Ascension Day

Huge sheets of rock crashed down, and ancient, time-worn patterns gradually appeared on the surface of the Flying Peak. The small stones embedded within these patterns also trembled violently and fell away.

The Flying Peak began to light up, section by section, with a low hum. The Nuo Masters fighting over the Bronze Cauldron and Bronze Tree were stunned, and they all looked up in astonishment.

"What kind of treasure is that?"

"Is it a Magical Treasure refined from Buzhou Mountain?"

"The First Emperor gathered all the Magical Treasures in the world to forge the Twelve Golden Men. Could someone have dug up the Golden Men and refined them into this giant pillar?"

...

The flash flood had washed the Bronze Cauldron and the Bronze Treasure Tree out of the mountain, and they were undoubtedly extraordinary treasures. The Bronze Treasure Tree in particular was magnificent. It stood forty feet tall with twelve bronze branches. Atop these branches were Three-legged Golden Crows forged from pure gold, and the central branch bore the pattern of a sun.

This Bronze Treasure Tree emanated powerful fluctuations of energy. From time to time, a rosy light would shoot to the heavens, dyeing the surrounding mountains red. The twelve Golden Crows would also occasionally take flight from the tree in succession. If anyone dared to approach, the crows would fly out and peck them. Even a Grand Nuo who had cultivated a Five-layered Cave Heaven would often be killed in a single strike!

Yet, compared to the Flying Peak, such treasures paled in significance and were hardly worth mentioning.

Zhu Chanchan tried to brandish this Magical Treasure, but found it incredibly difficult. She felt a bit annoyed. ’I skimmed a few too many scraps from Emperor Zhou. This Magical Treasure is seriously heavy. I won’t be able to wield it properly until I’ve cultivated the Ultimate Realm of the Twelve-Storey Tower.’

She strained to move forward, and the entire Flying Peak slowly began to tilt.

’I really did skim off too much material,’ she thought. ’I wonder if the Other Shore Divine Ship I forged for Emperor Zhou can actually make it to the Other Shore?’

Zhu Chanchan couldn’t help but worry. Back in the era of Emperor Zhou, everyone was troubled by their inability to succeed in Crossing Tribulation and Ascending. Many therefore sought to travel to the Other Shore World. But the Other Shore was fraught with danger, and countless powerful Qi Refiners of the Ascension Stage had died along the way or been burned to death by Immortal Fire.

Emperor Zhou had gathered all the treasures under heaven to forge the Other Shore Divine Ship, planning to ferry his entire court of civil and military officials across to the Other Shore. Zhu Chanchan was the Celestial Artisan who forged the Other Shore Divine Ship for Emperor Zhou.

’If I skimmed off too much material and the Other Shore Divine Ship can’t hold up and capsizes...’

She couldn’t help but shudder. Wouldn’t the entire court be sent to their graves because of her?

Suddenly, several hundred Nuo Masters blocked her path, radiating killing intent. Some stared at her, while others fixed their gazes on the Flying Peak.

"Little girl, leave the Magical Treasure behind!"

"And you’re staying too!"

"Call me Master!"

Zhu Chanchan smiled faintly and called out sweetly, "Master—"

WHOOSH!

The Flying Peak swept over. The colossal mountain crushed everything in its path with irresistible force, sweeping away all obstacles. Even when the Nuo Masters brandished their Bronze Treasure Trees and Bronze Cauldrons, they were no match for the Flying Peak and were sent flying.

The crowd spat blood and fled for their lives, but how could they possibly outrun the Flying Peak? In an instant, the several hundred experts were crushed to dust!

Just then, a voice filled with shock and fury called out, "Abomination! How dare you!"

Zhu Chanchan followed the sound and saw the sky become incredibly bright. Nine Grotto Heavens spun and orbited in the sky, piercing through the Void and taking root in a jade-like expanse of heaven.

’A grand expert who has cultivated the Ninth Heaven of the Secret Treasuries!’

Zhu Chanchan’s expression turned grim. Not daring to be careless, without a word, her Primordial Spirit leaped out from behind her and she sent the Flying Peak smashing forward. The Nuo Immortal in the sky activated his Nuo Art, and his boundless Magical Power transformed into a giant hand that reached for the Flying Peak. The great hand was instantly shattered, and the Flying Peak continued, smashing straight toward the Nine Great Cave Heavens!

’This abomination is powerful!’

The great expert of the Ninth Heaven grunted, spilling blood across the sky as he fled.

The Bronze Treasure Tree, Bronze Cauldron, and other treasures flew up and landed on the Flying Peak. They had originally been a part of it, and now they were simply returning to their rightful owner.

