The sky lit up with seven-colored brilliance, boundless auspicious clouds enveloped the area, and the Divine Ascension Staircase manifested!
Cultivators across the continent looked eastward in shock, witnessing the dazzling seven-colored light and the rainbow-like Divine Ascension Staircase!
In an instant, cultivators across the continent erupted!
"That's... the Divine Ascension Staircase! Someone has ascended to godhood!"
"Heavens! No one has ascended in billions of years, and today someone has succeeded!"
"Hahaha! To witness such a phenomenon in my lifetime, I am truly fortunate, and I can die without regret!"
"Quick! Hurry and witness the divine ascension ceremony, let's see which ancestor has broken through!"
The celestial phenomenon triggered by Zhao Fugui's soup shocked all cultivators on the continent. Even the ancestors who had been in seclusion for countless years emerged from their forbidden grounds, heading towards the source of the celestial phenomenon!
Along the endless coastline, a vast number of seven-colored stairs appeared. Cultivators who reached the shore stepped onto the stairs without hesitation, heading towards the location of the phenomenon.
Everyone wished to witness the divine ascension, hoping to gain some fortune.
The fierce beasts in the sea were also alerted by the celestial phenomenon, surfacing and churning the entire ocean. However, due to the presence of the Divine Ascension Staircase, the cultivators on the stairs were unaffected by the fierce beasts. Countless people were rapidly heading towards Ye Ling's island.
This was the first time the people of this world had ventured into the domain of the endless sea.
Ye Ling, who had returned with a large pile of heavenly treasures, saw the phenomenon manifesting in the sky and complained, "What is the Heavenly Dao of this world doing, creating such a grand spectacle? Won't this attract a large crowd to watch us?"
As he spoke, Ye Ling placed the pile of heavenly treasures before Ye Qingyan, then ascended alone, standing on the seven-colored Divine Ascension Staircase, gazing into the distance.
Ye Ling could see a large number of cultivators rushing towards them from afar.
"This won't do, it's too chaotic."
Ye Ling did not want those cultivators to interfere. Just as he was about to destroy the Divine Ascension Staircase, the voice of the world's Heavenly Dao suddenly echoed in his ear, "My lord, please show mercy! Do not destroy the Divine Ascension Staircase!"
Hearing the Heavenly Dao's plea, Ye Ling stopped and asked, "Why?"
The Heavenly Dao anxiously replied, "The Divine Ascension Staircase is a fundamental rule of this world. If you destroy it, you will destroy the foundation of this world, and all beings who step onto it will perish!"
Ye Ling frowned, "Do you have any way to prevent those cultivators from coming here?"
Although Ye Ling did not want those cultivators to interfere, he was not a world-destroying demon. Those cultivators had no enmity with him, and he did not wish to bury billions of lives for such a trivial matter.
The Heavenly Dao replied bitterly, "My lord, I cannot interfere with the actions of sentient beings. The Divine Ascension Staircase has already been formed, and it is a foregone conclusion that beings will come to witness the divine ascension. Perhaps you could bear with it and allow them to observe the ceremony."
"What exactly is the divine ascension ceremony?" Ye Ling asked again.
The Heavenly Dao responded, "My lord, you have just swept up all the top-tier secret treasures in this world and absorbed them. Breaking through to the Supreme Realm is not difficult. The Supreme beings of this world are the only true gods. Now, whoever you allow to absorb these heavenly treasures will become a god here."
Logically, it was impossible for anyone to collect all the accumulations of this world over countless years in such a short period. Ye Ling's actions were akin to cheating, and the Heavenly Dao should have stopped him.
However, Ye Ling was an transcendent existence, far surpassing the Heavenly Dao of this world. The Heavenly Dao knew it was no match for Ye Ling and could only watch as Ye Ling did these things, allowing an outsider to become a god in this world.
Hearing the Heavenly Dao's words, Ye Ling seemed to understand something and asked, "What will happen after becoming a god in this world?"
The Heavenly Dao stated, "The one who becomes a god will become the sole supreme being of this world, gradually assimilating with it. However, assimilating with the world comes at a price; they will be forever unable to leave."
Ye Ling immediately rejected this, "That won't do. I cannot let Ye Qingyan remain in this world."
The Heavenly Dao of this world had already anticipated Ye Ling's response and quickly pleaded, "My lord... I beg you to consider the billions of lives in this world. If the one who becomes a god forcibly leaves this world, they will take the world's spiritual source with them, and this world will perish soon after!"
Logically, the Heavenly Dao of this world would have personally restricted the one who ascended to godhood for the sake of the world's survival.
However, the situation was special. The Heavenly Dao knew it was powerless to stop Ye Ling from taking Ye Qingyan. All it could do now was beg Ye Ling to show mercy and spare this world.
Ye Ling had not expected things to turn out this way. However, he was aware that many worlds in the universe had special rules. He had also seen the rule of being unable to leave a world after becoming a god in Earth's Heavenly Dao database.
The Heavenly Dao of this world was not lying.
This world had done nothing wrong, and strictly speaking, it was Ye Ling who had forcibly disrupted the world's balance. If Ye Ling disregarded the rules and allowed this world to perish... his conscience would not allow it.
"This is troublesome..." Ye Ling murmured, and then asked the Heavenly Dao, "Do you have a solution that satisfies both sides?"
Now that Ye Qingyan had absorbed more than half of the heavenly treasures, the path to godhood was inevitable. However, Ye Ling absolutely could not leave Ye Qingyan here. Therefore, what he needed to do now was to find a solution that would allow him to take Ye Qingyan away while also protecting the world.
Seeing that Ye Ling would not give up on Ye Qingyan no matter what, the Heavenly Dao sighed heavily and replied, "There is a way, but we need to create a pseudo-god."
"Pseudo-god?" Ye Ling asked curiously.
The Heavenly Dao explained, "The divine ascension ceremony is unavoidable. Since my lord does not wish for Ye Qingyan to remain here, she cannot undergo this ceremony. However, a divine ascender must exist, so we need to find a substitute for Ye Qingyan to become a god, and let the world witness his ascension ceremony."
Ye Ling smiled, "That sounds good. Where should we find a pseudo-god?"
The Heavenly Dao replied, "Ye Qingyan is an outsider, so the pseudo-god we find must also be an outsider. However, it has been tens of thousands of years since a traverser has descended into our world, so..."
Ye Ling raised an eyebrow, "So one of us three needs to be chosen as a substitute?"
"Y-yes..." the Heavenly Dao replied nervously, afraid that Ye Ling would refuse its proposal again.
If this negotiation failed, it could only watch as this world perished.
Ye Ling readily agreed, "No problem! Let Zhao Fugui become a god."
"Huh?"
The Heavenly Dao was stunned, completely unexpected that Ye Ling would agree so readily!