Day of Ascension

The dragon-headed divine being rode the wind and lightning out of the destroyed heavenly domain and swept toward the other heavenly domains. Carrying the might to annihilate worlds, it passed through the Little Profound Heaven spiritual root and entered another heavenly domain.

Qi Cultivators in this heavenly domain had also hidden an immortal Dao spiritual root there. So, the divine being prepared to destroy another world.

To it, destroying countless living beings seemed no different from swatting a fly.

By then, Xu Ying had already entered the immortal palace of Little Profound Heaven. More than half the palace had collapsed, yet the remaining structure still dwarfed what its distant appearance suggested.

As Xu Ying approached, the palace revealed its immense scale with every step. The Little Profound Heaven spiritual root connected directly to the immortal palace. Back when ascension remained possible, countless immortals had likely gathered here, using it as a waystation.

After landing, Xu Ying followed the trail of his divine sense in search of the wall. He swept through every direction at astonishing speed.

By then, quite a few others had already entered the palace to seek opportunities. He soon encountered Cui Dongli of the Cui clan.

The Cui clan had sent many Exorcist Masters, Great Exorcists, and clan elders. However, Taiyi Little Profound Heaven had presented dangers far beyond their expectations, and those dangers had inflicted grievous casualties on them.

Now only four or five people remained at Cui Dongli’s side, yet his aura had grown extraordinarily powerful. He had studied an ancient immortal ruin and comprehended an extraordinary Dao avatar.

A Great Dao diagram rose behind him amid billowing light. The diagram depicted an ancient immortal battling a heavenly tribulation.

Cui Dongli had paid for many benefits there with countless lives; consequently, his cultivation had advanced greatly. When he saw Xu Ying rushing in, his eyes lit up. He immediately recalled their previous encounter. He had lost the courage to fight before he could even exchange a single move with Xu Ying.

Cui Dongli could hardly hide his excitement. He summoned his Golden Core at once. “Demon King Xu! I harvested the Origin Dao Essence of two immortal Dao spiritual roots. My cultivation has advanced tremendously, and I’ve also comprehended an ascension Dao diagram. I want to fight you—”

Xu Ying ignored him and charged past.

Yuanqi sprang from Xu Ying’s shoulder and charged straight at Cui Dongli. “You bastard! What are you thinking?”

The great snake revealed his true form, summoned the Golden Core he had cultivated, activated the Six Secrets, and actualized the Manifestation of the Great Dao as he came crashing down.

Cui Dongli resisted with all his might. After three moves, his ascension Dao diagram shattered, and the blow slammed him against the wall. Blood sprayed from his mouth, and the impact shattered his fighting spirit.

He slowly slid down the wall and sat on the ground, his eyes blank. “I’m not even a match for the pet snake...”

Unbeknownst to him, Yuanqi had consumed the Origin Dao Essence of five immortal Dao spiritual roots, and his cultivation was above Cui Dongli’s. Moreover, Yuanqi had received guidance from Xu Ying on cultivation techniques and divine abilities.

Though Cui Dongli was an outstanding young expert of the Cui clan, there was still a gap between him and Yuanqi.

After defeating Cui Dongli in three moves, Yuanqi immediately shrank down and flew after Xu Ying at high speed. He had almost landed on Xu Ying’s shoulder when a zither melody drifted from a courtyard ahead. Gao Xingqian of the Gao clan sat inside, playing the zither.

At first, the music was plaintive, like a noble-minded man lamenting his unfulfilled ambitions, yet also like a noblewoman yearning for something beyond her reach.

Then Gao Xingqian’s zither music climbed in pitch, like a proud man whose fighting spirit had soared and who challenged Xu Ying to prove himself. Yet it also sounded like a noblewoman whose desires could never find fulfillment.

Dressed entirely in white, Gao Xingqian sat in a courtyard of the immortal palace, playing with a smile as he studied an ancient zither score he had found.

When he saw Xu Ying rushing into the courtyard at top speed, he threw his head back and laughed. With both hands, he pushed the ancient zither aside and said in a clear voice, “Demon King Xu, I have waited a long time for this day—”

Just then, a strange snake with one black horn and one white horn pounced from behind Xu Ying and roared, “What’s with this performance? If you want to fight, then fight! Stop pretending to be elegant!”

Gao Xingqian was horrified. The great snake looked like a Dao avatar, and thunder accompanied his every movement as he attacked. The divine ability unleashed such explosive force that he felt certain the great snake would kill him instantly if he failed to withstand the attack.

He hurriedly mobilized his cultivation and activated the Gao clan’s Divine Firmament Heavenly Induction. A thousand-armed god appeared behind him, holding all manner of treasures, and met Yuanqi head-on.

Crash!

A man and snake collided head-on. The impact sent Gao Xingqian’s vital energy churning, and it also broke many of the thousand-armed god’s arms.

