Ascension Day

The Wuchang Ghosts scrambled to defend themselves, swinging their Funeral Poles to block her Sword Qi. The force of the blows left their Qi and Blood in turmoil.

Yuan Qi and Uncle Xiao were instantly freed. Yuan Qi was overjoyed, laughing as he said, "I see their weakness! Let them fight their way, and we'll fight ours. As long as we kill them first, we'll be safe!"

These Wuchang Ghosts were experts at attacking an enemy's soul, but they were not particularly skilled in other Nuo Arts. Blocking Yuan Weiyang's attacks exposed their greatest weakness: while they excelled at soul-based Nuo Techniques, they were just as vulnerable to other forms of attack!

Uncle Xiao saw this as well and breathed a sigh of relief. The next moment, however, his expression grew grim.

Other Wuchang Ghosts were now floating toward them, radiating killing intent.

These were True Wuchang Ghosts, not impostors wearing masks. They floated in the air, activating their Funeral Poles from afar. Strips of coarse linen shot out, whistling through the air, coiling toward Xu Ying and his companions like nimble snakes!

These Wuchang Ghosts were extremely united. The moment they saw the Fake Impermanence figures engage Xu Ying's group, they immediately rushed in to help!

Seeing this, the Fake Impermanence figures all grinned and activated their own Funeral Poles, which snaked toward the group!

Faced with such an onslaught, even Yuan Weiyang's expression faltered. The True Wuchang Ghosts possessed powerful Flesh Bodies, were protected by Incense Smoke Qi, and were genuine Deities of the Underworld. Seizing souls was a simple matter for them.

She could handle one or two, but she was helpless against so many.

As for Uncle Xiao and Yuan Qi, they were in an even worse position. To these Wuchang Ghosts, they were nothing more than practice targets!

Just then, Xu Ying suddenly flashed in front of them. Countless linen strips flew forward, SWISH SWISH SWISH, sinking into his body and ensnaring his soul!

The horde of Impermanence, both real and fake, raised their arms in unison, attempting to drag his soul from his body!

WHOOSH—

Xu Ying was pulled into the air, his entire body flying toward the Wuchang Ghosts. His soul hadn't left his body in the slightest. Instead, it was dragging his "insignificant" Flesh Body right along with it!

He had consumed more than ten Ten Thousand Spirits Pills, refining his soul to the point where it was almost entirely an Undying True Spirit, far stronger than his Flesh Body.

Accompanying Xu Ying in his flight was the Da Zhong, a bell over a hundred feet tall even when laid on its side. It came crashing toward the multitude of Impermanence like a small mountain!

The crowd of several hundred Impermanence felt a chill of terror at this sight and hastily raised their Funeral Poles to meet the Da Zhong!

DONG!

A violent tremor rang out, reverberating endlessly through the vast Willow Forest of the Underworld. Hundreds of Impermanence were sent staggering backward, barely managing to withstand the crushing power of the Da Zhong.

Xu Ying landed and made a grabbing motion with his hand. Primordial Qi instantly materialized into a colossal Ba Snake that bit down on one of the Wuchang Ghosts. As Xu Ying retracted his hand, the Wuchang Ghost was pulled helplessly through the air to his side, its face caught in his grip.

Seeing this, the other Wuchang Ghosts, both real and fake, brandished their Funeral Poles. The willow-wood staves, half white and half cyan and trailing fluttering strips of cloth, whistled through the air as they flew toward Xu Ying.

A series of loud BANGS echoed as the Funeral Poles struck Xu Ying six or seven times, knocking his soul from his body. His soul was instantly revealed.

Within the gray, murky Willow Forest, an immense Divine Light suddenly erupted from the ground. Its dazzling radiance instantly illuminated the forest, causing the shadows of the Willow Branches to dance and flicker!

The Funeral Poles vibrated with a CLATTER and froze in midair. Upon seeing his soul and feeling the oppressive aura of a Ghost King, the hundreds of True Wuchang Ghosts stayed their hands, no longer daring to attack.

But the other Fake Impermanence cared nothing for this, and their Funeral Poles continued to hurtle toward Xu Ying!

Xu Ying's palm was still clamped on the face of the Fake Impermanence. As the Funeral Poles knocked him back, he ripped the mask from its face.

The Fake Impermanence had been over ten feet tall, but as the Nuo Master's ghost mask was torn off, its power instantly drained away. Its body shrank rapidly, and its ghostly aura vanished. It quickly transformed from an Impermanence back into a human—a gaunt, middle-aged man with sharp eyes and sunken cheeks.

The middle-aged Nuo Master frantically touched his own face, a look of panic in his eyes. He turned and bolted toward the other Fake Impermanence figures, shouting, "Senior Brother, save me!"

Before he could reach his comrades, several strips of cloth flew through the air and pierced his body.

The middle-aged Nuo Master stood stunned for a moment before his soul was ripped from his Flesh Body and torn to shreds by the strips of cloth!

"Expose your identity, and you die!"

A low voice came from among the Fake Impermanence. "Kill them all! Make it quick, and don't delay our real mission!"

