Within the chaos space, Fang Xiaoyu's cultivation proceeded exceptionally smoothly. The Heart of the Universe directly infused the rank of an immortal into her body, accompanied by an endless stream of energy to aid her breakthrough. All she needed to do was observe the Heart of the Universe before her, marvel at the countless rules and grand dao, find a path suited to herself, and achieve immortality.
Wan Lei, however, had to rely solely on himself to comprehend and break through, without occupying any energy or rank from the Lei Feng Realm, lest it affect Fang Xiaoyu's breakthrough. To prevent such an occurrence, Wan Lei used the Creation God Disk to seal himself, prohibiting himself from absorbing even a sliver of energy or rules.
Soon, a month passed.
In the Lei Feng Realm, billions of beings yearned, praying for the Thunder Emperor to achieve immortality. Only when the Thunder Emperor became immortal could they confront their enemies, protect their homes, and continue to live. If the Thunder Emperor failed to ascend, they would have no other path to survival. The Lei Feng Realm would become a paradise for the demon race, and its inhabitants would become slaves, food, and playthings to the demons, suffering a fate worse than death. If the Thunder Emperor did not ascend, all hope for everyone in the universe would be extinguished. For themselves, for their families, for their loved ones, for their children, for their homes, for all they cherished! Everyone prayed for the Thunder Emperor to achieve immortality, to protect them, and to help them eliminate their enemies.
The sincere prayers, the boundless power of belief, gathered from droplets into streams, then into brooks, and finally into rivers, flowing into the Fate Control Diagram to form a vast ocean! The power of belief had both advantages and disadvantages. One aspect was whether it could be withstood, but more importantly, Wan Lei carried the hopes of countless people, their entrustment. If he failed, people would surely resent him. "Why couldn't you achieve immortality?" or "Even after becoming immortal, why couldn't you defeat the enemies? Why do we still die? Why do we still become slaves to the demon race? Why are you so useless!" That immense power of belief would instantly transform into resentment, devouring and shattering Wan Lei! This power of belief was a double-edged sword. For every deity worshipped in every universe, it could both carry them to success and lead to their downfall. In the words of the Buddhist teachings from the Western Desert of the Immortal Realm, incense offerings were toxic.
But Wan Lei did not ponder these matters, for if he failed, it meant he had already fallen in battle, leaving no opportunity for the resentment to backlash against him. The path to immortality was singular, with only this one chance. Success meant survival; failure meant death.
Two months passed. The power of belief accumulated in the Fate Control Diagram grew steadily, pouring into him, helping him strike against the restraints. However, the bottleneck to immortality was like an unbridgeable chasm before Wan Lei, which no amount of belief could fill to allow him to cross. Wan Lei was unlike Liu Naiweng, who had millennia of refinement and preparation, possessing profound reserves and extensive insights into the grand dao of the immortal realm. Liu Naiweng had merely lacked the opportunity to break through the bottleneck. Wan Lei, on the other hand, had only recently broken through the Tribulation Crossing stage, being artificially elevated to the peak of Tribulation Crossing. He had never had any time to comprehend the immortal dao, making the difficulty of achieving immortality conceivable. It was important to remember that just a year prior, Wan Lei had only been a minor Mahayana cultivator; his ability to contend with Tribulation Crossing cultivators was already remarkable.
Three months passed. Wan Lei grew increasingly anxious. The six-month deadline loomed closer, yet his bottleneck showed no signs of loosening. Wan Lei pondered for a period and understood the crux of the issue. He needed to first condense the immortal rank. With the immortal rank, he could then open the path of the immortal dao and strike against the bottleneck. He ceased drawing the power of belief to impact the bottleneck and instead began to gather this collective belief, comprehending the immortal dao within his sea of consciousness. He meticulously discerned each strand of belief, listening to every voice. These were the voices of the sentient beings, their prayers, their unified blessings.
"Thunder Emperor, I am a junior cultivator from the Southern Region's Sword Sect. I sincerely hope you achieve immortality and defeat the demon race, because my cultivation path has just begun, and I wish to become a powerful being like you, to protect our world."
"Your Majesty, I hope you ascend to immortality. If possible, I am willing to face the Demon Lord alongside you. My daughter is only two years old, she is so adorable, she is so young, she cannot die. I am already prepared to pick up my sword to protect her."
"Alliance Leader, my home is in Kui Lian Sect. I am just an ordinary Foundation Establishment disciple. I survived the Desert War, the Great Battle of Yin Yang Sect, and the Counterattack War. I did not die, for I feared death. Please achieve immortality and save me once more."
"Hall Master, I only joined the Thunder Emperor Hall six months ago. Before that, I was an elder of the Kai Tian Sword Sect. I used to despise you immensely; you were always at odds with the Kai Tian Sword Sect. But later, when the demon race invaded, I realized you were right. May the Hall Master exist forever, may the Thunder Emperor Hall exist forever."
"The harvest season is fast approaching. I hope we won't starve in winter. I don't know who this Thunder Emperor is. Is he even higher than our Emperor? But since the Emperor says only the Thunder Emperor can save us, I wish the Thunder Emperor a long life!"
"I cannot die, I absolutely cannot die. Thunder Emperor, you must destroy the enemy! My revenge is not yet complete; I have not yet killed that old thief's entire family!"
"Our Guangfu Society, numbering over twelve hundred members, sincerely hopes the Thunder Emperor can break through to the immortal realm and protect the world. After we overthrow the Da Sui Dynasty and restore the Da Ling Kingdom, we will surely erect an eternal plaque for the Thunder Emperor."
"Die, it would be better if everyone died. Life is too tiring. Let the world be destroyed, quickly. Thunder Emperor, you die too. Why struggle so hard? This mortal world is not worth it."
"Thunder Emperor, you will surely succeed. I don't want to die, and I don't want my family to die. You will succeed, won't you?"
The myriad of beings, speaking their minds. Everyone had their own wishes, their own selfish desires. Few were wholeheartedly dedicated to the world or universal peace. This ideal was too lofty; they merely wished to protect what they could see, to protect those they cared about. Faced with desperation, some were decadent, some were dejected, but more still held onto hope.
The collective thoughts of the sentient beings converged in Wan Lei's mind. The power of their belief solidified in his sea of consciousness. Six months later, a divine immortal rank, embodying the wishes of billions of living beings, appeared in Wan Lei's mind. Wan Lei gathered the power of belief and drew upon chaotic energy to strike against the bottleneck. The bottleneck quaked, yet it refused to shatter.
"I know what is missing now. What's missing is my own power of belief, my own obsession! I want to achieve immortality! I want everyone I care about to survive! Immortal Ascension!!!"