Ascension Day

Xu Ying walked past them, thought for a moment, then turned back. He asked the sorrowful old man, "Sir, is there any more tea? I'm a bit thirsty."

The sorrowful old man's tone was curt. "None!"

Xu Ying inquired, "Sir, where can I buy this tea? I'll go get some myself."

The corners of the trio's eyes twitched as they each fought to swallow their anger.

Seeing they wouldn't answer, Xu Ying walked on.

The sorrowful old man let out a long breath and said, "Where's the yellow paper? Quick, take it out and see if there's a reply."

The white-robed old man complained, "You look at it dozens of times a day. You were just clamoring to see it a moment ago, and there was still no reply, was there?"

Despite his words, he still took out the yellow paper the Earth God had taught them to use and glanced at it. There were still no instructions on it. He cursed under his breath, "Are they part tortoise? So slow!"

The red-robed woman turned to look at Xu Ying's retreating back, unwilling to accept it. She said in a low voice, "Before, one cup and he'd be out. We could just give him a fabricated background and have peace for many years. Now, he's started asking for Meng Po's Soup on his own."

She sounded somewhat indignant. "What in the world is in that Meng Po's Soup? How can you get addicted to it after drinking so much?"

Xu Ying walked to the edge of the broken cliff. He passed the spot where the giant with the two Chains had stood and saw two massive footprints on the ground, where trees had been crushed into the earth.

'Who is he?' Xu Ying wondered.

He suddenly saw a shadow under the moon. Looking up, he saw that the girl from the coffin had, at some point, also come to the edge of the footprints and was examining them.

A flicker of joy went through Xu Ying's heart. He smiled and said, "Miss, thanks to your Copper Basin, I was able to return to Wuyang safely. I even earned a bit of money on the side."

The girl looked at him, puzzled. "A Qi Refiner can be short on money? Can't you just use Stone to Gold?"

Xu Ying's eyes widened, and he felt a pang of uncertainty. 'I've never learned that.' He asked aloud, "Can a Qi Refiner like me learn that too?"

The girl sized him up and down with a gentle smile. "You've reached the Gate-Opening Stage in your Cultivation? Using Stone to Gold is still a bit troublesome for you. First, you do this, then this, and then this, and that should do it."

She gestured earnestly as she demonstrated.

Just as Xu Ying was about to follow her lead, Da Zhong whispered, "She's teasing you. That's not a real Magic."

The girl seemed to hear its voice. Her gaze swept over, and Da Zhong felt as if it had been struck a heavy blow. With a loud CLANG, it suddenly found itself thrown out of Xu Ying's mind, appearing behind his head!

Da Zhong jumped in fright and quickly hid behind Xu Ying again. It panicked, a dull ache throbbing from its old wounds. 'The Demoness's power has increased again! Is there any hope in this lifetime that I'll be able to send her back to Little Stone Mountain?'

Xu Ying, unfazed, asked, "Miss, do you know the giant who left these footprints?"

The girl nodded lightly. "He should be an old friend of mine. That friend was profoundly learned and a witty conversationalist. He settled on Wuyang Mountain. I was once under his care and benefited greatly from it."

Xu Ying thought for a moment before asking, "The White Jade Palace in Qinyan Cave is called the Mud Pill Palace. Was that giant just now the Master of the Mud Mound Palace?"

The girl said in surprise, "That should be him. You know him?"

Xu Ying's heart pounded in his chest, and blood rushed to his head.

He steadied his Heart Spirit, but when he tried to speak, his throat was dry. "What kind of person was he?"

The girl shook her head. "When I knew him, he was a very passionate person, always ready to help others. He was cautious by Nature, farsighted, had grand ambitions, and planned for the long term. He was admired by the world. He was the most dazzling figure of my era, one of the people most likely to achieve Ascension."

She hesitated slightly. "We haven't met in three thousand years. I don't know if my old friend is still the same person."

She whispered, "This world has changed so much. It's become unfamiliar. Do people change, too?"

Xu Ying's heart was still racing. 'The person she's describing doesn't match my impression of the Master of the Mud Mound Palace. The Master of the Mud Mound Palace was a sinister and cunning villain who laid one trap after another, turning his successors into his personal harvest, waiting for them to mature before reaping them.'

'These are clearly two different people!'

The girl from the coffin gazed at Jiuyi Mountain in the darkness of the night and said softly, "A Nuo Master is Crossing the Tribulation. This will be an unprecedented event in history. Even if this Nuo Immortal doesn't succeed, he will have done enough to look down on the current generation and become a Grandmaster."

Xu Ying stared into the depths of the night and muttered, "He won't succeed. It's impossible. He's already a fish on the chopping block..."

The girl from the coffin sighed. "Indeed. For such a stunningly brilliant figure to die during the Celestial Tribulation..."

A glint flashed in Xu Ying's eyes. In the darkness, a light also began to shine.

Suddenly, the distant Jiuyi Mountain lit up like a lighthouse in the dark of night.

Those were the Circulation Dao Fields set up by the Nuo Masters of the Zhou Family. The scale of these Dao Fields was incredible. The Celestial Gods who controlled the Celestial Dao numbered three hundred and sixty that could be named, the number of a full circulation.

And the Zhou Family had set up a total of three hundred and sixty Dao Fields, spread across the nine peaks of Jiuyi Mountain. Some were on the summits, some on the mountainsides, and some at the bottom of valleys.

The Dao Fields, large and small, all lit up at this moment. The Nuo Masters of the Zhou Family were performing a grand Heaven-Placating Rite on them!

A normal heaven-worshipping ritual would be to make offerings to a single Celestial God. But the ritual the Zhou Family was performing this time was for all the Weekly Heavenly Gods in the entire Heavenly Dao World!

As the three hundred and sixty Dao Fields lit up, the peaks of the great mountains hidden within the New Land were also gradually illuminated!

In the silent night, on the high ground of Wuyang Mountain, everyone was deathly silent. Even the donkey whose soul had been injured had forgotten to bray.

The scale of those Dao Fields was too immense. They weren't Dao Fields for a normal Heaven-Placating Rite, but Dao Fields for a divine descent!

They were Dao Fields meant to summon Celestial Gods to descend from the Heavenly Dao World!