Ascension Day

He remembered his conversation with Beichenzi, the concept of Celestial-Human Communication, and the Wei Ruins. He even recalled a girl named Feng Xue’er from that long-gone era.

They had promised to spend their lives together and to stay by each other’s side even in the next.

Memories of that experience suddenly flooded Xu Ying’s mind like a tidal wave. The young man’s eyes widened in a blank stare as tears burst forth.

His vision blurred. Before him, Yuan Weiyang’s image gradually overlapped with that of Feng Xue’er.

Her voice, her face, her smile—it was all right there before him.

Yuan Weiyang had been explaining the mysteries of All Heavens Sensing when she suddenly noticed Xu Ying’s face was streaked with tears, his eyes brimming.

Yuan Weiyang grew flustered and hurriedly waved a hand in front of his face.

Xu Ying reached up and grabbed her wrist, his voice choked with emotion. “Is it you…? After you left, I searched so desperately for you.”

Startled, Yuan Weiyang quietly pulled her hand away. “Xu Demon King,” she said softly, “your memories haven’t fully returned. You’ve mistaken me for my sister, Yuan Rushi.”

Xu Ying snapped back to reality. He closed his eyes, squeezing them shut to force out the last of his tears and steady his emotions. He managed a smile. “My apologies, I lost my composure. A sudden memory got the better of me. Brother Yuan, I remember now. You’re not a woman.”

The image of Yuan Weiyang before him sharpened, no longer resembling Feng Xue’er.

Yuan Weiyang couldn’t shake the feeling that something about Xu Ying was different, as if he had matured somehow.

Da Zhong also sensed the change in Xu Ying. “Ying,” it asked, “have you remembered your life as a Snake Catcher?”

Xu Ying nodded. “I’ve remembered most of it.”

Da Zhong flew up and shot into Yuan Qi’s mouth, letting out a crisp CLANG.

The young girl sitting in Yuan Qi’s mouth, Zhu Chanchan, took the hint and followed it deeper into the snake’s belly.

“Lord Zhong, feel free to speak your mind.”

Zhu Chanchan sidestepped a huge Magical Treasure Fragment—what looked like a floor from the Twelve-Storey Tower—and caught up to Da Zhong. “Yuan Qi’s stomach has been reforged by me,” she said. “It’s indestructible now. Not even Divine Sense can get through.”

Ahead, there was surprisingly a waterside pavilion. The girl and the bell entered it and looked out the window to see half of the Jasper Pool outside.

Da Zhong’s tone was grave. “Ying said his memories as the Snake Catcher have returned, but I don’t know how much has come back. Do you remember what he was like before he was sealed?”

Zhu Chanchan shuddered, recalling the sight of Xu Ying slaying a Celestial Demon and fighting a desperate battle against Beichenzi and his two companions. “You mean… Ying has turned back into Lord Ying?”

Da Zhong bobbed up and down. “I think he’s in his Lord Ying state right now! Six months ago, when Ying was Lord Ying, he was only at the Three Heavens of Knocking, yet he still wreaked unimaginable havoc. Now he’s at the Fourth Heaven of Knocking. Can you imagine the carnage?”

Zhu Chanchan thought for a moment, then shook her head. “You’re forgetting one thing. The only reason Lord Ying could go on that rampage was because the Paper Talisman and Incense had been stopped. Even if he’s recovered his memories, the Paper Talisman and Incense is still with Beichenzi’s group! Plus, he has an additional Paper Talisman Seal on him now!”

Hearing this, Da Zhong had a moment of realization and laughed. “You’re right. I was overthinking things.”

Zhu Chanchan was a little surprised. “Lord Zhong, shouldn’t you be happy that Ying has become Lord Ying? Why do you seem worried instead?”

Da Zhong hesitated. “I’m worried that… the Ying in the ‘Lord Ying state’ isn’t the same Ying we know now.”

Zhu Chanchan was taken aback.

When Da Zhong and Zhu Chanchan went back outside, they saw Xu Ying and Yuan Weiyang in a heated discussion, showing no signs of anything amiss. Only then did they relax.

Yuan Weiyang shared her modified version of the Primordial Dao All Heavens Sensing with Xu Ying, which now included a Refining Method for the Divine Sense Immortal Elixir. As Xu Ying cultivated it, he experimented with finding an even better Refining Method, making numerous improvements to the technique.

Up ahead, Yuan Wuji cleared the path, flanked by Elder Lady Yuan and Lady Yuan. Xu Ying and Yuan Weiyang followed behind, their conversation naturally drifting to the Celestial-Human Communication and the Wei Ruins of three thousand years ago.

Xu Ying mused, “I suspect the reason your Yuan Family has so few members is connected to the Wei Ruins. Do you remember Zhou Qiyun once mentioning that Enlightenment holds great dangers?”

“I, too, have experienced Enlightenment,” Yuan Weiyang said. “I nearly fell into the Abyss.”

