I Approve

Nine wyrms.

Each one at the peak of the Earth Immortal realm.

Yet beneath their dragon scales,

every one of them bore human faces.

Those faces had their eyes shut,

as though they were already dead.

The curtains of the immortal palanquin parted.

A man clad in the robes of an Ascension Herald stepped out.

He was strikingly handsome.

His eyes were golden.

A vermilion immortal seal rested between his brows.

There was not the slightest trace of corruption anywhere on his body.

Yet his feet were not planted upon the ground.

Instead,

they were embedded in the spines of the nine white wyrms.

Countless blood vessels

linked him to the wyrms.

A line of information appeared upon the Immortal Realm Guide Stele.

【Ascension Herald.】

【Cultivation: Ninth Layer of the Heavenly Immortal Realm.】

【Status: Dead.】

【Corruption Level: Unable to determine.】

He was already dead,

yet he was still carrying out his duties.

The Ascension Herald lifted his head

and looked toward Wang Hao and the others.

A gentle smile appeared on his face.

“Welcome, everyone, to your ascension into the Immortal Realm.”

His voice

rang out simultaneously from within the bodies of the nine wyrms.

The human faces with their eyes closed

all opened their mouths,

repeating the very same words.

“Welcome, everyone, to your ascension into the Immortal Realm.”

The Ascension Herald raised his right hand.

“Ascenders, please step forward one by one.”

“Register the coordinates of your lower realm.”

“Pay the immortal tribute for ascension.”

“Voluntarily surrender your physical body.”

“Your divine soul.”

“Your memories.”

“And your complete Dao Fruit from before the corruption.”

“Then the ascension process will be complete.”

The gaunt Earth Immortal asked quietly,

“If we voluntarily surrender our physical bodies...

what is left?”

The Longevity Earth Immortal replied,

“Perhaps only a name.”

The Immortal Realm Guide Stele trembled faintly.

It translated the hidden immortal script within the Ascension Herald’s words.

【Voluntary: Refusal is impossible.】

【Ascension: Devouring.】

【Immortal Tribute: Everything.】

The gaunt Earth Immortal immediately took a step back.

“This old man suddenly feels that

retirement in the cultivation world

is actually quite nice.”

The Taixuan Heavenly Immortal said coldly,

“It is too late to think of going back now.”

Behind them,

the Ascension Gate was rapidly closing.

Through the gateway,

they could still see the Great Xia fleet upon the Ascension Platform of the myriad worlds.

A-Li stood at the prow,

staring fixedly into the gate.

She could not see what was happening in the Immortal Realm.

All she could see

was Wang Hao’s back.

Wang Hao did not turn around.

He raised a hand.

The power of imperial dominion became a golden barrier,

blocking every trace of aura surging from the Immortal Realm toward the lower realm.

“Close the gate.”

A-Li’s body trembled slightly.

She understood what Wang Hao meant.

The corruption of the Immortal Realm

must never be allowed to enter the cultivation world through the passage.

Even if Wang Hao himself was still inside.

Upon the Ascension Platform,

the Returning World Immortal Seal began to shatter.

The pale gateway

closed little by little.

The Ascension Herald watched this unfold.

The smile on his face grew even gentler.

“Privately closing the ascension passage

violates the Laws of Ascension.”

“Ascenders, surrender the coordinates of your lower realm

and submit to feathered transformation.”

Wang Hao asked,

“The Laws of Ascension?”

The Ascension Herald nodded.

“Established by the Immortal Emperor Palace.”

Wang Hao asked again,

“Where is the Immortal Emperor?”

The Ascension Herald fell silent for a moment.

The faces within the nine wyrms

all revealed eerie smiles.

“The Immortal Emperor

is eating himself.”

Wang Hao nodded.

“Then who is responsible

for interpreting these laws now?”

“The Ascension Directorate.”

“And who is the Ascension Directorate?”

“I am.”

“In other words...”

A smile appeared on Wang Hao’s face.

“You are a dead man

holding a code of laws with no superior authority,

and you intend to levy taxes on me?”

The vermilion immortal seal between the Ascension Herald’s brows

slowly opened.

It was not a seal.

It was an eye.

“Reject the Immortal Tribute.”

“Classify them as contaminated.”

“Purify them on the spot.”

Wang Hao turned to look at the eighty-eight immortals behind him.

“You all heard that?”

No one answered.

Wang Hao continued:

“It says you’re contaminated.”

One of the Earthly Immortals who had not yet been contaminated could not help saying:

“Your Majesty the Supreme Emperor.”

“At least half of us here…”

“Really are contaminated.”

Wang Hao looked at him.

“Behind closed doors,” he said, “that’s an internal matter.”

“But right now, an outsider wants to eat you.”

“And you’re still planning to hand him the chopsticks?”

The Earthly Immortal fell silent.

Wang Hao raised a hand.

Chains of imperial authority spread out from beneath his feet in every direction.

They did not attack the immortals.

Instead, they temporarily linked the auras of all eighty-eight immortals together.

“The five Heavenly Immortals.”

“Hold the five directions.”

“The forty-one whose contamination is not obvious.”

