Day of Ascension

Li Xiaoke had stripped these grotto heavens from Exorcist Immortals and transplanted them into his own body. The immortal herbs extended his lifespan, while the grotto heavens helped him refine them.

The best Secret Troves belonged to Exorcist Immortals who unlocked only a single trove in their lifetime, mastering one exorcism art to the extreme; only this singular focus unlocked a trove’s absolute power. Li Xiaoke had harvested precisely these pristine troves.

Take the ancient noble clan, the Yuan clan, for example. Generations of their ancestors contributed their Yellow-Court Secret Troves to him, strengthening his divine sense.

Another example was the once-rising Shi clan, a noble clan he had newly nurtured to provide Gushing-Spring Secret Troves. Unfortunately, Shi Mole and Shi Jingtang, who had received his Gushing Spring legacy, died at Xu Ying’s hands.

Now, one grotto heaven after another flew away from Li Xiaoke rapidly, causing his cultivation to fall sharply.

“You’re courting death!”

Shocked and enraged, Li Xiaoke’s terrifying divine sense surged. In an instant, he visualized a great bell resembling the Carefree Bell, though it bore far more mysterious runes on its surface than the original’s all-creation runes!

These mysterious runes were tied to the six secrets— they were Dao avatars of the exorcism techniques.

Having bestowed exorcism arts upon the noble clans, he commanded all Six Secrets with absolute mastery.

At the same time, he activated the vigor of the Mud Pill to grow his shaven eyebrow.

Wait, how many strands did my left brow have? Was it a few more than the right? He suddenly remembered something, but immediately clenched his teeth. Never mind! I’ll count them properly after killing them!

Clang!

His divine ability erupted. The Dao avatar of all creations surged forth, bearing the force of the six secrets straight at the group.

Qingbi’s expression instantly darkened. With a flick of her sleeve, she swept up Xu Ying, Xue Ying’an, and Yuanqi and flitted away at lightning speed.

Her Gourd Universe Seeking Immortality Scripture was incredibly profound. She appeared behind Li Xiaoke in the next instant and sent the trio far away with a flick of her sleeves.

The bell’s terrifying toll destroyed everything in its path. The ancient temple was also reduced to dust, leaving only the door engraved with immortal Dao runes standing.

The immortal Dao runes on the plaque flickered between light and dark but remained mostly intact.

Behind the door, the altar vanished without a trace, exposing a deep well where shattered chains lay snapped into seven or eight fragments.

Fairy Qingbi’s flick sent Xu Ying flying backward. From afar, he saw the young maiden standing on her black coffin, her robes fluttering in the wind as she unleashed the Gourd Universe Seeking Immortality Scripture to the limit.

A gourd-shaped world seemed to surround her. Her Primordial Spirit leaped out of that world, while Qingbi remained within the gourd world.

“Li Xiaoke, you’ve strayed into the path of demons and heretics! Let me show you what true Qi Cultivation is!”

She thrust a palm forward. Her hand seal vanished. An instant later, the heavens fractured as a colossal hand tore through the firmament and descended upon Li Xiaoke with crushing cosmic force!

The delicate hand was unbelievably massive and contained immense power. It held its own against Li Xiaoke, who had stepped into the Domain of Six Immortality without falling behind!

Xu Ying stared in disbelief, doubting the path of dual cultivation for the first time. Is dual cultivation of Qi and Exorcism really the right path?

He had always believed that Qi Cultivation was a path destined for decline. No master of the old ways could match modern dual-cultivators who had unlocked all six secrets.

He held this conviction firmly. Yet Fairy Qingbi had shattered his belief through sheer, lethal force.

Her sheer might had exceeded Xu Ying’s understanding of Qi Cultivators. Her mystical power, divine sense, vigor, strength, Primordial Spirit, and Yin and Yang qi definitely didn’t reach the domain of an immortal. However, she held her own against Li Xiaoke, who had reached the Domain of Six Immortality!

