My Celestial Ascension

«Heaven Devouring Physique Activated»

«5,678,940 Qi has been extracted from the Spirit Wolf's monster core»

Upon tossing the monster core into his mouth, it melted as soon as it touched his tongue, and he received a system notification in his mind.

'It seems that one monster core is not enough for me to make a breakthrough…' Yuan thought, surprised by the amount of Qi needed for his advancement.

Without further hesitation, he began throwing monster cores into his mouth one after another. Each one melted instantly in his mouth. "It tastes just like chocolate candy… I missed this flavor a lot," Yuan mused to himself.

«Heaven Devouring Physique Activated»

«6,897,380 Qi has been extracted from the Spirit Wolf's monster core»

«You've absorbed enough Qi for a breakthrough»

«You've reached the seventh level Spirit Master»

«All Stats +4000»

«5,897,740 Qi has been extracted from the Spirit Wolf's monster core»

«9,876,397 Qi has been extracted from the Spirit Wolf's monster core»

«7,897,456 Qi has been extracted from the Spirit Wolf's monster core»

«8,976,355 Qi has been extracted...»

...

...

«You've absorbed enough Qi for a breakthrough»

«You've reached the eighth level Spirit Master»

«All Stats +4000»

«46,829,762 Qi has been extracted from the Great Spirit Wolf's monster core»

«45,656,720 Qi has been extracted from the Great Spirit Wolf's monster core»

«You've absorbed enough Qi for a breakthrough»

«You've reached the ninth level Spirit Master»

«All Stats +4000»

«1,676,683/100,000,000»

Yuan needed a large amount of Qi to make a breakthrough and reach the first level of Spirit Grandmaster. However, as he reached out to search for any remaining monster cores, he found none left. He had swallowed every last one.

Despite using all the monster cores at his disposal, he still couldn't reach the Spirit Grandmaster level. He needed a significant amount more Qi to reach the first level Spirit Grandmaster.

"Although it's a pity that I couldn't reach Spirit Grandmaster, it was still worth it since I'm now a peak Spirit Master cultivator," Yuan reflected, feeling satisfied with the progress he had made by investing the monster cores into his cultivation. He felt much stronger than when he was at the second level of Spirit Grandmaster.

"I still have one monster core left inside my System Storage… I'll save it for later. For now, my current cultivation is sufficient," Yuan decided, recognizing that the monster core could be useful in the future since they also serve as an excellent power source in the cultivation world.

Yuan slowly stood up from the ground and began stretching his arms and legs. Having been seated in one place for countless hours, he felt stiffness in some parts of his body.

Aside from the stiffness that faded quickly, he felt nothing but a sense of lightness and boundless energy in his body. His senses had also become sharper, and the range of his divine sense had increased significantly.

"Now, I should go and look for the—" Before Yuan could finish his thought, a strange noise in the distance caught his attention.

It sounded like someone was singing a song, accompanied by a faint musical instrument. Although it was barely audible, the sound had a calming effect.

"Are there… people inside this secret realm?" Yuan wondered, knowing full well that none of his wives could sing a song, despite having beautiful voices.

"It's possible for people to live here in this secret realm… I should go and take a look for myself." Yuan decided, slowly following the sound, hoping to find someone who could tell him more about the places within this secret realm.

'You're on the right track, keep moving…'

Suddenly, he heard a familiar voice whispering in his ear and saw a translucent male figure wearing a white mask floating in the air.

'Go that way… Your first destination is that way!' The masked figure pointed toward the dense forest, where Yuan could faintly make out some structures among the trees.

The masked phantom guided Yuan toward the dense forest, where the music was coming from. Yuan silently followed, feeling a strange sense of familiarity with his surroundings, as if he had been there before.

"Weird… why am I feeling like I've been to this place before? This is my first time entering this secret realm!" Yuan muttered to himself, a confused expression on his face as he looked around.

Thinking he must be hallucinating, Yuan decided to ignore the strange familiarity and continued following the masked phantom.

After an hour of continuous walking, Yuan arrived at an ancient site. The stone bricks used to construct this place appeared to be corroding with time, and parts of the structure were broken.

The building resembled a home—someone must have lived here in the past. Despite the site's aged and rundown appearance, it seemed to have been cleaned recently. There wasn't a single wild blade of grass in sight.

