Chapter 215: The Heavenly Ladder Broken, the Immortal Path Severed
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“Little Six…”
Fang Cheng Lang choked out Yu Zhao’s childhood name, his voice heavy with sorrow and despair. He knew there was no redemption left between them. What he owed Yu Zhao was not a mere apology but a vibrant, precious life.
“Ye, Cong, Xin…” Fang Cheng Lang clenched his fists slowly, then slammed one into the ground with a force that radiated his seething hatred.
Ye Cong Xin, colluding with malevolent forces, committed heinous deeds and turned the entire cultivation world into mere stepping stones for her ascension. She deserved death!
Driven by his consuming hatred, Fang Cheng Lang braced himself against the ground and slowly stood up. He vowed to escape this place, find Ye Cong Xin, and personally end her reign of terror before the Floating Island sealed itself. He refused to let history repeat itself, even if it meant bearing the stigma of harming a fellow sect member.
…
Yu Zhao had a long dream.
In her dream, she visited a small mountain village and witnessed the birth of a child. His parents, overjoyed, named him Chang Sheng.
Chang Sheng was exceptionally bright but too poor to attend formal schooling. Undeterred, he secretly listened to the lessons of the local tutor, learning to read and write. At ten, while gathering herbs on the mountain, he stumbled into a hidden cave by accident. Inside, he discovered a mysterious ancient book that set him on the path of cultivation.
From an insignificant rogue cultivator, Chang Sheng gradually grew into a formidable Soul Transformation stage cultivator over three centuries. He became a legend, hailed as the one most likely to ascend to the Grand World.
The cultivation world they lived in was but one of many Lesser Worlds, with the Soul Transformation stage being its peak. Beyond it lay the Middle World and then the Grand World. To break free from their world’s limitations and extend their immortal path, one had to ascend the Heavenly Ladder into the Middle World.
For centuries, however, no cultivator had managed to summon the Heavenly Ladder. The once-promising Soul Transformation elders spent their lives at the peak of their abilities, only to die with unfulfilled dreams.
So when Chang Sheng summoned the Heavenly Ladder in the dream, even Yu Zhao’s subconscious found it hard to believe. After all, it had been centuries since anyone had succeeded.
The Heavenly Ladder appeared as majestic as the legends described—divine cranes flying around it, immortal melodies resonating in the air. Amid the envious gazes of countless cultivators, Chang Sheng ascended step by step, heading toward the sanctified land of his dreams.
Ten steps. A hundred. A thousand. Ten thousand…
Chang Sheng never stopped walking, yet the ladder seemed endless. His initial excitement turned to irritation, then to disappointment.
When he had collected enough disappointment, his emotions finally settled into an eerie calm. He continued climbing, enduring the solitude and the fear of his dwindling lifespan.
At last, when his lifespan was nearly exhausted, he reached the top of the ladder and saw a door—a simple yet imposing stone gate exuding a weighty presence. Behind it lay the Middle World that countless cultivators dreamed of.
As Chang Sheng placed his hand on the gate, he hesitated. A foreboding shadow loomed over his heart. Beyond the door might lie a cruel truth.
He paused for three breaths, then resolutely pushed the door open.
The door creaked as it swung ajar. A frigid gale, sharp as blades, tore at Chang Sheng, leaving countless wounds on his supposedly invulnerable body. Unbothered, he stared aghast at the scene beyond the gate.
“The Heavenly Ladder is broken, the immortal path severed. Heaven has doomed the cultivation world!”
The despairing cry reverberated like a hammer, violently pulling Yu Zhao out of her dream.
She jolted awake, still hearing Chang Sheng’s anguished voice echo in her ears.
Was it… just a dream?
No, this wasn’t a dream.
Chang Sheng’s life was so vividly complete that Yu Zhao had fully immersed herself in it, unable to sense anything amiss. So… what had Chang Sheng seen behind that door to declare, “The Immortal Path is severed”? Could it truly mean that the cultivation world was nearing its end?
Yu Zhao’s eyes darkened.
In her previous life, she had taken the wrong steps and failed to reach the peak. Reborn, she had fortified her Dao heart, determined to right the regrets of her past. Yet, what she had witnessed today unsettled her deeply—the Tablet of Fate etched with life’s essence, the cryptic voice in her Sea of Consciousness… What did it all mean?
She snapped out of her thoughts and quickly assessed her surroundings. She now found herself on a small floating island, its core marked by an ancient tree with sprawling roots and lush foliage. Three radiant, golden fruits hung from its branches, their forms indistinct yet mesmerizing.
“The Longevity Tree,” she murmured aloud, then froze.
The senior in her dream was named Chang Sheng, and now she stood before a Longevity Tree on this floating island. Was this mere coincidence or a deliberate connection?
With questions swirling in her mind, Yu Zhao approached the tree. However, three meters away from its base, she was stopped by an invisible barrier. She halted, clasped her hands respectfully, and called out, “Might Senior Chang Sheng be present?”
A gentle breeze stirred the tree’s branches and leaves, producing a rustling sound.
“Did Senior bring me here to impart guidance to this junior?” she asked again.
“Chang Sheng… Great Dao… Final wish…”
A soft, ethereal voice whispered into her ears, fragmented yet distinct enough for her to catch a few words.
Yu Zhao gazed at the tree thoughtfully. The questions posed before she arrived on the island, her dream, and everything she had witnessed began to take shape in her mind. She believed she now understood the answer Senior Chang Sheng sought.
“Senior,” she declared firmly, “since choosing the Path of Emotional Detachment, my sole aspiration has been to ascend and attain Dao. Should the Heavenly Ladder break, I shall rebuild it. If the Immortal Path is severed, I will forge it anew with my life. Should Heaven seek to end the cultivation world, I will defy it—unyielding and undying!”
Crack! Crack! Crack!
The barrier before her shattered inch by inch.
The three dazzling fruits shot toward her like streaks of light. Their force was so immense that Yu Zhao nearly lost her footing, but she steadied herself just in time.
“Thank you, Senior,” she said, bowing deeply to the Longevity Tree, cradling the fruits in her arms. When she straightened up, she unexpectedly found herself back outside the cave where she had previously sought to harvest spiritual nests.
She carefully placed the three Longevity Fruits into a jade box, securing them within her storage space. Then, she laid several layers of illusionary formations around herself and silently re-entered the cave.
Earlier, Fang Cheng Lang and Su Ming’s unexpected arrival had disrupted her plans. Now, with no one around, she hurried to gather the remaining spiritual nests.
When Yu Zhao’s image appeared once more in the Water Mirror, Sect Master Ji Yuan, who had been sullen, slapped his thigh with joy, grinning ear to ear and gesticulating wildly. “Good, good, good! As long as Yu Zhao is safe!”
Sect Master Wu Sang, however, had his eyes fixed on the three golden fruits Yu Zhao carried. A spark of excitement glimmered in his gaze. The Longevity Fruit—a treasure of legend he had never seen, even as the head of the Green Wood Sect. Yet his intuition told him that these fruits were precisely the mythical Longevity Fruits, seen only once in a millennium.
Yu Zhao had not only found the Longevity Tree but had also harvested its fruits!
Three Longevity Fruits. Yu Zhao would likely give one to Yao Wu Ji, keep another for herself, and still have one left. Sect Master Wu Sang’s mind was already calculating the likelihood of trading a rare elixir for that remaining fruit.