Ascension Day

Xu Ying's Divine Sense floated above the Celestial River. He had no idea how shocked Da Zhong was by his Light Field Seed Path. He was simply acting according to his nature, cultivating spontaneously, with no deliberate intention of achieving such a result.

With the Light Field Seed Path, the Dao Seed entered his body, causing his Cultivation to soar.

He looked up and saw the vast Celestial River flowing through a range of mountains. The mountains were shadowy and indistinct, towering and seemingly insurmountable, like an Immortal Mountain Blessed Land!

The mountain peaks in the foreground were clear, but those behind them grew increasingly blurry and faded into the distance.

Having entered the Gate-Opening Stage, this was his first time entering the Tailbone Profound Gate to inspect the Mysterious Domain behind it.

This series of Celestial Mountains resembled a human spine. Looking up from below, he saw layer upon layer of peaks. One Heaven, One Mountain. Each one was shaped like half a Lotus flower. These Celestial Mountain lotuses were the Heavens, one after another, corresponding to his spine.

The Celestial River passed through the center of each Heaven. As his Divine Sense was cleansed in the river, it also grew stronger, at a pace far exceeding before.

In the unseen world, he comprehended many Truths. While his previous Cultivation had been a muddled affair, he now felt as though he was a Master of Yin and Yang, capable of regulating his Five Viscera.

He could now clearly sense his own soul, perceiving that it, much like his Flesh Body, had its own wondrous structures. This must be what was known as understanding life and death.

A realization dawned on him. 'Ascending to Heaven step by step is the only way to enter the next Realm. The path of ascension primarily relies on one's own accumulation. I cannot be rash.'

The time available for Cultivation in the morning was limited. When the sun was high in the sky, Xu Ying, Yuan Qi, Da Zhong, and the several Ox Demons all stopped their Qi Collection in unison.

The Ox Demons transformed into old oxen and went to the pasture to graze, slowly swishing their tails to drive away horseflies.

They were originally Cow Demons, true Ox Demon Kings who had been enfeoffed as Ghost Gods in the Underworld. But upon returning to the Mortal World, they reverted to Cow Demons and couldn't help but retain their grass-eating habits.

Down the mountain, some demons paid their respects to Great Demon King Xu and the Ox Demon Kings with food and drink. After Xu Ying and Yuan Qi had their breakfast and were full and warm, they contemplated life.

Xu Ying felt his Primordial Qi was more abundant than ever, but he still lacked a suitable Martial Arts Technique.

Both the *Ba Snake Cultivator* and the *Dragon and Snake Awakening Skill* contained Martial Arts Techniques. The Scriptures included methods for practicing the Dao Images of the Ba Snake and the Dragon and Snake, but they were clearly more suited for a Demon Cultivator like Yuan Qi.

Moreover, the Dao Images of the Ba Snake and the Dragon and Snake depicted in the Scriptures were merely the author's interpretation of the Dao Images. They had their limitations. No matter how perceptive one was, it would be impossible to surpass the author of the Scriptures.

With nothing better to do, Xu Ying cultivated the Martial Arts Techniques from these two skills, practicing the Ba Snake Eight Forms and the Dragon and Snake Awakening Six Forms until he knew them inside and out. He shook his head. "The achievements are limited."

Seeing this, Yuan Qi was overjoyed. 'So Ying has his setbacks too! Once I, the great Ox Demon King, master these two techniques, my Cultivation Power will far surpass his!'

Xu Ying had his back to him. His Qi Blood emanated from his body, forming a mist several acres in size that swirled behind him. From within the mist, the head of an enormous White Snake slowly emerged.

Yuan Qi's eyes widened. He saw that the Big Snake had formidable horns on its head, unlike any ordinary snake. It was a Ba Snake, its Physique so immense that it could likely swallow an Elephant God in a single bite!

The Ba Snake's body grew longer and longer as it slithered out of the mist, coiling and flying around Xu Ying at a leisurely pace, wrapping around him again and again. The Ba Snake was so lifelike it seemed to have slithered right out of the Scriptures!

Suddenly, Xu Ying spread his five fingers, the web between his thumb and index finger forming the mouth of the Ba Snake. He struck out with his palm, and the Ba Snake behind him instantly opened its blood-red maw and shot forward with a roar. The sheer force of it made the demons down the mountain tremble in fear.

He swung his long arm, and the snake's body, ten feet thick, crushed its way through the air, stirring up fierce gales in the valley.

Such power far surpassed the Elephant Power Ox Demon Fist!

The Elephant Power Ox Demon Fist lacked a Dao Image. The Elephant King Divine Body was merely an Abnormal Phenomenon without any underlying support. But the *Ba Snake Cultivator* contained the Ba Snake Dao Image Map, which one could observe and comprehend.

