In order to save his life, Bolin had no choice but to lie: “Little brother, that Ascension Gate is a legendary place where the last group of cultivators achieved immortality. There are probably many rare treasures inside. Those people are extremely powerful. Even if they left something behind, it would be enough to last us a lifetime. If you can save my life, I will definitely tell you everything I know!”
Charlie smiled and asked him, “Now that you have found the Gate to Ascension, why do you stay in that cave instead of going in?”
Feeling guilty, Bolin lied and said, “I did plan to come in, but the timing wasn’t right.”
“What?” Charlie asked her, “Does that place have business hours? Can’t you get in before the appointed time?”
Bolin shook his head and said, “That’s not the case. It’s just that this thing has been sealed for a long time, and opening it is extremely complicated. I just found a clue. If you can spare my life, I will definitely help you decipher it!”
Charlie smiled and said, “You’re definitely not lying.”
Bolin thought Charlie believed his lie, so he quickly nodded and said, “Yes, young man, I’m telling the truth!”
Charlie shook his head and smiled, “No, no, no, that’s not what I meant.”
Seeing her evil smile, Bolin immediately asked, “Then… what do you mean?”
Charlie laughed and said, “I mean, you’re right when you say you spend most of your time fixing chains and don’t have much social experience. Because your lying skills are even better than a grade school kid’s.”
Bolin’s heart skipped a beat, and he quickly put on an innocent face and said, “Big brother, what do you mean? I’m really not lying!”
Charlie sneered, “You said you’ve found a clue to breaking through the Gate of Ascension, but when I sensed you with my spiritual energy, you were clearly meditating, not at all like you were thinking of a solution. Besides, you yourself said that the Gate of Ascension was left behind by the last group of cultivators who ascended to a higher realm. Those who can ascend to a higher realm are far stronger than you, far stronger than me. To them, we are as insignificant as ants. If they wanted to create something to prevent us from entering, it would be as easy as humans creating a sealed glass jar to prevent ants from entering. An ant, even if it were to think of death while surrounding a sealed glass jar, would never be able to find a way in.”
Bolin immediately broke out in a cold sweat.
Charlie was a truly difficult person to deal with, resistant to both soft and hard approaches, and completely lacking in basic interpersonal trust. There was no way to persuade him, just as there was no way for him to enter the Gate of Ascension.
Thinking about it, Bolin said with a sad face, “Little brother, even if you kill me, you still won’t be able to enter. If you spare my life, it will help you a little. Why must you be so cruel?”
Charlie laughed and said, “I have no intention of entering any climbing gates, so I don’t need your help at all.”
Bolin retorted, “Don’t you want to break free from the shackles of this Dharma-Lattering Age?! Don’t you want to one day transcend the tribulation and attain immortality?!”
Charlie sneered: “So what if you ascend to a higher realm? Does that mean you don’t have to fight anymore? You’re a loser in this world, and you’ll be an even bigger loser after ascending to a higher realm, right? You need to know that probably no one has ascended to a higher realm for thousands of years, and their cultivation there is thousands of years more advanced than yours. You think you’ll become stronger after ascending to a higher realm, but have you ever thought about it? Strength and weakness are relative. With your cultivation, there are probably no more than a hundred people in this world who can surpass you. Here, you’re the superior, but when you go to a place where everyone around you is stronger than you, you’ll become the inferior. Don’t you understand this simple principle?”
Bolin fell silent, suddenly realizing that Charlie’s words seemed to make sense.
On Earth, besides this opportunistic bastard in front of me, the only person who could truly control me was probably Victoria.
However, if you have to go through various difficulties to get to a world full of strong people and then become a newcomer, wouldn’t that feel very frustrating?
But thinking about it now feels pointless, because whether I can even survive today is still unknown.
So, he could only try to persuade Charlie: “Little brother, you can’t achieve immortality in this world. A thousand years is the limit. But after ascending to the afterlife, you will be immortal and eternal!”
Charlie sneered, “Yes, eternal, but what’s the point of eternal? In this world, there’s a kind of evergreen tree that can live for ten thousand years, twice the lifespan of human civilization. But this kind of tree can be cut down to its roots in just a few tens of minutes if faced with a woodcutter. The tree is eternal, as long as no one kills it. Even if the Heavenly Dao doesn’t kill you after you ascend to a higher level, there are plenty of people who can!”