Day of Ascension

At Mount Song’s Sima Grotto Heaven, the other noble clans quickly learned that the imperial Li clan had unearthed an immortal corpse. Their clan elders immediately rushed to the scene.

No single clan could explore the spiritual sanctuary alone, so they had always relied on one another. As a result, any benefits found within had to be divided equally.

“Not a single immortal corpse has been unearthed since the great changes in heaven and earth. The Li clan can forget about keeping the spoils to themselves!”

An elder of the Cui clan smiled in excitement. “The Li clan wouldn’t want to offend us either.”

The Zhao clan’s elder chuckled. “Unless the Li clan no longer cares about maintaining its control over the country, they’ll have to share the spoils with us.”

Ever since the underworld’s invasion, new lands had emerged across countless regions. The prefectures that once governed those lands had lost contact with their counties and towns, and communication with the Divine Capital had grown equally tenuous.

The imperial authority had lost its power and could no longer rule the regions, while the local governments had become incapacitated, unable to rule their territories.

To maintain its rule, the imperial Li clan had no choice but to rely on the major noble clans.

The clan elders soon arrived at the Li clan’s encampment inside the Sima Grotto Heaven with their men. A thick stench of blood struck them before they reached it. Then, they saw that the Li clan’s Exorcists were strewn across the ground.

At the center of the encampment stood a thick, heavy coffin. Its lid was open, and it was empty.

“The imperial clan has run into evil! Quickly retreat!”

Realizing the situation was bad, they immediately turned to flee, only to see a young man glowing with immortal radiance standing in their way. His attire was extremely ancient, woven from feathers and gold thread, completely different from the style of today. He wore a turquoise necklace on his neck, and a Sheng[1] accessory on his head.

A beam of immortal light descended from the sky, enveloping his form as waves of fragrance drifted out from the immortal radiance.

He looked like an immortal who had wandered into the mortal world by mistake, untouched by even a speck of dust, as though worldly affairs were beneath his concern.

When everyone saw him, they heard a whisper in their ears. It felt as though something were boring into their brains and speaking directly to them.

The feather-robed youth smiled faintly and opened his mouth. A tongue two to three zhang long shot out and licked the face of a female disciple from the Chai clan.

She was frozen with fear. Suddenly, the flexible tongue wrapped around her neck and flung her high into the air.

The feather-robed youth tilted his head back and opened his mouth wide, swallowing the Chai disciple headfirst.

The crowd gasped in horror. Immediately, various exorcism techniques and divine abilities flew out, filling the sky as they shot toward the feather-robed youth. Some among them even activated the Qi Cultivator artifacts they had obtained from this spiritual sanctuary to attack the man!

The feather-robed youth smiled faintly. Moments later, the commotion died down.

Numerous corpses lay strewn across the ground.

The feather-robed youth patiently stuffed the corpses into his mouth one by one. After devouring them all, he headed toward Mount Song’s highest peak, where Xu Ying’s group was.

On the highest peak, Dazhong rotated silently, protecting everyone underneath him. No one was sleeping, whether it was Xu Ying, Zhu Chanchan, or the white-robed elder Bei Chenzi.

Only Yuanqi slept soundly. He lay flat, stretched out, snoring away. Each time he inhaled, his tongue retracted into his mouth. Each time he exhaled, it lolled far out, swaying in the wind like a wave.

Dazhong admired silently. Master Qi is truly carefree.

Meanwhile, Zhu Chanchan was trembling anxiously. She peeked around him from time to time. She was still growing, and Guo Xiaodie’s clothes hung loosely on her, doing little to shield her from the wind.

When the cold mountain wind blew, her clothes puffed up. She wrapped her arms around herself, looking both helpless and pitiful.

Bei Chenzi somehow produced a stone table, set a chessboard on it, and began playing against himself. This elder cared deeply about outward appearances. Even in the middle of the night, a beam of sunlight descended from the sky to illuminate him and the chessboard.

