Chapter 00257: Stepping into the Ascension Realm
# Stepping into the Ascension Realm
Chapter 257
Novel: After the Myth
Chapter 257: Stepping into the Ascension Realm
For cultivators above the Yuan Soul realm, there was a special passage from the Dao Cultivation Realm to the Ascension Realm.
Ding Huan, Hu Wuxin, and Mo Zheng entered the Ascension Realm through this passage.
Upon arriving in the Ascension Realm, Hu Wuxin and Mo Zheng didn’t find anything particularly special.
They had been here before.
However, Ding Huan immediately noticed that not only was the spiritual energy in the Ascension Realm denser, but the rules of this realm were also more refined compared to the Dao Cultivation Realm.
This puzzled Ding Huan.
Ordinary barriers could only block the geographical connection between the Dao Cultivation Realm and the Ascension Realm, but they couldn’t possibly interfere with the natural rules, creating such a difference.
"Alliance Leader Hu..."
Ding Huan wanted to ask Hu Wuxin about it, but Hu Wuxin laughed and said, "Ding Huan, I won’t call you Sect Leader anymore. Now that we’ve arrived in the Ascension Realm, we’re a team. Here, our cultivation levels are at the bottom, so let’s just call each other by our names to avoid any awkwardness."
Mo Zheng immediately agreed, "Yes, I agree with Brother Wuxin."
Ding Huan didn’t mind and asked again, "Old Hu, I wanted to ask, who set up the barrier between the Dao Cultivation Realm and the Ascension Realm?"
Hu Wuxin was taken aback by the nickname "Old Hu."
Was he really that old? But he didn’t mind.
It sounded more friendly than "Alliance Leader."
As for the barrier, Hu Wuxin knew a bit about it.
"No, this barrier seems to have existed since the appearance of humans on the Threefold Heaven Star Continent. It’s been there all along. However, the barrier between the Mortal Realm and the Dao Cultivation Realm seems to have been set up by later generations. As for who did it, I’m not entirely sure."
Ding Huan understood a bit more now.
Apart from the vast difference in spiritual energy, the natural rules between the Mortal Realm and the Dao Cultivation Realm didn’t seem to change much.
Since Hu Wuxin said the barrier was man-made, it made sense.
After all, no matter how powerful someone was on the Threefold Heaven Star Continent, they couldn’t alter the natural rules.
After explaining the barrier, Hu Wuxin pointed in the direction of the Heavenly Opening Battlefield.
"It’s about ten days’ journey from here to the Heavenly Opening Battlefield. We can reach Ten Thousand Treasures City within ten days, prepare there for a few days, and then head into the battlefield."
Hu Wuxin planned to explain the dangers and opportunities of the Heavenly Opening Battlefield in detail.
Since they were a team, they needed to be prepared.
However, Mo Zheng interjected, "Ding Huan, your backpack is quite noticeable. I’m worried that once we reach Ten Thousand Treasures City, someone might take the opportunity to inspect it."
This was something Ding Huan had been concerned about.
While most people wouldn’t inspect others’ backpacks, there was always the chance of encountering someone like Shi Qiqiu, a hypocritical scoundrel who might use any excuse to check his belongings.
Hu Wuxin nodded, "That’s a possibility. The Ascension Realm has many eccentric individuals. They come from major sects and look down on cultivators from the Dao Cultivation Realm."
Hu Wuxin was being polite.
In the eyes of Ascension Realm cultivators, those from the Dao Cultivation Realm weren’t even worth considering as ants.
Their status was likely lower than that of a beast companion.
Ding Huan hesitated for a moment before saying, "I’m a cautious person. Once, I entered a secret realm where spiritual sense couldn’t be used, and I almost died there. So, this time, I’ve taken extra precautions. I’ve stored some ordinary resources in my backpack."
Ding Huan’s excuse had some flaws.
Even if spiritual sense couldn’t be used, as long as a cultivator had their treasures with them, they’d be fine.
After all, most cultivators could go without food or water for long periods.
But Hu Wuxin’s eyes lit up.
He hadn’t thought of that.
They were heading to the Heavenly Opening Battlefield, where it was normal for spiritual sense to be unusable.
And what if there was a place with no spiritual energy at all? Anything could happen in the Heavenly Opening Battlefield.
It wouldn’t be surprising if there were areas without spiritual energy.
Even cultivators at the Virtual God Realm needed to replenish their energy.
Mortals relied on food, while cultivators relied on spiritual energy.
Without spiritual energy, although cultivators could last longer than mortals, they would eventually need food and water.
"Ding Huan, that’s a great idea. I think I need to get a backpack too," Hu Wuxin immediately agreed with Ding Huan’s foresight.
"Once we reach Ten Thousand Treasures City, I’ll buy one," Mo Zheng also nodded in agreement.
It was a good idea.
Ding Huan casually took out two backpacks from his storage ring and handed them to the two.
"Haha, I have plenty of these. Here, take them."
"These are actually spirit tools!" Hu Wuxin laughed as he slung the backpack over his shoulder and tossed some daily necessities inside.
Mo Zheng did the same.
Ding Huan nodded inwardly.
He had made two good friends.
Both Hu Wuxin and Mo Zheng didn’t need to wear the backpacks right away.
They could have waited until they entered the Heavenly Opening Battlefield to put them on.
By wearing them now, they were showing their support for Ding Huan.
