Ascension Day

It dissipated its wall of light and hung high above Xu Ying and the others. Without its suppression, the Mysterious Domain of the Nuo Immortal, Shi Mo Lei, was instantly unleashed. A charred and ravaged Mysterious Domain appeared before them.

Entering a Nuo Immortal's Mysterious Domain required either the Nuo Immortal's guidance or a powerful entity to break the boundary by force, just as the Sword Qi at the Water Gate Temple had forcibly opened that Mysterious Domain.

However, Shi Mo Lei's Mysterious Domain had its space shattered by the Pure Yang Anomalous Fire, revealing it to the world.

From the outside, it looked like a piece of paper riddled with thousands of burn holes. Walking through one of the openings, they could see that the sky was still burning. The five Immortal Mountains had been set ablaze, the mountains, rivers, and lakes were scorched dry, and the Celestial River had ceased to flow!

Shi Mo Lei's Mysterious Domain was filled with a grim aura. Black qi permeated the air, SQUEAKING and scurrying about as it was burned by the Anomalous Fire, like black, flaming rats darting all over the sky.

Zhu Chanchan quickly grabbed Xu Ying's hand, which made her feel a little more at ease.

Xu Ying looked around, searching. After a moment, he used Sword Control to fly downward, passing through a dried-up Yellow Springs and delving deep underground. The Yellow Springs twisted and turned as it plunged into the earth, and thick, tangled lines like chaotic threads hung everywhere, crisscrossing in a grim and terrifying display.

"This place should correspond to the position of Shi Mo Lei's feet. We're flying down along his left leg!"

Xu Ying surveyed his surroundings and said to Yuan Qi and Da Zhong, "I hadn't noticed before that a place like this existed within a Mysterious Domain."

He traveled all the way to the deepest part of the Mysterious Domain, stopping before Shi Mo Lei's Hidden Land.

It was a Sea of Netherworld. In the sea floated six lotus leaves, each several acres in size. In the center was a single lotus flower with white petals and pink tips. The lotus was in full bloom, and Shi Mo Lei sat within it, looking solemn and dignified.

Xu Ying flew forward, leading Zhu Chanchan by the hand. Da Zhong let out a nervous CLANG and lowered its wall of light, protecting everyone.

"Lord Zhong, that shouldn't be necessary," Xu Ying said, landing on the lotus flower and glancing at Shi Mo Lei.

Da Zhong still refused to dissipate its Bell Wall. Zhu Chanchan stepped forward to examine Shi Mo Lei and saw that only a sheet of human skin remained, sitting there, eerily lifelike!

The back of his head had been cut open, with the incision running down his neck all the way to his tailbone!

It was as if his flesh and blood had simply run off, leaving his skin behind!

Even the fearless Zhu Chanchan was thoroughly frightened by this scene and quickly hid behind Xu Ying.

Da Zhong still did not disperse its Bell Wall. It said in a deep voice, "Ying, if someone came in here and ate the Shi Family's ancestor, they most likely haven't left yet!"

Xu Ying, Yuan Qi, and Zhu Chanchan's hearts turned cold, and they quickly scanned their surroundings. Zhu Chanchan grumbled inwardly, 'The world seems to be in an even worse state now than it was in my time!'

The Nether Sea was calm and without a ripple, like a bright mirror.

After a long moment, there was still no movement.

Xu Ying breathed a sigh of relief. "The person who ate the Shi Family's ancestor must have left already. This is not a place to linger. Let's leave as soon as possible!"

He immediately activated his Sword Control Technique, wrapping Zhu Chanchan in its energy as he flew upward.

Da Zhong still didn't dare to be the least bit careless, keeping its wall of light around everyone as it flew up.

As Xu Ying reached a great height, he glanced down inadvertently and saw a smiling face floating just beneath the surface of the placid Nether Sea.

The smiling face took up the entire surface of the Nether Sea, gazing up at him ominously.

A chill ran up Xu Ying's spine, and he couldn't help but shudder. He watched as the face slowly sank, gradually disappearing into the darkness in the depths of the Nether Sea.

Only after flying out of Shi Mo Lei's Mysterious Domain did Da Zhong finally disperse its wall of light. It rapidly shrank and drilled into Xu Ying's mind. 'Ying is getting stranger and stranger,' it thought. 'I don't know if his memories awakening is a good or a bad thing.'

Xu Ying walked through the ruins of the Shi Mansion, looking around. He suddenly grabbed an injured Nuo Master from the Shi Family and demanded, "Where is Shi Jingtang?"

The Nuo Master replied, "The Young Master escaped. His whereabouts are unknown."

Xu Ying dropped him and scanned the area, but found no trace of Shi Jingtang.

