Ascension Day

The Holy God Emperor and Zhou Qiyun stood a good distance apart. Though his demeanor was agitated, his tone was nonchalant as he said, "An Ancient Qi Refiner? Just a Demon Cultivator, nothing more. That is not the Righteous Dao. Zhou Aiqing, the Nuo Technique is the true Righteous Dao. Do not be led astray."

Xu Ying and Yuan Weiyang’s hearts skipped a beat as they exchanged a glance. ’Judging by their tone,’ they thought, ’the Emperor and Zhou Qiyun don’t seem to be on good terms.’

Zhou Qiyun stared at the Qi Refiner’s corpse in the Shen Kan, raised his white eyebrows, and asked, "Has Your Majesty’s wound not yet healed?"

The Holy God Emperor said coolly, "I rule the world, and the hearts of the masses are with me. Who could possibly wound me? Who would dare?"

Zhou Qiyun frowned, but his brow quickly smoothed out again. "It is good that Your Majesty is not injured. I had thought the wound I inflicted upon you all those years ago was still troubling Your Majesty. It seems I was overthinking things."

The Incense Smoke Qi swirling around the Holy God Emperor surged violently, and for a moment, the atmosphere in the grand hall became extremely oppressive. Even Guo Xiaodie could now see that something was wrong and dared not speak.

Yuan Weiyang suddenly broke the silence. "Why is this Ancient Qi Refiner sitting on a Shen Kan? He’s not a Divine Spirit. By sitting there, could he be trying to absorb Incense Smoke Qi and achieve godhood in the flesh?"

She was incredibly sharp. She knew Elder Zhou’s remark had put the Holy God Emperor in an impossible position. If the stalemate continued, it would end in a battle to the death unless one of them backed down. So, she took the initiative to throw out a topic that would capture both of their interests, offering them an out.

Zhou Qiyun’s imposing aura subsided. "This Qi Refiner must have reached the end of his lifespan," he said. "With no chance of successfully Crossing the Tribulation, he chose another path to extend his life."

The Holy God Emperor said, "A Qi Refiner’s lifespan has its limits, but a Divine Spirit’s does not. As long as their Incense and Candlelight endures, a Divine Spirit will never die."

Both men were figures of immense talent. Just by looking at the posture of the Ancient Qi Refiner’s corpse, they understood the path of Cultivation he had walked.

Zhou Qiyun said softly, "But this is the wrong path. If Incense Smoke Qi could grant Longevity, wouldn’t all the emperors of ages past have achieved it?"

He recited, "Where are the emperors and ministers of old? Now only ghosts weep over their graves. The path of the Incense Fire God is a dead end, a fool’s errand!"

The Holy God Emperor’s eye twitched. His voice boomed with authority, "And which path is not a dead end? Powerful as this Qi Refiner before us was, wasn’t he still forced to seek godhood through incense when his life ran out? Yet some people fail to see this, arrogantly continuing down the path of a Qi Refiner, thinking themselves peerless when in fact they are utterly foolish!"

Zhou Qiyun’s eye also twitched violently.

It was no secret that the Zhou Family had long been searching for and deciphering Demon Clan Techniques, and excavating the tombs and cave abodes of Ancient Qi Refiners!

The Holy God Emperor had clearly known about the Zhou Family’s actions for a long time, hence his sarcastic jab, mocking Zhou Qiyun’s futile pursuit of Longevity!

Yuan Weiyang felt a headache coming on. She had just offered them an out, and yet here they were, locking horns again.

"Brother Yuan, there’s a huge vat over here! Come take a look!" Xu Ying’s voice called out in exclamation.

Yuan Weiyang looked over to see Xu Ying staring at the large water vat under the eaves outside the hall. ’We just jumped out of that vat,’ she thought. ’Why is he acting like it’s the first time he’s ever seen it?’

She understood at once. She walked over and joined Xu Ying in examining the large water vat.

The two of them circled the water vat, making a show of appraising it. Yuan Weiyang bent at the waist to inspect its patterns, while Xu Ying stood with one hand on his hip and the other stroking his chin, as if calculating the vat’s value.

"Are they going to fight?" Yuan Weiyang whispered, her voice barely audible.

"I don’t know."

Xu Ying studied the vat, his eyes glinting as he whispered, "But Lord Zhong said there are three masters in this hall. The Emperor is one, and Elder Zhou is obviously the second. So who’s the third?"

A shiver ran down Yuan Weiyang’s spine. She snuck a glance back at the Ancient Qi Refiner sitting upon the Shen Kan.

The Ancient Qi Refiner wore a broad smile, the flesh on his forehead, between his brows, already rigid.

Yuan Weiyang looked away and whispered, "Are you saying he’s not actually dead? But he’s clearly a corpse! If he weren’t dead, wouldn’t the Emperor and Elder Zhou have noticed?"

Xu Ying continued to study the vat. "Maybe they have," he said.

Back in the hall, cold sweat beaded on Uncle Xiao’s forehead. The pressure was now on him. If he didn’t do something, he feared the two peerless masters would instantly come to blows.

’If those two fight, they might not be the ones who die, but I certainly will!’

He racked his brain, found a new topic, and quickly interjected, "How strange. If this Ancient Qi Refiner was on the path to becoming an Incense Fire God, why is there no trace of Incense Smoke Qi on his body?"

Zhou Qiyun and the Holy God Emperor knew that if they didn’t restrain themselves, they would have no choice but to settle things with their fists. Thus, they took the opportunity to de-escalate.

The Holy God Emperor stepped forward. "When a man dies, his light goes out. The same is true for a god. After his death, the Incense Smoke Qi would have been extinguished. This man didn’t dare to face Crossing the Tribulation, yet he longed to become a god to gain eternal life. A pitiful wretch."

His words were barbed, clearly alluding to Zhou Qiyun’s own experience with Crossing the Tribulation!

Zhou Qiyun’s pupils contracted. "Your Majesty seems to know a great deal about Qi Refiners. It appears Your Majesty has not only cultivated using Incense and Candlelight, but has also acquired a number of Qi Refining Skills, no? Your Majesty cultivates using Yang Qi, which doesn’t seem to be part of the Righteous Dao. Your Majesty, have you not gone astray?"

The Holy God Emperor replied coolly, "Two can play at that game. It’s common knowledge that someone is running around searching for Demon Techniques. Am I, the Emperor, forbidden from doing the same?"

A vein bulged on Zhou Qiyun’s forehead.

Uncle Xiao spun around and hurried over to the large water vat. He leaned over to inspect the water’s surface and exclaimed, "What a huge vat! Could it be some kind of treasure?"

He lowered his voice and whispered, "Young Master, Xu Demon King, what do we do now?"