"What Heavenly Mist Platform Ascension Assembly?" Wu Jiuzhi suddenly asked the very question that had been puzzling Han Li as well.
The name "Ascension Assembly" — Han Li had heard people mention it several times starting from Wan Xiaoshan, but he had never had the opportunity to learn its details. "Could it be another trading fair like the Tainan Gathering?" Han Li mused to himself.
"No way! You don't even know about the Ascension Assembly? This is the best opportunity once every ten years in the Yue Kingdom for all young cultivators to join the great cultivation sects!" Black Wood said, somewhat astonished and a bit excited.
"Brother Wu is so young, he must have been secluded in cultivation elsewhere all this time. It's perfectly understandable that he wouldn't know about the Ascension Assembly." The Blue-Wrinkled Daoist, however, was not the least bit surprised.
"Oh! Can you tell us about it? Joining the Seven Great Sects — that would be soaring to the heavens in one step!" Wu Jiuzhi's interest was immediately piqued, and he pressed Black Wood for more details.
"Now is not the time to talk about the Ascension Assembly. The disappearance of us rogue cultivators is what we should be discussing," Hu Pinggu said with some displeasure, though it was unclear whether she was directing her words at the youth.
"It's fine — it wouldn't hurt to explain it to Brother Wu. Perhaps there are others here who aren't too clear on the details of the Ascension Assembly either." The Blue-Wrinkled Daoist said with a smile, but Han Li felt the Daoist's gaze sweep over him, whether intentionally or not.
Han Li's heart clenched. Had this Blue-Wrinkled Daoist seen through something? He had done his best to obscure his inexperience as a newcomer to cultivation and had avoided contact with these people as much as possible, but it seemed he had still failed to escape this man's sharp eyes.
This Blue-Wrinkled Daoist really had a piercing gaze!
"Since Daoist Blue-Wrinkled has said so, then I'll go ahead and explain it to Brother Wu." Seeing this, Blackwood grew quite enthusiastic as well, clearly bursting to share.
So the group settled back into their seats — everyone except the fat man Huang Xiaotian.
"I already know all about the Ascension Assembly, so I'll head back and get some sleep. You all carry on."
The fat man spoke in an indifferent tone, then left the room before anyone else could say a word, leaving behind a room full of people exchanging bewildered glances.
"Don't take it personally, everyone — the technique Brother Huang cultivates is rather peculiar and makes him quite drowsy. He didn't mean any disrespect!" Blue-Wrinkled hurried to excuse Huang Xiaotian's behavior, his face full of earnest sincerity.
Most of the people in the room managed a bitter smile upon hearing this. Take it personally? Who would dare take it personally? This man's Magical Power surpasses even yours, Daoist!
The atmosphere in the room grew slightly awkward.
"Brother Blackwood, let's just carry on!" It was Wu Nine Fingers who broke the stalemate, urging him forward.
Blackwood let out a laugh at this, then began speaking again.
"Now, when we talk about the Ascension Assembly, we have to talk about Foundation Establishment Pills — the pill that drives every single Qi Refinement stage Cultivator absolutely mad..."
Turns out, all cultivators at the Qi Refinement stage who wished to enter the Foundation Establishment stage and become true members of the cultivation world not only needed to cultivate their basic technique to the seventh level, but also had to consume a spiritual pill known as the "Foundation Establishment Pill" – something only the major sects had the capability to refine. Only then did they have a chance to break through the bottleneck of their realm and successfully establish their foundation.
This gave the Foundation Establishment Pill its glorious nickname, the "Ascension Pill," a name that drove every single cultivator absolutely wild with desire.
However, even among the major cultivation sects, the Foundation Establishment Pill was in incredibly short supply.
This was because the ingredients required for the pill were extraordinarily rare. Even if all the cultivation sects in the entire Yue Kingdom pooled their resources and efforts together, they could only hope to produce a few cauldrons of these pills, barely over a thousand in total, once every ten years.
Even after these pills were completely divided up among the various sects, it was far from enough to meet their own needs. Therefore, it was simply impossible for any Foundation Establishment Pills to leak out onto the open market.
Nevertheless, across the entire cultivation world of the Yue Kingdom, there were still many cultivators who had successfully cultivated their basic technique to the seventh level. These individuals were desperate to obtain a Foundation Establishment Pill to attempt breaking through their bottleneck.
This situation created a sharp conflict: on one side, the Foundation Establishment Pills were extremely scarce and entirely controlled by the major sects; on the other, the number of rogue cultivators desiring the "Foundation Establishment Pill" grew ever larger, yet they couldn't find a single pill on the outside. This led to a deep and bitter resentment, with low-level cultivators burning with rage and directing intense hatred toward these powerful sects.