Chapter 572: Ascending to the Celestial Court, Becoming a Heavenly Soldier

Chen Shi lingered in the Imperial Capital for a few days, finishing up some administrative affairs before departing.

He traveled to the neighboring province of Xianzhou to observe the livelihoods of the people, then journeyed from Xianzhou to Qingzhou, spending several days in each place.

He moved like an emperor on a grand tour, inspecting his own dominion.

The Earth Immortal Realm was far away, and he had no idea when he might actually reach it, or in what year or month he might ever return.

He was deeply reluctant to leave his ancestral homeland, but the Tianji Strategy could always locate his position and trigger the radiant ascension light, forcing him to make the journey to the Earth Immortal Realm whether he wished to or not.

Over the course of more than three months, he toured all fifty provinces, then lingered in the Western Capital for a few extra days, paying his respects to the memory of the Western Capital court that had been destroyed all those years ago.

He returned to Huangpo Village, to the Chen family's old residence.

"The True King is back!"

The villagers were flustered and hurried over to kneel before him. Chen Shi quickly said, "We're all fellow villagers here, why such formality?"

"Little Ten, I heard you became the True King in the city. Why are you back now? Has someone rebelled against you?"

Old Lady Wuzhu was now too old to tend the fields. Her eyes were clouded, her teeth had dwindled to just two or three, and her speech whistled through the gaps. "When you were little, you were so capable. You hauled back this huge firecracker and set it off outside the village."

Chen Shi listened with a smile as Old Lady Wuzhu rambled on without pause. "...And you went stealing melons too, lying flat in the melon patch like a little hedgehog. I can't grow melons anymore now. I gave the fields to Old Li's family, and every year they give me a bit of grain."

Chen Shi said, "Ma'am, I'm about to leave. I've come to say goodbye."

"Melons? There are no melons to eat anymore. I just told you I gave the land to someone else to farm, and they share a bit of grain with me each year," said Old Lady Wuzhu.

Chen Shi raised his voice. "I'm about to ascend! I've come to bid you farewell!"

Old Lady Wuzhu heard him clearly this time. "Ascend? Ascend to where?"

Chen Shi said, "I'm going to become an immortal. I'm ascending to the Earth Immortal Realm."

"Leaving again?" Old Lady Wuzhu looked a little sad and said, "When will you be back? By the time you return, I might not be here anymore."

Chen Shi stayed in the village for two days, just like back when he had been a Xiucai, though this time he did not oppress the neighbors or extort the villagers.

Black Pot came looking for him. He had already settled matters in the demonic domain, handing the throne over to the other Huo Dogs.

"It's time to leave."

Chen Shi arrived at the Sky Measuring Cliff and opened his mind completely. The Tianji Strategy, a Celestial Way magic treasure located in the distant Earth Immortal Realm, immediately sensed his aura and activated another Celestial Way treasure, the Yujue Gate. Within the gate that towered between heaven and earth, a strand of radiant ascension light shot forth and bathed him in its glow.

Black Pot hurried to his side.

"An old saying goes that when one person attains the Dao, even their chickens and dogs ascend to heaven, and there's also the saying about ascending with one's entire household. So bringing Black Pot along with me shouldn't be breaking any rules," he thought to himself.

Previously, he had always hidden his aura as much as possible. Now he completely abandoned resistance. The radiant ascension light grew stronger and stronger, until gradually the space before Chen Shi began to spin. The void contracted under a strange force, tugging at his body, pulling him toward the other end of spacetime!

Chen Shi wrapped Black Pot in his own magical power and followed this guiding force into a mass of brilliant light.

All around them, the world became a dizzying kaleidoscope of strange sights.

Before their eyes, bizarre worlds, stars, suns, and moons came rushing toward them. Everything seemed to be pulled incredibly close, as if it might collide with them at any moment!

Yet just when these worlds and celestial bodies were at their closest, they would suddenly brush past them. When Chen Shi looked back, he saw those worlds and stars being stretched longer and longer by some invisible force until they became infinitely thin, and then they suddenly vanished!

Strange sounds reached their ears as well, like the cries of countless beings piled together into a deafening roar, rumbling and shaking. The sounds grew shorter and shorter until they flew past from behind, then gradually stretched longer again, becoming deeper and more thunderous.

