Immortal Realm, Qilan City.

Fang Hao had been cultivating in this city off and on for twenty years. He was fairly familiar with most aspects of city life and had made quite a few acquaintances.

Such as Jin Tianlu, who ran a stall, and Manager Wang of the Ruyi Pavilion.

That day, like usual, Fang Hao strolled into Qilan City and leisurely made his way to a restaurant in the city center. He ordered a pot of wine and a few dishes.

The Immortal Realm's cultivation civilization was far older and more prosperous, reflected in all aspects of life.

Normally, if Fang Hao drank too much of the aged brew from the Fang Family's Drunken Immortal Pavilion, he'd find most other spiritual wines unpalatable.

But this was, after all, the Immortal Realm. Even the spiritual wine from an ordinary tavern had its own unique charm.

Over the years, Fang Hao had managed to acquire three wine recipes by various means and brought them back home. Those three brews had since become signature offerings of the Drunken Immortal Pavilion.

Many powerhouses from other continents even traveled to Cangzhou just to purchase this spiritual wine.

Once his wine and dishes were served, Fang Hao sipped and ate while listening to the conversations of those around him.

Every time he visited Qilan City, he would spend time in this restaurant, catching wind of lesser-known stories in the Immortal Realm and drawing some commercial inspiration.

"Hey, did you hear? Someone in the imperial capital has been making waves recently. She has an Immortal Body—and get this—she actually ascended from a lower realm!!"

"What? An Immortal Body from the lower realm?"

"I've heard a bit too. Apparently a prince of the Immortal Dynasty took an interest in her, but she turned him down."

"She turned down a prince? Either she has sky-high pride or she's completely ignorant."

Fang Hao was utterly absorbed, his hand still holding his cup midair, forgetting to drink.

He had known about Immortal Bodies, but ascension was something he knew little of.

In the Tianyuan Realm, Immortal Bodies were legendary, but in the Immortal Realm, they did exist—each belonging to giants whose names shook the realm. They wielded immense power and possessed boundless potential.

Even as an Ancient Sacred Body, Fang Hao was slightly inferior in combat at the same realm.

Only Fang Ying and Fang Mu Ge could compete on equal footing.

But Fang Hao wasn't concerned with Immortal Bodies right now—what piqued his interest was ascension.

At that moment, Jin Tianlu, the familiar stall owner, cheerfully walked into the restaurant.

Fang Hao greeted him, and the two went to a private room on the second floor, ordering more wine and dishes.

Jin Tianlu looked troubled. "Brother Fang, if you wanted me to treat you, we could've stayed downstairs. No need for this private room—business's been rough lately, and my wallet's feeling the pinch."

To the unknowing eye, he seemed genuinely poor. But Fang Hao, knowing him well, understood the man was bluffing.

Despite running a street stall, Jin Tianlu's income was far from modest. Otherwise, he wouldn't be able to rent a secluded courtyard full of spiritual energy or frequent brothels to listen to music every other week.

"This time, I'll treat," Fang Hao said generously.

Jin Tianlu's eyes lit up. He quickly waved for a waiter. "Add two more dishes!"

Fang Hao didn't mind. This man had helped him a great deal, and this time he truly did have something to ask.

As they ate and drank, Fang Hao spoke: "You know I come from a small place. There are many things I don't fully understand."

Jin Tianlu nodded while sipping wine.

"I've always wanted to ask you something but felt awkward."

"Say the word. I'll tell you everything I know!" Jin Tianlu slapped his chest in assurance.

"I want to understand ascension."

Everyone in the Tianyuan Realm had heard of ascension, but most considered it a myth—no one had ever seen a cultivator break through to the limit and ascend.

At present, only Fang Hao and Fang Ting could confirm that Immortals did exist, and that ascension was real.

"Oh, that? That's easy," Jin Tianlu said between mouthfuls.

