Day of Ascension

Not long after, the wind subsided slightly. The great bell plummeted from the sky, clanging as it crashed into the ground and rolled dozens of zhang before finally stopping.

Xu Ying tumbled out of the bell. His legs trembled, and he nearly collapsed to the ground. He quickly grabbed the great bell to steady himself.

After the chaos, everything fell silent.

Xu Ying staggered up a hill and looked down. The Plague God’s tentacle had created a hundred-zhang-wide crater where they had been standing moments ago. It was so deep that it seemed bottomless.

A wisp of white smoke rose from the crater.

As Xu Ying caught his breath, the great bell flew over unsteadily. “Ah Ying, the Plague God probably has His sights on you now. After missing this strike, He’ll definitely remember you from time to time and come after you.”

Xu Ying shuddered. He forced a smile and said, “The Plague God flew back to the Heavenly Dao World. How could He descend so easily?”

The great bell replied, “Unless someone summons Him again. Once He descends, He will immediately sense your presence and strike again.”

Pretending to be brave, Xu Ying laughed. “It’s not easy to summon a heavenly god. I don’t think anyone will summon the Plague God again in the near future.”

The great bell said leisurely, “By the time the Plague God descends again, my injuries should be fully healed.”

Xu Ying’s eyes lit up. Full of anticipation, he asked, “You can resist Him once you’re fully healed?”

The great bell spat out loud. “Once I recover, of course, I’ll stay far away from you—the real plague god! As far as possible! Let the Plague God kill you! I haven’t had a single good day ever since meeting you. Either that demoness severely wounds me, or the gods beat me up. I somehow even became a hammer for smashing walls! And now I’ve incurred a blood debt with the Plague God!”

Xu Ying said, “I can feel my vital energy surging these days, showing signs of a breakthrough. I’m likely about to advance into the Gate-Knocking Stage.”

The great bell’s tone softened. “Just cultivate without worry. Don’t keep thinking about the Plague God’s revenge. I will protect you even if the sky falls, since I’m taller. That, erm... after you break through, lend me some vital energy to heal my injuries.”

Xu Ying sat on the hill and activated his Third Eye to survey the unfamiliar land. He watched as the black plague qi permeating heaven and earth gradually dissipated. He could see people in the distance. The Plague God’s tentacles on them were gone, leaving only scars behind. They should recover from the plague soon.

The sky gradually cleared and brightened.

So, the coffin girl’s goal was to send off the Plague God to save the people.

Xu Ying felt doubtful. The maiden had been suppressed within the dry well in the rocky mountain’s abandoned temple for thousands of years. Shouldn’t she be an extremely evil villain?

Why would an evil villain save the people?

And if the coffin girl was good, then was the person who suppressed her good or evil?

Then, was the great bell good or bad?

Xu Ying suddenly realized that he had assumed that the bell’s master was righteous and had suppressed evil. What if his master had been the real villain?

Xu Ying glanced at the bell and thought, They could both be bad.

While his thoughts ran wild, the bell worried that the maiden would return. It quietly slipped into the back of Xu Ying’s mind and hid near the Mud-Pill Secret Trove.

Thunder rumbled without pause as bright flashes of light pierced the sky with terrifying intensity.

Xu Ying felt somewhat uneasy. After a long time, the phenomena in the sky vanished without a trace. Shortly afterward, a black coffin flew over and landed before him.

Xu Ying looked up and saw the maiden drifting down from the sky. She gently landed in front of him.

“I’ve severely wounded the one who summoned the Plague God. My Primordial Spirit is still tracking him down to uncover his true goals. I have no time to send you back personally.”

The maiden opened the black coffin and rummaged through it for a moment before retrieving two leaves and a basin of clear water. She placed a leaf in the basin and said, “When you reach the Hell River’s bank, place this leaf on the water. Stand on the leaf, set the basin down, and blow onto the leaf in the basin.

“Remember: nothing must disturb the clear water in the basin. I’ve already placed a mystic art on it that will send you back to Mount Wu Wang.”

Xu Ying held the basin of water and a leaf in his hands. Before he could say a word, he rose uncontrollably into the air. In the blink of an eye, he arrived at the bank of the Hell River.

Looking back, the coffin girl had already vanished.

Xu Ying took a moment to collect his thoughts, then looked at the leaf he was holding. It was just an ordinary maple leaf. Both leaves were still tender, yet to turn yellow.

“Can this maple leaf really bring me back to Mount Wu Wang?”

Xu Ying was skeptical. He tossed the leaf into the Hell River. As it fell, it rapidly expanded. By the time it touched the water, it had grown to two or three zhang in length, its stem curving upward.

The maple leaf rested upon the Hell River without drifting at all.

