Daytime Ascension, a Legend for the Ages

[The Supreme Prime Minister, supporting the teachings of the Three Heavens. On Crane Cry Mountain, he received the true transmission; at the Dragon-Tiger altar, he left wondrous teachings. Three Grotto Registers, spiritual texts of every grade...]

[Twenty-Four Grade Secret Register, saving later generations... Male-Female Twin Swords, slaying demons and spirits. Calling rain and clearing skies, summoning thunder and lightning.]

Old Celestial Master Zhang Zhiwei looked solemn. His wide robes and great sleeves had been charred black by heavenly lightning, yet every gesture carried an imposing dignity. He seemed one with heaven and man, one heart with the cosmos, as he proclaimed, "With merit accomplished and practice complete, ascend in broad daylight. Patriarch, support the teachings of the Three Heavens."

Suddenly, golden light blazed brilliantly, shooting straight into the clouds. The Golden Light Mantra that had originally covered Tianshi Mansion on Mount Longhu now contracted into a single point, merging in chaos and evolving to its utmost limit, as though a golden-armored divine being stood within the Palace of Soaring Clouds.

A seal and a sword flew into the divine being's hands. Its Dharma form was majestic, and the roars of dragons and tigers resounded, piercing through the heavens.

A round halo manifested. With loose hair and glaring eyes, clad in a Daoist robe and holding an immortal sword, it stirred winds and thunder.

"Holy crap, I'm fighting Zhang Daoling? For real?"

The faint smile at the corner of Lin Xian's lips slowly faded. For the first time, a serious expression appeared on his face as he scrutinized this Celestial Master Dharma Form.

Feng Baobao could attain Immortality and never die, so those who had ascended and become immortals throughout the ages—Patriarch Bodhidharma, Celestial Master Patriarch Zhang Daoling, Perfected Sanfeng... such beings naturally could not have perished. They still existed in this world.

It was simply that ordinary mortals could not trace immortal footprints. Only Daoist lineages passed down by immortals through the generations, such as Mount Longhu, which held the Celestial Master Ordination, were qualified to know a little of those secrets.

"Reasonable. Far too reasonable."

System 10086's snarky voice rang out. "The main quest says to defeat the old Celestial Master on Mount Longhu. It never said which Celestial Master. Tell me, is Zhang Daoling old or not?"

Mount Longhu equaled Mount Longhu.

Old Celestial Master equaled Zhang Daoling.

Was there a problem? No problem.

Lin Xian's face darkened. This was not about whether he was old. This was the first-generation Celestial Master Patriarch, the legendary figure who had successfully ascended into immortality. He was completely different from those mundane mortals who had died in meditation.

At the moment of ascension, the phenomena triggered by immortals of this world could shatter mountains and split peaks. Who knew what heights they could reach after ascending?

Immortals in Shrouding the Heavens had three standards. The highest was the Red Dust Immortal, whose own body was immortal. Next came the True Immortal, half-reliant on the universe and half-reliant on oneself. The lowest were Immortal Two great powers, who depended entirely on Immortality substances and the environment of the Immortal Realm.

After ascending, what level would immortals of this world be? Dao Palace? Immortal Two? Saint Realm?

"In the end, I still have to fight!"

Divine light bloomed in Lin Xian's eyes. Even someone as laid-back as him had been stirred by the Sea of Bitterness of Shrouding the Heavens.

Shrouding the Heavens people, Shrouding the Heavens souls—everyone in Shrouding the Heavens was stubborn as hell.

Cultivation realms and strength were all empty talk. Only fists were real.

You said you were stronger than me? Why didn't I believe it? Come on, come on, come on—let's fight.

"Now that's the spirit!" System 10086 clapped and shouted. "Host, keep your head up! Good job! Don't disgrace us. We're all from the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths—everyone in Shrouding the Heavens stands above others. What's there to fear?"

"Tom!"

Lin Xian shouted, pressing his palms together. Both his body and primordial spirit ascended to their ultimate limits. He could almost glimpse the mist of the Other Shore. His Sea of Bitterness boiled and surged boundlessly, Divine Runes resonating as an ancient azure sky faintly emerged!

A star shone as brilliantly as a great sun, yet it emitted platinum starlight that illuminated mountains and rivers and dazzled the world.

Phenomenon—Stars Illuminate the Azure Heavens!

At this moment, Lin Xian stood utterly still. His body was crystalline and translucent, flowing with immortal starlight. He was like a deity stationed in the mortal world, radiating a terrifying fluctuation.

"Supreme Jade Pure King, commanding the thirty-six heavens, spreading transformation through the Nine Heavens..."

"Thunder, come!"

