Marrying Wives and Attaining Immortality in a Chaotic World

Chapter 233: Ascension to the Throne

In the second layer of the small world of Heavenly Mystic Sacred Land, the training for the top-ranked geniuses of the younger generation began.

Xu Lian took a moment to observe Senior Sister Dou Qianxue, who was ranked second. At twenty-four years old, she was in the prime of her youth, resembling a dignified and elegant peony. 

She was truly breathtaking. Given her strength, she was practically guaranteed the position of Heavenly Mystic Sacred Maiden. 

If Xu Lian became the Heavenly Mystic Sacred Son, it was only natural that Senior Sister Dou Qianxue would become his Dao Companion, as per the unspoken rules of the sacred land.

Of course, he had no objections. How could he refuse such a beautiful senior sister?

He realized that he was becoming something of a “Senior Sister Specialist”. First there was Senior Sister Ni Xi, then Senior Sister Tao Qian, and now Senior Sister Dou Qianxue.

If he successfully became the Nine Heavens Sacred Son in the future, the Nine Heavens Sacred Maiden would also be his Dao companion, most likely another senior sister, as only senior sisters had the depth of cultivation to attain such a position.

Of course, this was assuming that Dou Qianxue didn’t defeat the holy maidens of the other eight sacred lands. Otherwise, the Heavenly Mystic Sacred Maiden and the Nine Heavens Sacred Maiden would be the same person. However, this was unlikely because the female geniuses of the other eight sacred lands were no pushovers. It was unlikely that the Heavenly Mystic Sacred Land would monopolize all the positions.

In fact, over the past ten thousand years, the Heavenly Mystic Sacred Land had performed relatively poorly among the Nine Heavenly Sacred Lands, producing only one Time Goddess, O.

Figures like the Old Supreme Being, several disciples close to the quasi-Supreme Being realm, and the Goddess of the Nine Heavens all came from the other eight holy lands.

However, the “Central Sacred Land” of the Nine Heavenly Sacred Lands was currently located within the Heavenly Mystic Sacred Land, so they all resided here.

The “Central Sacred Land” wasn’t permanently fixed in one location; it rotated among the sacred lands every ten thousand years.

Of course, the Nine Heavenly Sacred Lands were united as one, essentially functioning as a single sect. All the cultivation resources were distributed uniformly, and there was very little distinction between the sacred lands. As a result, few people ever mentioned which Sacred Land someone belonged to.

Each of the Nine Heavenly Sacred Lands was a top-tier power on its own, but together they were the pinnacle of the pinnacle. All the disciples of the Nine Heavenly Sacred Lands cherished their unity and were proud of it, knowing that only by remaining united could they remain invincible.

At present, the Nine Heavenly Sacred Lands had only one old Supreme Being, O, with the strength of a Supreme Being, and nearly ten quasi-Supreme Beings who could enter the realm of the Supreme Being at any moment. 

This was considered a “relatively weak” period for the Nine Heavenly Sacred Lands. During stronger periods, it was common for the Nine Heavenly Sacred Lands to have five or six Supreme Beings simultaneously!

Thus, it was practically unthinkable for any single force to challenge the Nine Heavenly Sacred Lands. How could one fight against nine?

“Junior Brother Xu Lian.”

Perhaps the Heavenly Mystic Sacred Lord had spoken to Dou Qianxue, for she took the initiative to greet him. Dou Qianxue was usually someone who kept a certain distance from others, so her proactive greeting was quite rare.  

Xu Lian warmly called her “Senior Sister,” aiming to build some rapport. “I look forward to Senior Sister becoming the Heavenly Mystic Sacred Maiden.”

Dou Qianxue nodded. “I will work hard. Junior Brother should also strive to become the Holy Son.”

Xu Lian subtly expressed his intentions, knowing not to push too hard as she wasn’t used to getting too close too quickly.

“This month’s first-sequence training session begins.”

The Heavenly Mystic Holy Lord noticed their conversation and waited for them to finish before announcing the start of the session.

“Xu Lian, ranked tenth, enter the stage. Yin He, ranked first, enter the stage.”

Knowing that Xu Lian was close to breaking through to the Divine Source realm, the Holy Lord directly assigned him to challenge the top-ranked silver-haired genius.

Xu Lian and Yin He stepped onto the stage.

Although Yin He appeared calm, his heart was a mix of emotions.

Of course, he also desired the position of Heavenly Mystic Sacred Son. What genius wouldn’t?

