Chapter 875: Chapter 547: Cosmic Edge, Great Realm of the Universe Chu Zheng’s cultivation level continued to rise swiftly, but compared to its previous rocket-like ascent, it had inevitably begun to slow down. The acquisition of resources, the comprehension of realms, especially the significant chasm between Mysterious Immortal and Golden Immortal, all required the accumulation of time. Now, he had barely stepped into the Late Stage of Mysterious Immortal, still a step away from Perfect Xuan Immortal. This progress, for ordinary living creatures, was already terrifying enough, a feat that could be called unparalleled through the ages. After all, if calculated carefully, from his current life of cultivation, it was still less than five hundred years. If he reached Perfect Xuan Immortal and took another step forward, it would be the Golden Immortal path. Once stepping into Golden Immortal, he would have truly crossed into the Space-time Domain, beginning to grasp the initial laws of time and space. It would be entirely different from his previous realms, marking yet another leap forward. However, Chu Zheng was still not satisfied. His brows often furrowed slightly, feeling a sense of urgency. His cultivation progress was still a bit slow, far from keeping up with the pace of changes in the situation, nor the steps of his internal plans. Currently, the situation within the Great Universe had become very tense, with the rapid expansion of the Immortal Court and the Martial Pavilion, these two major Taoist orthodoxy of the Human Race, causing increasing tensions with other ancient clans that could lead to a full-blown conflict at any moment. Especially the Star Moon Ancient Clan, which had lost face by forming enmity with the Immortal Court, was even more eager for action. After all, the Star Moon Ancient Clan still had two ancient ancestors alive, retaining their foundation. As long as they were willing to pay the price, joining forces with the Giant God Clan, whose relationship with the Human Race of the Great Universe had never been harmonious, and pulling in any other ancient clan that felt threatened by the Second-fold Immortal Martial, they could gather enough capital to start a sky-shocking battle that would sweep across the entire Great Universe. If a war breaks out prematurely due to some uncontrollable reasons, the consequences are hard to predict. This may completely disrupt his layout, even dragging him into a vortex he does not want to face prematurely. He must act quickly to draw some attention away, preferably to directly shift the highly tense gaze of the Star Moon Ancient Clan, to buy more time for the Immortal Court and the Martial Pavilion, and for himself. He might have to think of a way ahead of schedule to acquire that crucial Heavenly Mirror. Content orıginally comes from 𝓷𝓸𝓿𝓮𝓵~𝕗𝕚𝕣𝕖~𝙣𝙚𝙩 The Heavenly Mirror, the treasure of the Star Moon Ancient Clan, not only has boundless wonderful uses, but crucially, it stores part of the Heavenly Fate accumulated by the Star Moon Ancient Clan over generations. This is the indispensable key piece for him to gather half of Heaven’s Fortune and smoothly step out onto the path of Chengzu. However, just the thought of this is known to be extremely perilous. The ancestral land of the Star Moon Ancient Clan must be a dragon’s pool and tiger’s den, heavily restricted, with an ancient ancestor overseeing it. No matter how capable he is alone, it is impossible to forcibly take the treasure from the ancestral home of the clan. He needs assistance, reliable and powerful assistance, and he needs an extremely complete plan, and he cannot act hastily. While Chu Zheng plotted silently in the Border Desolate Land, feeling lonely and weak, on the other end of the Great Universe, in the Ascension Place of the Near Immortal Realm, the entrance to Falling Leaves Heaven remained as it always was. The long jade steps, carved from Nine Heavens White Jade, hung quietly in the void, with one end connecting to the space barrier of Falling Leaves Heaven and the other end fading into the dazzlingly magnificent, welcoming celestial light of the Upper Realm. At the end of the jade steps, two figures stood like boulders, wearing standard Immortal Armor, their light flowing and aura condensed, with Immortal Blades at their waists and talismanic swords in their hands, their expressions showing a slight hint of long-term boredom despite their plainness. They were the Heavenly Generals guarding the entrance to Falling Leaves Heaven, responsible for receiving Ascension Cultivators, collecting the Ascension Tax, and maintaining order in this place. While the two were talking through transmission, a stream of light escaped from the distant depths of the Heavenly Dome, landing at the start of the jade steps. As the light scattered, it revealed the figure of a young man, with a resolute face and bright eyes, appearing travel-worn, yet with an uncontainable excitement and anticipation between his brows. Finally, through his efforts, he had reached this step, Ascending to the Upper Realm! Evidently, he