Chapter Twenty-Six: Ascending to the Immortal Realm

“So that’s how it is—does this mean people can come and go as they please?” someone else asked.

“Of course. If you’re willing to go, you’ll get double salary during your time on Pegasus Star. If you’re not, when Tang Group returns, you’re still welcome to come back,” Tang Yi replied.

...

“Tang, my friend, I knew you weren’t unfeeling. On behalf of the entire cultivation world, I thank you—I thank you...” Lu Changsheng knew Tang Yi would be heading to Mare Tail Star, so he immediately came over to express his gratitude. Before he could finish, Tang Yi interrupted him.

“Stop. Enough—otherwise you’ll have eight generations of ancestors thanking me next. And don’t thank me, I’m just passing through! Besides, the price doesn’t change. Please pay me as soon as possible, understood?” Tang Yi said.

Lu Changsheng chuckled to himself, thinking: “Tang Yi really is a classic hard-nosed duck.” So he said to Tang Yi, “Alright, I won’t thank you anymore. As for those spirit stones and materials you mentioned, I’ve already negotiated with Ling Ren from the Pegasus Alliance. Anything that drops from those ghost things, you get half. That price should be good enough, right?”

“That’s fine, not bad at all. Let’s do it that way. Let’s head back now—it’s time to eat! Heh heh!” Tang Yi smiled with a sly cunning.

...

The next day at noon, Cloudfly Peak suddenly shuddered. Slowly, it began to rise. Everyone on the peak gathered in the plaza. To avoid accidents, when Cloudfly Peak ascended above the spaceship Jett, all personnel were teleported inside the ship. Cloudfly Peak itself was pulled by Jett’s tractor beam.

“Jett, open the hyperspace window. Lock coordinates to Mare Tail Star’s orbit in the Pegasus System,” Tang Yi commanded from the control chamber.

“Hyperspace window opening—beep, beep... Window open,” Jett responded. Through the transparent viewport, a dreamy cloud appeared three thousand meters ahead, spanning ten miles in diameter, just large enough for the ship Jett to pass through.

“Alright, let’s go.” At Tang Yi’s word, the spaceship and Cloudfly Peak entered the hyperspace window in a single second, after which the window vanished.

...

Above Mare Tail Star’s orbit, a hyperspace window appeared. Seconds later, the spaceship Jett and Cloudfly Peak emerged from the window. The window vanished. The ship hovered, towing Cloudfly Peak above the ancient teleportation array.

“Alright, Mingde, take Cloudfly Peak down and pick a spot for it to settle. Then come back for dinner—we’re having extra today!” Tang Yi announced.

“Fantastic, the day has finally come! Brother Tang, can’t we have extra every day?” Hua Shaojie called out to Tang Yi.

“No. Haven’t I told you before? We must conserve energy. Did you forget already? So you’re penalized—your food synthesizer quota is reduced by twenty percent for three days. Make that thirty percent!” Tang Yi said.

“...” Hua Shaojie quickly closed his mouth and said no more.

...

After discussing, Lu Changsheng and Ling Ren prepared to counterattack the ghost things of the Celestial Maiden System. At that moment, news arrived: in just a few days, the ten thousand Immortal Ascenders would rise. This time, they sent invitations far and wide, inviting everyone to witness their ascension.

“Tang, my friend, you got an invitation too,” Lu Changsheng came aboard the ship to find Tang Yi.

“I did. Let’s go together tomorrow! We can see what this daylight ascension looks like,” Tang Yi replied.

“Just what I was thinking. I’ll stay here tonight then, not going back. Ha ha... Your place is truly first-rate. Especially that new light-virtual environment chamber—it’s like a fairyland. I must visit again today,” Lu Changsheng said.

“You old rascal, aren’t you afraid the youngsters will laugh at you?” Tang Yi replied.

“Get out of here! Who’s an old rascal? I just picked a good spot for tea—your thoughts are really off, truly off. Enough talk, I’m off to stake my claim, or it’ll be gone if I wait too long,” Lu Changsheng said, rushing off before finishing.

...

“See? Isn’t that just old rascal behavior? Hmph, coming here to mooch food and drink, and now even entertainment? Looks like I need to charge double,” Tang Yi muttered to Lu Changsheng’s rapidly disappearing figure.

Three days later, on a small asteroid in the Pegasus System—the one where Yi Mishui had previously hidden away—Yi Mishui and his four companions stood in the valley, bidding farewell to Tang Yi, Lu Changsheng, and the others who had come to see them off, all standing atop the spaceship.

Yi Mishui spoke for them all: “Thank you, fellow cultivators, for coming to see us off. Special thanks to Brother Tang for your great help—without you, those ghost things from the Celestial Maiden System would still be plaguing our cultivation realm. To show our gratitude, we gift this little house in the valley to Brother Tang as a token from the five of us. After we ascend, all matters in the cultivation world will be in the hands of Leader Ling and Leader Lu. We won’t say more—if fate allows, we’ll meet in the immortal realm.”

With that, Yi Mishui and the others released their suppressed cultivation. Five beams of light, each a different color, shot down from the sky, filling the air with a peaceful aura, making everyone feel as if they could sleep blissfully. Yi Mishui and his companions were enveloped in the beams, their robes fluttering without wind as their bodies slowly floated upward. Under the gaze of Tang Yi and the others, they entered the ends of the descending light. The five beams vanished, and the five ascended.

“That’s it? Nothing special, really,” Tang Yi remarked after watching, then entered the ship.

“Jett, did you record it?” Tang Yi asked upon reaching the control chamber.

“Captain, recording completed. Three cameras deployed; only one succeeded. The other two failed to store any footage.”

“Really? Let me see... The memory stone recorder succeeded; the electromagnetic tech recorder and the hybrid memory stone-electromagnetic recorder failed. Jett, analyze the magnetic field during their ascension.”

“Bzzz... According to on-site records, the magnetic field strength during ascension was one million times the usual, and the distortion pattern was ninety-nine percent similar to that of a hyperspace window. Report complete.”

“Ninety-nine percent similarity? Wait, could it be? Jett, immediately compare the magnetic field data from this ascension, the super teleportation array, the hyperspace window, and the ancient teleportation array—full, three-dimensional contrast. If I’m not mistaken, this could be this century’s greatest discovery. Ha ha...”