Chapter 1970 - Immortal Ascension Hall

Elder Kong was caught in an awkward position. He had meant to recommend an Immortal Regnant as Liu Wuxie’s master, but every elder knew who the immortal crane was. Her words represented the Will of Immortal Emperor Shui Yao.

After a moment's consideration, Liu Wuxie politely replied, "I appreciate the offer, Elder Kong. For now, though, I don't intend to take a master."

He had heard none of the exchange between the elder and the woman. Elder Kong’s troubled expression, however, had told him enough. His interest in her identity deepened, but when he looked for her again, she was gone.

“Don't worry. Whatever difficulties you encounter in the Azure Jade Palace, you can come to me,” Elder Kong assured him, patting his shoulder with an apologetic expression.

Long Yuanxiong emerged from the light screen just then, disappointment still etched across his face. Clearly, he had not found the Ivory Spirit Pill. Upon seeing Liu Wuxie, he gave a rueful smile.

More participants emerged one after another. Huang Zechang finished just outside the top two thousand but still secured admission to the Azure Jade Palace. The moment he stepped out, he let out an exuberant roar.

Roughly an hour later, the three thousandth participant crossed the light screen. Elder Kong brought the assessment to a close. Everyone still inside the Mystic Spirit Sanctum failed, and as its spiritual arrays ceased operating, they were transported out.

Disappointment settled over the unsuccessful applicants. Some had been only a single step from the exit. Yet upon learning that Liu Wuxie had taken both the Ivory Spirit Pill and first place, they couldn't even muster jealousy toward him.

The failed participants complained bitterly. “Damn it! They didn't test strength or martial technique this year. That brat would never have passed if they had!”

They clung to the conviction that a martial technique trial would have swiftly defeated a mere Profound Immortal like Liu Wuxie.

“Thank you for attending the Azure Jade Palace's assessment. Those who didn't pass needn't lose heart. You'll have another chance next year,” Elder Kong said, cupping his fists toward the people outside the ring in gratitude for their support.

The spectators returned the salute before leaving. They still had a long journey back home.

By nightfall, the platform had fallen quiet. Only the ten elders and the three thousand successful participants remained.

“We'll now take you to the Azure Jade Palace's Immortal Ascension Hall. There, you'll complete your registration and receive your allotted resources. After that, you will be official Azure Jade Palace disciples,” Elder Kong announced.

In the Celestial Realm, recognition as an immortal came only upon reaching the Golden Immortal Realm. Entering the Immortal Ascension Hall marked the crossing of that first threshold.

The ten elders moved together, summoning a powerful gale that swept all three thousand disciples into the air.

They felt as though clouds bore them upward. Everyone but Liu Wuxie could already fly, yet the power of an Immortal Venerable enveloping them still caused discomfort.

About fifteen minutes passed before that surrounding force began to recede. An enormous hall appeared beneath them as they descended.

Gold gleamed over the magnificent structure, whose interior could hold tens of thousands of people. A plaque hung above the entrance, displaying the words 'Immortal Ascension Hall'in gold.

Disciples, elders, and deacons moved through the building in robes of differing styles. Before it stretched a vast open space paved with blue stone slabs, each roughly three meters long and half as wide. Their polished surfaces reflected the surroundings with striking clarity.

The three thousand disciples landed on the open ground in front of the hall.

As the last of their nervousness settled, the new disciples cried in excitement, “At last! I'm an Azure Jade Palace disciple!”

“Inside, everyone,” Elder Kong instructed, gesturing toward the Immortal Ascension Hall.

The newcomers entered a hall illuminated as brightly as day. Despite the late hour, it still bustled with activity. Alongside the ordinary deacons, miscellaneous disciples wiped down the pillars and swept the floor.

Day and night meant little in the Celestial Weave Domain. Cultivators resented every moment taken from cultivation. The Immortal Ascension Hall operated around the clock, with deacons and outer sect elders rotating through shifts.

The miscellaneous disciples stopped working when the new arrivals poured in, looking toward them in confusion. They, too, could enter the outer sect and become official disciples once they reached the Divine Immortal Realm.

Most of those serving in the hall were between the fifth and ninth levels of the Origin Immortal Realm. Their prospects of reaching the Divine Immortal Realm were slim.

“Look over there. How did a Profound Immortal get in? Did something go wrong with this year's assessment?” Several miscellaneous disciples peered toward Liu Wuxie, pointing him out the moment they spotted him. Among the newcomers, his Profound Immortal Realm cultivation made him stand out.

