The Ascension Platform had lain dormant for a thousand years.
Countless cultivators spent their entire lives without ever catching a glimpse of its existence.
Now, with the Ascension Platform rising once more, it signaled that someone in the cultivation world had finally attained the possibility of ascension.
A thousand years!
For a millennium, the flow of spiritual energy between the upper and lower realms of the cultivation world had stagnated.
Over these thousand years, the world's spiritual energy had gradually dwindled, leaving the Tribulation Transcendence stage as the highest achievable realm. No one had even the slightest chance of ascension.
But now, the Ascension Platform had appeared!
If even a single cultivator could successfully ascend and bridge the gap between the realms, the cultivation world would be restored to its former glory—and they, too, would have a chance to ascend.
For low-level cultivators, ascension remained a distant dream, far beyond their reach.
But for all the Tribulation Transcendence elders, it was impossible to suppress the surge of emotions within them. Their expressions trembled with excitement, and some even had tears glistening in their eyes.
They had finally lived to see this day.
In the far western lands, Gu Yunqi stood guard, her gaze fixed on the towering Ascension Platform that seemed to pierce the heavens. A bold, triumphant smile graced her lips.
While weaving a formation to suppress the rampant spiritual energy, she sent a telepathic message to Elder Second Master nearby, her voice brimming with unrestrained joy:
"I knew it—Xu Wanci would make it happen!"
Even Elder Second Master, known for his reserved nature, couldn’t help the faint tremor in his eyes as he replied:
"Yes. She will succeed."
The deadlock that had plagued the cultivation world for a thousand years was finally about to break.
Xu Wanci would become the first cultivator in a millennium to ascend.
In the far eastern lands, Jiang Ze stood motionless, staring at the Ascension Platform in the sky. His eyes held both congratulations and resignation.
At some point, she had become someone he could only chase but never reach.
Soon, he might not even have the right to see her again.
After a long silence, he turned away without a word and resumed suppressing the violent spiritual energy surging in the polar region.
In the far northern lands, Ji Wang barely spared the Ascension Platform a glance before swiftly turning back. With a single slash of his blade, the Ji Yun Saber, he melted the surrounding ice.
This was the closest region to the demon realm. His duty was not only to quell the rampaging spiritual beasts but also to monitor the movements of the demonic forces.
As for everything else—
As long as she achieved her wish, that was enough.
Clad in crimson robes, he stood like an undying flame amidst the frozen wasteland.
His brows furrowed as he gazed toward the demon realm.
Perhaps because the Demon Lord had suffered grave injuries in the cultivation world, the demon realm had been unusually quiet lately.
Ji Wang’s speculation was correct.
After Yan Shuo returned to the demon realm, his wounds had damaged his demonic soul.
With the Demon Lord severely weakened, unrest spread among the demonic cultivators. The demon generals grew ambitious, and the entire demon realm seethed with schemes to overthrow him.
Yan Shuo, despite his injuries, acted with ruthless efficiency—slaughtering half the demon realm to silence all dissent.
Then, he entered seclusion once more, this time for over a decade.
This was the price he paid for his desperate gamble—using half the demon realm’s treasures to threaten Xu Wanci.
He had no choice but to endure it.
Setting aside the demon realm, the cultivation world was a mix of conflicting ambitions. Yet, one desire united them all—the hope that Xu Wanci would ascend as soon as possible.
But even with the Ascension Platform now visible, its gates remained shut.
One day passed, then two… then half a month.
Twenty days had gone by, yet there was still no movement around the platform.
As time dragged on, the elders found it increasingly difficult to maintain their suppression of the polar regions’ spiritual turbulence.
Beside the Ascension Platform, immortal energy swirled, yet the celestial gates stayed closed.
Xu Wanci stared intently at the single Ascension Blossom atop the gates.
Only when this flower recognized an ascendant would it bloom—and only then would the gates open.
Now, her cultivation had reached the Shattered Void stage, and her body brimmed with enough immortal energy to ascend.
Yet, for some reason, the Ascension Blossom refused to bloom.
In the original timeline, Chu Qingchuan had ascended decades later than now.
Yet, once the Ascension Platform appeared, he had waited no more than three days before the flower bloomed, allowing him to step through the gates.
But now, nearly a month had passed since the platform’s emergence.
Xu Wanci exhaled slowly.
Was it because the Ascension Platform had appeared too soon? Or… because the one attempting to ascend was her?
At this thought, her fingers twitched imperceptibly, and a rare flicker of frustration rose in her heart.
But in the next instant, she suppressed it all.
She would not doubt herself.
If she had summoned the Ascension Platform, it meant her strength and status had already been acknowledged.
Now, she carried the hopes of the entire cultivation world. There was no retreat—no room for failure.
She had to keep moving forward.
She had to ascend.
A few breaths later, she closed her eyes, clearing her mind of all distractions, and resumed her meditation.
Apart from Xu Wanci, only Xiao Yuyan could bypass the barriers and enter the Ascension Platform.
Xiao Yuyan watched the solitary figure seated before the celestial gates, tirelessly cultivating. His raised hand hesitated before lowering silently.
But when his gaze shifted to the Ascension Blossom in the distance, a shadow flickered in his eyes.
In the next moment, he vanished without a trace, leaving no one aware of his presence.
High above, the remnants of the Heavenly Dao recoiled as the ominous figure appeared beside it.
Though it tried to disperse, the barrier formed from spiritual energy of the same origin trapped it in place.
The Heavenly Dao’s power was meant to be eternal—even after Xiao Yuyan had refined half of it, it should have regenerated.
But with the cultivation world’s fractures too vast, it could no longer restore itself. Like all cultivators, it could only wait for the world to be truly whole again.