It was clear that both Hu Wuxin and Mo Zheng sensed that Ding Huan’s reason for carrying a backpack wasn’t as simple as he made it out to be.
From the entrance of the Ascension Realm to Ten Thousand Treasures City, it would take ordinary cultivators at least one or two months.
Without teleportation arrays, most people could only rely on flying.
Hu Wuxin said it would only take ten days because he had a top-tier flying treasure—a twin-winged boat.
Originally an exceptional flying spirit tool, it had been modified by its owner with two wings, which were also exceptional spirit tools.
This small modification had significantly increased the boat’s speed.
Feeling the speed of the twin-winged boat, Ding Huan couldn’t help but marvel.
He had just obtained an exceptional flying spirit tool, the Light Shuttle, from Lu Yuan’s storage ring.
Seeing Hu Wuxin’s twin-winged boat, he realized that when it came to treasures, there was no end to improvement.
There was always something better.
"Old Hu, you must know a lot about the Heavenly Opening Battlefield, right?" Ding Huan asked casually, wanting to learn more from Hu Wuxin and Mo Zheng.
For Ding Huan, finding treasures in the Heavenly Opening Battlefield was secondary.
The most important thing was to find a Starry Sky Spirit Vein.
Without it, it would be difficult for him to reach higher realms.
According to Ding Huan’s plan, after he finished cultivating with his mid-grade Starry Sky Spirit Vein, he would venture into the vast starry sky to seek opportunities.
Since Hu Wuxin had told him that there were Starry Sky Spirit Veins in the Heavenly Opening Battlefield, and since the Blue Star Sect required Virtual God Realm cultivators to go there, he decided to make the trip.
He wasn’t a Virtual God Realm cultivator, but only he knew that.
To outsiders, Ding Huan appeared to be at the Virtual God Realm.
Hu Wuxin’s expression turned serious.
"Ding Huan, the reason Mo Zheng and I wanted to invite you is because the Heavenly Opening Battlefield is extremely dangerous. As Virtual God Realm cultivators from the Dao Cultivation Realm, we have no choice but to go. I’m sure you’ve prepared for the worst, right? From what I know, before the Heavenly Opening Battlefield was fully opened, many people entered, including Earth Immortal experts. But so far, no one has come out alive. Since the battlefield opened, tens of thousands have entered, and the result is the same—no one has returned."
Ding Huan took a deep breath.
It was that dangerous.
Mo Zheng sighed, "Do you know why the Ascension Realm built a platform between the Dao Cultivation Realm and the Ascension Realm? It’s because many people in the Ascension Realm don’t want to enter the Heavenly Opening Battlefield. The death rate is just too high. So, they’ve turned their attention to the Dao Cultivation Realm, even forcing people to enter."
Ding Huan remained silent.
Hu Wuxin and Mo Zheng also lost their desire to chat, feeling somewhat oppressed.
After a few minutes, Ding Huan took out his Ascension Token and wristband and placed them on the table.
Hu Wuxin and Mo Zheng looked at Ding Huan in surprise, not understanding what he meant.
Ding Huan slowly explained, "This Ascension Token has a teleportation array pattern, and the wristband has monitoring and restraint array patterns..."
"What?" Hu Wuxin and Mo Zheng were shocked and quickly took out their own Ascension Tokens and wristbands.
Their faces turned grim.
They knew all too well what monitoring and restraint patterns meant.
"But I’ve carefully inspected them, and there’s nothing wrong. There’s only a complex directional and positioning array," Mo Zheng said.
Ding Huan pointed at the wristbands and tokens.
"These array patterns won’t activate now. But once we enter the Heavenly Opening Battlefield, they’ll activate automatically, and we’ll be under their surveillance."
"How ruthless," Hu Wuxin said with a look of resentment.
He was well-traveled and often schemed against others, but he never expected the Ascension Realm to not only force them into the Heavenly Opening Battlefield but also to plant such traps in their wristbands.
Could they be any more shameless?
"What should we do?" Mo Zheng looked at Ding Huan.
Ding Huan chuckled, "If we didn’t know, there’d be nothing we could do. But since we know, we have plenty of options. Once we enter the Heavenly Opening Battlefield, we’ll create a crisis. Actually, we don’t even need to create one—there are plenty of dangers in the battlefield..."
"You mean...?" Hu Wuxin’s eyes lit up, understanding Ding Huan’s plan.
"That’s right. When the time comes, we won’t leave anything behind. We can even discard some clothes, and the backpacks too..."
Ding Huan nodded.
He wouldn’t discard his own backpack, of course.
He was telling them now instead of waiting until they entered the battlefield because he was worried the wristbands would already be monitoring them by then, making it inconvenient to act.
"Alright, once we enter the Heavenly Opening Battlefield, we’ll follow your lead," Hu Wuxin immediately decided.
He felt that teaming up with Ding Huan was the wisest choice.
Even before entering the battlefield, Ding Huan had discovered the most critical issue.
Hu Wuxin and Mo Zheng had had their Ascension Tokens and wristbands for a year and hadn’t noticed anything amiss, yet Ding Huan had figured it out so quickly.
Fortunately, the rest of their Ascension Tokens and wristbands were stored in the Dao Cultivation Realm’s Alliance Headquarters, where any Virtual God Realm cultivator could apply for them.
(End of Chapter)