Limitless Ascension: Strength Amid Adversity – Chapter 132

“Before long, Ye Junlin transformed back into his normal state.

The reason he was able to defeat the six elite members of the Bone Tribe after merging was due to the enhancement of the Supreme Bone and the training of the Indestructible Body Art, making him incredibly formidable in both physical defense and strength.

On top of that, after employing the Law of Heaven and Earth, his power multiplied, allowing him to easily crush the Bone Tribe’s six members!

Amidst the thunderous cheers, Ye Junlin casually returned to the Kunpeng, with Hong Qianye and Li Wujie joining him, tactfully apologizing for the earlier conflict.

“Master, we embarrassed you.”

Ye Junlin replied irritably, “Seriously, how can you guys be bickering amongst yourselves? This is sibling infighting! It sounds terrible if it gets out! Sigh, at a critical moment, I had to step in!”

As the silver-haired youth scolded them, Li Wujie and Hong Qianye lowered their heads, not daring to show any displeasure.

“Master Ye!”

At that moment, a voice called out from a distance; it was Zhao Ling’er, who cautiously looked up at the Kunpeng floating in the sky and asked, “May I come up to meet you?”

“Of course.”

Ye Junlin waved his sleeve, and a surge of magical power quickly enveloped Zhao Ling’er, bringing her up onto the Kunpeng’s back.

After steadying herself, Zhao Ling’er widened her beautiful eyes in surprise, not expecting that this mount carried an island akin to a paradise.

“Master Ye, truly knows how to enjoy life!”

“We’re actually heading back to the Xuantian Sect now, so you can join us,” Ye Junlin said, lounging back lazily on the chair, slipping back into a state of leisure.

To him, the earlier exertion was already enough; any more would definitely be over the limit!

“Okay,” Zhao Ling’er replied with a strange expression, thinking that the Ye Peak Master before her was like a different person from the one she had met previously.

He gave off such a relaxed and carefree vibe!

This was in stark contrast to how the sect leader had described him as someone who constantly strived hard in cultivation and earnestly sought the Dao.

“Xiaoxi, a cup of taro milk tea, please.” Ye Junlin snapped his fingers.

“Coming right up!”

Bai Xiaoxi dashed to the workbench, deftly preparing a cup, inserting a straw, and handing it to Ye Junlin.

“Master, your taro milk tea!”

Ye Junlin took the milk tea, slurping through the straw, and asked Zhao Ling’er, who was still in awe, “Want a cup?”

“Mouse’s milk tea is really good!” Bai Xiaoxi proudly puffed out her chest, her voice crisp and youthful.

Zhao Ling’er, unable to decline, blushing slightly, said, “Thank you, Sister Bai.”

“Oh, it’s no trouble at all!”

Bai Xiaoxi hurriedly went to make another cup, bustling over with small strides to present it to Zhao Ling’er, her eyes sparkling, “Here, try it!”

It was Zhao Ling’er’s first time tasting such a novel drink, carefully biting the straw. As she sipped, the melting flavor of taro and its fragrant sweetness left her feeling immensely happy, a significant contrast to her usual mountain spring water.

“How does Mouse’s drink taste?” Bai Xiaoxi asked expectantly.

“It’s amazing! Sister Bai, you’re really talented!”

Zhao Ling’er couldn’t help but praise, her delicate face showing satisfaction.

“Oh, it’s nothing special!”

Bai Xiaoxi, who blushed at the compliment, shyly scratched her cheek with her finger.

Zhao Ling’er, now no longer reserved, eagerly sipped, immersed in the joy of drinking milk tea, her cheerful expression reflecting her happiness.

Suddenly, her gaze caught the figure in red.

Old memories crashed back into her!

Images flashed in her mind of that person kneeling before Ye Junlin, bobbing their head, seemingly struggling to do something. Zhao Ling’er’s cheeks inexplicably flushed.

Hong Qianye furrowed his brows, thinking that the girl looked a bit odd.

