Day of Ascension

On the dragon carriage, Zhou Qiyun looked up at the huge snake ahead and raised his white eyebrows slightly. Though this dragon carriage was a treasure, it couldn’t fit such a huge creature.

Previously, Yuanqi was about thirteen to fourteen zhang long and could even lie down straight inside the carriage. Now, he had grown both longer and much thicker. Even coiled up, squeezing him inside would be difficult.

Yuan Weiyang raised his head and sized up Yuanqi, admonishing him, “It’s only been a few days, and you’ve grown this fat? Go on a diet.”

Yuanqi sneered. “Not happening!”

Xu Ying turned to Zhou Qiyun and said, “No need to worry, Old Ancestor Zhou. He’s practiced the True Cultivation of Ba Snake and could grow or shrink at will. The dragon carriage can still fit him. Xiao Qi, shrink a little.”

Yuanqi cried out, “Xiao Ying, from now on, don’t call me Xiao Qi. Call me Seventh Master Niu!”

With that, he channeled the True Cultivation of Ba Snake. After straining himself for quite a while, he seemed to shrink slightly.

Xu Ying turned his head around. “Old Ancestor Zhou, could you make your dragon carriage a little bigger?”

In the end, they came up with a compromise. They squeezed Yuanqi into the carriage with only his head sticking out. Even then, the interior remained somewhat cramped.

Zhou Qiyun entered the carriage and squeezed in with Xu Ying and the others. This great figure didn’t mind the arrangement at all. As long as someone possessed talent and could be useful to him, he would do his best to accommodate them.

If they were useless, however, they would be in danger.

The divine dragons pulling the carriage set off with difficulty. They nearly fell just as they stepped onto the clouds formed from their incense qi. Their legs trembled, yet they eventually stabilized and rode the clouds toward Yongzhou Prefecture.

The dragon carriage soared into the clouds and passed through green mountains and emerald waters. A waterfall hung between the mountains and rivers, its mist catching the sunlight and casting a vibrant rainbow between two mountains.

The dragon carriage drove beneath the rainbow, catching a hint of its moisture. Illuminated by the sun, it also glowed with a dazzling splendor.

Inside the carriage, Zhou Qiyun sat by the window. He took out three books and casually flipped through them. Xu Ying stole a glance and noticed that their contents were nearly the same.

Just then, a soft, gentle hand slipped into his and traced words across his palm.

Xu Ying’s heart stirred slightly. Looking down, he saw Yuan Weiyang sitting beside him, secretly writing in his hand.

He had written the words “immortal book.”

Xu Ying nodded lightly. The three books Zhou Qiyun was reading were all the deciphered versions of the Granny Tuo Immortal Book.

He gripped Yuan Weiyan’s hand and began writing in his palm. Yuan Weiyang focused intently on identifying the words. After a while, she realized he was writing an entire passage that would take forever to finish and quickly pulled her hand away.

Maintaining a straight face, Xu Ying brought his hand to his nose, thinking, Why does Brother Yuan’s hand smell so nice? Could he be a flower demon?

He had heard legends of flower demons. These demons lived within flower buds and carried an intense scent. When the flower bloomed, the demon would dance elegantly within the buds.

During his nighttime travels, Xu Ying had encountered many demons, yet he had never seen a flower demon.

Xu Ying sniffed carefully and thought, Strange. The scent on Brother Yuan’s hand today isn’t daphne and orchid. It should be a mix of lily and gardenia. Mmm, the creamy scent remains. Does he still drink milk every day?

Seeing Xu Ying sniffing his fingers continuously with a strange expression, Yuan Weiyang shot a glare at him.

As Zhou Qiyun read, he suddenly asked, “The eldest young master must have become very strange after practicing the Granny Tuo Immortal Book, right?”

Xu Ying snapped back to his senses from the aroma. A chill ran up his spine.

Inside his mind, Dazhong was also shaken. He cursed inwardly. He knew about us killing the eldest young master!

A chill ran through Yuan Weiyang’s heart. Although she didn’t know what had happened, it must be a serious matter since Zhou Qiyun had asked about it!

