Day of Ascension

This scene within the underworld beside the Hell River sent chills down their spines.

Xu Ying grew wary and slowed his pace. As he passed the willow tree, the person beneath it extended an invitation.

“Young Master Xu, why don’t you come take a seat?”

Growing wary, Yuanqi whispered, “Ah Ying, this man has ill intentions!”

Xu Ying nodded lightly. “Since we’re already here, we might as well see what he wants. He’s been waiting here for some time, so he clearly won’t let us leave easily.”

He approached, excused himself, and sat down. The bull demons waited behind him. They stood not on the ground, but atop swirls of chilling wind, creating an eerie sight.

They were Xu Ying’s source of confidence.

Though he had no idea why they followed him, with them and the white bone soul-striking whips, he figured he could handle any danger that might arise.

Sitting across him was a frowning old man. It was impossible to tell his age. Deep wrinkles covered his face like knife scars carved into his flesh, as though they reached the bone.

He was so old that his eyes sank deep into their sockets. Sitting under the green lantern, his eyes seemed like two red dots hidden deep within their sockets, glowing like incense. He also carried a strange incense-like scent, but he didn’t look like a god.

The old man poured tea for Xu Ying.

Though thirsty, Xu Ying didn’t drink it. Instead, he asked, “You know me, Old Sir?”

Staring at the tea, Yuanqi gulped. However, there were only two chairs and two cups, leaving him out entirely.

The old man smiled. “I do. I even held you in my arms when you were little.”

Xu Ying looked at him in shock. He tried hard to recall his childhood.

“Why don’t I remember you, Old Sir? Xujiaping Village was my hometown. Everyone had the surname Xu there. My father was the thirdborn, named Xu Sanlang, and my mother was from the neighboring village, named Luo Yinghua. I was the second child in the family, and I have an older sister—no, that’s not it!”

His eyes gradually turned red as the scene at Homeward Pavilion surfaced in his mind. He recalled the little boy who had bumped into his leg, and the young couple whose faces he couldn’t see clearly.

Yuanqi and Dazhong both grew tense. “Oh no, Ah Ying’s condition is acting up again!”

The old man gestured for him to drink the tea and said, “You’ve had headaches since you were young, and you’re still not cured. How pitiful.”

His head throbbing with a splitting pain, Xu Ying set down the tea cup he’d raised and smiled. “Since you’ve held me in your arms, Old Sir, you must know a lot about my childhood.”

The old man’s frown deepened when he saw Xu Ying hadn’t drunk the tea. Suddenly, lightning flashed, and thunder rumbled in the sky as a grand temple soared through the air.

The white-robed Exorcist Immortal’s voice rang out, “Brat with the huge snake, where are you hiding? No need to hide anymore; show yourself! Show me your sword techniques again!”

Xu Ying and Yuanqi’s expressions darkened. Dazhong also tolled once. Only the bull demons remained calm. Standing within the swirling cold winds, they merely snorted a few times.

Xu Ying immediately stood up and wanted to excuse himself.

The old man said, “You can rest assured. He won’t find this place. Soon, Ling Youdao of Yongzhou’s underworld office will come through here and lure him away.”

Xu Ying’s eyes flickered. He secretly activated his Third Eye to observe him and smiled. “How should I address you, Old Sir?”

He channeled his divine sense to act as a mirror at his glabella. His Third Eye opened, casting its gaze onto the old man.

Xu Ying’s heart trembled. He saw a boundlessly vast divine being sitting in the void behind the old man, radiating endless rays of rosy light that made it impossible to look at directly.

A Qi Cultivator!

Xu Ying felt a chill in his heart. He quickly deactivated his Third Eye and focused on keeping his composure, not daring to reveal anything unusual.

This old man was a Qi Cultivator like the coffin maiden!

However, didn’t she say that Qi Cultivators had gone extinct? Where did this frowning old man come from?

The old man sensed something unusual, as if someone had glanced at him, but it quickly vanished. Puzzled, he glanced around. Only the ghost gods of the dilapidated temple were wandering around, and the white-robed Exorcist Immortal was circling the sky with the grand temple in search of Xu Ying. No other experts were present.

Is an expert hiding nearby?

Failing to find the one who spied on him, he secretly raised his vigilance. “The Exorcist Immortal of Water Entrance Temple is surnamed Chen, and his name is Mianzhu. He was once the king of the Southern Dian Kingdom[1]. He admired the Divine Land’s culture and came here to study. His talent was truly astonishing, and he had a profound fortune.

