Chapter 520: Ascending the Steps

Chapter 520: Ascension

Upon recognizing that this man was once an enemy who had fought with his father, Li Sui's body instantly bent forward, every tendril on his body writhing as he let out a threatening growl from deep within his throat.

"Those who come are always guests. Please, sit."

Li Huowang pulled out a long stool from beside the table and pushed it toward the stranger.

"I dare not. Before the Grand Elder, there is no place for one such as I." Zu Yi extended his charred hands and placed the stool aside.

"Since you know I am the Grand Elder, why did you oppose me before?" Li Huowang asked.

"Back then, as a disciple, I owed Long Princess a debt of gratitude due to some trivial matter. Even after learning your identity as the Grand Elder, I could not go back on my word. I would never allow harm to befall her even by a hair's breadth."

"Oh, so what made you turn against us afterward?"

"Since I exhausted all my efforts and still could not stop you, the Grand Elder, I have fulfilled my duty. This debt has been repaid." Zu Yi spoke as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

"As a disciple of Wujing Sect, when the Grand Elder is in peril, I cannot stand idly by. Naturally, I must help the Grand Elder confront the Long Princess."

"You really are something else—true to your word, aren't you?" Li Huowang reached out and pressed his hand over Li Sui’s growling mouth.

"People often say it's better to remain ignorant, but I believe it's better to keep things clear."

"How did you recognize me as the Grand Elder? Perhaps I’m not even from Wujing Sect."

"Someone who can wield the Five Elements and survive—that alone makes you the Grand Elder!" Zu Yi replied immediately, then prostrated himself before Li Huowang.

Facing Zu Yi before him, Li Huowang smiled and sat quietly watching him for a while before suddenly speaking, "Do you wish to continue chatting? If so, I can talk with you until dawn."

"Why do you say such a thing?"

"What exactly did you come here for today?" Li Huowang's voice rose sharply.

After carefully considering his words, Zu Yi knelt before Li Huowang. "Zu Yi is willing to sacrifice everything for the Grand Elder's method of ascension!"

Looking at Zu Yi standing before him, Li Huowang now understood why this man clung to him.

Rather than rejecting the man's request outright, Li Huowang began to consider whether this person might be useful in dealing with the Dice.

"Do you know about the Dice of the Seatless Dao?"

Though puzzled by the sudden change in topic, Zu Yi answered promptly: "Of course. Recently, the Dice caused quite a stir in the capital city."

"And what do you think—among the sect members of Wujing Sect, who among them could possibly defeat the Dice?" Li Huowang leaned slightly forward.

After a moment of thought, Zu Yi replied, "In terms of strength alone, the three Fifth-Wave Grand Elders would suffice."

"Fifth Wave," Li Huowang said with a questioning tone, and Zu Yi quickly responded.

"In Wujing Sect, each time one ascends, a wave of karma is added to their body. After three ascensions, one becomes a Grand Elder. A Fifth-Wave Grand Elder has ascended five times."

After finishing, Zu Yi looked up at Li Huowang with confusion. "Grand Elder, don’t you know this?"

Li Huowang didn’t answer but was stunned by the explosive revelation in his words. "Ascension of the Cicada Butterfly has effects? The more one ascends, the stronger they become?! Five ascensions surpass even the Dice!"

"Not only the Ascension of the Cicada Butterfly, other ascension techniques also possess such effects. Each ascension brings us closer to Ba Hui, allowing us to use his power for ourselves..."

"How many waves of ascension does the highest-ranking person in Wujing Sect currently have?"

"There are legends of ten waves."

"What is the name of that person with ten waves?"

"Gushen."

"As long as Gushen lives, it is the gate of the ineffable. It clears the roots of heaven and earth. There exists something primordial, born before heaven and earth."

The words instantly pulled Li Huowang back several years, to that divine statue seated upon a cross.

According to his previous experience at the Cross Temple, Gushen was the sole mortal who achieved bodily divinity and stole part of Heaven’s will directly from Ba Hui.

Reaching ten waves meant achieving bodily divinity. Li Huowang’s heart flared with excitement.

The Ascension of the Cicada Butterfly truly lived up to its name—it climbed step by step, eventually becoming divine! This was something Li Huowang had never known.

"So what are we waiting for? Once I ascend a few times through the Ascension of the Cicada Butterfly, I’ll easily defeat the Dice! Then this deadlock will be resolved!"

But just as Li Huowang thought this, memories of past suffering during the Ascension of the Cicada Butterfly flooded his mind.

"Mom, I can’t tell if I really can’t tell or if I just don’t want to!"

"No... impossible! These people weren’t killed by me! This village wasn’t destroyed by me!"

"Why, Huowang?"

The last time it was Yang Na. Who next? My mother? What cruel act must I commit against Sun Xiaoqin to reach the ultimate pain? No, no, I won’t do it. She isn’t fake. She’s my mom.

When everything around Li Huowang began to twist slightly, Zu Yi was startled and instinctively retreated into the courtyard.

"I’m fine! I’m fine!" Li Huowang cried out, clutching half his face in agony.

"Brother Li, surely there’s another way. Don’t do this! Ascension of the Cicada Butterfly requires killing one’s child and slaying one’s father, committing every evil deed imaginable—and each time gets harder. If you actually did that, what would you differ from someone like the Dice?!"

Under Zhuge Yuan’s persuasion, Li Huowang gradually calmed down. "Don’t worry, I won’t do that. I’ll definitely find another way!"

Li Huowang raised his head to look at Zu Yi in the courtyard and asked calmly, "It’s okay. Come in, let’s continue our conversation."

"Grand Elder, what strange cultivation technique have you practiced? Why has such an anomaly occurred?" Confused, Zu Yi walked back into the room.

"Let me ask you—since you’ve never seen the Dice yourself, how can you claim that a Fifth-Wave Grand Elder can defeat it? I've tried the Ascension of the Cicada Butterfly myself. Except for heightened sensitivity to pain and improved healing abilities, there were no other changes."

As he regained composure, Li Huowang instinctively began to doubt the truthfulness of this man’s words. After all, he was merely speaking—he couldn’t tell if it was true or false.

"Grand Elder, there’s no need to doubt. Once one passes the Fifth Wave, they’re no longer human. Moreover, the Seatless Dao doesn’t excel in direct confrontation. The Fifth-Wave Grand Elders are enough."

"But the Dice is the leader of the Seatless Dao, and his specialty is deception. If he truly wants to hide, even the Grand Elders searching for him would be like looking for a needle in a haystack. That’s why the sect hasn’t found him despite searching for so long."

"Why are you looking for the Dice too?" Li Huowang asked, and almost immediately realized the answer himself.

"Oh right. After all, Wujing Sect is considered a righteous sect, so the Heavenly Surveillance Bureau must have been searching for you too."