Ascension Day

Even Da Zhong was leaning against the pillar, straining to push it outward.

In the center of the great hall, the thirteen Zhou Clan Elders remained seated in a circle around the Jade Scroll Daoist Scripture, turning a blind eye to Xu Ying and the others brazenly stealing the pillar.

'I've studied the books of sages since childhood. How can I just stand by and watch them stray onto a crooked path, making one mistake after another?'

Yuan Weiyang was torn. She didn't want Xu Ying to fall from grace, but she also worried that if she shouted about the thieves, the Zhou Family would harm him. As she wrestled with her conscience, Xu Ying suddenly spotted her. Overjoyed, he quickly waved her over. "Brother Yuan, come over here and lend a hand!"

As if guided by some unseen force, Yuan Weiyang walked forward and gently admonished, "Xu Demon King, what you're doing isn't right..."

"Good brother, you push from this side."

"Okay."

With Yuan Weiyang's help, they finally managed to pry the bronze pillar's base loose. A faint tremor ran through the great hall as the two people, one snake, and one bell finally wrenched the bronze pillar free.

"Quick, let's go! Let's go!"

Xu Ying and the Big Snake hastily lifted the pillar and scurried outside. Yuan Weiyang's heart hammered in her chest as she rushed to follow, cheering internally. 'I did something wrong! I finally did something wrong! So this is what it feels like... It's exhilarating!'

She caught up to Xu Ying, supporting the pillar with both hands, and a thrill shot through her.

Xu Ying and the others jogged along, carrying the pillar, until they arrived under the towering locust tree. Yuan Weiyang glanced back and saw that the old servant in green robes, Uncle Xiao, hadn't followed. 'He must be eating,' she thought.

'The Yuan Family has strict rules: Do not speak while eating or sleeping. One must sit bolt upright and not let one's gaze wander during meals. He probably didn't even notice I'd left.'

Yuan Weiyang instantly felt a sense of relief, so light on her feet that she felt she could carry the bronze pillar by herself and still move as if flying.

"Let's head up the tree!" Xu Ying shouted to her.

"Up the tree?"

Yuan Weiyang looked up. There was no telling how big or tall the locust tree was; it towered into the sky. Its bark was cracked and split, resembling dragon scales covering its entire surface.

These dragon scales were all growing backward, and each one was as large as a sitting mat!

The locust tree grew at an angle, but climbing it would not be easy. To climb it while carrying such a thick copper pillar would surely be even more difficult.

Xu Ying, however, seemed to have given these difficulties no thought at all. He tackled what Yuan Weiyang considered an irrational task with gusto.

He began his ascent, using both hands and feet. At the same time, he used Contemplation to manifest the Ba Snake, which coiled around the Copper Pillar and began dragging it upward. "Brother Yuan," he called out, "we found something interesting up in the tree a couple of days ago. Come on up!"

Yuan Weiyang followed him, using her Nuo Art to assist them, which eased the burden on Xu Ying and Yuan Qi.

The group climbed for thousands of feet, yet they had only reached the halfway point of the trunk. They rested for a moment before climbing another thousand feet to the first major branch, still a long way from the treetop.

After seven such cycles of climbing and resting, they finally arrived at a flat area.

This was where the canopy began to branch out, creating a space open in all directions. It was large enough to build a small city for ten thousand people in its center, with land to spare for farming. To their surprise, there was even a thick layer of soil, complete with flowers and grasses!

Yuan Weiyang even spotted a river not far off, flowing down from another massive branch. The current was surprisingly swift!

She was quite curious about where they were taking the Bronze Pillar. Suddenly, rolling waves of heat washed over them from up ahead, and the air grew thick with a scorched smell.

"This is it!"

Xu Ying and Yuan Qi set the pillar down, and Yuan Weiyang quickly did the same. Not far away was a fire pit, from which emanated reddish-cyan flames. The pit wasn't large, only about thirty to forty feet across, but the heat it produced was astounding. Any ordinary person who drew too close would likely be carbonized on the spot!

Even for Yuan Weiyang, a Nuo Master of the Yuan Family, the heat was almost too much to bear.

She braced herself against the waves of heat and approached the edge of the pit. Peering down, she nearly grew dizzy and fell in.

The fire pit was a hollow shaft plunging deep into the body of the Big Locust Tree. Its walls glowed a brilliant, dazzling crimson, and it descended for an unknown thousands of feet!

For some unknown reason, this Big Locust Tree had been set ablaze from the inside, and it was still burning.

Just then, the Big Copper Bell they called "Lord Zhong" flew into the air and began to grow. Its Divine Sense transformed into a voice that echoed in Yuan Weiyang's mind. "This is Celestial Fire, left behind by a Celestial Tribulation. You can gather a wisp for Refinement and place it within your own Mysterious Domain. While it may not be as potent as Ying's Pure Yang Anomalous Fire, it is still extraordinary and will be of great benefit to your Cultivation."

Yuan Qi said smugly, "I gathered a wisp myself the day before yesterday. You didn't trade Cultivation Techniques with Ying. If you had, we could all be cultivating and having fun together, and you could have gathered some Celestial Fire sooner."

Yuan Weiyang asked, "When you say Mysterious Domain, are you referring to the world within one's body?"

Yuan Qi asked in surprise, "You know about the inner world?"

Yuan Weiyang replied, "I once opened it by accident and flew inside, but I didn't know its name until now: the Mysterious Domain. It's a fitting name. The 'mystery' refers to the profound and subtle nature of the Dao, so it is a Domain of Daoist Mystery."

Yuan Qi glanced at Xu Ying and asked tentatively, "Is that what it means?"

Xu Ying nodded slightly. "You could put it that way. The Yuan Family's Secret Treasury is the Yellow Court, and the Yellow Court Secret Treasury holds one's Divine Sense. As a child of the Yuan Family, your Divine Sense must be incredibly powerful. By turning that Divine Sense inward for Inner Observation, you can open the Mysterious Domain and perceive your Five Viscera. For a member of the Yuan Family, opening the Mysterious Domain shouldn't be difficult."

Yuan Qi grew wary. 'This person named Yuan is as knowledgeable and talented as I am. It seems I have a rival.'

The Big Copper Bell grew larger and larger. With its mouth facing the sky and its handle pointing down, it slowly descended to block the massive fire pit. "I'll cover most of the Celestial Fire," it said. "You can use this opportunity to collect some for your own refinement."