He had maintained the top rank in the first sequence for several years, yet the higher-ups had not named him Holy Son, primarily because his Silver Blood Clan had declined, lacking even a single powerful figure. In other words, his background wasn’t strong enough, so the higher-ups hesitated to make a decision.

However, if no stronger genius appeared, the position of Holy Son would eventually fall to him.

Unfortunately, Xu Lian arrived at the Heavenly Mystic Sacred Land practically out of nowhere. With the blessing of the Divine Kingdom’s laws, he was too dazzling, overshadowing all other geniuses and immediately capturing the attention of the higher-ups.

It was clear that the higher-ups wanted to cultivate Xu Lian as a holy son. The laws of the Divine Kingdom were too important. Once Xu Lian grew stronger, he would become a Supreme Being-level existence like the Goddess of Time.

What the higher-ups didn’t expect was that Xu Lian’s performance during his first few months at the Heavenly Mystic Sacred Land was rather “mediocre”. He struggled around the fiftieth rank in the second sequence, which wasn’t terrible, but it seemed lackluster compared to his status as a bearer of the Divine Kingdom’s laws. 

This led the higher-ups to consider transferring the Divine Kingdom’s laws to someone else, which angered the Goddess of Time and caused her to leave with Xu Lian.

At that moment, Yin He was secretly happy. With Xu Lian gone, his position as the Holy Son was practically secured… But his joy was short-lived, as Xu Lian returned to the Heavenly Mystic Sacred Land, completely reversing his previous mediocre performance and rising like a dazzling supernova.

When Xu Lian took the lead in the second sequence, Yin He’s hopes were completely dashed. He knew that the position of Heavenly Mystic Holy Son was no longer within his reach.

Even if Xu Lian couldn’t defeat him, the higher-ups would still grant Xu Lian the position of Holy Son, both to retain him and to mend relations with the Time Goddess. The higher-ups would undoubtedly do this.

In major forces, geniuses weren’t solely cultivated based on talent. Various factors were taken into account.

Thus, the outcome of his match with Xu Lian was already predetermined. Whether he won or lost, it wouldn’t affect the position of the Holy Son.

Of course, it was best for him to “lose” to Xu Lian willingly, thus adding to Xu Lian’s glory as a Holy Son. If he couldn’t lose… the higher-ups had ways to make him lose.

“Boom!”

When Xu Lian struck out with his palm, Yin He was sent flying.

This stunned Xu Lian. Although he was at the 1st stage of the Divine Source realm, he hadn’t used his full strength because he didn’t want to kill Yin He. He had only intended to test whether Yin He had hidden his cultivation level or made a breakthrough. He hadn’t expected Yin He to be sent flying so easily.

As the top genius in the first sequence, Yin He shouldn’t be that weak, right?

The Heavenly Mystic Sacred Lord and the other top-ranked geniuses were also shocked. When did Yin He become so fragile?

Yin He slowly stood up, coughing up some blood. With a respectful expression, he clasped his hands and said, “Junior Brother Xu, you’ve already advanced to the Divine Source realm. Truly impressive. I am no match for you.”

“…” Xu Lian didn’t know what to say. Although he had expected to win, he hadn’t expected to win in such a manner.

The Heavenly Mystic Holy Lord, coming to his senses, applauded. “Xu Lian, after claiming the top spot in the Second Sequence and now the First Sequence, you are undoubtedly the number one genius of the younger generation in the Heavenly Mystic Sacred Land. To honor Xu Lian, I will report to the higher-ups and request that he be named the “Holy Son of the Heavenly Mystic Sacred Land”.

The first-sequence geniuses exchanged glances and congratulated Xu Lian as well.

Are you all putting on a show for me? Xu Lian eventually caught on, but as the rightful number one genius of the younger generation, he deserved the title. 

Even if Yin He had fought with his full strength, he still wouldn’t have been a match for Xu Lian. Thus, it didn’t matter whether it was a show or not.

After the training session, the higher-ups quickly made a decision and named Xu Lian the Heavenly Mystic Holy Son and Dou Qianxue the Heavenly Mystic Holy Maiden. An auspicious day was chosen for their “ascension” ceremony.

The location was set in the Mountain Peak Hall in the first layer of the small world of Heavenly Mystic Sacred Land.

The Heavenly Mystic Sacred Lord sat high above on the main seat.

The elders sat to his left and right.

Below them were two seats carved in jade.

