending cultivators are unfilial children, rebels!”


  Li Qingshan objected. His soul did not come from this world, and as a person who even abandoned his hometown resolutely, he obviously could not understand the Great Banyan Tree King’s feelings towards the world. Probably only the Great Banyan Tree King could come in contact with the deep, unfathomable consciousness of the world too.

  “Of course, that’s not exactly wrong. However, even gods must halt in the face of ‘mother’s’ powers. If it’s really that selfish, then how can ascending cultivators exist in the first place? And even if it has the power to bind and constrain us, it also has the power to reject and repulse us. Otherwise, how would we be able to break through the barrier of the world and ascend to another world through our own powers? You might as well treat this as a test. Capable children can travel far and wide with their mother’s blessing.”


  Li Qingshan contemplated that. “I must apologise. After all, this mother has never asked for anything from me.”


  “You don’t have to apologise. This is your advantage, which is also an extremely important step in ascending, which is to sever your attachments with this world. I’m certain that even fellow Golden Cicada who wanted to ascend so much still had this attachment inside.”


  “That’s unavoidable.”


  Li Qingshan nodded. Just like regular people leaving their hometowns for the first time, attachments and longing were unavoidable. However, he had already left a world before. He had not been chosen and blessed by that world, but it had still given him a reverie of dreams.

  “You have no attachments with this world. You basically count as a natural-born rebel.” The Great Banyan Tree King smiled.

  “This world only counts as my stepmother. It’s treated me quite nicely, but it’s still not the mother that gave birth to me after all.”


  Li Qingshan laughed. His benefits of transmigrating that time were basically negligible. He did not even have to carefully hide it anymore, but he never expected it to have an effect like this on him.

  “Without any mental hindrances, all that remains is power. I’m certain that won’t be an issue to you either.”


  “Yeah.” Li Qingshan was extremely confident. As long as he spent some time and consolidated his current cultivation, he had basically made his preparations for ascension.

  “However, your problem does not lie with ascension itself, but your gamble with Qiongqi and how to ascend to the same world with Xiao An.”


  The Great Banyan Tree King hit the mark with a single statement regarding Li Qingshan’s greatest worry. Once he ascended to a higher world, his promise of five centuries with Qiongqi would definitely speed up, and it was very likely for him to face Qiongqi alone.

  “What are the worlds available to ascend to?”


  “Apart from the six realms of sa?sāra, all that remains is the Demon domain. There are no other possibilities. If it were not for the numerous invasion attempts from the Demon domain, there would only be the six realms of sa?sāra. The six realms of sa?sāra traverse the myriad worlds, making them omnipresent. Even if living beings do not ascend, their souls will return there after death.

  “Then how is the world you ascend to decided? Hopefully, I don’t end up in the Demon domain. I’ll be unlucky if that happens.”


  “Race, cultivation method, and mental disposition all have an influence, but it’s difficult to say if there are any other elements too. You might practice the Battle Demon Statuary, and your demonic nature is quite heavy, but you have an intrinsic difference from demonfolk, which conflicts with the laws of the Demon domain very much, so you probably won’t end up in the Demon domain.”


  “The Hell realm and the Hungry Ghost realm are unlikely too. Although there are many parts from the Heaven realm and the Asura realm that are compatible with you, that’s just one side to you, so it’s not likely either. Your chances of ending up in the Human realm are instead a little higher, but in my opinion, the place you’re most likely to ascend to is the Daemonic Beast realm. That should be quite a good choice, except it’s the least likely world that Xiao An will ascend to.”