Limitless Ascension: Strength Amid Adversity

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After a while, the cultivators began to react, and cheers erupted enthusiastically.

“We’re saved!”

“Damn it, who said Senior Ye was a villain? That’s just pure misinformation!”

“From today onward, if I encounter anyone who dares to slander Senior Ye, I’ll risk my life to take them down!”

“Thank you, Senior Ye, for taking action! You’ve wiped out those demon monks from the Hanging Temple!”

The crowd looked at him with admiration and bowed deeply.

Many female cultivators gazed at the ethereal figure with blushing faces, their hearts filled with adoration.

“Wow, Young Master Ye is amazing,” An Miaoyi murmured.

“Miss, when it comes to such an extraordinary powerhouse, it’s best to refer to him as Senior,” Fan Dezhen corrected her, trembling.

With that level of cultivation perfected in crossing tribulation, he already stood at the pinnacle of the Eastern Domain’s cultivation world.

There’s a strong possibility he could become an Immortal in the future!

“Master is powerful!” Li Wujie was overwhelmed with emotion, idolizing Ye Junlin profoundly.

Hong Qianye felt a chill run through her.

With his keen eyesight, he could obviously see something more.

Given Master Randel’s almost insane defensive capabilities, even throwing him into the Central Region would make him a rare find among those in the Tribulation Stage.

Especially at this realm, life force becomes incredibly resilient, making it quite difficult to kill someone. Even if you’re one or two levels stronger, you can’t guarantee a 100% kill. So, while battles between cultivators in the Tribulation Stage have winners and losers, the concept of death is rarely seen.

After all, even if you can’t win, you can still escape!

Yet, Master Randel had become overly complacent, enveloped in past experiences, and ended up being punched into oblivion!

“What’s this guy’s limit, anyway?” Hong Qianye’s gaze was cloudy, her mind in disarray.

Seeing Master Randel killed, the dozen or so accompanying elders turned pale, lips trembling, their fear reaching an unbearable level.

Only they knew how high that person’s status was within the Hanging Temple. Losing one means destabilizing their foundation!

“Quick, back to the Hanging Temple!” The monks looked panicked and turned to flee.

Suddenly, a thunderous roar echoed from behind, “Baldy, where do you think you’re going?!!”

Li Wujie sprang into action, drawing his long knife with ferocity, slicing through his path with razor-sharp fierceness.

Puh Puh Puh Puh~

One by one, the monk’s bodies erupted in sprays of blood, and with incredulous gazes, their forms shattered neatly.

In a flash, Li Wujie turned and sheathed his knife, the whole process flowing smoothly and effortlessly.

“What a fast blade!”

The crowd swallowed hard.

Swish!

Ye Junlin appeared right before a few impostors, clicking his tongue, “So you thought you could run after using my name?”

At the same time, those few were still holding onto a slim hope of escape, and seeing Ye Junlin blocking their way, their nerves snapped, and they burst into tears, kneeling and banging their heads on the ground, “Senior Ye! Spare us! We were just confused! Please don’t take it out on mere ants like us!”

“It’s him! It’s all his scheme!” The Hat Man quickly pointed at the Old Man in an attempt to clear himself.

“That’s right! This old bastard is the real bad one!” The others indignantly echoed, pointing fingers in blame.

The Old Man was enraged, cursing internally, but at this point, he didn’t want to be at a loss either, grinding his teeth, “Senior Ye, I admit it was my greed that led to this foolish act, but you must understand, I couldn’t have done this alone, so please handle it fairly!”

“You old fool! Even at death’s door, you still want to drag us down with you! Has your conscience been eaten by dogs?” the Hat Man angrily retorted.

“Wah, I shouldn’t have listened to your nonsense! I used to do well at the Fengchun Tower, I was the headliner, but I was deceived into this immoral affair by you,” cried the voluptuous woman in red.

“Ah, I used to be a spirit herb farmer, managing a small sect’s spiritual rice and herbs. I didn’t earn much spirit crystal, which led to my twisted desires. If I could turn back time, I would definitely work humbly and honestly in farming!” claimed a small, squat dwarf, sobbing.

Ye Junlin shook his head.

These guys really had some guts.

But he felt no sympathy; after all, one must bear the consequences of their own mistakes, and when they hadn’t been exposed, they were all too proud!

Just as Ye Junlin was about to speak, Fan Dezhen rushed over, grabbed the Hat Man by the collar, and yelled angrily, “You scoundrel! Give back the five hundred thousand top-grade spirit crystals you cheated from me!”

Feeling the imposing force of a Great Ascension cultivator, the Hat Man turned ashen, stammering, “S-senior, let’s talk this out. I’ll give you all the money I have…”

“And what about ours? Return all the spirit crystals, magical treasures, and talismans you stole from us!” A horde of victims charged forward, faces filled with killing intent, surrounding them tightly.

The Old Man was sweating profusely, “We’ll return everything!”

Ye Junlin initially thought to punish them, but upon seeing the crowd of angry cultivators, he understood that in this survival-of-the-fittest world of cultivation, their fate would be pretty grim, so he turned around to leave.

Li Wujie wanted to kill that impostor, but realized he was just a useless little nobody not worth dying for and snorted coldly, following behind his master.

