At a certain location in the immortal realm, millions of gigantic stone platforms floated in the skies; each stone platform was millions of square feet wide. Hovering above every large stone platform was a group of one hundred cultivators wearing classic cultivation uniforms. Among the floating group above a stone platform, a woman led the group as she floated before the other male and female cultivators; this woman had special designs on her uniform, her classic blue uniform had an emblem attached to her chest, and written on the emblem was the word 'leader' (In Mandarin). This same emblem was attached to the chests of the millions of other leaders leading the other groups of hundreds as they floated before their respective squads with authoritative demeanors.
These groups of hundreds of immortal cultivators hovered over the floating stone platforms as they stared at the platforms as if expecting something. Although millions of cultivators were floating in the skies, the surroundings were quiet as one could even hear a pin drop. But the next moment, the leading cultivators of every group raised their hands in the air as they all uttered the same words.
"Immortal ascension gate formation, activate!"
TREMBLE! RUMBLE!
The next instant, the space in the surroundings trembled as the voices of these leading cultivators were filled with immortal pressures and Qis. The pure immortal Qi within hundreds of miles swirled as it gathered before the groups of hundreds; with the gathering of the surrounding Qi, brilliant white lights began descending from the skies as they covered the stone platforms, the next second, millions if not, billions of living organisms began appearing on the stone platforms. The emerged living creatures were of different species and races as they stood with astonished expressions. The same event occurred on every other stone platform as the arrived living creatures arose noise in the surroundings; the noise of the brilliant white light constantly sounding as countless living creatures appeared in the Immortal Realm.
What was currently happening was the ascension of the cultivators from the lower realms; there were countless other locations with the same floating stone platforms and welcoming parties where the lower realm cultivators could ascend. The immortal realm is forever open to all ascending cultivators; that's why there are countless other locations with the same settings as the current ascending station. The hovering cultivators in classic uniforms remained in the air as they witnessed the ascension of billions of cultivators from different races; the ascended cultivators stood on the gigantic stone platforms as they glared at the hovering cultivators. The next second, the leaders of each group slowly lowered their hovering heights as they came closer to the ascended cultivators, each warrior opening their mouths as they began giving speeches the next moment. The previously described woman floated above her stone platform as she began her speech.
"If you are still alive, then welcome to the immortal realm; please do not be terrified by the floating cultivators above you; we are merely welcoming hosts to you ascending immortals. But first, I would like to say congratulations to all those who persisted and have ascended today; your efforts were worth applying. But as much as you may think of your True immortal cultivation realms, the True immortal realm is merely the beginning stage in the Immortal Realm; there are many more beyond that, some of which are Celestial Immortals, Celestials, and many more after that, there are..."
Among the ascended billions of cultivators, there was a group of four beings who stood with unimpressed expressions as they glared at the woman giving her speech; this group was Patrick's group. Like the others, Patrick and his three wives had ascended by the normal method as the brilliant white lights brought them to their present location; they stood as they watched the woman announce the basic facts about the Immortal Realm and the many unknown knowledge of cultivation realms. The three ladies stood among the crowd within their self-created inter-connected spaces, meaning, even though the other cultivators could see them, the space where they stood was a separate dimension inter-connected with their current standing points.
Patrick didn't care about the crowd as he stood unbothered. Although billions of ascended cultivators were there, the stone platforms still had space as the cultivators could stand meters apart and not clustered. Grace's voice sounded in Patrick's head.
'Master, there are twenty systems detected within the Immortal realm; shall I retract them?'
'No need, let them have their fun; we will cross paths anyways.'
'Affirmative, all retractions canceled.'
Patrick and the other billions plus cultivators stood on the stone platform as they listened to the hovering woman speak about the basic details of the Immortal Realm. According to the woman, the realms above the True Immortal realm were; Celestial Immortals, Celestials, Celestial Emperors, Star Entity, Star Sovereign, Star Celestial, Saints, Saint King, and Saint Ancestor, any realm beyond that was considered unknown as it requires millions, if not hundreds of millions of decades before one attempts to break through the unknown realm. Another basic fact was that there were no families or sects privately ruling the Immortal Realm; instead, there were just continental overlords. These people known as the continental overlords are unknown cultivators with unknown origins, but no one dares challenge these figures in their continents despite their mysterious backgrounds.
There are six continents in the Immortal Realm, east, west, north, south, and central. The last continent is called the 'Desolate Realm'; due to its unknown energies, it is known as the 'dead man zone .' Anything entering this realm is condemned to inevitable death. The floating woman continued her speech as she enclosed all the basic topics about the Immortal Realm; this same event happened on the other stone platforms as the ascended cultivators were introduced to new realities, their previous made-up theories about the Immortal Realm vanishing as they adjusted to their introduced reality. After minutes of speaking, the woman's resounding voice paused; she looked among the ascended cultivators on her stone platform as she slightly frowned but quickly recollected herself as she continued with one last sentence.
"With that, the introductory announcements are completed. Before you are four portals leading to different continents, you can choose where you wish to reside as that will be your permanent location for the rest of your lives."
