That night, Tang Jie and Shen Qingdan walked together all the way from Moon Embracer Peak to Starsnatch Peak, and from Starsnatch Peak to the Skybracing Ridge.
They chatted as they strolled about, even occasionally laughing, and they paid no mind to any spectators. Thus, everyone came to know that Palace Lord Shen Qingdan of the Wandering Palace was a good friend of Tang Jie.
They walked for an entire night, traveling across the greater half of the Zephyr Mountains, letting almost everyone see them together until daybreak.
Tang Jie stopped.
Gazing at the weak light in the distance, he suddenly fell silent.
Sharp as Shen Qingdan was, she softly said, “You’re going?”
Tang Jie nodded.
Shen Qingdan whispered, “Thank you.”
After this night of strolling, even without the bamboo plaque, nobody would dare to provoke the Wandering Palace any longer, and all her troubles would evaporate. Rather than the Fire Lotus Gate and Three Blossoms Church causing trouble for her, she would cause trouble for them. It didn’t matter that she wasn’t strong enough yet, for she had the Basking Moon Sect backing her.
Shen Qingdan chuckled. “This is already enough. Friends have to act like friends. If they do too much, then they aren’t just friends anymore.”
Tang Jie’s heart thumped, and he didn’t comment.
Shen Qingdan once more felt a tinge of sorrow. “I don’t want to see you leave, so it’s best that I go back instead.”
She turned and headed toward Moon Embracer Peak.
As Tang Jie watched her leave, his shoulders trembled as he was seized by the urge to call her to stay. But in the end, he remained silent and watched Shen Qingdan gradually disappear from his sight.
A parting.
His heart felt inexplicably heavy.
Shaking his head, he sighed and turned to leave.
In his palace, Xu Miaoran was resting on a bed of white jade.
Tang Jie lay down next to her, staring up at the ceiling.
Suddenly, he said, “Did you take care of him?”
Xu Miaoran chortled. “I knew I couldn’t hide it from you.”
She turned and placed her arms around his neck.
Tang Jie gazed at his wife. “You’re not angry?”
Xu Miaoran lovingly stared at Tang Jie. “It is not my man’s fault if other people like him, so why should I be angry?”
“But given Shen Qingdan’s deep affections toward me, did you not think that I wouldn’t be able to resist her sincere feelings?”
Xu Miaoran smiled. “Aren’t all outstanding men loved by numerous women? And the Freedom Immortal Sovereign’s reputation resounds through all of Rosecloud. Countless women are enchanted by you. If you had to take in every woman who fell in love with you, would you be able to go anywhere in this world? A true man knows more than to just to be fearless and headstrong when faced with difficulties. They also have to know how to be scrupulous and to not fear the sincere feelings of others. If you can push through mountains of blades and seas of fire… you should also be able to overcome the warmth of affection.” ṝ�
“It’s a good argument, but you’ve never explained this to me before.”
Xu Miaoran proudly replied, “My man doesn’t need me to tell it to him.”
My man doesn’t need teaching!
If there was a difference between Xu Miaoran and Shen Qingdan, the biggest was her trust for Tang Jie. It was an eternal trust, whether in battle or with other women!
Hearing her proud words, seeing her beautiful face, feeling her intense emotions, Tang Jie felt like there was a sun rising in his heart.
This brilliant sun burned away the gloomy clouds left by Shen Qingdan, untying the knots of emotions and opening up his mind.
Throwing aside everything else, he embraced Xu Miaoran and gave her a long kiss.
It was a very long kiss, containing all of Tang Jie’s emotions, a kiss that felt like it would last as long as the universe.
After some time, Tang Jie finally let Xu Miaoran go.
Before Xu Miaoran could say anything, Tang Jie heartily laughed. “I found it!”
“What?” Xu Miaoran said in confusion.
“I found the moment of breakthrough!” Tang Jie announced. “I’m going to ascend to Immortal Platform!”
“Right now?”
“Right now! The moment has come, so it’s time to break through!” Tang Jie said, taking out the Mountain River State Diagram.
As he threw out the diagram, the Yellow Court World appeared within the palace.
Xu Miaoran remained on the white jade bed, yet around her were no longer walls, but a vast grassland. However, no matter how enormous this world was, it never left the confines of this palace.
Tang Jie separated himself into his original body and his avatar.
The original body remained at the grassland while the avatar used Nearby Horizon to appear far off in the sky. It seemed like a random location, but it was actually the center of the entire Yellow Court World.
As Tang Jie appeared, He Chong, the Azure Dragon, the Flame Celestial Sovereign, and the Lithos Dragon arrived to offer their respects. Because the Yellow Court World had advanced in level, He Chong had already reached Violet Palace.
Tang Jie waved his hand. “You may all go.”
They all withdrew.
Tang Jie sat down, crossing his legs, and began to chant.
As he chanted, clouds gathered, and currents of spiritual energy began to surge around him.
This was Tang Jie’s Divine Will stirring up the world.
The step of ascending to Immortal Platform was very simple. It involved constantly stirring up currents of spiritual energy and condensing it into Immortal power, after which the body was forged into an Immortal body.
How much Immortal energy was condensed determined the basic strength of the Immortal body.
