Ascension Day

Back then, he had heard this same strange whispering, and it had entranced his mind!

"This isn't just one big guy!"

Da Zhong was extremely nervous and muttered, "I sense thousands, tens of thousands of big guys... How can there be so many? Even at my peak, I couldn't handle this..."

Hearing this, Xu Ying immediately channeled his Divine Sense into his mirror technique, looking toward the hill.

At that very moment, the Celestial Eye Bright Mirror within his Mysterious Domain shattered with a CRACK. An inexplicable power invaded his Mysterious Domain—it was evil yet holy, ancient, powerful, and anomalous, seeking to completely obliterate his Divine Sense!

This power was different from the power of Ghost Gods, different from the power of Nuo Masters. It was not a worldly power; it seemed to come from another world!

In just an instant, Xu Ying's Celestial Eye shattered, and his Divine Sense nearly collapsed!

In that critical moment, Da Zhong descended from Xu Ying's mind and entered his Mysterious Domain. The bell rang out continuously, DONG DONG DONG, blocking the invading evil and powerful force!

Within Xu Ying's Mysterious Domain, the flames of the Pure Yang Anomalous Fire suddenly surged, filling the space with a great blaze that burned the invading power, making it SIZZLE!

The toll of Da Zhong reverberated endlessly. From Xu Ying's Sun and Moon Dual Eyes, it crossed the Divine Bridge, passed the Jasper Pool, and descended the Twelve-Storey Tower, its chimes echoing back and forth!

It then flew to Xu Ying's Five Viscera Immortal Mountain, refining away the anomalous power that had invaded his Five Viscera.

The Pure Yang Anomalous Fire also burned back and forth in the air, refining the anomalous power that had come from the mountain ridge.

Xu Ying's mind was still in a daze, nearly half of his Divine Sense destroyed. Yuan Weiyang, noticing his poor complexion, reached out and gently touched the spot between his eyebrows with a finger.

Xu Ying felt a coolness spread from his brow. His chaotic Divine Sense gradually gathered and stabilized. He thanked Yuan Weiyang.

Yuan Weiyang asked in confusion, "Xu Demon King, why did your Divine Sense suddenly collapse?"

Da Zhong's voice was grave. "It wasn't just his Divine Sense that collapsed! If it weren't for me and the Anomalous Fire in his body, he probably would have lost his life! Ying, what exactly did you see? How did you trigger an attack from this anomalous power?"

Xu Ying looked at the small hill before them, his expression a mixture of shock and doubt. "I just saw a field of divine light. The light was coming from these small stone statues. Each ray of divine light shot straight to the sky, as if connecting to another space-time. And then..."

He shook his head and muttered, "And then, I saw Them looking at me... looking at me from another world..."

"Them?"

Yuan Weiyang was puzzled. "Who are 'Them'?"

Xu Ying shook his head and asked, "Lord Zhong, besides suppressing the girl in the coffin in the Stone Mountain Well, what was the other behemoth you were suppressing?"

Da Zhong was silent for a moment before saying, "A Celestial God who descended to the mortal world to wreak havoc. Now that I've been severely injured and am no longer suppressing the ancient well at Little Stone Mountain, I'm afraid that Celestial God has escaped, just like the Demoness. Once I recover, I'll definitely capture both of Them and stuff Them back into the well!"

Xu Ying was silent. 'Celestial Gods... Deities from the Heavenly Dao World.'

'The Plague God I had driven away with a whip was also a Celestial God from the Heavenly Dao World.'

'But when I used my Celestial Eye to observe the stone statues on this small hill, I was also being observed. In that moment, tens of thousands of pairs of eyes noticed me. Otherwise, my Divine Sense wouldn't have been destroyed in an instant!'

'But where did so many Celestial Gods come from?'

'And what is the connection between these Celestial Gods and the stone statues on this hill?'

Xu Ying glanced at Zhou Qiyun, who was resting with his eyes closed, and thought silently, 'Since Elder Zhou came here and decided to stop, he must have a purpose. Could this place be related to the Yin Court?'

A short while later, the sun set and darkness fell.

But the small, barren hill gradually began to brighten. The light grew stronger and stronger, like a candle flame, yet it pierced the clouds, seeming to illuminate another world!

Yuan Weiyang, Uncle Xiao, and Yuan Qi had never seen such a sight and all looked up to watch. But what Xu Ying saw with his Celestial Eye was a scene thousands of times more magnificent!

