Risking His Life

Because Ling Lin was a Sword Cultivator.

From ancient times to the present, thirty-five Ascension Realm cultivators had emerged on Chenping Continent. Ling Lin stood a strong chance of becoming the thirty-sixth.

He would also be the fourth Sword Cultivator to reach the Ascension Realm.

The three before him were True Person Cang Yue, Tian Ding Mountain's fifth Ascension Realm leader; True Person Bai Shang, Fengjian Valley's second Ascension Realm leader; and Su Hongzhen, Chenping Continent's first sword immortal, the Falling Star Sword Immortal.

All three had left a profound mark on Chenping Continent by reaching the Ascension Realm as Sword Cultivators.

Even True Person Bai Shang was no exception. Like a meteor streaking across the sky, his time in the world had been fleeting. After forcibly drawing on Dao Rhyme, he had suffered a backlash from the Heaven and Earth Laws and, for all intents and purposes, died on the spot.

Aside from the two newly ascended cultivators and Ling Lin, who was all but one step away from the Ascension Realm, the most heartening development of the past century had been Qin Qingyu's progress.

Her cultivation had advanced by leaps and bounds.

Beyond the Ascension Realm, cultivators could only feel out their own paths. No predecessor's experience could serve as a guide.

Every cultivator walked an entirely different Path of Immortality.

Even so, Qin Qingyu's cultivation had continued to surge ahead. Almost every few years, True Lord Yue Xu of Xingtian Gate made another breakthrough.

Qin Qingyu still seemed far from the Void Return Realm.

But if she could take that step before the "final battle," it would undoubtedly give Chenping Continent's cultivators a shot in the arm—even if it might make little difference against the Mysterious Woman Statue and "that existence" behind it.

High above Du Cang