Day of Ascension

Zhou Yihang arrived at the foot of Mount Wu Wang. Just as he was about to begin his ascent, he felt a sudden sense of alarm. He saw an earth god emerge from the ground before him with a stone perched atop its hat.

If the earth god has found his way here, City God Xue, Shi Longzi, and the others won’t be far behind!

Zhou Yihang was about to kill the earth god to prevent him from reporting back when Shi Longzi and the others’ voices echoed from the distance. “City Lord, the earth god questioned the demon gods and demon beasts in the area. They confirmed that Xu Ying appeared here.”

City God Xue’s voice followed, asking, “What about Old Man Zhou?”

“According to the earth god, Zhou Yihang is also nearby. We tracked him all the way here. That old fellow’s Verdant Army Technique is indeed extraordinary. He actually found Xu Ying’s hiding place.”

“We should thank him properly by... sending him to meet his maker.”

“Yes.”

A chill ran down Zhou Yihang’s spine. He hid himself stealthily, thinking, I’m still injured. It would be unwise to clash with them. I’d better remain hidden in the dark.

A moment later, numerous earth gods emerged from the ground and spread across the mountains and wilderness in search of Xu Ying.

Zhou Yihang thought, Even if Xu Ying is hiding underground, these earth gods will dig him out. Still, searching the entire mountain won’t be easy.

Suddenly, an earth god cried out, “City God, look up at the sky!”

Zhou Yihang looked up in a hurry and was left deeply shaken. A field of light, about half a mu wide, had appeared in the sky above Mount Wu Wang. It was the condensed form of the sun essence within sunlight. Planted in the air like shimmering golden seedlings, they absorbed the morning sunlight and radiated dazzling brilliance.

From afar, it resembled a glowing field of grain.

Forget seeing one that large, neither Zhou Yihang nor City God Xue had ever even heard of such a phenomenon!

Zhou Yihang murmured, “Xu Ying must be beneath this field of light. He practices demonic arts and has advanced tremendously. That’s why he manifested a phenomenon even demon gods cannot produce! He is indeed an unparalleled genius in demonic cultivation. Killing him outright would be a waste. I shall leave him a complete corpse later.”

He rushed toward the light at breakneck speed. Simultaneously, Xue Lingfu was also heading toward the area, leading Shi Longzi and other gods.

Beneath the light field, Xu Ying channeled the Grand-Unity Guiding Method. His primordial qi grew increasingly vigorous, tempered by the spark of Pure Yang Spirit Flame, transforming into pure Yang primordial qi.

As his cultivation increased, the darkness within his ethereal void continuously receded, revealing more territories.

After being nourished by thunderous rumbles, illuminated by the great sun, and watered by rain transformed from his primordial qi, the newly revealed land became vibrant with life. Xu Ying also felt his vital energy growing denser and his physique becoming stronger.

Between his breaths, fierce winds swept up sand and rocks. Half-chi-long rays of light pulsed in his eyes—a sign that his divine sense was manifesting.

The coffin maiden’s Yang Spirit Flame had greatly accelerated his cultivation and even strengthened his divine sense.

Xu Ying’s divine sense arrived at the edge of darkness and looked up at the mystic gateway within.

What will happen if I unlock this gateway?

This mystic gateway stood between heaven and earth. On one side, a heavenly river surged downward. On the other side, a majestic mountain range towered high, both seeming to descend from the heavens themselves.

Only by breaking through this door could one explore the wider inner world beyond.

Xu Ying thought, The coffin girl said that the Exorcist’s Radiant Vestige sublimation method is wrong, and her path is the right one. But Qi Cultivators like her have all vanished, and the exorcism arts have replaced their cultivation techniques. So, which path is truly correct: exorcism arts or qi cultivation?

Exorcism arts had become the orthodox path, while Qi Cultivators’ cultivation techniques were now treated as demonic arts. What happened during this time period?

Xu Ying channeled his vital energy and focused his spirit. Just as he was about to push open the mystic gateway, the earth suddenly shook violently. Deafening roars rang in his ears, as if heaven was collapsing and the earth was splitting apart. Xu Ying lost his balance and hurriedly stopped practicing to steady himself.

The shaking also tossed Yuanqi through the air. He coiled around a boulder in a hurry, shocked and confused.

Dazhong remarked in confusion, “Don’t the underworld invasions happen at night? Why is it happening during the day now?”

Xu Ying looked toward the sound and was dumbfounded. The earth trembled, and clouds of dust rose into the air about ten li west. Amidst the mountains, a great sun emerged from the dust.

