Absolute Destiny Game.

Chapter 538 Ascending to the Ranks of Immortals
At this moment, Xiao Jie had transformed into an indescribable, terrifying being: his body twisted and swollen, covered with layers of tumor-like growths and keratinous shells of various colors; his limbs exhibited grotesque features resembling a tiger, eagle, bear, and tortoise; his skin was dry and cracked like the bark of a thousand-year-old tree. The meager spiritual energy remaining in his body was being frantically absorbed by the increasingly dazzling "golden core" within his dantian! And at the core of that golden core, a clearly defined humanoid phantom composed of pure, refined spiritual energy—Xiao Jie's spiritual body—was slowly gestating and solidifying!
This is true for all three worlds.

Within the Realm of Illusion—

Seal it!
Xiao Jie had finally managed to seal away and extract a powerful demonic force, when he suddenly realized that his "perspective" seemed to have changed! He looked down and saw that his originally invisible divine consciousness had now condensed into clear limbs and bones! A "spiritual body" composed entirely of pure and refined spiritual energy, shaped with his divine consciousness as its core, was taking shape in his dantian!
Looking around, over 90% of his vast physical world had been completely occupied and corrupted by various violent and evil forces! These demonic forces were deeply integrated with his abandoned flesh and blood, and because they had lost the nourishment of the source of spiritual energy, they were rapidly losing their vitality, becoming like dried-out rotten wood and stiff rocks, presenting a deathly gray color!

Only the small area around the dantian, protected by layers of tough membranes, still retains a faint vitality.

His 'spiritual body,' formed from his divine consciousness, was hidden within this only safe area, much like a newborn larva developing in a cocoon.

Xiao Jie suddenly realized something, and a huge surprise overwhelmed him! His original plan was simply to discard most of his flesh and blood, form a cocoon around his body to contain his demonic power, and retain one-third of his core flesh and blood to reshape his body, even if it meant becoming weaker.

It's better than the body collapsing.

But to his utter surprise, the sheer amount of demonic power was so terrifying that it forced him to use his entire physical body as a "cocoon" and a "garbage can"! The end result was that his physical body became almost completely stiff, a tomb sealing away the demonic power. Meanwhile, his divine sense absorbed all the purified spiritual energy in this desperate situation, giving birth to a completely new "spiritual body" within his dantian!

This spirit body was clearly humanoid, yet not made of flesh and blood; it was clearly a condensation of spiritual consciousness and divine thought, yet possessed a real and tangible form, able to clearly perceive the outside world! It even had a sense of touch. This wondrous experience made Xiao Jie instantly understand!

(Primordial Spirit! Could this be the legendary primordial spirit?!)
(Yes! The physical body is merely an external thing, a raft for crossing the world! Now I cast aside this mortal body tainted by demons and evil, and with spiritual consciousness as the foundation and spiritual energy as the body, I will reshape my true self... Isn't this the true meaning of 'ascending to immortality'!?)
However, the joy was fleeting. A strong sense of weakness and an invisible shackle suddenly struck! He tried to control this newborn spiritual body to break free from the constraints of the already stiff physical "cocoon," but felt powerless! Although the spiritual energy within his body was so abundant that it was almost about to explode, he also vaguely felt a sense of emptiness, as if this spiritual body was still lacking the final touch of perfection!

(What's going on? Why can't I break free?) Alarm bells rang in Xiao Jie's mind, and a terrible thought surfaced: Could it be...?

He turned his head sharply and looked behind him. His gaze pierced through flesh and blood, through darkness, and through all the illusions that constituted the Great Void Realm.

He saw his game character sitting in front of the Mirror of Illusion, and he saw his real self sitting in front of the computer.

That weakening force comes from outside this dimension, from within the game, and from reality.

Just as I thought! Xiao Jie inwardly cried out in despair.

He has enough spiritual energy in this world, but in reality and in the game, his spiritual energy is insufficient to complete the transformation.

This is terrible! I should have refined all the demon cores in my bag before entering the Illusionary Realm.

Now I can only hope that those immortals will lend a helping hand, and that they won't really just stand by and watch me fail to ascend to immortality.
Real world:

Gu Feiyu stared in horror at what was happening before his eyes. A viscous, dark red substance, resembling semi-congealed blood, was continuously secreting from Xiao Jie's body. This substance rapidly spread and accumulated, covering and enveloping his body layer by layer, gradually forming a gigantic, bloated, and constantly throbbing terrifying humanoid cocoon!
"Brother Jie!!" Gu Feiyu was terrified, but when he caught a glimpse of the image on the computer screen and the constantly popping system notifications, he forced himself to suppress his fear and realized that this might be part of Brother Jie's "ascension" process.

On the screen, lines of system notifications flashed by rapidly, almost filling the entire screen.

