2571 Waiting to Ascend

Duan Ling Tian had already mentally prepared himself for his ascension. Since Yun Qing Yan appeared and imprisoned his family and friends to force Ke'er into leaving with him, he had also been yearning to ascend to the Devata Realms. After all, he could only save Ke'er, his family, and friends once he ascended to the Devata Realms.

Naturally, Duan Ling Tian knew he would not be able to save his loved ones as soon as he ascended to the Devata Realms. However, at the very least, his cultivation base would have a breakthrough, and he would become a true Celestial. In the mundane realms, his cultivation base had reached its limit when he became an Eminent Celestial.

Now that Duan Ling Tian sensed the Celestial Ascension Force that would lead him to a Devata Realm, he could not help but feel excited. 'The force has finally come! I've been waiting for it for a long time!' When he recalled how Tang Xiao Xiao had ascended so quickly he thought to himself, 'Since the Celestial Ascension Force has appeared, it seems like it won't take long before I ascend to a Devata Realm! Before I ascend, I should inform Su Li and Big Brother Yuan Zhi about this. Otherwise, they might think I've gone missing." With this thought in mind, he lifted his hand and brought out two communication jade tokens. After leaving a message, he infused his power into the communication jade tokens. As a result, the jade tokens turned into two streaks of light and flew out of the room in just a blink of an eye.

After a while, Duan Ling Tian discovered the Celestial Ascension Force that shrouded him was becoming richer, causing him to almost lose consciousness. Apart from that, he also felt the force tugging at him as though it was trying to bring him somewhere. He knew he was very close to ascending at this moment was.

"Hm?" Duan Ling Tian was startled. The force of the tug was getting stronger and stronger when all of a sudden, he suddenly discovered the Celestial Ascension Force weakening. Moreover, it was no longer as rich as before and had begun to thin. The feeling as though the force was trying to take him somewhere had disappeared as well!

'W-what's going on? Is it possible that it's not the Celestial Ascension Force?' Duan Ling Tian thought he had made a mistake. However, he quickly dismissed that thought. He felt as though he had been teased.

Duan Ling Tian was further shocked after a moment. 'It… It's actually the devouring the Celestial Ascension Force!' He discovered the defective metal piece he held in his hand was devouring the Celestial Ascension Force like a gluttonous child! Although the Celestial Ascension Force descended on Duan Ling Tian constantly to lead him to the Devata Realms, it did not have enough strength to bring him away since it was constantly being devoured by the defective metal piece.

After a while, an idea came to Duan Ling Tian. He tried to put the defective metal piece into his Spatial Ring. However, to his chagrin, he discovered he could not place it in the Spatial Ring. He was feeling rather helpless and frustrated when he heard Xuan Yuan Zhi, the Nine Tribulation Bodiless Celestial from the Yellow Thearch Mansion.

Xuan Yuan Zhi's voice was filled with a sense of urgency as he asked, "Brother Ling Tian, are you ascending soon?"

"Big Brother Yuan Zhi." Duan Ling Tian smiled bitterly as he walked out of his room in the air and moved to Xuan Yuan Zhi's side.

Xuan Yuan Zhi's attention was instantly drawn to the almost-transparent force that shrouded Duan Ling Tian. "I-is this the Celestial Ascension Force?" He could clearly sense the force was not from the mundane realms. Even his Celestial Origin Energy as a Nine Tribulation Bodiless Celestial was nowhere near as pure as this force.

"Yes." Duan Ling Tian nodded.

"I thought you've already ascended with the help of the Celestial Ascension Force, I didn't think you'd still be around," Xuan Yuan Zhi said with a slight frown on his face. He looked at Duan Ling Tian thoughtfully before he continued to say, "Based on what I know, as soon as the Celestial Ascension Force comes, it'll quickly lead one to the Devata Realms. Did… Did you sense the arrival of the Celestial Ascension Force before it came? Did it just come?"

"No.' Duan Ling Tian shook his head as he smiled bitterly. He lifted his hand and revealed the defective metal piece. "It's because of this thing. It's been devouring the Celestial Ascension Force. If it were not for it, I would've already ascended to the Devata Realms with the help of the Celestial Ascension Force."

"W-what's this thing?" Xuan Yuan Zhi was shocked as he studied the defective metal piece. He had not heard of anything in the mundane realms that was capable of devouring the Celestial Ascension Force and could delay an Eminent Celestial's ascension.

Duan Ling Tian smiled bitterly as he said, "I think I'll only be able to ascend once it has had its fill of the Celestial Ascension Force."

"Based on what I can see, that's most likely the case." Xuan Yuan Zhi nodded, agreeing with Duan Ling Tian. A hint of relief could be seen on his face as he said, "Fortunately, the Celestial Ascension Force is descending continuously. If only a certain amount of Celestial Ascension Force would descend, and it was devoured by that thing… How are you going to ascend?"

"You're right. Fortunately, that's not the case." The thought of this frightened Duan Ling Tian so much that he broke into cold sweat. If the Celestial Ascension Force that descended was limited, what would happen if it was completely devoured by the defective metal piece? Did it mean he would not be able to ascend to the Devata Realms?

After a while, Su Li's voice rang from afar. "Duan Ling Tian! Are you ascending soon?" Similar to Xuan Yuan Zhi, he had rushed here as soon as he had received Duan Ling Tian's message. Since his speed was slower, naturally, it took longer for him to arrive.

Upon hearing Su Li's question, a bitter smile appeared on Duan Ling Tian's face again as he looked at the defective metal piece in his hand. "Yes, I'm about to ascend. However, I think I'll have to wait for a while for it to happen." He did not think he would be able to see his best friend before he left the mundane realm. Who knew the defective metal piece would give him a chance?

"What's going on?" Su Li asked when he realized something was amiss. When he learned about what happened, he looked at the defective metal piece in Duan Ling Tian's hand and laughed. "Duan Ling Tian, the defective metal piece has been devouring the Celestial Ascension Force for fifteen minutes. This shows it's truly unusual. The longer it can devour the force, the more unusual it is. It seems like it won't stop anytime soon. There's no need to rush." Although his words were meant to comfort Duan Ling Tian, there was no doubt that his words made sense as well.

"You're right." Upon being reminded by Su Li's words, Duan Ling Tian relaxed and the bitter smile on his face disappeared.

Su Li looked at Duan Ling Tian with a hint of reluctance to part in his eyes. He said with a sigh, "Duan Ling Tian, after you ascend to a Devata Realm, I don't know when we'll be able to see each other again."

"Don't worry. As long as we have fate, we'll eventually meet again! Moreover, when either one of us gains enough strength to make a name for ourselves, we'll be able to find out each other's whereabouts. At that time, we'll definitely meet again," Duan Ling Tian said with a smile.

"Then, I'll wait for you to make a name for yourself. I wish you'll achieve that by the time I ascend to the Devata Realms so I can look for you immediately," Su Li said with a laugh.

"It won't take long before you ascend to the Devata Realms. You want me to make a name for myself in just a few years? That's a difficult task," Duan Ling Tian said as he looked at Su Li.

"For other people, it might be impossible. However, that's not the case for you," Su Li looked at Duan Ling Tian knowingly as he said, "In my opinion, you're someone who's capable of creating miracles!"