The yellow sand before her was shrouded in a hazy five-element spiritual light.
Scattered all over the sand, in a chaotic mess, were massive rectangular stones radiating five-element spiritual light and brimming with immense five-element spiritual power.
These stones lay side by side, stacked atop one another, covering an area more than twice the size of Xuantian Square.
Each stone was cut with extraordinary precision, smooth as glass, and every single one was engraved with profound runes.
Even after countless years, those runes still exuded a power that made one’s heart tremble.
Bao Gu almost sprinted over, rushing to the stone closest to the edge.
She brushed away the sand covering it, staring in utter shock at the giant stone—crystal-clear as jade, harder than Da Luo Gold Essence, filled with surging five-element spiritual power, and carved with intricate runes!
Five-element Immortal Stone—these were the five-element Immortal Stones used to build the Ascension Platform!
Bao Gu activated her cultivation technique, moving aside the sand and the five-element Immortal Stones on the surface.
She saw even more stone bars buried in the sand below.
With her Golden Core stage divine sense, she probed downward, but couldn’t find the bottom.
This was the place of ascension in the Nine Dragons Ascension Array—the Ascension Platform, collapsed and ruined, but entirely built from five-element Immortal Stones!
Judging by the scale, she could imagine that many, many years ago, in the era when ascension was still possible, some ancient great power had gathered the strength of the cultivation world to mine these five-element Immortal Stones and used them to build a massive, mountain-sized Ascension Platform in the shape of the character “金” (gold).
Those seeking immortality would step onto these stairs made of five-element Immortal Stones, enduring the tempering and baptism of the Heavenly Dao, struggling up the nine thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine steps.
If they were lucky enough to reach the top, they would arrive at the summit of the Ascension Platform, use its power to open a passage to the upper realm, step through the domain gate, and ascend!
Master’s wife has hope of returning to the upper realm!
Bao Gu was overwhelmed with excitement, frantically moving the five-element Immortal Stones into her giant storage bag.
These stones were even heavier than she’d imagined—each one felt like a mountain.
Even with her giant storage bag, she couldn’t just sweep them in; she had to use the mountain-moving and sea-shifting technique the little monkey had taught her to barely lift and move them inside.
Only after all the stones were in the bag could she freely move them into the depths of the void.
Thinking of that ancient banyan tree, Bao Gu played a little trick, moving a five-element Immortal Stone and hurling it at the massive tree.
The huge “brick” smashed down, breaking countless branches and leaves from the banyan demon’s crown, leaving a three-zhang-wide crater at the top.
Terrified, the banyan demon, which had given up moving and was hovering in place, yanked up its roots, turned them into legs, and bolted!
Bao Gu got even more excited! Even the dragon ship, fully powered with a sacred artifact, couldn’t handle that banyan demon, and she’d been stuck not knowing what to do with it.
She hadn’t expected to finally find something that could deal with it.
Zi Yunshu had her eye on these stones for a while.
She’d poured all her power into her Da Luo Gold Essence sword and struck one of these stones, but couldn’t even leave a scratch.
She knew then that these were treasures that would drive the entire cultivation world mad.
After hearing the demon saint say that, judging by the geomancy of the ancient mountain range, this was likely the place where immortals once ascended, and that the stones and runes were related to ascension, she understood their purpose.
She’d wanted to store them in her storage artifact right away.
Though her storage artifact wasn’t a supreme treasure, it could hold quite a lot—enough for a small lake, and even some living things for a short time.
But she hadn’t expected that, maybe because the stones were too high-grade or contained too much power, or for some other reason, when she tried to store them, the stones’ immense five-element power shattered her storage artifact!
Zi Yunshu watched Bao Gu struggle to drag the stones into the void treasure realm, and just looking at Bao Gu’s effort made her tired for her.
She said to Bao Gu, “Open up the void treasure realm, we’ll help you.”
Only then did Bao Gu realize how long it would take to move them one by one.