Dazhong praised inwardly. No matter what, this elder certainly has an imposing presence!

Meanwhile, Xu Ying took advantage of Bei Chenzi’s sunlight to fully grasp the Primordial Dao Heavenly Domain Resonance on the two sheets of golden paper. At this critical juncture, he decided to try practicing the technique.

Dazhong thought. Ah Ying is also way too carefree. He has no idea how powerful a heavenly demon is.

However, he didn’t know much about a heavenly demon’s strength either.

He used to suppress a heavenly demon inside the ancient well at the abandoned temple on Rocky Mountain. He assumed a heavenly god and a heavenly demon should be about equal in strength. However, since Dazhong’s master had captured and sealed that heavenly god, he had no clear understanding of its true combat prowess.

He thought, Even if Bei Chenzi can’t handle it, there’s still me.

After a long contemplation, Xu Ying finally began using the Primordial Dao Heavenly Domain Resonance and channeling its inner mantra to harvest the immortal herbs within the cosmic qi in his Yellow Court grotto heaven.

As he channeled the technique, his divine sense gradually improved, and his perception grew increasingly stronger.

Strangely, he did not experience the sensation of standing in darkness this time, nor did he feel the eerie gaze that had watched him before.

The Primordial Dao Heavenly Domain Resonance was incredibly bizarre. When channeling this technique, his perception seemed to be amplified countless times, allowing him to perceive the myriad heavens hidden in the void easily!

“What a powerful perception technique!” Xu Ying couldn’t help but marvel. His divine sense could even touch these myriad heavens and perceive their different colors!

He could even touch the ancient consciousnesses drifting in the void. Those powerful, ancient minds barely worked. When he touched them, he could hear majestic Dao sounds. They sounded like the laments of supreme beings or hymns to the Dao, their meanings incomprehensible.

Xu Ying was like a little butterfly entering a vast, blooming garden.

Now, he finally understood why the Yuan clan always demanded that its members restrain themselves, act with propriety, suppress their desires, and maintain absolute rationality.

When cultivating the Primordial Dao Heavenly Domain Resonance, losing one’s inner peace or failing to remain absolutely rational meant risking the influence of the countless ancient consciousnesses drifting through the void.

Furthermore, when their divine sense resonated with the myriad heavens, they risked invasion by evil, heretical forces.

Therefore, only by suppressing desires and maintaining rationality can they preserve their lives while cultivating.

As a result, the Yuan clan members always appeared cold and detached, keeping everyone at arm’s length. They were never warm or welcoming.

Most likely, countless Yuan clan descendants died inexplicable deaths while cultivating their techniques. Xu Ying thought, No wonder the Yuan clan has so few people.

He channeled the Grand Unity Guiding Method. His divine sense hovered on the edge of existence. By firmly guarding his grand unity, he left no opening for external evils to invade. Yet, those of the Yuan clan were not so fortunate.

The Yuan clan’s misfortune was likely the calamity brought about by the Primordial Dao Heavenly Domain Resonance itself. It had nothing to do with the Yellow-Court Secret Trove or its immortal herbs. If they had cultivated the Yellow-Court Secret Trove with a different top-tier cultivation method, they might have avoided that fate.

Can I really sense the gods of another world by strengthening the perception of my divine sense? Xu Ying’s heart stirred slightly. He took a deep breath and circulated the Grand Unity Guiding Method. Simultaneously, he channeled the powers of the Mud Pill, Crimson Palace, and Yellow Court grotto heavens.

His vigor, strength, and divine sense steadily improved.

Xu Ying released his divine sense and sharpened its perception, searching across the myriad heavens for the Towering Wasteland Bei Chenzi had mentioned.

Just then, he sensed a powerful, evil mind ascending the mountain!

The moment this mind made contact with his divine sense, Xu Ying felt his divine sense go into disarray. The world spun around him as all sorts of distracting thoughts flooded him, causing various bizarre and unimaginable images to appear before his eyes!

