Ascension Day

A jolt went through Xu Ying’s heart. ’A Cross-Refining Stage Qi Refiner? His cultivation realm is even higher than mine!’

He had been in cultivation for the past few months, and his cultivation was about to reach the Fourth Heaven of the Gate-Opening Stage. After reaching the Fourth Heaven, the next realm was the Cross-Refining Stage, where water and fire inter-refine to forge a furnace cauldron.

In the Cross-Refining Stage, one was meant to form a Golden Core!

He never would have thought that these four Sword Children were actually great masters who had already formed Golden Cores!

Xu Ying followed Du Fei up the steps and into the chariot, asking, "Du Fei, what’s your realm?"

Du Fei replied, "This disciple’s cultivation is shallow. I’m still in the Gate-Opening Stage, having just opened the Jiaji Profound Gate."

Xu Ying raised an eyebrow. The Gate-Opening Stage Du Fei mentioned was different from his own. Xu Ying was in the Gate-Opening Stage of the Tailbone Profound Gate, while Du Fei had already reached the Second Gate-Opening Stage, the Jiaji Profound Gate. His cultivation realm was much higher than Xu Ying’s.

The interior of the chariot was quite spacious and bright. A young maiden stood by, holding an incense burner, while other Child Maidens and Boys bustled about.

Xu Ying pushed open the chariot window and looked out. He saw the four Sword Children CLICK open their Sword Boxes. Sword Qi flew out from the boxes, gradually encircling the entire Treasure Chariot.

The Treasure Chariot slowly rose, floating in the air. Then, wreathed in Sword Qi, it tore through the sky and sped away.

Xu Ying could tell that the Sword Control Technique the four Sword Children cultivated was incomplete. However, by joining forces to form a Sword Array, they could successfully execute it, which made Xu Ying click his tongue in amazement.

"This is the Sword Control Technique that my master restored."

Du Fei smiled. "Is it to your liking, Ancestor?"

Xu Ying told the truth. "It’s average, at best."

Du Fei’s eyes flickered, and he smiled. "My master holds you in the highest esteem, Ancestor. You must surely possess a superior Sword Control Technique. This junior has also learned a little. Might I ask the Ancestor for some guidance?"

Without waiting for Xu Ying’s reply, he shook his shoulders, and a crisscrossing web of Sword Qi surged toward Xu Ying.

Xu Ying flicked his fingers repeatedly. Du Fei’s vision blurred, and he saw a stream of Sword Qi break through his own move. He hastily raised a hand to grab at his throat.

CLINK!

His hand grabbed nothing. The Sword Qi had already struck his throat, but it shattered the moment it touched his skin.

Du Fei looked down and saw that the clothes on his chest had also been pierced by a strand of Sword Qi, and he felt a slight pain in his heart. But that Sword Qi had also failed to break his skin, shattering on its own.

Du Fei’s forehead was covered in cold sweat. ’Thankfully, his cultivation is far inferior to mine, so he couldn’t break through my True Essence defense. Otherwise, those two sword strikes would have taken my life!’

Xu Ying had only made two feigned strikes with no intention of killing him, but Du Fei had misunderstood, thinking Xu Ying’s cultivation was lacking.

Xu Ying asked, "Your master, is he a Qi Refiner like you? Does he not practice the Nuo Technique?"

Du Fei, having lost his earlier arrogance, bowed and said, "Master says the Nuo Technique of the Nuo Masters is nothing but a heretical path, a method that courts death. Why would anyone learn such a thing?"

Xu Ying nodded gently. ’Xu Fu isn’t wrong. The Nuo Technique of the Nuo Masters is indeed full of harmful traps. If one doesn’t escape them, the danger is immense. But if one *can* escape them, then the potential is limitless.’

The Sword Qi Chariot sped through the air, its speed so fast that the scenery outside was just a blur of fleeting images. Xu Ying found himself quite impressed with the four Sword Children outside.

’These four have such deep and enduring Magical Power. To think they can channel Sword Qi for so long. This level of cultivation is about the same as Lord Qi’s.’

Just as he thought this, several other children walked out of the chariot and took the place of the four Sword Children. The first four looked greatly relieved, drenched in sweat and utterly exhausted.

Seeing this, Xu Ying thought, ’It seems their Primordial Qi isn’t as robust as Lord Qi’s after all. Although these Sword Children’s cultivation realm is much higher than Lord Qi’s, their Primordial Qi seems insufficient.’

At the same realm, the sheer volume of Yuan Qi’s Primordial Qi was enough to match Xu Ying’s. It was only because Xu Ying had now opened his Jade Pool Secret Treasury that his Primordial Qi was a bit more abundant.

Along the way, the Sword Children were swapped out four more times before the chariot finally arrived amidst a range of mountains. The chariot passed between the peaks, flew to the summit of a large mountain, and slowly descended.

The Sword Qi chimed as it was retracted back into the Sword Boxes one by one.

Xu Ying stepped out of the chariot and saw a place of green mountains and clear waters facing the sea. Birds nested on the cliff faces. Flocks would take flight, startling the sky as they dove from the cliffs to skim across the surface of the ocean.

There were also young men and women in groups of four, each riding on Sword Qi, weaving across the sea’s surface alongside the birds.