The Ba Snake Eight Forms that Xu Ying was now displaying possessed such might because he had comprehended the Dao Image after studying the Ba Snake Dao Image Map.

But for Xu Ying, this level of power was still far from enough.

The Ba Snake Eight Forms was not a qualitative improvement over the Elephant Power Ox Demon Fist and simply couldn't compare to the Zhou Family's Thirty-Six Heavenly Gang Hidden Scenery Technique.

Yuan Qi was extremely envious. He hurriedly flipped through the Scriptures to see which layer of the *Ba Snake Cultivator* Xu Ying had reached.

Da Zhong was basking lazily in the sun. "Don't bother flipping," it said. "He has already cultivated to the Ninth Layer. To cultivate any further, he can only improve its power by comprehending a real Ba Snake."

Yuan Qi was horrified. Da Zhong meant that Xu Ying had already mastered the Ba Snake's Dao Image. He had cultivated everything he could from the *Ba Snake Cultivator* to its absolute peak.

To advance further, he had to observe a real Ba Snake and grasp the true essence of the Ba Snake Dao Image!

'But Ying has only practiced it a few times. How did he cultivate this martial art to its limit already?' he wondered, perplexed.

Da Zhong said, "Don't be discouraged. The way you're worse than him is that he has a brain. But the way you're better is also incredible—you're a real snake, and he's not. As long as you cultivate the *Ba Snake Cultivator* to the Ninth Layer, your power will definitely surpass his!"

Greatly encouraged, Yuan Qi immediately focused on his Cultivation.

Da Zhong glanced at his enormous body, over a hundred feet long, and thought, 'Just stealing Ying's Qi Blood is a bit too slow. If I steal from this stinky snake too, it should be much faster. This snake is getting bigger and bigger. Its Qi Blood must be astonishingly abundant!'

Meanwhile, Xu Ying began practicing the Martial Arts Technique from the *Dragon and Snake Awakening Skill*. His body rose and fell as dragon and snake flew about, their power astonishing. With his every move, the dragon and snake darted back and forth, sending sand and stones flying.

He performed the Dragon and Snake Awakening Six Forms, replacing the snake in the technique with the Ba Snake. He merged the two Martial Arts Techniques into one, making it even more powerful!

However, when Xu Ying thought of Zhou Zheng's transformation technique, he couldn't help but frown. His modified Dragon and Snake Six Forms was still far inferior to the Thirty-Six Heavenly Gang Hidden Scenery Technique.

'The White-robed Nuo Immortal Chen Mianzhu was clearly a Nuo Master, so why did he have a Qi Refining Skill?'

Xu Ying was puzzled. The Five Viscera Immortal Mountain in the Broken Temple World was clearly based on a Qi Refiner's Mysterious Domain. This showed that Chen Mianzhu had also dabbled in Qi Refining Skills.

'And why are the Zhou Family and the Yin Court so obsessed with me?'

Xu Ying grew even more confused. The Zhou Family and the Yin Court had spared no expense to hunt him down. Since the day he killed the Jiang Family God, he feared that six or seven hundred experts from the Zhou Family and Divine Spirits from the Yin Court had been killed or injured because of this matter!

'I'm just an ordinary person, as ordinary as can be. Is it worth it for the Zhou Family and the Yin Court to suffer so many casualties over me?'

Thinking of this, Xu Ying paused, then gave an affirmative answer. "It is!"

'If it wasn't worth it, they wouldn't continue sending troops and generals after me. This time, they've even gone so far as to deploy a Governor and a Magistrate. They are determined to capture me, which means I must possess something of value that tempts them! So, what is my value?'

The young man thought for a moment. The only thing he had to offer was probably this "Demon Technique" of his.

'In other words, the Qi Refining Skill I possess is what they're after.'

A glint in his eyes, Xu Ying whispered, "The Yin Court and the Zhou Family want to get their hands on me because they value my aptitude for Qi Refining Skills. But why would they be so tempted by an obsolete Cultivation System? Could it be..."

His eyes flashed, and he suddenly shouted, "Lord Zhong! Lord Zhong!"

Da Zhong flew over hurriedly. Xu Ying said, "Lord Zhong, I'd like to see your aim. This rock here—can you shatter it?"

He picked up a rock from the ground and threw it with all his might.

Da Zhong flew up and chimed once. The rock remained perfectly intact, but a short distance away, Yuan Qi suddenly tumbled and rolled down the mountain. The Big Snake roared angrily, "You damn bell, you ambushed me again!"

Da Zhong said sheepishly, "My aim has been a bit off ever since I was injured. Ying, did you call me over just to hit a rock? Is there anything else?"

"Nope." Xu Ying quickly shook his head.

Da Zhong flew away.

Xu Ying thought, 'Lord Zhong is unreliable. If I let it open my Mud Ball Secret Treasury and it misses...'

He couldn't help but shudder.

