The vast, churning waters of the Southern Sea stretched out before Lu Chenge. He no longer required clumsy ships or weary flying swords. Standing on the highest pinnacle of Azure Cloud Peak, he activated the Law of the Void.
A ripple of spatial distortion enveloped him. With a single thought, Lu Chenge performed a sustained Grand Spatial Transposition, blinking over thousands of miles of ocean in moments. His Nascent Soul was a conduit, his Void Law the key. The journey of a month was condensed into a few hours.
🎣 The Impoverished Celestial
He arrived at the coast of the Southern Continent, specifically a wretched, storm-battered fishing village. His Grand Ascension Consciousness immediately pinpointed the unique signature: Ling Xi.
He found her mending fishing nets, her delicate hands scarred by hard labor. She looked sickly and frail, a sharp contrast to the celestial power shimmering faintly beneath her skin—the severely suppressed Aether Essence. Her poverty and suppression were so deep that any conventional cultivator would simply pass her by, seeing only a weak mortal.
Lu Chenge approached, his Nascent Soul power carefully cloaked, appearing merely as a distinguished elder.
Ling Xi looked up, startled by the presence of a person who carried the subtle scent of powerful spiritual resources. She immediately bowed, dropping the net. "Sir Elder, do you need help?"
"Ling Xi," Lu Chenge said, his voice soft but resonant. "I am Lu Chenge. I have traveled far to find you. Your strength is not of this world, yet your destiny is shackled by the mortal dust."
"Master, I have no spiritual roots," she whispered, shame in her voice. "I am worse than useless."
"Your roots are merely asleep," Lu Chenge corrected, using his Divine Soul Observation Art to admire the pure, ethereal glow of the Aether. "You require a thread to pull the heavens down to you."
🌠 Contribution 7: The Celestial Fragment
This was the ultimate contribution. Lu Chenge retrieved the artifact required for the final push—an object that felt neither heavy nor light, neither solid nor gas. It was a single, smooth shard of what appeared to be solidified starlight: the Fragment of the Unwritten Heavens.
"This fragment is a bridge between the mortal realm and the realm of the Immortals. It is the purest Aether essence. Absorb it, and claim your true power," Lu Chenge instructed, placing the cool shard into her hand. "It is the final, greatest gift of this Master."
The moment the shard's celestial energy touched her Aether Essence, the suppression broke with the force of a cosmic tsunami.
[Host Contribution Detected: 1 x Fragment of the Unwritten Heavens (Ascension-Grade Relic).] [Contribution Essence: Aether Energy, Celestial Bridge, and Soul Transcendence.] [Commencing 10,000X Return (Ascension Threshold Reached)…] [Return Acquired: 10,000× Celestial Soul Bridge Artifacts (Highest Utility for Ascension).]
The return in resource materials was so immense and purely celestial that the System had to briefly isolate the storage space. But the primary amplification was everything Lu Chenge had worked for.
[Host has received 10,000X return of Aether Energy and Celestial Bridge Essence. Host's Nascent Soul is deemed Fully Ready for Transposition.] [Final Cultivation Advance: Host has mastered the Law of Aether. Host has constructed the Heavenly Soul Bridge, securing the path for the Nascent Soul to Ascend to the Immortal Realm.]
Lu Chenge's Nascent Soul within his dantian glowed with triumphant, blinding light. The Soul no longer just sat there; it was connected to the cosmos by an invisible, shimmering Aether Bridge made of pure spiritual law. He could now, at will, launch his Soul into the upper heavens.
🚀 The Readiness
Ling Xi stood in a pillar of golden light, her frail body replaced by one of ethereal perfection. Her eyes, open and clear, saw the same invisible Aether Bridge that Lu Chenge perceived. She was a true Celestial Master in her nascent state.
"Master," she breathed, her voice carrying the purity of the stars. "The path to the heavens... it is visible."
Lu Chenge smiled, the joy of achievement washing over him. His mission was complete. He had ascended his cultivation to the highest point possible in the mortal realm, all while cultivating five disciples whose collective power could challenge dynasties.
"Indeed, Ling Xi," Lu Chenge said, his voice ringing with power. "The path is visible. Now, we return to the Azure Cloud Sect. We have four others waiting. And then, we shall all step onto that bridge, together."