Ascension Day

"Can you withstand Immortal Power?" Xu Fu asked calmly.

With a powerful tug, he sent massive waves surging through the Mercury River. A gigantic worm, hundreds of feet wide and seemingly stretching for thousands of miles, was dragged out from the depths!

As the worm broke free from the surface, innumerable silver tendrils thrashed about, tearing through the air with a sharp SWISH.

This worm was shaped like an earthworm, with no eyes, mouth, ears, or nose, nor any excretory organs. It writhed back and forth in the air, then suddenly contracted violently.

In an instant, it had transformed into a great, silvery-white ball of flesh, like a mountain of meat covered in slender, root-like tendrils. Its skin was a mass of wrinkled folds.

The worm was incredibly powerful. Even after being dragged from the Mercury River by Xu Fu, it showed not the slightest fear. Instead, it emanated waves of a terrifying, ferocious aura!

It was an ancient monstrosity with a fully awakened bloodline, its body wreathed in Incense Smoke Qi. In ancient times, it must have been worshipped as a god by the Barbarian Race!

This Evil God was captured by the First Emperor and placed in the Lishan Mausoleum to act as a guardian for his tomb!

The Evil God Worm’s innumerable silver tendrils thrashed, blotting out the sky, denser than any swarm of bees, as it lunged at Xu Fu!

Xu Fu’s expression remained impassive. "Can you resist Immortal Fire?" he asked calmly.

A flame suddenly flickered to life on his fingertip. It was a peculiar fire, with what looked like crystalline motes of light dancing within it. It didn’t radiate any overwhelming power, giving off only a faint warmth.

The moment it touched a silver tendril, however, the flame set it ablaze, spreading across the Evil God Worm’s entire body in an instant. Neither the worm’s powerful Flesh Body nor its unrivaled Incense Smoke Qi could resist it in the slightest!

The fire caused the Evil God Worm’s Flesh Body to rupture and explode, sending mercury gushing from within. In just a few moments, the flame had burned straight through it!

BOOM!

The Evil God Worm crashed into the Mercury River. Even as it sank to the bottom, it continued to burn. A series of muffled booms echoed from beneath the surface.

After a long while, the explosions stopped.

Xu Fu beckoned, and a single flame flew out from the Mercury River. It was the same Immortal Fire from before. It burrowed back into his fingertip and vanished within his body.

Xu Ying whispered, "Lord Zhong, do you think this Immortal Fire is an Exotic Treasure he collected, or something he refined himself?"

If he just collected it, that would be one thing—it would only mean Xu Fu’s opportunities were better than others’. But if he refined it himself, that would be an entirely different matter. It would mean his power has already reached the level of an Immortal!

Da Zhong said, "He’s not an Immortal, so how could he refine Immortal Fire? He must have collected it. The power of this Immortal Fire is immeasurably greater than Pure Yang Anomalous Fire. The Pure Yang Anomalous Fire might not be able to melt me, but this Immortal Fire would destroy me in an instant!"

Yuan Qi whispered, "But he also has an Immortal Body and Immortal Power. Could he have collected those too?"

Da Zhong couldn’t answer.

Xu Fu’s calm and even voice drifted over. "The surface of the river is safe to walk on now. Regroup. We’re moving on."

The assembled Qi Refiners began to regroup.

Riding his Immortal Mountain, Xu Fu floated over. His gaze landed on Xu Ying’s face as he asked in a low, resonant voice, "Xu Master, having now seen my Immortal Body, Immortal Power, and Immortal Fire, who do you think is stronger—me or Zhou Qiyun?"

Xu Ying bowed slightly and said, "Zhou Qiyun is far inferior to Duke Xu."

Xu Fu laughed heartily, looking immensely pleased with himself. "Praise from Xu Master is worth more than a thousand words from anyone else."

Xu Ying said, "However, Zhou Qiyun is capable of Crossing the Tribulation, while Duke Xu has not. Therefore, there is no final verdict on who is stronger."

Xu Fu said, "I don’t care about the final verdict. I only care about your word, Xu Master." With that, his Fangzhang Immortal Mountain floated forward.

Beneath Xu Ying’s feet, the Phoenix Feather Boat followed along.

He looked ahead and saw the battle between Yuan Wuji and the Golden Man raging toward the suspended coffin of Emperor Shi’s Ancestral Dragon. One was a top-tier Nuo Immortal; the other, an Exotic Treasure forged by the First Emperor from all the Magical Treasures in the land to suppress fate itself. Their clash was so intense it seemed to blot out the very light of the world.

Xu Ying was astonished. ’Yuan Wuji isn’t as pathetic as Zhou Qiyun made him out to be,’ he thought. ’He seems to understand the art of Qi Refining, and he’s not any weaker than Zhou Qiyun. Could it be that Weiyang helped him decipher a Qi Refining Skill?’

The power Yuan Wuji displayed was astonishing—clearly the product of fusing Qi Refining with the Primordial Dao All Heavens Sensing. And the fusion was flawless!