Unlike in the outside world, where the general flow of the world would impede a cultivator and limit the range of their Divine Will, Tang Jie was the master of the Yellow Court World, so his will was the world’s will. Under his Divine Will, all the spiritual energy currents were at his beck and call. With a single thought, the spiritual energy of the entire world rushed toward him, gradually forming into an enormous vortex.
This vortex was three times larger than what would normally be seen when a cultivator attempted to ascend to Immortal Platform, precisely due to the decision he had made at the Heaven–Man Union phase.
The Immortal energy formed by this massive vortex was also particularly concentrated.
In the center of the vortex was a thick white cloud. This was Immortal energy.
Different cultivation techniques had different ways of condensing Immortal energy. Tang Jie used a secret art of the Basking Moon Sect, which produced a righteous and profound energy. While it lacked any sort of awe-inspiring power, it provided solid foundations with no side effects. As this Immortal energy condensed, it began to simulate the evolution of a planet, mountains rising and falling, seas filling in and drying up.
Simultaneously, Tang Jie’s body began to lose vitality.
This vitality wasn’t simply vanishing into nothingness, but transforming into laws that were condensed into solid form and drawn to his Divine Soul.
Then, the Immortal energy began to stream into Tang Jie’s body.
Tang Jie’s body entered another phase of transformation.
It began to shrivel up and collapse into dust like it had been decaying for a thousand years. Everything rotted away, leaving only the Dao Runes.
Meanwhile, as the Immortal energy streamed in, a new body was being born, like an infant coming into being.
It was similar to what had happened during the Three Withering Tribulations. It was just that he had been bidding farewell to his mortal body then and building a spiritual body, and now, he was escaping his spiritual body and building an Immortal body. Compared to creating the spiritual body, building the Immortal body, which required refining Immortal energy first, was more difficult, more complicated, and more dangerous.
Several hundred years of accumulation and waiting were precisely for this moment.
Clouds churned as all of the spiritual energy in the world was drawn to the center by Tang Jie’s Divine Soul and refined into Immortal energy.
Ascending to Immortality had always been dangerous, not merely because of the process, but also because of one’s hidden foes.
Ascending to Immortal Platform created wide-ranging effects that were extremely difficult to hide. If one’s enemies were nearby, they could use this chance to strike, and death was almost guaranteed. It didn’t even need to be one’s enemies. One or two people harboring ill intentions were enough to create serious consequences.
But in the Yellow Court World, no matter how much of a ruckus Tang Jie created, nobody would dare to disturb him.
The likes of the Azure Dragon and Lithos Dragon were under Tang Jie’s seal, and they did not dare to defy him. Even with Tang Jie’s physical body destroyed and his soul occupied, a single thought would be enough to beat them down. Besides, his original body was standing guard. Finally, a thousand years of influence had bred a sense of reverence for the Domain Lord within them, banishing any thought of rebellion. This was the case with He Chong.
Immortal energy continued to condense.
With every passing moment, old bodies were dying off and new bodies were being born.
This was a cyclical process meant to wash away all traces of mortality and create a brand-new self.
This was a way to renew the body, an opportunity to make up for past regrets and add to one’s potential.
Alas, most people weren’t able to accomplish this.
For most people, each time they refined, washed, condensed, and rebuilt immensely drained the Divine Soul. This was because the power of the physical body no longer played a role here, and the Divine Soul was the sole influencing factor. As the Divine Soul had to do everything, it was naturally tired out quickly. Even though the Divine Soul had become a God and could exist outside of the Violet Palace, this sort of expenditure was still a heavy burden.
But this also wasn’t a problem for Tang Jie.
In the Yellow Court World, his will was the world’s will, so he could minimize what the Divine Soul had to do.
This was why he could wash his body and rebuild it over and over. Besides that, three times the normal amount of Immortal energy was unexpectedly valuable, allowing Tang Jie to seek perfection.
All of the foundation laying he had done beforehand played a role here, including the various rare herbs he had taken like the Nine Heavens Luan Grass, all of it culminating in his ultimate success.
Tang Jie charged at Immortal Platform almost completely unimpeded.
No other cultivator had ever ascended to Immortality so easily and naturally, and with such strength.
The Immortal energy created was so abundant and concentrated that it began to affect the entire Yellow Court World. The Five Elements ceased their cycle, and anomalies began to accumulate. The Wuxing, the species unique to this world, also began to come out. Sensing the will of this world’s supreme existence, they got down on their knees and began to pray.
The sounds of prayer resounded through the heavens.
The Immortal body was still in the cycle of birth and destruction.
Each cycle meant that Tang Jie grew a little stronger.
By now, Tang Jie had already successfully ascended to Immortal Platform. What followed was perfecting it.
Tang Jie didn’t know how long he repeated this cycle. He simply immersed himself in the experience, letting the energy flow freely. That sensation of walking on the edge between life and death not only brought him to Immortal Platform, it also increased his understanding of Life—he was so free that he could even etch a new Dao Rune into his body.
Only when his Divine Soul finally felt exhausted and fatigued did Tang Jie stop the process.
The spiritual currents faded away, revealing Tang Jie’s naked body floating in the air. Shockingly, his body was surrounded by a dazzling golden light, a kind of membrane or shell.
Tang Jie closed his eyes in deep thought.
And then he opened them and spoke, “Break!”
The golden shell shattered into flecks of light, leaving only Tang Jie and this world that he was the master of.
Tang Jie was now an Immortal!