Chapter 45: Descending in Style — Perhaps Only One Survived
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At the foot of the mountain, the elders of the six major sects watched intently as Yu Xian descended the steps.
Their eyes were filled with excitement as they stared past him, hoping to see more figures appear behind him.
Since one had returned, the others should soon follow—shouldn’t they?
Song Xingtian appeared calm, though a trace of joy flickered in his eyes.
By tradition, the first to emerge usually gained the least from the Immortal Ascension Trial.
Yu Xian had always been a trash-tier cultivator with a low-grade wood spiritual root—his early exit made sense.
But because he was the first to come out, that also meant…
This time, White Cloud Sect may have reaped the most rewards!
That was another pattern.
In previous Ascension Trials, whichever sect’s disciple exited first, that sect would usually have the most survivors return.
It was as if the Immortal Ascension Realm had a bias each time—sparing or even favoring one sect over others.
The Ascension Realm appeared once every twenty years.
Aside from the Heavenly Stairway, the rest of the realm changed every time, offering no reliable guidance or methods to pass down.
Song Xingtian himself had participated in the trial two hundred years ago.
At that time, his mission had been to slay sea monsters, with the number killed determining his rewards for ascension…
What kind of trial was it this time?
Once Yu Xian got down, he would ask!
While the six elders eagerly watched, Yu Xian continued descending the stairs step by step using only his legs.
He did so not for show—but because it honed his body.
This final stretch of steps was a rare chance for further tempering.
However, to others, he looked like he was deliberately dawdling!
Why wasn’t he using flying spells or any movement technique?
What was he doing?
Walking down over ten thousand steps on foot? How long would that take!?
The elders grew impatient.
They were desperate to know what the trial had been like and how it offered ascension.
Yu Xian’s slow, deliberate movements made them want to scream in frustration.
“Yu Xian! What the hell are you doing!?”
The other elders were annoyed too, but since Yu Xian wasn’t their disciple, they held their tongues.
In the end, Song Xingtian could no longer endure it.
He shouted with a thunderous voice:
“Hurry up and get down here!”
Backed by his late-stage Golden Core cultivation, the shout echoed like a storm!
Yu Xian certainly heard him.
But he pretended not to—continuing to descend one step at a time, tempering his physique.
Only after half a day of climbing did Yu Xian finally reach the base of the mountain, soaked in sweat, breathing heavily.
The six elders had long since grown furious—their eyes blazing with annoyance, wanting to slap this slowpoke to death.
Song Xingtian was even more enraged.
Because Yu Xian had dared to ignore his command!
“Yu Xian!”
With a flash, he appeared in front of Yu Xian, his face cold and stern.
“I told you to come down quickly—did you not hear me!?”
“Huff… huff…”
Yu Xian gasped for breath, face pale, and forced himself to raise a hand in greeting.
“Elder… huff… Lord… huff… I tried my best… huff… but on the stairway… huff… I wasn’t allowed… to use spiritual energy! Huff… huff…”
“What?”
All six elders heard clearly.
Song Xingtian frowned.
The others also looked surprised.
No spiritual energy on the Heavenly Stairway?
Why?
At the beginning of the climb, they had all been able to use it.
This was new—and confusing.
But since they hadn’t activated their Ascension Tokens, they hadn’t dared step onto the Heavenly Stairway themselves.
Even Golden Core and Nascent Soul powerhouses had perished attempting to climb the steps without a token.
No token, no entry—certain death.
Looking at Yu Xian, drenched in sweat, struggling to breathe like a fish out of water, they realized—
He probably wasn’t lying.
After all, who in their right mind would walk all the way down when they could fly—unless they had to?
If the stairway really forbade spiritual energy, then the other disciples must still be struggling their way down.
Realizing this, the elders relaxed a bit.
Each one turned their gaze back to the Heavenly Stairway, waiting for their sect’s disciples to appear.
“Yu Xian, what was the trial like inside the Immortal Ascension Realm?”
Song Xingtian asked, trying to appear casual.
He was especially waiting for his favored disciple, Liu Qinghe, to come out.
The other elders kept their expressions neutral—but their ears were clearly paying close attention.
Yu Xian, still catching his breath, scratched his head awkwardly, unsure how to answer.
“Hm?”
Song Xingtian noticed his hesitation, frowning.
“What are you thinking about?”
“Disciple… I…”
Yu Xian blushed. “I honestly don’t know.”
“What did you say?”
“You don’t know?” Song Xingtian’s brow rose.
“Then what were you doing for the past three months?”
“Three months already!?”
Yu Xian looked startled.
“All I did was climb the mountain. There was nothing at the top. I figured I wasn’t worthy of the Ascension Realm’s favor, so I thickened my face and came back down… Has it really been three months?”
Song Xingtian’s frown deepened.
Yu Xian’s confusion and surprise seemed genuine.
Time distortion wasn’t unheard of.
In the past, a female disciple had bathed in spiritual water inside the realm and claimed she’d only been there a moment—when in fact, a whole month had passed outside.
So was Yu Xian telling the truth?
That he simply climbed the mountain, found nothing, and came back down?
Without warning, Song Xingtian reached out and grabbed Yu Xian’s shoulder.
Yu Xian flinched. “E-Elder! I’m telling the truth!”
But Song Xingtian’s eyes suddenly lit up.
He spoke solemnly:
“He really ascended!”
“Low-grade wood root… now a high-grade wood root! Lucky brat! Just climbing the stairway was enough for ascension!”
Just like the female disciple from Medicine King Valley who gained a dual spiritual root just by bathing, Yu Xian had gained a high-grade root simply from walking!
The Immortal Ascension Realm was unpredictable—anything was possible!
“What? I… I ascended?”
Yu Xian looked stunned, immediately closed his eyes to check internally—then suddenly screamed, startling the other elders!
“My root! It changed! Aaaaah! I have a high-grade root now! HAHAHAHA! I have a chance to reach Foundation Establishment! Hahahaha!”
The others looked on, clearly unimpressed by Yu Xian’s wild joy.
Song Xingtian also scoffed.
A high-grade wood root might sound great in the outer sect, but in the inner sect, it was mediocre at best.
It was the bare minimum required to even enter the inner sect.
True geniuses had perfect roots, dual roots, triple roots, four-element roots, five-element roots, Earth roots, or even Heaven roots!
A mere high-grade wood root?
Hardly worth celebrating.
In fact, Song Xingtian felt a pang of regret.
If this ascension opportunity had gone to a disciple with perfect or dual roots, White Cloud Sect might’ve gained a true genius!
He himself had possessed a perfect gold root, and after slaying 800 sea beasts during his trial, had been granted a triple root.
But this?
Giving such a chance to a trash-tier cultivator, who now only had a barely-decent spiritual root?
What a waste!
He stopped looking at Yu Xian, who was still cackling like an idiot, and instead turned his eyes to the Heavenly Stairway.
Forget this fool—
The others would surely bring surprises.
Especially his beloved disciple, Liu Qinghe!
Then they waited…
And waited…
Three days passed.
The expressions of the six elders gradually shifted from anticipation, to confusion, to uncertainty, to bewilderment.
Why was it taking so long!?
In three days, anyone should’ve finished descending the stairs!
They couldn’t help but look at Yu Xian.
At that moment, he was seated in meditation a short distance away, calmly cultivating.
His earlier excitement had long since passed.
Now that he had a high-grade spiritual root, he needed to train hard to be worthy of the heavens’ gift.
To not cultivate would be to offend the heavens!
The elders withdrew their gazes and stared once more at the stairway, lost in thought…
No way…
It can’t be… right?
Could it really be that…
This fool… was the only one who made it out alive?
