Ascension Day

On the Dragon Chariot, Zhou Qiyun looked up at the giant snake before him, his white eyebrows knitting slightly. Although his Dragon Chariot was a treasure, it couldn’t possibly fit this behemoth.

Previously, Yuan Qi’s body was about thirteen to fourteen zhang long; he could lie down straight inside the Dragon Chariot. Now, not only was he longer, but he was also much thicker. Even coiling up to fit inside would be difficult.

Yuan Weiyang looked up, sizing up Yuan Qi, and advised, "It’s only been a few days, and you’ve gotten this fat? You should go on a diet."

Yuan Qi sneered, "In your dreams!"

Xu Ying said to Zhou Qiyun, "Elder Zhou, you don’t need to worry. He practices the Ba Snake Cultivation and can change his size. The Dragon Chariot can still hold him. Xiaoqi, make yourself a little smaller."

Yuan Qi shouted, "Xiaoying, from now on, don’t call me Xiaoqi. Call me Lord Niu Qi!"

With that, he activated the Ba Snake Cultivation. After struggling for a long while, he seemed to have shrunk just a tiny bit.

Xu Ying turned his head and said to Zhou Qiyun, "Elder Zhou, can your Dragon Chariot get a little bigger?"

In the end, they came up with a compromise: they stuffed Yuan Qi into the carriage with his head sticking out. Even so, the interior of the Dragon Chariot was a bit cramped.

Zhou Qiyun entered the carriage, squeezing in with Xu Ying and the others. This powerful figure didn’t mind this at all. As long as you had talent and were useful to him, he would tolerate you as much as possible.

But if you were useless, then you were in danger.

The Divine Dragons pulling the Dragon Chariot struggled to take off. The moment the Divine Dragons stepped onto the clouds formed from Incense Smoke Qi, they nearly stumbled and fell. The four Divine Dragons’ legs trembled, but they finally managed to ride the clouds and mist, heading toward Yongzhou Prefecture.

The Dragon Chariot soared into the clouds, passing through green mountains and clear waters. A waterfall hung between the mountains, its mist catching the sunlight, creating a vibrant rainbow that stretched between two peaks.

The Dragon Chariot passed under the rainbow, picking up some of its dampness, and shimmered with brilliant colors in the sunlight.

Inside the Dragon Chariot, Zhou Qiyun sat by the window. He took out three scrolls, spread them open, and began to flip through them idly. Xu Ying snuck a glance; the contents of the three books were basically identical.

Just then, a soft, gentle hand took his, and a finger began to trace characters in his palm.

Xu Ying’s heart stirred. He looked down to see Yuan Weiyang sitting beside him, holding his hand and secretly writing on his palm with her index finger.

She wrote two words: "Immortal Book."

Xu Ying nodded slightly. The three scrolls Zhou Qiyun was looking through were all deciphered copies of the Tuo Yu Immortal Book!

Xu Ying squeezed her hand and began to trace characters in her palm. Yuan Weiyang tried to make out what he was writing, but after a moment, she realized he was trying to write a long passage that would take forever. She quickly pulled her hand back.

Xu Ying impassively brought his hand to his nose. ’Why does Brother Yuan’s hand smell so fragrant?’ he wondered. ’Could he be a Flower Demon?’

He had heard legends of Flower Demons. This type of demon lived inside flower buds, exuding an intoxicating fragrance. When the flower bloomed, the Flower Demon would dance gracefully within its petals.

But for all the long nights Xu Ying had traveled and all the demons he had met, he had never encountered a Flower Demon.

’Strange, the scent on his hand today isn’t daphne and orchid.’

Xu Ying sniffed carefully. ’It must be lily and gardenia,’ he thought. ’Hmm, there’s still a sweet, milky scent. Does Brother Yuan still drink milk every day?’

Seeing him incessantly sniffing his fingers with a strange expression on his face, Yuan Weiyang shot him a fierce glare.

Zhou Qiyun, who had been reading, suddenly asked, "The Eldest Young Master cultivated the Tuo Yu Immortal Book. He must have become very strange, didn’t he?"

Xu Ying snapped out of his fragrant reverie as a chill crept up his spine to the back of his neck.

In his mind, Da Zhong shuddered violently. ’This is bad!’ it thought. ’He knows we killed the Eldest Young Master!’

Yuan Weiyang’s heart went cold. Though she didn’t know what had happened, for Zhou Qiyun to ask such a question meant it was something major!

Zhou Qiyun said no more, as if waiting for Xu Ying’s answer.

Xu Ying was silent for a moment before deciding to tell the truth. "The Eldest Young Master cultivated the deciphered Tuo Yu Immortal Book. His power grew immense, but his Primordial Yang was completely drained, refining his body into one of Primordial Yin. He turned into a woman."

Zhou Qiyun raised his head, his gaze fixed directly on him.

Xu Ying’s eyes were clear. He didn’t look away, meeting Zhou Qiyun’s gaze.

Zhou Qiyun withdrew his gaze. "Then, why didn’t you cultivate the Tuo Yu Immortal Book?"

Fine beads of sweat broke out on Xu Ying’s forehead as he instantly understood the man’s meaning. The Eldest Young Master, Zhou Zhi, had stolen the Tuo Yu Immortal Book and couldn’t resist cultivating it the moment he saw it. Xu Ying had deciphered the Immortal Book, so why had he resisted the urge to cultivate it?

’Perhaps his purpose in having me decipher the Tuo Yu Immortal Book was to see if I would also turn into a woman, just like the Eldest Young Master!’

Xu Ying composed himself and smiled. "Because when I was deciphering the Immortal Book, I realized that cultivating it would inevitably drain one’s Primordial Yang and turn them into a woman. That’s why I didn’t cultivate it."

Zhou Qiyun’s gaze fell upon his face once more. "Why didn’t you tell me?"

Xu Ying’s smile didn’t falter. "If I could see it, how could Elder Zhou not? Elder Zhou is an Immortal in the Human World. How could you be turned into a woman by a mere Immortal Book? A person of Elder Zhou’s stunning talent would, at most, use the Immortal Book as a stepping stone to create their own Ultimate Skill, not be constrained by a predecessor’s Cultivation Technique."

A smile appeared on Zhou Qiyun’s face. "Your response was very appropriate."

Xu Ying hesitated. "Elder Zhou, about the matter of the Eldest Young Master..."

Zhou Qiyun went back to his book, saying coolly, "He was born a man, yet he turned into a delicate woman, bringing disgrace to the Zhou Family’s name. It’s better that he’s dead. It saves me the trouble of doing it myself."

Xu Ying said no more.

After a moment, Xu Ying walked out of the Dragon Chariot and onto the shaft. Seeing this, Yuan Weiyang followed him out.