Immortal Dao is dead, I am the mastermind behind it all.

Sensing the gap between the two, Ren Wuchang remained silent.

After thinking for a long time, he slowly spoke:

"Your martial arts skills today have truly broadened my horizons."

"I may tell you the secret of ascension."

The newcomer is a tough nut to crack; he's not someone to be fooled.

If Ren Wuchang deceives him, he will probably die a terrible death.

"Please come with me, sir."

Shen Moyan nodded and followed in the other person's footsteps.

Blackwood Cliff, deep in the valley.

"This is the place where the first leader of our Holy Sect ascended to heaven."

With a wave of his true energy, Ren Wuchang swept away the pile of rubble and weeds on the ground, revealing an altar covered with runes.

Shen Moyan looked around, somewhat surprised. This was the main battlefield where he had besieged Ren Wuchang in his previous life.

Back then, the cliffs and valleys were piled high with corpses and rivers of blood. No one dared to stay on this brutal battlefield for even a second longer. Little did they know that something like this was hidden there.

Throughout history, there have been many people with extraordinary talents, and those who are truly exceptional are not few at all.

Within the borders of the Great Qi Kingdom, including the surrounding barbarian lands, the ranks of martial artists are determined by a universally recognized system of six levels: unranked, third-rate, second-rate, first-rate, super first-rate, and supreme.

"The founder of Huashan Sword Sect, the first nun of Emei, the founder of Shaolin Zen Master... But as amazing as they are, they are all bound by the cage of this world."

"Perhaps you have already sensed it, but the vastness of the world makes a martial artist's internal strength utterly insignificant." Ren Wuchang stared at Shen Moyan, his tone low and somber.

Shen Moyan nodded, seemingly lost in thought.

Indeed, how can ordinary people with mediocre strength compare with the great power of heaven and earth?

"Since we mortals cannot transcend the boundaries of heaven and earth, what right do we have to talk about 'ascension'?" Ren Wuchang said slowly and deliberately.

"To break through the void, one needs to exhaust all wisdom and human resources, perfect one's skills, and reach the boundaries of cognition."

Shen Moyan understood immediately and blurted out:

"Is this why, despite the existence of the concept of 'ascension' among the Five Sacred Mountains and Ten Schools, no one has ever actually ascended to immortality?"

Human lifespan is limited; even the most exceptional person can only live to be a little over two hundred years old. During this time, no one can master the knowledge of the past and present, and no one dares to claim that they have reached the limits of cognition.

"That's right. The so-called 'ascension' standard was deduced by the founders of the sect and is closely related to the first leader of our sect."

"They call that realm the pinnacle, where one shatters the void."

The light returns to the sun and moon, the darkness returns to the void.

A martial artist reaches the pinnacle of skill, achieves perfect mastery, and comprehends the ultimate essence of martial arts.

Having touched the shackles of heaven and earth, one transcends the boundaries of cognition and perceives a higher level of the world, thus naturally qualifying for 'ascension'.

"Superb skills are only one of the conditions for ascension," Ren Wuchang added with a mocking expression.

Shattering the void is so elusive; can one truly attain divine power solely through martial arts? Difficult! Difficult! Difficult!!

"Since breaking through the void and ascending is so difficult, why does your sect believe that your first leader ascended?"

Shen Moyan inquired, "This doesn't make sense."

So many outstanding figures failed to reach the point of breaking through the void, so why, and by what right, can your Demonic Sect leader ascend?

"Your Excellency, what do you think awaits you after shattering the void? Ascending to the Immortal Realm and achieving immortality?" Ren Wuchang inquired with a smile.

Seeing that Shen Moyan remained silent, he continued.

"After true 'ascension,' nothing has ever felt so lofty and grand."

"The righteous path's talk of 'ascension' is something they're not afraid of being laughed at for saying it out loud."

"In essence, it is about delving into the flaws of the world, being rejected by the heavens, and being banished from the outside world," Ren Wuchang said, emphasizing each word.

"Rejected by the world?" Shen Moyan asked, somewhat puzzled.

"That's right!"

"Fish cannot swim in the air, birds are unfamiliar with water, and humans cause trouble because of the six desires and three defilements. All things have flaws, let alone heaven and earth?"

"The so-called 'ascension' is to exploit loopholes in the universe and leave this dimension through a series of means."

"Dimensions?" Shen Moyan narrowed his eyes.

He heard the word again from the other person.

The word "plane" alone evokes endless imagination.

According to Shen Moyan's previous life, the plane is a closed world with its own independent rules.

During their conversation between the two cultivators during a lull in their battle, they mentioned the concept of planes.

"That's right, the world we live in is called a plane."

"And if you want to escape this plane, relying solely on martial arts to try to break through the void is extremely difficult!" Ren Wuchang said with a mournful expression.