Such talent was extraordinary!

Otherwise, he never could have withstood the Imperial Mausoleum Golden Man.

Suddenly, another terrifying aura erupted, so powerful it seemed to warp the very air. The nearby Immortal Mountains slowly drifted away, giving it a wide berth.

Another Imperial Mausoleum Golden Man was awakening, radiating an awesome might!

Then came the third Imperial Mausoleum Golden Man, and the fourth!

At the same time, visions of various Grotto Heavens manifested from beyond the mountains. The Grotto Heavens rose slowly, piercing through different Other Shore Worlds to draw power from beyond!

That was the Nuo Immortals of the major Noble Families personally taking action to fight the Imperial Mausoleum Golden Men.

This scene could be described as a confrontation between the strongest Magical Treasures of ancient times and the strongest Nuo Immortals in the world today.

Xu Ying watched from a distance, noticing that these Nuo Immortals were far more powerful than when he had last encountered them. He couldn’t help but wonder, ’Have they all started practicing Qi Refining Techniques, just like Zhou Qiyun? Who taught them?’

He did not know what a great shock he had caused throughout the Divine Capital after he left.

Xu Ying, a dual cultivator of both Qi and Nuo, had taken a Stone Axe to the Shi Family’s estate, fought his way through their defenses, and even burned their ancestor, Shi Mo Lei, to death beneath Da Zhong. He then used his Flying Sword to slay Shi Jingtang, who had fled for dozens of miles. That single battle had left all the great Noble Families in shock!

From that day forward, the dual cultivation of Qi and Nuo became the dominant path!

This was something Xu Ying had never expected.

But dual cultivation was easier said than done. At the same time, however, another major event had occurred in the Divine Capital: the Guo Family Ancestor, Pei Du, and the Cui Family Patriarch had joined forces to invade the deepest Other Shore World within a Grotto Heaven, capturing and bringing back an "Immortal"!

Although the three families tried to keep it a secret, the Guo, Pei, and Cui families had long been infiltrated by the other Noble Families and were as porous as sieves. How could they possibly hide it?

Thus, more "Immortals" were surreptitiously "rescued" by the various Noble Families. These "Immortals" were treated miserably. Their cultivation had been burned away by Immortal Fire or Immortal Light, their Primordial Spirits had been refined down into simple souls, and they were left barely clinging to life. How could they possibly resist the great Noble Families?

Through threats and enticements, brutal torture, or even Soul-Searching and Soul-Seizing, the great Noble Families pried one complete Qi Refining Technique after another from these "Immortals."

From that time on, the Cultivation Power of all the Noble Families, whether disciples or ancestors, advanced by leaps and bounds.

Compared to them, however, Yuan Wuji was still far more formidable. He fought a Golden Man single-handedly, holding his own in the exchange.

As Xu Ying gazed into the distance, something caught his eye. ’There’s someone over there fighting a Golden Man without a Grotto Heaven. He must be a Qi Refiner! Could that be the Great Zhou Qi Refiner, the one who kills with a hovering sword?’

He looked around. In this short moment, ten Imperial Mausoleum Golden Men had already awakened and were attacking those who dared to invade the Imperial Mausoleum. Each of these ten Imperial Mausoleum Golden Men was being held back by a Nuo Immortal.

’But what about the other two Golden Men?’ Xu Ying wondered.

Just then, soul-stirring fluctuations pulsed from behind them, growing stronger by the second. Xu Ying hurriedly turned and saw an altar drifting toward them across the surface of the Mercury River. The Golden Man upon it was awakening!

Without turning his head, Xu Fu said, "Skinny Bamboo Elder, Dong Meiqing, this Golden Man is yours."

Skinny Bamboo Elder and Dong Meiqing exchanged a look and came to a halt. The Skinny Bamboo Elder gave a dry chuckle. "Old Dong, I’m afraid I won’t live to see the resurgence of the Qi Refiners. You’ll have to watch it for me."

Dong Meiqing’s gaze fell on the approaching Imperial Mausoleum Golden Man, and he smiled, "I’m older than you. It’s not certain which of us will go first!"

The Skinny Bamboo Elder’s small frame leaped lightly into the air. He planted his Deer Head Staff on the surface of the Mercury River and stood atop it, laughing loudly. "But at least we have the Immortal with us! Our deaths will not be in vain! The Qi Refiners will rise again!"

Dong Meiqing’s aura flared, his heroic spirit soaring. He laughed boisterously and declared, "The Qi Refiners will rise again!"

Xu Ying’s scalp tingled. He felt an inexplicable surge of emotion and looked back at them, his gaze filled with incomprehension.

"Do you understand now?"

Xu Fu gazed forward and spoke softly. "You may think the legacy of the Qi Refiners isn’t important, but in their hearts, that legacy is more precious than life itself. A true warrior will die for his heritage, braving fire and flood to protect it."