Day of Ascension

Outside Lingling City, a carriage traveled toward the Water Entrance Temple under the escort of a group of guards. It was very exquisite, with a gilded roof topped with a golden phoenix and golden bells hanging from the four corners.

The carriage was painted red with gold traces, its shafts a little over one chi thick. Stationed at each of the four corners of the carriage was a guard, vigilantly keeping an eye on the surroundings.

Two Demon Kings were at the front, pulling the carriage. They had bull heads and human bodies, stood nearly two zhang tall, and looked ferocious. Demonic qi swirled around them as they walked, while smoke billowed from their nostrils.

After traveling several li beyond the city gates, the carriage came to an abrupt halt. A guard bowed and reported, “Lord Prefect, some starving commoners of Lingling have blocked the road to present a plea.”

Inside the carriage sat Yongzhou’s prefect, Zhou Heng. He was a middle-aged man in his thirties with a potbelly and a drooping mustache that hung past the corners of his lips.

Zhou Heng lifted the curtain and looked out. He saw a long trail of gaunt, starving commoners kneeling along the roadside in a line that stretched for more than ten li. They cried out “Honorable magistrate” in unison like ducks greeting their master.

Zhou Heng asked, “What plea are they presenting? I am fair and honest. If it is reasonable, I will grant it.”

A guard went to inquire. He returned and reported, “They say that they cannot afford the taxes and food. Moreover, the Hell River caused disaster, the new land had encroached upon fertile land, and ghosts are wreaking havoc. They ask Your Excellency to exempt this year’s taxes.”

“Unruly peasants!”

Zhou Heng flew into a rage, veins bulging across his forehead. He slammed his palm and shouted, “A bunch of unruly peasants! They are farmers. They grow food, yet they have the gall to claim they can’t afford food?

“Clearly, it’s just an excuse to avoid paying taxes! The Hell River invaded, and the ghosts wreaked havoc? Do ghosts eat grain? Shameless!”

He stood up and sneered coldly, “Moreover, if you have no money, just rent out your houses in the city, and you will have money! Or put your carriages to work, and you can earn some! These old farmers leave their houses in the city vacant, their horses idle, then block my carriage to beg for tax exemptions? Utterly shameless!”

The more he spoke, the angrier he became. He bellowed, “If they dare block the road and ask for tax exemption today, they will demand money from officials tomorrow! Relay my orders: anyone who blocks my path again will have their house seized and their assets confiscated!”

That guard hurried outside and ordered the others to disperse the crowd. Before long, the long line of starving commoners had completely dispersed.

Zhou Heng chuckled. “I just can’t stand the sight of poor people. Much better. Those unruly peasants scrambled away the moment they heard we would seize their house. Clearly, they still have money. If not, would they have scattered that quickly?”

The guards exclaimed in admiration, “Your Excellency is wise!”

The carriage continued on its way, barreling through the lands and kicking up dust clouds as it headed straight for the Water Entrance Temple.

Inside the Water Entrance Temple, Zhou Yihang burst out in laughter, his voice so loud it shook Xu Ying’s vital energy. “You will send me off?”

The violent tremors had thrown many Exorcists exploring the new land off balance. Some were dazed and stepped into thin air, tumbling from the immortal mountain as prolonged screams echoed below.

Zhou Yihang ignored them. Before his laughter faded, the elder’s back bent and straightened. He ballooned in size after activating the Vajra Indestructible Body. He grew to sixteen chi tall and radiated dazzling golden light.

He had reached the four-arms stage, far surpassing Zhou Yang. The latter had only scratched the surface of the Vajra Indestructible Body, while Zhou Yihang had already mastered it.

He then used the Sun-Lord World-Quelling Seal. Blazing flames surged and flowed beneath his palm seal.

His achievements in this art had also far surpassed Zhou Yang’s. Xu Ying had once witnessed Zhou Yihang clashing head-on with Xue Lingfu. With a single move, he managed to injure the god’s golden body.

At that time, Zhou Yihang had achieved the union of soul and body, tightly knit as one. It left Xu Ying in awe, making him think that Zhou Yihang was unbeatable.

Now, seeing Zhou Yihang using the Vajra Indestructible Body and the Sun-Lord World-Quelling Seal again, a different feeling rose within Xu Ying—he didn’t seem as strong as before.

