Day of Ascension

The green mass dissipated like smoke.

Xu Ying landed on his feet with a thud as the vines constricting him disintegrated beneath him.

Ding Quan was momentarily stunned. Someone whose bones had been crushed should not have been able to land on their feet, much less stand so steadily.

He had used an exorcism technique!

An Exorcist unlocked their Secret Troves, comprehended the natural order of heaven and earth, raised their cultivation, and only then could they wield exorcism techniques.

Earlier, a single vine had been enough to snap a big tree! Even a god cast from iron would have been riddled with holes and crushed into paste! How did Xu Ying survive such an attack?

“Even after you became one of the Zhou clan’s dogs, it seems Magistrate Zhou still didn’t teach you any real exorcism techniques.”

Xu Ying’s bones popped as he took a deep breath. He raised his head, wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, and smiled.

“If the Zhou clan had taught you a real exorcism technique, I would have been dead. ”Even with an unlocked Secret Trove and the advantage of catching me off guard, you still couldn’t kill me.”

Ding Quan narrowed his eyes. He had entered the Zhou clan’s service in exchange for their help unlocking his Secret Trove and becoming an Exorcist, but he was never truly one of them. They only taught him a low-level cultivation technique, and the exorcism art they passed on to him was no better!

Though he considered himself exceptionally talented, he had no way to reach a higher realm and grow stronger.

Xu Ying channeled his vital energy frenziedly. Rumbling thunder burst from within him, merging into a single sound like an elephant’s trumpet. Behind him, vital energy condensed into an avatar of a divine being with an elephant’s head and a human’s body.

Xu Ying stared fixedly at Ding Quan, who stood on the pond. He stomped down hard, sending mud flying as he charged forth like an arrow loosed from a bowstring. In an instant, he reached Ding Quan!

Xu Ying threw a punch with the strength of an elephant, and the avatar behind him followed his movements. The water surface exploded, and fierce winds swept up waves that crashed toward Ding Quan.

Whoosh!

Water splashed as countless vines broke out of the pond, instantly intertwining into a massive shield in front of Ding Quan.

The wind from Xu Ying’s punch blew past and shattered the shield.

Ding Quan also threw a punch. Vines were wrapped around his fist, growing increasingly thicker. Countless more coiled around his arm like tightly wound muscles bursting with power.

Boom!

Exorcism technique clashed with martial technique. Waves kicked up into the air and swayed violently, as though the fierce wind had tossed them around.

The vine-covered fist crackled as it shattered apart, forcing Ding Quan back. The vines under his feet, which were connected to his vine armor, were ripped out of the ground as he moved, their roots snapping apart.

The vines quickly took root again and absorbed the force of Xu Ying’s punch.

Ding Quan then threw a left punch. Countless vines shot forth with a swish, wrapping around his hand to form another enormous fist.

The rest of the vines clung to him. Their roots wrapped around him and tightened like bowstrings, providing him with unparalleled strength!

Although Ding Quan practiced exorcism techniques rather than martial arts, they gave him strength no weaker than Xu Ying’s elephant-like power.

Boom!

Their fists collided again, and Ding Quan was pushed back again. At the same time, countless vines rose from the ground, acting as his muscles and tendons.

Xu Ying had an ordinary physique, no different from anyone else in terms of muscles and tendons. On the other hand, an Exorcist like Ding Quan could grow dozens of times stronger to make up for his own weakness, enough to rival even a god!

Numerous vines swept toward Xu Ying from all directions.

Using one of the vines as a foothold, Xu Ying charged forth and unleashed a flurry of punches and kicks, destroying the vines. His vital energy erupted again as he threw another punch.

Ding Quan sustained about a dozen punches. Each one pushed him back, forcing him out of the pond and into the forest.

Xu Ying pressed after him relentlessly, channeling his vital energy and driving the Elephant-Bull Demon Fist to its limit. Light radiated from him like a great sun rising from his dantian, transforming into immense strength that burst forth through his kicks and punches.

His momentum grew increasingly stronger. However, the surrounding trees seemed to come alive. They attacked him from all directions, even from beneath his feet.

Although Xu Ying believed that he could easily kill beings like the green-robed god now, he couldn’t land a solid hit on Ding Quan despite his immense strength!

