Ascension Day

Xu Fu stood on the Fangzhang Immortal Mountain and extended his hand to Xu Ying. Xu Ying paused for a moment, then grasped it. Xu Fu tightened his grip and pulled him onto the Fangzhang Immortal Mountain.

Yuan Qi hastily shrank down, and with a single leap, landed on the Immortal Mountain, calling out, "Wait for me!"

Xu Ying stood on the tiny Immortal Mountain, marveling at it.

The Fangzhang Immortal Mountain was no more than ten feet across, but it was more than spacious enough for two people.

The tiny Immortal Mountain flew out of the palace hall. As it soared, strange, shifting patterns emerged on its rocky surface.

Xu Ying’s gaze fell upon the patterns, and he felt a sense of familiarity, as if they were some form of ancient bird-and-worm script. Yet, when he tried to inspect them closely, the patterns would vanish, denying him any chance to study their secrets.

"Is this mountain really a fragment of the Immortal Realm? It seems so ordinary."

Yuan Qi, hanging from Xu Ying’s ear, surveyed their surroundings and whispered, "Xu Fu is always standing on this mountain. Could it be that he can’t leave it?"

Da Zhong’s Divine Sense wavered. "What would happen if he did leave this mountain?"

The scar at the corner of Xu Fu’s eye twitched.

Xu Ying’s eyes gleamed as he whispered, "Stop with the wild guesses. He just said the Ancestral Dragon ordered the strongest Qi Refiners in the world at the time to undo my seal by a mere crack. Then, the Ancestral Dragon sent him and me out to sea to find an Immortal Mountain. Could it be that he got the information about Fangzhang Immortal Mountain from me?"

He blinked, perplexed. "But how would I know about an Immortal Mountain?"

Da Zhong and Yuan Qi couldn’t answer. They had never even heard of the Fangzhang Immortal Mountain, let alone its miraculous properties.

Yuan Qi slithered down to the ground and suddenly cried out in astonishment, "Quick, look! You can actually see the Immortal Realm!"

Surprised, Xu Ying hurriedly looked around, but he saw nothing out of the ordinary.

Yuan Qi shouted, "You have to shrink down! You can only see it if you’re my size!"

Da Zhong immediately shrank until it was the size of a palm. Landing on the ground, it exclaimed, "It’s true! You can see the Immortal Realm!"

Upon hearing this, Xu Ying reversed his Scattering Beans into Soldiers Nuo Art, shrinking himself to the size of a bean. He landed on the ground and looked up. Sure enough, he saw that the tiny Immortal Mountain was surrounded by its own atmosphere, a Celestial Curtain that enveloped it completely.

Through this thin Celestial Curtain, they could see colossal Immortal Mountains floating in the sky beyond, like ethereal phantoms, seeming utterly unreal.

Looking even farther, they could see Immortal Light streaking across the sky like rainbows and ribbons. There were countless Immortal Mountains wreathed in glowing clouds and mist, majestic Palaces adrift in the air, and even floating Immortal Trees laden with Peaches of Immortality. It all seemed so close that they could just reach out and pluck one or two.

This Fangzhang Immortal Mountain was truly a marvel!

Xu Fu’s voice seemed to drift down from beyond the heavens. "That is the Immortal Realm. However, we can only see it; we cannot touch it. This rock fell from the Immortal Realm into the Mortal World. Even though it landed in the Mortal World, it still shares the same sky as the Immortal Realm, which is why we can stand here and witness its sights."

Xu Ying dispelled the Scattering Beans into Soldiers Nuo Art, and his body returned to its normal size. "The Fangzhang Immortal Mountain is truly incredible," he praised.

Xu Fu said, "There are even more incredible things. Wait until sunrise in the Immortal Realm. You will discover just how invigorating it is to practice Qi Refining while bathed in its light! The sunlight of the Immortal Realm will Transform into Primordial Qi, enter your body, and purge all impurities, leaving you as pure as jade. It’s like taking an Immortal Elixir!"

Xu Ying, Yuan Qi, and Da Zhong listened, their hearts filled with an eager anticipation. They could hardly wait for the sun to rise in the Immortal Realm to experience it for themselves.

Xu Fu’s disciples, all dressed in white with Sword Boxes on their backs, gathered in groups of four. They performed Sword Flight together, flanking the Fangzhang Immortal Mountain as it flew.

Xu Fu steered the Immortal Mountain through steep mountain ranges, chuckling. "A day in the heavens is a year on earth. Since I obtained the Fangzhang Immortal Mountain, I have only witnessed four thousand sunrises. If you wait here for a year, you’ll be able to see the next one."

Standing on the Immortal Mountain, Xu Ying saw a lone parasol tree on a peak ahead.

The Phoenix Divine Tree grew facing the sea, tall and majestic, towering over the other peaks!

As Xu Ying looked around, he suddenly heard a crisp birdsong. Looking up, he saw a Divine Bird with a long, fiery tail streaking across the sky.

The Divine Bird soared into the air. With a sudden beat of its wings, the sky filled with flames. The bird rolled within the fire, its speed increasing dramatically as it tore through the air and vanished.

Xu Fu said, "That was a Divine Bird that has awakened its ancient bloodline. I’ve heard a Phoenix resides nearby. Ever since it arrived, Divine Birds have become more and more common."

Xu Ying looked toward the Phoenix Divine Tree and saw the Divine Bird from a moment ago land upon it. ’Could that be Feng Xian’Er?’ he wondered.

"This place is called Huo Tong Mountain, the first of the ancient Thirty-Six Grotto Heavens. In its heyday, countless Qi Refiners cultivated here, and just as many attempted their Tribulation Crossing."

The Fangzhang Immortal Mountain flew toward an adjacent peak and passed through a great chasm that split the mountain’s center. The walls on either side were covered in a strange, fleshy growth.

The flesh seemed to sense the presence of living creatures, and suddenly, countless tentacles whipped out, lashing toward them!

Xu Fu’s disciples all unleashed their Sword Qi to combat the flesh on the cliffs, but many were still pierced by the tentacles. Their Qi Blood drained away in a frenzy, and in the blink of an eye, they were reduced to nothing but dried bones!

After more than a dozen disciples had been killed or wounded, Xu Fu finally gave a light flick of his sleeve. The entire chasm shook violently. The countless fleshy growths clinging to the cliffs instantly exploded, swept clean away by that single gesture.

"Thank you for saving us, Master!" the disciples cried out.