He activated his Third Eye to observe Zhou Yihang and his Sun-Lord World-Quelling Seal, and even his Radiant Vestige. Everything was now crystal clear before his eyes.

A four-armed Vajra was tightly fused with him as if they were one. The four-armed Vajra was his Radiant Vestige, Actualized through channeling the power of his Mud-Pill Secret Trove.

The Third Eye also laid Zhou Yihang’s flaws bare.

Stepping forward, Zhou Yihang struck out with all four palms one after another. A fiery mist followed each of his palm strikes like banners waving in the air. His strikes were agile, yet contained immense power.

He was like a four-armed Sun God, driving the fiery mist as he moved.

This move was the Sun-Lord World-Quelling Seal’s Winding Cloud Banners.

Xu Ying instantly pushed his Elephant-Bull Demon Fist to the limit. Pure Yang primordial qi condensed into an elephant king’s divine avatar behind him. He unleashed a punch that roared like thunder, aiming straight for the flaw in Zhou Yihang’s cultivation technique.

Simultaneously, using his tail tip as a fist, Yuanqi unleashed the White Elephant’s Trunk Sweep. His huge figure lashed out, sweeping forth like a pillar of heaven.

Boom! Boom!

Dull, heavy thuds rang out as Xu Ying clashed with Zhou Yihang. The elephant king’s divine avatar behind him trembled violently before its vital energy scattered like sand caught in a fierce gale.

The avatar was simply vital energy, infused with vaporized blood mist and primordial qi. The scattering of vital energy signaled the divine avatar’s shattering.

Xu Ying let out a muffled groan. The attack had left his limbs and skeleton shaken. His vital energy churned ceaselessly like boiling water as he stumbled several steps back.

Yuanqi’s cultivation was inferior to Xu Ying’s. So, the attack destroyed the elephant king’s divine avatar.

The snake’s bones clattered, and his mane swayed like waves. The force behind that attack had nearly shattered him to pieces.

Xu Ying had cut off the flow of Zhou Yihang’s vital energy. Immediately, he had trouble sustaining the Winding Cloud Banners. His vital energy surged, but it was suppressed again.

Seeing this, Xu Ying immediately realized why their elephant king’s divine avatar had shattered.

His martial art is way more profound than ours! His martial art contained Radiant Vestige; when he struck, he coordinated it with his four-armed heavenly god’s Radiant Vestige, while the Elephant-Bull Demon Fist Yuanqi and I practiced were not supported by Radiant Vestige!

Radiant Vestige was a Manifestation of the Great Dao. A martial art supported by a matching Radiant Vestige could unleash unimaginable power. Take the Elephant-Bull Demon Fist, for example. If one could comprehend an elephant god as their Radiant Vestige, the fist art’s power would rise to an entirely different level.

Without a comparable martial art, it would be very difficult for Xu Ying to injure his opponent even if he could find their flaw.

Although I haven’t refined any Radiant Vestige, I have just refined a Manifestation of the Great Dao!

Xu Ying retreated several steps, then suddenly stopped and jerked his shoulder. A streak of sword qi erupted from his back, slashing down toward Zhou Yihang.

The strike descended like a rainbow beyond the heavens, appearing without warning. Sword qi and sword intent instantly assaulted Zhou Yihang’s consciousness.

Acting on pure instinct, Zhou Yihang pressed two of his four palms together, clamping down on the streak of sword qi. Meanwhile, his other palms continued striking Xu Ying.

The moment he caught the sword qi, however, its power surged violently. Zhou Yihang no longer had the spare focus to kill Xu Ying. He immediately brought his remaining palms together, using the strength of all four arms to suppress the sword qi.

Xu Ying seized the opening. He stepped forward and thrust a finger toward Zhou Yihang’s chest as sword qi erupted from his fingertip.

Pish!

The streak of sword qi pierced through his Vajra Indestructible Body like a steel nail, driving into his heart.

Fortunately for Zhou Yihang, the sword qi from Xu Ying’s finger wasn’t as terrifying as a Manifestation of the Great Dao. It only pierced three cun into Zhou Yihang before his Vajra Indestructible Body stopped it.

However, Xu Ying’s fingers blurred into motion like torrential rain striking pear blossoms, rapidly stabbing the acupoints across Zhou Yihang.

Yuanqi’s vitality had yet to settle. Witnessing this scene, he felt like all his bones had gone limp.