Zhou Qiyun didn’t say anything further, seemingly waiting for Xu Ying’s reply.

Xu Ying remained silent for a moment, then told the truth. “The eldest young master practiced the deciphered Granny Tuo Immortal Book and became powerful. However, he’s lost all his primordial Yang. He forged a body of primordial Yin instead and turned into a woman.”

Zhou Qiyun raised his head and looked straight at him. With a clear gaze, Xu Ying met his eyes without flinching.

A moment later, Zhou Qiyun looked away. “So, why didn’t you practice it?”

Fine beads of sweat broke out on Xu Ying’s forehead as he immediately understood Zhou Qiyun’s meaning. Zhou Zhi stole the Granny Tuo Immortal Book and couldn’t resist practicing it. Meanwhile, Xu Ying deciphered the immortal book, so why had he resisted the temptation?

Perhaps his true purpose in having me decipher the Granny Tuo Immortal Book is to see whether I would turn into a woman like the eldest young master!

Xu Ying composed himself and smiled faintly. “Because when I was deciphering the immortal book, I realized that I would lose my primordial Yang and become a woman if I practiced according to it. That is why I didn’t practice it.

Zhou Qiyun’s gaze fell on Xu Ying’s face once more. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

Maintaining his smile, Xu Ying answered, “If I could see through that flaw, how could you not? You’re an immortal among mortals. How could you turn into a woman because of a mere immortal book?

“Someone with your talent would use it only as a stepping stone to create your own ultimate technique, not blindly follow the cultivation techniques left behind by a predecessor.”

Zhou Qiyun smiled. “You answered very well.”

After a moment’s hesitation, Xu Ying said, “Old Ancestor Zhou, regarding the eldest young master’s matter...”

Zhou Qiyun continued reading and said indifferently, “He was born a man, yet turned into a delicate woman, bringing shame to the clan. It is for the best that he died. That saves me the trouble of dealing with him personally.”

Xu Ying said nothing more. A short while later, he stepped out of the dragon carriage and onto the shaft. Yuan Weiyang followed him.

Uncle Xiao also wanted to follow, but leaving Zhou Qiyun alone in the carriage would be somewhat impolite. Zhou Qiyun waved his hand. Feeling as if a heavy weight was lifted from his shoulder, Uncle Xiao also stepped out.

He came outside, only to discover that Xu Ying and Yuan Weiyang were not on the shaft. His scalp tingled, and his mind went blank.

“She got abducted just like that? How am I supposed to explain this to the madam?”

He leaped onto the roof in a hurry. Only then did he sigh a breath of relief as he saw Xu Ying and Yuan Weiyang sitting on Yuanqi’s head.

Yuanqi’s head was huge, with two large, flat scales that resembled boulders between his thick antlers. Xu Ying and Yuan Weiyang were sitting there. It was already the fourth month, and the weather was gradually growing warmer. Even while facing the wind atop Yuanqi’s head, they didn’t feel cool at all.

The wind was somewhat strong, whipping the youths’ clothes and hair.

Yuan Weiyang reached out to touch the mane at the back of Yuanqi’s head. She exclaimed in surprise, “It’s really soft. They’re really feathers, like the down feathers of a newborn bird!”

Xu Ying approached closer to get a touch and clicked his tongue in admiration. Yuanqi’s mane was soft, yet had the texture of feathers. Stroking it from top to bottom felt especially nice.

Though his body was trapped in the carriage, Yuanqi threatened with just his head, “Keep touching, and I’ll bite you!”

Xu Ying and Yuan Weiyang ignored his threat and stroked a few more times.

Yuanqi cried out, “I’m a snake, with no humanity to speak of. Touch me again, and I’ll kill you with a breath of poison!”

The two stopped reluctantly. Xu Ying asked, “Master Qi, when will you be able to take human form?”

Conjuring mist with every exhale and forming whirlwinds with every inhale, Yuanqi said unhurriedly, “This time, I sensed that I was about to knock on the mystic gateway, and metamorphic energy gradually grew within. So, I came before the black-iron mystic gateway to comprehend the profound root of heaven and earth.

