Her cultivation was advancing triumphantly at a pace that could render all ancient and modern cultivation Systems obsolete.
The Breakthrough of every major Realm, a chasm that required hundreds or even thousands of years of hard work and accumulation for others.
To her, it was torn apart as easily as paper.
Along with this unbelievable surge in power, the transformation of her body became increasingly breathtaking.
This was not rejuvenation, nor was it a return to her former male body.
It was a near-perfect reshaping that completely transcended the shackles of gender.
Her stature grew taller, and every inch of her body contained a majestic and terrifying power.
Her full breasts and slender waist traced a perfect and alluring curve, yet her overall temperament was not the least bit weak.
Instead, it was a sacred and inviolable majesty that stood above all living beings.
As if she were a supreme deity stepping out of mythology.
Her originally dry black hair now moved without wind, turning from withered to jet-black and lustrous.
Finally, at the moment of breaking through to become an Immortal Ascension... it transformed into a snow-pure silver-white, like a galaxy pouring down from the night sky, shimmering with a mysterious halo.
Meanwhile, the external phenomena had reached an earth-shattering and terrifying level.
With the Heavenly Maiden Temple as the core, the sky within a radius of thousands of miles was completely covered by thick, seven-colored auspicious clouds.
Within the clouds, phantom golden dragons tumbled and roared, while colorful phoenixes craned their necks and danced gracefully.
Innumerable golden lotus pedestals and profound dao patterns flickered in and out of existence in the void, interpreting the ultimate truths of heaven and earth.
Just as the power within Gu Han's body erupted like a volcano, climbing all the way from Qi Refining to become an Immortal Ascension.
On this vast continent named "Canglan."
All the peerless powerhouses at the top of the pyramid, who were usually as elusive as divine dragons, felt their minds shake violently at almost the same instant!
Central Province, Dragon Soaring Imperial Dynasty, Imperial Observatory of the Directorate of Astronomy.
An old man dressed in a purple-gold Taoist robe, with hair and beard all white, was holding a star chart to calculate the national destiny.
Suddenly, he snapped his head up, his cloudy eyes shooting out sharp light that pierced through the void, staring fixedly at the southern horizon.
With a "crack," a tiny but shocking crack appeared on the star chart in his hand.
"Spiritual tides like the sea, dao rhyme resonating on its own... Is someone breaking through to become an Immortal Ascension?"
His voice trembled, filled with endless shock and confusion.
"The location... is actually in that desolate land of the Southern Region?"
Northern Region Ice Plains, the Far North.
Deep within a palace constructed from ten-thousand-year-old ice, an exquisite woman in an ice-blue dress slowly opened her eyes.
On the mirror-smooth ice wall before her, the vast and subtle tide of Spiritual Qi in the southern sky was clearly reflected.
"Immortal Ascension dao rhyme... yet it doesn't carry the aura of those few old fogies."
Her red lips parted slightly, her words falling like ice beads on a jade plate, cold and piercing.
"A newly Immortal Ascension? Interesting."
Before her voice finished, her figure slowly faded, turning into a wisp of ice-blue cold air and dissipating within the hall.
Western Region, Great Thunderclap Temple.
An old monk with a withered face, wearing a kasaya, was striking a wooden fish and chanting sutras.
The sound of the wooden fish stopped abruptly.
He slowly looked up at the celestial phenomena, and for the first time, emotion appeared on his calm, well-like face.
"Amitabha..."
"Another Fellow Daoist has attained the position of an Immortal Ascension, yet the aura is heavy with hostility. I wonder if this is a blessing or a curse for this world."
He lowered his eyes and softly chanted a Buddhist name.
"Wuxin, take my dharma decree, go out once, and act as the situation dictates."
"Yes, Buddha Lord."
East Sea, Penglai Immortal Island.
A scholar in green robes was playing a game of chess alone under a peach blossom tree.
The hand holding the chess piece paused slightly. He raised his eyebrows and looked toward the western continent, a hint of surprise and deep interest flashing in his eyes.
"Wonderful, truly wonderful!"
"To think someone could bypass ninety-nine Heavenly Tribulations and directly seize the Immortal Ascension Dao Fruit?"
He casually tossed the chess piece back into the box and stood up.
"I've been in seclusion for several thousand years; today is a good day to go out and meet this new Fellow Daoist."
With a flash of his figure, he had already vanished into the rain of peach blossoms fluttering through the air.
Central Province, Heavenly Secret Pavilion.
A man in black, who seemed to merge with the shadows, appeared abruptly outside a quiet room.
"Old Ancestor, there is a change in the south! The celestial phenomena are giving a warning."
"It seems... a new Ascension Realm expert has emerged out of nowhere!"
Inside the quiet room, there was a long silence before an old and extremely grave voice spoke:
"Investigate this person's identity and origin!"