The scene was breathtakingly beautiful and refreshing.

"This way, Ancestor!" Du Fei said, gesturing with his hand.

Xu Ying followed him up flight after flight of White Jade Steps. After a long while, they reached the top of the stairs and arrived before the main hall of the mountain.

Inside the main hall, a large, perfectly square stone floated in the air. The stone was ten feet long, wide, and high, perfectly uniform.

On the stone stood a man in a black robe with a red sash. He looked to be no more than twenty or thirty years old, yet he possessed the refined bearing of an immortal, with an ethereal, transcendent air.

However, a scar shaped like a blood-red centipede ran from the corner of his eye, ruining his immortal aura. Judging from the scar, the original wound must have been deep and terrifying.

When the man saw Xu Ying, even with a Dao Heart as placid as an old well, it was as if a small pebble had been tossed in, sending ripples through it.

The large stone carried the man over, stopping in front of Xu Ying. The man bowed in greeting and smiled. "Xu Master, it has been four thousand years. You are still the same as ever, unchanged."

Xu Ying returned the bow and said, "You must be Xu Fu? Forgive my poor memory; I do not recognize you."

The man laughed heartily. "The Immortal may have longevity, but he always forgets his past memories. I don’t blame you. Xu Master, back then, you and I sailed the seas together under the order of the Ancestral Dragon in search of the Immortal Mountains. You may have forgotten, but I will always remember. We went through countless hardships, and I don’t know how many people died, but we finally found Fangzhang Immortal Mountain!"

Xu Fu looked down at his feet with a smile. "Do you have any memory of this Fangzhang Immortal Mountain?"

Xu Ying was astonished. He looked at the Square Stone beneath Xu Fu’s feet. "Don’t tell me..."

Xu Fu nodded gently.

Yuan Qi quickly leaped down from Xu Ying’s shoulder, and Da Zhong flew out from behind Xu Ying’s head, crying out in shock, "This is Fangzhang Immortal Mountain?"

Xu Fu smiled. "That’s right. This is the legendary Fangzhang Immortal Mountain, one of the three great Immortal Mountains. These three mountains are rumored to be fragments of the Immortal Realm that fell into the Mortal World. At that time, someone presented the Immortal to the Ancestral Dragon, and it was I who strongly advised him against eating Xu Master. I had read through various ancient texts and knew that Xu Master held a great secret related to these three Immortal Mountains. So, I persuaded the Ancestral Dragon to gather the strongest experts of that age to open a sliver of your memory seal."

Xu Ying’s expression grew agitated. He clenched his fists and said, "You opened my memory seal?"

Xu Fu nodded lightly and smiled. "We did, but only a sliver. And a mere sliver was enough! The Ancestral Dragon ordered me and Xu Master to lead three thousand Child Maidens and Boys across the vast ocean to search for the Immortal Mountains. Along the way, we slayed countless monsters, crossed straits, traversed the Netherworld, and passed through regions of Thunder Tribulations. After a thousand hardships, we finally found Fangzhang Immortal Mountain!"

He smiled faintly. "To stand upon an Immortal Mountain is to be in the Immortal Realm itself—to have longevity, to be undying and indestructible."

Xu Ying’s heart pounded. From what Xu Fu was saying, he truly seemed to know Xu Ying’s origins like the back of his hand.

Yuan Qi sized up the Immortal Mountain and suddenly said, "A pity this Immortal Mountain is too small. Only one person can stand on it."

"Indeed," Xu Fu said with a sigh.

Yuan Qi looked up. "So, why did Ying return to the Divine Land alone while you were nowhere to be found? And where are the other three thousand Child Maidens and Boys?"

Xu Fu’s gaze turned dark as he stared at him.

Yuan Qi extended his tail, and with a POP, the Cyan Paper Umbrella opened, shielding his head.

Da Zhong, meanwhile, silently appeared above Xu Ying’s head.

Xu Fu sighed. "They died on the road to the Immortal Mountains. As for Xu Master, perhaps too much of the seal was opened, alerting the person behind it. Just as I wanted to share my joy with him, Xu Master vanished."

His expression darkened. "I was trapped on Fangzhang Immortal Mountain, unable to find the way back to Yuan Shou or return to the Divine Land, drifting aimlessly at sea. By the time I found the path back to Yuan Shou, the Qin and Han Dynasties had passed, two thousand years had gone by, and the world had changed drastically. I went into seclusion in the mountains and forests, exploring its mysteries, trying to solve the puzzle of the disappearance of the Ancient Qi Refiners, and trying to see Xu Master again. For two thousand years, I had no success."

He looked at Xu Ying, his gaze fervent, and smiled. "I never expected that after such dramatic changes in the world, I would hear news of Xu Master once again!"

Yuan Qi interrupted him, asking in confusion, "You and Ying went to sea to find the Immortal Mountains together. Logically, the stories of you both should have been passed down. Why is it that the history books only tell your story, with no legends of Ying?"

Xu Fu’s eyes flickered. "Naturally, someone did not want Xu Master to appear before the eyes of the world, so they erased his records from the official histories. Xu Master’s history is not the only thing that has been erased from this world. There is much more! Please, follow me!"

--- Happy Children’s Day, everyone! Did you all enjoy the bonus Chapter?

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