Skyglow Palace's Invitation and the Choice

That day.

Chen Jichuan met Zheng Jun and Lei Xin at a teahouse.

Lei Xin was the friend Zheng Jun had mentioned, and he, too, had come from the Heavenly Ray Realm. When he first arrived at the Hanging Mirror Sea, he had only reached the Third Realm of Spirit Transformation and was not yet two thousand years old. Now, just eight hundred years later, he had already advanced to the Divine Transformation Realm. His future held boundless promise.

Both men came from the Heavenly Ray Realm. Chen Jichuan had met Lei Xin through Zheng Jun two months earlier, and after several meetings, they had come to get along well.

The three met again that day.

Chen Jichuan had heard a piece of news a few days earlier. "I hear there's a place called Quliang Ancient City south of E Kong Kingdom. Rumor has it that the Quliang City Lord has mastered the mysteries of creation, pierced the riddle of life and death, and grasped the secrets of the Fifth Rank. They say he'll soon ascend amid rosy clouds. Is it true?"

This was the first time Chen Jichuan had heard of anyone advancing to the Fifth Rank.

He had heard of ascension before, both in the Dao Fruit World and on Coiling Dragon Mountain. But even in the Double-Bright World, those who had ascended beyond the heavens, such as Wang Yan and Yu Ming, had remained stuck at Peak Fourth Rank, unable to step into the Fifth Rank.

After hearing about the Quliang City Lord, Chen Jichuan had made inquiries and learned that Peak Fourth Rank cultivators could not ascend from the Hanging Mirror Sea. Only Fifth Rank cultivators could reach the Upper Realm.

Others had ascended from the Hanging Mirror Sea before, and historical records named more than