The Funeral Poles continued to smash toward Xu Ying's soul. Suddenly, Xu Ying spun around, and with a WHOOSH, the mountain-sized Da Zhong swept out.

The Da Zhong swept through with devastating force, leaving a trail of toppled trees. The Fake Impermanence figures roared, summoning all their strength to block it, but were sent flying backward, coughing up blood!

Xu Ying's soul returned to his Flesh Body. He leaped into the air, his figure weaving between the Fake Impermanence, snatching off their masks one by one!

As soon as the masks were removed, the Fake Impermanence figures instantly reverted to their human forms. Before their panicked expressions could even register, they were pierced by the coarse linen strips, and their souls were torn to pieces!

CLANG!

Suddenly, a pair of hands stopped the Da Zhong, halting its crushing advance. Xu Ying's body stopped with it. The Da Zhong and his Flesh Body were one. When he moved, the Bell moved. When he stopped, the Bell stopped.

But by the same token, when the Bell was moved, he would be moved, and when the Bell was stopped, he too would be stopped.

Therefore, spinning his body to swing the Da Zhong in a wild smashing spree against his enemies was an absolutely delightful affair. But when an enemy was strong enough to block the Bell—or even grab it and go on their own smashing spree—it became an absolutely tragic one!

The cyan-robed Uncle Xiao rushed over, shouting, "Xu Demon King, watch out! There's a Grand Nuo among them!"

The Grand Nuo who had stopped the Da Zhong was also wearing a Wuchang Ghost Mask. As soon as he blocked the Bell, he sensed its connection to Xu Ying. He sneered, "You're just asking to die!"

Just as he was about to attack, he saw Xu Ying form the Sword Pointing sign with his hand. Sword light flickered around him as he suddenly broke through the air, carrying the Da Zhong up into the sky.

The Grand Nuo's expression changed dramatically, and he yelled, "Get back!"

From the sky, a dazzling sword light carrying the absurdly large Da Zhong descended, rocketing toward them!

Just as the sword light was about to strike the ground, it veered off with a SWOOSH, skimming just above the surface. Following in its wake, the Da Zhong crashed down, smashing more than a dozen Fake Impermanence to smithereens!

The Grand Nuo in the Inconstancy Mask gave his all to block the blow. He was slammed into the ground, coughing up blood. Looking up, he saw Xu Ying use Sword Control to rise again, bringing the Da Zhong crashing down once more. Despair filled his heart.

Uncle Xiao rushed forward just in time to see Xu Ying dive again. With another thunderous CLANG, the Grand Nuo's Flesh Body was obliterated into a mangled pulp of blood and gore. Uncle Xiao was horrified.

The other Fake Impermanence fled in every direction. In an instant, the Willow Forest was empty, save for a distant cry: "The enemy is too powerful! He killed Master Qiu! Everyone, retreat to the sect!"

Xu Ying landed, dispelled his Sword Qi, and tossed a mask to Uncle Xiao. "Put this on."

Uncle Xiao froze, not understanding. But then he saw Xu Ying give an Inconstancy Mask to Yuan Weiyang, who put it on without a word.

'This young man is smarter than I am,' Uncle Xiao thought. 'If he says to wear it, I'll wear it.'

The moment he put on the Wuchang Ghost Mask, he felt a strange, eerie power surge from it, changing the very structure of his Flesh Body. He shot up in height, soon standing over twenty feet tall, transformed into a white-faced Impermanence with a long, scarlet tongue lolling from his mouth.

Yuan Weiyang transformed into the same figure, though she was slightly shorter.

Xu Ying leaped onto Yuan Qi's head and tried to place an Inconstancy Mask on the Big Snake's face. Yuan Qi exclaimed, "Ying, I'm huge and this mask is tiny! Will it even work?"

The moment the Wuchang Ghost Mask touched the Big Snake's cheek, countless fleshy tendrils shot out and burrowed between its scales.

After a moment, Yuan Qi's body twisted and contorted. It crouched on the ground as four limbs slowly sprouted from its body, transforming it into a monstrous, snake-faced humanoid!

"Whoa! I've turned into an Impermanence too!" Yuan Qi cried out in shock.

A Fake Impermanence was gliding swiftly over the ground when another Impermanence floated up to its left. The Fake Impermanence let out a sigh of relief and whispered, "Senior Brother, you made it out alive too? That was terrifying... Huh? Where's that bell sound coming from?"

Another Impermanence floated up on its right. Not far behind this one trailed the mountain-sized Da Zhong.

He glanced back and saw yet another Impermanence behind him, this one remarkably tall.

Behind that one was a Snake-faced Impermanence with an enormous Physique. It was over two hundred feet long, but instead of standing, it crawled along the ground, arching its body like a serpent.

The skin on the Fake Impermanence's face twitched violently. Pinned between the two figures to its left and right, it began to tremble uncontrollably.

"If you don't want to die, lead us out of here," a sinister voice whispered in its ear.

The Fake Impermanence nodded furiously, like a chicken pecking at grain.