Chapter 422: Meeting an Old Friend in the Celestial Palace

Chapter 422: Chapter 171: Meeting an Old Friend in the Celestial Palace

“I see,” Xu Lei nodded.

Yuan Kong led Xu Lei deeper inside. After they passed through another white archway,

they arrived at another plaza. Before them stood a massive, towering structure.

The building was shaped like a pagoda.

It had a total of nine stories from bottom to top.

“This is the Nine Heavens.”

Yuan Kong said, “Go on in. The door is over there. Once inside, if you pass the trial, you can become the Saint Master’s disciple!”

“Senior Brother, is it possible for me not to go?”

Xu Lei asked, “I don’t really want to. Can’t I just find a place to live here in the Celestial Palace and cultivate on my own? Would that be alright?”

“No. All Ascenders who come here must enter the Nine Heavens and undergo the Saint Master’s trial. That is the rule.”

However, Yuan Kong continued, “Besides, by going inside and accepting the Saint Master’s trial, you can obtain a better Cultivation Technique. Now that you’ve reached the Bodhisattva Realm, you probably don’t know how to continue your Cultivation, do you? Don’t you want to obtain a more advanced Cultivation Technique?

“Only by passing the trial of the Nine Heavens can you truly grow and become one of us! Only then will you have the power to help us truly unlock the Celestial Palace and obtain the supreme legacy left behind by the Ancient Immortals and Buddhas! To pursue true longevity and eternal life!”

“What do you mean? Senior Brother, are you saying that not even the Saint Master has complete control over this Sun Palace?”

Xu Lei couldn’t help but ask, “So the reason the Saint Master and the Venerable have people like us take this trial is because they hope we’ll become strong enough to help them unlock the Celestial Palace’s true Secret Collection?”

“Correct.”

Yuan Kong nodded. “Someone like you, who has cultivated to the Bodhisattva Realm, may have achieved a degree of longevity, but it’s not true agelessness. You will still grow old. If not for the Nirvana Fire bestowed by the Celestial Palace, you would be middle-aged by now. How much lifespan would you have left to continue your Cultivation?

“Under normal circumstances, a Cultivator in the Bodhisattva Realm only has a lifespan of a few hundred years. The Saint Master and the Venerable have remained so young because they once obtained certain Treasures from the Celestial Palace, allowing them to maintain their youth or even reverse their age.

“But these Treasures are limited. If we don’t unlock the Celestial Palace’s true Secret Collection, the Treasures will eventually run out. When that day comes, all of us will grow old and die, washed away by time, decaying, turning to dust, and scattered by the wind.

“It was the Celestial Palace’s Nirvana Fire that allowed you to transform back into a youth! You can’t just reap the benefits without putting in the work. Life isn’t that easy.”

“I see.”

Xu Lei nodded repeatedly. “Now I understand. No wonder I received the guidance and aid of a Bodhisattva when I was just a child. Based on what you’ve said, Senior Brother, it seems I really must make a trip to this Ninefold Celestial Treasure Tower.”

‘In any case, even if I die inside, I can still reincarnate,’ Xu Lei thought. ‘So there’s no rush. Since I’m already here, I should definitely go in and have a look around.’

He had only spoken that way moments ago to deliberately coax more information out of Yuan Kong.

After all, there was a high chance that Zhao Xin, Hui Ming, Qing Lian, and the others were inside this Ninefold Celestial Treasure Tower. He had to go in and see for himself.

“Just get in there. It’s a rule of the Celestial Palace, and you can’t refuse. Even if you did, I’d just throw you in by force. And even if you had some trick to get past me, you wouldn’t be able to escape if the Venerable takes action. If the Venerable becomes enraged, who knows what might happen.”

Yuan Kong continued, “Once you’re inside, cultivate diligently and strive to pass the trial of the Nine Heavens. When you do, we can unlock the Celestial Palace’s true Secret Collection together.

“We can obtain the true legacy of longevity left by the Ancient Immortals and Buddhas and cultivate the true Power of Longevity.

“In our era, what’s the point of being a so-called Ascender? Our lifespans are merely a few hundred years, and using even a little Magical Power depletes so much of it. To replenish it, we have to spend long periods of time in arduous Cultivation. Isn’t it agonizing?

“If we can obtain the Celestial Palace’s true Secret Collection, we might find a real Longevity Technique. Our lifespans could be extended to a thousand, or even ten thousand years! We might even gain an Extraordinary Power that we don’t have to be stingy about using!

“We wouldn’t have to be so frugal with it, unlike the Magical Power we cultivate now!

“The legendary Ancient Immortals and Buddhas of old could travel thirty thousand li in a single morning. Moving mountains and overturning seas was nothing to them!

“They weren’t like us, having to be so stingy every time they used their Magical Power! They didn’t have to hide from the world or sever their emotions and desires. They were long-lived and powerful, yet their nature didn’t conflict with their humanity. That is true freedom and happiness!

“Don’t you want to live that kind of life? Think about the Saint Master and the Venerable. The tiniest Treasure they obtained from the Celestial Palace has allowed them to maintain their youth for so long!

“I don’t know much about the Saint Master, but take the Venerable for example. She looked the same as she does now when I first ascended. So many years have passed, and she hasn’t aged a day. I don’t even know how long she existed before I ascended.

“You can just imagine how valuable the Celestial Palace’s true Secret Collection must be! For example, the Daoist Sect’s Thunder Tribulation and the Buddhist Sect’s Nirvana Fire—do you think those just appear randomly? In truth, they are both bestowed by the Celestial Palace!

“These are not things that Cultivators of our era can control! We can only wield them by borrowing the power of the Celestial Palace itself, which is a massive Magical Artifact!”

Yuan Kong said a great deal, and with every word, a fire ignited in Xu Lei’s heart.

Indeed, everything Yuan Kong had said touched upon a sore spot that had long troubled Xu Lei.

The Cultivation Techniques in the world he came from truly had too many drawbacks and were far too weak.