Chen Shi and Black Pot also felt as though they were sometimes stretched infinitely long, sometimes compressed infinitely small, sometimes flattened into a single plane, sometimes extended endlessly in all directions, and sometimes able to see their own insides and outsides.

Their eyeballs seemed to develop independent thoughts. Some would swivel and catch a glimpse of the back of their own heads, while others would turn inward and see the projection of their eyes, and from that projection, another projection, looping endlessly.

The experience was utterly bizarre.

Chen Shi and Black Pot were a bit tense at first, but they quickly calmed down.

"The power of the Celestial Way magic treasure is truly mysterious and unfathomable. It seems I still have much to learn," Chen Shi thought.

His cultivation was not lacking in diligence, but the Western Ox New Continent simply had few Dao techniques and divine abilities left worth studying. Now that he had witnessed the power of a Celestial Way treasure, he realized just how vast the world was and how endless the pursuit of knowledge could be.

Flying within the radiant ascension light made it impossible to judge the passage of time. It felt like both a fleeting instant and many long years. Suddenly, the various phenomena within the light began to slow down.

Chen Shi sensed all sorts of grand auras coming from ahead, as if various Great Daos had taken on physical form, their presence strikingly clear.

He saw other beams of radiant ascension light flying parallel to his own, with men and women within them, all heading in the same direction.

"Could these be cultivators from other worlds?"

Chen Shi was intensely curious about people from other worlds. He strained his eyes, trying to make out the faces of the other ascendants, but they too were shrouded in the radiant light, impossible to see clearly.

Those ascendants were equally curious about him, glancing his way, presumably unable to make out his features either.

Their speed gradually decreased, though they were still many times faster than ordinary flight, speeding toward immortal domains of varying sizes.

From a distance, they could feel abundant immortal qi washing over them, refreshing their spirits and banishing the unease of arriving in a foreign land.

Suddenly, they sensed all manner of sacred presences. Massive, majestic structures flew toward them. They swept past towering buildings and palace halls, passed through magnificent gates, and flew by colossal deities standing vigil.

Those deities were solemn and imposing, their gazes fixed straight ahead, paying them no attention at all.

Their speed slowed further and further until they arrived at a jade gate with five entrances. Each of them landed in a different portal.

Chen Shi's portal contained three other people, all looking around in wonder, curious about everything.

"I am Xiao Dulu from Mangzhou. May I ask how this young friend is called?" A young immortal beside him offered a greeting.

"Chen Shi of the Western Ox New Continent." Chen Shi returned the greeting.

He was deeply puzzled. "This Xiao Dulu from Mangzhou is speaking the official language of the Ming Dynasty!"

Before he could figure out why, a woman laughed and said, "My name is Bai Fangfang, from Yuanzhou."

Chen Shi grew even more confused. Bai Fangfang also spoke the Ming Dynasty's official language, though with a slight accent.

Moreover, observing the clothing of these two, although different from the Ming Dynasty's styles, it was clear that both came from the same sartorial tradition as the Divine Continent.

"Could Mangzhou and Yuanzhou both be descended from the same lineage as the Divine Continent?"

He voiced his confusion, and the woman Bai Fangfang laughed. "Are you talking about the Ancestral Continent?"

"The Ancestral Continent?"

Seeing his confusion, Bai Fangfang explained, "Most of the worlds under the Earth Immortal Realm are populated by people from the Ancestral Continent. Back then, they ascended together with the Hao Tian Celestial Court, migrated out of the Ancestral Continent, and spread across the various realms to thrive and multiply. Naturally, they all speak the same language and write the same script."

Chen Shi suddenly understood, and he immediately felt much closer to these people.

"What a magnificent black dog!"

Xiao Dulu crouched beside Black Pot, tilting his head up to ask, "He doesn't bite, does he?"

Chen Shi said, "This is my brother Black Pot. He doesn't bite."

Xiao Dulu extended his finger, wiggling it in front of Black Pot's mouth and poking at his lips, laughing. "Indeed, he doesn't bite... He bites! He bites!"