“What is this? Isn't the first-level Origin Immortal Realm supposed to be the lowest cultivation in the Azure Jade Palace?” An older miscellaneous disciple stared as if confronted by a ghost. Over two decades of service had let him witness countless disciples arrive and grow. Yet aside from children, the Azure Jade Palace had never housed a single Profound Immortal.

Their remarks were quiet, but everyone could hear them. Sneers began spreading through the group.

“That brat has an Ivory Spirit Pill and fifty immortal roots. With no one protecting him in the Azure Jade Palace, he'll hardly be able to move a step,” several Divine Immortals murmured at the back of the group, already plotting to seize Liu Wuxie’s immortal roots.

“Doesn't it strike you as odd that none of the ten elders offered to take him as a disciple? Are they not confident in him?” another asked.

One would have expected the sect’s elders to compete fiercely for a prodigy who possessed fifty immortal roots and had placed first in all four trials.

Long Yuanxiong was a different matter. The Long Clan’s upper echelons had already arranged his future within the Azure Jade Palace, explaining why none of the ten elders had approached him.

Liu Wuxie had no such backing. He was uncut jade, waiting for someone to reveal its brilliance.

“You're missing something. Fifty immortal roots are so rare that even the ten elders probably don't know what to do with him. More immortal roots may mean greater talent, but they also can slow down cultivation. That's why he's still in the Profound Immortal Realm. If he had only ten immortal roots, he'd have surpassed every one of us,” a peak Divine Immortal explained.

The disciples around him readily nodded. His explanation convinced them.

No one could dispute Liu Wuxie’s extraordinary talent. Why, then, had he remained at the Profound Immortal Realm? To them, the answer seemed clear. His immortal roots had become a burden, holding back his advancement.

They were only partially correct. Although possessing more immortal roots did slow a cultivator’s progress, Liu Wuxie’s true burden came from the Desolate World. Every breakthrough demanded a staggering amount of resources.

In little more than half a year, he had advanced from the Heavenly Immortal Realm to the Profound Immortal Realm, breaking countless records. None of the people speculating about him knew that.

Sinister chuckles came from the back. “We need a way to take his immortal roots. Fifty are too many anyway. Losing a few won't hurt him. We'd be doing him a favor.” Most of their exchanges passed through divine sense, concealing their words from others. The malicious smiles on their faces, however, made their intentions plain enough.

The group crossed the center of the hall and entered the left wing. The immense Immortal Ascension Hall was divided into three sections. The left wing, known as the Enrollment Hall, handled registration, ceremonies, event management, and guest reception. A superpower like the Azure Jade Palace received visitors almost every day.

The right wing housed the Contribution Hall. In most sects, disciples had limited means of obtaining cultivation resources beyond missions and rewarded duties, such as tending immortal rice. The Azure Jade Palace likewise issued missions, but it also imposed mandatory duties upon every disciple.

It granted another unusual privilege where disciples could buy territory of their own. Other sects offered no such opportunity. Given enough resources and points, a disciple could purchase an entire mountain.

Money alone would not secure a peak inside the Azure Jade Palace, however. Cultivation mattered equally. Such a purchase would likely be impossible for anyone below the Immortal Regnant Realm. Even someone wealthy enough to afford a mountain could not expect to keep it without the strength to defend their possession.

A disciple who could not afford a whole mountain could purchase a spiritual field instead and cultivate immortal rice. Selling the harvest would supply cultivation resources without requiring missions for income. Every mission, after all, came with the possibility of death.

Throughout the walk, Huang Zechang had been sharing everything he knew with Liu Wuxie.

Even spiritual fields, however, cost more than ordinary disciples could afford. Most belonged to true disciples or members of the Saint Hall. The fact that even elite disciples lacked the means to buy them revealed just how expensive they were.

Farther inside the Immortal Ascension Hall stood the Exchange Hall, a marketplace where disciples could obtain whatever they needed through trade. They could exchange goods with the sect or negotiate with one another, putting resources to their best use. Something worthless to one disciple could be a priceless treasure to another.

The Azure Jade Palace had developed a sophisticated management system. It reduced expenses while encouraging closer contact among disciples. Liu Wuxie now understood why Vandore had urged him so often to come here.

Following Vandore to the Cloud Weave Mountain Range might have brought temporary peace, but not a lasting answer. Vandore was an elf and did not understand human ways. Staying there would have only obstructed Liu Wuxie’s growth.