Day of Ascension

This situation was too bizarre. The white skeleton in the temple invited them in warmly, behaving like a living person. A chill ran down Xu Ying and Yuanqi’s spines.

As the temple doors opened, an unusual aura surged out from within. It was an aura of the Dao, but it existed beyond the Heavenly Dao!

Xu Ying’s heart stirred slightly. Aura of a foreign Dao? Strange!

When he had been fighting for his life against the tower of flesh earlier, he had noticed that it wasn’t a creature of the Heavenly Dao.

Just then, Xue Ying’an awoke. Seeing this scene, he exclaimed in shock, “A Heretical Dao temple?!”

He had been focused on trying to open his Mud Pill grotto heaven, so he was oblivious to everything happening outside. He regained awareness only after successfully opening it. The sight of the skeleton inside the temple startled him.

Xu Ying asked in puzzlement, “Ying’an, what are Heretical Dao Temples?”

Xue Ying’an composed himself. “This world we’re in is actually the Heretical Dao Realm. It doesn’t belong to the myriad realms. The creatures here worship the Heretical Dao gods, and the places they worship them are called Heretical Dao Temples.”

Yuanqi asked curiously, “What is Heretical Dao?”

Xue Ying’an explained, “For Qi Cultivators to master divine abilities, they must comprehend various Dao avatars. These Dao avatars are the external manifestations outward expressions of the Dao.

“Take you, for example. You’re a Dao avatar yourself. Various Dao avatars exist in the Heavenly Dao and are part of it. Anything not part of the Heavenly Dao is in the Heretical Dao. You’ve heard of the saying ‘demons and heretics,’ haven’t you? The ‘heretics’ refer to the aura of the Great Dao inside the temple!”

Xu Ying looked up at the plaque above the temple’s door. “You mean this is a place where the evil gods of the Heretical Dao are worshipped?”

Xue Ying’an nodded lightly, his expression turning grave. “The Heretical Dao god inside the temple is putting on an act to lure us in! Once we step in, we will fall victim to Him.”

Xu Ying burst out laughing. ”I’m young and full of energy. Why did He turn into a skeleton to lure me inside instead of a young and pretty woman?”

The moment the words left his mouth, the skeleton behind the door turned into a flamboyantly dressed maiden, looking exactly like Yuan Rushi. Her gaze was filled with affection, and across the temple threshold, she called out softly, “Dear, how long will you linger outside before coming in?”

Xu Ying’s Dao heart remained firm and was unfazed. He chuckled. “But we have a snake here. He might not like young women.”

The flamboyant young woman suddenly transformed into a female Yuan snake with two horns on its head. It called out coquettishly to Yuanqi, “Dear, our species is almost extinct. Time waits for no one. Come inside and mate with me quickly.”

Yuanqi was just about to enter when Xu Ying blocked his path.

Yuanqi said angrily, “Ah Ying, didn’t you hear? My kind is almost extinct, and you’re still blocking me! You get to see real women every day, but when did we last see a female snake!”

Xu Ying quickly channeled the Heart-Returning Mantra to calm the snake down.

Yuanqi regained his senses and couldn’t help but feel a chill run down his spine. He exclaimed in shock, “The Heretical Dao evil god nearly took control of me!”

Xu Ying chuckled. “He is suppressed and is only using petty mystic arts. It can’t manipulate your mind. Your Dao heart is unstable, which is why you fell into His trap. Look at Ying’an; he’s much more composed than you are. The Heretical Dao evil god didn’t fool him.”

Before his voice faded, the female snake took on Li Xiaoke’s appearance, and even his voice. He looked at Xue Ying’an and said warmly, “Ying’an, do you still remember the day you came up the mountain to seek my tutelage? I really wish to return to that day and let us start anew.”

Tears streaming down his face, Xue Ying’an was about to step into the temple. “Master!”

Yuanqi whipped his tail forward, coiling it around Xue Ying’an to prevent him from stepping inside.

