Day of Ascension

To Xu Ying and Yuanqi’s surprise, Xue Ying’an crawled out of that dilapidated ethereal void, having sustained only minor injuries.

Xue Ying’an was as hard to kill as a cockroach. Along the way, it almost seemed like he was looking for traps to fall into. Yet, he always survived. Even Xu Ying had no choice but to admire his tenacity.

Even if he weren’t Li Xiaoke’s disciple, this youth was worthy of admiration in his own right.

With Xue Ying’an clearing the way ahead, Xu Ying faced far fewer dangers.

Streams of colorful glow appeared in the desert ahead, looking as if they had descended from another world into the mortal realm, untainted by dust. Xu Ying exclaimed in shock, “Strange, why would there be rosy light of ascension here? Could the immortal affinity Xue Ying’an mentioned be there?”

Xue Ying’an also noticed it and increased his speed, rushing toward the rosy light of ascension in excitement.

Xu Ying’s heart stirred slightly. Li Xiaoke must have told him many secrets about the Yunmeng Marsh’s ancient battlefield. I don’t need to follow anyone else; I just have to follow him.

This time, Xue Ying’an acted a lot sharper. He used the little bell to scout ahead, constantly activating its powers to blast away any invisible dangers along the way.

Yuanqi whispered, “Ah Ying, does this kid think he’s dying too slowly? Making such a commotion will only trigger more dangers.”

Right as he said that, winds and clouds stirred in the desert following a toll. A hundred-zhang-tall skeleton rose from the desert, clad in armor that shimmered with rainbow light. The armor was in tatters, with pieces missing here and there and the remnants barely clinging to its frame.

A dilapidated ethereal void floated behind the massive skeleton. It wielded an equally massive broken saber. Unfortunately, the saber had snapped, and a palm imprint was visible on the broken edge.

The skeleton raised the broken saber and brought it down on the little bell with a clang, cleaving it in half.

Next, the broken saber loomed directly over Xue Ying’an’s head as it roared, “Fight! Fight! Fight!”

Xue Ying’an cried out in terror and frantically activated his eight-facet sword to block it, only for the broken saber to cleave it apart.

He immediately moved out of the way to dodge the saber. However, the skeleton wielded the broken saber with incredible skill, following him like a shadow and appearing behind him in an instant.

“Kill! Kill! Kill!” The skeleton’s lingering consciousness roared as saber light flashed toward Xue Ying’an’s waist, slicing through his clothes. The skin on his lower back prickled with terror. I am dead!

Just then, a figure arrived in front of the hundred-zhang-tall skeleton’s head, drifting gracefully. He spread his arms wide, and his fingers bloomed like flower petals. His arms blurred as they formed a series of strange palm seals before pressing them against the skeleton’s glabella.

The seal technique was none other than the Heart-Returning Mantra of the Divine Capital’s Pei clan, and that figure was, of course, Xu Ying.

The Heart-Returning Mantra could calm down a rampaging Dao heart. Xu Ying often used it to prevent himself from becoming agitated.

At that moment, he channeled wave after wave of the Heart-Returning Mantra into the skeleton’s glabella, refining away its lingering fighting spirit and killing intent. The massive figure froze, and the ribbon-like saber light stopped just before Xue Ying’an’s waist.

Xue Ying’an gasped in shock as he saw his waist turn bloody red.

He landed lightly on his feet and was just about to thank Xu Ying when his torso fell before his legs. He had been cleaved in half!

Xue Ying’an collapsed on the ground. He clutched the sand, struggling to crawl forward as his blood pooled on the ground. He wailed out loud, “I don’t want to die! I just descended the mountains! I can’t feel my legs!”

Although Xu Ying had come to his rescue just in time, the hundred-zhang-tall skeleton’s broken saber was too ferocious, and its saber qi was overwhelming. Even though the blade itself didn’t cut him, the saber qi had severed him in half at the waist!

Xu Ying floated down and stood on the back of the broken saber. He said, “Master Qi, go heal him.”

Yuanqi hurriedly jumped off Xu Ying onto the desert. He used his divine sense to lift both halves of Xue Ying’an, then opened his Mud-Pill Secret Trove and drew upon the longevity immortal herb to stimulate Xue Ying’an’s vigor.

Floating before the huge broken saber, Xu Ying called out, “Master Qi, make sure you don’t reattach him backward!”

