Ascension Day

Waking to this scene, Xu Ying immediately leaped into the air, jumping out of Wutong Palace and using the Cloud Ladder to catch the petite young girl.

He had forced himself to use Cloud Ladder Celestial Soaring, damaging his Heart Power. He felt a wringing pain in his heart, as if it were about to explode.

Xu Ying forcefully gathered a breath of Primordial Qi as Sword Qi erupted from his body. He transformed Cloud Ladder Celestial Soaring into the Sword Control Technique, and a streak of sword light carried Little Fengxian toward the Phoenix Tree and into Wutong Palace.

Little Fengxian was unconscious. Xu Ying found a room to lay her down in and examined her carefully. He then used the Activity from his own Mud Ball Secret Treasury to help her heal, and only then did the young girl's breathing gradually stabilize.

When Little Fengxian regained consciousness, a bitter, coppery taste filled her throat. Remembering that she had fainted, she quickly sat up, only to find herself covered with a blanket. Somehow, she was already back in Wutong Palace.

She got out of bed and realized her injuries weren't as severe as she'd expected.

She walked out of the room to see Xu Ying sitting on a couch outside the door, holding a book. The book was covering his face, and with his head tilted to one side, he was sound asleep.

It was only then she realized Xu Ying had healed her. Seeing him sleeping so innocently, she smiled to herself and walked forward, intending to play a prank. However, before she could even reach him, Xu Ying woke up. He moved the book from his face and said with a smile, "I fell asleep after just a few pages. How long have you been up?"

"I just woke up, too."

Little Fengxian abandoned her playful thoughts and said apologetically, "Young Master Xu, I thought I could help you break your seal, but I never expected it to be different from mine. My rash attempt not only caused a backlash that injured me, but I'm afraid it has also implicated you and alerted the one who placed the seal. We can't stay here long. The person who set the seal will surely notice it's been disturbed and will definitely send someone to investigate."

Her footsteps were light as she went to pack her bags. "Young Master Xu," she said, "although I failed to help you break the seal, it has loosened considerably, so my efforts weren't completely in vain. You've saved my life twice now. If I have the chance, I will repay you in this life! If not, then in the next!"

Xu Ying's expression turned serious. "Miss Feng Xian, did you really meet me three thousand years ago?"

Flitting about Wutong Palace like a bird as she packed her things, Little Fengxian said, "Of course I did. Three thousand years ago, I had just hatched. It was right here on Jiuyi Mountain that I met you, Young Master Xu. You looked just as you do now, though perhaps a little younger."

Xu Ying stared into space, dazed. 'She has no reason to lie to me.'

'But if Little Fengxian really did see me three thousand years ago, doesn't that mean I'm at least three thousand years old?'

'How could a person possibly live that long?'

'And what about my memories of Xu Family's Field and my parents? Are my happy childhood memories, and the painful memory of the fire at Xu Family's Field, all fake?'

Having finished packing, Little Fengxian pushed open the window lattice, ready to fly off.

Xu Ying quickly called out to her. The petite girl paused on the windowsill and looked back over her shoulder with a radiant smile. "Young Master Xu, if I don't leave now, I'm afraid I'll be caught. My power is still weak. This is a matter of life and death, so please don't try to make me stay."

Xu Ying said, "You mentioned before that you were sealed away, too. Why was that? And who was it that sealed you?"

Little Fengxian's expression grew even more tense. She spoke quickly, "I was born with sharp senses. Not long after my birth, I sensed that the world was about to undergo a great change, so I planned to escape. On that day, I was all prepared and about to fly out of the Hundred Thousand Mountains when suddenly, the heavens and the earth twisted and spun. My vision went black, and I lost consciousness. It was as if I'd fallen into an immense darkness, or perhaps returned to a muddled state like before I was born."

"And then?" Xu Ying asked.

Little Fengxian said, "Then one day, I suddenly woke up. I opened my eyes, and three thousand years had passed. I was flying in the sky, and as far as I could see, the world was completely unfamiliar. Everything I once knew no longer existed."

Her expression grew dim.

Everything was gone, including her family and friends.

That was why she was so overjoyed when she saw Xu Ying and had asked for his help—because he was the only familiar face she recognized.

Xu Ying asked, "You don't know who it was that sealed you?"

Little Fengxian shook her head. "My situation is different from yours. I suspect I was sealed away along with the entire world, but you're a special case. It's like you were targeted and sealed individually. I have to go!"

She said urgently, "I can feel the danger getting closer! I can't delay any longer! My senses are very accurate!"

Xu Ying said quickly, "Wait a minute! Who sealed this world? And who unsealed it?"

But Little Fengxian had already transformed into a Cai Feng. With a beat of her wings, she flew away, leaving a trail of rainbow light in the sky.

Her clear, crisp voice drifted back from the distance, "Young Master Xu, leave this place quickly! When that person realizes the seal has been tampered with, they'll surely come for you!"

Xu Ying watched her disappear into the distance, a sense of loss welling up in his heart. 'Am I really from three thousand years ago? Could she have mistaken me for someone else? Isn't my home in Xu Family's Field?'

He stood there silently for a long time. He didn't leave. He waited.

He wanted to see if the person who had sealed him would truly come here to investigate, just as Little Fengxian had said.

Little Fengxian soared through the sky, her speed so great it was like Fleeting Images, leaving a seven-colored Xiangyun in her wake.

Suddenly, a sheet of green light blocked her path. It was like a celestial wall of unknown height and width, stretching across the sky before her.

Little Fengxian's heart skipped a beat. She flew upward, attempting to cross the green light barrier, only to see that the celestial wall of light was covered in a grid of intersecting horizontal and vertical lines, like a chessboard.

'This is a chessboard!'

A chill ran down Little Fengxian's spine. 'Could this be a 'World in a Step' type of Great Divine Power?'

Alarm bells ringing in her mind, she flew with all her might, only to see an impossibly gigantic finger and thumb descend from beyond the heavens. They held a white chess piece, which passed through the thick atmosphere and came pressing down on her!