“Chef…” Shen Ying glanced at the table covered with freshly cooked dishes, and the corner of her mouth twitched. The person in front of her was still covered in serious injuries. “I think I… just had lunch.”

　　“Master,” Yi Qing replied seriously. “These are only pastries. They don’t count as a proper meal. If you don’t like them, Master, why don’t I serve some fruits instead? There aren’t many immortal fruits left from the last time: Mystic Phoenix Fruit, Flying Feather Fruit, Exotic Fruit, Bud Fruit… and True Sand Fruit. Do you want to have them for now?”

　　As he was speaking, he retrieved an entire bag of fruits from the storage bag hanging by his side…

　　Shen Ying: “…”

　　Er, it really… isn’t much.

　　“Master, do you not like these?” Yi Qing saw that Shen Ying had not moved an inch and became worried.

　　“I do, I do…” Shen Ying pursed her lips. This is a bit too much, isn’t it? She had already eaten more than ten dishes in the previous meal. If she finished all the dishes in front of her, she might become extremely bloated. Yi Qing seemed to be a bit off ever since he regained consciousness. It was as if he was traumatised. Apart from tending to his wounds, Yi Qing spent all his time in the kitchen, cooking various dishes for Shen Ying. She was getting a little…

　　“Oh yes, how is Father Niu’s Lightning Tribulation going?” She fiddled with the bag in her hands subconsciously.

　　Yi Qing raised his head to look at the blazing red land far away from the sect. Then, he looked down and began to count in his heart. After awhile, he answered, “Reporting to Master: Disciple has counted – including the divine lightning that just shot down, it’s a total of… 84 bolts of divine lightning.”

　　“84!” Shen Ying had just taken a bite of her pastry, but she set it down and asked, surprised, “Heaven is cheating again?” Isn’t it supposed to be 81 bolts?

　　Cheating? Yi Qing paused, and then understood what she was asking. He quickly explained, “It’s not that Heaven has made a mistake in the numbers, but from the looks of it, Lonemoon is probably ascending through two whole cultivation levels. This means that he would have to go through 162 bolts of divine lightning and 72 shots of wildfire. After the Heavenly Tribulation, he’ll emerge as an Exalted Immortal.”

　　“Oh.” So one could jump through two cultivation levels after an epiphany? Shen Ying suddenly perked up. “How long more is there?”

　　“He’s more than halfway through now. I think he would need another seven days at most.”

　　Seven days!

　　Shen Ying’s eyes twinkled and she stood up immediately. Pointing at all the dishes on the table, she looked at Yi Qing with a sombre expression and said, “Chef! I’ve thought about it. Your master has been starving over the past few days. Go and cook some more dishes. Cook enough for two… or maybe even three!”

　　As she spoke, she retrieved the bag of immortal stones and shoved it into Yi Qing’s hands. I have money! I have two months’ allowance! Spend it all, spend it all!

　　“Yes Master, no problem Master!”

　　Yu Hong, who was just about to enter: “…”

　　The corners of her mouth twitched. She glanced at the blazing sky and walked into the hall. “Sect Master…” Suddenly, she understood why Elder Lonemoon was so passionate about earning immortal stones.

　　“Hey! Little Red.” Shen Ying was now eating without a care in the world. She turned around and gestured toward Yu Hong. “There are pastries here. Do you want some?”

　　“I’ve already eaten. Thank you, Sect Master.” Yu Hong walked over and bowed to greet Yi Qing and Shen Ying. “Elder Lonemoon is going through a tribulation now. I have two matters that I have difficulty handling, so I have come to ask for advice from Sect Master.”

　　“Oh, what’s the matter?” Shen Ying asked.

　　“It’s like this: Disciple discovered just awhile ago that there has been some sort of strange movements in the immortal Qi southwest of our mountain. Not only has the immortal Qi gotten rid of all the demonic Qi around it, it has also begun to condense into a solid form.” Yu Hong frowned, as if worried.

　　“Strange immortal Qi?” Yi Qing’s expression darkened as he thought harder. “There’s some sort of array or the remains of a spell there.”

　　Yu Hong shook her head. “I went over to take a look but I didn’t find anything like that.”