Xu Ying cautiously extended his foot and stepped onto the leaf. After testing the waters, he stepped fully into it.

The massive leaf floated atop the water’s surface steadily, unaffected by the winds and the waves of the Hell River.

Xu Ying finally relaxed. Holding the basin, he sat down on the massive maple leaf and blew on the one in the basin, thinking, She said I can return to Mount Wu Wang just by blowing on it. Is that real?

The leaf in the basin drifted forward with his breath. Strangely, although the basin was only slightly more than a chi wide, the leaf never reached the edge, no matter how far it drifted.

The small basin seemed to contain boundless space.

Looking at the leaf in the basin, a fierce gale suddenly surged from behind him. It pushed the massive maple leaf beneath him upstream dozens of li in the blink of an eye.

While he was still shocked and confused, the sudden wind weakened, and the massive maple leaf’s speed gradually slowed.

Driven by a strange impulse, Xu Ying puffed his cheeks and blew at the leaf in the basin again. As expected, another fierce wind blew, spurring the massive maple leaf on the Hell River upstream at lightning speed as it raced back along the river.

Xu Ying exclaimed in admiration, “I didn’t think such mystic art existed in the world. It’s truly wondrous!”

The great bell flew out of the back of Xu Ying’s head and said disdainfully, “It’s just folding the space. It’s not worth mentioning.”

Xu Ying extended a finger and tried to poke the leaf in the basin. Panicked, the great bell shouted, “Ah Ying, don’t do anything stupid!”

Suddenly, thunder rumbled from above. Xu Ying looked up at the sky. It had split open. An incomparably massive finger descended from the heavens. Its friction against the air produced thunder and fire as it pressed toward the maple leaf boat.

Xu Ying hurriedly stopped moving his finger. The massive finger from beyond the heavens also halted. When Xu Ying withdrew his hand, the heavenly pillar-like finger slowly retracted into the sky and eventually disappeared.

He broke out in a cold sweat in fright.

The great bell breathed a sigh of relief. “Spatial mystic arts aren’t toys. Be careful, or you’ll play yourself to death. Don’t try anything funny!”

Xu Ying behaved himself and sat before the basin. Whenever the maple boat slowed, he blew at the leaf inside to speed it up again.

Still, he was a teenager. Curiosity eventually got the better of him. He secretly extended a finger into the basin. At once, another gigantic finger emerged from beyond the heavens and pierced through the sky.

Xu Ying exclaimed, “My finger’s so huge!”

He adjusted his position so that the otherworldly finger avoided the river’s surface and leisurely admired his massive finger. Suddenly, a loud rumble rang out. That massive finger had struck a mountain, and sharp pain shot through Xu Ying’s fingertip. He pulled back his hand and discovered blood dripping from his finger.

Meanwhile, a mountain peak on the left bank of Hell River exploded, sending rocks flying through the air to dozens of li away.

Xu Ying jumped in fright and didn’t dare to mess around anymore.

Seeing him suffer a setback, the great bell laughed heartily, clanging loudly.

The maple leaf boat traveled over a thousand li eastward and arrived at a desolate land. Mountains were steep, and the Hell River was turbulent. As the boat rounded a bend in the river, the current gradually slowed. Light shone ahead. A brightly lit, decorated pleasure boat floated upon the Hell River.

At the bend, the river was wide like the sea. A huge moon hung over the mountains in the west, making the peaks seem much smaller.

Xu Ying silently marveled at the scene. The underworld possessed a unique beauty.

The great bell quietly warned, “Ah Ying, not just any ship can sail upon the Hell River. I’m afraid those aboard this decorated pleasure boat harbor ill intentions.”

Suddenly, a human voice drifted out from the decorated pleasure boat. “Naiyue, the wind is picking up on the river. Go hang the wind-shielding lantern.”

A woman’s voice replied, “Yes, Young Master Xiang.”

Xu Ying looked over and saw a graceful woman emerge from the pleasure boat carrying a lantern. Standing on tiptoe, she hung it beneath the eaves.

The instant she raised the lantern, the fierce winds abruptly ceased. The maple leaf boat slowly came to a halt, floating on the surface.

Xu Ying raised his eyebrows, but he said nothing.

Just then, “Young Master Xiang” stepped out of the decorated pleasure boat. He looked at Xu Ying from afar and exclaimed in surprise, “So the one in Zhudu who whipped the Plague God and sent Him back to his world was actually a mere boy.”

A second decorated pleasure boat approached. A beautiful woman inside giggled. “Young Master Xiang, he’s at a loss after your wind-shielding lantern stilled the wind. He’s clearly just a greenhorn. Did you really make such a fuss and invite me here just to deal with a junior like him?”

