Day of Ascension

Xu Ying’s excitement collapsed into disappointment. He had thought that the mysterious voice was talking about Exorcists and their exorcism techniques, but it was all a misunderstanding.

He asked in confusion, “What are Qi Cultivators? Am I not practicing demonic cultivation techniques? Senior, can you help me unlock my Mud-Pill Secret Trove and teach me exorcism techniques?”

That voice snapped back with obvious impatience. “You are clearly practicing the cultivation techniques of Qi Cultivators. It has nothing to do with demonic arts! As for exorcism techniques, I know nothing about them. Enough nonsense. I’ll teach you Inner Vision.

“Half-close your eyes. Leave only a sliver of light. Focus on the side of your nose. Have one thought in your mind: your consciousness. Follow my instructions. The eyes are the sun and moon, and the hair is the stars. The brow is the canopy, the head the highest peak. All arranged like palaces to house the spirit!

“I want you to gather your spirit between the eyes, turn it into a single thought, and refine that thought into divine sense!”

Xu Ying obeyed. He narrowed his eyes until only a thin beam of light remained. He looked at the side of his nose, yet all he could see was that faint streak of brightness.

His consciousness locked onto it. He had a single thought in his mind.

The deafening voice continued echoing in his mind, “Refine your consciousness into divine sense, and the light before you will become a gateway. Step through it, and you will enter the ethereal void within you! However, you will need several days to refine your consciousness into divine sense. Call me again once you succeed... huh?”

Xu Ying’s half-closed eyes seemed to contain a faint divine light!

That was divine sense!

The voice gasped, nearly leaping out from the back of Xu Ying’s head.

That voice belonged to the large bronze bell hidden in the back of Xu Ying’s head. Last night, it had gone on a killing spree above the Hell River, killing six or seven formidable enemies. Unexpectedly, the young girl in the coffin broke free and severely injured it.

The bell had fled desperately and crashed into Mount Jian, then rolled down to the side of the mountain ravine. It tried to heal its injuries, but the injuries were far too severe to recover on its own.

Coincidentally, Xu Ying passed by and tried to pet its “head.” It sensed that Xu Ying was a Qi Cultivator and decided to extort him.

The bell hid within Xu Ying’s mind, siphoning his vital energy to heal its injuries. However, despite being a Qi Cultivator, Xu Ying knew nothing about cultivation, which irritated the bell to no end. Thus, it spoke out to guide him.

As the saying goes, “Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime.” Or as another saying goes, “You can’t catch the creep if you don’t dangle your wife.” And finally, “If you want your horse to run fast, you’ve got to feed it well.”

If Xu Ying’s cultivation increased, it could siphon even more vital energy and heal faster.

However, giving guidance was one thing; believing Xu Ying could master Inner Vision in such a short time was another. Astonishingly, moments after the bell had taught him how to refine a single thought into divine sense, he had refined his entire consciousness into it.

That speed was truly absurd!

The large bronze bell had seen countless cultivators before. In its time, when enlightened beings practiced Inner Vision, divine light pulsed in their eyes for varying lengths of time.

That divine light was divine sense.

Although no divine light overflowed from Xu Ying’s eyes, he was showing the same sign.

The speed at which he had achieved divine sense was unreal!

Unbeknownst to the bell, the cultivation technique Xu Ying practiced was the Grand-Unity Guiding Method. That method demanded absolute focus: rein in stray thoughts, suppress distractions, and leave only a single thought behind.

That single thought was the grand unity.

Although the grand unity was his thought, that thought was a shell, capable of holding all his spirit.

Xu Ying’s consciousness had held onto the grand unity for seven years; his foundation was incomparably solid. With the bronze bell guiding him, his spirit became a single thought, refined into divine sense. The process was incredibly simple, as though it were only the natural next step.

The large bronze bell thought, Just attaining divine sense isn’t enough. He will need to cultivate for several more days to see that gateway. Even if he does, he’ll need several days to hone his divine sense to enter the ethereal void...

Suddenly, divine light swirled in Xu Ying’s eyes. In that brief moment, he saw the gateway and pushed through it with his divine sense!

This left the bell deeply shaken. This kid is a great talent! He’s only a hair’s breadth away from being a genius! Such talent is on par with—erm, just a tad inferior to Master.

Xu Ying stared inwardly into the divine light before his eyes. Within it stood a white jade gate.

He “walked” up to the door as it gradually grew taller and wider. He pushed it open and entered. A fantastic world appeared before his eyes. This was the ethereal void the bell had mentioned: the mysterious realm hidden within him.