The sun shone down, radiating brilliant light.

Amidst the brilliance, a towering mountain rose from the ground, gradually rising into the air. The enormous mountain floated, covering the sky.

Large boulders constantly fell from the floating mountain. Some crashed into the earth, while others drifted through the air.

Xu Ying watched the strange occurrence unfold in a daze. He looked behind, toward the east. Another sun was rising there—one sun in the east, and one in the west. The twin suns illuminated the world together.

Dazhong’s voice rang in his ears. “Ah Ying, what did you do this time?”

Xu Ying murmured, “I-I didn’t do anything. Do you think I could cause something like this?”

Dazhong drifted over. “I don’t know. You tell me. I spent three thousand peaceful years alone on the Little Rocky Mountain. Nothing strange ever happened. But then I met you, and things happened from the very first night.

“First, the Hell River changed course, then came the black coffin from the ancient well, and even my temple was destroyed! After that, you whipped the Plague God because of which we got hunted all the way back here. Now, a sun has risen from the ground. What’s the common denominator in all this? You! Can you still claim this has nothing to do with you?”

Xu Ying groaned and strode forth.

Yuanqi hurriedly followed, calling out, “Ah Ying, where are you going? Master Zhong is right, stop causing trouble!”

Xu Ying turned his head back and smiled. “This sun and mountain peak are right near our Mount Wu Wang. As the two great Demon Kings of the mountain, how can we not investigate?”

Yuanqi looked around. “It seems to be near the Water Entrance Temple.”

Given his enormous size, he could slither extremely fast. He called out, “Get on my back. I’ll ferry you across!”

Lightly kicking off the ground, Xu Ying landed on the giant snake’s back. Dazhong followed closely behind Xu Ying, but he couldn’t keep up with the snake, so he simply entered Xu Ying’s head.

Zhou Yihang, City God Xue, and the others were ascending the mountain. They also noticed the earth-shaking transformation and were dumbfounded.

City God Xue immediately said, “Capturing Xu Ying is secondary. This sun and this immortal mountain are more important! I’m sure that brat Xu Ying will head there as well. We’d just capture him there!”

Looking up, Zhou Yihang saw that the light field was also racing down the mountain toward the Water Entrance Temple.

“There’s only a dilapidated temple at Water Entrance Temple. How could a sun and an immortal mountain emerge from there?”

He was baffled, but he immediately changed directions and headed toward the temple. He thought, Xu Ying is also headed that way. I’ll get there first and wait for him to walk right into my trap!

The Water Entrance Temple used to be at the foot of Mount Wu Wang. However, following the underworld invasion and the constant tremors, they grew increasingly further apart. Now, the temple was located more than ten li away.

Carrying Xu Ying, Yuanqi slithered forward. His pace was close to Xu Ying’s when running at full speed. Many wild beasts and Great Demons fled in the opposite direction. Only they moved against the tide.

A boulder the size of a small building came crashing down from the sky. Yuanqi hurriedly dodged. The rock slammed into the ground, leaving a huge crater.

Xu Ying jumped in fright and looked up. A colossal mountain’s shadow had covered the sky overhead. Moments later, sunlight broke through as one of the suns passed behind the floating mountain, illuminating it.

Boulders kept falling from the mountain like raindrops, filling the sky.

The floating rocks in the sky were one thing. The falling ones were truly deadly. One mistake meant becoming meat paste.

Another boulder, even bigger than before, plummeted straight toward them and smashed into the ground ahead. Yuanqi screamed in fright.

Xu Ying jumped off and walked to the crashed boulder. He examined it and said softly, “Weird. This rock has hair growing out of it. Master Zhong, have you seen anything like this?”

Something resembling hair protruded from the boulder, though it also looked like tentacles. It was as if countless strands of hair had twisted together into thick ropes, yet remained chaotic and disordered.

These things covered the boulder. Some grew out of the fissures in the boulder, while others covered the surface like overgrown moss.

Dazhong flew out and examined with his divine sense. He said, “Strange. It resembles stone, yet it isn’t stone. It resembles fur, yet it isn’t fur. It resembles flesh, yet it isn’t flesh. What exactly is this?”

Despite his vast knowledge and experience, he had never seen such a bizarre rock.

Yuanqi was the most well-read among them, but he didn’t recognize it either.

The earth shook violently again. Another towering mountain rose from the ground ten li away, gradually soaring into the sky.

This mountain hung upside down, and the disturbance it caused was even greater than the first. As it rose, blazing light and crimson radiance erupted from it with blinding brilliance.

