Ascension Day

The scene had been an unparalleled shock, completely overturning all her previous understanding of Qi Refiners.

And now, she had long since surpassed her master, capable of wielding Divine Powers far stronger and more shocking than the feat of turning pillars into treasures. But as she watched the transformations in Xu Ying’s axe strike, she once again felt that same unparalleled shock!

’Divine Powers can be used like this? Daoist Techniques can be used like this? He’s not human. He’s definitely not human!’

Xu Ying remained calm and unruffled, his axe still falling on the feathered-robed youth’s forehead. He showed no sign of desperation, but the feathered-robed youth was fighting for his very life.

The youth roared in fury as his Flesh Body suddenly swelled, growing larger and stronger by the second. But just then, Xu Ying formed a peculiar Palm Seal with his left hand. Nestled within it, appearing deceptively small, was the image of a sky-piercing Bronze Mountain Peak.

As Xu Ying struck out with the seal, the youth’s enormous body was instantly crushed, shrinking rapidly as his bones crackled and popped. Chunks of flesh and blood exploded from his form!

The exploded pieces of flesh writhed and crawled on the ground, reforming into countless copies of the feathered-robed youth. They lunged at Xu Ying in bizarre, contorted poses.

BANG!

The feathered-robed youth’s original body exploded, his Flesh Body shattering into countless pieces. The Celestial Demon’s true form emerged from within—a mass of black gas that shrieked as it lunged at Xu Ying.

Xu Ying made a cradling motion with his hands before his chest. Instantly, another Dao Image materialized there, resembling a furnace. The fire within was not Sanmei True Fire, and the light it radiated was no ordinary Divine Light.

It was as if he held three thousand suns in his embrace. An incomparably brilliant light erupted, incinerating every copy of the feathered-robed youth that lunged at him, turning them all to ash!

The Celestial Demon’s true form charged through the dazzling radiance. Though it was constantly being annihilated, it forced its way to Xu Ying and tried to bore into the space between his eyebrows.

Just as it was about to penetrate his brow, Xu Ying raised a hand and casually snatched the mass of black gas from the air.

The ball of black gas thrashed in his palm, but Xu Ying’s five fingers formed a worldly cage, trapping it with no hope of escape.

The black gas despaired, its ancient consciousness projecting a single question: who was he?

Xu Ying’s expression was cold and indifferent. He didn’t answer. With a single, forceful clench of his fist, flames erupted in his palm, refining the black gas to dust.

CRACK!

Thunder continued to crash down from the sky. The vast vortex of dark clouds churned madly, ceaselessly funneling energy into Xu Ying, making the Dao Image behind him grow ever more solid and real.

Beichenzi’s body trembled as a fear that came from his very soul flooded his heart. The lightning was still empowering Xu Ying, which meant his true target had never been the Celestial Demon.

’If not the Celestial Demon, then who could it be?’

Beichenzi’s finger twitched. A wisp of True Fire ignited silently at its tip as he tried to light the incense stick before the Shen Kan on the altar. The True Fire had just reached the incense when Xu Ying’s palm suddenly swept over, extinguishing it instantly.

As if struck by a massive blow, Beichenzi’s chest caved in, his ribs snapping. He vomited a great mouthful of blood as he was sent flying backward, crashing with a loud BOOM into the stump of the broken Bronze Divine Tree and shattering it completely.

He slammed heavily onto the ground, tumbling over and over before finally skidding to a halt.

Nearly every bone in his body had been shattered. Cracks appeared throughout his Primordial Spirit, his Mysterious Domain, and even his Secret Hidden Cave Heaven!

The old man, covered in blood, roared in fury. A hazy, green chessboard descended from the sky, landing with a crash upon the mountain peak. Beichenzi’s Primordial Spirit materialized behind him, and with a great cry, he pointed a finger forward!

BOOM!

A finger as massive as a mountain peak erupted from the chessboard, bursting through the air. It contained immense power, making space itself tremble as it jabbed toward Xu Ying.

"I will not let you break free!" Beichenzi screamed, blood leaking from his eyes, ears, nose, and mouth.

Without even a glance, Xu Ying casually swung his axe. The finger that emerged from the chessboard was instantly severed.

Beichenzi let out a pained shriek as his own finger snapped in unison.

Wielding the axe with one hand, Xu Ying sent flashes of light flying up and down, hacking into the hazy green chessboard. Beichenzi shrieked again and again, his hands trembling. He watched in horror as his ten fingers were severed and fell off one by one.

He collapsed to his knees with a thud, and the Primordial Spirit behind him did the same. His arms trembled violently—the ten fingers of his Primordial Spirit had also been lopped off!