“He learned the legacy of an Exorcist and unlocked his Jade-Capital Secret Trove, then obtained a mysterious legacy. Upon returning, his cultivation progressed by leaps and bounds. In just a hundred years, he reached the realm of an Exorcist Immortal.”

Xu Ying listened carefully as the old man spoke about the immortal’s origins.

The old man added, “Chen Mianzhu lived to the age of three hundred sixty-seven. When he became an Exorcist Immortal, he realized his lifespan was limited and began preparing for the afterlife.

“He gathered the strength of the Southern Dian Kingdom and had its people worship gods, crafting statue after statue. By the time of his death, he had built the Water Entrance Temple, connecting one end to the mortal realm and the other to the underworld.

“He concealed his Radiant Vestige’s land of sublimation in the underworld, planning to become an undying and unperishing Exorcist Immortal who existed in both realms. He enslaved numerous gods to have them refine elixirs for him and manage his everyday life, allowing him to continue living like a king. Such was the life of an immortal, until one day—”

Xu Ying interrupted him. “Until one day, a sword strike split apart his land of sublimation. A peerless expert barged in and killed him!”

With a strange expression, the old man said, “That person barged into his land of sublimation with his sword, but he didn’t kill him. Instead, he ate him.”

A chill shot from Xu Ying’s tailbone to the back of his head. Hoarsely, he muttered, “Ate him?”

He unconsciously took a sip of the tea to moisten his throat. Yuanqi and Dazhong were both so engrossed in the story that they didn’t notice it either.

The old man replied, “He devoured him clean, leaving only his skin. He didn’t even spare the soul. The being who devoured him did it deliberately, as if savoring a rare delicacy that he had prepared. He wasn’t willing to waste even a single bite.”

As he said this, his throat rolled like he was swallowing saliva, as if the Exorcist Immortal had been a delicious meal.

The old man picked up the teapot and poured tea for Xu Ying, then continued, “An ordinary death wouldn’t have left Chen Mianzhu with such deep resentment. Eaten alive, bite by bite, his resentment reached the heavens. Even now, only a trace of his lingering consciousness survives.”

Xu Ying came to a realization. Sipping the tea, he remarked, “No wonder he seemed so powerful, but is actually not so.”

The old man said, “How strong can a mere husk be? He’s only a shell of his former self, capable of only bullying Great Exorcists, but he’ll suffer a loss if he comes across a true expert. Alright, the Controller General of the underworld office has lured him away.”

Ling Youdao’s shriek echoed in the sky. Then, the white-robed immortal’s laugh rang out. “A wood-and-clay god like you with barely any flesh dares to trouble me?”

Ling Youdao replied, “I am a Controller General of the Underworld Court. How dare you attack me? You’d be violating the laws of heaven if you killed me. You won’t be able to handle the consequences!”

“What’s the Underworld Court good for? I’ll storm the Underworld Court one day and make myself its emperor!”

Their voices gradually faded into the distance. Xu Ying sighed in relief and smiled. “Thank you, Old Sir.”

The old man replied, “Please go on your way, Young Master Xu.”

Xu Ying rose to his feet, but his vision blurred for a moment. He shook his head to clear his mind. Together with Yuanqi and the bull demons, he walked into the vast night, their figures gradually fading from sight.

The old man stared wide-eyed, speechless for a while.

Then, he cried out in disbelief, “Meng Po, your tea is indeed watered down! No, this is practically tea-flavored water!”

He trembled with rage. The legendary Meng Po Soup, the soup of oblivion, had actually only dazed Xu Ying for a brief moment before he sobered up, as if he was completely unaffected.

Meng Po had definitely watered it down!

“This won’t do. I must go find Meng Po and demand an explanation from her!”

The old man rose to his feet, cleared the stone table, and put away the tea set. Then, he reached for the green paper umbrella leaning against the table. His hand grasped empty air.

He froze, then reached again. Still nothing. He said angrily, “Where’s my umbrella? Which scoundrel stole it?”

He felt a chill in his heart. Was it that expert who glanced at me from the dark? He watched me from the shadows and stole my paper umbrella without a sound. Is that him demonstrating his power to me?

Scanning his surroundings warily, he said out loud, “Who is the friend playing a joke on me? Please show yourself!”