System notification: Using the self-created spell 'Ascension to Immortality Technique', current progress 1%...

System notification: Current progress 7%...

System notification: Current progress 13%...

There were more than a dozen such prompts.

"Brother Jie... is he really going to ascend?" Gu Feiyu's heart was in his throat. He was nervously watching the changes in the real flesh cocoon while staring intently at the screen, listening to the conversations of the immortals in the game, trying to find clues from their dialogue and system prompts.

When the progress bar painstakingly climbed to 91%, it suddenly stopped!
At that precise moment, the solemn conversation of the immortals came through the speaker:

"Huh? This is bad! The technique of ascending to immortality that this boy has comprehended is indeed exquisite, but the total amount of spiritual energy accumulated in his body seems to be... just a little short of supporting his primordial spirit to completely break free from its cocoon and complete the final ascension!" Xuanxuzi's voice was filled with regret.

"If we stop here, the spiritual energy will be exhausted, and the primordial spirit will not be able to break free completely. I'm afraid all our efforts will be in vain, and we will end up with a dissipated primordial spirit and a backlash from the demonic power!" another immortal added.

Xuanxuzi couldn't bear it and said, "Fellow Daoists, it's truly remarkable that this boy has come this far. Why not lend him a hand and transfer some spiritual energy to him?"

Shenjizi chuckled lightly, "Hehe, why should we take action? Since that nameless fellow Daoist has even foreseen the 'double ascension,' how could he not foresee this final step? Let's just wait and see; perhaps fate has its own arrangements."

Upon hearing this, the immortals all revealed amused expressions and fell silent. Instead, they looked around with great interest, as if waiting for some expected "backup plan" to appear and verify whether the "nameless Taoist" was truly infallible.

Gu Feiyu instantly understood the key point!
The spiritual energy is insufficient! Brother Jie devoured thirty-seven demon kings and a fire unicorn in the Illusionary Realm, so the spiritual energy should be sufficient.

His game character's body had used up some of the spiritual energy stored up on the journey north, so it wasn't at full capacity, and there would inevitably be losses during the purification process! He now needed to replenish a large amount of spiritual energy immediately to complete his ascension!
Once he understood this, he immediately knew what to do.

Without hesitation, he grabbed the mouse and swiftly opened Xiao Jie's backpack! It was filled with all sorts of shimmering demon cores—all the spoils Xiao Jie had accumulated while frantically leveling up and grinding monsters in Canglin Prefecture!
"Brother Jie! This is all I can do to help you. The rest is up to you." Gu Feiyu shouted in his heart, frantically clicking "Use" with his mouse!
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! ...

Hundreds of demon cores of varying grades vanished from the backpack in an instant! A surge of powerful demonic energy and spiritual power erupted within the game character's body!
In the Taixu Hall:

"Hey—look!" one of the immortals exclaimed in surprise.

Suddenly, a series of swallowing motions appeared strangely at the throat of Yin Yue Sui Feng, who was sitting cross-legged!

Immediately afterwards, a massive energy, a mixture of pure spiritual energy and violent demonic power, erupted from its withered body like a volcanic eruption! The body, which had been nearly depleted and dead, was forcibly reactivated by this sudden influx of energy, emitting a creaking sound as it struggled under the strain, and the tumors and mutated limbs on its surface began to throb violently!

"This...how is this possible?!" Even the most knowledgeable immortals were dumbfounded!

You must understand that once one enters the illusory realm of the Great Void, the physical body in reality becomes an empty shell, utterly incapable of acting on its own! How could this person, at the crucial moment of this illusory journey, simultaneously struggle for survival within the illusion while controlling their body to "eat" and replenish energy?! What an unbelievable supernatural power!

Moreover, where did those demon cores come from? Even with the extraordinary strength of the immortals, they couldn't see through this.

They could only look at each other in disbelief, their eyes filled with dread. Could this nameless Taoist priest truly possess such unfathomable and mysterious abilities?
After doing all this, Gu Feiyu's heart was pounding and his palms were covered in cold sweat. He didn't know whether his "forcing growth" was a blessing or a curse, and could only stare intently at the progress bar on the screen and the increasingly pulsating callus of reality beside him.

Within the Realm of Illusion:
Just as Xiao Jie was feeling desperate, he suddenly sensed a vast and familiar power pouring into him from the darkness! The previously stagnant ascension process, as if injected with a stimulant, roared back to life!

Huh?! This is...

He instantly understood! A look of wild joy appeared on his face!

Just as I expected! My 'ascension to immortality' in the game world did indeed trigger a simultaneous transformation in my 'real-world body'! Just like how holding in your pee in a dream will cause a reaction in your real body!
This change in spiritual energy must be due to a change in the physical body in reality.

Without further hesitation, he seized this fleeting opportunity, channeling the newly injected power with all his might, and used the Ascension Technique to break through the final barrier!

