Shi Feiyang explained all three of his strategies to Ruan Jiu. Unable to judge them either, Ruan Jiu returned to relay them to Perfected Red Staff.
After hearing them, Perfected Red Staff was deeply disappointed. He had repeatedly worked through his divinations, and none of Shi Feiyang's three paths would work!
Taking Heaven Beyond Divine Mountain and every living being upon it into the Lingkong Immortal Realm in a collective ascension was simply a fool's dream. Impossible—utterly impossible.
Even if they could ascend, the immortals above would never agree. Everyone else had cultivated bitterly for several lifetimes before finally becoming a heavenly immortal and earning the right to ascend. Yet he intended to bring thirty million so-called subjects, along with vast numbers of fish, turtles, shrimp, crabs, birds, beasts, and insects—hundreds of millions of living beings—all up at once. The immortals above would surely attack them together. Even if they made it up, they would be beaten back down!
There were a few places in Mount Shu, at extremely high elevations, that connected to the Lingkong Immortal Realm. But places such as Qi Nangong's Fallen God Ridge on Mount Heijia had already fallen into disuse during the Han and Tang eras.
Only the Lingqiao Immortal Palace on Mount Tianpeng still occasionally received golden immortals from above, accompanied by heavenly immortals, because Perfected Red Staff lived there. He had been cultivating for so long that those who descended were fellow Daoists of his own generation. They chatted and drank tea with him, expounding teachings and discussing the Dao. Thus, Perfected Red Staff knew more about the Lingkong Immortal Realm than anyone else.
No one understands the Immortal Realm better than I do!
Perfected Red Staff thought Shi Feiyang's ideas were bold but also naive. They could never be realized, no matter