Shi Jingtang had been responsible for gathering Ghost Souls for Shi Mo Lei to cultivate his Demon Skill. The unscrupulous Nuo Masters outside the city were his subordinates. The fact that Shi Mo Lei had opened his Spring Secret Treasury and reached his current Realm was in no small part due to Shi Jingtang's efforts.

"If he gets away, he might cultivate Shi Mo Lei's Demon Skill in the future. Who knows how many people he'll harm then!" Xu Ying said with a frown as he walked out of the Shi Mansion.

Yuan Qi said, "Ying, you don't have to worry. With the Shi Family ancestor dead, the great Shi Noble Family will fall. The other Noble Families are like carrion-eating vultures; they'll swarm at the first scent of a corpse and pick the bones clean! If this Shi Jingtang doesn't flee, he'll definitely be devoured by the other Noble Families!"

Da Zhong added, "Lord Qi is right. We saw what happened to the Zhou Family, so you can imagine the Shi Family's fate! You don't need to worry about Shi Jingtang escaping."

Outside the Divine Capital City, a white-robed old man saw Shi Jingtang fleeing the Divine Capital in a panic and sighed in relief. He picked up a game piece and murmured, "The divine dynasty is already showing signs of decay, and the Imperial Authority is teetering. A General Star encroaches upon Ziwei. This Shi Jingtang is one of the General Stars in the celestial phenomenon who is encroaching upon Ziwei. He has the makings of a future Emperor!"

A smile touched his lips as he toyed with the game piece. "Celestial Will is hard to defy. Shi Jingtang was destined to face this calamity, but after surviving it, he will escape Beyond the Passes. There, his luck will turn, and he will go on to carve up the Divine Land and establish his own dominion."

He had just finished speaking when he suddenly saw a dazzlingly bright sword light soar into the sky from within the Divine Capital City. It paused mid-air, then abruptly changed direction and shot towards the city's outskirts!

The direction of the sword light was precisely where Shi Jingtang was fleeing!

The white-robed old man stared in a daze. The game piece in his hand shattered with a CRACK.

At the same time, the sword light streaked through the air, descending from the sky and plunging toward the fleeing Shi Jingtang!

BOOM!

Where the sword light landed, a terrifying sword might erupted. Countless streams of Sword Qi WHIZZED out in all directions, obliterating the mountain forest within a radius of about an acre!

The white-robed old man raised a trembling hand to stroke his white beard, but accidentally plucked out several hairs.

"The worthy are protected by Providence! The worthy are protected by Providence!"

His Heart Spirit was in turmoil. He muttered, "Shi Jingtang is the chosen one, a youth of great fortune. He definitely won't die here! He can't..."

He saw a blood-soaked youth burst out from the dust of the pulverized forest and finally breathed a sigh of relief. "As expected, Shi Jingtang is still the future General Star, a being destined to become Emperor!"

SWISH! SWISH! SWISH! SWISH!

More bright streams of Sword Qi flew through the sky. Each one was as large as a roof rafter as they shot out from the Divine Capital. Under the white-robed old man's gaze, they landed on Shi Jingtang with a series of BOOMS!

The forest was blanketed by the ferocious Sword Qi, and the mountain terrain was sliced flat!

This time, Shi Jingtang did not walk out.

The white-robed old man let out a stifled grunt, almost spitting out a mouthful of old blood. A great General Star of the future had fallen before he even had a chance to mature!

'He has violated the Celestial Rules!'

The white-robed old man looked up at the sky, screaming internally, 'Hurry up and send down the tribulation! Strike him dead! Are you Celestial Gods useless? He has violated the Celestial Rules!'

However, the clouds in the sky simply drifted by, showing no sign that the Azure Heaven intended to send down a tribulation.

The white-robed old man was furious. He cried out, "So, no tribulation, is that it? No one's going to do anything? Fine! If no one's going to interfere, then neither will I!"

Despite his words, he kept his eyes fixed on Xu Ying, terrified that he might slip out of his sight.

Xu Ying expended the last of his Primordial Qi to kill from a hundred li away with his Sword Control Qi. After confirming Shi Jingtang's death, he breathed a sigh of relief and said to Da Zhong and Yuan Qi, "I can't take someone's head from a thousand li away with Sword Control yet, but a hundred li is manageable. Now that I've cut the weeds and pulled the roots, I can finally rest easy."

Da Zhong asked, "Ying, are you sure he's dead?"

Xu Ying started walking toward the city's outskirts. "You have a point, Lord Zhong. Let's go check the body and give it another stab, just in case."

Yuan Qi praised, "Ying is as cautious as ever. It's a good habit."

Zhu Chanchan was stunned for a moment, then quickly skipped and hopped to catch up with them. 'These Guardians of mine don't seem like kind people...' she thought. 'Then again, neither am I!'