Xu Ying had used the snake catcher’s bone-disjointing technique. Yuanqi himself had only been captured because Xu Ying had disjointed all his bones.

To Zhou Yihang, every strike from Xu Ying’s finger felt like a steel nail piercing into him and severing the flow of his vital energy.

He was terrified inside. What technique is this? How could he see through the circulation path of my cultivation technique?

With the flow of his vital energy severed, the strength of his arms declined sharply. The sword qi above his head broke through his four-palm pincer grip and pressed down on his arms, slashing down at his head.

This was the Manifestation of the Great Dao Xu Ying had comprehended from the sword Dao before the dilapidated temple’s entrance.

The massive fissure contained the sword qi and intent of a peerless sword Dao expert. Though Xu Ying had never witnessed the strike of such an expert, he had comprehended the essence of the flying rainbow strike within the remnant sword intent.

The stronger the resistance, the stronger this strike was. If the sword struck nothing, it could never unleash such terrifying power.

Only by encountering resistance could the true might of this sword Dao erupt.

Back then, the peerless swordsman’s strike encountered the immense underworld mountain blocking its path. Under that resistance, the sword intent rose explosively and split the mountain apart. He reached an unprecedented height when the mountain’s foundation was cut, surpassing his limits.

Xu Ying’s clash against Zhou Yihang worked on the same principle. As Zhou Yihang’s arms resisted the sword qi, its power surged explosively. It overwhelmed Zhou Yihang and stuck his head.

Yuanqi also simultaneously moved his tail again. The tail tip surpassed the speed of sound. He channeled all of his vital energy to unleash his most powerful strike, violently lashing Zhou Yihang.

Crack!

The elder’s clothes burst open. Blood drenched the Vajra Indestructible Body as the sword qi carved through the crown of his head and slashed down toward his glabella.

With his brain damaged, Zhou Yihang’s eyes turned murky. His thoughts became sluggish as confusion overtook him.

Xu Ying exerted force to drive the sword down, but the sword qi couldn’t advance any further and met with immense resistance.

The sword qi abruptly trembled violently in his grasp. A tearing pain ripped through the webbing between his fingers. He let go in a hurry and retreated.

The sword qi embedded in Zhou Yihang’s brain exploded with a crack, and the sword qi Xu Ying had nailed into him also exploded one after another.

Xu Ying’s heart sank. He had outmaneuvered Zhou Yihang in terms of technique, but the difference in their cultivation was too great. As a result, despite his advantage in technique, he failed to kill Zhou Yihang.

Xu Ying let out a roar and channeled the Grand-Unity Guiding Method.

Realizing his intentions, Dazhong hurriedly cried out, “Ah Ying, gate-knocking requires the support of great elixirs. Your vital energy alone won’t be vigorous enough to break through! Don’t do anything reckless!”

As soon as his voice faded, the sky suddenly brightened. Countless light particles surged in from the sunlight within the ruined temple world. Their density was more than ten times that of the outside.

The light particles formed a half-mu field of light in an instant. Their brightness was also ten times that of the outside world.

Beneath the light field, Xu Ying’s vital energy surged explosively. Dazhong couldn’t help but be startled. It was as if Xu Ying had consumed breakthrough great elixirs. His vital energy surged, rushing toward the black iron gateway within his ethereal void.

Dazhong wondered aloud, “The sunlight essence is so rich here, more than ten times that of the outside world. Is this really an immortal realm?”

With the sunlight essence this rich, it no longer mattered whether Xu Ying had any breakthrough great elixir.

“Ah Ying, the key to the so-called gate-knocking lies in the word ‘knock.’ You must knock upon the gateway and inquire. Perceive the profound root[1] of heaven and earth. Only then can you open the mystic gateway.”

Dazhong said rapidly, “As the poem testifies: the breath of innate qi knocks on the gateway of origin, the great elixir lies hidden in the profound depths. Invert Heaven and Earth to form the Tai Hexagram[2], circulating between Fire and Water to establish the profound roots. What you’re doing isn’t the proper method for a Qi Cultivator to break through... hmm?”

The vital energy within Xu Ying surged and roared. The black iron door shook under the impact, creaking, and swung open to both sides.

He hadn’t tried to perceive the Tai Hexagram of heaven and earth, let alone the profound root of fire and water. He had simply used brute force to batter the Tailbone Pass forcibly!

