Chapter 89: The Careless Ascenders

Lin Fanyun turned his gaze toward a disciple on the second floor of the library pavilion, browsing through books.

He first noticed this disciple because the person was hiding their true cultivation level.

A formidable expert at the fourth layer of the True Core stage, disguised as someone at the Innate stage. Excluding any perverse enjoyment, this could only mean ulterior motives.

Lin Fanyun initially thought this person was a spy from another faction. Upon closer observation, he realized that the person’s aura was not in harmony with that of True Martial Continent, or rather, with the Abyssal Sea.

There was an aura about them that did not belong to the Abyssal Sea.

This piqued Lin Fanyun’s interest, making him curious about the person’s origins.

Sure enough, as soon as he focused his attention, he saw through the person’s disguise.

He was not of the feathered race but a pure human.

Moreover, the books this person was reading were mostly about ascension.

Combining all these factors, Lin Fanyun suspected that this person might have come from some blessed land or heavenly grotto.

“After a martial artist dies, their blessed lands and heavenly grottos attach to the Great Wilderness, absorbing the energy from the earth’s veins. Because of this, hidden spatial passages connect these blessed lands and heavenly grottos to the Great Wilderness. Occasionally, a strong individual or a fortunate one might find one of these passages and travel from the blessed land or heavenly grotto to the Great Wilderness. These individuals are collectively known as ascenders. If this person, who calls himself Wang Luo, is indeed such an ascender, perhaps information about his origin in the blessed land or heavenly grotto can be gleaned from him.”

Lin Fanyun closed the travel notes he was reading, his mind starting to calculate.

“Ascenders have existed since ancient times, and after the spatial turbulence disaster in the Abyssal Sea a few years ago, the spatial instability has made it easier to discover spatial passages between blessed lands, heavenly grottos, and the Great Wilderness. It’s not unusual for ascenders to appear.”

However, the meaning behind ascenders was crucial.

They represented a blessed land or even a heavenly grotto.

They carried the heritage that could lead straight to a True God or even a Sovereign.

Just thinking about it made one’s mouth dry.

Wang Luo didn’t stay long in the library. In Lin Fanyun’s perception, he swaggered out of the library, and the True Core stage elder guarding the place merely glanced up at him without reacting.

Clearly, this elder had not seen through Wang Luo’s disguise.

“This is the result of incomplete martial development and heritage. It further confirms my suspicion of Wang Luo being an ascender.”

In the following days, Lin Fanyun added monitoring Wang Luo to his daily routine.

But Wang Luo was extremely cautious, his daily life and routine were indistinguishable from other Luofeng Sect members.

“If I hadn’t already confirmed his anomaly, I would have been deceived by just a quick glance.”

One day, Wang Luo left his cave dwelling and headed to the market outside Luofeng Sect.

Lin Fanyun immediately noticed.

“Always staying within Luofeng Sect, I thought you were a secluded cultivation enthusiast like me.”

Lin Fanyun smiled. Whether Wang Luo was merely buying cultivation materials or had another purpose, it was better than him staying hidden all the time.

If he stayed hidden, there would be no changes. Without changes, how could Lin Fanyun find any flaws?

Lin Fanyun himself didn’t follow. Instead, he snapped his forefinger, producing a small flesh ball in his hand.

With a spin, the flesh ball revealed a large eye and a pair of wings as thin as cicada wings on its back.

“Go and see what he’s up to.”

As Lin Fanyun spoke, the small eyeball concealed itself and disappeared, flying in Wang Luo’s direction.

This was one of Lin Fanyun’s recent creations. Using the Flesh Control divine ability, he could transform his flesh into various creatures for different purposes.

This was just a minor application of the Body Manipulation divine technique, not worth mentioning.

The small eyeball’s vision was linked to his own, and its activity range wasn’t limited to his perception range.

This effectively expanded his detection range several times over.