Like the heavenly voice of the Great Dao, it echoed across the firmament. Zhang Zhiwei and the Celestial Master Dharma Form moved almost in unison, their palms facing upward, fingers naturally extended, with the middle and ring fingers of both hands raised straight.

At last, he gave a Daoist shout. Wind and thunder stirred, the celestial phenomena changed, and mighty heavenly authority descended—Five Thunder Righteous Method!

"Rumble..."

Rather than retreating, Lin Xian advanced. His Sea of Bitterness, Life Spring, and Divine Bridge resonated as one, crashing into the vast heavenly lightning.

In an instant, heaven and earth changed color, sun and moon lost their light, and only a blinding white radiance remained!

"Clang, clang, clang!"

A bell seemed to ring from above the Nine Heavens, ethereal and melodious, carrying an air of serene solemnity. Like grand ceremonial music, it echoed in everyone's hearts.

[Main Quest: Defeat the old Celestial Master on Mount Longhu (Rare) completed]

[Progress: Completed]

[Evaluation: Excellent]

[Standard Reward: Five Thunder Righteous Method]

[Excellent Reward: Immortal Special-Effect Halo (Righteous Path Favorability +10, Evil Path Favorability -10)]

"Wow, the drop rate really is high!"

Lin Xian exclaimed in admiration as he accepted both rewards, immediately learning the functions of the Five Thunder Righteous Method and the immortal special effect.

The Five Thunder Righteous Method used imagined lightning energy and information to communicate and merge with one's heart, liver, lungs, spleen, and kidneys in sequence.

This was an immortal art usable even in the Dao Palace Secret Realm. It could temper both the primordial spirit and body with the five thunders, and could even provide a minuscule degree of help in drawing down heavenly tribulation.

More importantly, there was the immortal special effect. It seemed utterly ordinary, but its effect of increasing Righteous Path Favorability by ten points was enough to set one's imagination running wild.

If used well, it would be more useful than an immortal artifact!

"Perfect, I can use it for this famous scene. System, put the immortal special effect on me!"

Lin Xian murmured. Once the white light faded, he stood atop five-colored auspicious clouds, his body surrounded by rosy radiance and a round halo behind his head, appearing before every outsider.

Golden light stretched ten thousand zhang across the horizon, the sea of clouds churned, and a Southern Heavenly Gate rose there, with faint immortal music drifting out from within.

At this moment, every outsider went mad!

Compared to that ethereal immortal, even the mighty and domineering Celestial Master Dharma Form seemed inferior. It was no longer a golden-armored divine being, but like a Yellow Turban Strongman attending at the immortal's side, guiding later arrivals toward ascension.

"An act..."

Zhang Zhiwei's heart suddenly stirred as those two words came to mind. A thoughtful look appeared on his face. Then, he withdrew the already-disintegrating Celestial Master Dharma Form and, beneath everyone's expectant gazes, bowed toward the heavens. "Zhang Zhiwei congratulates Perfected Lin on ascending into immortality and rising in broad daylight!"

"The Celestial Master is an old hand at acting too." Lin Xian gave him an approving glance. To see through the mystery in that flash of lightning truly showed that age brought wisdom.

With the authoritative endorsement of Tianshi Mansion on Mount Longhu, every outsider finally cast aside the last trace of doubt in their hearts. Even the most unruly among them bent at the waist and respectfully said, "Congratulations to Perfected Lin for attaining the Dao and Immortality, ascending gloriously to the immortal realm!"

Congratulations echoed through heaven and earth, lingering amid Mount Longhu for a long time.

"As for heaven and earth, they are the inn of all things; as for time, it is the passing traveler of a hundred generations. Since floating life is like a dream, how much joy can one truly have?"

"Off I go, off I go!"

Lin Xian smiled freely and was just about to activate his phenomenon and walk upon the heavens.

Suddenly, a crane's cry rang out from Mount Longhu. Under the Celestial Master's arrangements, countless white cranes soared into the sky, dancing alongside the immortal as they ascended to heaven!

Sunlight also spread everywhere, dyeing the sea of clouds in magnificent gold and jade, like the heavenly realm.

You really are something, Old Celestial Master! Lin Xian thought. Then he transformed into a streak of white light, shooting into the sky and rushing through the illusory Southern Heavenly Gate.

"Clang!"

The great bell rang long and clear through heaven and earth, bringing the ascension to a perfect close.

All that remained were frenzied outsiders, who had witnessed an immortal miracle and were incomparably excited.

The system's ethereal voice then sounded.

[Ding dong, famous scene check-in successful]

[Event: Ascending into immortality, rising in broad daylight]

[Evaluation: Recorded in history, sung of for ages]

[Reward: Ascension Talisman (one)]

Votes, please!!!