Kays Translations
Just another Isekai Lover~
Chapter 225: Ascension is Too Troublesome
Yan Ze’an is progressing smoothly here, and Xu Ren’s journey to Baofeng County is also going well. Coercion and enticement—everything is proceeding favorably. Especially since Baofeng County is far from Anyang, purchasing goods has always been difficult. Now that Anyang is setting up a commercial base there, the First Prince fully supports the initiative, and even the Northwest Governor, Xiao Liming, is in favor.
Baofeng County was also generous, granting Anyang three commercial bases. However, there was a condition—the four-engine aircraft that Xu Ren had boasted about. Baofeng County wanted 20 of them.
As a side note, Baofeng County sold land to Anyang at a price of 300 taels of gold per square kilometer. A total of three plots, each covering an average area of 12 square kilometers, were sold, yielding 100,000 taels of gold. However, purchasing 20 four-engine aircraft from Anyang alone would cost them 100,000 taels of gold. Adding in various munitions and supplies, the total expenditure reached 180,000 taels of gold. In the end, Baofeng County ended up with a deficit of 80,000 taels of gold.
After Xu Ren left, Xiao Liming loudly “praised” Li Xian: “You cunning merchant! Using our war to play both sides! Anyang claims neutrality, but through commerce and arms, they control the war! This kid is full of schemes!”
And the First Prince? He remained oblivious, still believing himself to be the rightful heir, ruling over both Baofeng County and Xin’an County. Upon hearing Xiao Liming’s words, he immediately declared,
“Anyang only has these things to offer. Once we win the war, Anyang will be ours anyway!”
Xiao Liming cast a faint glance at the First Prince, responded perfunctorily, and then turned away. The First Prince still thought of himself as the true ruler of Baofeng County. For now, Xiao Liming still needed this “mask,” so the First Prince retained some status.
Meanwhile, after leaving Baofeng County, Xu Ren took a direct flight to the State of Cai. From high above, he surveyed Cai and took the opportunity to sketch a few maps.
Watching the crew members busily working on another aircraft, Xu Ren sighed internally,
“That camera the young master mentioned… I wonder how long it’ll take to develop? He spoke of using convex lenses to capture images, recording with illusion formations, and even digital storage technology. Sigh, where does the young master even learn about these bizarre things?”
As Xu Ren pondered, his focus shifted to how he should negotiate with Cai. Anyang had quite a history with the State of Cai—every battle where Anyang demonstrated its might was fought against them.
Later, during a prisoner exchange, two “interesting” events took place. The first was when Xu Ren personally ordered the beheading of 8,000 prisoners. The second involved Yan Ze’an and his family. Instead of executing them, Anyang chose to employ Yan Ze’an.
These two incidents must have left an unforgettable, even haunting, impression on the Emperor of Cai.
As Xu Ren continued contemplating, the aircraft swayed slightly as it brazenly crossed the border of Cai. The border generals of Cai, flying on their swords, tried to pursue but fell farther and farther behind. Soon, they were completely outpaced by the aircraft.
One of Anyang’s pilots even waved back at them, giving a thumbs-down gesture. A faint roar of anger could be heard from behind, but with the roar of the engines and the high speed, no one could make out the words. Then again, it was unlikely to be anything pleasant, so there was no need to hear it anyway.
The aircraft soared over the border in a show of dominance, flying directly over key fortresses and strongholds. It continued its bold journey, passing over major administrative centers as it made its way toward the capital of Cai, Shangyong.
However, being too ostentatious invites envy. As the plane flew on, Xu Ren suddenly noticed something—there was a person clinging to the window!
Upon closer inspection—damn! It was a Nascent Soul cultivator, chasing after them!
“Greetings, Senior,” Xu Ren greeted him warmly. It seemed there was no avoiding interaction—the man was already clinging to the plane’s window.
The old cultivator found it amusing. “This thing is quite interesting. Get down and give it to me!”
Get down?! Xu Ren blinked and flashed a wide grin, revealing eight sparkling teeth.
“If Senior is interested, you may visit Anyang and speak with Young Master Li Xian. He has even better ones—faster and bigger. With your esteemed status, just one word and Li Xian will have one custom-made for you.”
“Anyang? Custom-made?”
“Yes, custom-made.” Xu Ren opened the cabin door and invited the Nascent Soul cultivator inside. There was no escaping a Nascent Soul expert—so why not be generous?