By now, Xue Ying’an had nearly lost consciousness.

Yuanqi chuckled. “Rest assured. I won’t commit such a low-level mistake. Even if I do make a mistake, it’d be a high-level one.”

The broken bones of Xue Ying’an’s upper and lower halves reattached, and his flesh and blood reconnected. He quickly thanked Yuanqi, but his expression suddenly darkened.

He cried out, “I still can’t feel my legs and butt!”

Yuanqi scratched his head with his tail. He looked up. “Ah Ying, he can’t feel his legs and butt!”

Xu Ying strained to pry the broken saber off the hundred-zhang-tall skeleton’s hand. He called out, “Did you help him reattach his nerves?”

Yuanqi slapped his head and called out, “I didn’t! What do I do now?”

Xu Ying pulled the broken saber out with all his might. “Rip him apart and reattach him.”

“Bear with it. I’ll be fast!” Yuanqi said to Xue Ying’an. With that, two streams of mystical power yanked hard, ripping Xue Ying’an apart at the waist where it had just been reattached!

Xue Ying’an screamed hoarsely, and slowly stopped breathing.

Panicked, Yuanqi said, “Ah Ying, I healed him to death!”

Xu Ying tossed the broken saber down, then proceeded to remove the hundred-zhang-tall skeleton’s tattered armor. “You were healing him with the longevity immortal herb, yet you managed to kill him? Don’t you know how to replenish his vital energy first?”

Yuanqi realized and quickly replenished Xue Ying’an’s vital energy. The latter slowly regained consciousness, his complexion pale as paper. Seeing this wound gushing blood like a fountain, he immediately fainted again.

The snake frantically drew upon the longevity immortal herb and reattached his nerves first. Then, he reconnected his bones, flesh, and blood. When he was done, he called out, “Ah Ying, he’s still unconscious! It seems like he’s no longer breathing!”

Xu Ying pulled off the tattered armor with all his might. “Press your mouth against his and help him breathe!”

Just as Yuanqi was about to lean in, Xue Ying’an woke up weakly. “I’m fine. I was just using the Tortoise Breathing Technique[1] to stay alive. Thank you for saving my life. I will never forget your immense kindness as long as I live. I can only—”

Yuanqi chuckled, cutting him off, “Just don’t promise to marry me to repay the kindness. Oh, that’s right, try moving your legs.”

Xue Ying’an stood up and moved around a bit. Finding no major issues, he finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Carrying the tattered armor, Xu Ying descended from the sky. “Master Qi, open your mouth.”

Yuanqi opened his mouth wide, and Xu Ying stuffed the armor into his stomach. Then, he dragged the broken saber over. Though broken, it still radiated an overwhelming chilling aura and was incredibly sharp.

Xu Ying tried to refine the broken saber and found that it was surprisingly easy. He activated it without the slightest difficulty, as though he had refined it long ago.

He couldn’t help but click his tongue in amazement. With a thought, the broken saber rapidly shrank to two chi in length, making it easy to wield.

Puzzled, Yuanqi said, “Ah Ying, this saber has an owner, doesn’t it? How were you able to resize it at will? Could it be that it has no principles, like Master Zhong?”

Sensing no spirit in the saber, Xu Ying shook his head. “I don’t know what’s happening either. It’s as if I’ve refined this saber before; it handles perfectly. Hmm? Look, the handprint on the saber fits mine exactly.”

He gestured at the palm imprint on the saber’s broken edge. Clearly, the fiend had left it behind. Xu Ying’s palm fit the imprint perfectly.

Xu Ying withdrew his palm and chuckled. “This saber’s palm imprint matches my hand. It should belong to me.”

Yuanqi looked on with envy.

Xu Ying looked up to examine the massive skeleton. Filled with admiration, he said, “This skeleton is also a great hero. Even after falling in battle, his lingering obsession never dissipated, driving him to continue fighting. I wonder who that fiend is. How could he be so ruthless, so powerful?

Worried, he remarked, “That fiend is still suppressed here, isn’t he? I wonder if the seal is holding up well?”

Xue Ying’an stepped forward and bowed deeply to both Xu Ying and Yuanqi. “I will never forget the immense kindness you’ve shown in saving me. I vow to serve you two faithfully from here on!”

Xu Ying waved his hand and smiled. “We mainly saved you because we’re worried that if you died, we’d never find Mount Jiulong and Jiucailing Ridge. And if we can’t find them, Master Zhong will never snap out of his depression.”