“A heavenly demon!”

Xu Ying firmly guarded his grand unity, gathering his scattered divine sense into one and withdrawing it into him.

That mind exclaimed in surprise, “Hmm? “You’re quite interesting, and no less valuable than an immortal herb.”

Xu Ying opened his eyes and whispered, “Senior Bei Chenzi, the enemy is here!”

Bei Chenzi pinched a white chess piece between his index and middle fingers and placed it lightly on the board. He chuckled. “Good timing. I sensed him too.”

The sky lit up as soon as he placed the piece, and a hill-like white piece descended from the sky, crashing toward the mountain base wrapped in blazing flames!

Seeing this move, both Xu Ying and Dazhong couldn’t help but gasp in admiration.

“As expected of an old monster who trains in both Exorcism and Qi, his divine abilities are extraordinary!”

Pop!

The white piece exploded the instant it landed on the board, making Bei Chenzi’s fingers tremble.

His expression darkened. He immediately picked up another white piece and placed it on the board. This time, he abandoned his complacency and gave it everything he had.

Containing immense power, the white piece plummeted into the mountains. A moment later, an earth-shattering shockwave rippled outward.

As the white piece landed on the board, it exploded with another pop, and Bei Chenzi’s fingertips bled.

Bei Chenzi gasped in shock. “Little Chanchan, who is your enemy?”

Zhu Chanchan peeked out from behind Xu Ying and murmured, “Heavenly demon...”

“Heavenly demon?” Bei Chenzi’s expression darkened drastically as he cursed inwardly. The shockwave from the heavenly demon’s approach at the foot of the mountain nearly made him cough up blood, and his face flushed crimson. He no longer dared to hold back.

Leaping to his feet, he circled the stone table and chessboard. Ignoring the flow of the game, he grabbed chess pieces one after another and slammed them onto the board.

He groaned inwardly. Had I known her enemy was a heavenly demon, I never would’ve joined this group! Now I’m in trouble!

Deafening explosions continuously at the foot of the mountain. Chess pieces kept falling from the sky, only to explode one after another. Terrifying shockwaves surged out in all directions, wave after wave, sweeping through the mountain forests!

Fortunately, this was deep inside Mount Song, where the mountains were numerous, and the land was vast. There was no need to worry about the shockwaves hitting ordinary people.

White steam rose from Bei Chenzi’s head, and nine grotto heavens manifested behind him, dense with violet qi. He was pushing his Qi and Exorcism cultivation to their limits.

He no longer cared where the pieces struck the board, or whether they were black or white pieces. He grabbed everything he could and slammed them onto the board desperately.

Yet, judging by where the pieces struck throughout the mountains, he had failed to slow the intruder in the slightest. The heavenly demon continued ascending the mountain at a steady pace.

Soon, Bei Chenzi’s hands were covered in blood. Nearly all ten fingers were wounded, and blood trickled from his seven orifices.

Xu Ying’s heart skipped a beat. He hurriedly cried out, “Master Zhong!”

Dazhong immediately understood. He stopped shielding the group, rapidly shrank to the size of a chess piece, and slipped into the chess jar.

Bei Chenzi’s bloodied index and middle fingers pinched the shrunken Dazhong and tried to unleash his divine ability. However, Dazhong was far too powerful for his divine ability to control.

He spewed blood and let out a furious roar. A Primordial Spirit manifested behind him, extended two fingers, pinched the miniature Dazhong, and executed the technique alongside him.

Only then did he manage to lift Dazhong. As he raised Dazhong, his arm trembled violently, as if the bell was incredibly heavy, like he had picked up the three thousand peaks of Mount Song.

Thunder rumbled in the sky. Lightning flashed everywhere, illuminating a pitch-black expanse of shadows.

Xu Ying and Zhu Chanchan looked up. The wind and clouds churned overhead. Another bolt of lightning revealed an enormous ancient bell.

