"Deep as the oceans, the path of divine core assimilation reaches once begun; from here on out, ascension is all but a stranger"—this saying was no joke.
The moment once one deified by assimilating a divine core, it was basically impossible for them to ever break through their current cultivation stage and ascend to a higher stage by their own efforts. Only by continuing to assimilate even higher-grade divine cores could they become more powerful.
This was exactly the situation that Puhaman and the others were currently in.
They had become lesser deities by assimilating lesser deity divine cores and subsequently became higher deities by assimilating higher deity divine cores. As a result, ascension had become merely an extravagant wish for them now.