Black Pot clamped down on his finger and wouldn't let go. The more Xiao Dulu struggled, the harder Black Pot bit.

Chen Shi said, "Brother Xiao, if you don't provoke him, he won't bite. If you keep antagonizing him, he might even get up and throw a punch."

Black Pot released his mouth, and Xiao Dulu quickly snatched his finger back. Fortunately, the skin hadn't been broken.

Bai Fangfang laughed. "Daoist Chen, your cultivation is truly formidable. You actually managed to bring a big black dog with you all the way up here. Any other immortal would have exhausted the power of the radiant ascension light just reaching the vicinity of the Earth Immortal Realm."

Chen Shi said modestly, "It's not that I'm impressive, it's my brother Black Pot who's impressive. He's already crossed the heavenly tribulation. He's the one who carried me up to the Earth Immortal Realm."

The two of them were startled, their faces full of disbelief.

Just then, an immortal official walked over and said, "Newly ascended immortals, although you have refined your immortal path in the lower realms, your bodies still carry the defilement of the mortal world, and your Dao Hearts have not been cleansed of every speck of dust. You cannot yet be considered free of impurity. You must first bathe in the Yaoguang Pool to wash away the mortal grime! Follow me."

He had just gotten those words out when his gaze suddenly went vacant. He stared blankly at the black dog beside Chen Shi and murmured, "So similar, truly similar... The black dog on the wanted list, its fur without a single patch of mixed color."

Black Pot wore a smile and wagged his tail at him.

The immortal official put his heart back at ease, thinking, "All dogs look the same. That dog was a bandit terrorizing the Earth Immortal Realm. This dog just ascended from the lower realm. It definitely can't be the same one. The fact that its clothes and spectacles match the dog bandit on the Execution List is most likely just a coincidence."

Though he found it a bit strange, he didn't dwell on it. There were plenty of immortals who ascended with their cats and dogs. As long as one's cultivation was strong enough, even ascending with an entire household was perfectly acceptable.

He led these immortals to the Yaoguang Pool. This place was a pool formed from condensed immortal qi. Though called a pool, it was larger than many lakes, truly deserving the title of a lake or even a sea!

Everyone stepped into the Yaoguang Pool and immediately felt the dense immortal qi seeping into their bodies, nourishing their hair, skin, five viscera, and organs. Even their Primordial Spirits felt as though they were soaking in a mother's womb, comfort beyond words.

Bai Fangfang murmured, "I spent three years saving up immortal light and immortal qi before my ascension, unwilling to use a single drop. Who would have thought that in the Earth Immortal Realm, it's used for bathing."

Xiao Dulu was equally torn between laughter and tears. "The immortal light and immortal qi I gained after crossing my tribulation aren't even as much as what I'm spending in this pool today!"

"The mortal world and the Earth Immortal Realm are naturally very different."

The immortal official laughed. "Mortals consider immortal qi precious, but for cultivators in the Earth Immortal Realm, it's merely the standard spiritual energy needed for practice. However, this Yaoguang Pool is a Celestial Way magic treasure. The immortal qi and spirit liquid within it are extraordinary, imbued with the Celestial Way itself. Other immortals couldn't dream of bathing in such immortal qi and spirit liquid. Only immortals on their first ascension get this opportunity. This is the Jade Emperor's gracious dispensation."

Chen Shi soaked in the Yaoguang Pool with Black Pot for a while, only to find that it had no effect whatsoever. The two exchanged bewildered glances.

Over the past two years or more, they had consumed all sorts of immortal medicines, and their bodies had long since been purged of impurities. At this point, their physical forms were stuffed full of the power of various immortal pills. They could well be described as a human-shaped immortal pill and a dog-shaped immortal pill.

Black Pot scooped up some immortal qi spirit liquid and scrubbed himself, intending to wash up.

Xiao Dulu was just about to take a sip of the immortal qi spirit liquid. He had barely cupped a handful when he saw this and hesitated, no longer daring to drink.

Bai Fangfang had produced a white jade cup and filled it with the immortal qi spirit liquid, sipping it delicately. When she saw this, she nearly spat out the mouthful she had just taken.

