Chapter 00212: Ashes of Ascension
# Ashes of Ascension
Chapter 212
Novel: Above Destiny
Chapter 212: Ashes of Ascension
The outpost was in chaos.
Darkness surged like a tsunami, sweeping forward with overwhelming force.
As the city of Quan emerged, the flood spread in all directions, only to come to an abrupt halt as if it had hit an invisible dam.
From the perspective of the Heavenly Eye, all impacts and ripples froze in place.
Everything came to a standstill.
The laws of Tianyuan operated here, setting a rule—creatures of calamity could not leave Quan City.
Yet, even the Celestials found themselves struggling against the accumulated pollution and flood that had built up over such a long time.
In an instant, countless cracking sounds echoed through the void.
The absolute decree was on the verge of collapse under the impact of reality, teetering on the edge of failure.
Thus, under the gaze of the Heavenly Eye, the perfect decree adjusted itself once more, adding imperfections.
It compromised with reality, sacrificing partial concessions to strengthen the whole.
A passage was opened in the blockade, like a floodgate, directly facing the outpost.
Instantly, endless pollution, disaster beasts, evil creatures, and even residual spirits surged forward like a mudslide, wreaking havoc as they approached.
Until they collided with the outpost.
The sounds of gunfire, flames, screams, and roars filled the air.
Airships ascended, flash bombs fell, leaving streaks of light like tear trails.
The clash between the fortress and the flood caused the ground to tremble violently, even from the mere aftershocks.
Underground, outside the emergency command center, the corridor lights flickered pale under the intense shaking.
Dust fell like rain, settling on Lü Yingyue's graying hair.
The slightly aged bureau chief hurried through the chaotic and busy corridor, constantly asking questions: "What's the status report on the front barrier?"
"It's still within manageable limits, but the consumption is increasing."
"How is Elder Tao?"
"He just woke up and is on his way."
"What about the other bureau chiefs?"
"They're on their way, still en route."
Lü Yingyue nodded, took the documents, and finally asked, "By the way, is this really the way to the emergency command center?"
In the sudden silence, the staff beside her froze, falling into a stunned silence.
Her expression twitched in surprise, as if trying to force a smile.
But no words came out...
Because at Lü Yingyue's fingertips, an incredibly real illusion rippled like water.
"Hmm? At least two Transcendent-level experts set up this 'Mirror Flower, Moon Water' illusion. The scent is familiar... Tianxin Society? And Wulou Temple?"
Lü Yingyue chuckled, "When did you two factions join forces? Lu Changsheng's mouth is truly something."
No one responded.
In the dead silence, a crack suddenly spread from the ripples at her fingertips, branching out like a spiderweb, as if glass were shattering.
It cut her finger.
Perhaps it was just an illusion.
But was it real or fake? Even the soul couldn't tell.
"It's been a long time since I've been underestimated like this..."
Lü Yingyue licked the blood from her fingertip, a self-deprecating smile appearing on her slightly aged face.
"Before we start fighting, do you have any last words?"
No one answered.
In the silence, there were no gasps, shouts, or roars.
In the instant of countless intersecting illusions, even death became silent.
Silence flooded everything.
---
At this moment, the heavens shook, and the earth trembled.
Amidst the deafening noise, flashing flames illuminated the quiet corridor through the windows.
Dust fell, and the chaotic running figures seemed to have forgotten this place—or perhaps couldn't find it.
Only a thin figure stood by the window, quietly admiring the chaos, softly humming an ancient tune.
After a long while, she finally looked away and continued forward.
She pushed open the slightly ajar door.
Behind the door, the office was as usual, except that without the windows open for ventilation, the old man's scent had grown stronger.
The secretary entered, reached out, and turned on the light.
The light illuminated the drooling old man sitting across the desk, dazed and absent-minded.
The secretary smiled slightly, adjusted his glasses, and said, "Elder Tao, are you well?"
"Fine."
The old man answered vaguely, looking up at him.
The face was familiar, yet now it seemed strange, just like everyone he had seen since waking up.
He always forgot.
"Sorry, I forgot your name again," he sighed regretfully.
"Who are you?"
"I'm your secretary."
The man sat down across from him, pointing at his badge and armband, repeating for who knows how many times, and then, for the first time, introduced himself.
"My surname is Lu, Lu Changsheng."
He smiled gently.
"You can call me Xiao Lu."
BOOM!!!!
In the quiet room, a dazzling light suddenly shot up from the night sky outside the window, soaring into the heavens.
Moments later, thunderous roars and a storm swept in.
Under the same intense light, flames were extinguished, brutally erased.
Smoke dissipated, leaving no trace in the storm.
The flesh tower crumbled, its stench and crimson splattering, decorating the scorched earth with grotesque patterns.
The pollution and traces of calamity vanished completely.
In the cruel and indifferent stripping...
The entire construction site's ruins were instantly purified.