"Our Holy Church has a long history, dating back a thousand years. Even the Great Enlightenment is but a toddler learning to walk before our Holy Church."

"Although there have been twenty-three leaders, only the first leader was able to ascend to immortality."

"As for the reason, that's worth investigating in detail."

"The first leader was someone who did not belong to this plane."

Ren Wuchang then recounted the secrets of the sect in detail.

This is a secret known only to the leaders of the Demonic Cult throughout history; it cannot be left in writing, but can only be passed down orally.

Ren Wuchang is only telling Shen Moyan this secret now in order to save his own life.

Upon hearing this, a ripple stirred within Shen Moyan's heart.

"A being from outer space? How did he come to this plane?"

Ren Wuchang remained silent, but bent down, pried open the altar bricks under his feet, and took out a stone tablet about half his height.

The moment the stone tablet appeared, Shen Moyan was stunned.

He sensed a sense of vicissitude, antiquity, and even malevolence emanating from this broken stele.

"This is a monument to the doctrines left by the first leader of the sect."

The doctrine of the Demonic Cult is very clear, consisting of only four words: "Preserve the True Nature of the Demon."

What is true nature? It is to laugh when happy, to be angry when angry, to seek love when in love, and to retaliate when hateful. This is true human nature.

The orthodox way of the world values ​​self-discipline and adherence to propriety, forcing people to conceal their desires and emotions, living like zombies under a mask, which is the greatest evil.

Therefore, followers of the Holy Church should follow their own heart's desires, not go against their own will, and not feign sincerity.

It is precisely because of this lack of restraint that the Holy Church has been labeled a demonic cult by the world.

"After leaving me with the fundamental mental cultivation method of the sect, the 'Complete Nature Preservation Technique,' the first leader ascended to heaven and departed."

"It's just a pity that time is merciless. After a thousand years of erosion, the entire manual has been distorted by later generations, leaving only a superficial understanding of the Blood Transformation True Skill."

After Ren Wuchang's explanation, he finally understood the whole story.

The first leader of the Demonic Cult a thousand years ago was named Yun Wangshu, and he came from another dimension.

His martial arts skills were unfathomable. By breaking through the void, he unexpectedly arrived in Shen Moyan's dimension.

He traveled through this plane, and his strength made even the most outstanding masters from a thousand years ago take notice.

Yun Wangshu put forward many ideas, some of which were recorded by people at that time and passed down to the world.

For example, the concept of ascension gradually spread at that time, making the leaders of major sects yearn for it.

But some have been buried for thousands of years, never to see the light of day.

For example, the concept of different planes was not accepted by the rulers of that time, who feared it would undermine their rule, so they tried their best to cover it up.

"If Yun Wangshu's deeds are true, and if I relied on repeatedly preserving my realm to break through to the pinnacle of humanity and theoretically shatter the void, I would only be lost in the vast world and become a laughingstock."

Shen Moyan pondered.

Having learned from her previous experience, Yun Wangshu made thorough preparations for her next ascension, creating her own ritual and using extraterrestrial artifacts as a basis to determine the ascension plane.

Yun Wangshu proposed that the so-called ascension is the movement of people between different planes.

"By using rituals, you can make the consciousness of another dimension aware of you, and also reduce the dangers of crossing dimensions."

"To travel between dimensions, one must possess a dimensional token, which is a celestial artifact."

Extraterrestrial treasures, as the name suggests, are rare and precious objects that do not belong to this world.

For example, the Heavenly Demon Sword in Ren Wuchang's hands was forged from extraterrestrial meteorite iron.

In his previous life, Ren Wuchang's sacrificial ceremony to Heaven utilized the ritual left by Yun Wangshu to activate the incomplete Blood Transformation True Skill through the sacrifice of a master.

If the mechanism is insufficient, numerical values ​​will compensate, instantly amplifying the power of the incomplete "Blood Transformation True Skill" to its peak, reaching the skill level of "Complete Nature Preservation Technique", thus recreating Yun Wangshu's ascension.

After leaving Blackwood Cliff, Shen Moyan remained silent for a long time.

This method of ascension surprised him somewhat.

"Cognitive techniques, ascension rituals, and extraterrestrial wonders—all three are indispensable."

With these three things, one can exploit dimensional loopholes and successfully "ascend".

Shen Moyan was very confident in his cognitive techniques. He believed that his martial arts skills had already reached the pinnacle, encompassing all the martial arts in the world, and could be considered a unique skill.

He had also witnessed a cultivator's sword strike, which had already surpassed the cognitive boundaries of this plane.

The ritual was very simple; it was just a matter of copying the altar runes of the demonic cult.

Finally, the celestial object anchored itself in the plane after ascension.

"Extraordinary objects from the outside world... from the outside world..."

The image of that towering sword from his previous life automatically surfaced in Shen Moyan's mind.