Chen Shi also recognized the problem and discreetly nudged Black Pot. Black Pot caught on and moved behind him, intending to scrub his back.

Chen Shi quickly stopped him and whispered, "Other people still want to drink that."

Black Pot understood and cast an apologetic look at Xiao, Bai, and the others. When the several immortals met his gaze, they forgave him.

After the Yaoguang Pool tempering was complete, everyone came ashore. The immortal official said, "After using the Yaoguang Pool, according to Celestial Court regulations, you must serve as heavenly soldiers in the Celestial Court for a full ten years before you may retire."

Everyone looked at each other in confusion. After ascending, they had to serve as heavenly soldiers in the Celestial Court?

The immortal official laughed. "Serving as a heavenly soldier in the Celestial Court has many benefits. There's a monthly salary, plus immortal spirit pills and immortal qi spirit liquid. Additionally, you can draw immortal weapons and receive cultivation technique inheritances, and you'll have other immortals to support and look after one another. Isn't that wonderful? If you leave the Celestial Court, you'll be alone and helpless, forced to pledge allegiance to the immortal lords who govern the immortal domains. Otherwise, you'd be a scattered immortal with no place to even stand."

Bai Fangfang said, "What if we don't serve?"

The immortal official's expression darkened. Towering divine beings leaned down to look at them and let out a hum. The divine might of it shook their blood and qi into surging chaos.

The immortal official smiled again. "Being a heavenly soldier in the Celestial Court is at least a proper government post. Once you go out, you have no idea how many scattered immortals will envy your privileged origins. If you truly don't want to serve, that's fine too. You bathed in the Yaoguang Pool and polluted the immortal qi spirit liquid. All you need to do is repay the Celestial Court one full pool of immortal qi spirit liquid, and we'll be square."

Chen Shi looked left and right, calculating the possibility of escaping the Celestial Court. Suddenly, in the distance, a newly ascended immortal let out a shout and transformed into a beam of immortal light, attempting to flee. But before he had flown very far, a deity spread five fingers wide. Boundless space materialized in the palm, with suns and moons being born at terrifying speed, enveloping the fleeing immortal.

The immortal flew within that hand for a long while, panting and exhausted, yet he still could not escape the territory covered by those five fingers.

The deity tossed him downward. The power of the Five Elements suppressed him, rendering him unable to move. He could only cry out, "I'm willing to be a heavenly soldier!"

Chen Shi abandoned any thought of escape. He might be able to avoid suppression by the Five Elements' power, but he couldn't escape the palm-world of that deity.

"Staying in the Celestial Court isn't so bad. With the identity of a Celestial Court heavenly soldier, it'll be even easier for me to search for Grandpa and Chen Tang and the others," he thought to himself.

At that moment, one of the immortals who had ascended in the same batch as Chen Shi stepped forward and said, "My founding ancestor is Ba Zhenru, Immortal Lord Ba."

"So you're a descendant of Immortal Lord Ba."

The immortal official said courteously, "May I trouble Young Master Ba to stay in the Celestial Court for a few days? Once Immortal Lord Ba sends someone to receive you, you may leave the Celestial Court then. Young Master Ba, this way please!"

That Young Master Ba followed him away.

"Everyone else, come this way. Collect your immortal weapons, armor, and cultivation techniques." Another immortal official called out.

Chen Shi and the others followed the official, and he whispered, "Senior Sister Bai, now that we're heavenly soldiers in the Celestial Court, can we throw our weight around?"

Bullies the common people under the Celestial Court's jurisdiction. That didn't sound half bad.

"Throw our weight around?"

Bai Fangfang sneered. "Dream on in broad daylight! We heavenly soldiers and generals are nothing but small fry. When we run into demon kings or fiendish monarchs causing trouble, we're the cannon fodder sent charging into the fray. Back in the day, there was a demon king who called himself the Great Sage Equal to Heaven who rebelled. The Celestial Court dispatched a hundred thousand heavenly soldiers and generals to suppress him, and most of them were ascendants just like us."

Xiao Dulu sidled over and said, "I also heard that a few years ago, the Celestial Court encountered a fiendish king near the Dark Sea. That fiendish king swallowed a hundred thousand heavenly soldiers in a single gulp!"