Ascension Day

"HUM! HUM! HUM!" On the opposite mountaintop, nine enormous Grotto Heavens hung in the sky, rotating slowly. They seemed to twist space-time itself, making the heavens appear distorted.

From Elder Zhu’s perspective, the world behind the mountain had transformed into a scene of grotesque and variegated splendor!

’The Holy Emperor Li Family truly lives up to its reputation!’

Elder Zhu immediately said to Xu Ying, "Xu Demon King, please dismount. This is as far as I can take you. Farewell!"

Xu Ying dismounted. Elder Zhu immediately leaped onto the donkey’s back, his eyes fixed on the Cyan Dragon. Riding the donkey backward, he frantically slapped its rump and fled in a panic.

Xu Ying walked forward. At the bottom of the slope where the Cyan Dragon lay coiled, he saw a youth in a yellow shirt lying on his back in the lush green grass. The youth had one leg crossed over the other, shaking it idly.

His hands were laced behind his head as he stared at the sky, a blade of foxtail grass dangling from his mouth.

As Xu Ying approached, the yellow-shirted youth rolled to his feet and smiled. "I am Imperial Uncle Zhao, Li Jie. Some of the old-timers call me Imperial Uncle Li. I am here waiting for Xu Demon King to escort you to the capital for an audience with His Majesty."

Xu Ying smiled. "Excellent. I parted ways with the Holy God Emperor on Jiuyi Mountain and have been eager to see him again. May I ask, Imperial Uncle Li, what sort of carriage will be providing our transport?"

Imperial Uncle Li laughed heartily. With a wave of his hand, he said, "This is the very carriage the Holy Emperor had me bring! He insisted that Xu Demon King must ride in this to the capital!"

The Cyan Dragon above his head shook its body with a great RUSTLE and lowered itself to the ground. And there, atop the dragon’s head, was a prisoner cart, complete with a cangue and shackles!

Xu Ying, unperturbed, climbed onto the dragon’s head, opened the door to the prisoner cart, and stepped inside.

Imperial Uncle Li came up to him and smiled. "My apologies for the impertinence." With that, he unlocked the cangue and shackles, fastening them around Xu Ying’s neck, ankles, and wrists.

"These are special treasures forged in the Celestial Prison. They can lock one’s Flesh Body and Ghost Soul, seal the Six Secrets of the Human Body, and suppress any and all transformations."

Imperial Uncle Li said, "Although His Majesty ordered me to imprison you and deliver you to the Divine Capital, from what I can gather of his intentions, he still greatly values your talent. Once we’re there, His Majesty will surely employ a mix of reward and punishment, but he won’t make things too difficult for you."

Xu Ying smiled. "If that is the case, then I won’t make things difficult for His Majesty either."

Imperial Uncle Li frowned slightly. The Cyan Dragon beneath his feet stirred, soaring into the air and weaving through the sky as it flew toward the Divine Capital.

They had traveled over two thousand li when suddenly, the great sun in the sky seemed to tilt. An entirely new sun appeared. Imperial Uncle Li knew this was a bad sign and immediately braced himself for a fight. From within that new sun, a carriage came rushing forth, drawn by four magnificent horses wreathed in roaring flames. Behind the carriage, it towed the second sun!

As the four steeds galloped, they shed their hides to reveal Dragon Scales and Dragon Claws. Their appearance turned exceptionally ferocious, and they emanated an overwhelming Fierce Qi that was enough to make one’s blood run cold!

’Draconic steeds with awakened Ancient Bloodlines? A Noble Family that can find four of them is no ordinary house!’

Imperial Uncle Li dared not hesitate. The Cyan Dragon banked sharply and lunged at the carriage as he bellowed, "Who is in that carriage? Show yourself now!"

The Cyan Dragon and the four draconic steeds collided with a deafening BOOM, sending shockwaves blasting in all directions. The carriage suddenly exploded, and a figure like a giant god from Ancient Times rose up. Its body was a brilliant gold, with muscles like coiling serpents. It swung a Giant Axe down toward the Cyan Dragon and Imperial Uncle Li!

Imperial Uncle Li met the attack head-on. But just as he parried the Giant Axe, a thick staff shot out from the great sun behind the carriage and smashed squarely into his chest.

Imperial Uncle Li spat out a mouthful of blood, his heart filled with shock and rage. "The Zhao Brothers!"

The younger Zhao brother’s axe decapitated the Cyan Dragon. Its head, still bearing the prisoner cart, plummeted from the sky.

Left to face the Zhao Brothers alone, Imperial Uncle Li had no time to rescue the prisoner cart. ’This is disastrous!’ he thought. ’If Xu Ying falls to his death, how will I ever explain this to the Holy Emperor!’

Just then, a white crane with a hundred-zhang wingspan flew over. It threaded its long, sharp beak through the bars of the prisoner cart and snatched it away.

Atop the white crane’s head stood a coquettish woman, her clothes fluttering in the wind. She giggled. "Xu Demon King will be a guest of my Cui Family, so we won’t trouble any of you!"

"WHOOSH!"

A streak of light from an arrow shot forth, entering the white crane’s left eye and exiting its right. The crane exploded, dissipating into a cloud of Qi Blood. It had only been a manifestation of a Dao Image.

The prisoner cart plummeted downward, only to be caught by a Sky Ladder that shot in from the distance. A giant stood on the ladder, holding up a patch of blue sky in one hand. The cart landed upon this small firmament of sky and white clouds.

