Day of Ascension

Xu Ying’s asymmetric appearance and attire had shaken Li Xiaoke’s Dao heart, making his aura waver for an instant. Xu Ying seized the fleeting opportunity to unleash a series of lightning-fast attacks, like a swooping falcon on a leaping rabbit.

First, he exploited the mind-distorting characteristic of the heavenly god’s arm to strike the back of Li Xiaoke’s head, preventing him from focusing.

Then, without giving him any chance to react, he pierced Li Xiaoke’s glabella with the Heavenly Punishment Sword qi!

No ordinary divine ability could threaten a great expert like Li Xiaoke. However, the heavenly god’s arm and the Heavenly Punishment sword qi were enough to disrupt his mind, even if they couldn’t kill him!

Once Li Xiaoke was affected by the Heavenly Dao divine ability, he lost control over Dazhong, giving Xu Ying a second chance that he used to unleash Dazhong’s attack!

Xu Ying firmly believed Dazhong was no unfeeling tool, devoid of moral sense.

He had long since developed spiritual sentience. Even though he had a stubborn mouth when interacting with Xu Ying and Yuanqi, he actually felt guilty for suppressing Qingbi.

Whether Li Xiaoke tried a soft approach or forcibly refined Dazhong, he would inevitably provoke his resistance, especially since Li Xiaoke had brought Dazhong here to kill Xu Ying and Yuanqi. This would make Dazhong grab any opportunity to deal a devastating blow to Li Xiaoke!

Blood gushed from Li Xiaoke’s seven orifices. The impact from the bell’s toll nearly knocked his Primordial Spirit out of his body.

Grabbing onto the bell’s loop, Xu Ying swung Dazhong around, aiming his mouth at Li Xiaoke and activating the “imprison” character Dao rune on his surface!

In an instant, a three-dimensional “imprison” character seal materialized around Li Xiaoke, sealing the space. Immediately afterward, a second layer of the seal activated, sealing his physical body!

A third layer of “imprison” character Dao rune sealed Li Xiaoke’s ethereal void, then a fourth Dao rune’s might erupted!

The fourth layer targeted Li Xiaoke’s Primordial Spirit, while the fifth, sixth, and seventh layers aimed for his soul, his three souls and seven spirits, and his Eternal True Spirit, respectively!

Once the seventh layer took hold, Li Xiaoke would lose any chance of turning the tables!

Xu Ying’s heart pounded wildly with excitement. Sealing a Great Qi Cultivator in the Ascension Stage with only Transmutation Stage cultivation would be absolutely glorious!

Though the description was long, it all happened in an instant. Xu Ying and Dazhong completed the seven seals and sealed Li Xiaoke forever in the blink of an eye.

However, just as the power of the fourth layer of the “imprison” character Dao rune erupted, Li Xiaoke’s Primordial Spirit suddenly burst forth with unparalleled power, forcibly breaking the fourth layer of the seal!

The corner of Xu Ying’s eye twitched. He summoned his Golden Core and poured all of his mystical power into Dazhong!

At this point, Xue Ying’an and Yuanqi’s Golden Cores were freed. They also activated them to empower Dazhong.

With fierce, twisted faces, the man and the snake shouted together, “Activaaate!”

Clang!

Dazhong’s power surged after receiving their mystical power, and he triggered the “imprison” character Dao rune once more.

The bell could activate the rune on his own, but lacking any real comprehension of its nature, he could never draw out its true strength. That was why, when he used the same seal on Yuanqi days earlier, Jin Buyi had easily pecked through the spatial boundary from the outside.

Xu Ying was different, however. Having uncovered the golden rune left by his Great Shang incarnation within Jin Buyi’s memories, his understanding of the ”Imprison” Dao rune had reached an extraordinary level. Guided by him, the profound mysteries of the immortal rune were unleashed in full!

With the added weight of two Golden Cores, the seal’s power reached a terrifying new height.

In a split second, just as Xu Ying activated the “imprison” Dao rune on Dazhong, he felt an overwhelming stream of mystical power surge out from Li Xiaoke, holding the seal at bay.

Compared to this stream of mystical power, their combined power was like a handful of water in the sea, or a handful of sand in the desert—utterly insignificant!

Boom!

The immortal Dao seal locking Li Xiaoke’s ethereal void exploded, freeing it.

Xu Ying’s expression changed instantly. A streak of sword qi flew out from his fingertip, shaving off Li Xiaoke’s left eyebrow. Then, he immediately retreated. “Let’s go!”

Yuanqi opened his mouth wide, sending hundreds of artifacts flying out to crash into Li Xiaoke’s head all at once.

Yet before these artifacts could land, Li Xiaoke’s surging mystical power deflected them away.

Xue Ying’an channeled his most powerful sword qi and lunged forward; before the sword qi could even reach Li Xiaoke, it disintegrated like smoke and scattered in all directions!

Carrying Dazhong, Xu Ying soared into the air. “Run!”

Furious, Li Xiaoke struck the second layer of the seal, laughing angrily. “Do you think you can get away? You should be hiding like rats and living in fear, yet you dare to ambush me!”