“I comprehended the Tai Hexagram of heaven and earth inverted, as well as the circulation of fire and water, establishing my own profound root. Thus, the mystic gateway opened. I also sensed my ancestors’ bloodline calling from the deep, boundless void. I let nature take its course for the transformation, and became what you see now.”

Xu Ying’s eyes went wide, and his jaw slackened as he listened to his profound explanation. He asked Dazhong, “Master Zhong, can he transform again?”

“I don’t know how many times a Yuan snake can metamorphose, but most demons can only do that once. But he’s already done it twice...”

Deeply impressed, Yuan Weiyang said, “He’s grasped the true essence of the Dao and awakened the archaic bloodline within him. Master Qi is a demon blessed with immense spiritual roots and has already achieved the Manifestation of the Great Dao.”

Xu Ying’s heart stirred slightly. After opening the Tailbone Pass, Yuanqi’s physique did seem to contain something ethereal. When motionless, he was like a mountain; when moving, he exuded an inexplicable sense of oppression and majesty. He indeed had the characteristic of the Manifestation of the Great Dao.

Within him, the bloodline of primordial Yuan snakes gradually awakened. Whether it was due to his breakthrough, the locust flowers, or simply the result of his molting remained unknown.

Dazhong said, “Ah Ying, look at this stupid snake. This is what a proper Qi Cultivator’s breakthrough looks like! Does your breakthrough even deserve to be called one?”

Xu Ying asked humbly for guidance, “Master Zhong, is there a fundamental difference between Master Qi’s breakthrough and mine?”

“No, he just gained some pretentious insight into what it means to be a snake.”

With a deep gaze, Yuanqi looked into the distance. His voice also turned heavy, saying, “I have perceived the boundlessness of heaven, the vastness of the earth, and the vanity of life. I have comprehended the Dao... Ah, so hungry. Is there anything to eat?

“The locust flowers have withered over the past few days. I was going crazy from the hunger on the tree!”

Uncle Xiao walked over with a solemn expression. “Master Qi, why not feast on the vanity of life?”

Xu Ying and Yuan Weiyang couldn’t hold it in and burst out laughing. A faint smile also appeared at the corner of Uncle Xiao’s lips before his face straightened once more.

With a dry cough, he said, “Young Master, one shouldn’t show their teeth when laughing.”

Yuan Weiyang hurriedly sat upright. A moment later, she said, “Demon King Xu, you’ve once mentioned that you experimented with using sword kinesis for flight, but ultimately failed. I’ve spent the past few days reading some of the ancient texts in the Zhou clan’s collection and discovered that the Sword Kinesis Technique has long since been lost.

“The texts contained some scattered references to it, mostly describing how Qi Cultivators in the pre-Qin era performed them. They did not stand on swords. Instead, they transformed sword qi into streams of light that enveloped them.”

She took out a copy she had transcribed. An illustration depicted a person making a sword-finger gesture as sword qi flowed around them like a stream of light, covering them from head to toe.

She continued, “This type of sword kinesis flight is shaped like a flying shuttle, with two pointed ends and bulged in the middle. The cultivator remains concealed within it as it tears through the sky.”

Xu Ying leaned in closer to take a look. He praised, “This way, the sword light protects them, allowing one to surpass the sound barrier and pass through lightning and fire without harm. It is indeed far better than standing on a sword and flying.”

“Unfortunately, sword kinesis flight has been lost to time. The Zhou clan’s ancient texts have no record of how to perform the technique, only descriptions of it by predecessors. Though my clan possesses a vast collection of books, there are few records regarding sword kinesis flight.”

She took out several more copied texts and opened them one by one. “Our Yuan clan has the Divine Sense Leaping Technique, the Zhou clan possesses the Physique Transformation Technique, and the Guo clan has the Cloud-Ladder Heavenly Bound Technique.

“Among them, the Guo clan’s technique is the most brilliant. With a single leap, one ascends to the sky on a cloud ladder, moving as fast as a shooting star. My clan’s technique is an Actualization art. It uses the divine sense to actualize objects in the void, allowing us to step on them and move through the air.”

