Ascended Without Me: Cultivating with a Genius Son | Chapter 170 | Preparing for Ascension | Novela.app

“That’s it? It’s over?” Li Xue felt rather unsatisfied, as if she had only caught the tail end of a storm. “Just a bunch of children playing around,” Lei Yan said, shaking his head. The three of them returned to the Dream Realm. After reaching the Great Ascension stage, one would typically ascend within several decades or a century. Li Haoran’s case was an exception; because he had been injured during his tribulation, he had required three to four hundred years of meditative seclusion. Aside from their usual cultivation, Li Xue and Li Lin began making arrangements for life after ascension. First was the matter of the Dream Realm. Currently, the cultivation levels of Li Xue, Li Lin, and Yu Ming were too low to allow them to move in and out of the Dream Realm across different planes. In other words, as long as even one of them had not yet ascended to the Immortal Realm, the Dream Realm would remain inaccessible from that higher plane. Given Yu Ming’s cultivation, ascending within a few hundred years would already be an impressive feat. However, all the Divine Beasts adamantly insisted on following Li Xue. It was no joke—if they weren't by their Mistress’s side for several centuries, who knew what might happen? The four Divine Guards began discussing how to resolve this. Ultimately, they reached a consensus: the Dream Realm must recognize a single master again. It should belong solely to Li Xue. Originally, the Ancient God Realm had belonged only to the Snow Goddess; everything else was merely subsidiary. It was only through a series of coincidences that the Black Wolf Clan had brought the Ancient God Realm down to the lower realms. Yu Ming had no objections, Li Lin had even fewer, and so Li Xue agreed. The three Divine Rings were merged into one. Under Jin Sang’s refinement, they transformed into a single ring that was crystal clear yet possessed an aura of ancient simplicity. Li Xue began to refine the Divine Ring, once again sensing the evolution of heaven and earth within the realm. This time, her realization was far deeper than before. When Li Xue finally opened her eyes, her gaze was profound, and a snowflake mark graced her forehead. “Venerable One!” The four Divine Guards couldn't help but cry out. Their eyes grew moist; the person before them was exactly like the Snow Goddess from tens of millions of years ago. That gaze and that mark were unmistakable. After a moment of daze, Li Xue slowly came to her senses. Her eyes cleared, and though the mark on her forehead grew faint, it did not disappear. “Mother, what just happened?” Li Lin asked, his expression complicated. “Oh, it felt like a long, long time passed. I finally managed to wake up. It’s nothing, I’m fine!” Li Xue felt better than ever. “That’s good then.” Li Lin breathed a sigh of relief. When the four Divine Guards had called her 'Venerable One,' he had felt a sudden sense of estrangement from his mother. He had been terrified that he was about to lose her again. He didn't care about gods or goddesses; he only wanted his mother to be well. Li Xue was in high spirits. In the current Dream Realm, she could allow whoever she wanted to enter with a single thought. It was wonderful. She then glared fiercely at the group and announced bossily, “From now on, everyone has to listen to me! If I say something is black, you can’t say it’s white. If I say it’s round, you can’t say it’s square...” The group listened to Li Xue’s grand speech for over an hour before drifting off to do their own things. Hei Yan and Lei Yan continued their chess match; Dongfang Jing and Li Xiaoyin whispered to each other off to the side; Yun Xi flew back to her cave dwelling to continue her cultivation; and Bing Yan went to the spirit fields to pick fruit, humming a little tune as he ate. Seeing their reactions, Li Xue stomped her foot in frustration. She grabbed Li Lin and left the Dream Realm to visit Li Yuhong. Li Xue and Li Lin left a large quantity of medicinal pills and ten-thousand-year spirit herbs for Li Yuhong. Although they could bring him into the Dream Realm, he couldn't stay there permanently. According to the four Divine Guards, the Ancient God Realm had its own laws, which Li Xue had already begun to perceive: only lifeforms possessing a certain level of Divine Spark could reside there long-term. In truth, Li Xue was already quite satisfied. At the very least, her friends could all live together. Thinking