Chapter 74

Chapter 74: Liu Lan Yi Ascends, the Heaven-Questioning Sect Is in Danger!

If Liu Lan Yi hadn’t been forced to guard the Heaven-Questioning Sect, she would’ve ascended more than 20 years ago.

For decades, she had lived alone on the back mountain, rarely stepping outside the sect gates. Her loneliness hadn’t frozen her heart.

Today’s reaction did.

Even if there was no credit, there was still hard work.

Yet no one was happy for her.

Instead, there was only blame.

Liu Lan Yi’s gaze quieted. She straightened her robes, swept her eyes across the crowd, and spoke calmly.

“I have sat in command of the Heaven-Questioning Sect for decades without negligence. I exhausted myself suppressing my cultivation.”

“But now my cultivation can no longer be suppressed. I have no choice but to go with the flow and face the Ascension Stage tribulation.”

Her tone turned polite, almost distant. “From now on, the sect will be guarded by my two junior brothers and all of you martial nephews. I am very relieved.”

“I believe the Heaven-Questioning Sect will reach even greater heights in your hands.”

The elders’ expressions shifted again and again.

If the tribulation was imminent, who could stop it?

No one.

If she forcibly remained in the Lower Realm, the backlash could destroy her. She had only one path.

No one could force a smile—except the Second Elder, who stepped forward first and offered a formal salute, her grin surprisingly sincere.

“Congratulations, Martial Uncle. Congratulations again. This disciple wishes Martial Uncle a smooth passage through the heavenly tribulation and an ascension in broad daylight!”

Liu Lan Yi’s mood eased by a thread. It seemed not everyone was an ungrateful wretch.

She nodded. “Thank you for your good words.”

Then she reached for Song Wan Ning’s hand and gave it a firm squeeze. “Take care. We’ll wait for you in the Upper Realm.”

There was no point saying more. She only hoped Wan Ning could protect herself.

Song Wan Ning hugged her tightly, once. “Martial Uncle, go.”

There wasn’t much sadness in her voice.

Because she believed they would meet again soon.

“Mhm.”

Liu Lan Yi’s figure flashed. She rose into the air and shot deeper into the back mountain, choosing a place far from the disciples so the tribulation wouldn’t endanger the sect.

Heavenly lightning locked onto her instantly.

Rumble—

Boom!

Thunder tore the sky. Lightning crashed down again and again, violent enough to shake the mountains.

Yet Liu Lan Yi remained calm, steady as stone.

At last, the truth of the treasure became clear: the stone was the Void Realm Stone, capable of opening heaven and earth and forming a brand-new world.

By the time she realized what she’d bonded with, it was too late. The Void Realm Stone had tied itself to her completely. Unless her soul perished and her Dao collapsed, it could never be separated.

Now, as the lightning fell, the Void Realm Stone formed a domain around her—an invisible shelter so firm that even heavenly thunder couldn’t easily shake it.

Just like that, she passed the tribulation said to be the most dangerous at the Ascension Stage.

The clouds dispersed. Radiant light poured down.

The passage to the Ascension Stage opened.

A beam of warm, dazzling light fell over Liu Lan Yi like a blessing.

She looked down at the Heaven-Questioning Sect.

Her duty was finished.

It was time to leave.

At last, her gaze found Song Wan Ning in the distance. She held that look for a breath—then turned without hesitation and stepped into the passage.

In an instant, she vanished.

The glow faded. The back mountain was left scarred and broken, thunder’s aftermath etched into stone.

Disciples stared, eyes full of awe and yearning, dreaming of the world beyond the sky. For a long time, none of them could come back to themselves.

The Sect Master watched with a complicated expression—envy twisting together with fear.

He envied Liu Lan Yi for ascending.

He feared what came next.

Without a late-stage Divine Transformation Stage expert guarding the sect, who could say other forces wouldn’t move the moment they heard? In the Cultivation World, the strong preyed on the weak. With resources limited, sects and clans fought in the shadows and smiled in public.

Now the Heaven-Questioning Sect had one fewer shield.

They needed to seal mouths, slow rumors—send word to the other two Divine Transformation Ancestors and urge them to return at once.

At this moment, the Sect Master’s greatest wish was simple: that one of those two Martial Uncles would break through to the late stage.

With that knot of thoughts tightening in his chest, he left with a deep frown.

The elders followed, sighing as if they could already taste the coming trouble.

The Second Elder lingered behind.

Her gaze fixed on Song Wan Ning, sharp and measuring. Song Wan Ning’s cultivation had been advancing rapidly. And she had been at Liu Lan Yi’s side before the tribulation.

It was hard not to suspect something.

Song Wan Ning sensed the stare and turned around.

This wasn’t the first time the Second Elder had spoken up, which surprised her. Since entering the sect, they had never liked each other. They’d competed from the Inner Sect tournament to the Heavenly Prodigy Battle Platform, from Golden Core Stage contests to the battle of the gods—wins and losses traded back and forth, neither willing to yield.

Even now, it was difficult for them to exchange even one peaceful sentence.

The Second Elder seemed to read Song Wan Ning’s expression. She clasped her hands behind her back and snorted.

“Don’t get full of yourself. I hate you the most.”

Song Wan Ning’s lips curled. She looked the Second Elder up and down, unimpressed. “As if you’re so lovable.”

“Get lost!” the Second Elder snapped, instantly furious, and stormed away.

Song Wan Ning watched her go, a smile rippling briefly in her eyes. Then she turned back into the courtyard and uprooted the little house Liu Lan Yi had lived in, storing it in her storage ring.

Even if Martial Uncle no longer lived there, Song Wan Ning didn’t want anyone else touching it—tainting it.

—

News that the Heaven-Questioning Sect’s resident Ancestor had ascended spread in less than half a day. The Sect Master hadn’t managed to silence it in time.

It happened too suddenly. Neither the Heaven-Questioning Sect nor the surrounding forces had been prepared.

“Haha—so the Heaven-Questioning Sect is leaderless now?”

“Who knows what those Divine Transformation Heavenly Venerables are doing? Hold your position and watch.”

Every force watched in secret, waiting.

One fewer Divine Transformation Stage cultivator meant a weaker grip on territory and resources. If the other two still hadn’t reached the late stage, then the Heaven-Questioning Sect would have to yield—handing over something, somewhere, to someone.

They could be struck from the Seven Sects and Four Factions and reduced to a mid-tier sect.

From that day on, the Heaven-Questioning Sect fell into turmoil. Everyone waited, tense and restless, for the two Divine Transformation Stage cultivators to return.

—

“Is what you said true?”

An Ze shot to his feet, agitated, and strode toward the next table.

He’d been drinking in the inn to drown his worries when he suddenly caught the words “Hundred Nether Grass” from the neighboring conversation.