Written on the copy was a simplified version of the Divine Sense Leaping Technique. Xu Ying read through it once and understood its underlying principles.

The technique was essentially walking, only in the sky.

A cultivator would actualize a foothold in the air, like a brick, and step onto it. Then they would actualize another brick and continue forward.

Just like that, one could traverse through the sky, one step at a time.

If one’s divine sense was powerful enough, one could actualize a smooth, flat path in the sky and run across it while continuously extending it forward.

However, the leaping technique consumed an enormous amount of divine sense. Even divine sense experts like Yuan Weiyang, who had unlocked their Yellow-Court Secret Trove, would not readily choose it; they would rather walk on the ground.

The flying techniques of the other noble clans also relied on actualization to traverse the sky, including the Zhou clan’s physique transformation.

Clearly, these techniques were inferior to the Sword Kinesis Technique.

Xu Ying’s heart stirred slightly. He asked, “Master Zhong, do you know the Sword Kinesis Technique?”

Dazhong answered, “In my era, Qi Cultivators were already on the decline. Many things were already lost to time. My master didn’t know the Sword Kinesis Technique either, but he found some remnant verses of the Sword Kinesis Technique and recited them in front of me before.”

He recited the verses, and Xu Ying listened intently. It was a technique to control a sword with one’s divine sense. It was a very short text, with only thirty-some characters.

Xu Ying repeated the incomplete verses. Yuan Weiyang took out paper and brush and wrote them down with her head lowered. Though short, the text’s meaning was profound. Yuan Weiyang couldn’t make sense of it for the time being.

Xu Ying, on the other hand, understood it at a glance and explained the incomplete verses’ meaning. With his guidance, Yuan Weiyang was enlightened.

He said with delight, “Our clan is superior to others when it comes to divine sense. Perhaps we can fill in the missing parts of the verses!”

Uncle Xiao hesitated for a moment, thinking of intervening. However, he paused and thought, It would be a wonderful thing if we could use our clan’s techniques to fill in the incomplete verses. Revealing a tiny portion of our technique shouldn’t be a big problem.

Yuan Weiyang wrote over a hundred characters on the paper before reaching the limits of her understanding. No matter how hard she tried, she could not fill in the remaining gaps.

Xu Ying leaned in closer to analyze the scripture together. He picked up the brush and continued writing. Both possessed extraordinary talent. With only a trace of sword intent, they had comprehended a Manifestation of the Great Dao in sword techniques.

Soon, they completed the inner mantra for a sword technique that was over two hundred words long.

The two exchanged glances, their eyes gleaming.

Xu Ying said, “I’ll give it a try first. I have Master Zhong and won’t die from a fall.”

Yuan Weiyang’s lips curved into a faint smile. She suddenly leaped off Yuanqi’s head, and even Uncle Xiao couldn’t stop her in time.

Startled, Xu Ying hurriedly jumped after her.

Uncle Xiao and Yuanqi cried out in alarm as they watched the two of them plummet from high altitude, rapidly accelerating. At this speed, even someone forged from iron would shatter from the fall!

Just then, sword light spiraled around them. Sword qi erupted from their fingertips and enveloped them, swirling continuously. Gradually, it took the shape of sword qi shuttles that grew brighter and brighter.

Swish!

Just as they were about to crash, the two sword qi shuttles crossed paths above a river winding between towering mountains. The raised massive waves sent water spraying into the air like scattered jade and pearls.

The two sword qi shuttles sped up. They suddenly pulled up from the water surface and soared upward, nearly touching the mountain peaks on both banks, spiraling around them.

The commotion soon drew Zhou Qiyun’s attention. He pushed the window open and looked outside, only to see two sword qi shuttles meet at the mountain peak, coiling around each other as they soared into the sky. They soon rose above the dragon carriage, then suddenly split apart and weaved through the valley.

A smile flickered across Zhou Qiyun’s face. He murmured, “What exceptional talent. They actually comprehended the Sword Kinesis Technique, though...”

His expression turned cold, feeling a sense of unease inside. He sneered inwardly, What a shameless couple!