“This is the seventh floor. You can see the divine palace on the seventh floor once you lift your head!” The cultivator said with excitement. He didn’t possess the air of a master at all, but he was somehow on the seventh floor.
“That means nothing. You can see that false illusion no matter which floor you’re on.” Gao Ming had the God of Flesh and Blood heal his head first. He needed to keep on observing.
“It’s different.” The cultivator said mysteriously. “On this floor, you can see the immortals in the divine palace!”
“Immortals?” The wound on Gao Ming’s neck tore open. He gave up its recovery. “Not everyone who appears at the divine palace is an immortal.”
“Not too long ago, a jade building in the divine palace collapsed. It was loud. An ascended individual pointed at the divine palace and screamed, but no one could hear him. Then, he used these stones to carve out the appearance of the true immortal he saw. He built a plaque for the immortal and enjoyed good karma. After the divine palace returned to normal, the wisp of smoke circled him and absorbed him into the divine palace.” The cultivator only had ascension in his mind. This text is hosted at NoveI-Fire.ɴet
“What does the stone carving of that real immortal look like? What does the immortal look like?” Gao Ming pressed. The cultivator couldn’t describe it. He stammered for a long time. Eventually, he stopped moving.
“My stone workshop.” The cultivator nudged open a wooden door and entered a small yard. He looked around and made sure no one was around before putting down Gao Ming. He used the hay and scattered fabric to cover the broken roof. “You can rest here.” The cultivator suddenly became busy. He ran in and out. He started a fire in the yard and pulled out a large pot from underneath his bed. The fire crackled, and the water in the pot boiled. When everything was ready, he entered the yard with a thankful heart. He removed Gao Ming’s robe.
Gao Ming knew something was wrong when the man was being so polite to him. “Wait! Listen to me!”
The cultivator took out a rusted cleaver and a chisel. “Brother, I apologise because the biggest pot I have can’t fit you! After I finish eating you, I’ll collect all of your bones and bury them in one spot!”
“The divine glow is poisonous! You have been tricked!” Gao Ming’s sweat mixed with his blood. “Ascension is a lie! The divine palace doesn’t exist!”
“Brother, my Dao Heart is firm. You won’t be able to lie to me.” The cultivator stared at the divine glow that leaked out of Gao Ming’s wound. Even his eyes became red. “Even if you’re a piece of rock, I’ll grind you down to eat you!”
These people had lost their minds. Their previous lives were so hard that they were adamant about grabbing onto any bit of hope.
“Fine, I’ll tell you the truth! Once you kill me, the divine glow will disperse!” Gao Ming said. He needed more time for his wounds to heal.
“Then, I’ll eat you when you’re alive.”
“We’re both humans!” Gao Ming was reminded of the citizens who were refining pills on the second floor. The Ceremony Master was eaten until nothing was left of him. However, not many pill refiners ascended. He could only spin the yarn along that logic, “Eating me will not get you the divine glow, but I have obtained the trick to ascension. We are fated. I can share the secrets with you.”
The chisel paused above Gao Ming’s temple. The cultivator didn’t really want to eat another human. His humanity prompted him to pause. “For real?”
“I fell down from the ninth floor. I was only one step away from becoming an immortal. My journey has ended for now, but I can help you. I only need you to do three things for me after you have ascended.” Gao Ming spoke slowly as if he were revealing some big secrets. “I will do my best to aid you because if you don’t become immortal, no one can take revenge for me!”
The cultivator didn’t move the chisel away. His pupils trembled slightly. After a few breaths, he shook his head. “I don’t trust you unless you can carve out a figurine that contains divinity! Since you fell from the ninth floor and were so close to the divine palace, you must have seen the real immortal. I’ll carve the figurine according to your description. I’ll naturally be accepted by the divine palace.” The cultivator sounded demented near the end. He was submerged in his hopeful imagination, where he saw the immortals waving at him.
“No problem. However, before that, you need to bring me to witness the work of the ascended cultivator.” Gao Ming gave his promise. He needed more time because the divine glow was still wreaking havoc in his body.
Gao Ming was covered in a new robe. The cultivator carried him to the middle of the seventh floor. The walls of the first and second floors were painted with the divines. The walls of the seventh floor were cracked. A stone figure sat in the middle. Many strange figurines were set up around it.
“The carvings have to have been impacted by the divine palace to be placed here.” The cultivator said softly, afraid of alerting the others.
“Does that mean the one in the middle was created by the ascended cultivator?” Gao Ming stared at the tallest figurine, but he couldn’t see its face. It was blurry, but he felt like it looked like Zhang Mingli.
“No. That figurine has been here from the start. No one knew who left it behind. No one could see its real appearance.” The cultivator placed Gao Ming at the feet of the tallest figure. Then, he placed a figurine about half a metre tall before him. The carver’s tools were simple, but their technique was impressive. Even a normal stone block had been transformed into a living thing.
“Wait.” Gao Ming couldn’t believe his eyes. The carving was that of the old night-watcher!
There was a gong and an hourglass around his waist. He held the incense stick that was normally on his neck in his hands. He closed his palms as if praying. The ancestral plaques behind him were tipped over. There was a black snake’s tail that had been descaled before him.
“Is this the immortal the ascended saw?”
Gao Ming was unlike the possessed followers. He didn’t think the Soul Temple contained actual immortals. The stone carving proved that.
“The night-watcher severed the snake’s tail, and the divine temple shook. The night-watcher probably fought something in the Soul Temple!” Gao Ming was the last to enter the Soul Temple. He saw the Water Dragon King climb up the outer wall of the temple. It planned to moult into a dragon at Dream Break Town.
“The cultivator on the seventh floor was drawn into the divine palace not because he carved out a true divine but because he saw something he shouldn’t.” Gao Ming had been intercepted by the divine glow before. He almost ‘ascended.’ He was very familiar with the tactics of the ‘divine’.