Ascension Day

"It smells like daphne and orchid... and it has a milky sweetness!" Xu Ying sniffed his hand again.

Yuan Qi said, "Disgusting!"

Xu Ying apologized to Yuan Weiyang. "Brother Yuan, I haven't even had the chance to thank you for your help on the road, and now I've gotten you involved in this. It truly troubles me."

Yuan Weiyang shook his head. "I came looking for you, so of course I would help. As for being held here by the Zhou Family's elder, that has nothing to do with you. I saw the dramatic changes at the Water Gate Temple and couldn't contain my curiosity, which is why I came. You already warned me. It's just my bad luck."

Xu Ying smiled. "Well, I'm just happy you came to find me to go fishing."

Yuan Weiyang shook his head. "I sought you out to discuss the mysteries of Spiritual Sense Refinement, not to go fishing."

Xu Ying paid him no mind and continued, "We could also dig for loaches. Have you ever caught shrimp? You have to be careful—sneak up on them slowly and grab them fast. Otherwise, they'll jump backward right out of your hand and onto your face."

The old servant in green robes, Uncle Xiao, looked on with concern. He could see Yuan Weiyang's eyes sparkling, clearly tempted by Xu Ying's words.

'Little brat!'

He wanted to lash out, but Zhou Qiyun was right in front of them. He dared not make a scene before the most powerful man alive.

The Yuans had few heirs, and in Yuan Weiyang's generation, very few children had survived to adulthood. The ancient Noble Family was on the verge of being erased from history. For this reason, Uncle Xiao was worried for Yuan Weiyang's safety and didn't want him getting too close to such a dangerous person.

After a moment, auspicious clouds swirled in the sky, with dragons weaving in and out of them. As they approached, it became clear that it was four Divine Dragons pulling a magnificent carriage.

The dragons were Dragon Gods, suffused with a heavy aura of Incense Smoke Qi. They were likely made of carved wood or stone and, after being worshipped for ages, had gained the power to ride the clouds.

Zhou Qiyun boarded the carriage, with Xu Ying and Yuan Weiyang following him. The vehicle did not seem large from the outside, but its interior was vast. Yuan Qi lowered his head and slithered in, discovering there was more than enough room for him to stretch out completely.

'Could this be a Magical Treasure?' he wondered.

The Four Divine Dragons pulled the carriage, and it rose into the clouds, speeding off into the distance.

Xu Ying lifted the carriage curtain and peered outside. He saw only swirling white clouds as they traveled through the thick mist. The air was heavy with moisture, and the carriage interior quickly grew damp.

Water dripped continuously from the bodies of the Four Divine Dragons pulling the carriage. Occasionally, lightning from the clouds would strike them, causing a burst of sparks. Each time this happened, the scent of Incense and Candlelight filled the air.

Xu Ying closed the window, peering out through its glazed glass panes to keep the carriage from getting too damp.

As the carriage emerged from the clouds, a magnificent mountain range suddenly filled their view. Its peaks soared impossibly high, their cliffs as sheer as if they had been carved, jutting straight up from the earth. From within the mountains, some unknown, terrifying creature let out a series of roars, creating visible shockwaves that rippled outward!

A significant amount of the Incense Smoke Qi surrounding the Four Divine Dragons was blasted away by the force, causing their forms to waver. The clouds beneath them scattered, and the carriage jolted violently.

Zhou Qiyun grunted. The sound was not loud, but lightning suddenly flashed across the magnificent mountain, as if an invisible giant had slammed its fist down upon the source of the roar, shaking the very valley with its force.

The roaring stopped abruptly.

Yuan Qi exclaimed in admiration, "Elder Bai Mei is unparalleled in his Tyranny Dao! My grandfather's loss to him was no injustice!"

Xu Ying looked out the window. The Four Divine Dragons pulled the carriage around a massive peak and through a gorge between two mountains. Below them lay a wide, bright river. Seen from above, it resembled a silver ribbon, its surface shimmering as it reflected the sunlight.

Vaguely, he thought he saw a fish-dragon leap from the great river's waters.

The landscape was as breathtaking as a painting, as epic as a song.

The four dragons pulled the carriage for countless miles, but still, no human city came into view. A terrifying thought suddenly struck Xu Ying: 'Just how big is the New Land?'

'Why haven't we seen Lingling City after flying for so long?'

'I haven't even spotted the Xiangjiang Xiao River. Yongzhou City should be nearby, so why can't I see Yongzhou?'

He gazed out at the horizon. All he could see were towering mountains piercing the clouds. A sense of dread crept into his heart. Not a single place was familiar!

"When I first entered the New Land, it had already expanded to about eight hundred li along both banks of the Naihe River."

Zhou Qiyun gazed out the window. "I have no idea how much more the New Land has grown in that time."

Ahead, a colossal tree came into view. Its canopy rose above the surrounding mountain peaks, and clouds drifted beneath its crown.

Xu Ying saw the Naihe River again. This colossal tree grew at a bend in its path, so immense that it forced the river to change its course.

"It's a locust tree!" Yuan Qi squeezed his large head up to the window, pressing his eyes to the lattice to get a better look, having recognized its species.

Xu Ying stared, his eyes wide. He had never seen, nor even heard of, a locust tree of such immense size.

"Trees are natural immortals," Zhou Qiyun said. "As long as their trunks do not wither or break and their roots are not devoured by insects or rot, they can live forever. This tree is one such being."

He spoke with considerable feeling. "The Big Locust Tree has been growing for an unknown length of time; one could call it a Locust Immortal of the mortal realm. Though it grows in the Underworld, a place ill-suited for life, it has endured for ages because no one has ever felled it, allowing it to become an Immortal Plant. The Big Locust Tree is also known as the Yang Locust; it is the ultimate embodiment of yang and resilience in the Underworld. Here, no ghost or ghoul can approach! You can feel the spirit of the Big Locust Tree."

Upon hearing this, Xu Ying extended his Divine Sense. Sure enough, he perceived an ancient Divine Sense slowly circulating within the colossal locust tree—a presence that felt heavy, deep, ancient, and profound.

He could not understand what the Big Locust Tree was "saying." Perhaps it was just a meaningless chant, or perhaps it was articulating its own realizations about life and the Great Dao. For a lifeform this ancient, language itself seemed to have become irrelevant.