The gates of the Immortal Path relied on celestial gravity to anchor themselves to a certain point. This "point" was always near its corresponding planet and remained relatively stationary in relation to that planet—or followed a fixed orbit.
The most common such points were the equilibrium points between a planet and its own satellite [Lagrange points]. In addition, the middle of a planet's satellite ring, areas near a planet's Earth Core, and the inner layers of a star were all common locations for Immortal Path gates to appear.
Of course, if it was one of the latter two situations, then the concept of "ascension" would not be called ascension in those civilizations. It might be called "earth migration," "earthward pull," or even "going down to hell."
Furthermore, for the Fire Folk [plasma lifeforms] who lived within stars, this process of "ascension" itself was a tremendous trial. Although the high-dimensional movement during ascension allowed them to pass through layers of matter with ease, the violently shifting gravity and omnipresent light and heat would still interfere with them—they had to endure such trials during their ascent.
To avoid meaningless losses among ascending immortals, Immortal Path gates generally opened first on the outer side of celestial bodies. However, under normal circumstances, beings capable of cultivating into Immortals amid extreme conditions possessed biological structures or cultivation methods that could overcome those conditions.
Of course, in certain special cases... well... well... that could only be counted as the local cultivators' bad luck, couldn't it?
And when the gravitational source used for anchoring was destroyed, the Immortal Path gate would temporarily close and "fall" to another Immortal Path gate.
The duration of this process was uncertain. If the Immortal Path gate corresponded to a planet, the wait was usually between three and seven rotations of that