Chapter 277
The disciples of Kunlun Xian Palace, responsible for setting up the formation, began to channel spiritual energy into the three arrays.
Without moving their lips, the disciples could be heard whispering from all directions, as if a group of invisible monks were reciting scriptures around the three formations.
Chen Huai'an took two steps back, hiding behind Li Qingran.
The scene before him felt a bit too eerie; a boy must protect himself when venturing out.
"Concentrate—!"
The red carp suddenly opened its eyes, and the spiritual energy around it was instantly drained.
At the same time, the dark clouds tore open three holes, revealing faint rays of light from above.
The brilliance fell from the sky, gradually solidifying into golden pillars adorned with carved dragons and phoenixes, enveloping the three fortunate ones.
This was the Ascension Pillar.
Chen Huai'an analyzed the situation calmly, trying to delve deeper into his feelings, but found nothing.
He turned to Li Qingran and said, "Pay close attention, absorb everything; there won't be another chance."
"Yes, Master!"
Li Qingran fixed her gaze on the Ascension Pillar, biting her lip lightly, her delicate brows furrowed, her pretty face serious.
She needed to know the size of her master's undergarments.
Today, she had to give it her all!
Chen Huai'an also focused on the Ascension Pillar.
As the transmission of power began, a pure stream of spiritual energy descended from above, forcefully pouring into the three individuals.
He looked up in the direction from which the energy flowed.
Among the clouds, countless phantoms swirled, and he even spotted the figures of the Corpse King Di Jiang and the Bone Porcelain Bodhisattva.
He rubbed his eyes, thinking he must have seen wrong.
But he soon realized that besides Di Jiang and the Bone Porcelain Bodhisattva, there were other indistinct phantoms flickering in and out of view.
It was as if the energy enhancing these three was emanating from these phantoms.
Yet, Di Jiang and the Bone Porcelain Bodhisattva were quintessentially malevolent beings.
It was impossible for them to produce such pure spiritual energy.
The transmission of power did not last long, only about the time it takes to burn half a stick of incense.
When the dust settled, Chen Huai'an noticed that Wang Shouyi's aura had significantly strengthened, advancing from mid-foundation establishment to late foundation establishment. Meanwhile, Wang Debiao, a descendant of the Wang family, had transformed from a mere reviver who couldn't even cultivate Qi into a foundation establishment cultivator, breaking through the nine levels of Qi refinement in succession.
The other lucky individual was similar.
The power increase for the three of them equated to a full level in foundation establishment.
The speed of this enhancement was terrifying.
Even Li Qingran's eyes widened in disbelief.
Seeing Chen Huai'an's astonished expression, the red carp couldn't help but smirk, lifting its chin slightly. "So, are you regretting it now? But there's no such thing as a regret pill in this world. You might never get another chance at the Ascension Pillar's transmission in your lifetime."
Chen Huai'an nodded at the thickening gray mist around Wang Shouyi's head.
"Indeed, I do regret it."
He noticed that the red carp also had gray mist swirling around it and added, "What can I say? I wish you great success."
The red carp shot him a strange glance, letting out a light snort. It had intended to invite Li Qingran again, but seeing her cold demeanor and indifferent gaze, it swallowed the words back.
"What’s the big deal? It was just a few words."
The red carp turned its gaze away, muttering softly, "If you don't want to come, then don't. Why the hostility…"
As the transmission ended, the Ascension Pillar gradually faded away.
Only the three remained, sitting cross-legged on the ground, digesting their suddenly increased power.
Around them, envious and jealous glances were cast, as if everyone wished they could be the ones receiving the transmission.
"Well, my disciple, have you discerned anything?"
Chen Huai'an led Li Qingran to a quiet corner.
From her expression, he could tell she already had an answer.
…
…
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Chapter 294: The Crossing (tijin +1)
"Master, this Ascension Pillar doesn’t feel like a good thing."
Li Qingran frowned deeply, clenching her fists as she spoke softly, "The power has indeed increased. Compared to taking pills, it has no side effects, but the talents of the three have been overdrawn.