“Seal your immortal apertures.”

“Raise a barrier of immortal power.”

“The rest of you.”

“Take the outermost positions.”

A deeply contaminated Earthly Immortal said angrily:

“Why should we be the ones standing on the outside?”

Wang Hao replied:

“Because you can take the sickness.”

That Earthly Immortal found himself unable to refute him.

Taixuan Heavenly Immortal looked coldly at Wang Hao.

“What gives you the right to command us?”

From his sleeve, Wang Hao produced a roster he had just written.

*Temporary Pioneer Corps Register of the Great Xia Immortal Realm.*

Taixuan Heavenly Immortal’s eyelid twitched as he looked at it.

“What is this?”

“A temporary conscription order.”

“Who agreed to this?”

“I did.”

“We are not subjects of Great Xia!”

Wang Hao said:

“When you’re in another world…”

“You can be flexible about your status.”

“Those willing to cooperate…”

“When we return to the cultivation world…”

“I’ll record your merits.”

“Those who refuse to cooperate…”

“I’ll send them over right now.”

Wang Hao pointed at the Ascension Herald.

Behind the Ascension Herald stood over ten thousand immortal soldiers in golden armor.

At the same time, they raised their immortal halberds.

A pure white glow lit up at the tip of every weapon.

Taixuan Heavenly Immortal was silent for a moment.

Then he raised a hand and unfurled the Northern Abyss Immortal Domain.

“I will hold the north.”

The Withered-and-Blooming Heavenly Immortal walked toward the south.

“This old man will hold the south.”

The Star-Fishing Heavenly Immortal cast out a fishing line.

The line pierced through the heavens and earth to the west.

“Leave the west to me.”

Though bound by the chains of imperial authority, the Faceless Heavenly Immortal and the Crimson Mother Heavenly Immortal, under Wang Hao’s control, took positions in the east and above respectively.

The remaining Earthly Immortals swiftly formed a great formation.

The auras of the eighty-eight immortals connected as one.

The eye in the Ascension Herald’s brow slowly turned.

“Large-scale contamination detected.”

“Commencing purification.”

Boom!

More than ten thousand immortal halberds fired beams of light at once.

The pure white immortal radiance merged into a vast sea.

Wherever the light passed, the earth did not shatter.

Instead, countless beautiful immortal flowers bloomed.

Yet within the heart of every flower was a screaming human face.

“Hold fast!”

Taixuan Heavenly Immortal roared.

The Northern Abyss Immortal Domain crashed down.

The other four Heavenly Immortals unleashed their power at the same time.

The barrier formed jointly by all eighty-eight immortals collided head-on with the sea of white immortal light.

Rumble—

The Eastern Extremity Ascension Plains trembled across a radius of a million li.

Wang Hao stood at the center of the immortal formation.

The Thunder Abyss Demon-Suppressing Tower shot into the sky.

All nine gates of the tower opened at once.

Great quantities of pure white immortal light were forcibly drawn into the tower.

The first floor.

The second floor.

The third floor.

All the way to the eighth.

The instant the thunder-born creatures within the tower came into contact with the white immortal light, countless feathers sprouted across their bodies.

Even the two violet thunder dragons developed tiny white specks in their eyes.

Wang Hao immediately shut the tower gates.

The Thunder Abyss Demon-Suppressing Tower shook without end.

A layer of white mold appeared across its surface.

The silver-haired youth felt his scalp prickle.

“Master.”

“The tower is sick too.”

Wang Hao said,

“Have the Artifact Refining Bureau repair it when we get back.”

The silver-haired youth asked,

“Will the treasury pay for it?”

“The tower will pay for itself.”

The Demon-Suppressing Tower of Thunder Abyss shook even more violently.

As though protesting.

The first wave of immortal light faded.

The barrier formed by eighty-eight immortals

was riddled with vast cracks.

More than a dozen Earth Immortals spat out immortal blood.

The blood fell to the ground

and immediately sprouted into blood-red saplings.

From their branches

hung their own faces.

The Ascension Herald stepped forward.

The pressure of a ninth-layer Heavenly Immortal

erupted in full.

“Accept ascension.”

“You may attain eternal life.”

Wang Hao gripped the new Imperial Sword.

The silver-haired youth retreated into the blade.

Spotless kindling burned quietly

along the silver edge.

“Eternal life?”

Wang Hao glanced at the Earth Immortal who had just died.

“It even eats itself.”

“Certainly won’t starve to death.”

He stepped out of the immortal formation,

alone, to face the Ascension Herald.

Taixuan Heavenly Immortal frowned.

“It is a ninth-layer Heavenly Immortal.”

“You are only a first-layer Earth Immortal.”

Wang Hao did not look back.

“That is why I have no intention of fighting it alone.”

The chains of Imperial Dao abruptly tightened.

The power of all eighty-eight immortals

flowed through the formation

and poured into Wang Hao at once.

Taixuan Heavenly Immortal’s face darkened.

“What are you using our power for?”

Wang Hao gripped his sword with both hands.

His aura surged higher and higher.

“Requisitioning it.”

