Ascension Day

He didn’t wait for Yuan Qi to reply. His soul flew out, and he placed his palm on Yuan Qi’s head.

Yuan Qi immediately felt a surging power flood into his body. His Cultivation climbed rapidly, increasing two or threefold in an instant!

Zhou Qiyun retracted his soul and said, "You can try channeling your Cultivation Technique now."

Yuan Qi channeled the Ba Snake Cultivation Technique. His body suddenly swelled, transforming into a hundred-zhang giant snake that swallowed clouds and exhaled mist. Then, just as suddenly, he shrank down until he was merely a foot long, small and delicate!

Yuan Qi was both shocked and overjoyed, and he hurriedly thanked him.

Zhou Qiyun said coolly, "This is due to the merits of your ancestors. You don’t need to thank me."

Xu Ying was extremely envious. Just as he was about to speak, Zhou Qiyun shook his head. "Your ancestors didn’t accumulate any merits."

So, Xu Ying said no more about having his own power bestowed.

Yuan Qi leaped onto Xu Ying’s shoulder and hid inside his collar.

Zhou Qiyun walked over to Da Zhong. Xu Ying’s heart leaped into his throat. He heard Zhou Qiyun say, "This Bell is severely damaged. It’s quite an anomaly that it wasn’t shattered to pieces."

He gently placed his palm on Da Zhong, right on the spot where the Palm Seal from the girl in the coffin had been. However, that Palm Seal had already been filled in by the Huaihua Palace’s Copper Pillar and was no longer visible to the naked eye.

Zhou Qiyun’s palm shot back as if it had been attacked. He stared, startled and uncertain. ’What a peculiar Divine Power!’

Da Zhong suddenly shrank, spun rapidly, and flew into the back of Xu Ying’s head. It shouted, "Ying, that miser Zhou Qiyun actually helped me refine away some of my damage!"

Zhou Qiyun raised his hand and saw strange patterns flashing in his palm. The residual Divine Power from the Palm Seal had actually seeped into his hand!

’A Palm Seal left by a peerless Qi Refiner!’

Zhou Qiyun was inwardly alarmed and glanced at Xu Ying. Xu Ying was skilled at deciphering Qi Refining Skills, he had this strange Bell, and the Palm Seal on the Bell was left by a peerless Qi Refiner. All this made him doubt whether Xu Ying was truly just a Snake Catcher from Yongzhou Lingling.

He clenched his fist, erasing the residual Divine Power in his palm, and said coolly, "Now that we’re entering Cangwu, we won’t attract any attention. Let’s go."

The Fake Impermanence hurriedly led the way.

The fact that he hadn’t claimed Da Zhong for himself greatly surprised Xu Ying.

After all, Zhou Qiyun had been plundering all sorts of riches along their journey, even scraping the grounds of the Water Gate Temple and Huaihua Palace clean. Da Zhong was worth far more than both those places combined, yet unexpectedly, Zhou Qiyun hadn’t been tempted!

"Xu Ying, I’ll let you get away with escaping twice."

Zhou Qiyun held up two fingers and said coolly, "But the third time, I’ll kill you and take your treasure. I’ve taken quite a liking to your Bell."

Xu Ying smiled. "This isn’t my Bell. He’s my friend."

"Befriending a Magical Treasure?"

Zhou Qiyun looked astonished and shook his head. "If it were me, I’d have erased its sentience. A Magical Treasure is a Magical Treasure, nothing more than a tool. Having a mind of its own just gets in the way!"

Along the way, they encountered more Fake Impermanences, who were also from the Cangwu Sect. All of them looked dejected. They had been ordered to enter the Underworld and harvest the Yang Qi of the Little Ghost Dolls, but their efforts had been disrupted by Xu Ying’s group. With little to show for it, they feared they would be punished upon their return.

Xu Ying and his companions blended into the crowd, following them to a canyon. Looking up, they could only see a thin sliver of sky, with no way of telling how high the canyon walls were.

As Xu Ying gazed upward, a thought suddenly surfaced in his mind: ’The Cangwu Abyss? This is the Cangwu Abyss?’

The Nuo Masters in their Inconstancy Masks up ahead hugged the inner wall of the canyon, proceeding along a narrow, winding path. Beneath their feet lay a ten-thousand-zhang chasm, a bottomless Abyss.

The cliff walls above their heads were also impossibly high. Even though Xu Ying had learned the Sword Control Technique, walking here made his heart pound with fear.