The bell stirred the wind and clouds as lightning split the sky around it. It appeared to descend slowly, yet it was unimaginably fast as it fell toward the mountain peak where they stood.

Clang!

A loud, heavy roar reverberated. Xu Ying and Zhu Chanchan saw the space beneath the bell warp violently as it crushed downward.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Each toll drove the mountain downward. The tallest peak sank more than ten zhang with the first strike, then sank even farther with the next.

Still, the person approaching from the base stood firm. Immortal light suddenly surged and collided with the massive bell.

Streak after streak of immortal light rose, preventing the bell from descending.

Bei Chenzi was no longer merely bleeding from his seven orifices. Blood poured from them in torrents. Roaring with all his might, he pinched Dazhong and struggled to press him onto the chessboard, but the effort was unimaginably difficult.

His white robes were soaked in blood. The skin on his right arm split apart, and the veins beneath it bulged violently, snapping like overstretched bowstrings.

“Aaaargh!” Bei Chenzi screamed. He reached out with his other arm to press down on his right arm, straining to lower it onto the chessboard.

Clang!

With one final toll of the bell, Bei Chenzi finally forced Dazhong to drop, and that massive bell in the sky plummeted, crashing the peak a hundred zhang into the ground with a thunderous clang. The violent tremors caused the surrounding peaks to sway and tilt.

The fierce gale set off by this divine ability blew through the mountains in an instant, clearing countless clouds and mists. The bell’s toll even lifted the vast river flowing down the mountain straight into the air. Only after it had been blown more than one hundred li away did the water fall back to the earth.

Spewing blood, Bei Chenzi fell on his back and lost consciousness.

Before he fainted, only a single thought remained. I’m done for, but that’s fine. Everything ends in death. Once the heavenly demon catches this brat and devours him, everything will be settled once and for all...

As Dazhong landed on the chessboard, his form enlarged. The shockwaves had reopened his old wounds. Cracks appeared on his surface.

He cried out, “Ah Ying, my strength is spent!”

Behind Xu Ying, Zhu Chanchan jumped out and struck the bell a few times with her fist, saying, “You can hold on a little longer!”

Dazhong shouted, “I meant my vital energy is depleted!”

Channeling his vital energy, Xu Ying formed a seal with his hands and struck Dazhong with palm strike after palm strike, but the massive bell that crashed into the mountains gradually turned translucent.

Xu Ying summoned all his strength and poured out the entirety of his cultivation, only stopping when that massive bell disappeared.

Zhu Chanchan cried out in horror, “He’s still alive!”

Xu Ying looked down. The tallest peak of Mount Song had become its lowest. Near what had once been the summit lay a figure face-down in a massive crater, his body crushed into a mangled mass.

His flesh and blood writhed continuously as he reconstructed his body!

Xu Ying’s heart jolted. He kicked Yuanqi and shouted, “Master Qi, wake up!”

Yuanqi woke up from his deep sleep and muttered in a daze, “What’s wrong, Ah Ying?”

Xu Ying picked up Zhu Chanchan, tossed her onto Yuanqi’s head, and picked up Dazhong.

Zhu Chanchan cried out, “Don’t leave that little white-haired old man. We still need him to save our lives next time!”

Xu Ying reached out and tucked the unconscious Bei Chenzi under his arm, then hurried onto Yuanqi’s head and said, “Quick, let’s goooo!”

“I’m still half-asleep...”

“Run for your life!”

“Alright!” Yuanqi immediately perked up and slithered away at lightning speed.

1. Ancient Chinese head ornament, worn on the forehead or in the hair, inserted horizontally through a woman’s hair bun as a hairpin or crown-like ornament. I have two very different examples here: https://pic2.zhimg.com/v2-bbf441837ac484a5e356b714cd91a9cb_1440w.jpg and https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GNiW297bQAAUo9G?format=jpg&name=medium ☜