Ding Quan’s exorcism technique always managed to narrowly dissipate the force of his attacks.

Ding Quan was secretly alarmed as well. With every punch he took, he felt as though a ten-thousand-jin elephant rammed into him. His arms and legs trembled with pain.

Even though Xu Ying was only fourteen years old, he had already gained superhuman strength through cultivation, and he was still growing stronger!

Still, with the help of his vines, Ding Quan withstood Xu Ying’s demonic strength.

Ding Quan’s eyes glinted as he met Xu Ying’s attacks head-on. Unfortunately for you, we’re in a forest. My arena. All the trees and plants here are my weapons! I can slowly wear you down!

Countless vines burst apart as he withstood another punch, but more slithered toward him and connected to his right fist.

However, one of the “vines” near him moved with unnatural agility. Instead of wrapping around his fist, it went to his neck.

Ding Quan’s heart skipped a beat as the “green vine” opened its mouth wide, revealing gleaming, venomous fangs, and bit down on his neck.

Yuanqi, the ”green vine,” slithered down rapidly and cheerfully called out, “Xu Ying, I finally did it!”

Ding Quan was astonished. “A snake demon?”

With a wave of his hand, countless vines coiled around the snake, but dizziness suddenly struck him. His vision went dark.

“Such potent poison?”

Groggy and disoriented, Ding Quan frantically tried to steady himself and summon the power of his Secret Trove, trying to resist the venom.

The vines had nearly squeezed Yuanqi to death when the venom took hold of Ding Quan, causing them to lose their strength.

Yuanqi turned around and shouted, “My venom’s the fifth most potent in the world. It’s over for you!”

Ding Quan ignored him. The flesh on his neck rotted rapidly, seemingly about to eat through his entire neck, and his head looked as though it would fall off at any moment. A mysterious power then erupted within him. The rotten flesh fell off, and new flesh grew rapidly in its place!

He seemed to have neutralized Yuanqi’s venom, which was ranked fifth in the world!

However, Yuanqi was known as a strange snake. How could its venom be neutralized so easily?

Ding Quan’s neck began rotting once more, and at an even faster rate!

Light radiated from his forehead, and green vapor rose from his face. Flesh grew across his neck only to rot away moments later, as though the venom and his vitality were locked in a tug-of-war there.

Xu Ying smashed through layers of vines and came charging like a wild elephant, finally landing a punch on Ding Quan’s chest!

Ding Quan let out a low groan and threw up a mouthful of blood. Xu Ying grabbed his ribs and let his fingers fly across Ding Quan, dislocating every joint one after another.

It was his ultimate technique as a snake catcher!

Ding Quan fell to the ground, immobilized. Countless vines swelled wildly, engulfing him.

Xu Ying threw punch after punch, smashing through the vines, only to discover that they had already bored a tunnel underground and carried Ding Quan away.

Following the underground tremors, Xu Ying quickly gave chase. He hammered the ground with his fists, creating numerous craters in the forest.

Yuanqi followed behind him in terror. Xu Ying looked like a mad demon as he hit the ground over a hundred times, blasting more than a hundred holes into it.

From afar, a government official called out, “Judicial Assistant Ding! Is that you using exorcism techniques? Did you find that criminal Xu Ying?”

Xu Ying’s expression darkened slightly. He threw a few more punches and saw blood bubbling out of the pits.

Yuanqi urged softly, “Xiao Ying, if we don’t leave now, it’ll be too late!”

Xu Ying had no time to confirm Ding Quan’s status. He immediately slipped into the forest with Yuanqi and fled into the distance.

Yuanqi said, “Get on my back. I won’t leave any footprints slithering away!”

Xu Ying jumped onto his back, and Yuanqi swiftly traversed through the mountains, avoiding the pursuing government officials.

As he moved through the forest, he asked, “That Exorcist is dead, right?”

Recalling Ding Quan’s terrifying regenerative ability, a chill went down Xu Ying’s spine. “After sustaining so many punches and suffering from the world’s fifth most potent venom... he has to be.

He wasn’t very confident in his answer, though.

Ding Quan’s neck could regenerate rapidly after rotting away. Xu Ying had never seen anything like that before.

He had heard that Exorcists were extremely terrifying, but this was his first encounter with one. They were even more frightening than the rumors suggested.