Yuanqi chuckled. “Another reason is that your master Li Xiaoke must have told you many secrets of the Yunmeng Marsh’s ancient battlefield. We’ll definitely find treasures if we follow you.”

Xue Ying’an replied solemnly, “Although you had various motives for saving me, I still owe you a great favor. You may not dwell on it, but I’ll remember it for the rest of my life.”

Xu Ying admired his character. “Just save us once if we’re in danger. No need to think about it all the time.”

Xue Ying’an agreed and strode forward. “I won’t conceal what my master told me. Before I left, he told me that the ancient battlefield is a Heavenly Path from the archaic era that connects to the myriad realms. When immortals ascend, they actually don’t ascend directly to the Immortal Realm. They first ascend to the Heavenly Path.”

Xu Ying hurriedly grabbed his arm to prevent him from walking into the remnant divine ability ahead. Xue Ying’an stopped. A drop of blood trickled from his forehead.

Only then did he notice a near-transparent needle suspended in the air. If he had continued walking forward, the invisible needle would have pierced through his glabella!

Xu Ying said kindly, “Let me take the lead.”

Xue Ying’an had no choice but to follow along. “Master said that there are immortal roots containing the qi of immortal spirits on the Heavenly Path. By consuming immortal roots, one can gradually shed their mortal form.

“On the Heavenly Path, there are many places like this, and each immortal root differs. Ascended immortals continue along this path. When they reach the Immortal Realm, they completely shed their mortal forms. Only then can they enter the Immortal Realm.”

Xu Ying activated his Third Eye, clearly perceiving the dangers ahead. “I’ve heard people say that the great evil had severed the path of ascension. Could they be referring to this path?”

Xue Ying’an agreed, “My master said the same thing. He told me that the heavenly gods and Heavenly Dao Divine Artifacts of the Heavenly Dao Universe gathered all the Great Qi Cultivators of the myriad realms who had reached the Ascension Stage here to stop that great evil on the Heavenly Path.

“This battle severed the Heavenly Path and turned undergoing the tribulation and ascending into an unsolvable problem.”

Xu Ying’s mind drifted. The strongest Qi Cultivators of the myriad realms gathered in one place to stop the great evil. Just imagining the scene filled him with excitement. He almost wished he could return to the past and witness that battle himself.

He composed himself. “So, you headed toward the rosy light of ascension when you saw it; does that mean that the immortal roots are hidden within it?”

Xue Ying’an shook his head. “My master said that the Taiyi Little Profound Heaven’s immortal roots are naturally drawn toward the Immortal Realm. So, when I see the rosy light of ascension, I must rush over. The immortal roots are very likely there.”

Xu Ying and Yuanqi exclaimed in realization, “I see.”

As they rushed forward, Xu Ying sensed the aura of a lightning tribulation. A thought crossed his mind. “Ying’an, do immortals who come to this Heavenly Path need to face tribulations again?”

Xue Ying’an shook his head. “I’ve never heard of that. Why do you ask?”

Xu Ying took a deep breath and said, “We’ve stepped into the circle of a lightning tribulation. Let me perceive it. One, ten, fifty...”

Having observed Zhou Qiyun undergo his tribulation and comprehended the heavenly tribulation’s Dao avatar, Xu Ying’s perception toward the lightning tribulation was exceptionally sharp. He immediately sensed that two hundred sixty-seven lightning tribulations were overlapped here!

Furthermore, judging by the area covered by the lightning tribulation, these two hundred sixty-seven heavenly tribulations were likely overlapped and triggered simultaneously!

In other words, two hundred sixty-seven Ascension Stage top experts had triggered their heavenly tribulations at the same place and at the same time!

Such a scene must have been unimaginably mind-blowing!

Xu Ying murmured, “Were all the Qi Cultivators of that era this courageous?”

Xue Ying’an was startled by the scene Xu Ying described. He quickly shook his head. “I don’t know about others, but my master surely wouldn’t dare undergo his tribulation. He’s definitely not that courageous.”

Yuanqi suddenly said, “Ah Ying, these two hundred sixty-seven Great Qi Cultivators underwent their tribulations together and even succeeded! Look at these rosy lights of ascension. They were most likely left behind when they ascended!”

Xu Ying froze. Could one really overcome a heavenly tribulation by joining forces with others and facing their tribulations together?

