Ascension Day

Xu Ying's mind was in a daze. People who had known him as a boy had grown into decrepit old men, yet he himself had never changed.

'But I clearly only have memories from the last few years. The memories from all those vanished years... who was I then?'

'Am I still Xu Ying?'

His head felt like it was splitting open. He struggled to recall his memories of Xu Family's Field, but the harder he tried, the more conflicting memories surged forth—different voices, different scenes, the faces and smiles of different parents—cramming his mind to the bursting point!

"What in the world are you?" the old man asked, his voice trembling.

Xu Ying asked blankly, "Who in the world am I?"

'What was I doing during all those missing years? Who was I back then?'

'Where did all those missing years go? Why don't I remember? Why don't I age? Why did Little Fengxian say she saw me three thousand years ago?'

The world spun around Xu Ying, and he fell backward, his ears filled with a cacophony of voices.

The old man who had recognized him collapsed at the same time. For a moment, the village was thrown into chaos.

"The young one is still breathing! Help him!" someone shouted.

"The old man is young! The young man is old! Which 'young one' are you talking about?"

Xu Ying's mind remained muddled. Chaotic images flashed through his consciousness—countless faces drifted before him, seeming to say something, but their voices were a cacophony he couldn't make out.

Some of the images were blurry, showing the world transforming over eons. Mountains eroded and collapsed, lakes receded, and the ground dried up, revealing several dead fish with their mouths agape.

He also saw new mountains rise from the earth and new lakes form in an instant.

He watched mulberry fields turn into vast deserts, and vast deserts bloom back into oases.

He saw clouds churn and winds shift at incredible speeds. The sun and moon rose and set in a blur, and the changing of the seasons was accelerated countless times over.

He would sometimes wake, only to quickly fall back into unconsciousness. He vaguely heard the sound of a bell, and when he groggily opened his eyes, he saw Da Zhong hanging above him. The various patterns etched on the Bell's inner wall seemed to come alive.

He heard Da Zhong's voice, seeming to come from a great distance. "I'll help him stabilize his scattered Divine Sense for now. He should be fine. He just received too great a shock..."

Xu Ying saw the surrounding mountains moving and passed out again.

A strange voice reached his ears—somewhat familiar, yet also unfamiliar.

"What should we name him?"

"Let's call him... Xu Ying. He will become known throughout the world, a name no one will fail to recognize!"

He felt a gentle hand caress his face, and a familiar yet unfamiliar voice murmured, "Xu Ying, Xu Ying. Remember your surname. You must not forget your given name."

...

Xu Ying passed out again amidst the jolting, and it was as if he saw someone walking toward him—a person who felt very familiar, yet he had never seen them before.

Then he saw himself standing on a cliff, holding someone's hand, gazing out at mountains and rivers shrouded in white clouds.

"No matter if it takes a thousand lifetimes or ten thousand, I will find you, and we will never be parted again!"

Xu Ying woke with a start. He tried to sit up in a hurry, but his head suddenly slammed into Da Zhong, making his skull buzz. He then collapsed back down.

"Lord Zhong, Lord Zhong, what happened?" Yuan Qi's anxious voice called out.

"I was too close to him. He slammed into me and knocked himself out," came Da Zhong's hesitant voice.

Xu Ying woke up once more. This time, he didn't try to get up in a rush. Instead, he opened his eyes and scanned his surroundings to avoid hitting anything again.

He was in a room. Judging by the decor and layout, it appeared to be a woman's bedchamber. However, everything was old and faded. The Copper Mirror on the vanity was blurry, and the room looked like it had been vacant for many years.

There was a female ghost in the Copper Mirror, peeking out at him furtively. When she saw him look her way, she quickly hid.

Seeing that Xu Ying didn't move, the female ghost grew bolder. She began to preen herself in the mirror, then detached her head, placed it on the table, and slowly began to comb her hair.

Xu Ying sat up. The female ghost in the mirror stared at him, blood streaming from her seven orifices as her ghostly face turned sinister.

Xu Ying rubbed his head, where a swollen lump had formed.

His ears were ringing, and it was a while before he could hear properly again.

The female ghost in the mirror, finding this no fun, lay down on her bed within the mirror. She gave a lazy yawn, curled up like a cat, and pulled the blanket over herself.

Xu Ying got out of bed and muttered in a low voice, "Could it be that Yuan Qi and Lord Zhong are staying in a Ghost House?"

The female ghost in the mirror quickly sat up and nodded repeatedly.

Xu Ying stood up, but his legs gave way and he staggered.

The female ghost covered her mouth and laughed, as if mocking him for being a weakling.

Xu Ying paid her no mind and steadied himself. His head still felt like it was splitting apart. He walked out of the room and found himself in a wide-open space. They were inside a massive, ancient mountain, where there were residences, courtyards, and an old Palace. It all looked dilapidated and had clearly not been maintained for a very long time.

The area wasn't huge, but it was relatively flat, with stone bricks paving the ground. The buildings were all quite exquisite.

Looking down, Xu Ying could even see a mountain gate.

The residences and the Palace on the mountain indicated that this had likely been a small sect from three thousand years ago. When the Qi Refiners vanished, this place must have been abandoned.

'Where is this place? Where are Lord Zhong and Xiaoqi?'

Xu Ying walked to the doorway and looked back. He saw the colossal, fallen section of Wuyang Mountain, which had smashed upon two other mountains. The remaining part of Wuyang Mountain was still immense, resembling a broken tree stump, its fractured surface a forest of bizarre peaks.

This unknown sect from over three thousand years ago had been built on the southern, sun-facing slope of Wuyang Mountain. Qinyan Cave was on the northern, shaded slope. Having lived there before, Xu Ying had never noticed the ruins of this ancient sect on the other side of the mountain.