He remembered she had the same expression when leaving Wei Kingdom! Could she have developed feelings for him?

Since he had debuted, his image had always been of a heartthrob, yet he had never captured a girl’s heart!

“By the way, this is my latest disciple; we’re taking her to the Xuantian Sect.” Ye Junlin said.

Li Wujie had a warm expression as he greeted Zhao Ling’er, “Junior Sister Zhao, I’m Li Wujie. It’s an honor to join the Xuantian Sect.”

“You’re the Blade Demon Li Wujie? I’ve heard of you, it’s such a pleasure!” Zhao Ling’er quickly bowed, not daring to be careless.

“Ha ha, looks like my reputation really is widespread.” Li Wujie scratched his head, feeling pleased.

Hong Qianye, unimpressed by Li Wujie’s pride, snickered, “Don’t get carried away; it’s just infamy.”

Li Wujie’s smile instantly vanished.

Damn it, are you doing this on purpose?

“You’re not too bad yourself, Hong Fairy.” Ye Junlin slurped his milk tea, winking, his expression infuriating.

Hong Qianye’s mouth twitched; he hated that title!

If this got out to the Central Region, wouldn’t his enemies be rolling with laughter?

“Ahem, it’s fine, it’s fine.” Although feeling annoyed, Hong Qianye didn’t dare to lash out and could only force a smile, his smile rigid.

Seeing this guy take a jab, Li Wujie felt much better inside, silently giving his master a thumbs up.

“Except for him, there’s also…” Ye Junlin suddenly realized something and said, “Where’s Little Black? Where has he gone off to again?”

Among the group, this mushroom had the weakest presence!

“Fourth junior brother, Master is looking for you!” Li Wujie shouted.

After a lengthy wait.

The Great Mushroom King reluctantly hopped out from the bushes.

“Holy crap, is that the ultimate medicinal herb?!” Zhao Ling’er was shocked, not expecting that Master Ye would take such an ancient herb as a disciple.

So far, she had only encountered valuable herbs, let alone the rarer medicinal kings and the legendary ultimate medicinal king!

“Y-you good.” The Great Mushroom King stammered.

For some reason, it felt like everyone wanted to eat it, or they were all plotting to make it into mushroom soup.

Zhao Ling’er felt a bit confused; Master Ye truly had a unique taste for taking in disciples.

Wait, even an ancient herb was accepted as a disciple; could this be the great scholar’s so-called practice of universal education?!

Unconsciously,

The man’s image rose higher in her estimation!

With the cheers of the cultivators, the Kunpeng soared from Heimong Ridge, quickly flying to the Xuantian Sect.

At that moment, the Xuantian Sect was activating the mountain-protecting formation, and everyone was huddled inside, completely unaware of the changes happening outside.

When the Kunpeng appeared with its overwhelming aura, the once tightly guarded Xuantian Sect was shaken to its core.

“Holy hell! What kind of monster is that?”

“Don’t say anything weird; I remember that’s Ye Peak Master’s mount, called Kunpeng!”

“So, Ye Peak Master is back?!”

…

As this news spread, all the Xuantian Sect cultivators were stirred, with Sect Leader Xu Yonian and others rushing out, filled with excitement upon seeing the familiar figure, they shouted:

“Ye Junior Brother!!”

“Brothers and sisters, I’m back,” Ye Junlin smiled.

“Great, great, great! Just having you here means even if the Underworld Abyss army attacks again, we won’t be scared!” Xu Yonian said, tears brimming, joy evident.

His cultivation had indeed reached Great Ascension Perfect Completion!

That’s right, it was because of the Sun Dial; Xu Yonian had spent over three thousand years in there, which allowed him to charge through to this realm.

Otherwise, when the Underworld Abyss army invaded the Arid Province, he wouldn’t have been able to lead the Xuantian Sect to gain the upper hand. It was only later when Bazha showed up that the situation turned around. Yet, despite that, Xu Yonian managed to retreat everyone back to the sect, uniting their strength to resist fiercely.