All it took was a hand reaching out, gently touching the ground...
And then...
—A disintegration technique beyond Ji Jue's imagination was activated!
Material repulsion, like the same poles of a magnet repelling each other, forced everything on this land to become completely insulated from calamity and pollution, and then, stripped away!
Even the same disintegration technique had its levels, as vast as the difference between heaven and earth.
Limited by the distinctions between "Non-Aggression" and "Mo Xie," Ye Xian could only teach the basic principles and ideas, letting Ji Jue grow wildly.
But what was now displayed in her hands was the pinnacle of her unique skill!
Whether it was the blessings of Shangshan or the pollution of Xieyu, spiritual or physical, everything was washed away in an unstoppable wave.
Segmented, destroyed, degraded, bleached, and restored to its original form!
Including the Celestial before her...
In less than a minute, the entire scene had changed beyond recognition.
Thousands of massive pillars engraved with intricate spiritual circuits rose from the ground, once connecting heaven and earth, now severed at the waist.
Evil light from beyond the heavens pierced through the boundary membrane, sweeping across, burning everything, digging trenches, leaving behind a stench of scorched earth.
Frost and icicles intertwined, collided, broke, and dissolved, layers of snow falling slowly, only to turn into rain in the burning wind.
Rain fell on the giant statues crawling out of the mud, sliding down their cracked and broken faces like tears.
Broken limbs turned to ash, falling into the mire.
At the center of the site, a depression formed out of thin air, dozens of meters deep.
Transparent blades crisscrossed the void like a cage, piercing the残缺的孽物身躯, pinning him in place.
Around the blades was a massive shadow, materialized into substance.
Circling and gazing down.
A six-winged, one-legged black swan, towering like an iron wall; a gray rhinoceros appearing and disappearing in the void, endless and beginningless; a unicorn formed from all light, existing between being and non-being... and a giant whale providing infinite spiritual energy to countless calamity constructs.
The phantom of the giant whale enveloped the entire site, not yet fully formed, but everything seemed to have already been swallowed.
This was the collective of multiple Celestial-level constructs, a series of creations unparalleled even in the Taiyi Ring's registry—the [Omen Sequence]!
And now, amidst the piercing of the transparent blades, the sounds of friction and struggle were unceasing.
So sharp.
"Celestial..."
Duan Mu stubbornly tried to lift his head, unwilling to bow to Ye Xian.
Thick streams of blood slid down his face like tears:
"Even though I am... a Celestial..."
"Is this what a Celestial is?"
In the scorched earth beneath the crack, Ye Xian lowered her gaze.
"Why are you so captivated by such a false scene, Duan Mu?"
A facade of power, an empty core, nothing but an increase in spiritual output and total capacity... at best, it was just a showpiece.
She could even imagine the principle behind it...
Using the gravitational pull of a higher calamity to forcibly elevate his soul, allowing the once unreachable scenery to finally enter his view.
But at what cost?
Destroying the original foundation, the grand mansion collapsing, now like a prefabricated steel house hoisted into the air by a crane, suspended in mid-air, with nothing left but height.
Not even an air castle.
A gust of wind would make it sway, thunder and rain would make it unstable.
Even the completed circle and time wedge had inherent flaws!
Ye Xian didn't believe he hadn't noticed.
He must have known.
But he refused to believe...
"The Aggregate series is born from extraction and transformation, rooted in integration, but loses itself in complexity, lacking in purity and change. That guy back then wasn't wrong to dismiss your prospects."
Ye Xian sighed.
"Why are you so stubborn?"
"I'm not wrong!"
Duan Mu's eyes widened as he roared, as if his reverse scale had been touched, shouting madly: "We... are not wrong..."
"The Aggregate series is obsessed with increasing quantity, not realizing that sometimes, the more you add, the further you get. The reason you're stuck isn't because your talent is limited, but because you've completely exhausted that path."
Ye Xian took off her glasses, carefully wiping the dust off them, and suddenly asked: "Do you know about the 'Mother Machine Effect'?"
Duan Mu stiffened, silent, unsure why she suddenly brought this up.
"... No matter how exquisite a part is, it can never surpass the precision of the machine that made it. In modern industrial manufacturing, this phenomenon exists."
Ye Xian stated decisively: "And this is the most fatal weakness of your Aggregate series."
Even if it seems promising, the field beyond the light is so narrow.
If used well, it could be called a convenient method, but it stops there.
The related theories are too closed and narrow, naturally limited, resulting in works that are mediocre, inherently constrained by the craftsman's level.
Even though most craftsmen never reach the point of challenging the limits, and some never even come close in their entire lives.
It was precisely because of craftsmen like Duan Mu, who persevered through countless failures, that the flaws discovered by Tianlu back then were fully exposed!
"A craftsman who can only create things inferior to themselves... how boring is that?" Ye Xian put on her glasses and suddenly asked: "Do you want to see what truly defeated you, Duan Mu?"