"How strange… it looks like this place was cleaned just recently. How is that possible? Who could be maintaining this place?" Yuan wondered aloud, scanning the area for clues that might suggest people were living nearby.

He had lost track of time since entering the secret realm; as soon as he had arrived, he focused entirely on regaining his former strength through cultivation. What he needed most was information—with it, he could find his wives and take advantage of everything the secret realm had to offer.

Suddenly, the masked phantom reappeared, floating before his eyes, and pointed toward the ancient house, indicating he should enter.

"Does he want me to go inside? Is it even safe to enter such an old structure? Won't it collapse if I do?" Yuan hesitated, eyeing the house suspiciously.

'Could there be some sort of treasure hidden inside that this phantom wants me to find?' he wondered.

After pondering for a few moments, Yuan decided to trust his instincts and enter the house. There was something oddly familiar about it, and he felt he might find the answers he sought—or at least understand why he could see the phantom of the masked man.

"Alright, it's time to see what's inside!" Yuan took a deep breath, steeling himself before stepping into the house.

The moment Yuan stepped inside, his vision twisted, and suddenly, he found himself standing before a massive stone tablet. The tablet, towering five meters tall, was covered with strange markings.

The atmosphere around him was calm, and the air was dense with spiritual energy. Cultivating in this environment would yield twice the results with half the effort. Yet, aside from the stone tablet, there seemed to be nothing else in the area.

"Weird… there's nothing here except for this strange stone tablet. What am I supposed to find here?" Yuan murmured, feeling both disappointed and perplexed.

He couldn't understand why the masked phantom had led him here if there was nothing but a stone tablet. "Could it be that a powerful illusion formation is hiding a treasure in this place?" he speculated, but he soon discarded the thought.

After searching fruitlessly for almost an hour, Yuan decided to sit down on the stone floor and relax, hoping he might discover something with a clearer mind. He closed his eyes and began to meditate, calming his thoughts.

—

"Husband, why are we rushing to Roth City so urgently? Did something happen there?" Aurelia asked her husband, King Richard, with a concerned look on her face.

"Yes, Father. I was supposed to meet my fiancée, and now she'll be furious with me for not showing up after I promised her," Prince Tristan added, sitting across from his father, his expression restless.

"Fufu~ It seems you care quite a lot about Jenney. Don't worry, I'll write her a letter explaining everything. That should clear up the misunderstanding," Aurelia teased with a playful smile, enjoying the opportunity to tease her stepson. Although Tristan wasn't her own son, she treated him as if he were her flesh and blood.

"I don't care about her feelings… Humph!" Tristan huffed, his face reddening. He turned away, grumbling inwardly, 'Who cares about that crazy woman? I just don't want to get scolded by her. Her words are like poisoned daggers!'

A moment later, King Richard's expression grew serious. "Yuan and his wives entered a crack in the air and disappeared, along with that strange crack at the abandoned ruin in Roth City."

"You should know that Lady Valeria is now one of Yuan's wives. She was with them and entered the crack along with them. This is a critical situation for our kingdom," he continued, his tone grave and filled with concern.

"If something happens to Lady Valeria, His Imperial Majesty might place the blame on us. He could even declare war," King Richard added, his voice heavy with worry.

"I see…" Aurelia murmured, finally understanding the urgency of their journey to Roth City. "But I wonder what they were doing in such a place… an abandoned ruin, of all things. There's nothing there, not even a small treasure chest among the rubble."

"I… don't know the answer to that. I'm just as clueless," King Richard sighed, his mind racing. 'What could have driven them to visit that abandoned ruin? And why did they enter the strange crack so willingly?' he wondered inwardly.

A few moments later, Aurelia looked at her husband seriously. "Husband, could it be that Yuan and his wives knew about the crack in the air? After all, they're not foolish. Each of them is far more intelligent and powerful than an Archmage."

"That is possible…" King Richard replied, nodding after considering her words carefully.

The carriages continued their journey; it would take two more days to reach Roth City at their current pace. It had been five days since they had started this journey.

—

Several hours passed, and Yuan was still meditating, his mind as calm as still water without a ripple.

"Excuse me, who might you be? I've never seen you before. What are you doing in front of the Sacred Tablet?"

Suddenly, a gentle yet curious voice sounded from behind, breaking the stillness and pulling Yuan out of his trance. He quickly turned around.