Cultivating for a hundred lifetimes to ascension

Then, with a wave of his long sleeves, his body gradually became faint, and finally disappeared without a trace.

...

One day, two years later.

In a place thousands of miles away from the Heavenly Burial Plain, a patch of dense white fog suddenly surged violently, and then a middle-aged robust man covered in blood suddenly emerged from the mist.

After the middle-aged man flew out, three young people in armor followed suit, all three covered in wounds, their armor battered almost beyond repair, seemingly close to being scrapped.

Upon seeing themselves leaving the war fog alive, one of the young men with a long face and thin eyebrows wiped the blood from his mouth and suddenly laughed wildly, "Ha-ha, this is exhilarating, truly exhilarating! This time we've chopped down six heads in one go, and one of them was even a Foundation Establishment Realm priest. Calculating our battle merits, combined with what we've accumulated before, it should be enough to exchange for a top-grade Foundation Establishment Pill when we get back."

"Zhao Jue, shut up!" The middle-aged man frowned when he heard this and turned back to scold, "Before we return to the camp, nowhere is safe. If you can't even remember this iron rule, then don't follow our squad next time."

"No! Sixteenth Uncle, this nephew knows his mistake and will surely repent in the future. Please don't abandon me!" The long-faced young man hurriedly whispered in a pleading tone.

At this time, the other two Zhao clan disciples wore expressions of Schadenfreude, eagerly anticipating that the middle-aged man would kick out this connection-based team member, hoping perhaps to attract a stronger "companion" in the future.

The middle-aged man's name was Zhao Kaiyuan. He was from the Ren branch of the Southern Sky Zhao Family, and his own cultivation had surpassed the Fifth Realm of Foundation Establishment, ranking among the top three hundred among Foundation Establishment Cultivators of the same rank, though he couldn't make it onto the Foundation Establishment Battle List.

His blood relationship with the long-faced young man did not extend beyond five generations, which was considered extremely close within the family.

The middle-aged man sighed when he saw this, his tone slightly softened, "If you dare do this again, find your own way!"

After saying this, without even glancing at the family nephew, he waved at the others and decisively ordered, "Let's go, we're going home!"

"Yes!" The two of them, along with the long-faced young man Zhao Yu, responded excitedly in unison.

Shortly after, a Cloud Boat spanning three zhang carried the four of them into the sky, speeding towards the northwest.

When the four of the Zhao family returned alive to the family's camp, behind them in the foggy battlefield, there were hundreds of "elite squads" wandering around the battlefield, ready to engage in life-and-death battles with invading enemies at any moment.

Although there was no sign of a decisive battle, small invasions and counter-invasions called "wars" were already raging, even becoming increasingly intense!

Every day, some elite teams returned with heads full, but there were also teams seriously injured, forced to flee the battlefield in embarrassment.

Of course, there were always a few unlucky teams that were eternally lost in this foggy battlefield.

The Tianzhu Realm's battlefield was so fierce, but the "fog battlefield" on the Heavenly Burial Plain side was undoubtedly ten times more brutal.

Any team daring to venture onto the Heavenly Burial battlefield had at least half of its squads entirely composed of Foundation Establishment Cultivators.

Even if a few Qi Refining Perfection daringly joined the teams, each of them possessed special skills and trump cards, far exceeding ordinary Qi Refining Perfection.

If the surface battlefield belonged to Foundation Establishment and Qi Refinement contention, then the sky of ten thousand zhang was the "stage" where Golden Core Masters and even Nascent Soul Ancestors shone brightly.

However, this vast "stage" of tens of thousands of miles was exceptionally cruel and dangerous; once engaged in battle, life and death were decided in an instant!

...

Two cups of tea later, a vast camp with towering forts and high towers stretching endlessly was already visible in the distance.

At this moment, in the upper sky of the camp, countless flying objects of various sizes were floating densely, casting gigantic shadows downward over the camp as the sunlight shone upon them.

At this moment, the Cloud Boat carrying the four quickly descended into the center of the camp.

Soon after, the middle-aged man led three people toward a tall 18-story towering giant tower in the center of the camp.

At this moment, a large number of Zhao clan disciples were continually flying in and out around the giant tower, creating a lively scene.

The middle-aged man Zhao Kaiyuan was obviously quite well-known in his clan, being recognized by many people as they walked, who came forward to greet him one after another.

Zhao Kaiyuan kept politely responding while leading the three team members into the tower.