The cultivator, unceremonious as he was, squeezed inside, shoving Xu Ren to the side with a single push. However, he applied a bit too much force, causing the small aircraft to wobble slightly. At this stage, aviation technology was still rudimentary—these planes could fly long distances not due to technological advancements but because of embedded formation arrays.
“Dare I ask Senior’s honorable name?” Xu Ren took the initiative to ask.
The Nascent Soul expert glanced at Xu Ren with a slanted eye and shook his head slightly. “I have no grand name, only a Daoist title. You may call me Feiyu Zhenren.”
Feiyu Zhenren? Xu Ren sighed inwardly. Anyang had only just completed its foundation, and its power level had not yet risen. Their understanding of the Nascent Soul stage was still very limited.
But who was Xu Ren? Even if he didn’t know much, that wasn’t a problem. This Nascent Soul senior didn’t seem to be a moody or unpredictable person. In fact, most powerful cultivators had exceptional mental fortitude, and cases of madness were extremely rare. Since this person was willing to come in and sit down, there was clearly room for negotiation.
What if… what if he could recruit another Nascent Soul expert for Anyang?
This thought flashed through Xu Ren’s mind, and he immediately asked, “Senior, what do you think of this airplane?”
“It’s just a toy. Even if there were a hundred thousand of these, I could wipe them all out in a day. But as a means of transportation, it’s not bad.”
Destroy a hundred thousand planes in a day? Well, a Nascent Soul expert certainly had that capability. However, Xu Ren was fully prepared for this. “Senior, is transportation the only use you can think of?”
“This fragile thing—what else could it be used for besides transportation?” Feiyu Zhenren glanced at Xu Ren with a slanted eye. Yet, unknowingly, he had already been led by Xu Ren’s words.
Initially, he had only been curious about this strange contraption and wanted to play around with it. But now, he was caught in Xu Ren’s conversational trap.
Seeing this, Xu Ren smirked proudly. “Senior, you’re only looking at the present and not the future. Anyang built this aircraft in just two years. Given time… well, to be precise, we estimate that within a hundred years, we will build an even more powerful flying machine—one that can send people directly to the Celestial Realm!”
Ascending is such a hassle! It takes thousands of years of cultivation, and even then, there’s no guarantee of success. But what if we build a machine strong enough to send people directly to the Immortal World?
Just think about it—in the Celestial Realm, wouldn’t medicinal herbs be everywhere? Even if it turned out to be just as barren, weeds to us might be thousand-year spiritual herbs!”
Crunch…
Feiyu Zhenren had actually bitten down so hard that he broke his own teeth!
This possibility… this possibility… it actually exists!
Xu Ren’s words struck Feiyu Zhenren’s heart like a bolt of lightning. Who didn’t want to ascend? But in this era, who could be certain of their ascension?
Qi Refining, Foundation Establishment, Golden Core, Nascent Soul, Divine Transformation, Void Refinement, Return to True Essence, Tribulation Crossing, and finally, Grand Ascension—nine entire stages. In this era of scarce resources, this path was an almost unattainable ladder to the heavens.
A person’s potential was limited. Many people could only reach the Foundation Establishment stage. Only a rare few had the potential to reach the Nascent Soul stage.
Once their potential was exhausted and they lacked resources to supplement their cultivation, they could only rely on slow and tedious practice to progress. This kind of cultivation was painfully slow and filled with despair. Some geniuses reached the Nascent Soul stage in just over a hundred years, only to remain at the early stage until their death.
Feiyu Zhenren was the same. After breaking through to the Nascent Soul stage, he tragically discovered that his potential was exhausted. He could only cultivate painstakingly through slow practice. It took him ten years just to stabilize his realm, fifty years to reach the middle level of early-stage Nascent Soul. At this pace, he would need a hundred years to reach mid-stage Nascent Soul and a thousand years to reach late-stage—assuming everything went smoothly. By then, he would likely have already died of old age!
This was an era of prosperity for ordinary people but one of despair for high-level cultivators.
Feiyu Zhenren had already lost hope. He had long since abandoned the thought of ascension. Instead, he planned to wander the world, enjoy the scenery, and perhaps seek out rare opportunities. He hadn’t expected that right after setting out, he would come across this arrogant flying machine. Finding it somewhat interesting, he had originally intended to… ahem… have the juniors offer it up to him.
But unexpectedly, he had now heard something utterly shocking—forget ascension, just build a machine to send people to the Celestial Realm directly!
Even if the Celestial Realm turned out to be as desolate as the Immortal Domain, any random blade of grass there would be celestial-grade! And even if there were no spiritual herbs at all, merely breathing in the air there would be filled with celestial essence!