Chapter 35: Only Five Ascenders—Crossing the Seas to the Island
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Yu Xian’s Ascension Token had long since been activated.
So all he needed to do was hold it in his hand, and a faint glow emerged.
As for the other disciples…
No one really knew how many under-the-table exchanges had taken place with those Elders.
Were those tokens being activated here for real?
Or had they already been pre-assigned and replaced?
After all, once an Ascension Token was activated, it didn’t need to be awakened again—just a show of formality was enough.
It would remain active until its owner entered the Ascension Secret Realm, after which it would fall silent again and revert to a Baiyun Sect token—waiting for some unknown future to be activated once more.
Yu Xian’s token was the first to shine.
He had no need to pretend or try hard—it lit up naturally.
Soon, a second token glowed.
Then, after nearly half an incense stick’s time, a third.
When the incense burned out, a fourth finally lit up.
Song Xingtian’s brows furrowed deeper and deeper.
Over these twenty years, Baiyun Sect had nurtured dozens of supposedly gifted disciples—and only five had managed to activate the token?
Just five…
This meant that among the six great sects, Baiyun Sect might have the fewest participants in the Ascension Secret Realm this time!
Song Xingtian turned and looked at Yu Xian, his gaze complicated.
He already knew Yu Xian’s situation clearly.
Quan Dao had told him everything.
Originally, Song Xingtian figured—since the token had already been awakened, and Xiao Wusheng still held weight in the sect—it wouldn’t hurt to let Yu Xian keep it. One more or less made little difference.
But now…
Only five?
With slots this precious, and one wasted on a low-grade wood root?
This was a disgrace. A complete waste.
He couldn’t help but think: Should I revoke Yu Xian’s qualification?
Maybe give the token to another talented disciple to go in his place?
Fairness?
What fairness?
If it weren’t for Xiao Wusheng, Yu Xian wouldn’t even have had a chance to stand here.
But after a brief moment of consideration, Song Xingtian let the thought go.
Forget it. Let him go.
First, revoking his token in public would damage morale.
Second, if Xiao Wusheng grew resentful and became less active in refining pills, it would severely affect the sect’s medicine supply—both inner and outer disciples relied on him!
Xiao Wusheng was still a great asset to Baiyun Sect.
Five is five—even if few, they would proceed.
Song Xingtian said coldly, “Those who activated their tokens, remain. The rest, return with your respective Elders.”
The dozens of Gold Core elders wore various expressions.
Especially Quan Dao, whose face was a picture of disbelief.
He had held five tokens in his hand.
And only one had activated—Yu Xian’s!
He cursed inwardly. I never should’ve returned that token to that trash!
He should’ve given the activated token to his prized disciple—one with an extreme-grade fire root!
If that disciple ascended successfully, he might have awakened a perfect fire root!
But now… it was too late.
Furious but helpless, Quan Dao could only leave with his four disciples.
Only Song Xingtian and the five token holders remained atop Crane-Beak Cliff.
Three men, two women.
Song Xingtian looked them over and spoke calmly. “The Ascension Ceremony is filled with opportunity… but also danger. I hope all of you return alive.”
The five disciples were all visibly shaken.
Wasn’t this supposed to be a chance for great fortune?
Why was the Grand Elder implying a high death rate?
Was this a Grand Ascension, or a Death Trial?
“Let’s go.”
Song Xingtian raised his hand—and a massive yellow gourd appeared before them.
He stepped onto the gourd’s mouth.
Its body was large enough to seat all five disciples with room to spare.
Each of them was smart—none were fools if they had activated an Ascension Token—so they quickly suppressed their doubts and leapt aboard, taking their seats.
“Sit tight,” Song Xingtian said calmly.
The gourd rose into the sky and shot southward through the falling snow.
Yu Xian sat at a distant edge of the gourd, quiet and solitary.
The others spaced themselves apart as well—strangers didn’t need to sit close.
However, one of the five was familiar to Yu Xian.
Liu Qinghe—a former outer disciple who had entered the Inner Sect through the grand selection tournament.
In just four months, he had broken through to Qi Condensation Perfection.
Liu Qinghe had noticed Yu Xian too.
Back in his memory, Yu Xian had once humbly asked him for a mining spot.
How had he entered the Inner Sect?
And now… how had he even qualified for the Ascension?
More than that—he actually activated the token?
Liu Qinghe studied the meditating Yu Xian and smiled faintly.
Interesting.
The gourd flew fast, shielded from wind and snow by a spiritual barrier.
Soon, even the snowstorm faded away.
Below them stretched a vast, silver-dusted landscape.
At thousands of meters in the sky, some disciples felt awed by the view.
Some felt how tiny humanity was.
But Yu Xian remained still, cultivating his Ten Thousand Lifespans Woodspring Sutra.
After a month of progress, his Qi Sea had expanded by another twenty feet.
That green, spring-like pond in his dantian grew denser by the day.
Once it became as heavy as mercury—that would mark the late Qi Condensation stage.
But reaching the third layer of the Woodspring Sutra, “Wood Qi Becoming Spirit,” was still far off.
“Wood Qi Becoming Spirit” meant a wood spirit would be born in the dantian.
Yu Xian guessed this “wood spirit” was akin to a foundation platform in other cultivation paths.
So reaching the third layer likely equaled stepping into the Foundation Establishment Realm.
The flight was long and dull.
Song Xingtian stood at the front with hands clasped behind his back, his gaze on the horizon.
The five disciples gradually stopped watching their surroundings and entered meditation, suppressing their emotions in preparation for the ceremony.
None knew where the secret realm was located.
Yet with Song Xingtian’s full Gold Core cultivation and a likely fifth-tier flying treasure, the gourd flew faster than thought.
From morning until late afternoon—it still hadn’t reached the destination!
During this time, two of the girls opened their eyes twice.
A middle-aged man did so twice.
Liu Qinghe peeked once around noon.
But only Yu Xian never moved.
From start to finish—he stayed immersed in cultivation.
As if this flight wasn’t a major journey.
As if he were still in Baiyun Sect.
His heart was calm, unshaken.
Another two hours passed.
As twilight deepened, the edge of the sky revealed glistening waves and endless blue.
A vast ocean spread before them.
They had flown across hundreds of thousands of miles—reaching the Southern Sea!
But even then, Song Xingtian didn’t stop.
The sight of the endless ocean left some wide-eyed.
They had never seen such a thing.
Only Yu Xian remained unmoved, still in silent meditation.
Over the vast ocean, time seemed to stop.
The steady speed, the unchanging sea, made it hard to tell if they were even moving.
Thankfully, the sensation didn’t last.
After half an hour, the gourd slowed sharply.
Ahead, under the soft glow of the setting sun, an island emerged in the distance.
Song Xingtian’s destination—had finally appeared.
“We’re here,” he said flatly.
His voice roused the five disciples, who all looked ahead with cautious eyes.
Even Yu Xian finally opened his eyes, gazing at the growing silhouette of the island.
The gourd hovered in place as Song Xingtian stepped down mid-air.
The five disciples followed suit.
Landing on solid ground, Song Xingtian looked toward the familiar terrain of the island and said softly:
“This… is Ascension Island.”