Real world:

On the computer screen, the stagnant progress bar suddenly jumped!
System notification: Current progress 92%...

System notification: Current progress 95%...

System notification: Current progress 99%...

System notification: Current progress 100%! Ascension to Immortality complete! Your race has changed from Human to Immortal.

System notification: You have acquired a new racial talent...

System notification: Your reputation in Lonely Cloud State has reached Friendly...

A series of system notifications made Gu Feiyu shout with joy!

"It's done!"

at the same time--

On the screen, Xiao Jie, who was sitting cross-legged before the Illusionary Realm, suddenly emitted ten thousand dazzling pure white immortal lights! The huge and ugly dead "cocoon" that covered his entire body, composed of tumors, keratin, and scabs, shattered like a fragile eggshell under the impact of this supreme immortal light! Fragments flew everywhere!

As if they had anticipated this, the immortals all vanished in unison, and the broken cocoons passed right through them without harming them in the slightest.

In reality, Gu Feiyu was equally surprised to find that the fleshy cocoon beside him was simultaneously emitting a piercing "crackling" sound!

He hurriedly formed a hand seal and cast a protective spell.

"Open for me!!!" Xiao Jie roared inwardly, his accumulated power exploding outwards!
The massive, completely stiff and decaying physical body that bound him, like a sandcastle, crumbled and vanished into thin air under the impact of the pure and vast immortal spiritual power!
"boom!"

The black cocoon encasing Xiao Jie suddenly burst open! Fragments of the cocoon and decaying bones splattered all over the small living room.

Xiao Jie slowly opened his eyes.

What comes into view is no longer the broken stone dome of Qixia Temple, nor the magnificent and otherworldly scenery of Taixu Hall.

Instead, it was the familiar yet unfamiliar ceiling of my own living room. Beneath me was the cold touch of the computer chair.

A sudden, clear understanding welled up in my heart like a clear spring, instantly connecting everything, and those faded, blurry memories instantly became incredibly clear.

It was as if everything in reality had only happened recently, and only the memories of more than fifty years in his mind made him realize that it was not a vague dream.

He looked around, and the world before him had completely changed.

"So that's how it is... So that's how it is..." Xiao Jie murmured to himself, a knowing smile playing on his lips.

The world as perceived by the naked eye is merely a partial, distorted illusion filtered through numerous lenses. Only by observing with the "divine sense" of this primordial spirit can one glimpse the material framework composed of countless elementary particles, the cosmic dimensions flowing with torrents of energy, the atoms that constitute all things rotating and dying like stars, and the formless yet all-pervasive ripples of time... Stripped of all material appearances, the world in his eyes transforms into an incomparably grand and intricate dynamic scroll composed of countless dazzling points of light, flowing threads of colorful energy, and a profound spatial-temporal grid!
How wonderfully magical!
The so-called "ascension to immortality" is never about flying to a specific celestial realm, but rather a leap in life form, a way to transcend the constraints of the physical body and enter a higher dimension of existence!
"Brother Jie! You...you've become an immortal?! Why does it look a bit like a frame drop?" Gu Feiyu's voice trembled as he looked at Xiao Jie, who had risen from the shattered cocoon of flesh, from the corner of the wall. At this moment, Xiao Jie's body seemed somewhat...unstable? Like an image with a poor signal, flickering occasionally.

Moreover, being completely naked is somewhat eye-catching.

Xiao Jie looked down at his "primordial spirit body" composed of pure energy, and with a slight thought, his perspective instantly shifted. In Gu Feiyu's eyes, his "frame-dropping" body immediately stabilized and returned to its normal human form.

Then, with a thought, he used his spiritual power to manipulate the material particles into a set of clothes, covering his entire body.

“Don’t worry about it,” Xiao Jie said calmly, his voice seemingly carrying a strange echo. “I’ve just adapted to this new body form and adjusted the ‘display mode’.”

His gaze swept across the living room, where large fragments of dark red, dried material, resembling rotten tree bark, lay scattered on the floor. The outlines of what had once been his human limbs were still faintly discernible—his discarded, lifeless body, utterly corrupted by demonic power. What might seem horrifying to ordinary people was, in Xiao Jie's eyes, nothing more than discarded waste material devoid of all its energy value.

"Brother Jie, your screen... seems to be broken." Gu Feiyu pointed to the computer screen, which was now completely black after the burst of bright light.

“I don’t need a screen anymore.” Xiao Jie walked to the computer and gently placed his hand on the case. With a thought, the scene before him instantly changed!
Inside the Taixu Palace, Xiao Jie looked around and saw that all the immortals had gathered around him, bowing to him in unison.

"Congratulations, fellow Daoist, on your ascension to immortality. You have now transcended the Three Realms and joined the ranks of the immortals."

(End of this chapter)