"If you can't find anything, then forget it. Presumably, that Emperor will send people to pay attention to the Southern Region."
"I hope he... won't be the next Tianqiong."
For a moment, the winds and clouds gathered across the entire Canglan Continent.
One after another, powerful and matchless Divine Thoughts, some open and upright, others sneaky and hidden, soared into the sky from various Secret Realms, grotto-heavens, and ancient forbidden zones across the continent.
Crossing thousands of mountains and rivers, they all converged toward the Southern Region.
The masters of these Divine Thoughts were all giants of the ninth level of undergoing tribulation who could make the continent shake with a stomp of their feet.
There were even a few auras that were clearly old monsters of the Immortal Ascension Realm who had been famous for tens of thousands of years!
However, just as their Divine Thoughts were about to reach the ten-thousand-mile range of the Heavenly Maiden Temple—
"Buzz!"
All the Divine Thoughts seemed to hit an indestructible heavenly wall, and were all blocked outside, unable to penetrate in the slightest.
"What?!"
"Divine Thought blocked?!"
"Who is this holy being, to have such heaven-reaching methods?"
"Could it be a grand array? But what kind of grand array could cover such a large area?"
Shock! Horror! Unbelievable!
Huge waves rose in the hearts of all the great experts.
This method had already exceeded their understanding.
This undoubtedly indirectly confirmed that the existence causing the phenomena was likely truly breaking through to the Ascension Realm.
And at the center of all this storm, inside the Heavenly Maiden Temple, Gu Han was completely unaware of the uproar outside.
Her cultivation advancement finally reached its peak.
When the last Realm barrier was crushed like rotten wood, her aura rose to an unimaginable level.
The originally vast spiritual energy in her body was completely transformed into a higher-level, more pure and condensed energy.
Although it seemed thin, its quality was high enough to crush any known power in this world.
Gu Han slowly opened her eyes.
Her eyes were like stars, deep and boundless, as if they contained the birth and destruction cycles of the sun, moon, and stars.
Deep in her eyes, the numbness and dust ground down by ten years of hard labor had long been washed away.
In its place was an absolute calm that saw through all things and controlled everything.
She lowered her head and gazed at her hands.
Those hands were still long and slender, her skin as white as jade.
A faint glimmer of Law flowed at her fingertips, as if a gentle squeeze could crush mountains and rivers and destroy stars.
She subconsciously brushed over her chest; the touch was still as good as before, and this body was still that of a woman.
But the terrifying power surging within her, along with that aura of transcendence, gave her a sense of contradiction.
The memories and will belonging to "him" were still there.
But this body, as well as the heaven-reaching and earth-penetrating power she now possessed, were all declaring with absolute clarity:
She was now Gu Han of the Canglan Continent, a woman who had broken through to the Ascension Realm without undergoing ninety-nine Lightning Tribulations.
"Is this the Ascension Realm?"
She parted her vermilion lips, her voice still crisp, yet carrying an unquestionable majesty that echoed in this small courtyard.
[Ding! Cultivation Fusion complete.]
[Host: Gu Han (Gu Tianyi)]
[Beauty: Celestial Appearance (Number One Beauty of the Southern Region)]
[Age: Twenty-five years old]
[Realm: Ascension Realm (Late Stage)]
[Physique: Immaculate Immortal Physique (Automatically fused)]
[Cultivation Technique: None]
[Divine Ability: None]
[Sect: (Not activated)]
[Congratulations to the Host for successfully promoting from a low-level servant to the ceiling of this world. Combat power assessment: ninth level of undergoing tribulation.]
[Target Detection: The Southern Region has a total of fifteen experts at the ninth level of undergoing tribulation. Host survival index is below 60%!]
[Suggestion: Please establish your immortal foundation as soon as possible to deal with the impending monstrous storm.]
The System's notification sounded at the right time, with a hint of teasing, and hit the nail on the head regarding Gu Han's current predicament.
Gu Han instantly calmed down completely from the shock of just acquiring her strength.
Every word the System said was reasonable.
She was not invincible yet; she currently had the Rank but didn't know how to use anything else.
Like a beggar who suddenly owned a listed company, she had no idea how to operate it.
Moreover, the actual combat power she could exert was limited. For now, she should keep a low profile and then plan slowly.
Besides, the commotion caused by the Breakthrough just now was so large that it would be difficult not to attract attention.
"Trouble... does it refer to those Divine Thoughts outside that were just trying to spy on this place?"
With a thought, information about an invisible and intangible barrier that could block all prying eyes surfaced in her mind.
This was the System's built-in protection mechanism, which would automatically isolate external probes until she had full self-protection capabilities.
"Holy Land Construction Card..."
Gu Han's consciousness sank into the System space, landing on that card emitting a profound and chaotic light.