Xu Ying channeled the Heart-Returning Mantra to help him regain his senses too.

Xue Ying’an’s tears still flowed unceasingly as he choked out, “I’m actually a native of this world. When my home was destroyed, and my loved ones perished, Master took me in.”

Xu Ying waited for him to calm his emotions before asking, ”Since this temple is a place for worshipping a god of the Heretical Dao, why is there a seal on the plaque?”

Xue Ying’an composed himself and wiped away his tears. “I’ve heard a legend. Our ancestors were ordered to suppress the Heretical Dao god. They brought an immortal’s seal to suppress Him here and prevent Him from escaping. However, too much time passed, and He gradually bewitched our ancestors. They slowly became His believers and no longer believed in the Heavenly Dao.”

His expression turned grave as he continued, “This Heretical Dao evil god eventually broke through the immortal’s seal and unleashed a massive calamity. These masses of flesh you see everywhere here are actually His flesh and blood. He’s trying to recover His strength to break free from the suppression.”

He paused for a moment and added, “The Heretical Dao evil god’s true form should still be suppressed within this temple.”

“That means that an immortal left behind the seal on the plaque?” Xu Ying scrutinized the characters on the plaque and couldn’t help but shake his head. “Another martial-blind immortal.”

He visualized the Heavenly Punishment and wielded the sword like the wind to alter the characters on the plaque, making it identical to the ones on Dazhong.

Once he finished altering the characters, the Li Xiaoke inside the temple let out a muffled groan. His face twisted, and his voice turned shrill. He suddenly transformed into a beautiful female snake, then turned into a young girl with Yuan Weiyang’s appearance, and finally dissipated like smoke with a boom.

Xu Ying stepped into the temple. “I killed a fleshy tower earlier. It was also likely made from the evil god’s flesh and blood. My exorcism techniques were useless against it. So, I had to use Heavenly Punishment sword qi to pierce its heart.”

Xue Ying’an followed Xu Ying into the temple with trepidation.

Yuanqi hesitated momentarily before following them inside. “Ah Ying, Li Xiaoke is still pursuing us. What if he finds his way here...”

Xu Ying surveyed the area. “The ancient temple sits on the back of a giant beast, and it’s running away from the tower of flesh. As long as we’re hiding inside the ancient temple, Li Xiaoke can forget about finding us even if he possesses foresight.”

Thinking it over carefully, Yuanqi realized he was right.

The interior of the ancient temple was fully intact. Incense and candles were still burning on the ancient altar, as if someone had been here recently to worship the Heretical Dao god.

Xu Ying examined the incense and candles, suspicious. Was someone here recently?

At the center of the altar was a deep well. Its cover had been lifted, and heavy chains lay inside.

As Xu Ying walked past the altar, he saw murals on the walls. They depicted scenes from ancient history: ancient ancestors building the temple and sealing away the evil god.

On the mural, powerful Qi Cultivators floated in the air, using all kinds of artifacts, including sabers, spears, swords, halberds, buildings, and pavilions, to unleash endless might to suppress the colossal evil god and seal him away in the deep well.

At the edge of the mural, an elderly man was writing in the bird-worm seal script. He was probably the so-called immortal.

Xue Ying’an’s heart swelled with emotion as he said, “This mural is probably depicting how my ancestors suppressed the evil god! In ancient times, whose ancestors didn’t have a few formidable figures among them? Unfortunately, my ancestors later fell into decline and were eventually bewitched by the Heretical Dao evil god.”

Xu Ying moved in for a closer look and muttered, ”Their attire is from the Great Shang Dynasty! Ying’an, your ancestors were Qi Cultivators from the Great Shang Dynasty!”

Xue Ying’an perked up and stood up straight, with his chest pushed out proudly.

They moved on to the next mural. Xu Ying paused slightly, examining it.

The mural depicted the evil god as a giant mass of flesh, covering the sky. He occasionally unleashed heavenly tribulation. Below, the ancient ancestors desperately fought off various calamities, including floods, earthquakes, locust plagues, and beast tides.

