Ascension Day

Xu Ying said solemnly, "I should have been the one to visit you, but alas, I have been preoccupied with worldly affairs."

Cradling her pipa with her gaze lowered, Zhu Hongyi smiled. "I have a song to offer you. I wonder if it will be to your liking?"

Xu Ying laughed. "Let's hear it."

Zhu Hongyi began to play. The strains of the pipa entered Xu Ying's ears, like one great net after another invading his body, locking onto his soul and binding it ever tighter!

Zhu Chanchan was surprised. She remarked with the air of a seasoned elder, "A Soul-locking Divine Power? Little girl, you're not half bad!"

Zhu Hongyi's pipa playing grew more urgent. She smiled sweetly and said, "Thank you for the praise. This time, I shall be the one to claim the top honor!"

She let out a giggle, her body spinning as she rose, smashing through the roof of the painted barge with a BANG. "Xu Demon King," she cried, "you are now a fish in my net!"

Xu Ying remained in the cabin, utterly motionless.

Zhu Hongyi viciously plucked at her pipa strings and shouted, "Your soul—come out!"

Still, Xu Ying did not move.

Panic flooded Zhu Hongyi's heart. Just as she was about to pluck the strings again, Shi Jingtang suddenly charged in from the side. He struck at Zhu Hongyi with one palm while reaching for Xu Ying with his other hand, shouting, "The Longevity Meat belongs to my Shi Family!"

Xu Ying raised his hand to meet the incoming palm. The moment they connected, Shi Jingtang coughed up blood, feeling his Magical Power utterly suppressed!

He was thrown backward, landing hard on the riverbank.

Xu Ying rose from his seat in the boat. "Excellent playing," he said. "Keep going. I have to go kill someone."

Zhu Hongyi's invisible strings were latched onto Xu Ying's soul, but she couldn't budge it no matter how she tried. When Xu Ying leaped and landed on the bank, she found herself involuntarily yanked through the air after him.

Zhu Hongyi gritted her teeth, her fingers flying across the strings in a desperate attempt to dislodge his soul with vibrations.

Xu Ying strode toward Shi Jingtang, his expression chilling. He grabbed a large, vermilion gourd and threw it at the man's feet. "You're the one who's been hunting down souls and locking them away for your old ancestor's Cultivation, aren't you?"

The color drained from Shi Jingtang's face. "How did you know..."

Realization suddenly dawned on him. He spun around and fled toward the Shi Mansion.

Instead of leaving the Divine Capital, Xu Ying changed direction and followed Shi Jingtang at a leisurely pace. Zhu Hongyi stumbled along behind him, dragged against her will, still gritting her teeth and playing her instrument.

Zhu Chanchan trailed behind Xu Ying, giggling. "Why don't you just get rid of the pipa?"

Zhu Hongyi couldn't bear to part with the Exotic Treasure. Floating in the air, she stubbornly gritted her teeth and continued to play.

Xu Ying followed Shi Jingtang all the way to the Shi Mansion. Shi Jingtang scrambled inside, his face a mask of terror, and screamed, "Elders! Elders! He's the one! The one who burned our ancestor!"

Standing outside the mansion, Xu Ying pulled the Stone Axe from his belt, channeling all of his Primordial Qi into it.

Amid the sound of the pipa, the Stone Axe erupted with a monstrous, bloody light. A vast sea of blood materialized behind Xu Ying. From its depths, the skeletal remains of countless Ancient Giant Beasts and colossal Divine Demons rose and roared!

Xu Ying swung the axe. The gates of the Shi Mansion shattered. The raging sea of blood poured forth, carving a path deep into the estate, leveling every building in its way!

The crowd of Shi Family Nuo Masters charging out to meet him were dismembered by the crimson axe-light, with no chance to escape the reach of the peerless, deadly weapon!

Zhu Chanchan looked smug. She grinned at Zhu Hongyi, who was still floating in the air, frantically playing her instrument. "His axe was broken, you know. I fixed it with just a couple of punches. BAM! BAM! Aren't I incredible?"

Zhu Hongyi stammered in terror, "Who are you?"

"Me? I'm the one who forged Magical Treasures for Emperor Zhou."

Zhu Chanchan giggled. "Emperor Zhou used my Magical Treasures to conquer the Shang and enshrine the gods."

Just then, a furious roar echoed from within the Shi Mansion. Grotto Heavens materialized one after another—eight in total. It was the Shi Clan Elder, Shi Beihuang, making his move to execute Xu Ying!

Xu Ying's Qi Blood surged. He summoned the Pure Yang Anomalous Fire and, with a single breath, unleashed a raging inferno that engulfed the Shi Clan Elder, Shi Beihuang!

'Ying's condition is acting up again!' Da Zhong thought to itself.

The raging Anomalous Fire set Shi Beihuang ablaze. The elder, whose Cultivation was second only to the Shi Family ancestor Shi Mo Lei, was horrified, yet he still charged forward recklessly, shrieking, "I don't care what kind of monster you are, you will die!"

"Monster?"

Xu Ying's tone was glacial. With a flick of his finger, Da Zhong shot out from between his eyebrows, whistling and spinning uncontrollably.

"You have no idea how terrifying I am in this monstrous state!"

Xu Ying grabbed the Bell's handle and swung it. A deafening peal rang out. In the sound waves, Shi Beihuang was pulverized into dust, which was then instantly incinerated by the Anomalous Fire!

Da Zhong was terrified.

It sensed that in that single moment, its full power had been completely unleashed!

Although it had been trying to exert its own power, an external force had surged into its body and unleashed its full might!

'Could it be? Are the memories sealed by Meng Po's Soup beginning to awaken?'

Outside Divine Capital City, a sorrowful-faced elder, a white-robed old man, and a woman in red robes watched the scene from afar. All three sighed in resignation. The white-robed old man kept glancing at the yellow paper in his hand, muttering, "We're too late, we're too late..."

Suddenly, on the yellow paper, column after column of text began to materialize, appearing from right to left.

"Celestial God Hall: Retrieve the Demon Suppression Rune. Reinforce the seal. By divine decree."