As for Wang Luo’s cave dwelling? Lin Fanyun had already inspected it. It was so clean it didn’t look like anyone lived there—no clues at all.

Outside the Luofeng Sect, Wang Luo flew for a distance, landing quietly once he confirmed there was no one around. He even used the divine sense that only True Core cultivators and above could extend to scan the surroundings.

Confirming there were no hidden observers, Wang Luo changed his appearance from an ordinary innate cultivator to a spirited True Core fourth-layer expert.

High in the sky, the small eyeball widened, taking it all in.

“Hmm? It looks like this trip might be fruitful,” Lin Fanyun shared this scene with a sense of anticipation.

Sure enough, after Wang Luo changed his appearance, he didn’t head to the market but instead diverted to a secluded spot to meet with several strangers. Although they all appeared to be of the feathered race with small wings, the underlying incongruity in their auras didn’t escape the small eyeball’s scrutiny.

“So, it turns out to be a group of ascenders. Interesting. But Wang Luo, compared to you, your companions are far less cautious.”

The small eyeball rotated.

“Five late-stage True Core experts and two Law Manifestation second-layer elders. Tsk tsk, to be targeted by so many, just how many flaws did they reveal? Or did they all try to infiltrate major sects like Wang Luo but lack his skills?”

By comparison, Wang Luo fared better, successfully deceiving the many strong members of the Luofeng Sect.

Being discovered by Lin Fanyun was not his fault. Lin Fanyun simply outclassed Wang Luo in every aspect.

“Not looking good,” the small eyeball noted, observing the many powerful cultivators hidden around, watching the gathered ascenders like tigers eyeing their prey. The group below was unlikely to meet a good end.

Sure enough, four rogue late-stage True Core cultivators, after eavesdropping for a while and hearing nothing but idle chatter and boasting with no substantive discussion, lost their patience. They decided to make a move and capture the entire group, planning to torture each one for the information they sought.

A powerful aura descended, enveloping the area.

Four late-stage True Core cultivators appeared simultaneously, exchanging glances without surprise. They had already sensed each other’s presence. 

They were rogue cultivators and at the same cultivation stage, so who could deceive whom?

“Our goals are the same. We all want the lower realm they come from. Why don’t we join forces to extract its coordinates first? We can discuss how to divide it later.”

The four of them nodded in agreement.

The dozen or so ascenders, who had been happily chatting, instantly turned pale. The highest among them, Wang Luo, was only at the fourth layer of the True Core stage. There were two or three others at the first or second layer of the True Core stage, while the rest were merely at the Innate stage. Under the pressure of the four late-stage True Core cultivators, they were forced to the ground.

The four rogue cultivators didn’t waste any time and immediately enveloped the ascenders with their powerful auras, trapping them in an inescapable assault.

In an instant, Wang Luo and the other two True Core cultivators couldn’t spare a thought for their Innate stage companions pinned to the ground by the overwhelming aura. They quickly channeled their power to break through the oncoming attacks and scattered in an attempt to escape.

The moment the four rogue cultivators revealed themselves, Wang Luo and the others recognized the disparity in strength. Fighting was not an option. Resisting would only lead to capture. Their only hope lay in fleeing.

But their hope was short-lived.

After the four rogue cultivators attacked, the two Law Manifestation cultivators also joined in.

Their immense power shook the heavens and earth, causing the entire world to seem as if it had come to a standstill.

Apart from the two Law Manifestation stage elders and one True Core cultivator they had brought along, everyone else stopped moving. Even the four rogue cultivators were left dry-mouthed, swallowing nervously.

“Ancestor Chonglang of the Langtao Sect, Ancestor Jinghun of the Jianyue Sect, and Master Lanyue.”

“Gulp, these ascenders have already attracted the attention of the Seven Great Sects?”

The four rogue cultivators exchanged glances. They instantly understood that the ascenders were beyond their control. They might not even be able to protect themselves.

Without another word, they scattered and fled in all directions.

