Chapter 165: Second Heaven

“Ding! They finally ascended! Time for a show, time for a show!”

Shen Xitong’s face was lit up with a smile, her big round eyes curving into crescent moons, looking especially pretty.

Lu Ye glanced at her, then suddenly punched himself square in the chest.

Shen Xitong: ???

“Ding! You dog host, what’s wrong with you? Are you... heartbroken watching them ascend?” Shen Xitong asked with curiosity all over her face.

“No, my heart was just misbehaving—needed a beating.”

His heart had actually started racing while looking at Shen Xitong? Absolutely not. If it happened again, he wouldn’t hesitate to rip it out and feed it to a dog.

“Ding, your heart was misbehaving? Don’t tell me you’ve got heart disease?”

“You even know about heart disease?”

“Ding, yep! I know a lot.”

The light screen had already shifted to show a scene from the Second Heaven.

The Ascension Pool.

After passing their tribulations, all new arrivals would undergo soul cleansing in the Ascension Pool—an accelerated adaptation process for ascending cultivators.

Typically, in the Ascension Pool, newly advanced cultivators of the Great Ascension Realm could complete a full upgrade of their spiritual energy.

A group of powerful cultivators was gathered around the pool.

At the moment, however, they were thoroughly bored.

There had been far too few ascensions lately. At first, Jiang Die had arrived with great fanfare, and everyone had geared up for battle—ready to seize Lu Ye, ranked first on the Eternal Heaven’s Prodigy List, the moment he ascended.

But they waited. And waited... and waited...

Then news came that Lu Ye had already ascended.

So the entire realm launched a search for him, trying to confirm if any unfamiliar person had arrived.

No luck.

Now what?

Hell if they knew.

Jiang Die hadn’t given up, so all they could do was keep waiting here.

On this day, the Ascension Pool finally stirred.

One by one, the watching cultivators snapped open their eyes.

Within the pool, four divine silhouettes had appeared.

Dense fog shrouded the four forms. One could vaguely make out that they were four women, and their auras were rapidly strengthening.

The moment they saw they were women, a wave of disappointment swept through the onlookers.

Still—capture them first, ask questions later!

As the four flew up from the Ascension Pool, a massive hand immediately descended upon them.

The overwhelming aura of an Earth Immortal Realm cultivator erupted—absolutely terrifying.

“Fellow Daoist, what grudge do we have? Why strike us without reason?” Bai Qiulan swiftly formed seals with both hands. Supreme Yin power condensed into a massive hammer, slamming hard into the giant palm.

Yue Hongling and Chu Ling attacked as well.

All three launched their strength at once, and the massive palm was actually shattered.

“Hm?”

A Jiang Clan Earth Immortal let out a curious noise. He hadn’t ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) expected the newly ascended women to be this strong.

But the other cultivators were already launching their attacks.

In an instant, the air exploded with thunderous booms.

The four who had just ascended—how could they withstand such onslaught?

Their bodies were nearly torn apart.

“Void Fist!”

Another crushing strike came.

Boom...

Blood mist erupted from around the four, their figures drenched in gore. It was miserable to behold.

“That’s Void Fist! Are you from the Jiang Clan? We know Jiang Die!” Yue Hongling shouted.

“Hm?”

“Take them alive!”

If they could call the family head by name, then caution was necessary.

In a flash, four golden restraints sealed each of them.

Jiang Riying pulled out a communication stone and respectfully opened his mouth.

“Family Head, we’ve captured four women who just ascended from the First Heaven. They claim to know you.”

Jiang Die was stunned at first—then overjoyed.

Finally, a lead.

These four women were most likely Bai Qiulan and the others. But why were there only four?

Shouldn’t there have been five?

“Quick, bring them to me. You didn’t kill them, did you?”

“No. They said they knew you, so we only sealed them.”

“Good, good, good. I’m coming right now.”

For the past two years, Jiang Die had been on edge day and night. Lu Ye had just vanished into thin air? That was unacceptable.

Now that Bai Qiulan and the others had ascended—this was the perfect pressure point to use on Lu Ye.

As for the nonsense from the Celestial Secrets Pavilion about how Lu Ye no longer desired women...

She didn’t believe a word of it.

Lu Ye definitely still held feelings of forgiveness toward them. As long as they admitted their mistakes, he would forgive them.

She knew Lu Ye too well—he was a man utterly starved for love. Someone like that gave everything when they loved. Even if it tore them apart, they never regretted it.

And besides, if he didn’t intend to forgive them, didn’t harbor even a sliver of hope—how could they still be alive?

If someone had blocked her path to ascension, and she was reborn?

She’d be slaughtering everyone.

But Lu Ye... still clung to some fantasy?

Jiang Die’s heart surged with delight.

When she’d spoken to Lu Ye through the Tongtian Conch, the cold murderous intent in his voice had scared her out of her wits.

But now?

Hmph. Lu Ye was still Lu Ye.

Jiang Die rushed to the Ascension Pool.

Before long, she arrived as she’d hoped—and saw Bai Qiulan and the others in the flesh.

“Hahahaha...”

“The four of you are all here. No, wait, you’re missing someone... Vermilion Bird. Where’s Vermilion Bird?” Jiang Die laughed as she asked.

She’d gotten along well with Vermilion Bird in the past, often lingering near her to absorb the aura of the Four Heavenly Spirits. It had helped her cultivation remain steady.

“Jiang Die, release us. We’ve ascended to the Second Heaven now, and instead of welcoming us, you treat us like this? What are you trying to do?” Yue Hongling shouted.

Jiang Die wasn’t the least bit angry. Smiling sweetly, she waved her hand, and the four golden restraints vanished into her palm.

“Come, come. Let’s return to the Jiang Clan. It’s been a long time—I have so much to talk to you all about.”

Chu Ling’s eyes narrowed slightly.

This Jiang Die clearly wasn’t up to anything good.

Looks like they’d need to find an opportunity to escape.

The group returned to the Jiang Clan.

Everyone they passed bowed in respect.

“Greetings, Family Head!”

“Greetings, Family Head!”

“You’re... the Family Head of the Jiang Clan now?” Shangguan Huanling asked in surprise.

“I’m a reborn Great Emperor. Isn’t rapid cultivation and overwhelming strength perfectly normal?” Jiang Die replied with a smile.

Shangguan Huanling: ...

Didn’t seem all that normal, actually.

“Where’s Lu Ye? I heard he ascended early. Why didn’t he wait for you all?” Jiang Die asked.

“Sigh...”

“Sigh...”

“Sigh!”

One sigh after another echoed out.

Jiang Die was caught between a laugh and a frown. “What’s with you four?”

“Senior Brother has changed. He’s not the man we used to know. Now he either ignores us completely... or treats us with brutal indifference. It’s heartbreaking,” Yue Hongling sighed.

“Brutal? Come on, he spared your lives. Isn’t that good enough? How can that be called brutal?” Jiang Die said in confusion.

“Why would he want to kill us?” Bai Qiulan asked, also puzzled.

“Sister Bai, you implanted eight Yin-Yang Soul-Devouring Gu in him—eight different poisons. And you detonated them while Lu Ye was crossing tribulation to become a saint. That kind of hatred is worse than a blood feud. Him killing you would’ve been completely reasonable, you know? Not killing you—that’s what’s unreasonable!” Jiang Die said, exasperated.

Bai Qiulan was momentarily speechless.

Now that she thought about it... that kind of did make sense...