At that moment, her hand slowly rose.
Revealing the creation in her palm.
That intricately flowing Ghost Work Ball!
Under Duan Mu's gaze, it floated in mid-air, silently rotating.
The outer shell-like disguise and seal disintegrated and fell away, removing the shackles.
Layer by layer, it decomposed.
The temporary workshop that served as a container also unfolded.
When the final layer was unveiled, countless spiritual circuits flowed out from within.
A matrix appeared, spreading out like a giant tree.
At its branches and key points, twelve triple-transformed blessings shone brightly, radiating magnificence!
Like a blazing sun, illuminating everything.
Where the light touched, all material properties merged and blended.
Heaven and earth became hazy, as if unformed, all things merging into one, the universe in chaos.
The circle expanded, the time wedge anchored!
This was the Matrix Ganjiang!
Or perhaps, it could be called...
—The Matrix Sacred Artifact: [Ganjiang]!
Giving material a soul, elevating the mundane to transcendence.
After undergoing ascension, extraction, purification, and integration, the man-made object gained consciousness and a soul.
A matrix was implanted into the soul, merging modern alchemy with blessings.
Finally, with a mind and skill beyond mortals, it was elevated to the realm of Celestials!
At this moment, right before Duan Mu's eyes, the Celestial position he had pursued his entire life but could never reach was achieved by a creation he could never have made!
Rage, shame, despair, fear, confusion...
In the end, it turned into a hoarse, powerless wail.
"Why... didn't you..."
Duan Mu struggled to understand, roaring in fury: "Why, why!"
With such talent, such ability, why go through so much trouble, willing to bestow the Celestial position upon a lifeless object, yet refuse to move forward yourself?
The path he had chased his entire life, unreachable...
How much more do you want to humiliate me?!""Because it's meaningless,"Ye Xian replied coldly."...""Seven years ago, I was already standing before that door,"Ye Xian shook her head."I haven't even fully understood what's outside the door yet.
What's behind it...
I'm not interested for now."She said,"What I want isn't there."Duan Mu was speechless, only gasping, mumbling something. Despair choked him. Or perhaps, a self-mocking laugh. A lifetime of hardship and struggle, like a joke. Even his final struggle seemed like a clown's farewell performance, exposing all his flaws. He had nothing more to say. But then he heard Ye Xian's voice."Elder Duan, in the scheming and pettiness of the association, I respect you the most.
Perseverance isn't just empty words, nor should it be mocked.
If those fools had even a third of your tenacity, they wouldn't have fallen to such mediocrity."Ye Xian said,"I'm not as good as you."Duan Mu closed his eyes, silent, not even having the strength to be furious."...
Finally, let me say something unrelated."Ye Xian looked up, gazing at the empty sky:"Recently, I took on a student... and suddenly understood that the cruelty of embers is the same for everyone.
Me, him, you.
But narrow-minded as I am, if I were in your shoes, facing the same hardships, I probably couldn't endure as long as you did.""There's a project I've been failing at for twenty years.
I've wanted to give up more than once...
I've overreached too many times.
I don't even know if I have the courage to keep enduring."She sighed softly:"This isn't to comfort you, nor am I seeking any resonance with you.
It's just that I suddenly realized, apart from an opponent like you, there's no one else I can talk to about these things."In the silence, Duan Mu smiled wearily."So lonely.""Yes."Ye Xian sighed. A cracking sound came from Duan Mu's face, his broken limbs falling silently to the ground. His body fell into the mud. His eyes slowly turned, looking at the sky Ye Xian was gazing at—so vast and high, yet so cold. The stars were dim. Just as he had seen before, unchanged. In the end, he hadn't been able to move forward... Only chosen to fall. The wind in his face was because he had stepped off the cliff, the changing scenery rushing past as he fell into the abyss. Everything was beyond saving. But even if it could be saved, if everything could start over, could he walk that path again?"Ye Xian, the road is too long...
I can't walk anymore..."In the unstoppable collapse, he wearily closed his eyes,"You... walk forward alone..."Thus, the final farewell. The line between curse and blessing was so blurred. Indistinguishable. The blades of Ganjiang and Mo Xie crossed and fell. The evil creature was beheaded, disintegrating, only the last ashes riding the wind, rising into the sky, scattering down, merging into the countless spreading flames of the mortal world. Like the last spark rising from the ashes in a furnace. A momentary flash and ascent. Then gone without a trace. In the silence, footsteps approached from afar. Ye Xian turned, looking at the bloodstained path winding from the outpost. Amidst the countless corpses of disaster beasts and the glowing remnants of spirits, someone walked forward, holding two broken swords covered in gaps. Blood and wind scattered in their wake, corpses strewn about. Lü Yingyue."Master Kong said something happened here.
After dealing with the trouble, I came."A smile appeared on her bloodstained face."Am I late?"
(End of Chapter)