Xu Ying’s heart sank. Oh crap! It seems like there’s more than one person behind the Plague God’s descent. Someone lured the coffin girl away while the others blocked me on the river.

Xu Ying let out a dry cough. He mustered his courage and said, “Who are you? How dare you block my path! What audacity! How do you think you compare to the Plague God?”

The beautiful woman exchanged glances with Young Master Xiang and burst out into laughter.

Xu Ying said coldly, “If I could drive back the Plague God, do you think I wouldn’t be able to give you a beating? Begone at once. I can’t be bothered with juniors like you.”

Giggling, the beautiful woman said, “This brat is still putting on an act before us. We can tell your cultivation at a glance. Young Master Xiang, do you want to handle him personally, or should I?”

Young Master Xiang held a folding fan in his hand. With a crisp snap, he opened it and gently fanned himself, appearing refined and elegant. He smiled. “Shisanniang, capturing the one who drove off the Plague God is also a great merit. I’ll concede it to you.”

The beautiful woman looked at Xu Ying. Her heart stirred slightly as she said, “I’ve always abducted fair, handsome youths. I’ve never actually had a taste of a dark-skinned one...”

Xu Ying was both shocked and furious. She’s going to eat me!

As she giggled, two red silk ribbons suddenly flew out from the boat, fluttering over the river. They transformed into two red dragons, their heads as large as hills, their ferocity overwhelming.

The dragon in the front roared. Its cry echoed through the mountains as it lunged toward the maple leaf boat.

Without a moment to think, Xu Ying pressed a finger into the bronze basin before him. Immediately, lightning flashed and thunder roared as a flesh-colored pillar descended from the sky, enveloped in lightning and fire.

It slammed down onto the red dragon like a heavenly pillar crushing an earthworm, driving it from the river’s surface straight into the depths of the Hell River.

The water surface exploded, setting off hundred-zhang-tall waves that flipped both decorated pleasure boats into the air.

Young Master Xiang and the beautiful woman were astonished. They hurriedly steadied themselves. The beautiful woman cried out, “He’s a wolf in sheep’s clothing. He’s really an old fox! We’ve underestimated him!”

Xu Ying curled another finger around his thumb and flicked it.

A massive thumb descended from the sky, locked with a middle finger. With a powerful flick, the other red dragon spewed blood and flew back. It crashed into the nearby underworld mountains, its organs ruptured and its bones shattered. Clearly, it was beyond saving. going

As for the dragon pressed underwater, its internal organs also ruptured from the crushing pressure. The Hell River corroded its flesh and blood completely, leaving only a pile of dry bones behind.

Xu Ying couldn’t help but feel surprised and delighted. This bronze basin has such an ability?

Shocked and furious, the beautiful woman let out a fierce shout. Layers of grotto heavens manifested behind her, with larger ones enveloping smaller ones. Beyond them was a manifestation of a long river, emitting thunderous roars of the resonance of the Dao.

Just as she was about to strike, Xu Ying quickly placed his hand into the bronze basin and unleashed another flick. Immediately, the middle finger pierced through layers of exorcism techniques, shattering them all. Then, the massive middle finger struck the beautiful woman.

Her decorated pleasure boat exploded. Shisanniang coughed up blood as her hair scattered wildly around her. She was blasted backward several li before smashing into a massive mountain.

On the other side, Young Master Xiang waved his folding fan and was about to make a move when dark clouds gathered overhead. He quickly looked up and stared in horror.

In the sky, an enormous hand engulfed in flames descended toward him.

Without a moment to spare, he immediately rose into the air and fled for his life desperately, stepping into the void.

The enormous hand closed into a fist and chased him for over a hundred li before striking him from afar.

Young Master Xiang plummeted into the wilds, his status unknown.

With an explosion, Shisanniang emerged from the rubble burying her. Rising into the air, she cried out, “I was blind and offended you, Senior Black-face. I beg for your forgiveness!”

“Black-face?”

Xu Ying grew furious. Extending his index finger, he jabbed repeatedly into the bronze basin until he finally struck the beautiful woman, breaking her bones. Spitting blood, she plummeted to the ground.

Behind Xu Ying, the great bell was stunned at the sight.

He secretly thought, So I’m the only one who made no progress all these years. I kept the demoness suppressed for three thousand years. Although her cultivation stalled, her divine abilities are truly earth-shattering. Even if no one rescued her, she probably would’ve broken free herself within a few more years and defeated me outright.

For thousands of years, the great bell had hung within the abandoned temple on the rocky mountain, sleeping away the ages in idleness.

Meanwhile, the coffin maiden continued making progress. Now that the balance of power had shifted, the great bell realized it could no longer fathom the depth of the coffin maiden’s divine abilities.