Ascension Day

A toll of its bell sent Xu Ying's soul back into his flesh body. It spoke with painstaking earnestness, "Did you think I was pushing you to cultivate just to steal your Qi Blood? That's not the whole story. My goal is for you to practice diligently, raise your cultivation, and stand on your own two feet sooner. That way, I can steal even *more* Qi Blood!"

After its little lecture, it said, "Get some rest. We have more cultivation to do first thing in the morning."

Xu Ying took out a Ten Thousand Spirits Pill and tossed it to Yuan Qi. "I saved one for you," he said.

Yuan Qi was both shocked and delighted, but also a little scared. He whispered, "Lord Zhong, if I eat this Ten Thousand Spirits Pill, will my soul burn up like Ying's?"

Da Zhong replied, "It won't. After you take it, your soul should become even stronger than those Ox Demons'."

Yuan Qi hastily swallowed the Spirit Pill.

Xu Ying, also exhausted from the day, ate some wild game to fill his stomach and soon fell into a deep sleep.

In the middle of the night, a few Ox Demons had transformed into yellow oxen and were dozing on the ground of the Mud Pill Palace. Suddenly, the mountain wall behind the palace split open, and a White Bone Skeleton emerged from within.

The moment the Ox Demons saw the skeleton, they collapsed, unconscious.

The White Bone Skeleton floated up silently, entered the Mud Pill Palace, and arrived at Xu Ying's residence.

Da Zhong was hovering above Xu Ying at that moment. It sensed something was wrong and was just about to ring its bell to wake him. But suddenly, it too felt muddled. Its Divine Sense fell into disarray, and it slipped into unconsciousness.

Da Zhong fell from above, nearly crushing Xu Ying. But then the White Bone Skeleton gently raised a hand, and Da Zhong floated off to the side.

The White Bone Skeleton leaned forward, a withered finger gently reaching for the spot between Xu Ying's eyebrows. Just then, a cluster of Anomalous Fire erupted from that very spot. The flames flared brilliantly, sweeping toward the White Bone Skeleton and filling the entire room with light!

"Qing Bi, you would oppose me as well?" The White Bone Skeleton cried out in alarm, dissolving into a wisp of green smoke.

The Pure Yang Anomalous Fire abruptly retracted. The light vanished from the room, and the flame shrank back into Xu Ying's body, disappearing from sight.

Da Zhong landed with a CLANG. It suddenly woke up and said in confusion, "Strange, how did I fall asleep? Wasn't I hovering over Ying to protect his soul and suppress the Three Yang True Fire in his body?"

It had been worried that if Xu Ying's True Fire became too strong, it would cause his soul and physique to decay prematurely. That was why it had continued to suppress the three plumes of Yang Fire on Xu Ying's shoulders even while he slept.

Xu Ying was also woken by the noise. Seeing that nothing was wrong, he went back to sleep.

The next day, before the sky had even lightened, Da Zhong began to DONG and DANG, shaking Xu Ying so hard he saw stars. The big bell was even more diligent than him, flying into his room to clang a few times, then zipping over to Yuan Qi's room to crash and bang about, clamoring for them to start their morning practice.

Even the Ox Demons were woken by the racket, yawning with sleepy eyes.

To wash his face, Xu Ying jumped into the water for a bath, swam all the way out of Qinyan Cave, stretched lazily, put on his pants and clothes, and began the day's cultivation. In the distance, a few female demons watched him shyly.

The young man now exuded a masculine scent that was quite alluring to the female demons.

But what were female demons compared to the fun of cultivation?

Yuan Qi and the Ox Demons emerged from Qinyan Cave and also began their day's cultivation.

Yuan Qi was puzzling over the *Dragon and Snake Awakening Skill* and asked Xu Ying how to cultivate it. While circulating his Guiding Skill and deciphering the scripture, Xu Ying explained, "The so-called 'Awakening' refers to the first clap of spring thunder, when Yang Qi rises and all life begins to sprout. This cultivation technique is a magic skill for refining the Pure Yang Qi of dragon and snake, and for transforming the flesh body."

As he explained, he demonstrated. By the time he had gone through the explanation once, he had also practiced the Dragon and Snake Awakening Skill once.

