Cultivating for a hundred lifetimes to ascension

Daoist Ou Feng could never have anticipated that Tianqiong Wanderer would choose this critical moment to suddenly reveal his identity.

As Zhao Sheng had said, the two had been together for many years, constantly exchanging knowledge on Formation Dao.

Over the decades, it had been utterly impossible for Zhao Sheng to deceive an Array Master without exposing any unique Array Dao knowledge from the Tianzhu Realm.

Moreover, in order to repair the Cross-border Array, Zhao Sheng had already exerted all he had learned over his past seven lifetimes, so there was absolutely no question of concealment.

Daoist Ou Feng took a deep breath, his expression immediately turned cold, and he said hoarsely, "My life has long been in your hands... Whether I live or die is up to you!"

Zhao Sheng smiled gently, "Mr. Ou, you think too ill of me. As long as you are willing to stay in the Tianzhu Realm for a few hundred years with me, once the major matters here are settled, I will absolutely lift the great spell and grant you your freedom."

Having heard this, Daoist Ou Feng's expression remained unchanged, seemingly unsurprised by Zhao Sheng's actions.

Seeing his silent response, Zhao Sheng added a significant incentive in a tempting tone, "Don't you want to see a Great Array even more powerful than the Cross-border Transmission Array? You could not only see it but also get your hands on repairing it personally!"

With that said, Array Maniac truly became greatly interested, and immediately asked eagerly, "Oh, what Great Array is it?"

Zhao Sheng smiled and uttered four words, "Ascension Array!"

"Alright, I'll go!" Upon hearing this, the gleam in Daoist Ou Feng's eyes shone brightly, and he immediately nodded in agreement without any hesitation.

"Haha, I knew Mr. Ou would say that. I can assure you that you will not regret this," Zhao Sheng laughed heartily.

"The Southern Sky Zhao Family always means what they say. I deeply believe that Taoist Zhao would never deceive me," Daoist Ou Feng said coolly, giving him a slight nod.

Zhao Sheng's eyes twinkled, and he replied with a smile, "I didn't expect you to guess it even before I revealed my identity. Indeed, I am from the Southern Sky Zhao Family, my real name being Zhao Qiongtian, ranked sixteenth in my family, and I previously used the alias 'Mo Xing Taoist' to wander the Three Realms."

"Had I known this sooner... alas, it is too late for regrets now," Daoist Ou Feng suddenly showed a bitter smile and shook his head helplessly.

Zhao Sheng laughed heartily, saying, "You will be grateful to me in the future!"

Daoist Ou Feng still shook his head, but he did not speak again.

Seeing this, Zhao Sheng instructed, "In that case, let us rest and recuperate for a few days before we embark on the journey back."

After successfully persuading Daoist Ou Feng to travel to the Tianzhu Realm, Zhao Sheng quickly met secretly with Thunder Roc Ancestor to make meticulous arrangements, including protecting the Yellow Heaven Sect's Taoist lineage from extinction while trying to gather all possible information on Nascent Souls and Divinity Transformation Realm cultivators from both realms, as well as past conflicts between the realms, and so on.

Three days passed in the blink of an eye.

That day, a path suddenly melted away in the Star Nebula Mysterious Realm on the outskirts of the spiritual realm, as three streaks of light flashed sharply along the path, then sped towards the depths of the Meteor Sea.

...

Six years later,

In the deep outer Void, a domain-jetting spaceship, huge as a mountain and coated in pitch-black, was flying along a preset route, entirely silent and swift.

A million miles ahead of the spaceship, a vast, vibrant blue-green planet appeared—a long-missed sight from the Netherworld.

One day later, the domain boundary spaceship crossed a million miles of Void, quietly slowed down, and finally came to a gentle halt at the boundary membrane's edge.

At that moment, the belly of the mountainous domain boundary spaceship suddenly split open, revealing a passage over a hundred zhang wide.

The next instant, a hundred-zhang circular disc-shaped boat burst out of the passage, breaking through the boundary membrane and swiftly sliding into the realm.

Within the cabin of the disc-shaped boat, a group of "passengers" crowded at the crystal windows, staring down at the dazzlingly colorful vast world below, all revealing greedy and fervent expressions.

Zhao Sheng and Daoist Ou Feng stood behind the crowd, waiting quietly...

By then, both had changed their appearances and forms to look ordinary, temporarily suppressing their aura to the Golden Core Realm, making it impossible to associate them with the identities of Nascent Soul Ancestors.

"Taoist Zhao, we have reached the Netherworld! You must have some plans now that you can share with me,"

Hearing Daoist Ou Feng's secret message, Zhao Sheng unflinchingly messaged back, "What plans could I possibly have! I'm just playing it by ear. Well, first follow me to Dragon Continent, where we have someone waiting to meet us."

Hearing this, Daoist Ou Feng looked up at Zhao Sheng, then stood there thoughtfully.

...

Half a month later, in the extreme north of Dragon Continent,

A silver-white small boat continually broke through chilly clouds, racing towards the end of the sky.

Through the clouds, indistinctly seen below were snow-white towering ice peaks standing tall, stretching unbroken to the horizon.

A short time later, the silver-white small boat suddenly plummeted down, arriving above a cluster of unfrozen mountains in the center, below which lay valleys filled with clusters of buildings, ancient trees, spirit fields, and large swathes of cloud mist rising and swirling among the mountains.

Shortly after, Zhao Sheng and another leaped from the boat, hovering in the sky.

Just then, a stream of blue light soared from below in the estate, shooting towards them.

When it came within ten zhang, the blue light abruptly condensed, revealing a refined-looking elderly Daoist—none other than the Fourteenth Ancestor Zhao, Zhao Youxuan.

Seeing Zhao Sheng return, Zhao Youxuan was overwhelmed with joy and immediately shouted, "Qiongtian, your return is most timely. Hurry, come down with me. There is a significant matter requiring your opinion."

Zhao Sheng did not ask further and unfalteringly followed Zhao Youxuan down.