Halted at the thirteenth level of the Celestial Ascension were seven souls of considerable power. Beyond the forty-seven Ascended Celestials who had dared this trial, stood two figures of particular renown: the Revered Cai Wei, who had breached the fourteenth layer, and the Ascended Celestial known as the Netherwind Ascendant, first among his peers, who met his match at the sixteenth level.

From the eleventh layer onward, the trials escalated to a perilous degree. No longer were these mere feats of shattering cosmic bodies as in the ten layers prior. Instead, challengers faced the spectral echoes of the Seventy-Two Outer Beasts, the very creatures against whom the Immortal Ancestor had once waged war!

These Seventy-Two Beasts of the Outer Heavens varied in strength, and though their illusions manifested within the Celestial Crucible were but weakened phantoms, they were, nonetheless, remnants of beings capable of challenging the Immortal Ancestor himself.

Should one conquer all Seventy-Two Beasts, retracing the steps of the Immortal Ancestor, then, upon completing the nineteenth level, they would command a strength that even the Great Celestials dared not trifle with.

Moreover, from the eleventh layer onward, lay unimaginable rewards, though not all were destined to receive them. Even among those who overcame the eleventh layer, many remained unblessed. The exact nature of these boons remained shrouded in mystery, yet whispers told of one who, in the eleventh layer, had been granted a single, divine art of the Immortal Ancestor!

Yet, throughout the annals of the Immortal Clan, only one Ascended Celestial had ever conquered all nineteen levels and ascended to the realm of the Great Celestials within the Ancient God Realm. Beyond this singular exception, no other had pierced the nineteenth veil.

Even the current Great Celestials, including the Wayfarer of Unity and the Eight Extremes Immortal Sovereign, attained their positions through fortuitous circumstances. One discovered his path to greatness within the Ancient God Realm, while the other inherited the blood of the Immortal Ancestor himself.

The Twin Great Celestials and the Eternal Emperor, it was said, were contemporaries, perhaps even serving beneath the Immortal Ancestor, though the veracity of this claim remains unknown. However, it was widely acknowledged that the Great Celestial Wu Feng, once an Ascended Celestial himself, only managed to pass the fourteenth layer, a feat surpassed by the Netherwind Ascendant.

“This is why I have chosen to follow him,” declared Ascended Celestial Xue Yu, gazing upon Wang Lin. “For we Ascended Celestials possess a certain pride. If one ascends to the Great Celestial realm through mere chance, how could we, with our unyielding spirits, ever offer our allegiance?”

Wang Lin, his gaze fixed, sought answers. “Which Great Celestial was the sole Ascended Celestial to conquer all nineteen levels?” He had never heard such tales before.

“From the Eastern Reach, the Great Celestial of the Eastern Reach! Before his fall, he was hailed as the First Great Celestial of our Immortal Clan. Even the Eternal Emperor held him in great esteem. He was one who ascended step by step through his own power,” Xue Yu said. The name stirred within him great respect, and his voice lowered.

Wang Lin fell silent, the image of an old man, weaving dreams to escape loneliness within the Eastern Reach Sect, came to mind. “I thank you.” Wang Lin bowed towards Xue Yu, then lifted his gaze to the eleventh layer above. With resolute eyes, he launched himself upwards, a blur of motion amid the gasps of the Celestials below and the calculating gaze of Ascended Celestial Zi Yan. He was a blade cutting through the sky, heading to the eleventh layer.

The eleventh layer within the Celestial Crucible was a realm of aspiration and ambition. Simply reaching this level, regardless of success, signified immense power and prestige.

The hall of the eleventh layer differed greatly from those below. It was larger, more imposing, and thrummed with a stronger oppressive energy, its entirety shrouded in inky darkness.

“Including the nine mentioned, only twenty-two of the Immortal Clan have ever conquered this eleventh layer! He seeks instant fame? Becoming an Ascended Celestial after passing the tenth layer is not enough?” Wang Lin thought. He transformed into a comet, piercing through the void to the eleventh layer.

As Wang Lin stepped into the eleventh layer, gasps erupted from below. These Celestials were titans in their own right, capable of shaking the heavens with a step, but were now stunned at his actions.

“I thought he would cease after the tenth!” one cried.

“How many levels does he seek to conquer? Where will he halt?” another asked.

“Madness! He must be consumed by arrogance or is he truly capable? Such consecutive attempts are unheard of!”

Xue Yu and his companions frowned. They believed the chances of success were low. They had failed at this level. A newly Ascended Celestial like Wang Lin could never succeed.

“He has ambition, but the eleventh layer is difficult. I attempted to pass after conquering the tenth, only to fail. Many years passed before I succeeded,” one spoke.

“Of the forty-seven Ascended Celestials, only Revered Cai Wei and the Netherwind Ascendant halted at the twelfth and thirteenth levels. Their renown is largely due to this. He will not succeed!” Zi Yan said.