Simultaneously, strange whistling noises came from underground, like bowstrings snapping but much louder. Amidst the cacophony, they felt as though the sound was trying to tear them apart.

Xu Ying suddenly sensed a strange sword qi emanating from beneath the ground. His expression changed drastically, and he leaped aside in a hurry, shouting, “Yuanqi, get over here!”

Yuanqi hurriedly slithered over. The earth beneath them suddenly split open. A strange torrent of qi burst upward like sword qi shooting into the sky, forming a wall of sword qi that stretched for dozens of li.

The sword qi brushed past Yuanqi’s tail. A sharp pain struck him. He turned around and discovered that the sword qi had sliced the tip of his tail thinner and sharper.

Tears welled in his eyes from the pain as he thought, The reason the tip of my tail is a little blunt was to make it easier to execute the Elephant-Bull Demon Fist. Now that it’s sharpened, the power of my fist art will be greatly reduced.

The wall of sword qi grew increasingly wider and taller, nearly reaching the height of the two mountains in the sky.

Only after all the sword qi within the fissure had erupted did the massive wall gradually dissipate.

Xu Ying and Yuanqi stared in shock at the massive fissure. The fissure was unnaturally even: a perfectly straight line with surfaces smooth as mirrors.

It was as if a colossus giant had split the earth open with a sky-piercing sword.

Yuanqi murmured, “This world has gone crazy.”

Xu Ying came to the edge of the fissure and looked down, but its depths were impossible to see.

“The sword qi of a supreme expert was sealed within this fissure, buried underground for countless years, unable to escape. If the underworld invasion hadn’t caused the mortal realm and the underworld to collide, the fissure would never have opened and released it.”

Xu Ying could still sense the fragments of the sword qi hundreds of zhang below the surface, darting back and forth and colliding with one another.

He said, “What a pity. The sword qi contained within the fissure has dissipated completely. It’s no longer possible to closely study the profundities of the sword art contained within.”

Deeply shaken, Yuanqi said, “It’s even stronger than the sword technique of Yuan Tiangang from the Homeward Pavilion!”

Xu Ying tried to grasp the underlying sword intent. Unfortunately, too much time had passed since that supreme expert unleashed the strike. With the sword qi dispersing from the fissure, the sword intent remaining within had already faded to an extremely weak level.

Suddenly, he sensed the sword case on his back trembling lightly, as though a living creature inside was jumping in excitement.

Moreover, faint sword qi and sword intent seeped out of the sword case and connected with his divine sense.

He was overjoyed. This sword case belonged to Yuan Tiangang. It contained his sword qi, which refined the case over time into a treasure.

Xu Ying had carried it the entire time, yet it had never responded to him before. Unexpectedly, the sword case showed its spiritual nature today. Sensing the supreme sword qi that flew out of the fissure, it actively resonated with Xu Ying and helped him comprehend the sword intent and sword qi hidden underground.

Dazhong also sensed the sword qi and sword intent within the sword case. He gasped and said, “This junior’s future is limitless. It’s about to awaken its spiritual sentience like me! Not bad, not bad!”

He spoke with an air of arrogance. Evidently, his achievements were much greater than those of the sword case, and he viewed himself as the senior.

While carefully sensing the sword intent within the fissure, Xu Ying made his way toward the Water Entrance Temple along it. The closer he got to the temple, the stronger the sword intent within the fissure became. The sword qi inside the case also grew increasingly active, practically leaping with excitement.

“Let’s hurry to the Water Entrance Temple!”

From afar, Xu Ying saw several government officials clad in vibrant robes, carrying gourds on their backs, racing along the fissure. One of them cried out to the others, “This sun and two immortal mountains erupted from the Water Entrance Temple’s dilapidated temple!”

“Have you notified Lord Prefect?”

“I already did. Though the Prefect Lord has probably noticed the phenomenon there by now!”

Xu Ying was shaken inside upon hearing this. The dilapidated temple spewed the sun and the immortal mountains? What is going on?”

He had been to the Water Entrance Temple before. It was once famous for being a large temple near the waters, but it had long since fallen into neglect. Moreover, with no gods residing within, the offerings had long since stopped, leaving it in ruins.

He had even entered the dilapidated temple before. It looked no different from any other temple. It was merely a place for the common folks to worship gods and pray for their protection. After its decline, it became little more than a shelter for wild foxes, weasels, and other small creatures.

This dilapidated temple could spew out immortal mountains and a sun?