With your vast knowledge, Master, you should know that everyone is born with spiritual light. This spiritual light is different from spiritual energy; it refers to a person's talent manifesting in a special way, visible only to those who have opened their heavenly eyes."
Chen Huai'an rubbed his nose.
Oh, I get it.
He was the one with the heavenly eye.
From now on, he could sit at the same table as Erlang Shen during banquets—how nice.
"Please, continue."
"I don’t have a heavenly eye, so I can’t see the spiritual light on these three, but my cultivation is higher than theirs, and I can clearly feel that their talents have been overdrawn…
For instance, the one named Wang Shouyi.
Before the infusion of power, his talent would have easily allowed him to enter the inner sect of a major sect, but now, his talent barely qualifies him for the outer sect."
"So you mean they traded their talent for strength?"
Li Qingran smiled wryly, "If that’s the case, it’s just like the side effects of taking pills. Moreover, for some cultivators, being able to enhance their strength by overdrawn talent might not be a bad thing; it’s certainly better than being stuck at a standstill… The problem is, the power they gained has a strange sense of detachment from their true selves."
"Detachment? What do you mean?" Chen Huai'an feigned a calm demeanor, continuing to probe.
Li Qingran tapped her chin with her finger, pouting slightly, hesitating, "It just feels like the power they gained isn’t really theirs, like water added to a container. If the container breaks or someone picks it up and pours it out, all the water is gone."
Li Qingran's words plunged Chen Huai'an into deep thought.
As a modern person, he had a way of understanding things through a contemporary lens.
Infused power, a sense of detachment, power that could vanish at any moment…
What was the difference between this and a character account in an online game?
It looked like they had leveled up, but it was merely the character that had leveled up.
In a game, no matter how much you level up or how much money you spend, once the game shuts down, the character is instantly destroyed.
What good is being the highest level in the entire server?
It’s still just a piece of data that can be manipulated at will.
Through Li Qingran's description, he naturally thought of these things.
Wang Shouyi, Wang Debiao, and these ascenders might be like conscious game characters.
They leveled up as easily as eating and drinking, yet they were unaware that they were merely pawns on a chessboard.
Everything they possessed could be crushed at any moment by an entity outside the board.
If the above conjecture held true, it would be terrifying.
With his electronic girlfriend game, he might very well be a serious bug in the eyes of the game master.
A virus that needed to be eliminated!
Yet, it seemed he had not yet caught the game master's attention.
If such a puppet master existed, what was their purpose in orchestrating all of this?
Was it merely to completely control these "game characters"?
Chen Huai'an felt that there were many ways to control a force, and there was no need to play such a grand game.
"Master, did I pass in my understanding of that formation?"
Li Qingran looked at her master with eager eyes, her eyelashes fluttering, occasionally biting her lip, her gaze filled with tension and anticipation.
She truly resembled a student waiting for their grades to be announced.
Chen Huai'an chuckled softly, nodding, then shaking his head, "There are still a few flaws…"
Li Qingran's lips pouted, her brows relaxing, her head drooping in disappointment.
Chen Huai'an paused, suddenly raising his tone, "But you did pass!"
The girl's face instantly brightened, her eyes sparkling, "Really? Then, Master, please tell me the size!"
Chen Huai'an was about to say his size was XL when he suddenly realized that Li Qingran might not understand that.
What to do then?
Should he mention waist and leg measurements?
But how would the other sizes be calculated?
Was there… such a thing as sword dimensions?
"Uh—" Chen Huai'an furrowed his brow, falling silent for a moment.
Looking at his little disciple's expectant gaze, and recalling his earlier promise, he felt quite troubled.
"Master, don’t you know your size?" Li Qingran said understandingly, "Then you could give me something you usually wear, and I can measure it myself."
That was indeed a good idea.
Chen Huai'an's eyes lit up; having a clever little disciple was a relief.
"Sure, I’ve indeed forgotten my size a bit. Sigh, it’s been a thousand years since I measured." Chen Huai'an feigned an excuse, reaching into his storage space and rummaging for a while, finally pulling out two striped garments.
He hesitated for a moment, not giving them to Li Qingran.
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