The main reason he had called Da Zhong over was to open his own Mud Ball Secret Treasury and verify whether the Qi Refining Skill and the Nuo Master's technique were complementary.

Although Da Zhong was unreliable, the idea hadn't been dismissed. On the contrary, it grew stronger.

'Relying on heaven or earth is not as good as relying on myself. Since Lord Zhong is unreliable, I'll open the Mud Ball Secret Treasury myself!'

With a flash in his eyes, Xu Ying entered the Mysterious Domain. His Divine Sense ascended all the way to the stream of Sword Qi within. From a distance, it looked like just a wisp of Sword Qi floating in the sky, but up close, he discovered it was like a long rainbow, astonishing in length.

This was the Swordsmanship Dao Image that Xu Ying had comprehended!

Xu Ying brought this stream of Sword Qi with him as he ascended, passing through the Five Viscera, flying over the Twelve-Storey Tower, crossing the Jasper Pool, passing the Divine Bridge, and journeying past the sun and moon. Finally, he arrived at the ocean of Chaos Qi in his mind.

He floated before the Chaos Egg, also known as the Chaos Mud Pill, and slowly gathered his energy and focused his mind.

At that moment, he hesitated. 'Once the Mud Pill is opened, this Secret Treasury can never be closed again. If the two Cultivation Systems aren't compatible, I'm afraid it will be a huge obstacle to my future Cultivation progress!'

There was no turning back once he took this step!

Xu Ying hesitated. He thought about how he was just a Snake Catcher who didn't know where his next meal would come from. He was wanted and hunted in both the Mortal World and the Underworld. He didn't even have a place for himself in the Heavenly Dao World. He could die at any moment. Did he really need to have so many concerns?

He burst out laughing, a heroic spirit surging in his chest. He fully mobilized his Swordsmanship Dao Image and thrust it toward the Chaos Mud Pill!

The sword struck the Chaos Mud Pill dead center. As the blade entered the pill, he suddenly felt resistance. However, the Sword Qi surged, growing stronger against strength and breaking through any obstruction. A long rainbow of Sword Qi pierced straight through the Chaos Mud Pill!

Instantly, the Sea of Chaos transformed. The Sword Qi, accompanied by a Grotto Heaven, poured into the sea, churning the Chaos Qi. A vast wave of Vitality gushed out from the Grotto Heaven, flowing to every part of Xu Ying's body.

Xu Ying felt cool streams of energy flowing through his body. It was his Physical Activity, which he had just stimulated!

He had opened the Mud Ball Secret Treasury!

Xu Ying laughed heartily, feeling refreshed and elated.

In the distance, a few old oxen were grazing in the field. When they got tired, they lay down on their sides, swishing their tails and chewing their cud, leisurely watching Yuan Qi and Da Zhong, who were in the middle of a brawl.

"You damn bell, you ambushed me! Is that something a proper bell would do?"

"I told you, it was an accident!"

"You're also stealing my Qi Blood! Don't think I haven't noticed!"

"I haven't even started stealing your Qi Blood yet, and you're already slandering me! I'll beat you to death, you stinky snake!"

"Mercy!"

...

Strangely enough, after the Grotto Heaven was opened, Xu Ying felt as if it were one of his own limbs. He could feel all sorts of sensations from it and could even move it around as easily as pointing a finger.

'If I had let someone else help me open the Mud Ball Secret Treasury, I'm afraid I wouldn't be able to control the Grotto Heaven with such agility!'

Xu Ying felt a little fortunate. If he had let Da Zhong help, his Grotto Heaven would probably not be under his control.

Suddenly, a thought occurred to him. 'The Ancient Texts in the Mud Ball Palace Stone Chamber said that one must have someone else help them open the Secret Treasury. If someone else helps, doesn't that mean one's own Mud Ball Cave Heaven would be controlled by them?'

He mulled it over and over, but he still felt that something wasn't quite right.

'However, it makes sense for a Nuo Master to have someone else help open their Secret Treasury. Before their Secret Treasury is opened, Nuo Masters are just ordinary people. Naturally, they can't open it independently like I did and must have the help of other experts.'

Xu Ying saw Yuan Qi, who had been beaten black and blue by Da Zhong, slither to Qinyan Cave to heal using the Mysterious Energy within. A thought suddenly flashed through his mind, and he stood there, stunned, for a long time without moving.

"Yes, yes!"

He suddenly blurted out, "I used Dragon Seeking Positioning to follow the energy of Qinyan Cave and found my Mud Ball Secret Treasury, which indicates that the Mysterious Energy of Qinyan Cave merely stimulated the Activity of my Secret Treasury. But why can the Mysterious Energy from Qinyan Cave also heal Yuan Qi? Could it be..."

His heart pounded in his chest. Could it be that the Six Secrets of the Human Body were not unique to humans, and that the Demon Race also possessed the Six Great Secret Treasures?