Countless disciples lined up from the hall to the foot of the mountain, densely packed like a black waterfall, yet completely silent.

Dressed in Holy Son robes, Xu Lian and Dou Qianxue walked hand in hand from the foot of the mountain to the hall, where they took their seats on the jade carved thrones.

“Recite the commandments of the Holy Son and the Holy Maiden.”

The Grand Elder stood up and proclaimed, “Loyalty to the Heavenly Mystic, loyalty to the Nine Heavens.”

That’s it? Xu Lian was surprised at how short the commandments were… absurdly short.

Next, the Grand Elder announced, “The Holy Son and the Holy Maiden will ascend to their thrones. Disciples, bow.”

Countless disciples knelt on one knee and called out in unison, “We pay our respects to the Holy Son and the Holy Maiden.

Rise… Xu Lian responded almost reflexively, but managed to avoid making a fool of himself.

After the ceremony, a banquet was held.

Xu Lian and Dou Qianxue first toasted the Holy Lord, his wife, and the elders. Then, the second-sequence geniuses took turns approaching Xu Lian’s table to offer their congratulations, as if following a script.

The first-sequence geniuses didn’t attend the ceremony because their identities were kept secret and they rarely appeared in public.

As for the other disciples, they didn’t approach to offer their congratulations because they knew that the gap in status was too great.

The Heavenly Mystic Holy Lord smiled at Xu Lian and Dou Qianxue. “In one year, all the Holy Sons and Holy Maidens of the Nine Heavenly Sacred Lands will compete to determine the Nine Heavenly Holy Sons and Holy Maidens. You two must work hard. Our Heavenly Mystic Sacred Land has failed to win the title for over ten consecutive years. It’s time for us to win.”

The elders also offered words of encouragement.

Xu Lian and Dou Qianxue expressed their determination to claim the titles of Nine Heavenly Holy Son and Nine Heavenly Holy Maiden.

After the banquet, Xu Lian didn’t rush back to the Divine Clan’s ancestral lands. Instead, he took Dou Qianxue back to his residence, where they spent the night together.

The next day, he saw that Dou Qianxue’s favorability had reached 85/100. Not bad. As the officially designated Holy Maiden of the Heavenly Mystic Sacred Land, her favorability was solid.

He decided not to return to the Divine Clan’s ancestral lands just yet, and stayed in the Heavenly Mystic Sacred Land to accompany Dou Qianxue. Sure enough, within a few days, her favorability reached 90/100, earning him one progression point.

A few days later, Dou Qianxue returned to the second layer of the small world to continue her cultivation.

Then, Xu Lian went to find Senior Sister Tao Qian, not wanting her to think that he would neglect her after becoming a Holy Son.

After more than ten days of relentless effort, Senior Sister Tao Qian’s favorability also broke through the 90 mark, earning him another progression point.

Satisfied, he took out the purple jade token and had O take him back to the Divine Clan’s ancestral lands, where he planned to address the matter of the Void God Flowers.

“O, do you know where I can find the Void God Flowers?”

He didn’t want to go to the lakeside in the mist to find the Time Goddess, as she might avoid him, causing unnecessary trouble. Instead, he used the purple jade token to ask.

Goddess of Time: “Didn’t the Heavenly Mystic Sacred Land approve your request?”

Xu Lian explained the situation. “The Elder Council only approved one portion, but I need five.”

The Time Goddess was confused. “Most cultivators only need one. Even highly talented geniuses often use less than one. Why do you need five?”

The better the car, the less fuel it consumes? Xu Lian didn’t know how to explain. “Maybe my spiritual cultivation method is special and requires more resources.”

The Time Goddess was silent for a moment. “That’s not a good thing. It means that you alone will consume the resources meant for five or six top geniuses. It’s manageable now that you’re in the Divine Source realm, but once you reach higher realms, it will become a problem.”

Xu Lian was also aware of this problem. While his progression points were beneficial, the consumption of resources was excessive.

Goddess of Time said “Now that I’ve left the Heavenly Mystic Sacred Land, it’s not appropriate for me to demand five portions of resources for you.

Void God Flowers usually grow in special void regions controlled by great powers. If I were to seize them, it would provoke other supreme beings, leading to unpredictable consequences.

Besides, even if I give you what you need this time, I can’t provide for all your future needs. You’ll have to find them yourself. You can search in unclaimed areas or areas with cultivation restrictions.”

She mentioned a few places, which Xu Lian memorized.