The new Imperial Sword shouted excitedly,

“Cut it down!”

Wang Hao brought his sword down.

“Heaven-Opening Nine Swords.”

“The sixth sword.”

“Open the Immortal Gate!”

A silver sword-light

rose from the Eastern Extremity Ascension Plains.

The immortal mist stretching for billions of miles

was cleaved apart down the middle.

The Ascension Herald brought its hands together.

More than ten thousand golden-armored immortal soldiers

linked their auras with its own at the same time.

The phantom of a colossal Ascension Gate

stood before the sword-light.

“The Ascension Gate.”

“It cannot be broken.”

Wang Hao’s gaze remained calm.

“I have torn down one before.”

“I know the drill.”

Boom!

The sword-light struck.

The phantom Ascension Gate

split open down the middle.

For the first time,

the gentle smile on the Ascension Herald’s face froze.

Wang Hao rushed before it in a single step.

He did not attack its head.

Nor did he attack its immortal body.

Instead, he slashed his sword at the vermilion eye in its brow.

The Ascension Herald hastily retreated.

But Wang Hao had already raised his left hand.

“Heaven-Imprisoning Earth-Covering Palm.”

“First palm!”

A golden palm seal locked down the surroundings.

The nine flood dragons behind the Ascension Herald

opened their mouths at once

and spewed streams of pure white feathers.

“Second palm!”

The heads of three flood dragons exploded.

Countless human faces fell away from beneath their scales.

“Third palm!”

The Ascension Herald’s legs

were forcibly torn from the dragons’ backs.

Black blood vessels lashed through the sky.

“Fourth palm!”

Its immortal robes shattered.

At its chest,

a small, tightly shut door was revealed.

Behind the door

came the cries of countless ascenders.

“Fifth palm!”

Boom!

The eye in the Ascension Herald’s brow exploded.

A vermilion immortal seal

flew out from the shattered eye.

Wang Hao did not continue his pursuit.

Instead, he seized the seal

and swiftly retreated.

The Ascension Herald froze for a moment.

Then it reached toward the empty space in its brow.

“The Ascension Seal.”

“Return it...”

Wang Hao lowered his gaze to the seal.

The Immortal Realm Guide Stele immediately displayed information.

【Eastern Extremity Ascension Seal.】

【Can temporarily command the formations surrounding Ascension City.】

【Can command low-ranking Ascension immortal soldiers.】

Wang Hao forced a thread of Imperial Dao power

into the immortal seal.

The seal struggled violently,

but Spotless Kindling enveloped it.

Before long, it fell silent.

The tens of thousands of golden-armored immortal soldiers, poised to continue their attack,

all came to a halt.

Wang Hao raised the immortal seal.

He pointed it at the Ascension Herald.

“Seize it.”

The expression on the Ascension Herald’s face

froze completely.

The tens of thousands of golden-armored immortal soldiers turned around.

Every immortal halberd

was aimed at its former master.

For the first time, the Ascension Herald’s voice

was tinged with confusion.

“Error.”

“The Ascension Division may not attack a Welcoming Envoy.”

Wang Hao said,

“The seal is in my hands.”

“If I say it can, then it can.”

Ten thousand immortal halberds thrust out at once.

The Ascension Herald was swallowed by radiant white immortal light.

The nine flood dragons writhed frantically.

The immortal carriage shattered on the spot.

The Taixuan Heavenly Immortal watched the scene.

After a long silence, he asked,

“Why didn’t you kill it outright?”

Wang Hao put away the immortal seal.

“We’ve only just arrived.”

“We don’t know this place.”

“We need to catch ourselves a local guide.”

As the immortal light faded,

the Ascension Herald lay pinned to the ground by ten thousand immortal halberds.

Its immortal body was shattered,

yet it had not completely died.

It raised its head.

The faces within the bodies of the nine flood dragons

spat out venomous curses in unison.

“Outsiders.”

“The Immortal Realm will devour you.”

Wang Hao walked over to it

and hung a wooden placard

around its neck.

“Local Guide.”

“Execution postponed.”

The Ascension Herald lowered its head

and looked at the crude wooden sign.

Upon that face, dead for countless years,

there appeared a trace of bewilderment.

In the distance,

the golden sun formed from an Immortal King’s right eye

trembled faintly.

Its eyelid

slowly split open a narrow crack.

Everyone immediately lowered their heads.

No one dared look directly at it.

High in the heavens,

the inverted mountain ranges of immortal corpses

began to shed white raindrops.

Wang Hao raised the Ascension Immortal Seal.

The tens of thousands of golden-armored immortal soldiers turned in perfect unison,

raising a barrier of immortal light amid the rain.

He looked toward Ascension City.

The immortal-gold bricks of its walls

were slowly opening their eyes.

From deep within the city gates,

countless heavy breaths

began to sound one after another.

Wang Hao gripped the imperial Dao chain binding the Ascension Herald

and walked forward.

“All of you, seal your immortal apertures.”

“Do not look up.”

“Do not touch the rain.”

“Stay close to the guide.”

The eighty-eight immortals silently formed a battle formation

and stepped into the utterly rotten Ascension Immortal City.