Chapter 256: The Fractured Heavenly Ladder and the Urgency to Ascend
This novel is translated and hosted only on Bcatranslation
After inspecting the demonic beast eggs, Yu Zhao didn’t return to her room but followed Bai Ling to the entrance of his lair.
This place was the forbidden ground of the White Peacock Clan, accessible only to Bai Mei and no other beasts.
“Friend Yu, do you have something to discuss with me?” Bai Ling asked warmly, a faint curiosity flickering in his eyes.
Yu Zhao had been living on Spirit Mountain for over ten days, and this was the first time she actively sought him out.
Glancing around the area, Yu Zhao retrieved a set of wooden tables and chairs from her storage pouch, gesturing for the clan leader to take a seat.
Bai Ling obliged with a smile.
Next, Yu Zhao took out a tea set, swiftly preparing a pot of tea with fluid movements.
Though her tea-making skills were average, the high-quality tea leaves and water combined with her efficient handling soon filled the air with a rich aroma.
Bai Ling chuckled. “Living on Spirit Mountain for so long, I’d nearly forgotten the taste of tea. I must thank you for this treat, Friend Yu.”
“You’re too kind, Clan Leader. Please, enjoy,” Yu Zhao replied, offering him a cup.
Bai Ling took a sip, his eyes lighting up as he praised, “Good tea.”
Only after he set down the cup did Yu Zhao get to the point.
“Clan Leader Bai Ling, as far as I know, it has been over a thousand years since any demonic beast has successfully ascended to the Higher Realm. What do you think of this?”
As Yu Zhao asked, her eyes closely observed Bai Ling’s expression.
Although Bai Ling concealed it well, she caught a fleeting trace of panic and sorrow in his gaze.
Yu Zhao thought to herself, As expected.
It was clear that Bai Ling knew something was wrong with the ascension process.
In her previous life, Yu Zhao had always been puzzled.
Quan Ye’s bloodline was undeniably powerful, yet he clearly lacked loyalty to the demonic race. Why did Bai Ling repeatedly support him, providing resources for his cultivation?
It wasn’t until Yu Zhao witnessed Chang Sheng’s failed ascension on the Floating Island and learned the truth about why no one had ascended in years that she began to understand Bai Ling’s motives.
Bai Ling wasn’t aiding Quan Ye out of loyalty but as a desperate gamble for the future of the demonic race.
Quan Ye’s bloodline made him the most likely candidate for ascension. If he succeeded, he could break the curse of failed ascensions.
Thus, even knowing the odds were slim, Bai Ling willingly became his stepping stone, hoping to elevate him as high as possible.
This dedication moved Yu Zhao deeply, even as an outsider.
She realized they could work together.
Though demonic and human races were adversaries, their enmity wasn’t irreconcilable. Faced with the survival of an entire race, old grudges could wait.
“What… What exactly do you know?” Bai Ling’s voice revealed little emotion, but his tightened grip on the teacup betrayed his anxiety.
“It’s not that no one can ascend. The problem lies with the ascension pathway, which has become fractured, causing failures,” Yu Zhao said bluntly, revealing her trump card.
Bai Ling’s gaze sharpened, his eyes locked on her. “Did your Five Elements Dao Sect conclude this?”
Yu Zhao shook her head. “No, it’s my personal observation.”
She hadn’t reported the Floating Island incident to her sect, and few knew of it. Using her sect as a pretense would invite scrutiny, and she had no intention of deceiving Bai Ling.
“Then why…” Bai Ling sighed in disappointment.
“Because I saw it, and I heard it.”
I saw Chang Sheng stranded on the Heavenly Ladder, unable to take the final step.
I heard his cries of despair and his lament about the decline of the cultivation world.
I was born into this world, marked by its essence.
I can’t turn a blind eye, nor will I wait idly by.
That’s why I’m here.
A myriad of emotions flashed through Yu Zhao’s eyes.
She never aspired to sainthood and didn’t think of herself as a saint.
Like the Great Dao, which nurtures all things without form, emotion, or name, Yu Zhao simply did what she believed was right.
Bai Ling’s body trembled.
In Yu Zhao’s gaze, he saw a blazing flame, so fierce it seemed capable of burning the heavens and earth.
A sense of shame filled him.
Compared to Yu Zhao, he felt less resolute. Uncertainty about the outcome of his plans made him hesitant, anxious, and disheartened.
Bai Ling let out a bitter laugh.
An old peacock who had lived for centuries was being outdone by a young girl.
“Yu Zhao, do you know who the last demonic beast to ascend was?”
Yu Zhao, unaware that Bai Ling’s address had shifted from “Friend Yu” to her full name, was entirely focused on his question.
After a moment of thought, she answered, “The ancestor of the Nine-Tailed Fox Clan, Red Tail.”
Bai Ling shook his head. “No, it was my ancestor, White Feather, from the White Peacock Clan.”
Yu Zhao was stunned.
When a demonic or human cultivator ascends, it causes a magnificent phenomenon—brilliant colors fill the sky, and the Heavenly Ladder descends. Such events are widely known.
If Bai Ling’s words were true, why was this missing from history?
Bai Ling’s eyes narrowed, lost in thought. “This is a secret of the White Peacock Clan, one I only learned after becoming the clan leader.”
Over a millennium ago, when Red Tail ascended, White Feather also summoned the Heavenly Ladder.
Their timings overlapped, and the phenomena were nearly identical, making it difficult for outsiders to distinguish between them.
Red Tail’s successful ascent drew everyone’s attention, while White Feather suppressed her cultivation, refusing to ascend.
“She planned to wait until Red Tail’s moment had passed before attempting ascension again. However, it seemed the Heavens punish those who abandon their chance.
When she tried again, there were no celestial phenomena or Heavenly Ladder, only a guiding white light. Frustrated but helpless, she accepted the second attempt.
It was during this attempt that she uncovered a shocking secret,” Bai Ling explained.
He asked Yu Zhao, “Can you guess what it was?”
“The Heavenly Ladder was broken,” Yu Zhao answered slowly, her tone deliberate.
Bai Ling froze. “You… You actually saw it?”
He had assumed Yu Zhao’s claims were mere conjecture, but her response left him in shock.
Yu Zhao remained silent, her gaze steady.
Bai Ling continued, “Indeed, our ancestor used a secret technique to convey one last message to the clan:
‘The Heavenly Ladder is breaking; ascend quickly.’
At the time, the clan elders didn’t understand, so they kept it hidden.
Years later, no one in the cultivation world managed to ascend.
Her words became a prophecy.”
For generations, the White Peacock Clan had sought a way to restore the Heavenly Ladder, but for some reason, none of their members could progress beyond the late Divine Transformation Stage.
They couldn’t even summon the Heavenly Ladder, let alone repair it.
This left finding a descendant of the Azure Dragon Clan as their final hope.