Li Xiaoke channeled his bell-shaped divine ability, using his various grotto heavens to push back against Qingbi.

Qingbi’s hands blurred as she unleashed a storm of seal techniques. It was as if an unparalleled giant beyond the heavens was sending various seals to attack Li Xiaoke!

Each attack from the sky was incomparably heavy, their might so terrifying it rivaled the divine abilities Li Xiaoke unleashed using the Secret Troves.

Gourd Universe... Gourd Universe... I see! Six Secret Troves, twenty-one grotto heavens manifested behind Xu Ying. He steadied himself and looked up, his eyes flickering.

The space Qingbi conjured is the world within the gourd. Her Primordial Spirit stands outside it, transcending the heavens. This cultivation technique is even more profound than the Supreme Yin Primordial Nurturing Art. But why does it have “seeking immortality scripture” in its name then?

To “seek immortality” meant using one’s own Dao to challenge the immortals and ask validation for ascension.

Gourd Universe Seeking Immortality Scripture was meant to verify the path to immortality. It showed that the person who developed this cultivation technique was not confident they could become immortal.

Li Xiaoke let out a roar as an eight-facet Han sword shot through the air. A sword light flashed, and the sky was filled with sword qi in an instant, swirling and attacking Qingbi.

He was known as the Dual Paragon of Bell and Sword. Once his Han sword appeared, the sheer power of his sword qi proved far more formidable than the bell-shaped divine ability he used earlier!

This Han sword was Mount Jiulong’s other supreme treasure, boasting immense offensive power. In Li Xiaoke’s hands, its might was simply unimaginable!

Qingbi unleashed divine abilities continuously, making the sky-filling sword qi vanish.

Just as she was about to return these divine abilities to Li Xiaoke, her expression suddenly changed, and she also vanished.

Thousands of blinding sword-streaks erupted where she had stood a fraction of a second earlier, blazing with the brilliance of a thousand suns.

When Qingbi reappeared, a trail of blood stained her knee.

Li Xiaoke’s mystical power was simply too vast. When she tried to redirect his sword qi earlier, she realized that she couldn’t control it at all and nearly lost her life to it.

She dodged in a hurry, but still took a hit.

The heavenly dragon flew over and called out, “Qingbi, let’s set our grievances aside for now. He has an artifact, and you don’t. Activate me!”

Qingbi activated the heavenly dragon promptly.

The heavenly dragon disappeared. Next, a colossal draconic head breached in from beyond the heavens, squeezing into this world. His movement triggered countless lightning bolts.

The heavenly dragon let out a long, deafening roar as he lunged toward Li Xiaoke.

Li Xiaoke activated his eight-facet Han sword. The power of the sword Dao grew increasingly stronger. Yet, the heavenly dragon faced his sword qi head-on. He raised his sharp claws and slammed down heavily!

Visualizing the Carefree Bell, Li Xiaoke blocked this strike, but the impact still sent him flying back.

The heavenly dragon swept his tail, smashing the bell Li Xiaoke had visualized into pieces with a loud clang.

Just as the bell-shaped divine ability was shattered, Qingbi tore about a dozen more grotto heavens away from behind him.

Shocked and enraged, Li Xiaoke kept summoning the Carefree Bell, but it remained silent. “Wretched bell, even you have betrayed me!”

Overjoyed, the heavenly dragon laughed. “Fairy Qingbi has destroyed your Carefree Bell. You’re known as the Dual Paragon of Bell and Sword. Now, you have lost your bell, and your sword can’t hurt me. You are nothing but a punching bag now!”

A claw swipe instantly gouged three deep fissures across Li Xiaoke’s immortal-like body, nearly cutting him apart. Yet his wounds knitted together instantly.

Fueled by dozens of Mud Pill grotto-heavens, his vitality surpassed even Zhou Qiyun. His wounds closed as fast as claws could rend them.