The second layer sealed his physical body. If this seal were broken, he would be free to move!

Suddenly, a slender, pretty palm appeared before Li Xiaoke and tapped lightly on his glabella.

Li Xiaoke’s hair blew wildly as he was sent tumbling back, crashing through the peaks on the archaic beast’s back with loud booms!

Right as he stabilized himself, dozens of delicate hands materialized around him, weaving complex hand seals to strike him from every angle and dimension. Some swift as lightning, others agonizingly slow!

The power of those seal techniques erupted, sending terrifying shockwaves sweeping in all directions. They leveled the surrounding landscape, leaving only this temple standing!

The fleeing archaic beast suddenly felt much lighter. Overjoyed inside, it turned to look, only to be horrified.

Massive chunks of flesh were raining from the sky, sprouting into eight-legged towers as they landed heavily upon its back!

There were hundreds of these fleshy towers, each level sporting a grotesque eye. They varied in scale; the largest towered nearly a thousand zhang high, its singular eye pulsing with terrifying energy.

The archaic beast shuddered as the towers’ eyes focused and shot terrifying beams of light at the strange temple on its back!

Just as the temple was about to be destroyed by the strange eyes, a black coffin suddenly descended from the sky. A petite figure appeared before the temple and exclaimed with a shocked expression, “Heretical Dao divine ability? Who are you?”

She raised one palm to block the countless beams of destructive light!

Swish!

The light warped through another dimension, directly blasting Li Xiaoke!

Xu Ying, Xue Ying’an, and Yuanqi scrambled out of the temple, only to dive right back inside an instant later. A thunderous boom echoed as a catastrophic surge of energy swept across the beast’s back.

Even shielded within the temple walls, the residual shockwave was so brutal that not even their Golden Cores could have endured a direct hit.

Dazhong chimed loudly, casting a protective barrier over everyone to ward off the Heretical Dao’s aftermath.

The archaic beast carrying the ancient temple on its back let out a muffled groan. Its limbs went weak, and it collapsed on the ground, trembling in fear, not daring to move.

The terrifying power that had erupted on its back was likely enough to destroy it dozens of times over!

After the shockwave subsided, laughter rang out from the sky. “Li Xiaoke, to think that you would also see a day like this!”

Xu Ying looked up at the sky and saw dark clouds rolling over. A massive creature flew out from the dark clouds and swooped down!

Heavenly god? No... that’s not right! Xu Ying was astonished to sense the Heavenly Dao aura coming from that massive creature. He was very familiar with this aura; he had come across it back at the abandoned temple on Little Rocky Mountain.

He had peered into the dry well inside the temple and caught sight of this massive creature’s eye. Then, its Heavenly Dao aura took control of his mind and made him nearly pull Qingbi out of the dry well.

Later, Qingbi broke free and severely wounded Dazhong. The massive creature in the well also seized the opportunity to break free and escape.

Xu Ying stepped out of the temple door, finally getting a clear look at the beast’s true form. It was a dragon variant, bearing a dragon’s head with a sharp, triangular maw, its body coiled in sleek, powerful scales.

He’s probably not a heavenly god, but a heavenly god’s mount!

Xu Ying observed closely. Although the dragonkin possessed a Heavenly Dao aura, the Heavenly Dao runes across its hide were far fewer than those on the Dragon Abyss heavenly god. It was clearly a mere steed, falling far short of a true heavenly god, and lacked the crushing pressure Dragon Abyss commanded.

It seemed that someone had treated him as an evildoer heavenly god and suppressed him.

The young girl standing before the black coffin was Qingbi. She looked at Xu Ying, her brows knitting in utter confusion at his bizarre appearance.

Xu Ying shuffled along with a single shoe on, one foot bare, and his pant legs rolled up unevenly.

Suddenly, violent fluctuations erupted. Dazzlingly bright grotto heavens rose slowly behind Li Xiaoke, warping space and time.

Startled, the massive dragonkin creature quickly soared into the air to avoid Li Xiaoke. He stood uneasily in the clouds, looking down.

His clothes torn and disheveled, Li Xiaoke slowly rose to his feet as even more grotto heavens surged into existence behind him.

A series of thunderous booms rang out. Xu Ying’s heart sank as he sensed that Li Xiaoke was forcefully shattering the “imprison” character seals he had left on him.

Fairy Qingbi took a step forward, looking surprised, as she looked at the grotto heavens behind Li Xiaoke.

Ordinary dual cultivators of Qi and Exorcism would only have fifty-four grotto heavens at most. The six Secret Troves—Mud Pill, Jade Capital, Crimson Palace, Jade Pool, Yellow Court, and Gushing Spring—corresponded to the six immortal herbs of longevity, Yin and Yang, heart energy, mystical power, divine sense, and soul.

Opening a Secret Trove to its absolute limit yielded nine grotto heavens, vastly accelerating the draw of immortal power. Anyone capable of unlocking nine grotto heavens in a single trove was hailed as an Exorcist Immortal.