The other Peak Masters also hovered around the Great Ascension middle- to late-stage, and they all looked like they hadn’t seen Ye Junlin in a long time, their eyes reddening with nostalgia.

Ye Junlin lightly said, “Didn’t our mountain-protecting formation change? I remember when I left, it wasn’t like this.”

Back then, he had personally modified the formation to hold off attacks from ordinary Great Ascension cultivators; now compared to then, the scale and power of the mountain-protecting formation had become significantly stronger.

They saw the peaks wrapped in a layer of blazing light, and the image of the Yin-Yang Bagua was subtly swirling.

The Peak Master of Fuzhen Peak was a middle-aged man with a round face and big ears, scratching his head as he said, “Junior Brother Ye, this is the Taiji Precelestial Bagua Formation. You left me a pile of formation diagrams last time. I’ve been studying it for years in the Sun Dial, and the formation capabilities have improved accordingly. After making appropriate adjustments based on the original foundation, this formation can now resist attacks from ordinary Tribulation Stage cultivators, and the most powerful thing is that it can absorb everyone’s power to enhance the formation’s might, applying soft against hard, achieving balance.”

“Exactly! Thankfully, Junior Brother Jin improved the formation. Thanks to its benefits, we managed to fend off the Underworld Abyss army’s attacks several times; otherwise, we’d have been flattened long ago.” The Cangjian Peak Master said with lingering fear.

The Tianxiang Peak Master, with her graceful figure and slender waist, teased, “Junior Brother Ye, turns out you’ve already silently cultivated to the Tribulation Stage. Were you afraid to reveal it to us?”

Ye Junlin replied truthfully, “I’m not interested in cultivation; I just go with the flow, whatever happens, happens. To me, realms are just passing clouds!”

This wasn’t a lie.

He had long lost the troubles of diligently cultivating; he just needed to bump into someone with a higher cultivation level, and with his current complete Tribulation Stage cultivation, to advance further he would only need to encounter a True Immortal level powerhouse!

But to others, this sounded like pure arrogance, a blatant display of superiority!

Please explain to me what it means to not care about cultivation. What do you mean by realms being mere clouds?

If it weren’t for your hard work, could you have reached the Tribulation Stage?

“Junior Brother Ye, you’re getting funnier by the day.” The Tianxiang Peak Master covered her mouth and chuckled.

Suddenly, she noticed Zhao Ling’er, who had hidden at the back of the group. Her stunning face shifted suddenly as she scolded, “Ling’er, what are you doing there? Weren’t you supposed to be at the Xuantian Sect? Did you sneak out?”

This was a serious time; such actions would be dealt with according to sect rules!

Zhao Ling’er, aware she was in the wrong, shrank her neck and said, “M-master, I did sneak out to check on my family in the Wei Kingdom. Later, I was captured by the Underworld Abyss creatures on the way, but fortunately, it was Master Ye who saved me. Master, I acknowledge that I was wrong this time, please don’t be angry!”

“You!” The Tianxiang Peak Master was furious; she cared the most for this disciple, and if anything happened, there’d be no end to her regret.

“Junior Brother Ye, you arrived at just the right time. Right now, the Underworld Abyss army is stationed in the Arid Province, and we’ve been fighting them for quite some time. The leader is a Bone Tribe king, and his cultivation level is also at the Tribulation Stage. Although you’re strong, still be cautious.” Xu Yonian stated seriously.

The other peak masters nodded, apprehensive.

Zhao Ling’er added, “Sect Leader, you might not know yet, but the Underworld Abyss army has already been defeated; the Bone Tribe leader was also killed by Master Ye. The Arid Province has already been liberated.”

“What?”

The sect leaders widened their eyes, unable to believe their ears, looking incredulously at the silver-haired youth, “Y-Ye Junior Brother, is this true!?”

Ye Junlin shrugged, “Yeah, it’s…”