about it, it seemed like the hand of fate. When she first started her journey of cultivation, how could she have known that Ji Rufeng, Yu Ming, Yun Mingxuan, Dongfang Jing, and Bai Xingyu were all people who possessed Divine Sparks? They had gathered together from the very beginning as if it had been preordained. Thinking of this, Li Xue’s heart tightened. Was her life’s destiny already mapped out? This feeling was deeply unsettling. If everything was done according to someone else’s arrangement, how was she any different from a puppet? “Mistress, you are overthinking it,” Jin Sang explained after hearing her complaints. “Firstly, you are all people with Divine Sparks, which is why you were drawn together as friends. Secondly, it speaks to your importance. Because of your existence, you bring everyone help and happiness, which is why they are willing to gather around you. Furthermore, who would have the authority to arrange the path of an Ancient God’s rebirth? Only the Ancient God themselves. Therefore, the path you walk is the path you want to walk. No one can dictate it for you.” Li Xue listened intently and found herself agreeing. Regardless of who arranged it, as long as she reached her goals and remained happy, that was enough. Her mood instantly brightened. Next, Ji Rufeng, Bai Xingyu, Yu Ming, Yun Mingxuan, and Dongfang Jing each handled their own affairs. Once Li Xue ascended to the Immortal Realm, the others would not be able to return to the mortal world unless they ascended within the Dream Realm and then used a reverse passage from the Immortal Realm. Consequently, they had just as much to settle as Li Xue and Li Lin. Dongfang Jing was quite depressed. His great-great-grandfather, Dongfang Mingyuan, had gone off to some unknown star domain for experience and was nowhere to be found. Even up until the moment he followed Li Xue toward the Immortal Realm, he never saw his ancestor again, leaving him with a great sense of regret. Li Lin’s cultivation was significantly higher than Li Xue’s, so he had no choice but to ascend first. Fortunately, the Dream Realm was powerful enough that he didn't have to worry about his mother’s safety, but his heart was still filled with reluctance. At this moment, he truly understood the depth of the longing his father must have felt. “Xiao Lin, I’ll come find you soon. Go on, don't worry,” Li Xue said. However, she felt a bit awkward; the words sounded a bit too much like a final farewell. “Mother, don't go running around causing trouble for no reason. Just stay safely in the Dream Realm,” Li Lin urged. “I know, I know. I’ll just wait in the Dream Realm until it’s my turn to ascend. Don't worry!” Li Xue comforted him. “Then I’ll go first. I’ll wait for you with Dad once I find him.” Li Lin took one last deep look at his mother before his body slowly became transparent within the Guiding Divine Light. Tears welled in Li Xue’s eyes and finally fell once her son had vanished. Though it was only a temporary parting, her heart was heavy. No matter how powerful a son became, he was still a child in his mother’s eyes, and she would always worry. Jin Sang curled his lip, cursing inwardly: *That damned Thousand-Fox Clan, that wretched Bai Haoran. To think he actually used a child to bind the Venerable One’s heart. Shameless! Bastard!* He wasn't the only one who thought so. Lei Yan and Feng Yan were also extremely displeased. The Venerable One had simply undergone reincarnation; how did she end up belonging to the Patriarch of the Thousand-Fox Clan? Truly infuriating! Huan Xi remained stoic, having no particular thoughts on the matter. She had always treated the Venerable One’s will as her own. Even if the Venerable One took a liking to some demon, Buddha, or devil, she would absolutely go to the Demon, Buddhist, or Devil Realm, kidnap them, strip them bare, and wash them clean for her. Because of this, among the nine Divine Guards, Huan Xi had other names: Mu Huanxi, the Wood Illusion God, or the Wood Goddess. *** **Glossary** | Chinese | English | Notes/Explanation | | :--- | :--- | :--- | | 神格 | Divine Spark | Also translated as Godhood; a prerequisite for residing in the Ancient God Realm. | | 接引神光 | Guiding Divine Light | The light that transports a cultivator to a higher plane during ascension. | | 千狐族 | Thousand-Fox Clan | The clan of Li Haoran (the father). | | 木幻神 | Wood Illusion God | One of the titles for Huan Xi. | | 木神女 | Wood Goddess | Another title for Huan Xi, reflecting her elemental nature. |