After activating the Flying Peak twice in a row, Zhu Chanchan was left panting for breath, her cultivation mostly depleted. She thought to herself with a sense of relief, ’If that man had fought me head-on, I wouldn’t have been able to manage a second attack. It’s a good thing he was a coward. Dragging this mountain around, who knows when I’ll be able to reach Xu Ying... Wait a minute, are they heading this way?’

She blinked and chuckled. ’That works out. Saves me the trouble of looking for them. Hold on, I only left my brand on Da Zhong, Yuan Qi, and the axe. I didn’t leave one on Xu Ying. Could Xu Fu have killed Ying to take his treasures? Did he snatch my three little darlings?’

She quickly relaxed. ’Well then, I guess I’ll just have to get rid of Xu Fu and take back my three little darlings to avenge Ying.’

She had little interest in the Stone Axe, but she was quite fond of Da Zhong and Yuan Qi. Just the thought of these two treasures soon becoming hers made her grin from ear to ear.

’Something’s not right.’

Zhu Chanchan looked around and saw a great many Nuo Masters flocking from all over, all heading in the same direction near Haojing. Haojing was Emperor Zhou’s Imperial City, originally hidden among the high mountains and lofty peaks, but it later vanished from the Mortal World due to the Celestial-Human Communication phenomenon.

Now that Haojing had reappeared, it was natural for Nuo Masters to come seeking treasure. But the sheer number of Nuo Masters Zhu Chanchan had seen along the way was far too high, and she grew suspicious. ’Could Emperor Zhou have returned? No, that can’t be right. The Other Shore Divine Ship I built for him really might not have been able to carry that many people all the way to the Other Shore.’

She went to ask around. A Nuo Master, surprised to see a beautiful young woman with a mountain peak standing behind her, still answered her questions. "The treasure of Emperor Shi’s Ancestral Dragon has been unearthed! The peerless, deadly weapons, the Twelve Golden Men that once suppressed the world, are also about to be excavated. Haojing? What’s Haojing?"

Zhu Chanchan was stunned. "Emperor Shi’s Ancestral Dragon and the Twelve Golden Men are more famous than Haojing and Emperor Zhou? I don’t believe it!"

The Nuo Master stared as if he had seen a ghost, utterly horrified. He watched the young woman he had just spoken to walk away, the bronze mountain peak behind her rumbling as it moved forward with her.

Zhu Chanchan finally reached the edge of Haojing after immense hardship, exhausted and half-dead. She leaned against the Flying Peak, panting heavily. ’I’ll rest for a bit first,’ she thought. ’If I hadn’t been so greedy back then, I wouldn’t be so exhausted today... Huh?!’

She suddenly spotted a figure moving within the Haojing Ruins and was instantly energized. She hurriedly climbed atop the Flying Peak to get a better look. She saw a person standing on a stone pillar, their robes fluttering. Their attire was archaic—it was the clothing of Emperor Zhou’s era!

Zhu Chanchan stared blankly. Just as she was about to rush over, the figure suddenly vanished without a trace!

’That was definitely a Qi Refiner from my time! Could it be... could it be...?’

Her face filled with horror. ’Emperor Zhou has returned from the Other Shore? Then what about me skimming materials from his Magical Treasure...?’

Xu Ying stood on Fangzhang Immortal Mountain. Behind him was a vast procession of Qi Refiners. Some rode on Flying Boats, others traveled by Sword Control, and some sat on leaves that, with a bit of magic, grew to enormous sizes in the wind.

Everyone used their own unique methods to cross the vast distances of rivers and mountains, heading toward Lishan.

Xu Ying also saw several Qi Refiners at the Ascension Stage. They were younger than Dong Meiqing but looked far more ancient. From the Bi Luo Poem, Xu Ying had comprehended the Great Divine Power of the Nuo Art, Tribulation from Heaven, which made him extremely sensitive to tribulation. He could sense that these Ascension Stage Qi Refiners were using a peculiar magic to evade their Celestial Tribulations.

Their karmic Tribulation was extremely heavy. If they didn’t evade it, the Celestial Tribulation would find them. When the Super Celestial Tribulation erupted, they likely wouldn’t be able to withstand even a single strike before being reduced to ash!

Moreover, even if they had a Secret Technique to evade the Celestial Tribulation, they probably didn’t have many years left to live. Their lifespans were already exhausted.

Xu Ying left Fangzhang Immortal Mountain and approached one of the elderly Ascension Stage cultivators, asking, "Your lifespan is short. Why not live out your remaining years in peace instead of going to Lishan?"

The old man was so ancient his Flesh Body had shrunk. He stood only three or four feet tall and leaned on a Deer Head Staff that was much taller than him. He chuckled. "This journey is for the ten-thousand-year grand plan of us Qi Refiners. This little old man is old and ought to die soon. Rather than dying peacefully in my bed, I’d rather light one last fire for the future of the Qi Refiners."

