Ascension Day

Not long after Xu Ying and the others departed, the mangled mass of flesh and blood finally reassembled itself into a human form. Even the tattered clothes on its body were restored to their original state.

The hoopoe on his head was also the same as before.

This was a unique trait of Celestial Demons. They could remember every characteristic of their Flesh Body, and even if it were destroyed, it would regenerate to its original state.

He walked toward the mountaintop, which had been almost completely flattened. However, as he took a step, his foot suddenly met empty air, and he nearly stumbled.

The youth in feathered robes looked down to see that he was missing a leg.

His clothes and the hoopoe on his head had been shattered. Restoring them had consumed too much of his "Cultivation," leaving him without enough to regenerate his leg.

Black energy surged from the youth's body. His left leg split in two, forming a pair of legs. They were much thinner than before, but he paid it no mind as he reached the summit.

He took a deep sniff. It was the scent Zhu Chanchan had left behind.

The aroma of an Immortal Elixir held a fatal attraction for him, luring him to give chase and hunt his prey.

Meanwhile, a ray of sunlight filtered through Beichenzi's eyelids. He weakly opened his eyes to see Xu Ying, Zhu Chanchan, and Da Zhong looking at him with concern. When they saw he was awake, the two of them and the Bell finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"Mr. Beichen is okay!"

Xu Ying smiled. "See? I told you Mr. Beichen has fortune on his side. It's true."

Zhu Chanchan laid on the flattery. "Master Bei's battle against the Celestial Demon was a display of peerless valor! Your righteousness soars to the heavens, and your spirit echoes through the ages! Anyone who hears of your deeds will give you a thumbs-up and praise your loyalty!"

Beichenzi struggled to sit up, panting as he spoke. "I must be getting old. When I was fighting that Celestial Demon for my life, my Primordial Spirit was battered by its Qi Blood. It threw my Divine Sense into chaos, and I passed out..."

He abruptly shoved Xu Ying and Zhu Chanchan aside, knocked away Da Zhong, and leaped off Yuan Qi's massive head. "You rotten eggs!" he shouted. "Making an old man like me risk his life for you? I quit!"

A dull THUD echoed from below.

Yuan Qi, who had been slithering onward, heard the sound and quickly called out, "What was that? Ying, what happened?"

Xu Ying held onto the Big Snake's long, black horn and peered down. "The old man jumped off your head," he said. "I only healed the internal injuries to his Five Viscera. His Primordial Spirit, Mysterious Domain, and Hidden Land were all damaged by the shock. He can't use his Magical Power, so he couldn't fly and just fell."

Yuan Qi was startled and came to a halt. "Which side did he jump off? Left or right? The Yin Yang Two Realms Abyss is on my right..."

"The right side."

Xu Ying strained to look down and finally spotted Beichenzi. The white-haired old man had fallen several hundred feet into the chasm, but had luckily landed on a protruding rock instead of plunging into the Abyss itself.

Had he fallen into the Abyss, not even an Immortal could have saved him. In that case, Xu Ying would have had to find another "enthusiastic Guardian."

Beichenzi's head was spinning from the fall. A cacophony of voices rose from the Abyss, like countless trapped Demon Kings whispering to him, interfering with his thoughts and making it impossible to concentrate.

Beichenzi was terrified. He tried to summon his Magical Power, but couldn't muster even a shred of his Cultivation. In a panic, he cried out, "Xu Ying, save me—"

Suddenly, the rock beneath him loosened and began to slide.

Beichenzi cried out in terror. He barely managed to summon his Primordial Spirit, which shot out and grabbed the cliff face with one hand and his arm with the other, stopping his fall into the Abyss.

But he still slid another hundred feet down the cliff. The cacophony grew louder, making it even harder for him to concentrate and control his Primordial Spirit.

The huge rock ricocheted off the cliff walls of the Abyss as it fell. After a long while, it finally plunged into the depths.

Just as he was about to lose his grip, Da Zhong came wobbling down. With its mouth facing upward like a cup, the Bell caught him and slowly carried him out of the Abyss.

Da Zhong landed on Yuan Qi's head. Beichenzi tumbled out of the Bell's mouth, his body limp, gasping for breath.

He had been in complete despair, certain he was about to plunge into the Abyss and meet a violent end. Now, having been rescued, he was so relieved he almost burst into tears.

He had an inexplicable fear of the Abyss. In his youth, he had seen countless powerful Qi Refiners attempt to explore its depths, only to never return.

The Abyss had become his nightmare.

Xu Ying said admiringly, "Mr. Beichen, your righteousness truly knows no bounds! You were so worried we'd be killed that after jumping into the Abyss, you decided to come back."

Beichenzi snorted. "Righteousness my ass! I just can't get away! If I could, I would've ditched you bastards a long time ago!"

Having given up all pretense, he was no longer polite to Xu Ying. Instead, he started cursing up a storm, his former dignified manner completely gone.

Da Zhong said to Zhu Chanchan, "He's lost his cool."

Zhu Chanchan nodded. "He's flustered and throwing a tantrum."

Xu Ying tried to console him. "Mr. Beichen, you should focus on healing. That Celestial Demon isn't dead, and it's still after us. We'll need to rely on you to regain your former might and fight it off."

"Fight it off, my ass!"

Beichenzi's anger hadn't faded, and he continued to shout, "To think that I, Beichenzi, have stood mighty for three thousand years! I've watched seas turn to mulberry fields in the Mortal World and seen countless dynasties rise and fall! How many great events have been nothing but fleeting clouds before my eyes? And now, to think I'd fall into the hands of a few little scoundrels like you!"

Zhu Chanchan kindly reminded him, "Mr. Beichen, I'm afraid the only ones here younger than you are Ying and Lord Qi. It's not so clear who the 'little scoundrels' really are."

A chill ran through Beichenzi's heart. 'That damn snake is definitely younger than me,' he thought, 'but that villain Xu Ying... his age is surely far greater than mine.'

He then thought about all his years running around the Mortal World, toiling away, living in constant fear. He had earned countless merits through his hard work, and he thought his suffering was finally over, with good days ahead. To think it would all end with him being eaten by a Celestial Demon! At this thought, he lost all his composure and began to curse and rave all over again.