　　Yi Qing frowned deeper. Could there be an invasion?

　　But the mountain on which Invincible Sect was built had always been protected with an array. On top of the demonic Qi surrounding the mountain, how was it possible that someone would be able to enter?

　　“Master…” He turned to ask the person seated beside him. “This is very troubling. Shall we go and take a look?”

　　“Oh…” It was really troublesome not having Father Niu around; now she had to leave the house. Shen Ying sighed and patted the pastry dish in front of her. Then, she stood up at sloth-like speed. “Keep the pastries. I’ll have them when I’m back.”

　　“Yes, Master.” Yi Qing nodded and waved his hand. The dishes laid out on the table all disappeared at once.

　　“Oh yes!” Shen Ying was just about to step out of the door when she suddenly remembered something. “Little Red, did you get Floaty to go over and take a look?”

　　It took Yu Hong several seconds to realise that Shen Ying referred to Bitao. “I didn’t do that!” That’s right, Immortal Bitao had been in the immortal realm for much longer than anyone else – he should know what was going on. She quickly turned and said, “I’ll go and get him right now.”

　　Shen Ying nodded and stepped onto the sword which Yi Qing had drawn. Together, they flew to the rear mountain.

　　From afar, Yi Qing could sense the movement of the immortal Qi ahead. It was indeed rich. It also seemed as though all the immortal Qi was gathering toward the plains on the right side. A white fog was already visible.

　　When he thought about what happened earlier at the capital, Yi Qing’s heart sank. Could it be that those immortals had found their way here so quickly? Had he not hit them hard enough the last time?

　　There were several disciples gathered there already. When they saw Yi Qing and Shen Ying flying toward them, they bowed in greeting.

　　“Master, do you see anything?” Yi Qing looked back at Shen Ying. He could not sense anything out of the ordinary within the white fog.

　　“I think…” There’s a hole?

　　Shen Ying was just about to answer when Yu Hong rushed over, Bitao in tow.

　　“Great… Immortal.” He subconsciously greeted Shen Ying, but his eyes were fixed on the immortal Qi. He suddenly started. “Eh? Isn’t that a Immortal Ascension Stage? It’s appeared so quickly!”

　　“An Immortal Ascension Stage?” The disciples who had ascended to immortality without much ado looked absolutely terrified. What?

　　“Fellow Immortal Floaty, have you ever seen such extraordinary immortal Qi?” Yi Qing looked sombre.

　　Why are you calling me Floaty as well? The corner of Bitao’s mouth twitched. He sighed and explained, “This is natural – it’s the Immortal Ascension Stage. It’s the sign of someone from the lower realm going through the tribulations and ascending to immortality. As long as that person makes it through the lightning tribulation, the immortal Qi would condense and form the Immortal Ascension Stage. A white beam of light will shine down from above to welcome the mortal up into the immortal realm.”

　　“I see,” the disciples sighed in relief. It was not an enemy on whom they could train their skills. What a pity.

　　“There are over three thousand worlds in the lower realm, so it’s quite normal for this Immortal Ascension Stage to appear at different parts of the immortal realm,” Bitao explained. “When you all ascended to immortality, a Immortal Ascension Stage appeared here as well.” It was just that someone raised the entire sect and busted through the Immortal Ascension Stage.

　　“Looking at this…” Bitao looked at the fast-forming Immortal Ascension Stage and said, “This person is likely ascending from the Azure World – one out of three thousand independent worlds in the lower realm. But that mystic realm was created from this place afterall. If people from there ascended to immortality, it was highly likely that their Immortal Ascension Stage would appear there.

　　“You mean this person might be someone we know?” Yi Qing understood what Bitao was implying.

　　“Very likely!” Bitao nodded.

　　Who exactly is ascending to immortality? Yi Qing thought about the people whom he had met in the lower realm. If anyone was ascending to immortality, it was likely someone from the four aristocratic families. Everybody looked toward the condensing immortal Qi with expectant faces – all but Yi Qing.

　　No matter who ascended, he was sure that they were going to try and steal his master! Suddenly, he regretted suggesting coming here. Was it too late to turn back now?