He waited for a long time, but there was no movement. Only then did he slowly retreat step by step, remaining fully alert in case of an ambush.

He suddenly leaped into the air, turned into a stream of light, and disappeared into the sky. Finally, he breathed a sigh of relief. “Even this great expert couldn’t find a single flaw in me!”

***

“We’re finally at Mount Wu Wang!”

Xu Ying’s group returned to Qin Yan Cave and entered the Mud-Pill Palace.

Yuanqi wept from joy. “I nearly died both times when I left the cave. I’m never going out again!”

Dazhong flew out of the back of Xu Ying’s head along with a green paper umbrella. He asked curiously, “How did you almost lose your life the last time?”

“I encountered a snake catcher. He chased me for three days and nights.” Yuanqi then examined the green paper umbrella. “Master Zhong, what’s with this umbrella?”

Dazhong answered smugly, “I saw it leaning against the leg of the table and found it strangely appealing, so I took it while that old man was distracted. Sure enough, he didn’t notice it.”

Yuanqi coiled the tip of his tail around the green paper umbrella’s handle, popped it open, and brought it to his head, like he was wearing a little mushroom. “It’s too small.”

The umbrella then enlarged with a whoosh, perfectly covering his head.

Yuanqi clicked his tongue in amazement. “It’s actually an artifact!”

So, he didn’t return it to Dazhong.

He thought, Ah Ying already has Master Zhong. Naturally, this umbrella belongs to me, the second master of Qin Yan Cave!

Xu Ying lifted the white bone whip to examine it carefully. The skull at its tip bobbed smugly, clacking with laughter.

The whip could strike the soul of any being—be it of the living, the dead, or the gods. It had even made city gods, and the temple’s ghost gods twist in agony and sob uncontrollably. Yet the white bone soul-striking whip did not affect Xu Ying, which puzzled him.

“Why am I not affected by this whip?” Bewildered, Xu Ying handed it to Yuanqi. “Hit me with it.”

Holding the whip, Yuanqi’s timid heart suddenly turned bold. “Ah Ying, you’re the one who asked for it. No going back on your words!”

Xu Ying urged, “Hurry up!”

Yuanqi pulled it back and lashed out. “With this, the grudge of you hunting me is paid. From now on, all scores between us are settled. We don’t owe each other anymore!”

Crack!

The whip swung down and struck Xu Ying. Still, he only felt his soul trembling slightly, and nothing else.

The bull demons, who had also followed Xu Ying into Qin Yan Cave, grew furious when they saw Yuanqi whipping Xu Ying. In retaliation, they lashed out at him one after another.

Yuanqi cried out in a panic, “He asked me to do it! I didn’t—aaaaah! It hurts!”

The lashing left him in agonizing pain. He collapsed to the ground, and the bulls took turns whipping him nonstop. His miserable screams and the cracks of whips rang out endlessly.

Xu Ying hurriedly went forward to stop the bulls, rescuing Yuan Qi. However, the huge snake was already foaming at the mouth, his breathing faint.

He said weakly, “Ah Ying, what you owe me can never be settled...”

Puzzled, Xu Ying murmured, “Why does Xiao Qi scream so miserably when he’s hit, yet I feel nothing at all?”

Dazhong was also bewildered. “The soul-striking whip specifically targets the soul. Could your soul be different from others? Wait a moment, I’ll knock your soul out and take a look!”

Without waiting for Xu Ying’s reply, he suddenly let out a deafening clang, dazing Xu Ying. Opening his eyes, he saw another Xu Ying standing before him.

Dazhong said, “Stop looking. That’s your physical body. You are the soul.”

Xu Ying exclaimed in shock, “I’m the soul?”

Dazhong observed him up and down. He then asked, “Tell me honestly, Ah Ying, how many Myriad-Spirit Pills did you eat?”

Extremely distressed, he said, “Your soul is practically turning solid!”

***

At the Homeward Pavilion.

Yuan Tiangang stroked his beard as he watched the little old man walk toward the Bridge of Oblivion in bewilderment. With his hands clasped behind his back, the old man walked unhurriedly, but he frowned deeply as if troubled by something.

Yuan Tiangang murmured, puzzled, “Where’s his green paper umbrella?”

1. An ancient kingdom established by the Dian people. This non-Han metalworking civilization inhabited the Dian Lake plateau of central northern Yunnan, China. ☜