had inquired clearly about the rules beforehand, knowing he had to pay the Ascension Tax, and without any extra words, he directly took out a prepared Storage Ring and handed it over respectfully. One of the Heavenly Generals expressionlessly took it, his Divine Sense scanning inside to count. After a moment, he shook his head, his voice flat and devoid of waves: “Not enough, it’s short by a million.” The young man was taken aback by these words, with a hint of bewilderment and incomprehension on his face: “Senior, I inquired before, wasn’t the Ascension Tax one hundred Immortal Jades? This Storage Ring contains exactly two million Top Quality Spiritual Stones…” The Heavenly General glanced at him, his tone still flat: “That’s old news. Near Immortal Realm was formally incorporated into the Immortal Court two hundred years ago, under direct jurisdiction of the Immortal Court. Due to the Immortal Court’s regulation, the price of Immortal Jade generally increased by fifty percent a hundred years ago. The Ascension Tax is still a hundred Immortal Jades, but the exchange rate changed. Now it requires three million Top Quality Spiritual Stones to exchange for a hundred Immortal Jades.” The young man’s facial muscles twitched slightly, obviously quite distressed. Three million Top Quality Spiritual Stones is indeed an astronomical number for a Lower Realm cultivator. He gritted his teeth, said nothing, and took out another million Top Quality Spiritual Stones to make up the difference. This was almost all of his possessions. The Heavenly General carefully checked the quantity and quality of the Spirit Stones, and after confirming everything was correct, they exchanged a glance with their companion, nodded slightly, and stepped aside, making way for the path leading to the Jade Steps: “Three million Top Quality Spiritual Stones can be exchanged for a hundred Immortal Jades. Thirty-three pieces are to be paid to the Sea and Mountain Song Family, thirty-three to the Cuiyang Zhao Family, and thirty-three to the Chixia Yuan Family. The remaining one piece is our fee for guarding this place.” They routinely reported the destination of the funds, which was the rule of the Three Great Clans of Falling Leaves Heaven. “Since the Spirit Stones are in full amount, you may ascend the steps and enter the realm.” The other Heavenly General spoke in a stern voice, with a hint of warning: “You must remember, if, after entering the Upper Realm, you do not have the Boundary Token specially issued by the Three Great Clans, you will never be allowed to return to the Lower Realm. This is ironclad law, violators will face the extermination of their clan and the annihilation of their bloodline, with no exceptions!” The young man felt a chill in his heart, bowed and said, “I understand.” “Extend your hand.” The previous Heavenly General commanded. The man obediently extended his right hand, opening his palm. The Heavenly General expressionlessly flipped his hand, a flash of Immortal Light appeared in his palm, taking out a palm-sized, entirely white Jade Talisman. With a flick of his finger, the Jade Talisman gently floated into the young man’s open palm. Immediately, a gentle and peculiar immortal power emitted from the Jade Talisman, like mercury flowing out, sweeping over the man’s body instantly, examining his root bone and cultivation. Then, the surface of the Jade Talisman shimmered with light, like water ripples, soon revealing two lines of clear golden characters: Bone Age: Four hundred and one Cultivation: Early Stage Seventh Rank The two Heavenly Generals nodded slightly upon seeing these words, their expressions slightly easing. To have cultivated to Early Stage Seventh Rank by the age of four hundred and ascend to the Upper Realm is truly top-tier genius in the Lower Realm. This achievement is even comparable to the top prodigies fostered by the native Falling Leaves Heaven, showing considerable potential. Perhaps in a slightly better mood, one of the Heavenly Generals casually asked, “May I ask, from which lineage do your teachings hail? In which Cave Heaven Blessed Land did you cultivate in the Lower Realm?” Upon hearing this, the young man straightened his back, gave the two Heavenly Generals a formal bow, and spoke with a clear voice, smiling: “A branch of Qi Cultivators, Ming Lingfeng, tutored by the lineage of Daoist Venerable Zheng Chu.” “Daoist Venerable Zheng Chu?” The two Heavenly Generals instinctively repeated this title, initially not fully comprehending. However, in just a moment, the two words Zheng Chu exploded like thunder in their minds. The God of Killing from Heaven Burial Palace who survived and walked away alive, the very one whom an ancient ancestor came personally to search for, Zheng Chu?! This person in front of them was his disciple?! The previously calm faces of the two Heavenly Generals immediately vanished without a trace, replaced by extreme shock and horror, their pupils contracted sharply, their expressions suddenly changed, exclaiming in astonishment: “You… you are Zheng Chu’s disciple?!”