Hearing the woman's words, the billions of cultivators frowned with different suspicious expressions as they glared at the woman. Among the ascended standing cultivators, an old man wearing long green cultivation robes raised his head as he spoke, his voice resounding in the air.
"Why do we have to live in one continent for the rest of our lives? Doesn't that seem stupid and unfair?"
Listening to the resounding voice of the old man, many of the other ascended cultivators nodded as they agreed with the question. Why did they only have to live in one continent when there were four more continents to explore? The more they thought about the woman's words, the serious the situation got. But while the cultivators awaited her response, the hovering woman had a change of expression as her voice resounded over the billions of cultivators.
"What a bunch of ignorant fools, you think the Immortal Realm is the size of your pathetic lower realms where you travel between continents in mere seconds? Sorry to disappoint you, but the Immortal Realm is countless times superior to all your miserable lower realms combined. A day in the Immortal Realm is equivalent to a decade in your lower realms; if that isn't enough to break your stupid assumptions, then here is another. The Immortal Realm is expansive enough to the point it would take a hundred thousand years just for one to travel to the closest continent, even if you reach the Celestial realm and can fly; only Star Celestials can accomplish such feats, and it would take at least a decade before they reach the closest continents. Now, tell me, do you still think I was being unfair?"
The billions of ascended cultivators stood with stunned faces; some even had their mouths wide open as they slowly digested the shocking information. How can these people, considered gods in their respective lower realms, comprehend such shocking information? They have used to flashing at unscalable speeds in their lower realms as they reached their destinations in but an instant. But now, they are told that for one to even travel to other continents would take tens of decades and countless finite resources before they would dream of reaching their destinations. Doesn't this mean they are doomed to remain in one continent for the rest of their immortal existence? But while many stood in a stupor, a girl's voice sounded.
"But what of these four portals, don't they lead to the four continents? and if they do, doesn't that also mean there are portals in the other continents which will be accessible to the public?"
Hearing the girl's words, the billions of cultivators immediately stepped from their stupors as they glared at the girl. This girl must be a genius from the lower realms. Her age alone wasn't something to scoff at; the girl who spoke looked like a seventeen-year-old; she stood confidently among the billions of cultivators as she stared at the hovering woman awaiting her answer. Indeed, the woman raised an eyebrow as she observed the little girl, her Qi sense checking the girl as she spoke.
"Not bad, to be a True Immortal at seventeen years is truly a surprising feat, although it's still nothing compared to the Dao children, who became True Immortals in their mother's wombs. Nevertheless, you make a valid point; these portals do indeed lead to the four continents as we are currently at the ascension gate dimension. But these portals are powered by time spirit stones; like cultivation realms, the currency in the Immortal Realm also has its ranks, from the lowest to the highest; soul stones, soul essences, golden souls, fate spirit stones, law spirit stones, time spirit stones, life spirit stones, and the most valuable currency in the Immortal Realm is the antiquity stones. Soul stones can barely provide you with daily life, and they are already hard to mine.
The higher rank currencies are even harder to locate and mine as one would need high-level artifacts to mine them. And the portals in the four continents would require millions of time spirit stones before activation; do any of you think you can afford millions of time spirit stones just to travel to other continents?"
With every word uttered from the woman's mouth, the billions of cultivators became more shocked as they realized they were doomed to remain in one continent for the rest of their lives. Some ascended cultivators stood with frightened expressions as they slowly comprehended the severity of the situation. All their lives, they have spent countless resources and faced countless enemies just to become immortals, but hearing the woman's words made many contemplate their decisions of ascending the Immortal Realm. The woman had an unsympathetic expression as she spoke the next moment.
"If there are no further questions or complaints, then please head for the portal of your choosing."
The billions of cultivators on the gigantic stone platform heard the woman as they stared at the four large portals before them with helpless expressions; above the swirling portals were the names of the four continents. After moments of silence and contemplation, some cultivators standing close to the portals began stepping forward as they gave in to their fates; they approached the portals as the next second, they stepped in, disappearing from the stone platform. The others saw the actions of the leading cultivators as they also made their choices about which continent to enter; minutes later, the billions of cultivators began vanishing from the large stone platform as the ascended crowd began reducing. The same event occurred on the other platforms as the cultivators on the other stone platforms also chose which continent to reside in.
After what felt like an hour, the billions of ascended cultivators left for their respective selected realms as the stone platforms cleared. The woman watched the other groups of hundreds of hosting immortal cultivators leave the gate dimension as they had accomplished their missions; she was about to turn around when suddenly, she saw four beings still standing on the stone platform. Frowning, the woman slowly descended on the platform as she stood far from the group of four, the woman raised an eyebrow as she recalled seeing this group while she was giving her speech, but she ignored them. Looking at these beings closely amazed her to the core, her ninety-nine escorts also frowning at the four standing beings. The woman recollected herself as she spoke, the man among the group replying instantly.
"Is there something you wish to ask before leaving?"
"Yes, where is the portal to the central continent?"