Chapter 34: Reflecting Upon the Mortal Realm, The Second Ascension

"…My apologies."

Chen Xuan felt quite pleased. He had gained much from Yan Yushu this evening, so he paid no mind to her icy tone. He let go and stood up, rising from the back of the now fully conscious Yan Yushu. "Rest assured, I shall not speak a word of what happened tonight."

"..."

Yan Yushu stood up, turning her back to him to adjust her robes. Then, with a calm expression, she stared coldly at Chen Xuan. Her eyes held a hollow, detached look, as if she had grown weary of all things in the world and no longer cared for anything.

Twice. She had lost control in front of him not once, but twice!

That aside, the key was that this man named Chen Xuan had remained utterly unmoved. During the second time, he had even focused all his attention on practicing his sleight of hand. Was she truly so unattractive? The number of men who admired her outside could not be contained within a single city!

Yan Yushu did not know how to process this tragic encounter, nor could she find words to describe her complex emotions. At the same time, she felt a sense of profound shock. Just as she was spiraling into oblivion, Chen Xuan had actually mastered two sleight-of-hand techniques. Such talent was simply unheard of.

What she found even more baffling was that he had previously used the White Qi to beat her, which meant he had mastered at least three different types of Immortal Qi. It was common knowledge that the Twelve Qi of Mountains and Seas were mutually generative and destructive, making them difficult to harmonize. Most Qi practitioners in the world specialized in only one, and only the rarest geniuses had the spare energy to attempt a second. Even then, that second Qi was merely auxiliary, requiring double the time and effort with little to show for it.

Yet, here was Chen Xuan, who had manifested a second Qi in less than half an hour, followed by a third that was twice as difficult to master. This terrifying speed of cultivation left even Yan Yushu feeling a flicker of awe.

"You..."

Yan Yushu opened her mouth as if to say something, then paused, turned her head away, and murmured, "I have regained my senses. The Heaven of Six Desires is fading."

Chen Xuan followed her gaze toward the high heavens.

"Rumble..."

The four towering figures of the Heavenly Kings slowly rose once more, their bent forms straightening until they stood almost erect, moving away from the lotus platform.

"Crack..."

Suddenly, a sound of massive objects grinding and breaking echoed through the air. The arm of one colossal figure snapped, sending boulders and debris raining down like a storm into the black lake, creating tidal waves that surged toward the lotus platform.

"Boom!"

The waves crashed against the shore, and the ground shook. Chen Xuan stood firmly. As he stared at the lifeless, fading things in the sky, a realization dawned on him, and he roughly grasped the meaning behind the scene. Yan Yushu had consumed the monk’s cultivation as sustenance, and this Heaven of Six Desires had likewise treated her as a delicious morsel.

"Every time I use the power of the Heaven of Six Desires, I sink deeper into the Realm of Desire. Eventually, I will become a part of this Heaven of Six Desires," Yan Yushu explained casually. She then stared at Chen Xuan, her tone calm. "I owe you for tonight. Is there anything I can help you with?"

She was a spirited woman who had dared to travel alone across several major cities and had once led the Hanging Temple on a merry chase; she possessed a strong heart. Now that she had returned to normal, she was rational and clear-headed, quickly accepting what had occurred.

The man had not taken advantage of her and had even been of great help. Although these intimate experiences made her want to crawl into a hole and hide, she could not harbor too much malice toward him.

"Hmm, help, you say..." Chen Xuan raised an eyebrow, a sudden, profoundly sinful and offensive thought crossing his mind. *What if... we cooperated?*

He immediately suppressed the feasible idea, shook his head, and said indifferently, "We met by chance, each taking what we needed. Let us part ways here."

"..."

Yan Yushu bit her crimson lips and gazed at him deeply, silently letting out a sigh of relief. She was a brilliant and talented woman, and naturally, she had entertained the same thought as Chen Xuan.

*But beauty is like a wolf or a tiger; it is the greatest drain on a hero’s resolve.*

She could see that Chen Xuan’s heart was as firm as a rock and not easily swayed, but she also knew how much temptation her body held for a young man in his prime. *He could endure it once, and he could endure it twice, but I do not believe he can endure it forever...*

Fortunately, he was a man of integrity who walked a righteous path and had not seized the opportunity to make that excessive request. After all, she was still young and did not wish to sacrifice everything for the sake of the Great Dao of Qi.

...

Before dawn.

At the quarters of the Hanging Temple, in a cramped and dim hut, Chen Xuan opened his eyes from his slumber. He summoned a stream of vibrant green Immortal Qi, which then surged and transformed into a crimson flame, illuminating the dark room.

"I am about to step into my second Ascension."

He muttered to himself, a realization dawning on him. Having mastered two techniques with his spirit, the power of the Green and Red Qi was now reflecting upon his physical body.

"Whoosh!"

Within him, the forces of the Green and Red Qi alternated and circulated. The vigorous life force of the Green Deer and the boiling, fiery energy of the Fire Bird were quickly feeding back into and nourishing his body. A green and red radiance flowed across his skin as his blood and energy gathered, pushing against his physical limit of eight thousand jin.

At the same time, the energy he had accumulated from the treasure tea during the day joined the fray. Although not vast, it was an undeniable boost.

"I am breaking through the limit of the flesh and beginning the transformation."

Chen Xuan’s body grew intensely hot, and massive amounts of white mist poured out through his pores, shrouding the cold, small room in a thick haze.

"Clang!"

A golden-white thread, shimmering with a metallic luster, emerged from his internal organs, piercing through his pores along with impurities and murky air. It danced in the mist, refining his old, weary body.

"Whoosh!"

Immediately after, a fine green thread emerged, crystalline like jade, dancing in the air. A third, flame-like red thread followed, bursting out of his body. One after another, threads of brilliant Immortal Qi emerged and began to weave together in the air. Hundreds of these threads wove themselves into a dazzling, ethereal garment.

At a certain moment, a flawless garment of ascension—dominated by white, green, and red, with the other nine colors as accents—descended from the air and draped over Chen Xuan’s well-proportioned, powerful frame.

Everything fell into place.

"Hoo..."

Chen Xuan’s mind was clear, as if he were ascending to immortality, and he drifted into a deep sleep. His body was undergoing the ultimate sublimation, a complete rebirth.

...

The darkness was boundless; he did not know how much time had passed.

Chen Xuan was startled awake by faint sounds, his eyelids twitching slightly. In the darkest hour before dawn, when all things were silent, the locked wooden door was pushed open. Two different sets of footsteps crept inside.

"Senior Brother, I saw it clearly during the day. The seal characters he wrote must have meaning. Even the old master who brews the treasure tea said they must come from some ancient scripture." It was the voice of a young monk.

Chen Xuan recognized him—he was the one who had been kicked by the monk Kong Wen and had spent the afternoon staring at Chen Xuan with an unsettling, apologetic gaze. He had found it strange at the time, but since these ascetics were all stiff-faced, erratic, and acted like madmen, he hadn't made an issue of it.

"Junior Brother, this man is undergoing his second Ascension tonight!" another monk whispered.

"What is there to fear? Half the brothers in this temple have undergone the second Ascension, and aren't you one of them?" the young monk sneered.

"But if we do this, we have to flee the Hanging Temple..."

"Of course we have to flee! Look at the monks in this temple—how many of them still act like normal people?" The young monk said with resentment. He reached toward the bedside, carefully rummaging through Chen Xuan’s bag.

"Hiss! There’s a hairpin. This material... what a treasure!"

"..."

"Indeed, I agree."

In the darkness, a faintly glowing hand reached out and gently plucked the hairpin from the young monk's grasp.