Hong Qianye’s expression was icy. She felt that targeting those brainless women would lower her own status, so she chose to turn and leave.

“Miss An, what are you looking at?” Ye Junlin asked playfully, noticing An Miaoyi’s dazed expression.

Snapping back to reality, An Miaoyi placed her hands on her hips, pouting, “Young Master Ye, you tricked me! I trusted you so much!”

Ye Junlin shrugged, “I didn’t think your thoughts would be so innocent, only realizing it now.”

“Are you calling me foolish?!” An Miaoyi bristled.

“No, this is called a pure heart! People with this quality often have smooth journeys in cultivation! Miss An, I have high hopes for you!” Ye Junlin stated seriously.

An Miaoyi paused, then joyously exclaimed, her sparkling eyes glowing with a sort of clear, naïve brightness, “Really? You’re not lying to me?”

Ye Junlin replied, “I never fool people!”

“Haha, you might think you’re invincible, but I’ll surpass you in the future!” An Miaoyi raised her chin, looking smug.

Ye Junlin chuckled, “Then work hard; I’ll be waiting for you at the finish line.”

Next, he began to summon Ah Kun.

Boom~~

Soon, a giant mythical creature emerged from the clouds, riding powerful winds as it dove down.

The Kunpeng exuded a strong aura, letting out a loud, high-pitched sound, assertively announcing its arrival.

“Look! It’s Senior Ye’s mount!” Someone exclaimed in shock.

“The rumors were true! Senior Ye’s mount is indeed the divine beast Kunpeng!” The crowd erupted once more, gasps echoing everywhere.

With a smile, Ye Junlin cupped his hands, “Miss An, until we meet again.”

Watching the silver-haired youth, who looked both strange and familiar, recalling the wonderful flute music from that night and the misunderstandings that unfolded, An Miaoyi felt her cheeks grow warm and an unexplainable sentiment bloom in her heart. She bit her lip, “Hmm, see you again if fate allows.”

Ye Junlin nodded and turned to leave.

The group climbed onto the Kunpeng.

The Great Mushroom King felt a shudder; such a supreme being actually bowed to humans?

It seemed this master of his was truly extraordinary!

Swish!

Amidst countless astonished gazes, the Kunpeng soared up into the sky, disappearing beyond the distant horizon.

“We respectfully bid farewell to Senior Ye!” The crowd bowed deeply, filled with reverence.

Once they returned, they must publicize this event well to dispel the rumors that had circulated for a while now and preserve Senior Ye’s glorious image!

Suddenly, a cultivator noticed something and exclaimed, “Wait, where’s that old man? Where did he go?!”

Everyone turned their attention, their expressions changing dramatically.

How long had it been? He vanished right under their noses?

Fan Dezhen released his Divine Sense to cover the area, frantically scanning every corner from top to bottom, yet he couldn’t find any trace of the Old Man.

It was as if he had evaporated into thin air!

“Tell me! Where did that old guy go?!” A burly man questioned the Hat Man and the others.

The Hat Man and his companions looked bewildered, completely clueless, “Who are you talking about? Wait, why am I here?”

These few seemed to have amnesia, entirely forgetting what had just transpired.

Fan Dezhen’s face darkened as he pressed his hand on the Hat Man’s head, beginning to violently search his soul.

Then came the second and third.

The outcome revealed that these guys really did have memory gaps.

At this moment, post-soul searching, the Hat Man and his companions lay on the ground, dazed, frothing at the mouth, their bodies twitching intermittently.

“This friend, what exactly happened?” Everyone turned to Fan Dezhen in unison.

“Uncle Fan, what’s going on?” An Miaoyi asked, puzzled.

Fan Dezhen’s expression shifted constantly, looking increasingly grim, “Damn it, we’ve all been played by that person!”

As soon as those words fell, the crowd erupted in chaos.

Countless gazes met, disbelief hanging in the air.

“Don’t just stand there! We’ll bring that guy down, even if we have to turn heaven upside down!”

Fan Dezhen shouted angrily.

He hadn’t expected to be tricked himself!

What kind of background did the other party have? How could they possess such astonishing abilities?

“Quick, go find him!”

The masses surged like a tide, faces filled with anger and fear.

They wished they could find that person and tear him to shreds!

“Damn it! I haven’t even gotten my money! How did that old guy disappear?!” A young man in white robes, with rosy lips and a delicate appearance, exclaimed in frustration.

Looking towards the direction where the Kunpeng had vanished, a faint smirk formed at the corner of his mouth, internally congratulating himself, “Heck, I didn’t die, which shows my life, Bai Liang, is pretty tough!”

Bai Liang’s name was not well-known in the Eastern Domain.

But he had a title that rang like thunder, with many legendary tales told over the years.

People in the way referred to him as the “Shape-Shifting Star Monarch!”

“Fortunately, my無相神功 has already reached a level of sublimation; otherwise, I would’ve been exposed just now. And as for the memories of those fools, I had tinkered with them earlier. Now, having narrowly escaped with my life, I can rely on the wealth I’ve accumulated to quickly break through my cultivation—this is an unimaginably massive resource for cultivation!”

Bai Liang’s heart raced, breaths quickening.

From start to finish, he had been the biggest beneficiary; those few were merely his laborers. He thought the operation would end perfectly, but unexpectedly hit a snag and encountered such a–