Yuanqi’s tail swept over with tremendous force, whipping up a howling gale. The massive tail struck Gao Xingqian and the thousand-armed god together, sending them skidding backward.

He slammed into the wall and immediately knew he was in trouble. Making a split-second decision, he summoned his Golden Core. “Monster, Demon King Xu is the only one worthy of being my opponent. What do you think you are?”

Another Golden Core flew toward him, one much larger, clearer, and brighter, with even more abundant vital energy. It was Yuanqi’s Golden Core!

The two Golden Cores collided, stirring earth, water, wind, and fire into a frenzy across several mu. Gao Xingqian spat blood, his knees went weak, and he dropped to the ground. Then he pitched forward and hit the floor face-first.

Yuanqi put away his Golden Core and hurried off, slithering after Xu Ying. Xu Ying had already searched the courtyard but had not found the mural, so he entered the next palace complex.

The snake rushed inside and saw the heir apparent, Li Tingshu, studying and comprehending a painting of ascension on the wall.

Without waiting for Xu Ying’s orders, Yuanqi charged over. He first summoned his Golden Core to suppress Li Tingshu, then swept his tail across and caught Li Tingshu off guard, sending him flying. Li Tingshu crashed heavily several dozen zhang away.

Li Tingshu grunted, startled and furious. He flipped to his feet, only to be suppressed again by Yuanqi’s Golden Core.

He used the tip of his tail like a sword and stabbed straight at Li Tingshu. “A death-seeking fool like you thinks you’re worthy of challenging Master Ying? Get past me first!”

Li Tingshu was a member of the imperial clan, a genius of the Li clan, and extraordinarily intelligent. But he had never encountered anyone this unreasonable.

Suppressed by Yuanqi’s Golden Core, he could not mobilize his cultivation. The tail tip pierced his chest, and he coughed blood as he flew backward, filled with equal parts grief and fury.

“When did I ever say I wanted to challenge Xu Ying?”

The other Li clan guards rushed in to save him, but before they could make a move, they saw their heir apparent flying through the air. They immediately charged at Yuanqi.

A vicious light flashed in Yuanqi’s eyes. “You want to gang up on me? You think I am afraid of you?”

His vital energy erupted. Rings of sword qi whirled around him like snowflakes, and wherever he passed, bones snapped, and tendons tore. In no time, the Li clan guards had all been injured.

Xu Ying swept his gaze around swiftly and called out, “Master Qi, it isn’t here!”

Yuanqi abandoned the others and raced after Xu Ying, whistling through the air, as they rushed toward the next palace.

“Don’t chase them!”

The guards were about to pursue, but Li Tingshu hurriedly raised a hand and suppressed his injuries. “Don’t chase them! I’m wounded. If you leave, my life will be in danger. Hurry and stand guard for me!”

Xu Ying entered the next palace and saw the Zhao brothers, Zhao Xianghai and Zhao Jiong. They were leading a group of Exorcist Masters to protect Chai Wuyong, a Chai clan expert, as he studied the ancient immortal inscription on the wall.

The inscription was written in bird-worm seal script, which made its meaning abstruse and difficult to decipher. Even the three young experts were extraordinarily intelligent, yet none could immediately unravel the characters.

As Xu Ying rushed in, Yuanqi shot out from behind him without a word, summoned his Golden Core, and brought its power down on everyone. “So you want to challenge Ah Ying? You’re the ones causing trouble, right?”

When Yuanqi saw the crowd of enemies, he opened his mouth, summoned the many precious treasures stored inside his belly, and sent them crashing toward the group.

The Zhao brothers and Chai Wuyong were the most outstanding figures of the Zhao and Chai families. The Zhao brothers stood above Chai Wuyong in cultivation and strength, and each wielded a powerful artifact.

Zhao Xianghai carried an ax, while Zhao Jiong wielded a staff. However, the Zhao clan lacked a deep foundation, so the brothers had no choice but to attach themselves to the Chai clan.

The three made split-second decisions and summoned their respective artifacts to strike at Yuanqi, putting him under tremendous pressure. He hurriedly shouted, “Master Zhong!”

Dazhong flew out from behind Xu Ying’s head with a resounding clang, suppressing the Exorcist Masters of the Chai and Zhao families along with the three young experts so that none of them could move.

Xu Ying swept his gaze around swiftly and charged outside. “It isn’t here!”

Dazhong and the great snake hurried after him.

Yuanqi exclaimed, “Master Zhong, you’ve finally perked up! If we run into an expert later, back me up!”

Dazhong said, “With so many immortal Dao spiritual roots forming the Little Profound Heaven spiritual root, there must be a frightening amount of Origin Dao Essence. Ah Ying will definitely be suppressed in the future and reincarnated as a fool.