The first floor of the giant tower was extremely spacious, covering more than ten miles in area, with the ground paved with heavy Golden Gang Stone. The surrounding tower walls were smooth as mirrors, on which layers upon layers of complex array patterns emerged, yet posed no threat to anyone. However, this only made the place all the more terrifying!

In the center of the tower, several jade walls ten zhang tall stood prominently, resembling light screens on which rows of Spiritual Text characters in gold, red, and black would occasionally appear. Upon closer look, they were actually individual names, along with various deeds recorded beside them.

The long-faced, thin-browed Zhao Yu ran eagerly to the jade wall, reading it out loud with excitement: "Merit Heavenly List, Nascent Soul Earth List, Golden Core Outstanding List... Foundation Establishment Dragon Tiger List... Bounty List, Bounty Reward List, Exchange List…"

Looking at those high-up "notable figures" on the lists, even though Zhao Yu already knew them by heart, every time he returned, he would tirelessly inspect the lists, seeking new objects of admiration.

"Hey, Sixteenth Uncle, come and look! Cheng Boqi, nicknamed 'Wind-cutting Saber,' ranked twenty-first on the Foundation Establishment Dragon Tiger List, Wan You, known as 'Sacred Mountain Warrior,' at thirty-seventh, and Ren Liuyi, called 'Heart Eye,' at eighty-first, have all been delisted this time. Wow, Twenty-ninth Uncle has finally made it onto the list, ranked ninety-fourth!" Zhao Yu suddenly exclaimed loudly.

Perhaps his voice was a bit too loud, immediately drawing the attention of those around, who looked over one after another.

Fortunately, there were no outsiders present, only Zhao clan members, so most people cast benevolent glances, only a few showing dissatisfaction and disdain.

Seeing this, the middle-aged man immediately strode over, forcefully slapped Zhao Yu on the back, and reprimanded, "Shut up! You're already almost forty, yet you're still so frivolous and undisciplined! If you don't drop this habit in the future, even with a top-grade Foundation Establishment Pill, it'll be hard for you to break through."

Zhao Yu was startled by these words, fearing the promised Foundation Establishment Pill would slip away, quickly hunching submissively and expressing, "I'll change, won't I? I will definitely quit being frivolous as soon as possible!"

Just as he finished speaking, his expression turned extremely excited again, lowly cheering, "Our family actually has ten people on the Foundation Establishment Dragon Tiger List at the same time, we're going to be quite prominent again. Ha-ha!"

Zhao Kaiyuan said quietly, "Don't get excited too early. The Foundation Establishment Dragon Tiger List is nothing. The Golden Core Outstanding List has a total of a hundred places, but our family only has six people on it, with the highest ranking being only thirteenth, still far from the top ten elites! As for the Nascent Soul Earth List and the Merit Heavenly List... sigh, not worth mentioning!"

Just as he finished speaking, a dignified youth walked by.

This person flicked open a jade fan in hand, speaking earnestly, "Brother Kaiyuan, you're mistaken! You see, the Nascent Soul Earth List is but a reference, not of much practical use! Remember, half of the true experts in the Nascent Soul Realm have been hidden behind the scenes since the war began, never showing their hand. Take our Southern Sky Zhao Family, for instance,... the Qingshan Great Elder and the one stationed in Mountain City, neither have appeared on the list!"

Therefore, just like this, the Golden Core Outstanding List and Foundation Establishment Dragon Tiger List also reflect the same!

At least until the final battle begins, we definitely won't reveal our true strength!"

This person's reasoning was logical and made sense, not only enlightening the four people present but also catching the attention of someone.

Just a hundred zhang away, beneath the Merit Heavenly List, an ordinary-looking old man in a green robe slightly turned his head to look this way, a hint of appreciation in his eyes.

This person was none other than Zhao Sheng in disguise.

In the past two years, he had consistently appeared with this appearance and had remained stationed in the family's tower, secretly guarding the clan's camp while also covertly selecting the "Potential Seeds" within the clan.

The fan-holding youth was precisely a "Foundation Establishment Seed" he had his eye on, with considerable potential to break through to the Golden Core Realm.

Zhao Sheng quickly withdrew his gaze, continuing to look up at the Merit Heavenly List ahead.

However, surprisingly, despite there being so many people coming and going, none could sense his presence.

Until much later, a tall, graceful woman with flowing red hair slowly entered the tower space.

This woman's gaze ignored everyone around her, landing directly on the old man in the green robe.