The green chessboard was a Great Divine Power he had painstakingly cultivated for two thousand years. Within it, he could amplify his attacks, using the board to make them ever-changing and Incomprehensible.

Yet, when Xu Ying assaulted his Great Divine Power, he seemed to see through every one of its transformations. He even wielded Beichenzi’s own Divine Power with greater mastery than he himself possessed!

The sight drove him to utter despair.

With a flick of his wrist, Xu Ying sent a flash of axe-light into the green chessboard. A moment later, another flash of axe-light shot out from the board, aimed straight at Beichenzi’s neck.

A single, simple axe strike had shattered the Divine Power that was his life’s pride. To be killed by his own technique plunged Beichenzi into such despair that he lost all will to resist.

Suddenly, a red light flashed and pounced. Just before the axe-light could strike him down, it grabbed both him and his Primordial Spirit, rolling them dozens of yards away.

Beichenzi, still reeling from the shock, looked up and saw that the woman in red and her Primordial Spirit had arrived at the critical moment, saving him at the brink of Life and Death.

"We received the message from your Yellow Robe and rushed here at once. We’re not too late!" the red-robed woman said rapidly, her gaze fixed on Xu Ying.

Blood streamed from Beichenzi’s mouth as he coughed, "Be careful... He’s not human. He’s a monster..."

Xu Ying whipped his head around. The sorrowful old man had appeared on the altar, holding another Paper Talisman which he pressed onto the Shen Kan. In the old man’s other hand was a flickering Pure Yang Anomalous Fire, which he was using to light the incense!

"How dare you?"

Xu Ying erupted in fury. The lightning-shaped mark on his brow crackled as arcs of electricity danced wildly. He flicked his fingers repeatedly.

The sorrowful old man roared. A Silver Mirror appeared before him, chiming as it multiplied endlessly, soon surrounding him on all sides, locking down space and reflecting all Divine Powers.

But in the next moment, finger-sized holes appeared in the countless Silver Mirrors, and then every single mirror shattered and fell to the ground.

*SPURT! SPURT! SPURT!*

Ten bloody holes, piercing straight through his torso from front to back, appeared on the sorrowful old man’s body. The impacts knocked him clean off the altar.

Xu Ying’s mind turned hazy. Sensing that something was wrong, he shot toward the altar, reaching out to grab the incense stick and extinguish its flame.

"I will not let the heavens seal me again! Everything that was taken from me will be returned!"

The red-robed woman lunged forward, wrapping her arms around his waist.

The fragrant smoke from the incense drifted toward the two Paper Talismans in the Shen Kan, and the strange characters on them began to glow.

"Don’t even think about it!"

Xu Ying was utterly enraged. With a single flex of his arms, he shattered the red-robed woman’s arms. Her two limbs flew into the air as her chest caved in, ribs snapping.

She tried to trip Xu Ying with her leg, but with two sharp CRACKS, both her legs broke as well.

The red-robed woman knelt on the ground, her eyes seeming to split from their sockets in sheer rage and despair, watching helplessly as Xu Ying stepped onto the altar.

"No!"

The sorrowful old man lunged forward, shielding the Shen Kan. Xu Ying’s hand shot out. The old man looked down to see his own chest torn open, his heart clutched in Xu Ying’s hand.

The sorrowful old man’s mind went blank. ’It’s over...’

But Xu Ying didn’t crush it. The sorrowful old man looked up to see the young man standing before him, a lost and confused look in his eyes. He gently released his grip on the heart.

Within his eyes, the vast eons of Time he had experienced began to fade. Image after image was sealed away, and all his memories were slowly buried beneath layers of dust.

The fire in his eyes turned into a vacant haze.

The sorrowful old man looked back. The incense was burning steadily, its fragrant smoke curling into the two Paper Talismans. The seals on them were growing ever brighter.

The seal was stable.

"Where am I? Who am I?"

The young man squatted down, clutching his head. Pitiful and helpless, he cried out, "My head hurts so much!"

Enduring the excruciating pain, the sorrowful old man carefully pushed his shattered ribs back into place, protecting his heart.

The red-robed woman, still kneeling on the ground, silently set the bones in her broken legs. She found two branches to use as splints, tied them to her legs, and then directed her Primordial Spirit to retrieve her two severed arms.

Beichenzi, his white hair stained crimson with his own blood, crawled inch by painful inch to the edge of the altar.

The three exchanged a look, each seeing the wretched state and lingering fear in the others’ eyes, but also the profound joy of having survived the ordeal.

’Now, we can have peace for many more years.’

They failed to notice that the crackling lightning mark on Xu Ying’s brow was also slowly dimming before it vanished completely.

—A special thanks to Alliance Leader A for another Golden Alliance sponsorship!

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