“He won’t know how to use the Origin Dao Essence then, so we brothers can divide it among ourselves: seven-tenths for me, two-tenths for you, and I’ll keep the remaining tenth for Ah Ying.”

Yuanqi fell silent for a moment, then praised him. “Master Zhong, did you learn your arithmetic from your clan head, Li Xiaoke? As expected from a noble clan that makes its living fleecing others. Even the imitation artifact you refined knows how to cook the books.”

Dazhong immediately wilted at the remark, but quickly pulled itself together and said earnestly, “Xiao Qi, I’m older than you. I still need the Origin Dao Essence to wash away my impurities so I can fight that golden bell. Have a little pity for your elder brother.”

Yuanqi said, “Master Zhong, Ah Ying isn’t dead yet. Isn’t it a bit early for us to talk about this?”

“That’s true. We’ll discuss it after he’s captured.”

Xu Ying charged into the next immortal hall and saw many four-armed otherworlders seated cross-legged, each facing a wall in silent contemplation. He rushed forward, and Dazhong flew out from behind him.

With a deep hum, an immensely heavy light curtain descended, suppressing all the four-armed otherworlders. Yuanqi charged in after him. “Anyone who moves dies! Master Zhong and I will kill you ourselves!”

The four-armed otherworlders were suppressed by Dazhong’s power until their faces flushed red. Veins bulged on their foreheads, and vital energy rose like steam from the tops of their heads. One after another, they summoned Golden Cores.

Dazhong was startled. There were over a hundred four-armed otherworlders in this immortal hall, and all of them were Qi Cultivators who had formed Golden Cores, an extraordinary sight. Several among them had even cultivated Primordial Spirits. Those Primordial Spirits also possessed four arms, and each one radiated immense power.

“Master Zhong can suppress even heavenly gods, much less little ghosts like you who’ve only just formed Primordial Spirits!”

Dazhong paid them no heed and simply pressed down. Among those pinned beneath Dazhong was Yue Hongzhu. Her injuries had yet to heal, and when she saw Xu Ying, she hurriedly said, “Uncle-Master Yun Fan, that’s him!”

Yun Fan’s gaze fell on Xu Ying like lightning. He whispered, “Everyone, this bell is formidable. Offer sacrifices to the Dragon Abyss heavenly god and break this bell!”

The others decided at once and took out wooden stakes, driving them into the ground. At the top of each stake was the head of an Exorcist Master from some noble clans.

Someone had cut off their heads and grafted them onto the stakes, yet the heads still lived. The otherworlders began the sacrificial rite, and the heads on the stakes opened and closed their mouths as well, muttering incantations. Gradually, bloodstained markings emerged on the stakes, winding and crawling over the bark like earthworms.

Dazhong immediately sensed a strange power passing through him, reaching into the depths of the void and connecting to another dimension. Then a vast consciousness used the sacrifice to establish a connection.

Xu Ying strode up before the otherworlders and raised his head to examine the mural. It depicted a sword immortal undergoing heavenly tribulation as he ascended, with a gourd hanging at his waist. His back was to the crowd as he looked up at the heavenly tribulation in the sky, appearing calm and composed.

“Found it!” His eyes lit up, and he reached toward the painting. The mural was perfectly flat, yet his hand sank into it. With a gentle tug, he pulled the gourd from the sword immortal’s waist in the painting.

Just then, the sword immortal in the painting turned his head, and his gaze met Xu Ying’s.

His mind went blank. The sword immortal in the painting wore a gaudy, multicolored mask that revealed only his eyes, which unmistakably seemed human and alive.

“The person behind the Heavenly Dao Divine Artifact has been hiding here all along!”

Xu Ying realized the truth at once. He immediately put away the gourd and rushed out of the hall. “Master Zhong! Retreat, now!”

Dazhong immediately took Yuanqi with him and charged out of the immortal palace. Behind them, Yun Fan and the other four-armed otherworlders had just completed the sacrifice, and the power of the Dragon Abyss heavenly god pierced through the void.

Simultaneously, the dragon-headed, human-bodied god formed by the Heavenly Dao Divine Artifact emerged from another heavenly domain and charged toward them.

Xu Ying leaped onto Dazhong. “Master Zhong, hurry back to Jade Mountain!”

Yun Fan and the others also fought their way out of the immortal palace and pursued them. Inside the immortal palace, the others sensed the disturbance as well and rushed out one after another.

Two vast and unfathomable powers collided in the void. A voice thundered through the void, “Who are you to dare impersonate the Heavenly Dao?”

The sword immortal in the painting stepped down from the mural, looked into the depths of the void, and said with a smile, “If you could do it once, why can’t I do the same? Back then, you impersonated it but failed to clean up properly and left some weapons behind in the lower world. I merely took them and repeated what you did back then.”