Xue Ying’an said, ”He truly is an evil god! The mural shows what happened after He broke free. The moment He escaped, He began to torture my ancestors!”

Xu Ying walked up to the next mural. This one depicted the ancestors bound by chains. Some of the more powerful Qi Cultivators even had their ethereal voids and Primordial Spirits pierced, their divine abilities and mystical powers sealed away, as they were forced to labor in agony to build the ancient temple.

Xue Ying’an also sensed something was amiss. Scratching his head, he said, “Is the order of the murals wrong? Shouldn’t this one come before the previous one?”

The next mural showed ancient towered ships sailing through the starry sky, approaching an unknown world. On the decks of the towered ships stood numerous prisoners whose cultivation and Primordial Spirits had been sealed away.

Their clothes were in tatters, and many among them were the Qi Cultivators who had once suppressed the Heretical Dao evil god.

A towering figure stood tall in the starry sky behind the prisoners. That was the evil god’s true form. Only a vague outline of Him was depicted, leaving His exact appearance indistinguishable.

This mural clearly depicted the Heretical Dao evil god marching Xue Ying’an’s ancestors to the Land of Heavenly Retribution as prisoners!

Xue Ying’an scratched his head and said, “The order of these murals must be reversed. Perhaps the evil god drew them to slander my ancestors as exiled prisoners. That has to be it!”

Xu Ying moved on to the next mural and couldn’t help but freeze.

The mural depicted a battle scene. Qi Cultivators from the Great Shang Dynasty were doing everything in their power to fight and kill glowing enemies.

The enemies’ appearances were obscured by the light, making their features impossible to discern. Yet they could effortlessly counter the Qi Cultivators’ combined attacks with a single hand, displaying unimaginably formidable strength.

Xu Ying composed himself. He saw a fiery bird engulfed in flames among the Great Shang Qi Cultivators. It spread its wings and fought fiercely against the enemy.

It was a Three-Legged Golden Crow, fighting with incomparable valor.

On that Golden Crow’s back stood a youth. His appearance seemed very familiar.

Xu Ying looked beside the youth and saw a girl next to him, braving life and death.

He was stunned.

“The Golden Crow is Jin Buyi. Then that girl is...”

Just then, a familiar bell tolled from outside the temple. Li Xiaoke’s voice rang out. “Supreme God, junior Li Xiaoke has come to pay my respects. Senior, I need to borrow your eyes to find two people.”

Xu Ying’s heart skipped a beat. He hurriedly led Xue Ying’an and Yuanqi to the back of the hall. They held their breath and focused, not daring to make a sound.

The archaic beast kept stampeding, carrying the ancient temple, its footsteps rumbling loudly.

The wind howled outside.

With a great bronze bell above his head, Li Xiaoke strode into the ancient temple. He checked the incense and candles on the altar and saw that they were still burning.

He smiled. “Supreme God, the incense and candles I offered in worship on my last visit are still burning. It shows that my filial devotion is ceaseless like them.”

He turned toward the deep well and said with a smile, “Three thousand years ago, I practiced Heaven-Man Resonance and connected with the myriad heavens through my divine sense. That was when I encountered your divine sense and finally understood what people mean when they say the Heavenly Dao is unpredictable!”

He sighed. “Senior, you enforced justice on behalf of Heaven, marching those sinners to the Land of Heavenly Retribution to let them and their descendants atone for their sins. I never imagined they would take advantage of your kindness and turn around to suppress you!”

Xue Ying’an froze. This is different from the stories my ancestors passed down. Hmm, my ancestors must have been making themselves look good. No, wait! Can’t my ancestors have been on the side of justice?

Li Xiaoke said, “Senior, you promised me eternal life, which is why I resonated with all my strength and folded Mount Jiulong and the nearby landscape into this world. I helped you break part of the seal, allowing you to break part of you free from the well.”