Xu Ying said, “Thank you, Yuanqi.”

Yuanqi was taken aback. After a moment, he smiled. “Did you think I ran away? I’m not a demon with no sense of loyalty. You went as far as putting yourself in danger and killing a god to avenge your fellow villager. We demons value loyalty above all else! Since you showed loyalty and righteousness, I naturally couldn’t just leave you behind.”

Xu Ying was touched. Still, he corrected, “I’m a human, not a demon.”

“You sure? What if you’re not?” Yuanqi smiled. “I’ve never heard of a human mastering demonic arts so quickly.”

Xu Ying suddenly felt a little uncertain. Am I really not human? No, I definitely am! I’m from Xujiaping, and so were my parents!

Meanwhile, several young government officials arrived at the pond. They followed the tracks and finally found Ding Quan.

He was still alive.

The countless broken vines protecting him dragged him back out of the ground.

The government officials were shocked to see the terrible state Ding Quan was in. Someone had crushed his limbs, broken countless ribs, and left his organs with extremely serious injuries. His neck had turned into a mass of rotten, foul flesh, evidently afflicted with deadly poison.

Still, he was alive!

He had unlocked his Mud-Pill Secret Trove. The boundless vitality within it kept him alive and made him almost impossible to kill.

Of course, Ding Quan had only unlocked the first level of his Mud-Pill Secret Trove. Once the vitality stored in that level was exhausted, his death would follow.

Ding Quan was barely hanging on by a thread, his breath extremely faint. The vitality of his first-level Mud-Pill Secret Trove had almost been depleted.

The government officials hurriedly provided emergency aid. They cut out the rotten flesh and set his broken bones. One of the government officials, dressed in black and red, extended his finger and placed it on Ding Quan’s glabella, transferring vitality from his Mud-Pill Secret Trove to fight off the poison.

The other two government officials also transferred their vitality to help his broken bones heal.

Unfortunately, his internal organs’ injuries were far too delicate. He would have to heal those himself once his condition stabilized. Any outside intervention could easily cause mishaps.

Ding Quan’s breathing gradually stabilized. However, all his joints were still dislocated, preventing him from moving or speaking.

The government official in black and red was a seasoned veteran. Hence, he quickly realized that Ding Quan’s joints had been dislocated. He quickly helped snap them back into place and asked, “Little Brother Ding, who injured you this badly?”

Ding Quan sighed in relief. He recounted his encounter with Xu Ying and the snake demon’s ambush with shame, “Xu Ying practiced demonic arts and had a snake demon ambush me from behind. That’s why I ended up in such a miserable state...”

The government officials exchanged glances, amusement flashing in their eyes. Earlier, they had been worried that Ding Quan would claim the credit first. Now that he was badly injured, he could forget about any merit.

The three laughed out loud and left. “Focus on recovery, Little Brother Ding. Let us worry about capturing him!”

Their remark irked Ding Quan, but there was nothing he could do. He sat down in the lotus position to heal his injuries. Then he suddenly touched his chest, and his expression darkened drastically.

“Oh no!” Cold sweat poured down from his forehead.

He had hidden a copy of the Mud-Pill Radiant Vestige Cultivation Method in his robes. It was the cultivation technique that the Zhou clan imparted to him when he joined them.

They allowed learning and practicing the cultivation technique, but forbade copying it or teaching it to outsiders. Anyone found violating this rule would face the extermination of their entire clan. Their three souls would be annihilated, their seven spirits scattered!

Even an outsider who merely glanced at it would have their eyes gouged out, their mind wiped clean, and be turned into an idiot.

To fulfill his own selfish motives, Ding Quan secretly memorized and wrote down a copy of the Mud-Pill Radiant Vestige Cultivation Method. Now, that copy is gone.

“Did I lose it while fighting Xu Ying?”

Cold sweat poured from his forehead even more profusely. He struggled to his feet and retraced his steps, searching everywhere, but he could not find it.

“Could it be...” He remembered the moment Xu Ying had dislocated all his joints, feeling a chill in his heart. “Did he steal it from my robes back then ?”

His vision turned dark, and he nearly fainted.

If the Zhou clan’s cultivation technique were leaked, he would face the harshest and cruelest punishment imaginable.

“I must eliminate Xu Ying and take back the cultivation technique!”