Unifying the six secrets and opening fifty-four grotto heavens was the ideal state for those who dual cultivated Exorcism and Qi, something no one had accomplished yet.

Yet the grotto heavens behind Li Xiaoke shattered that ideal entirely!

His grotto heavens numbered two to three hundred!

For any ordinary master, mastering the ninth level of the Jade Pool Secret Trove granted mystical power as vast as an ocean. Yet behind Li Xiaoke, the Jade Pool grotto heavens alone numbered forty to fifty!

These Jade Pool grotto heavens alone were equivalent to five times the mystical power of an Exorcist Immortal. Factor in his base cultivation, his power would only be even more robust and terrifying!

His mystical power had reached a height no ideal dual cultivator of Qi and Exorcism could ever hope to rival. It was a sea of power vast enough to dwarf even a heavenly god!

Moreover, his physical body’s vigor, divine sense, strength, Yin and Yang qi, and Primordial Spirit had also reached unimaginably powerful levels!

“So, it’s Qingbi and the heavenly dragon I’d suppressed all those years ago.”

Li Xiaoke took out a handkerchief and carefully wiped the blood from his face. He strode toward the ancient temple with a smile.

”What special occasion is today? Every enemy from my past has gathered in one place.”

As he moved, the hundreds of grotto heavens behind him shook, causing heaven and earth to tremble.

Every grotto heaven had been harvested from the Exorcist Immortals he had devoured. The sense of oppression Xu Ying felt was more suffocating than what he had experienced before Dragon Abyss!

As Li Xiaoke approached, the sky behind him warped into various bizarre shapes. He looked toward Qingbi and smiled. “This is me in my complete form. I’m a sentimental man, Qingbi. I don’t mind your hedonistic reputation, which I may have propagated. If you’re willing to change your mind, I’ll still take you. Do you see this?”

His gaze burned with a feverish intensity as he laughed. “I’m now unrivaled! I possess might on par with an immortal! I’ve yet to ascend, but I’ve already transcended the ordinary! A mere glance from me radiates Yin and Yang qi capable of slaying a god!”

Two beams of light, one black and one white, shot out from his eyes, aiming at the heavenly dragon in the sky!

Crack!

His gaze split open the sky. The heavenly dragon dodged frantically, barely escaping with its tail intact as the light sheared through empty air.

Terrified and uncertain, the heavenly dragon didn’t dare to approach.

Li Xiaoke arrived before the ancient temple. He looked at Qingbi and smiled. “What reason do you have to reject me now?”

Qingbi replied indifferently, “You disgust me.”

Li Xiaoke snorted coldly.

Standing beneath the temple door, Xu Ying smiled. “Fellow Daoist Li, since you’re so powerful, why do you not dare face your tribulation?”

Li Xiaoke’s face twitched.

Xu Ying chuckled. “Is it because the immortal herbs inside you haven’t been fully refined? You packaged exorcism arts into malicious traps and taught them to your disciples, letting them build one noble clan after another.

“Once they matured into Exorcist Immortals, rich with accumulated immortal herbs, you simply devoured them to harvest their gains. You also transplanted their grotto heavens because you needed them to refine the immortal herbs.”

He watched as Li Xiaoke’s expression became increasingly ugly, confirming his speculation. “Yes, all exorcism arts that could refine immortal herbs required grotto heavens. You couldn’t open a grotto heaven, so you couldn’t refine the immortal herbs even if you seized them. And simply transplanting the grotto heavens isn’t enough. After all, the rate of refinement is too slow.”

Xue Ying’an came to a realization and stepped forward, standing shoulder to shoulder with Xu Ying, and shouted, “You were afraid that accumulating too many immortal herbs would turn you into chives waiting for someone else to harvest! That’s why you sent me to Taiyi Little Profound Heaven to help you find Origin Dao Essence!”

Xu Ying smiled. “I think an even more ancient fisherman has their eyes on you, which is why you’ve been making one desperate mistake after another. You realized you’ve been marked as prey by another hunter. To survive, you desperately need Origin Dao Essence to refine the immortal herbs within you, am I right?”

Li Xiaoke’s face turned ashen, but he laughed. “I’m already unrivaled in the world. Who dares to target me? Who’s worthy of targeting me?”

Xu Ying retrieved a bronze mirror, which was taller than an average adult, from Yuanqi’s mouth and smiled. “As it happens, I know of a mystic art that can observe who’s spying on you in secret. Please take a look, Fellow Daoist Li.”

Li Xiaoke looked into the bronze mirror and saw no one else in the bronze mirror, only his reflection.

As he studied his reflection, his expression instantly twisted. He hurriedly raised his hand to touch his eyebrow.

Without him ever realizing it, his left eyebrow had been cleanly shaved off!

Xu Ying shouted, “Attack!”

Without a moment’s hesitation, Fairy Qingbi immediately struck, pushing the Gourd Universe Seeking Immortality Scripture to the limit as she reached out and grabbed lightly to tear away the numerous grotto heavens behind Li Xiaoke!