The heavenly dragon charged forward with all his might, laughing. “How many grotto heavens can you lose? Without them, you think you’re still a match for us?”

Li Xiaoke activated his Han sword. Sword light intertwined like lightning, yet it couldn’t pierce through the dragon’s scales. Meanwhile, if his bell-shaped divine ability were broken, Qingbi would immediately seize the opportunity to sever dozens of his grotto heavens!

Suddenly, Li Xiaoke tried summoning Dazhong with all his might, shouting, “Where is my bell?”

Next to Xu Ying, Dazhong, Yuanqi, and Xue Ying’an watched the battle from afar when Dazhong suddenly cried out in shock, “Ah Ying, I think I’m about to switch sides!”

Xu Ying reached out and grabbed Dazhong. Just as he seized the bell’s loop, he felt an overwhelming force surge into Dazhong, pushing his divine sense and primordial qi aside!

He had no choice but to let go. He called out, “Qingbi, Master Zhong has switched sides again! Watch out!”

Dazhong flew over with a roar and hovered above Li Xiaoke. Layers of light walls erupted, shielding him within.

Claaaang!

The bell’s toll erupted, clashing head-on with the heavenly dragon. As the saying goes, when enemies come face to face, all rationality vanishes. Three thousand years of imprisonment beneath Master Zhong exploded into blind rage. The dragon abandoned all strategy and lunged at the bell in a suicidal fury.

Gaining a moment of respite, Li Xiaoke immediately gathered all his strength to fight Qingbi; their clash was so fierce it turned the sky dark and the earth dim!

As the battle grew increasingly fierce, a terrifying tremor suddenly rippled through the area. Xu Ying and the others stretched and contracted as the space warped around them, then returned to normal a moment later.

As they watched in shock, Fairy Qingbi flew over holding a dragon’s head, her expression calm. “You were right. Qi Cultivation has indeed fallen behind the times. I need to practice dual cultivation of Qi and Exorcism.”

She was covered in dozens of sword wounds of varying size, heavily injured. Her Primordial Spirit was also in terrible shape, and her ethereal void had been pierced through.

Xu Ying’s heart lurched as his gaze locked onto the severed head: a monstrous visage with a triangular, beak-like maw. It was the heavenly dragon.

In the final chaotic clash, Dazhong had pinned the dragon, allowing Li Xiaoke to decapitate him. Bloody tears still trickled from the dragon’s wide, glaring eyes.

Yuanqi said in a trembling voice, “He died with his eyes open, unable to rest in peace...”

The dragon’s head glared fiercely at Xu Ying. “That’s because I’m not dead! We were winning. But because that bell of yours switched sides, we’re like this now! I heard you people have unlocked your Mud-Pill Secret Troves. Heal me quickly!”

“There are divine abilities in your wounds. They can’t heal them,” said Fairy Qingbi.

She turned around to open the coffin behind her. “My injuries are too severe. I need to suppress the divine abilities in my wounds first. Li Xiaoke is also injured, but his injuries are lighter than ours! Let’s go!”

She placed the dragon’s head in the coffin and closed it.

The moment the coffin closed, Xu Ying caught a glimpse of the incomparably bright grotto heavens within, and he couldn’t help but worry.

Fairy Qingbi had stripped these grotto heavens from Li Xiaoke. If the temptation proved too great, she could end up walking on Li Xiaoke’s corrupt path and graft those stolen worlds directly into herself.

Xu Ying composed himself and followed Fairy Qingbi as they flew toward Jiucailing Ridge in the sky.

In front of the black coffin, Fairy Qingbi struggled to suppress her injuries and swayed slightly.

The black coffin flew to her side. The lid silently lifted a corner open, and Fairy Qingbi sneaked a glance at the grotto heavens floating in the space within the black coffin.

Li Xiaoke and she had forged this black coffin together to suppress the evil “heavenly god.” She never thought he would seal her inside instead.