His voice carrying a hint of joy, he continued, “Over the years, you’ve nearly wiped out the descendants of those sinners and devoured the artifacts they left behind to suppress you. I helped you eliminate those enemies!”

Xue Ying’an trembled, and tears welled up in his eyes.

He was a native of the Land of Heavenly Retribution. Li Xiaoke had taken him in, and he became his disciple after his family was destroyed. He had always regarded Li Xiaoke as his father!

He clenched his fists so tightly that his fingernails dug into his flesh.

Li Xiaoke’s voice rang out as he continued, “Senior, you’ve got your revenge. Now only the seal on this temple remains unbroken, stopping you from fully breaking free. But fortunately, I am confident in breaking the seal.”

He activated the bronze bell, and its chime echoed slowly. He smiled. “Senior, this bronze bell bears the corresponding immortal Dao runes!”

The deep well suddenly shook violently, rattling the chains loudly!

“Senior, your release is within reach, but I still haven’t gotten what I want. Senior, where’s the eternal life I seek? Isn’t it time for you to make good on your promise?”

A profound divine sense surged from the deep well, vibrating in space, as if an immeasurably vast giant were speaking, making Xu Ying, Yuanqi, and Xue Ying’an’s eardrums buzz.

They couldn’t understand a word of what that divine sense was saying!

Xu Ying felt a chill in his heart. Oh no! The Heretical Dao evil god in the well hasn’t been completely suppressed! He can still use His divine sense!

Cold sweat broke out on his forehead. A thin wisp of sword qi flew out from Xu Ying’s fingertip and brushed his eyebrow gently, shaving off one side.

Xue Ying’an and Yuanqi stared at him blankly as he shaved half his head bald, unfastened his robes, and wore them inside out.

Then, Xu Ying kicked off the shoe from his left foot. He channeled his Mud Pill’s vitality slightly, making one eye larger than the other.

Just as he finished doing all this, Li Xiaoke’s voice rang out. “Thank you for your guidance, Senior.”

The next moment, Li Xiaoke appeared before them. His powerful aura instantly suppressed the trio. Xue Ying’an and Yuanqi had just summoned their Golden Cores, but before they could even rise into the air, they were pinned to the spot!

Li Xiaoke laughed heartily. “You can wander far and wide, wearing out iron shoes searching in vain, only to find the object of your search with no effort on your own! I didn’t expect you to be hiding here... You, you!”

His eyes widened as he stared at Xu Ying, stammering and unable to form a proper sentence!

In the fleeting moment his aura wavered, Xu Ying let out a fierce shout and broke free from Li Xiaoke’s aura suppression. He raised his hand and clenched it tightly, causing Yuanqi to open his mouth wide involuntarily.

An intense Heavenly Dao aura burst out of Yuanqi’s mouth as a severed arm flew out, covered in swirling Heavenly Dao runes, and plunged straight into the back of Li Xiaoke’s head. It was the Dragon Abyss heavenly god’s arm!

The Heavenly Dao aura emanating from the heavenly god’s arm disrupted Li Xiaoke’s divine sense. Not only that, it contained unmatched power, capable of piercing through anything!

Xu Ying simultaneously did the sword finger gesture, leaped into the air, and thrust out. Heavenly Punishment sword qi instantly shot out from his fingertips. With a sharp hiss, it pierced Li Xiaoke’s glabella as the heavenly god’s hand plunged into the back of his head!

Xu Ying shouted, “Master Zhong!”

Above Li Xiaoke’s head, Dazhong suddenly burst into a radiant glow. He unleashed all his might and blasted downward!

Clang!

Waves of sound crashed into his head, driving Li Xiaoke straight into the ground!

Xu Ying reached out and grabbed Dazhong’s loop. He used all his strength to unleash Dazhong’s power, shattered the Heavenly Punishment sword qi, and blast them into Li Xiaoke’s glabella!

Dazhong shouted, “I never knew a person could be evil to this extent! Ah Ying, kill hiiiim!”