Ascension Day

The villagers of Mataopo Village finally quieted down, standing there meekly, afraid to move. Even the River God Spirit, who had taken dozens of wives, was shivering, scarcely daring to breathe.

After asking his questions, Yuan Qi was overjoyed. He grinned and said, "Ying really is here!"

Da Zhong and Zhu Chanchan were both worried. Da Zhong said, "These people claim that Ying has been living here for seven years. It’s clear Beichenzi and the others have tampered with their memories. Since their memories have been altered, Ying’s must have been altered as well."

Yuan Qi said, "Then we’ll just change them back!"

Zhu Chanchan shook her head. "That’s very difficult. Even if we did change them back, they’d be false memories, unless we break the seal. But Xu Ying’s seal..."

She frowned slightly.

In recent days, traveling all over with Da Zhong and Yuan Qi, she had gradually pieced together a general understanding of Xu Ying’s origins. She guessed that his memories had been sealed away by someone, but the sealing had been done over an extremely long period, an unimaginable number of times.

For Xu Ying, each new seal meant a rebirth, a chance to live life anew.

To break seals like these, they would first have to capture Beichenzi and his two companions—a task of unimaginable difficulty!

Besides, even if they caught Beichenzi and the other two, what then? They were merely watchdogs. There were far more terrifying entities behind them.

Who were these entities?

Zhu Chanchan didn’t dare to even think about it!

"Chanchan, you stay here and see if Ying comes back. Lord Zhong and I will go look around," Yuan Qi suggested.

Zhu Chanchan agreed. Da Zhong and Yuan Qi then split up to search.

Xu Ying and Xu Jin looked around, discovering another world hidden within the mountains. Paths crisscrossed the fields, and houses stood in neat rows. People bustled about, though their attire seemed ancient.

The father and son clicked their tongues in amazement. The mountain residents were equally startled to see them and came forward to ask where they were from. Xu Ying recounted his tale of chasing a large fish.

Xu Jin was overcome with excitement. "Is this the Peach Blossom Spring?" he asked. "I heard from my ancestors that a fisherman once stumbled deep into the Wuling mountains and found the Peach Blossom Spring. They said the people inside had taken refuge there during the Ancestral Dragon Era. Could this be that very place?"

The residents exchanged glances and shook their heads. "This is the Underworld. We’re ghosts."

The father and son were startled, but the ghosts didn’t seem malicious. An old man explained, "The Yin Yang Two Realms are connected, and the boundary between Life and Death has blurred. You most likely entered this place through a rift between the Underworld and the Mortal World. Just go back the way you came."

Xu Jin expressed his thanks and was about to turn back, but just then, a voice chuckled. "You’re... Xu Ying!"

Xu Ying turned to see a Ghost God striding toward them. It was tall, with the face of a horse and the body of a man, and was wreathed in Incense Smoke Qi. Flames jetted from its nostrils as it looked Xu Ying up and down, then suddenly roared with laughter. "It really is you! Xu Ying, the Snake Catcher from Lingling!"

The ghosts who had been speaking to them were scared out of their wits at the sight. They all fell to their knees, crying, "My Lord!"

Xu Ying looked up at the creature. "I am Xu Ying, but I’m not a Snake Catcher from Lingling. I’m a fisherman from Wuling. You know me?"

The Horse-faced Ghost God casually grabbed a nearby ghost, tossed it into its mouth, and chewed thoughtfully. "You violated the Celestial Rules and killed a magistrate of the Yin Court," it said with a grin. "The Yin Court has put a handsome reward on your head. Your portrait has been circulated among every Ghost God in the Divine Land. How could I possibly not recognize you?"

Xu Jin hurried forward with an appeasing smile. "Lord Divine Spirit, you must have the wrong person. I found Ying seven years ago when I was fishing. He’s never even set foot outside Wuling, so how could he have been to Lingling?"

The Horse-faced Ghost God’s gaze turned grim. "He rebelled, sowed chaos, and slaughtered countless Divine Spirits. Does he think hiding in Wuling after fleeing Lingling means he can just pretend it never happened?"

A mere wisp of its aura made Xu Jin’s blood run cold. His heart hammered in his chest, and his mouth went dry. Shielding Xu Ying, he backed away, still trying to smile. "Lord Divine Spirit, you really have the wrong person..."

The Horse-faced Ghost God raised a hand and snatched him up. "Annoying pest!" it sneered. "I’m not here for you, yet you repeatedly stand in my way. Do you think I’m afraid to eat humans?"

Xu Jin struggled frantically but couldn’t break free. Its grip squeezed the air from his lungs, and his face turned crimson. "Ying," he rasped, "run...!"

His eyes bulged, and he could no longer speak.

The Horse-Faced Divine Spirit opened its great maw, bringing Xu Jin toward its mouth. "I only come out of the Underworld occasionally for a meal of flesh and blood, and you’ve made me hungry. The souls of devoted parents are the absolute sweetest..."

Suddenly, the resounding trumpet of an elephant echoed through the air. The Horse-Faced Divine Spirit felt a colossal force slam into its waist, sending its massive body staggering backward!

Shocked and enraged, it looked to see Xu Ying’s small form leaping into the air, his leg sweeping out to kick the arm holding Xu Jin.

The young man’s Qi Blood surged, practically boiling as it spilled from his body and manifested behind him as a twenty-foot-tall Elephant King God, which was connected to him!

The Elephant King God swung its trunk, its power merging with Xu Ying’s kick. CRACK! The blow struck the Horse-faced Ghost God’s arm, sending a numbing shock through it and forcing it to release Xu Jin.

In that instant, the Horse-faced Ghost God saw something between Xu Ying’s eyebrows. It was like a flash of light, like a bolt of lightning from the heavens.

This bolt of lightning was branded on the young man’s brow, surfacing from beneath his skin and slowly growing distinct.

Xu Ying landed, grabbed the bewildered Xu Jin’s hand, and took off at a dead sprint. "Dad, run!" he yelled.

The father and son fled for their lives, scrambling toward the crack in the mountainside. Behind them, the Horse-Faced Divine Spirit leaped to its feet. It sneered, and its Incense Smoke Qi transformed into a volley of Flying Swords that shot through the air, WHIZZING as they slashed toward Xu Ying and Xu Jin!

"The Yin Court Emperor has given the order: when apprehending Xu Ying, he doesn’t need to be taken alive!"