"The Emperor's Chronicles of Emperor Zhide Da Sheng Ming Xiao record that the Emperor and his two servants reached Cangwu, passed through Ghost Ridge, and entered the Netherworld."

Xu Ying turned to see that Zhou Qiyun had, at some unknown time, risen to his feet. He was now standing behind them, also looking up at the small, barren hill. At this moment, however, the hill had faintly transformed, becoming incomparably majestic, far surpassing the nearby peaks!

"The Emperor of Ultimate Dao entered the Underworld from here. He found the Underworld Celestial Court, spoke with the Yin Court Emperor, and established a pact that unified divine authority and Imperial Authority in the Mortal World. In his later years, the Emperor of Ultimate Dao grew muddled, causing the golden age to be ruined in an instant. The Yin Court also took the opportunity to tear up the agreement and interfere in the Mortal World."

Zhou Qiyun strode toward the mountain and said, "Today, I shall emulate the Emperor of Ultimate Dao and pay a visit to the Yin Court. You may follow me."

Xu Ying hurried to keep pace with him and asked, "Elder Zhou, are you emulating the Emperor of Ultimate Dao to re-establish the pact of unified divine authority and Imperial Authority with the Yin Court Emperor?"

Zhou Qiyun said leisurely, "If I were the Emperor, I would venture into the Underworld and renew the pact for the sake of the people and the empire. But I am not. The current Holy God Emperor Zhang Wu of the Court is still on the throne. As a subject, how could I overstep my authority? Wouldn't that be treason?"

He paused, then added, "I have come here only for myself."

He made no attempt to hide his selfish motives.

Xu Ying mulled it over but couldn't figure it out. Had he come to the Underworld Celestial Court to prevent the Underworld from causing trouble when he usurped the throne, or to drive out the Underworld to protect Yongzhou?

Zhou Qiyun led them into the increasingly majestic mountain. The candlelight in the sky grew even brighter. As they climbed step by step, they suddenly saw a boundless divine light pour down from the heavens.

At that moment, both Xu Ying and Yuan Weiyang felt powerful wills and anomalous powers from another world descending, one after another, and pouring into the stone statues of all sizes!

The stone statues grew taller and larger with a RUMBLE. Bathed in divine light, they reached a height of a thousand ren, sitting atop ancient trees that were no less grand than the Big Locust Tree.

They sat on the branches of the ancient trees like birds, their gazes devoid of any emotion as they watched Xu Ying and the others.

Xu Ying looked up. The divine light in the sky shone down, myriads of rays forming the dome of a great hall. The sheer vastness of this hall was unimaginable, simply incredible!

"These are the projections of Celestial Gods!"

Da Zhong's chime vibrated softly. It was clear that this incredible scene had stunned it as well. It whispered, "In my master's era, we never heard of a place like this. What in the world has happened in the Divine Land over the past three thousand years? Why did the Qi Refiners disappear? Why are there so many Celestial Gods forming a great hall here?"

It had hung on Little Stone Mountain for too long. For three thousand years, it had been oblivious to the world's affairs. It realized it had lived those three thousand years in vain.

"The Emperor's Chronicles state that this place is called the Celestial God Hall, and it is the path to the Yin Court."

Zhou Qiyun walked ahead of them, saying, "Ordinary people cannot come here. They would be affected by the majesty of the Celestial Gods and fall into a frenzy, killing each other. With my protection, you will be immune to the Celestial Gods' influence."

His cultivation was unfathomably deep; he was simultaneously resisting the mental invasion of thousands upon thousands of Celestial Gods.

Yuan Weiyang whispered, "He's probably a notch or two stronger than the Emperor of Ultimate Dao was back then. The Emperor of Ultimate Dao in the records was not this powerful."

Xu Ying followed Zhou Qiyun. He saw that the path was flanked by cliffs, and below were countless writhing skeletons. These were the bones of those who had been influenced by the will of the Celestial Gods. They were still trying to climb up, unaware that they had been dead for who knows how long!

He shivered, and a sudden thought made a drop of cold sweat bead on his forehead. 'Since this is the Celestial God Hall, does that mean the Plague God is here? Does the Plague God remember that I whipped Him?'

Just then, one of the Celestial God stone statues in a tree slowly turned its head and looked at him.