The various forces of the cultivation world were breaking the formation to seize the sacred artifact, and soon the seal here would be lifted.
She didn’t have time to slowly dig up the Immortal Stones.
She immediately handed the giant storage bag to Zi Yunshu, letting her help collect the five-element Immortal Stones.
Zi Yunshu had already broken seven or eight storage artifacts in a row.
Even knowing how powerful Bao Gu’s void treasure realm was, she still felt uneasy.
If these stones really were used for ascension in the age of immortals, their material, the power of the runes, and the immortal energy and Dao power they’d absorbed from countless ascensions would make them more powerful than any sacred artifact in this world—practically at the immortal treasure level! The void treasure realm was strong, but could it really hold tens of thousands of immortal treasures? What if it broke? She thought of all the things stored inside, and if the void treasure realm shattered, the consequences would be unimaginable! Her father was still inside!
Zi Yunshu carefully moved the five-element Immortal Stones in one by one, but found that while they were heavy as mountains in the outside world, once inside the vast void, they were like grains of sand tossed into the sea—no splash, not even a bubble.
The world inside the void treasure realm was as boundless as a great world.
No matter how powerful the five-element Immortal Stones were, at most they were just immortal treasures—they couldn’t break a whole world! Her own storage artifacts couldn’t handle it because they were self-refined, not even spirit treasures, so of course they couldn’t hold immortal treasures!
Zi Yunshu collected over a hundred stones in a row, and found that tossing them into the void treasure realm was even less noticeable than throwing a couple of bricks into the corner of Xuantian Square.
She was utterly shocked.
She shrank the void treasure realm into a palm-sized skin, spread it on her hand, and shouted at Bao Gu, “What the hell is this void treasure realm made of? How can it hold so much?!”
Bao Gu said, “Master’s wife said it’s the skin of a god!”
Zi Yunshu blinked and asked, “A god’s skin? A real god? Even stronger than an immortal?”
Bao Gu nodded.
“I think so.” She briefly explained to Zi Yunshu what Xue Qing had told her about the origin of the void treasure realm.
After hearing this, Zi Yunshu lost her composure and yelled, “A god’s skin, damn, and you and Yu Mi just happened to pick it up.
What kind of dumb luck is that!” If she had it, it would be a killer weapon, but in Bao Gu’s hands, it was just a giant storage bag! Bao Gu, do you even deserve this skin?
The demon saint saw Zi Yunshu holding the void treasure realm, glaring at Bao Gu with a look of bitter disappointment, and gently said, “Shu’er, stop glaring at Bao Gu.
Hurry up, we need to leave before the formation-breaking affects the seal.
Once the seal is disturbed, my true body rooted in the drought demon’s coffin won’t be able to leave.”
With the demon saint’s life at stake, Zi Yunshu didn’t dare delay.
She quickly used the giant storage bag to collect the sturdy stones filled with five-element power.
As she worked, she kept talking: “Bao Gu, A-Sheng thinks these stones were used for ascension in the age of immortals.
What do you think?”
Bao Gu said, “These are five-element Immortal Stones.
You need them to build an Ascension Platform or break a domain gate.
Only this kind of stone, or the legendary Chaos Stone containing the world’s source power, can withstand the energy needed to break the world’s barrier and connect two realms.”
Zi Yunshu was so excited she could hardly stand it! Just touching these stones made her feel like she was one step away from becoming an immortal! She thought moving stones in human form was too slow, so she spread out the giant storage bag, transformed into her true flood dragon form, and used her dragon claws to toss the five-element Immortal Stones into the bag one by one like picking up bricks.
These “bricks” were heavy—even with her current strength, she couldn’t carry more than a few at a time, and the power of the runes made her wary of grabbing too many at once.
She could only sweat and work hard, flinging the stones into the bag like a bricklayer.
If picking up “immortal treasure” bricks was a job, she’d gladly do it.