“Your Yuan Family’s Cultivation Technique demands extreme rationality and the abandonment of all distracting thoughts,” Xu Ying said. “I believe it’s a defense against the Wei Ruins, to keep from falling into them.”

The members of the Yuan Family are all exceptionally intelligent. Combined with a Cultivation Technique like the Primordial Dao All Heavens Sensing, they have a far greater chance than others of being devoured by the Wei Ruins during Enlightenment!

Xu Ying ventured a guess. “I think the reason Primordial Dao All Heavens Sensing has such a powerful Sensing Power is likely related to the Celestial-Human Communication of the Martial Emperor Period. This Nuo Technique might have even originated from that era.”

Yuan Weiyang’s heart stirred. “By observing your cultivation of the Yuan Yu Eight Sounds,” she said, “I gained insight into the body’s acupoints. Through Contemplation of the Deities of all heavens within those acupoints, I developed my own system—one that’s half Qi Refining and half Nuo Technique.”

She gave a faint smile, her tone serene. “Now, when I use All Heavens Sensing, each of the heavens has a Divine Spirit standing guard, anchoring my Flesh Body and soul. The danger of falling into the Wei Ruins is gone.”

Xu Ying was filled with awe and respect.

Yuan Weiyang had never formally learned the Yuan Yu Eight Sounds from him. She had simply watched him cultivate, memorized the images projected from the acupoints of his Flesh Body, and reached her own enlightenment. From this, she founded her own school of thought, inventing a new Cultivation Technique distinct from both the Nuo Technique and Qi Refining. She was truly a Grandmaster!

Hearing her explanation, Xu Ying immediately grasped the profundity of Yuan Weiyang’s modified technique. After a moment of contemplation, he activated the Yuan Yu Eight Sounds, mobilized his Divine Sense, and began an Inner Observation of his acupoints.

During this Inner Observation, as each Dao Sound of the Yuan Yu Eight Sounds resonated, his acupoints gradually became distinct. Some were structured like a Mingtang Hall, others like a lotus flower, and some like an altar. There were also those that naturally took the form of a palace, an Immortal Mountain, or a lake. A few acupoints even had the inherent shape of a Divine Spirit!

Xu Ying was stunned for a moment before exclaiming in praise, “Brother Yuan, your talent is truly incredible! I’d never considered it this deeply before, but I’ve just had an epiphany! If one uses the Yuan Yu Eight Sounds for Inner Observation and Contemplation of the Flesh Body’s acupoints, one can achieve All Heavens Sensing!”

He laughed heartily. “Each acupoint corresponds to one of the heavens! By borrowing the power of All Heavens Sensing, we can achieve Celestial-Human Sympathy and probe the Wei Ruins!”

Yuan Weiyang’s eyes lit up and a smile spread across her face. “That was my intention exactly.”

Brimming with enthusiasm, Xu Ying was a man of action. He immediately activated the Yuan Yu Eight Sounds, performing a series of strange movements atop Yuan Qi’s head. He seized the opportunity to use Contemplation on the acupoints of his Flesh Body, simultaneously sensing the heavens in the Void and forging a connection between his acupoints and those heavens.

He wasn’t trying to learn Yuan Weiyang’s Cultivation Technique. She had forged her own path and was already a Grandmaster in her own right; her methods could not be simply copied by others.

To learn her technique, one would have to pore over countless Cultivation Technique Books in search of the Dao Images of celestial saints. The Cultivation required to master the Contemplation of even a single Dao Image would take an immeasurable amount of time. To do so for every acupoint in the Flesh Body was a feat as difficult as ascending to the heavens!

Xu Ying was simply connecting the heavens to the various acupoints of his Flesh Body, continuously deepening his perception of the heavens and linking his physical form to them.

He could not reach the level of connecting his Divine Soul to the heavens; only Yuan Weiyang could do that.

He linked the acupoints of his Flesh Body to the heavens, reinforcing the connections with his Divine Sense. Then, he looked at Yuan Weiyang and nodded.

Yuan Weiyang hesitated. “Are we going to sense the Wei Ruins here, in the Lishan Mausoleum? This is a great tomb, after all. The Ancestral Dragon was revived here, but who knows what else might be buried in this place. We might sense something… unpleasant.”

“I agree,” Xu Ying said. “It’s a bit reckless.”

The two of them locked eyes. A sudden, unspoken understanding passed between them. They each activated their respective Cultivation Techniques, instantly entering a state of Celestial-Human Communication!

Yuan Wuji was nervously scanning the surroundings, breaking remnant seals and restrictions with Elder Lady Yuan and Lady Yuan helping from the sides. The Big Snake Yuan Qi was in a daze, while Da Zhong was focused on siphoning Yuan Qi’s Qi Blood to heal itself. Zhu Chanchan, meanwhile, was looking all around, hoping to scavenge another Magical Treasure.

Besides, her Flying Peak had landed nearby, and the ancient girl was eager to get to it.

No one noticed that, gradually, the very sky of the Lishan Mausoleum was beginning to tilt, as if it were about to plunge into some unknown realm!