Suddenly, a deafening RUMBLE echoed from below. Xu Ying looked down and saw the two walls of the Abyss glowing a blinding, golden-red. As his gaze fell into the depths, his pupils contracted involuntarily.

On the narrow path, everyone’s faces were bathed in the red light.

Down in the Abyss, the cross-sections of the Underworld and the Mortal World continued to grind against each other with a thunderous roar. Billows of hot air surged upward, the sight and sound of it all terrifying.

Xu Ying’s heart skipped a beat. He had seen this before—back when he had first mastered the Celestial Eye, he’d witnessed an abyss formed by the collision of worlds on the banks of the Naihe River!

’Back then, I also saw what looked like body-shaped rocks swimming in the abyss, but I was too far away to see clearly. Now that I’m right here in the Cangwu Abyss, I should be able to get a better look.’

At this thought, as if compelled by some unseen force, Xu Ying activated his Celestial Eye and peered into the Abyss.

Suddenly, he saw them again: those massive forms in the deepest part of the Abyss, their giant, rock-like bodies constantly squirming!

This time, he could see them in greater detail. The writhing masses looked like rock, but also like the texture of petrified muscle!

Just then, the layers of muscle tissue parted, revealing a colossal eye.

Xu Ying’s head swam, and his vision went black. When he came to his senses, he found himself teetering over the cliff’s edge, about to fall!

Yuan Weiyang had grabbed him from behind, saving him from plunging into the Abyss.

Cold sweat beaded on Xu Ying’s forehead as he thanked Yuan Weiyang.

He glanced back into the Abyss. The rocks were just rocks. There was no eye.

"To see the unseeable and hear the unhearable is to invite disaster," Zhou Qiyun said coolly as he walked past him.

Xu Ying caught up to him. "You’ve heard and seen them too, Elder Zhou?"

Zhou Qiyun was silent for a moment before replying, "Qi Refining requires one to comprehend a Dao Image, as does creating a Hidden Scenery. When I was trying to comprehend the Great Dao that permeates the natural world, I went too deep into the state of Entering the Dao. I began to hear many strange voices at the edge of my hearing, as if they were calling to me. I also sensed inexplicably powerful presences. Whenever I tried to listen closely or perceive them clearly, I would encounter a great terror."

Xu Ying’s heart leaped. "A great terror?"

Zhou Qiyun did not elaborate. "You’ll understand when you successfully Enter the Dao in the future."

Yuan Weiyang moved to his side and whispered, "Elder Zhou is right. You hear strange whispers when Entering the Dao."

Xu Ying asked, "You’ve Entered the Dao before?"

Yuan Weiyang said, "I Entered the Dao once while I was at home practicing the Primordial Dao All Heavens Sensing. How many times have you Entered the Dao, Xu Demon King?"

Xu Ying said sheepishly, "I’ve only Entered the Dao once, too. Haha, I wonder what the weather’s like outside?"

In his mind, Da Zhong yawned and said lazily, ’Last time you broke through to the Gate-Opening Stage, you would have Entered the Dao if you had just settled your mind to comprehend the Heaven and Earth Profound Root.’

Just then, silken threads suddenly descended from high above the canyon. The Nuo Masters grabbed onto them one by one and were pulled skyward, quickly vanishing from sight.

Zhou Qiyun looked up, his eyes glinting. "I never imagined there was a path in Jiuyi Mountain that led straight to the Underworld. Come on, let’s go up!"

Xu Ying, Yuan Weiyang, and Uncle Xiao each grabbed a thread. A sudden force, like a fish being hooked, struck them. With a flick, they were flung up out of the canyon!

The wind howled in the ears of Xu Ying, Yuan Weiyang, and the others as they flew upward for an unknown distance. Suddenly, they seemed to pass through some invisible barrier, and a blinding light flooded their vision.

With a soft whoosh, Xu Ying landed. He saw that he was surrounded by green mountains and clear waters.

Zhou Qiyun also landed, but before he could take in his surroundings, a voice full of authority boomed from a great hall in the distance. "Why was no Yang Qi collected this time? Does everyone in the Cangwu Sect want to have their heads chopped off and offered as a sacrifice to the heavens?"

Hearing this voice, Zhou Qiyun’s heart began to hammer in his chest, and an expression of utter disbelief crossed his face.

"The Em... Emperor!"

He almost cried out in alarm. ’The one who came to the Cangwu Sect to extend his life... it’s His Majesty, the Holy God Emperor Zhang Wu!’