Xu Ying was taken aback.

He asked several other elderly Qi Refiners and received the same answer. They all said they didn’t have much time left and wanted to do something tangible for the Qi Refiners who would come after them, to ensure that the legacy of the Qi Refiners could be passed down.

Xu Ying went to Xu Fu’s side and said, "Cultivating Nuo Techniques can extend a Qi Refiner’s life. In theory, by cultivating both Qi and Nuo, one can achieve Longevity. You wouldn’t even need to ascend to the Immortal Realm; you could become an Immortal in the Human World. Elder Xu Fu, is being ’orthodox’ really that important?"

Xu Fu replied, "It may not be important to you, but to the Qi Refiners, who are on the verge of extinction, it is very important."

Xu Ying’s heart was shaken. He looked back at the Qi Refiners struggling to press forward. Their tradition was on the brink of extinction, yet they were like fish swimming upstream against the current, battling against the wind and waves.

The great trend of this era belonged to the Nuo Masters. These Qi Refiners were going against the tide, enduring the world’s scorn and misunderstanding. This sense of duty and courage was already worthy of admiration.

They were fighting for their place in the world, fighting to reclaim a grand era of their own, to restore a lost age!

"The traditional Qi Refining Skills are flawed. By adding Nuo Master techniques, they can be corrected and made perfect."

Xu Ying said to Xu Fu, "Opening the Six Secrets of the Human Body and then unifying them with a Qi Refining Technique is the true path to Ascension to Immortality. Zhou Qiyun also used this method for Crossing the Tribulation. Why do you stubbornly cling to only Qi Refining?"

Xu Fu said coolly, "Zhou Qiyun’s version of Crossing the Tribulation? Does that even deserve to be called Crossing the Tribulation? It was nothing more than kidnapping a Celestial God. With his level of strength, he couldn’t even take a single blow from a Celestial Tribulation! That is a heretical path, not worth mentioning!"

A fanatical gleam appeared in his eyes as he said, "True Tribulation Crossing is about holding up the sky with a single hand, clashing head-on with the Celestial Tribulation, and fighting against the might of the heavens, against the Celestial Dao itself! To follow the heavens is to perish; to defy the heavens is to flourish! Becoming an Immortal through defiance is true Crossing Tribulation and Ascending! Xu Master, you are the one who taught me this!"

Xu Ying glanced at him. "Did I say that? I don’t remember. You said you could help me break my seal to lure me here. Why don’t you do it now so I can see if I ever said such a thing?"

Xu Fu smiled. "I’ve been waiting for you to ask me about this. In fact, I’m already helping you break the seal."

Xu Ying was slightly taken aback. Xu Fu took out a Golden Volume and, with a gentle wave of his hand, it opened. "Do you remember the words on this Golden Volume?" he asked.

Brilliant light shone from the Golden Volume, projecting many characters of an ancient bird-and-insect script into the air. The script moved along with Fangzhang Immortal Mountain.

Xu Fu said, "You gave me this Golden Volume back then, saying it sealed your memories. I have spent all these years searching for ancient texts, trying to decipher its mysteries. Once I unravel the secret of these few characters, I can undo your seal."

Xu Ying stared at the bird-and-insect script, and his mind reeled as if struck by lightning.

This bird-and-insect script was almost identical to the characters on the Paper Talismans that Beichenzi and the other two had used to seal him!

The memories of his current life gradually became clearer, and at the same time, numerous memories from past lives came flooding in, filling his mind with many unfamiliar scenes.

He muttered under his breath as a Dao Sound gradually echoed in his mind. The sound grew grander and grander, ringing out again and again. It was the meaning of those ten words!

"By Heaven’s decree, eternally suppressed; caged and imprisoned, sealed and repressed."

SNAP! Xu Fu abruptly slammed the Golden Book shut and put it away. Only then did the reverberating Dao Sound in Xu Ying’s mind slowly fade.

At the same time, far away, the white-robed old man, Beichenzi, who had been monitoring Xu Ying’s every move, felt the chess piece in his hand crack and shatter.

"Are you trying to kill me?!"

Beichenzi was unable to contain his rage. He shot to his feet, his gaze like lightning as he stared in Xu Fu’s direction. "Yu Tang Fairy," he said grimly, "call for backup!"

The red-robed woman also flew into a rage. She rose swiftly to her feet as her Primordial Spirit emerged. Three streams of green energy shot out from the top of her head, transforming into three wild geese that took flight and sped away!

----That’s it for this Chapter. I’m going to write a separate post to fire back at another author who’s been trashing me online. They name-dropped me, and I’m not satisfied unless I respond! Be right back.