"Put simply, there is only one Immortal Realm, but countless lower realms. Only cultivators who reach the peak of the Heavenly Emperor Realm in the lower realms can break through and ascend."

"But there are disparities among the lower realms. Some lack complete natural laws or have never had Immortal Techniques, so no one there can cultivate to the point of ascension."

"Like that recent Immortal Body in the imperial capital—before her ascension, no one in her world had ever ascended. She succeeded purely because of her physique."

Fang Hao caught the key point and asked, "So you're saying that unless a world has Immortal Bodies or access to Immortal Techniques, it's nearly impossible for its cultivators to ascend?"

Jin Tianlu affirmed, "Immortals use Immortal Force. When someone with an Immortal Body reaches the limit, their True Essence transforms into Immortal Force naturally, which alerts the Immortal Realm and triggers ascension."

"A normal cultivator, once reaching the peak of the Heavenly Emperor Realm, must switch to cultivating Immortal Techniques, converting all their True Essence into Immortal Force. The effect is the same."

Fang Hao looked enlightened. Sourced directly from *.

That meant the Fang family could reach the Immortal Realm in two ways:

One—Fang Mu Ge and Fang Ying, with their Immortal Bodies, could break through via sheer talent.

Two—Fang Hao could bring Immortal Techniques back, guiding his clan to comprehend the mysteries of immortality. With enough accumulation, they too could ascend.

But the second route was harder and required luck.

After all, Immortal Techniques were among the most valuable and rare things, even in the Immortal Realm.

Fang Hao then asked, "Aside from ascension, is there any other way to reach the Immortal Realm from below?"

"Not that I know of. Maybe we're just too weak to know better," Jin Tianlu replied.

"Can Immortals descend to the lower realms?" Fang Hao pressed.

"Some powerful forces do have the means, but it comes at a cost. And true Immortals cannot descend," Jin Tianlu said.

Once a cultivator's True Essence fully converts to Immortal Force, the Immortal Realm senses it and pulls them up. Forced descent or interference would gravely affect both realms and the Immortal.

Seeing their wine had run dry, Fang Hao ordered another pot. Jin Tianlu beamed and gave him a thumbs-up.

Fang Hao asked again, "Are there differences between those who ascend and those who break through in the Immortal Realm itself?"

"Not much, except it's easier to break through here," Jin Tianlu answered.

Fang Hao paused, then asked one last question.

"When people ascend from below, do they appear at random, or in a fixed place?"

Although the current Fang family was far from this stage, it wouldn't hurt to plan ahead.

Slightly drunk, Jin Tianlu swayed as he answered, "All ascended cultivators appear on the Ascension Platform—it's at the center of the Immortal Realm."

Qilan City was a border town of the Mingyue Immortal Dynasty, which itself was one of the top forces in the Qingyun Dao Domain.

The Qingyun Dao Domain was on the eastern side of the Immortal Realm's three thousand domains—very far from the center. Normal cultivators could only reach it via teleportation arrays from top-tier forces.

Fang Hao originally wanted to prepare ahead of time. But now it seemed best to wait—his cultivation was still too weak.

"If some extremely gifted cultivators ascend, will top powers recruit them?" he asked.

Jin Tianlu chuckled.

"The Immortal Realm is vast, teeming with life. Geniuses are like stars in the sky. While an ascended cultivator may be one in a billion in the lower realms, they're not so dazzling up here."

"Only heaven-defying talents like that Immortal Body in the imperial capital are worth the efforts of top-tier forces."

"Still, most ascended cultivators do attract offers—they're Immortals, after all. But they're rarely impressive enough for dynasties like Mingyue to care."

Fang Hao nodded in understanding.

He had to admit, this conversation with Jin Tianlu had deepened his understanding of the Immortal Realm.

The knowledge would surely benefit the Fang family in the future.

With all his questions answered, and the meal concluded, the two parted ways. Jin Tianlu returned to his stall, while Fang Hao returned to his courtyard to cultivate.