It was no wonder they reacted this way. The benefits behind the ascenders were too significant.

The True Martial Continent has existed for countless years, and ascenders appeared many times before. The worlds behind these ascenders varied in size, but each one brought a time of celebration.

However, these worlds would vanish from their original positions after a while, and no one understood why. This was why the rogue cultivators couldn’t wait any longer after overhearing Wang Luo and his group chatting casually. They were anxious to find these worlds before they disappeared again.

If Lin Fanyun had heard their thoughts, he would have explained that these so-called worlds were actually blessed lands and heavenly grottos. The reason they disappeared was because they remained in a state of drifting, connected to the Great Wilderness by hidden spatial passages. Without special means to stabilize them, they would continue to drift through the Great Wilderness.

Every time these worlds appeared, they brought a period of prosperity to the True Martial Continent, with Law Manifestation stage experts emerging frequently.

This was all due to the resources they plundered!

The amount of resources required to cultivate multiple Law Manifestation stage powerhouses was unimaginable.

In this regard, Lin Fanyun could pat his storage pouch and agree wholeheartedly.

When such an immense amount of resources was at stake, the four rogue cultivators feared that Ancestor Chonglang and Ancestor Jinghun would kill them to keep the news hidden.

“Why the rush, friends? Come back with me to the Jianyue Sect for a chat,” Ancestor Jinghun said. 

As soon as he spoke, the four rogue cultivators ran even faster. If they went, how could they survive?

Ancestor Jinghun snorted coldly and flicked his finger, sending out four sword beams that instantly traveled several miles, striking down the fleeing four.

“Lanyue, capture them and bring them back,” Ancestor Jinghun ordered, having only injured them without killing them.

Ancestor Chonglang glanced over, “Jinghun, you’ve grown old and soft.”

Ancestor Jinghun ignored him. Why not kill them?

Killing them would only yield some useful corpses. Keeping them alive for disciples to practice their sword skills was much better. Even if they died under the disciples’ swords, the bodies would still be there.

It was a win-win situation, extracting all remaining value.

But this was something one could do but shouldn’t say. It sounded bad if spoken.

So Ancestor Jinghun stayed silent, just staring at the ascenders below.

“Chonglang, now only our two sects know about this matter. How about we join forces?”

The feast brought by the ascenders would be more enjoyable shared by two sects than divided among ten major forces.

Ancestor Chonglang readily agreed.

“Good, let’s join forces and together divide up the world behind these ascenders.”

The fate of the trembling ascenders was decided so easily.

However, just as everyone was too afraid to act rashly, the small eye hidden in the dark flashed. Wang Luo was horrified to find a light suddenly shining from his body.

“Huh? A teleportation talisman? This is bad!” 

Chonglang and Jinghun instantly realized something was wrong and moved to interrupt the teleportation. But they didn’t dare to use too much force. They feared they might accidentally kill all the ascenders below, resulting in nothing.

Because of their concerns and Wang Luo’s head start, he was teleported away in his terror.

“Damn it!” Chonglang and Jinghun cursed.

A slip-up allowed one to escape. This could jeopardize their exclusive share.

“Friend, let’s speed up. The sooner we gain an advantage before others join, the more benefits we’ll have.”

“Indeed, we’ll have to be more aggressive now.”

Chonglang and Jinghun looked at the remaining ascenders with murderous intent.

The one who teleported Wang Luo away was, of course, Lin Fanyun.

Since he first targeted Wang Luo, he had laid measures on him to prepare for any unforeseen events.

Sure enough, it came in handy now.

Lin Fanyun stayed outside the Luofeng Sect, and a flash of white light appeared before him, with the unconscious Wang Luo.

If this happened within the Luofeng Sect, the spatial fluctuations would not escape the notice of Ancestor Huang Luo. Despite his decline, he was still a formidable Law Manifestation stage powerhouse and couldn’t be underestimated.