Chapter 415: The Destination of Ascension

Chapter 415: Chapter 169: The Destination of Ascension

Xu Lei hurriedly circulated his Magical Power, sending it throughout his body to protect every single cell.

He had to prevent his body from being incinerated.

But just then, Xu Lei felt the Bodhi Tree inside his Lower Dantian being scorched as well—and the flames there were the most ferocious of all.

The entire Bodhi Tree began to tremble violently. The Lotus Leaves of the Lotus Platform curled inward, and the platform itself turned a searing red.

Every single Bodhisattva Fruit was also glowing red, and the condensed halos of Magical Power were also vibrating wildly.

The flames were all-pervasive, their composition unknown. Yet, as Xu Lei frantically resisted them by activating his Origin, he discovered he could actually absorb some of their energy.

With every passing moment of being scorched, his Magical Power underwent a subtle transformation.

The process was excruciatingly painful for his physical body; it felt as if every cell was being pricked by needles.

Yet, strangely enough, the flames didn’t burn away Xu Lei’s clothes. It was all quite bizarre.

At this moment, Xu Lei had no mind to investigate the composition or nature of these flames. All of his focus was on resisting their scorching heat.

He could only absorb a small fraction of their energy; it wasn’t much.

The primary effect was still the forging. If Xu Lei had been a piece of iron before, these flames seemed intent on tempering him into steel.

Xu Lei could feel that if he couldn’t endure this, his Origin would shatter. Then, his entire physical body would fail to withstand the flames and would instantly disintegrate into dust.

Having witnessed Daoist Chun Yuan’s failure all those years ago, Xu Lei didn’t dare let his guard down.

He patiently circulated his Magical Power, resisting the flames bit by bit. At first, it was agonizing—so much so that Xu Lei thought he was going to die.

But then, after an unknown amount of time, he made an unexpected discovery: he was actually starting to enjoy the sensation of the flames.

Furthermore, his Magic Power Origin seemed to have undergone a sublimation. The entire Bodhi Tree had become crystalline and translucent. Each Lotus Leaf radiated a soft light, every branch shimmered, and every Bodhisattva Fruit glimmered. While its overall size hadn’t changed, its quality had significantly improved.

The halos of light beneath the Bodhi Tree had also grown more refined, even bursting forth with a dazzling radiance. Any Magical Power that entered his Dantian, after being filtered by this upgraded Bodhi Tree, instantly became far more potent than before.

As this new Magical Power circulated to every cell in his body, it easily withstood the scorching flames, and the pain gradually subsided.

Of course, the burning was still ongoing, so Xu Lei kept his eyes closed, silently observing the changes within his body.

Eventually, Xu Lei found that he was also directly absorbing some of the flames’ energy.

This energy was exceptionally pure and strange. As it flowed into Xu Lei’s body, it caused his cellular activity to skyrocket. His cells began to transform wildly, and at the same time, his physical appearance started to change.

The wrinkles on his skin began to fade. His white hair gradually turned black, and the cloudiness in his pupils started to recede.

That’s right—Xu Lei was growing younger.

After all, having lived several lifetimes and witnessed the Ascension of others, Xu Lei certainly understood what this change meant: he was likely on the verge of success.

After all, Hui Ming, Zhao Xin, Qing Lian, and the others had all grown younger after successfully Crossing the Tribulation.

He hadn’t expected to succeed at Crossing the Tribulation on his very first attempt, though. This was a bit of a surprise.

After all, everyone said that Crossing Tribulation and Ascending was no easy feat.

And back then, Jingchun had been exceptionally well-prepared, yet still perished.

That was why Xu Lei had been mentally prepared to fail on his first try.

He never imagined he would actually succeed!

‘But on the other hand, I’ve struggled for three lifetimes, constantly building my foundation. Maybe success isn’t so unbelievable after all.’

‘Jingchun was well-prepared back then, but perhaps her state of mind was unstable, which is why she failed. But I’ve lived for several lifetimes; my mental state is rock solid.’

Of course, the burning hadn’t ended yet. And now, the thought of Jingchun came to mind.

Because of this, Xu Lei didn’t dare to relax. He worried that a single moment of carelessness, like one wrong move in a game of chess, could lead to losing everything.

So, he suppressed his joy and continued to refine the energy, bit by bit.

「An unknown amount of time passed.」

After all, when one is focused on resisting and refining, one loses all sense of time.

That’s just how it is when you’re completely absorbed in a task. You can’t tell how much time has passed unless you stop to check, and stopping was clearly not an option right now.

Finally, Xu Lei felt another qualitative change occurring.

The halos on Xu Lei’s Bodhi Tree abruptly grew larger. Their light shone upward, actually passing through his Lower Dantian and projecting outside his body.

At that moment, Xu Lei finally opened his eyes. With a POOF, all the flames surrounding him vanished.

Xu Lei glanced down and saw that the skin on his arms had indeed become firm and taut again. He couldn’t see his own face, as he hadn’t brought any Spatial Magical Artifacts with him while Crossing the Tribulation, fearing the flames would destroy any Magical Artifacts or Treasures he carried.

But he knew that a halo must now be circling behind his head.

Of course, Xu Lei hadn’t turned into a youth. He had merely transformed into the appearance of a man in his thirties. After all, he had waited until he was quite old before Crossing the Tribulation, unlike someone like Qing Lian, who did so in her middle years.