Yuan Qi immediately felt he had gained a great deal, understanding seventy to eighty percent of the cultivation technique. He was filled with admiration. 'Ying may not be as patient as the White-robed Nuo Immortal, but he's a really good teacher. I understood everything as soon as he explained it.'

Xu Ying then explained another scroll, the *Ba Snake Cultivator*. "The *Ba Snake Cultivator* teaches the Dao of changing size. It contains a magic skill for transformation that is quite extraordinary. You can practice it in conjunction with the *Dragon and Snake Awakening Skill*."

Once again, he practiced as he spoke. By practicing it once, he also explained the *Ba Snake Cultivator* once. Practicing while explaining also allowed him to cross-reference his understanding and check for any misinterpretations.

Da Zhong was also breathing in and out to the side. It was astonished to see Xu Ying's explanation of the two cultivation techniques was as brilliant as a string of pearls, and that he had grasped them completely after just one look.

'This kid seems to be more than just a simple Snake Catcher,' it thought. 'How could an ordinary Snake Catcher see a Qi Refining Skill once and be able to explain it so thoroughly?'

Although the *Dragon and Snake Awakening Skill* and the *Ba Snake Cultivator* were more suited for Yuan Qi's cultivation, both were Qi Refining Skills. Qi Refining Skills were much more obscure than Nuo Master techniques. While not impossible to decipher, it certainly shouldn't be as effortless as it was for Xu Ying.

'Does this mean my staged accident landed me a real treasure?'

Da Zhong felt a flicker of excitement. 'I truly am favored by destiny! My luck is unbelievably good!'

After Xu Ying finished his explanation, he suddenly felt something stir within him. Another, extremely profound scripture surfaced in his mind.

It was the continuation of the Taiyi Guiding Skill, a scripture far, far more obscure than the *Dragon and Snake Awakening Skill* or the *Ba Snake Cultivator*. And yet, he understood its meaning instinctively.

With a mere thought, he followed the Heart Method of the Taiyi Guiding Skill to circulate the Primordial Qi in his body. His Divine Sense entered the Mysterious Domain. Instantly, the landscape within the domain shifted like clouds and wind. What was once white clouds became fleeting grey dogs, as if sun and moon were racing past, and ages were turning.

In the outside world, Yuan Qi and the group of Ox Demons all raised their heads to look at the sky.

A one-mu field of light in the air grew brighter and brighter. Sunlight converged on it like a storm, showering the field. The seedlings within the light field seemed to have a life of their own, absorbing the sunlight and slowly growing.

It looked slow, but in truth, the seedlings shot up in just a few breaths' time.

Then, they saw the seedlings in the one-mu light field sprout ears and blossom, quickly producing heavy, laden seeds.

"Lord Zhong, have you ever seen this kind of cultivation method?" Yuan Qi asked, murmuring.

Da Zhong was also a bit baffled. "Never," it said.

Before it had even finished speaking, the seedlings in the light field matured. Grains of glittering golden seeds flew out, like a shower of light, and rained down into Xu Ying's body!

Yuan Qi tried to intercept a golden seed. As it fell into his body, it instantly transformed into dense Primordial Qi that dispersed, thick with Yang Qi!

"They're like rice seeds, but they're Pure Yang rice seeds!" he exclaimed in surprise.

"Rice seeds... rice seeds..."

Da Zhong muttered to itself for a moment, then cried out, "I know! Not rice seeds—Dao Seeds! The Light Field Seed Path, planting lotuses in fire... this is a cultivation technique that points directly to the magic skill of the Great Dao! It's just... it's just..."

It was utterly bewildered. Even its own master had never obtained a cultivation technique that pointed directly to the magic skill of the Great Dao. How could Xu Ying, a mere Snake Catcher from the backwoods, have acquired such a technique?

It had witnessed Xu Ying refine the light field and seedlings during his cultivation, and it had seen the seedlings mature into Dao Seeds and enter his body. But as for when Xu Ying had learned this bizarre cultivation technique, it had no idea.

'At this rate of cultivation, my injuries should heal even faster!' Da Zhong rejoiced, tossing its earlier doubts to the back of its mind.