His “field of vision” expanded and grew brighter. Countless brilliant colors spread out before him, vivid beyond anything found in nature.

His eyes didn’t see those colors, but his divine sense perceived them.

The moment he crossed that door, his divine sense underwent a massive transformation. It granted him the ability to practice Inner Vision.

He felt like his divine sense had gained wings. It drifted through the vast sky, weaving between visible currents of air.

Clouds and mist swirled around him. These air currents, mists, and clouds were his qi.

High up in the sky hung majestic mountains and rivers upside down: his viscera.

He could even see the scars on his viscera. Those were the internal injuries he had sustained along the way.

Xu Ying saw some of the qi evaporating and condensing into rain. Rumbles rolled through the storm clouds the moment a thunderstorm formed. Brilliant lightning flashed, illuminating the misty sky and the mountains and rivers.

So, this is the Thunderous-Rumble Tempering!

Xu Ying immediately realized that this was the true form of the Thunderous-Rumble Tempering, and a great sense of joy rose within him.

Brilliant light shone upon him. Xu Ying looked over. He saw qi converging to form a blazing-hot ball of light, like a great sun. It rose within him and coursed through his vast five viscera and six bowels.

The great sun illuminated his five viscera: green light for his liver, white light for his lungs, crimson light for his heart, black light for his kidneys, and yellow light for his spleen.

That was the Great-Sun Tempering.

Such a magnificent sight refreshed and uplifted Xu Ying.

His insides seemed to contain a boundless expanse. That was Inner Vision.

Xu Ying looked back. He saw “himself” floating before a white jade door.

Earlier, he had stepped through this door and unlocked the profound and illusory world within him.

This world within him was the realm of ethereal void the large bronze bell had mentioned.

The bell said, “Your aptitude is decent. Since you’ve unlocked the ethereal void, I’ll teach you the Five-Qi Origin Convergence. With your divine sense as your intent, draw upon the qi of the five mountains.”

Xu Ying followed its instructions, guiding his qi with his divine sense. From within the five viscera—upside-down mountains in the sky—streams of mysterious qi surged forth, converging upon him.

His divine sense drew in the qi of his heart, liver, spleen, lungs, and kidneys—seen as crimson, green, yellow, white, and black lights respectively. The five qi converged at the origin, fusing into one.

After the five streams of qi merged, divine light burst forth. Thousands of streaks of golden light radiated, and primordial qi materialized.

That was the Five-Qi Origin Convergence!

Xu Ying felt an indescribable power filling him, vast, pure, and far stronger than the vital energy he had possessed before.

The wondrous primordial qi surged. Wherever it flowed, the injuries hidden within his organs began healing on their own.

The large bronze bell was flabbergasted. It had expected Xu Ying to take some time to achieve the Five-Qi Origin Convergence. Unexpectedly, Xu Ying easily drew in the five qi and converged them at the origin.

The bell thought, This boy can barely be counted among geniuses. Of course, he’s still a little inferior to Master. Mhm, just a little...

Xu Ying had drawn the five qi within him and converged them at the origin, transforming them into primordial qi. He found himself brimming with vital energy. His tendons and bones resonated. Dragon cries and tiger roars erupted within his five viscera and six bowels, making him completely relaxed.

Nearby, Yuanqi jumped in alarm. In just a short time, Xu Ying’s breathing had become deep and steady, his vital energy robust.

What happened to Ah Ying?

Then, just as suddenly, Xu Ying’s vital energy rapidly waned, like a female ghost had harvested his essence for three hundred rounds.

That’s more like it—no, this is absolutely not normal. It must be that bell playing tricks!

Yuanqi’s expression shifted constantly as he struggled with himself. Xu Ying is my little brother. I can’t sit here and watch that bell demon suck him dry!

He mustered his courage. Just as he was about to speak up, a bell chime rang in his mind, deflating all his courage. He thought, Getting drained wouldn’t kill him. So... whatever.

In the village at the foot of Mount Jian, the villagers stopped whatever they were doing and looked to the village entrance. A fourteen-chi-tall giant had walked into their small village.

That giant was half-naked, with green ribbons coiled around him. At the back of his head was a wheel, like a ship’s helm. He was barefoot and wore only a pair of short pants. His muscles looked like someone had carved them from stone.

Green incense qi wafted around Him. That was the offerings people made to Him.

The incense qi curled through the air around him like snake spirits.

The villagers heard faint whispers and felt a chill run down their spines. The old men quietly herded their livestock behind the village to hide them. Middle-aged women quickly picked up their children. Young women reached for the bottom of their pots and smeared soot on their faces.