"Haha, my dear friends! Young brother Xu is my Guo Family’s son-in-law! He’s heading to the capital to marry our young lady, so you all don’t need to trouble yourselves with the escort!"

A tall, white-haired elder with a black mask covering his face appeared. The giant behind him carried the prisoner cart, and together they bounded through the sky, moving with the agility of a Spiritual Ape. A single somersault could cover a hundred li; their speed was incredible!

Suddenly, a blood-soaked Pei Jingting charged out of nowhere, rushing headlong at the tall elder of the Guo Family and shouting, "Guo Family Ancestor, leave Xu Demon King here!"

The taciturn Zhu Family youth also rushed forward, shouting, "Brother Guo, are you planning to take him all for yourself?"

Imperial Uncle Li, having fought his way free of the Zhao Brothers, also gave chase, shouting from a distance, "Elder Guo, you are the Duke Guardian! Do you intend to defy an imperial decree?"

The tall, white-haired elder was indeed the Guo Family Ancestor. His heart skipped a beat when he heard them. He cursed under his breath, "Damn it, how did you recognize me even with a mask on? This is going to be a pain to explain."

He hurled the prisoner cart forward with all his might and shouted, "Young brother Xu, the Divine Capital is just ahead! Just mention the Guo Family name when you enter the city!"

"WHOOSH—"

The prisoner cart soared through the sky, passing over range after range of majestic mountains, through a gorge flanked by steep cliffs, and past a massive waterfall.

From within the prisoner cart, Xu Ying’s eyes fell upon a magnificent and ancient city sprawling ahead.

It was a city reminiscent of an Immortal Palace or a Blessed Land, filled with all manner of cloud-piercing Treasure Towers and wooden pavilions. The sky above was filled with the Abnormal Phenomena of various Grotto Heavens, as well as towering, majestic Divine Spirits!

Those Divine Spirits were in no way inferior to the giant statues of the gods in the Yin Court. The dense Incense Smoke Qi flowed like clouds and mist, like ribbons weaving between the city’s buildings, transforming into long rainbows and vast bridges!

From a distance, one could see pedestrians bustling back and forth, walking upon the rainbows and bridges formed from the Incense and Candlelight.

The prisoner cart hurtled toward the city. Seeing this, Xu Ying immediately activated his Taiyi Guiding Skill, causing the Primordial Qi in his body to surge. The shackles from the Celestial Prison might be able to lock a person’s Six Secrets, Grotto Heaven, and Ghost Soul, but they could not lock his Mysterious Domain!

Xu Ying channeled his strength, and with a series of loud CRACKS, he shattered the shackles and the cangue. The prisoner cart burst apart.

He took a step forward, and a Cloud Ladder materialized beneath him. Xu Ying rode it downward, his descent slowing until he finally touched down on the ground, still more than ten li from the Divine Capital.

Ten li away lay the Divine Capital, a city of extraordinary splendor, rich with Incense and Candlelight, the seat of the Emperor.

As Xu Ying walked toward the Divine Capital, he saw that the roadsides were littered with the bodies of the starved. Corpse after corpse, wrapped in straw mats, had been tossed beside a great river.

In the river, a great Fish Demon, with four thick fins growing from its belly, flopped onto the bank with a SPLASH. It struggled forward, bit down on a corpse, and dragged it into the water.

The water immediately began to churn violently as other Fish Demons swarmed to fight over the meal.

Xu Ying involuntarily slowed his pace as he walked along the post road. He saw several Nuo Masters by the side of the road, acting furtively. Each had placed a large, vermilion gourd, half the height of a man, next to a corpse and was muttering incantations.

When they saw Xu Ying approaching, they all fell silent and straightened up. They stared at him with unsettling gazes but did not say a word.

Once Xu Ying had passed, they resumed their chanting, activating the gourds.

Xu Ying activated his Celestial Eye and looked back. He saw streams of black smoke fly out of the gourds and drill into the corpses by the river, forcibly dragging the Ghost Souls out of the bodies through their nostrils!

Many of the corpses by the river had been dead for less than seven days, so their Ghost Souls were still guarding their physical remains. During the day, Ghost Souls would hide inside their own corpses to avoid the sunlight.

The black smoke spewing from the gourds’ mouths could forcibly drag these Ghost Souls from their own bodies!

The next moment, Xu Ying saw the Ghost Souls struggling and contorting, enveloped by the black smoke and pulled one by one into the vermilion gourds!

"What are you doing?" Xu Ying demanded loudly.

The group of Nuo Masters hastily stopped. One of them frowned and said, "Friend, this doesn’t concern you. We’re from the Divine Capital Prefecture. Don’t go sticking your nose where it doesn’t belong!"

It dawned on Xu Ying. "You’re collecting Ghost Souls to refine into medicine for some bigwig in the Divine Capital?"

The Nuo Masters exchanged a glance. Their leader, a man in black, said, "We can’t let him live. Kill him first and ask questions later!"

Just as they were about to make their move, a flash of Sword Aura streaked past. Before the Nuo Masters could even react, they were all decapitated!

Having slain several people with a single sword strike, Xu Ying’s usually amiable face took on a ferocious expression. He snatched up the large vermilion gourd and marched toward the Divine Capital, looking as fierce as a demon.

’I came here with a sincere heart, seeking to learn and do good. But alas, this Divine Capital seems to be no place of virtue! It’s forcing my hand, forcing me to kill!’