Practice begins with immortality

Two months later, on a certain day, atop the peak of the Eight Desolate Realm, all was silent and still, as if time had stood still. Yet, within this stillness, a chilling atmosphere subtly emanated, as if some earth-shattering event was brewing.

Meanwhile, elsewhere, far from the Eight Desolate Realm, many people gazed intently towards Tianding Peak. Some of these people hailed from prominent sects, while others were long-unseen masters. They stood in the void, or hid deep within some other world, their gaze fixed on that mysterious peak.

At this moment, a gentle breeze blew by, bringing with it a soft female voice: "This protective formation is truly formidable! The person who could create such a powerful formation must have reached the pinnacle of human realm and mastery of formations!"

Then, another deep male voice sounded, agreeing with her words, "That's absolutely true. However, the old Lord of the Eight Desolate Realm who is about to ascend today is truly unusual. He seems to have appeared out of thin air. I've never heard of him before. He must be someone with an extraordinary background!"

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone around nodded in agreement.

After a brief pause, the man continued, "The fact that he chose to ascend at this moment is a very important thing for us. Firstly, an ascension like this is rare in a million years, so we naturally have to come and witness it with our own eyes; secondly, when he accepts the guidance of the fairyland, the projection of the fairyland's laws will descend to the lower world. If we are lucky enough to comprehend even a trace of the mystery from it, it will be of great benefit to our future heavenly tribulation! So everyone must be fully alert and observe carefully." After speaking, everyone nodded in agreement, and then cast their gazes towards the Tianding Peak in the distance again, quietly waiting for the arrival of that exciting moment.

An hour later, the previously calm sky above Tianding Peak suddenly erupted into a turbulent storm, with lightning and thunder, as if a mysterious force was brewing a catastrophic change. In the blink of an eye, a strange object, like a scroll, slowly emerged from the sky.

The scroll was shrouded in a hazy white icy mist, making it difficult to discern the scene within even with wide-open eyes. However, the next moment, a jaw-dropping scene occurred: from within the mysterious scroll, a series of stairways gleaming with brilliant golden light suddenly flew out! These stairways, stacked one upon another, stretched from the sky all the way down, finally landing firmly in front of Wang Bai.

Seeing this incredible scene before him, Wang Bai stepped onto the ladder without hesitation. The moment he set foot on it, an incomparable feeling arose spontaneously - as if the entire world had been cut off from him, and only a quiet and ethereal feeling remained around him.

Wang Bai was secretly surprised. He quickly realized that this so-called "ladder to heaven" was actually a magical entity conjured by the Dao of the higher realms. And when he actually stepped on it, he clearly felt a powerful and pure energy flowing towards him. This energy was the legendary immortal spirit!

As Wang Bai continued to climb the stairs, the immortal spirits, as if summoned by something, actively penetrated into his body, nourishing his body and soul, and helping him gradually complete the transformation from mortal to immortal!

At this moment, Wang Bai finally understood: "So that's it... This is a reward for those of us who have ascended from the lower realms!"

"As long as I ascend the ladder, the spirit of immortality will fill my body. When I reach the top, I will become an immortal!" Thinking of this, Wang Bai couldn't help but quicken his pace of ascent, looking forward to becoming an immortal...

There's no fixed number of ladders; it depends on the individual. Perhaps because Wang Bai is somewhat "special," he has more ladders, totaling a full 129,600 steps, the number of which corresponds to the number of one element. Furthermore, each step Wang Bai takes draws in more immortal energy.

However, Wang Bai's speed was also extremely fast. He reached the middle of the ladder in a split second. And after that, it seemed to others that his speed increased even more, reaching the top of the ladder in just a breath.

"Behind this layer of painting is the so-called fairyland." Looking at the hazy fairyland in front of him, Wang Bai felt as if he was in another world, as if he had traveled to this world only yesterday.

The next moment, he became resolute. He then turned around, bowed three times to the heaven and earth before him, and then, without looking back, entered the "painting"...

Wang Bai left, completely departing from this world. But the powerful beings who watched him ascend were all stunned.

"This, an ancestor of our sect was fortunate enough to witness the ascension process of the Star Palace Patriarch in ancient times and recorded it. It took the Star Palace Patriarch a whole day and night to ascend. How could this Lord of the Eight Desolate Realm..." An ancestor of a certain hegemonic force said in surprise, obviously shocked that Wang Bai completed the ascension in just a few breaths.

"Indeed," another powerful being said, "The Heavenly Ladder is difficult to climb, not to mention that the number of ladders before us far exceeds the number of ladders recorded for those who ascended. There's a number of them! This is truly..." He didn't finish his words, because the powerful beings present all knew that the number of ladders represented the strength and achievements of the ascenders, and this large number meant...

At the same time, "What happened?" A certain cultivator looked at the shattered film in his hand and said with some heartache: "I finally managed to record the ascension process, why did it shatter?!"

"Haha, your IQ is truly worrying!" A cultivator dressed as a young man from a wealthy family laughed nearby. "The Dao rhyme of this ascension image is so powerful, how could it be recorded with an ordinary image stone?"

"We have to use this!" He pointed proudly at a jade wall behind him and said, "We need the finest shadow jade, and it has to be as big as a wall!"

"Record it in all aspects and bring it back for the younger disciples to study and see if they can gain any insights from it."

..........................................

On the other side, after Wang Bo passed through the painting, he came to a huge platform. The surrounding area was a snowy plain.

The next moment, he heard a somewhat old voice coming from the horizon, saying to him: "Welcome to the ancient country of Sui Han."