As for Chu Qingchuan, it had long abandoned him.
Now, the immortal energy in the cultivation world could sustain only one ascendant.
That person had to be Xu Wanci.
Realizing escape was impossible, the Heavenly Dao’s power gathered once more.
The Heavenly Dao was not sentient, but over the past century, as its power waned, it had developed a rudimentary will—all to preserve the world and hasten the chosen one’s ascension.
That was why it had tried to consume the resurrected Xiao Yuyan and why the voice of the Heavenly Dao had echoed across the Seven Blazing Deserts that day.
Now, trapped within the Shattered Void spiritual barrier, the Heavenly Dao’s voice rang out—majestic, yet laced with a trace of fear:
"What do you intend?"
Xiao Yuyan didn’t look at it. His gaze remained fixed on the figure meditating atop the Ascension Platform.
But his voice was icy, devoid of the warmth in his eyes:
"Was it you who tampered with the Ascension Blossom?"
He had inspected it multiple times—the blossom held enough immortal energy to bloom, yet it remained shut.
The only one capable of interfering with it was the Heavenly Dao itself.
The Power of Heaven listened to his voice. Had it possessed a bit more consciousness, it might have already begun wailing in anguish over the injustice it had suffered.
Unfortunately, it lacked such complex emotions and could only reply mechanically:
"Heaven's Will is now weak. No one desires ascension more than I."
"Regardless of who that person may be."
It cast a glance at the Ascension Platform and continued slowly:
"Now, everything is ready. Only a fleeting opportunity remains."
"With patience, it will come."
"Immortal Venerable, your concern has clouded your judgment."
Upon hearing this, Xiao Yuyan's fingers twitched imperceptibly.
He knew Heaven's Will had no reason to hinder her ascension.
Yet, when he saw her tirelessly cultivating day and night to break through the gates of immortality, reason was utterly overwhelmed by emotion.
His gaze swept indifferently across the turbulent Four Extreme Lands, observing the Transcendent cultivators guarding them. As if recalling something, the surrounding barriers did not dissipate but instead grew even stronger.
Finally, Xiao Yuyan fixed his eyes on the condensed form of Heaven's Power.
Sensing his gaze, the Power of Heaven suddenly remembered the past when it had been suppressed and devoured by him. The cloud-like form shrank slightly before asking with feigned composure:
"Immortal Venerable, is there anything else?"
Xiao Yuyan's voice was unhurried, yet it carried an oppressive force that matched—even surpassed—that of Heaven's Will:
"That day in the Qiyi Desert, it was you who transmitted your voice to the cultivators."
An icy, razor-sharp killing intent seeped into his aura:
"Stealing destiny?"
Every step she had taken was fraught with thorns. When had she ever walked an easy path? Where was the so-called destiny it spoke of?
The Power of Heaven once again felt the threat of being devoured. Faced with life and death, instinct drove its response:
"I was mistaken."
"I will correct it now."
Among the Four Extreme Lands, a Transcendent cultivator sensed the increasingly chaotic spiritual energy and couldn't help but feel a sliver of doubt:
Could Xu Wanci truly ascend?
The Ascension Platform had appeared long ago, yet there was still no sign of movement.
Some began recalling the voice of Heaven's Will they had heard that day.
If those words were true, could a cultivator who stole another's destiny really ascend?
Others even thought of Chu Qingchuan, who had long been abandoned by everyone.
If he were the one ascending today, then...
At that moment, the familiar voice of Heaven's Will resounded once more:
"I was deceived and misidentified the Child of Destiny."
"Today, I rectify my error."
"Xu Wanci is favored by Heaven, blessed with unparalleled destiny. She is the most likely to ascend in a thousand years."
"All you need do is wait."
Hearing this voice that echoed through their souls, the doubting cultivators immediately silenced their misgivings.
Now, even the voice of Heaven's Will—the sole entity that had questioned Xu Wanci—admitted its mistake.
If even Xu Wanci could not ascend, then surely no one else in the cultivation world stood a chance.
Suppressing all other thoughts, they focused on quelling the chaos in the Extreme Lands.
As Heaven's Will had said, they need only wait.
Xiao Yuyan listened to the proclamation and finally withdrew his barriers.
Before leaving, he scattered his Void-Shattering spiritual energy, replacing the Transcendent cultivators in stabilizing the turbulence of the Four Extreme Lands.
When he reappeared at the Ascension Platform, he held a cup carved from mystic ice, filled with Xu Wanci's favorite spirit fruit.
This time, he made no effort to conceal his presence.
Xu Wanci, enveloped in the cool yet gentle spiritual energy, finally awoke from her meditation.
She stood, forcing her expression into one of ease before turning to face the newcomer.
But the moment her eyes met Xiao Yuyan's concerned gaze, her carefully maintained composure melted into helplessness.
With a sigh, she admitted:
"Ah-Yan, ascension isn't as effortless as I imagined."
Xiao Yuyan stepped forward, placing a piece of spirit fruit at her lips, and said earnestly:
"Indeed. Otherwise, why would I have remained at the Void-Shattering stage for centuries?"
Hearing his reply, Xu Wanci gave him a look before reluctantly accepting the fruit.
He had been stuck because the cultivation world back then simply couldn't support ascension.
How could that compare to the favorable circumstances she now enjoyed?
Still, even knowing this was his way of comforting her, the tension around her eased slightly.
Xiao Yuyan put away the remaining fruit and gently brushed a hand through her long hair:
"Wanwan, there's no need to rush."
He knew her true anxiety stemmed from the chaos in the Extreme Lands, so he added lightly:
"The disturbances there are now suppressed for at least a decade."
"If, by then, you still haven't ascended, you may worry as much as you like."