Not only those present, but also the Great Celestials and other Ascended Celestials watched this. Word spread across the Immortal Continent of a new Ascended Celestial who, instead of leaving, tried again.

Within the Wayfarer of Unity Sect, the Great Celestial of Unity stared at his reflection, his fists clenching. “I must recruit him.”
In the frozen wastes of the Northern Lands, Wufeng, the Grand Empyrean of Ice, fixed his gaze upon the glaciers, his resolve hardening like the ancient ice itself.

Within the hallowed halls of the Violet Sun Sect, a middle-aged cultivator, haunted by the echoes of tortured screams, trembled with fervent anticipation. Before him, a polished mirror reflected his eager face as he muttered, “Should he become a vassal of the Twin Empyreans, he would prove an invaluable asset!”

In the heart of the Central Continent, atop the majestic Emperor’s Mountain, the Ninth Emperor, a Grand Empyrean, lounged languidly, basking in the sun’s golden rays. He resembled a venerable elder, reluctant to stir. When Wang Lin breached the tenth layer, the Ninth Emperor’s eyes, clouded with age, flickered open, casting a dismissive glance.

“He passed? Even having surpassed the tenth trial, he remains but a large ant… insignificant compared to the esteemed Cai Wei, and utterly dwarfed by the unfathomable Ming Dao. Alas, what boons did the Immortal Emperor bestow upon Ming Dao in ages past?” The ancient one sighed, lamenting his failure to secure the loyalty of the elusive Ming Dao.

Within the imperial palace of the Central Continent’s capital city, a disembodied voice echoed through deserted halls.

“Ming Dao, what is your assessment?”

As the words reverberated, the very air of the palace shimmered and distorted, birthing from the ripple a figure draped in black. This was a youth of striking handsomeness, exuding an aura of chilling power. His gaze swept across the ethereal curtain of the Celestial Venerable’s Trials hanging in the palace’s dome.

“To slay him, but a single breath of thunder suffices!”

Ignoring the stir caused by Wang Lin’s ascension to the rank of Leaping Celestial Venerable and his challenge of the eleventh trial, Wang Lin himself strode forth into the fated layer. The world dissolved into a haze before solidifying once more into a star-strewn expanse.

But this was no ordinary firmament. Here, stars were absent, replaced by a dense and impenetrable miasma that clung to all.

“What is Dao?” A voice of profound authority thundered into existence, its echo resonating within the depths of Wang Lin’s soul, assailing his ears.

“What is Dao!”

“What is Dao!” The question intensified, cycling between a whisper and a roar, shaking Wang Lin to his very core, threatening to shatter his spirit.

Wang Lin’s face paled, yet his eyes burned with an unyielding light. His understanding of Dao, forged in the fires of his three Grand Emptiness Origins, far surpassed that of many within the Immortal Astral Continent, even surpassing some Celestial and Leaping Celestial Venerables!

This profound comprehension of Dao was an inner revelation, invisible to all but himself, a transcendence of thought.

“Life and death are the binding cord; this is Dao!” Wang Lin declared, his voice ringing with conviction.

In that instant, all the moments of clarity concerning life and death from his nearly three thousand years coalesced into the essence of his Life and Death Origin, enveloping him entirely. The voice vanished as quickly as it had appeared, and the miasma surged, swirling into the shape of a colossal rope that coiled around him, its outward expansion revealing a breathtaking vista of stars. Within that starry expanse, a figure emerged, clad in golden robes and crowned with an imperial diadem.

Before this regal figure stood a monstrous scorpion, tens of thousands of feet in length, radiating an aura of frigid malevolence and emitting a piercing shriek.

Wang Lin’s vision blurred, and when it cleared, he found himself in the place of the golden figure, locked in battle against the fearsome scorpion!

“A Jade Demon Scorpion!” Wang Lin shouted, donning his Soul Armor without hesitation.

Time passed slowly. Unlike the previous trials that were surmounted in a matter of breaths, a full half-incense stick had burned since Wang Lin entered the eleventh layer. Silence reigned as all eyes were fixed upon the mist-shrouded sky, patiently awaiting the outcome.

“Let him test the eleventh layer. Failure will teach him the chasm between aspiration and reality, and reveal that the Celestial Venerable’s Trials cannot be conquered by reckless ambition alone.” Xue Yu, the Leaping Celestial Venerable, mused inwardly, still convinced that Wang Lin’s success was impossible.

“Does he think he is Cai Wei or Ming Dao? I struggled and suffered to barely overcome the eleventh layer. The riddle of ‘What is Dao?’ took ages to unravel, not to mention the seven consecutive trials against the spirits from beyond… There is no way he can succeed on his first attempt!” Zi Wai, the child-like Leaping Celestial Venerable, scoffed inwardly. But suddenly, he froze, his eyes widening in disbelief.

A surge of golden light erupted from the heart of the eleventh layer, shattering the mist that enshrouded it!

“Impossible!” Zi Wai exclaimed, his eyes bulging.