The mystic gateway showed signs of having been broken through.

Dazhong was stunned. A thunderous rumble echoed from within Xu Ying. Clusters of shimmering light, each a little over a cun long, bloomed from within him.

One could even see a great dragon radiating shimmering light within him. Like a dragon siphoning water, it descended from the top of the spine toward the base to breach the mystic gateway.

That mystic gateway was at the base of the human spine, known as the Tailbone Pass.

Once this pass was opened, one gains understanding of life and death, comprehends Yin and Yang, opens the heavenly river to receive the jade dew of the Celestial Court, and opens the Heavenly Mountain within the body!

Each layer of Heavenly Mountain was a layer of heaven. From that moment onward, cultivators have a clear path forward.

Dazhong’s heart skipped a beat. If I hadn’t siphoned half of his vital energy to heal my injuries, he would have broken through the mystic gateway in an instant! This is my fault. I have to make it up to him.

He channeled his own breathing method, expanding and contracting with each breath. The half-mu field of light in the sky instantly grew to a little over a mu wide.

Xu Ying’s vital energy immediately surged. With a thunderous roar, the pure Yang primordial qi finally burst through the black iron gateway!

The surging waters of the heavenly river flowed eastward.

Within his ethereal void, the waters of the heavenly river cascaded down from the nine heavens and burst through the mystic gateway. It surged into the ethereal void with majestic momentum.

The waters flowed across the vast land below, through the mountains and rivers, forming waterfalls on the highlands and lakes on the plains. The once-desolate ethereal void instantly became vibrant with life.

Xu Ying could feel the heavenly river nourishing his five viscera and six bowels. His primordial qi flourished, and the limits that once restrained his cultivation vanished without a trace.

His cultivation rose rapidly. His vital energy grew much more robust and purer than before.

Supported by the increasingly powerful vital energy, the rainbow-like streak of sword qi within his ethereal void became increasingly vivid.

Xu Ying stopped retreating and looked up at Zhou Yihang as though staring at a pig or dog awaiting slaughter. Eager for a fight, he said, “Master Zhong, let me face him at my peak.”

Dazhong hesitated briefly before replying, “Be careful.”

Immediately, Xu Ying felt his vital energy continue to rise. Ever since meeting Dazhong, this was the first time his vital energy had fully returned to its peak.

Suddenly, a voice drifted from afar, “Yihang, why are you in such a terrible state?”

A fifth immortal mountain slowly rose and floated in the air. At the foot of the mountain stood Prefect Zhou Heng’s carriage. Its curtains had been drawn aside, and the surrounding panels removed, revealing the pot-bellied Zhou Heng seated within.

He chuckled. “So, this is the demonic human Xu Ying? The one who can decipher demonic cultivation techniques?”

Many people were already watching the battle in the surroundings. Hearing this, they shifted their focus onto Xu Ying with peculiar gazes.

Seeing Zhou Heng, Zhou Yihang felt a chill in his heart. Worried that he would stop him from killing Xu Ying to avenge Zhou Yang, Zhou Yihang immediately let out a furious roar. He pushed his Vajra Indestructible Body and Sun-Lord World-Quelling Seal to the limit and charged toward Xu Ying.

He intended to end this in one move and kill Xu Ying so that he could offer his head to Zhou Yang!

Suddenly, a streak of snow-bright sword qi shone in the sky, wiping out all of the shadows of the nearby trees.

The sword qi tore through the air with a piercing whistle. It flashed and vanished without a trace.

Leaves drifted through the nearby forest. Then, every leaf split cleanly in half at the same instant, as though sliced apart by an invisible sword qi.

Not a single cut deviated in the slightest.

The leaves danced in the air and fell to the ground.

A cool, gentle breeze blew. The spectators felt a bone-deep chill, as though an incomparably sharp sword hovered against their skin, ready to pierce them at any moment.

Beside one spectator’s cheek, a strand of hair lifted by the wind silently split down the middle, as if cleaved by an invisible blade.

A youth stood amidst the falling leaves. Before him, Zhou Yihang’s towering figure, which resembled a god or demon, split down the center and collapsed to either side.

1. It refers to the ultimate origin or the basis of the Dao. ☜

2. One of the 64 Hexagrams in the I Ching. ”Tai” signifies stability, a state of unimpeded communication achieved through the interaction of Yin and Yang. ☜