That evil-doing heavenly god was actually a heavenly god’s mount: a cunning, vicious heavenly dragon. Seeing that she had been sealed away, he wanted to kick her while she was down and humiliate her before devouring her.

Inside the Rocky Mountain’s well, Qingbi had used the black coffin as her base and fought the heavenly dragon. The dragon couldn’t defeat her even after centuries.

Several hundred years later, Qingbi was evenly matched with the heavenly dragon. Later, Qingbi overwhelmed the heavenly dragon. The two agreed to cooperate and deal with their common enemy together.

Afterward, Qingbi and the heavenly dragon ambushed Dazhong and finally escaped.

During that time, Qingbi had refined the black coffin into an artifact. Because of this coffin, Xu Ying also mistook her for a female ghost.

However, this black coffin was merely a defensive treasure; it couldn’t hurt someone as powerful as Li Xiaoke. So, Qingbi used it to store the grotto heavens she had stripped away from him.

Should I transplant them? With them, perhaps I can become as powerful as Li Xiaoke... No, I’ll become even more powerful than him!

Her gaze grew complicated, making the heavenly dragon’s head recuperating inside the coffin shudder involuntarily. Qingbi stared intently at the enchanting grotto heavens. A moment later, her rippling aura finally calmed down.

The coffin lid closed on its own.

Become someone like Li Xiaoke? I’d rather die.

She calmed her mind and focused on dealing with the lingering divine abilities in her wounds.

Seeing this, Xu Ying breathed a sigh of relief. If she’d failed to resist the temptation, she would have become a second Li Xiaoke, devouring others for pleasure...

Just then, a loud laugh rang out. Li Xiaoke flew toward them, covered in blood and with a broken bell overhead. The grotto heavens behind him were in ruins, and Dazhong was also battered.

Radiating overwhelming killing intent, Li Xiaoke laughed from afar. “Qingbi, heavenly dragon, Xu Ying, all of you better stay here today!”

He activated his Han sword, sending sword qi streaking across the sky and slashing down at them.

Suddenly, the sky turned incredibly bright. A fiery light like the sun flew overhead. A sharp claw reached down from the sky and grabbed the downward-swinging Han sword.

An aged voice cried out joyfully, “Xu Ying! Ah Ying, I’ve finally found you! I remember you!”

Boom!

From that sun-like fiery light, heavy and bright wings slashed out like a thousand layers of blades toward Li Xiaoke.

Startled, Li Xiaoke hurriedly activated Dazhong. However, he was already riddled with holes and full of openings.

The golden blades of the wings passed through the holes and slashed Li Xiaoke everywhere in an instant, covering him in wounds.

Li Xiaoke activated his sword and roared furiously, trying to draw his Han sword to sever the bird’s claws. Suddenly, another claw emerged from the sun and grabbed Dazhong’s loop.

Li Xiaoke activated Dazhong, but the latter was damaged. He couldn’t face the bird’s foot head-on.

Amid the fiery light, a Three-Legged Golden Crow bathed in flames flew out, his wings like blades of light, slashing down repeatedly.

Li Xiaoke laughed angrily. “I’m in the Domain of Six Immortality. There’s no way I’m no match for you!”

Both parties were locked in a fierce engagement, rolling across the sky as streaks of sword qi tore through the air and bell tolls roared. Then, they turned into streams of light and vanished from sight.

After a moment, a stream of light tore through the sky and entered Jiucailing Ridge before vanishing without a trace.

Xu Ying and the others were astonished and doubtful. A moment later, a ball of fiery light flew over and stopped before Xu Ying.

The fiery glow dissipated, revealing the aged and worn Jin Buyi, covered in blood. He leaned his head in front of Xu Ying and said, “I’ve finally found you, Ah Ying! After more than four thousand years, I’ve finally found you!”

Tears flew out of his eyes, transformed into balls of fiery light, and floated around his massive head. “I thought I’d lost you!”