The god surveyed the village as he walked, then he suddenly stopped. He grabbed an old man and said with a thick, resonant voice, “Five chickens, two jars of wine. The chickens should be boiled in clear water and seasoned with salt and star anise. Cook it for a quarter of an hour, then take them out and chill them in cold water.”

The old man sobbed. “Lord, I only have two old hens at home. I need their eggs to sell at the market in Huangtianpu Town. As for wine... I have never even tasted it in my life.”

The giant god threw him to the ground and sneered coldly. “Do you want me to eat people? Look around in the village! Be quick!”

The old man scurried away to ask the old villagers for help with the chickens.

Trembling in fear, the villagers prepared boiled chicken, gathered two jars of wine, strained out the murky sediment, and offered them to the giant god.

The old man poured the wine and asked, his voice trembling, “Lord, where do you come from?”

The giant god feasted on the chicken and drank the wine from a large bowl. He answered, “For two hundred thirty-four years, I have received offerings without interruption in Yangzitang Town. The people there call me Celestial Lord Yang. At the city god’s command, I have come to capture the wanted criminal Xu Ying. Do you have a daughter? Have her come sing and drink with me.”

The old man cried out in grief. “I couldn’t afford to get a wife. How could I have a daughter?”

The giant god glanced at the neighboring house. He saw a girl and called her over to sing to liven things up. He asked, “How old are you?”

“I’m twelve.”

“Twelve is a little too young. When you’re fourteen or fifteen, don’t marry anyone else. I’ll make you my beloved. I will marry you properly, with full rites and ceremony. I won’t disgrace you.”

The giant god tossed a chicken leg to the girl. She looked gaunt and malnourished. She hurriedly grabbed the chicken leg and devoured it with tears in her eyes. The old man watched from the side, swallowing hard in envy.

The giant god sensed something. He looked toward the village entrance and saw a slightly frail-looking youth approaching.

The youth was only fourteen or fifteen, yet he was tall and had a broad frame, with big hands and feet. Although his clothes were ragged, he had an imposing presence, with a hint of untamable defiance hidden in his gaze.

The youth didn’t seem well. He had dark circles under his eyes and sunken eye sockets, signs of a deficiency in vital energy.

Behind him slithered a huge black-and-white snake several zhang long, radiating demonic qi.

The giant god laughed. He stood up and said with a booming voice, “Godslayer Xu Ying! The other gods have all rushed northwest, hoping to intercept you there. But I am smart. I knew you might take the opposite path. So I stayed here! And just as expected, here you are!”

There was no sign of panic on Xu Ying’s face.

Yuanqi shouted, “Since you know he’s the Godslayer, get lost already! He has already killed Lingling County’s Judicial Assistant Ding Quan and Warden Wei Chu. You can find their corpses on the rocky mountain! Great Young Master Xu also severed a leg of the rocky mountain god, Huang Siping, and he had to flee! If you are truly smart, you will get lost immediately, and we’ll spare your life!”

That surprised the giant god, but he just smiled. “Xu Ying, the Rocky Mountain God is a Demon King, while the warden and the judicial assistant are Exorcists. To have defeated them... that is impressive. But what makes you think I’m weaker than they were?”

He strode forward and flicked his fingers. A streak of incense qi shot through the air as swiftly as lightning. It turned into a sharp arrow in the air; before Yuanqi could react, it pierced straight through him and pinned him to the ground.

Yuanqi’s eyes streamed with tears from the pain. Realizing that he had met a tough opponent, he cried out, “You’re after Xu Ying. He is the fugitive. What does it have to do with me, Niu Yuanqi? Why did you injure me?”

The giant ignored him. He lightly stroked his palms together. The incense qi in his palms formed a sharp sword that was a little over a zhang long, and he flicked its blade, producing a crisp ringing sound. He said leisurely, “Kneel, Xu Ying. Don’t resist me. Let me chop off your head and take it back to report to the city god!”

“Kneel?” Xu Ying clenched his fists tightly and looked at his scarred, bloodstained fists. He curled the corners of his lips in defiance. “When I killed the god of Jiangjiatian, I had sworn to myself that I would never kneel before these wooden and clay gods again.”

His vital energy boiled. Behind him, the avatar of an elephant-headed divine being appeared, over a zhang tall. It roared furiously at the giant god, shaking heaven and earth.

Xu Ying looked up, his eyes gleaming like stars flickering in the night sky. “I was born free. Anyone who dares step on my head, call me a servant, or tell me to kneel, I’ll kill them.”