He asked Xue Ying’an, but the latter shook his head. “I’ve never heard of that.”

They pressed onward. After a little under an hour, they finally passed through the various dangers and reached the source of the rosy lights of ascension.

This was also where all those Ascension Stage Qi Cultivators had undergone their tribulations.

This place was an oasis in the vast desert. It had a Crescent Spring, like the eyes of a beauty when she smiled, mesmerizing and serene.

More than two hundred figures of varying heights stood around the Crescent Spring, radiating powerful, mysterious auras. They stood in different postures, with a stream of rosy light of ascension shining above every head.

These Great Qi Cultivators had joined forces to face their tribulations, and they had actually succeeded!

Xu Ying was shocked beyond words. Could joining forces really work?

Suddenly, Yuanqi’s voice rang out. “Ah Ying, come this way. I found Tianqingzi!”

Xu Ying hurried over and saw a white-haired elder sitting with his back facing them by the Crescent Spring. His white hair covered him, and his white eyebrows touched the ground.

Behind the elder stood a towering stone monument. Yuanqi read its inscription. “It says that he is Tianqingzi. He guarded the graves of his former comrades-in-arms and suppressed the fiend here. In his old age, he died sitting here in meditation.”

Xu Ying stepped forward to read the inscription.

The stone monument detailed the battle on Mount Crescent. The fiend came down the Heavenly Path, sweeping past all with an unstoppable momentum, forcing back the joint army of the myriad realms repeatedly and causing heavy casualties.

They were driven into the Taiyi Little Profound Heaven Desolate Realm, and their casualties mounted even higher. Left with no choice, three hundred brave warriors stepped forward and voluntarily triggered their heavenly tribulations to use their might to annihilate that fiend!

Just as they triggered the heavenly tribulations, thirty-three brave warriors fell to the fiend’s hands. In the end, they only triggered two hundred sixty-seven heavenly tribulations.

The heavenly tribulations overlapped, their might capable of shaking heaven and earth as they tried to destroy that fiend along with the two hundred sixty-seven brave warriors!

Xu Ying and Xue Ying’an’s scalps tingled as they read. They looked up blankly at the sky; the rosy lights of ascension were so dazzling. Clearly, the brave warriors had successfully overcome their tribulations!

“In this battle, the fiend shook the heavenly tribulations and shattered them. The two hundred sixty-seven Dao friends overcame their tribulations, joined forces to wipe out the fiend, but perished in battle here.”

The stone monument stated that the heavenly tribulations had severely wounded the fiend, who was then relentlessly besieged by two hundred and sixty-seven experts who had survived their own heavenly tribulations. In the end, his momentum was finally broken, and he fell into the Yuanshou Realm.

As a result, the Taiyi Little Profound Heaven was leveled. It transformed from what was originally a little Immortal Realm on the Heavenly Path into a barren desert.

The two hundred and sixty-seven experts who had ascended perished here in battle. Before their deaths, they each dug out their eyes and refined them into the Crescent Spring, resembling the beautiful eyes of a maiden.

Even in death, they would continue to watch over that fiend. Anyone who stood before the Crescent Spring and gazed down into the water would see that fiend’s location.

On the stone monument, Tianqingzi wrote that his lifespan had ended. He had recorded these events so that posterity would not forget what these warriors had done for the myriad realms.

Reading up to this point, Xu Ying felt deeply moved. “Master Qi, these people are heroes, aren’t they?”

Adopting a rare solemn expression, Yuanqi said, “Great heroes!”

Overwhelmed with emotion, Xu Ying walked to the edge of Crescent Spring. He bowed in respect to Tianqingzi, who had passed away in meditation by the spring, and said, “Go in peace, Senior. Leave the heavy responsibilities to us.”

He peered into the spring. The monument said I would see that fiend if I looked into the spring water. I wonder if that’s true?

The Crescent Spring’s surface was completely calm, like a mirror. Xu Ying looked down and saw the back of a head.

He scratched his head. The figure in the spring also raised a hand and scratched his own head.

Puzzled, Xu Ying looked up at the sky. That figure in the Crescent Spring also looked up at the sky in confusion.

That face in the Crescent Spring looked identical to him.

1. A classic technique. Mimic a hibernating tortoise by slowing down their heart rate and breathing to a near-dead state to survive fatal trauma or suffocation. ☜