Cultivating Immortality :I Obtained The Villain's Ascension Code
Chapter 39: Crossing River Palm Descends

Chapter 39: Crossing River Palm Descends

"Jade Flowing Realm," Xiao Ning murmured, a strange smile curling on his lips. "Su Jen... we’ll speak again soon."

After hearing her history from Wu Shu, a plan had already begun to take shape in his mind.

He had made up his mind. Once he overcame the Heavenly Tribulation Realm, he would head for the Jade Flowing Realm and join the Luminous River Sect.

As the old saying went—the enemy of my enemy is the most reliable ally.

He didn’t know whether Su Jen would come after him once the Shadowclaw Sect was destroyed. But what he did know was this—between them lay an irreconcilable enmity. And such things in the cultivation world could only end in death.

Even if she chose not to pursue him further, it wouldn’t matter. For Xiao Ning, the hatred in his heart would not lessen in the slightest.

By razing the Shadowclaw Sect to the ground, that woman had struck a blow against his cultivation path.

He had planned to rely on the sect’s resources to advance his cultivation. Without it, his progress would slow drastically. Outside of the sect’s network, obtaining what he needed would be time-consuming and perilous.

In a cultivator’s journey, interfering with one’s path to advancement was no different than slaughtering one’s parents. No, it was worse. At least family could be mourned. A stolen path could never be reclaimed.

She had severed a portion of his future. Whether intentionally or not, such an act was tantamount to enmity engraved into the bones.

But this was not the time for revenge.

First, he had to leave this place and find a secluded spot to cultivate—preferably a Nascent Soul-level sect. If he could infiltrate one quietly, that would be ideal.

Just as he turned to leave, his steps halted mid-air.

His pupils narrowed sharply.

In the far distance—toward the Shadowclaw Sect’s core—a faint ripple of spiritual pressure rolled across the horizon. Subtle, refined, nearly imperceptible to most.

Even a Nascent Soul cultivator might miss it.

"...So it begins," Xiao Ning muttered.

He stood there for a long moment.Then, slowly, he turned his gaze away.

That has nothing to do with me anymore. Whatever becomes of the Shadowclaw Sect... let it be.

***

Su Jen raised her hand slowly and in the skies above, the heavens trembled.

A vast, golden palm projection silently formed in the void—a manifestation of terrifying spiritual might. Rippling with sacred light, it extended across the sky like a divine punishment descending from the firmament.

Crossing River Palm.

A divine-level technique capable of injuring even a Divine Transformation Realm expert. Its sheer scale made the heavens dim. The power it carried could flatten mountains, split rivers, and extinguish all life beneath it.

As it descended slowly—unstoppable, suffocating—the outer sect disciples were the first to react.

Cries echoed through the mountain range.

"Wh-What is that?!"

"Protective arrays! Activate the outer arrays!"

But it was too late. The majority of the outer disciples were no more than Spirit Awakening or early Foundation Establishment cultivators. Before such a divine pressure, they could do nothing but fall to the ground, their bodies shaking as their meridians spasmed violently.

Some coughed blood directly. A few lost consciousness outright.

The inner sect fared little better. Even the Core Formation elders watching from afar had pale faces, their spiritual sense in disarray. Panic spread like wildfire, yet no one dared move.

Deep within the sect’s core region, in the central pagoda hidden amidst the clouds, the main hall pulsed with spiritual light.

There, four figures sat cross-legged around a strange, ancient construct.

A bronze sphere hovered in the air, emitting faint pulses of spiritual energy. Three massive metal rings revolved slowly around it, each etched with ancient talisman markings, exuding a suppressive force that resonated with the heavens.

This was the heart of the Shadowclaw Sect’s final defense—the Heaven Locking Wheel Formation, an ancient sixth-rank defensive array.

Four Nascent Soul Realm elders sat in a circle, eyes closed, breathing steady. Elder Qian, the acting sect master, sat at the front. Beside him were Elder Zhou, Elder Wu Li, and the only female among them—Shi Ling.

Around them, five late-stage Core Formation cultivators maintained the array’s auxiliary nodes.

It was rare—no, nearly impossible—for the sect’s entire core leadership to be gathered at once. But now, each had forsaken their secluded cultivation, compelled by the threat looming above.

Just as the golden palm neared the sect’s peak—

Boom!

A thunderous tremor spread through the heavens.

The palm struck something invisible, and the sky itself seemed to twist. The force dispersed like waves crashing upon a cliff—blocked by a barrier of transparent light that shimmered with countless strange runes.

The protective formation had been activated just in time.

Outside, Su Jen’s cold gaze sharpened.

She hadn’t expected the formation to awaken so swiftly, nor that it would be of this level.

"A sixth-rank formation?" she murmured.

"That’s unexpected... For a mid-tier sect to possess a formation of this level... ?"

Back in the main hall, Shi Ling opened her eyes, glancing up as a shudder ran through the formation.

A faint smile touched her lips. "If not for Senior Sister Mie Lin’s message earlier, we might not have made it in time to activate the Heaven Locking Wheel Formation."

The others said nothing, but their expressions were grim.

Su Jen on the other hand has a completely different reaction, She had expected something simpler—perhaps a fifth-rank grand array at most. That would have been reasonable for a mid-tier sect like this. But this... this was a proper sixth-rank defensive formation.

Even among the great sects, such arrays weren’t common.

A formation of this level could block a full-force attack from a Divine Transformation Realm cultivator. If used correctly, it could even trap one.

Her thoughts turned briefly to the Luminous River Sect. Even their main defensive system was made up of several interconnected sixth-rank formations—complex, layered, and supported by countless auxiliary nodes.

And even then, such a formation could not be easily activated—it demanded vast quantities of spirit essence, rare talismans, and sustained control by multiple heavenly tribulation realm cultivators.

But that was a dominant sect in the Jade Flowing Realm. Shadowclaw Sect wasn’t even close to that level.

Her gaze sharpened.

"...Not something they could have made on their own."

Then, without warning, a slight smile formed at the corner of her lips.

"If it were anyone else, this would have been enough to stop them." Her tone was calm, even a little amused.

"But I’m not just any Divine Transformation cultivator."

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