Zi Yunshu was secretly delighted, thinking, “Those idiots outside are risking everything, even releasing the drought demon, to break the formation and seize the sacred artifact, but they have no idea the most valuable thing in the entire ancient mountain range is being carried away by us!”
The demon saint and Bao Gu watched Zi Yunshu “move bricks” with such energy and determination, as if daring anyone to try and take them from her, and sensibly stood aside, both looking worried because of the drought demon.
They were both a bit envious of Zi Yunshu—her attitude was always that if the sky fell, the earth would catch it, and no matter what happened, she’d just do her thing.
Zi Yunshu said again, “Are these five-element Immortal Stones from our world or the upper realm? If they’re from the upper realm, how did they get here? If they’re from this world, why are they only found here? I don’t think this is their place of origin, right?”
The demon saint said, “They’re from this world.
The battle to seal the drought demon changed the very laws of the Heavenly Dao here, and many treasures that could be called immortal treasures disappeared.”
Bao Gu frowned slightly and asked, “Changed the laws of the Heavenly Dao? The laws can be changed by something like that?”
The demon saint nodded heavily.
“Actually, the ancient mountain range isn’t just sealing the drought demon, but also the fate of the cultivation world.
It sealed the drought demon at the cost of there being no more immortals in the cultivation world.
Why is cultivation so hard now, with no immortals? Because the spiritual energy is depleted, nowhere near as rich as in the age of immortals.
As the spiritual energy dried up, many immortal treasures vanished.
The energy didn’t disappear—it was gathered and sealed in the ancient mountain range.”
Bao Gu stared at the demon saint in shock.
She had no idea how the demon saint knew so much! She suppressed her doubts and asked, “If the formation and seal of the ancient mountain range aren’t broken, can it become the Xuantian Sect’s base?”
The demon saint nodded.
“Yes.
As long as the seal isn’t broken, the drought demon can’t reemerge.
If I had time, I could kill the drought demon here, and I’d gain immense benefits from it.” Thinking of the current situation, she couldn’t help but sigh.
Bao Gu understood why the demon saint sighed.
If the demon saint had time to kill the drought demon here, not only would this world escape a great catastrophe, but the path to ascension could be reopened, and immortals would return.
But in this self-serving cultivation world, no one wanted to wait for years for the drought demon to die, nor would they hand over the ancient mountain range, filled with sacred artifacts, to Xuantian Sect.
Xuantian Sect had upper realm inheritance and the ascension map, and if they got a bunch of sacred artifacts and reopened the ascension path, wouldn’t they dominate the entire cultivation world? Why would the other sects let a nearly extinct sect rise up and suppress them? Why not seize Xuantian Sect’s fortune for themselves?
She asked, “Auntie Sheng, if the seal on the ancient mountain range is broken, will the world’s spiritual energy become richer and cultivation easier?”
The demon saint nodded.
“But with the drought demon loose, this world will become a living hell.”
Bao Gu’s expression grew even more bleak.
“So, even though releasing the drought demon is dangerous, it means those at the Void Tearing stage will have a better chance of breaking through to the Tribulation or even Great Ascension stages?”
The demon saint nodded again.
Bao Gu continued, “If the drought demon is released, not everyone will die.
But with richer spiritual energy and easier cultivation, everyone who isn’t killed by the drought demon will benefit.”
The demon saint nodded weakly once more.
Suddenly, Bao Gu remembered something and said, “Auntie Sheng, you can never say again that you could kill the drought demon if given time.”
The demon saint glanced at Bao Gu and scolded, “You think I’m stupid?” If word got out, no one in the cultivation world would dare fight the drought demon—they’d just try to capture or force her to suppress it.
With the drought demon sealed, she could root herself in its coffin and use it as nourishment, but if it broke free, she’d be plucked and worn as a flower on its head! Just thinking of herself stuck on the drought demon’s head, shriveled up with her chest flattened like two bags, made her shudder.
