Ascension Day

"You little snake catcher, how dare you act so recklessly in the Pei Mansion? Do you have a death wish?"

Pei Jing roared in fury, bursting from the muddy water. With a great shout, the Primordial Qi behind him surged as the Four Great Cave Heavens materialized, warping the sky. His Primordial Qi was monstrous, even greater than Xu Ying’s!

"Pei Jing, hold on!"

The other three young masters leaped from the water, surrounding Xu Ying. One of them, a noble in purple, vibrated his Primordial Qi to blast the mud from his body. "He’s far too valuable to be beaten to death," he said. "Don’t forget, we came here for the Elixir of Immortality."

Another young master in red robes added, "That’s right. If we kill him, there’s no Elixir of Immortality."

Xu Ying’s eyebrows twitched, and a strange anger welled up inside him.

’Elixir of Immortality?’

’What do these people take me for? Some Elixir of Life that grants longevity to whoever consumes me?’

"Ying, their demand for a snake performance was just a pretense," Da Zhong’s voice was grave. "They were trying to provoke you into fighting so they’d have an excuse to capture you and refine you into a Longevity Medicine! So, who was it that spread the rumor that you might be an Undead? Could it have been that old fox, Pei Du? That man is completely two-faced!"

A chill went down Xu Ying’s spine. ’If it really was Pei Du, this is serious trouble.’

’This is the Pei Mansion. If Pei Du has decided to keep me here, he would probably even deploy the skin-and-bone remains of the Pei Family’s ancestral Nuo Immortals!’

’With that kind of power and heritage, even Da Zhong at its peak would struggle to get me out of here alive!’

Could it be? Was Pei Du really two-faced, promising to help Xu Ying hide his secret while secretly spreading the news that he was an Undead?

Perhaps his real goal was to trap Xu Ying in the Pei Mansion and refine him into a Longevity Medicine!

With a Longevity Medicine like Xu Ying, he could control the other Noble Families, forcing them to do his bidding!

"Ying, don’t you worry. I will avenge you!"

Da Zhong declared with righteous indignation, "After I fight my way out of this encirclement, I’ll find a clever young boy and become his wise old mentor. I’ll train him into a supreme master and have him storm the Pei Mansion. Then you can rest in peace in the Nine Springs!"

Xu Ying grunted and said in a low voice, "From what I’ve seen of Pei Du, he’s a man of great character. It seems beneath him to resort to such petty schemes."

Yuan Qi shrank down and landed back on his shoulder. "You can know a person’s face, but not their heart! By the way, Ying, can someone really achieve Longevity by eating your flesh? Next time you clip your nails, don’t throw them out. I’ll brew them into a jelly and have a taste. Oh, and does eating your hair have the same effect?"

Da Zhong said scornfully, "Look at you, with your pathetic ambitions! Ying has opened his Mud Ball Secret Treasury and awakened his Physical Activity. Just have him cut off a piece of flesh for you to try. It’ll grow back anyway."

Yuan Qi’s eyes lit up, and he said cheerfully, "Oh, I couldn’t possibly impose!"

But from the look on his face, he absolutely could. If Xu Ying so much as nodded, he would have instantly taken a bite to see what he tasted like.

The young master in purple looked at Xu Ying and said coolly, "My surname is Li, and I come from the imperial palace."

Xu Ying was suddenly filled with deep respect. "You’re a eunuch? Was it Eunuch Chen who performed the procedure? Did it hurt?"

The noble in purple flew into a rage. A plump, pampered-looking young master beside him sneered, "You ignorant fool! This is Prince Li Zhaolou from the imperial palace! Why aren’t you kneeling, commoner?"

Xu Ying shook his head. "Your salaries and your fortunes are the fat and blood of the people. It is easy to deceive Heaven, but hard to abuse the common folk! I am but a commoner; I wouldn’t even bow to your fathers, so why should I bow to you?"

Hearing this, Yuan Qi immediately corrected him. "Ying, the saying is, ’It is easy to abuse the common folk, but hard to deceive Heaven.’ But then again, you have a point. These guys deceive Heaven and abuse the people, yet we never see Heaven punish them. All that happens is their oppression forces the people to rebel! When you think about it, it really is ’easy to deceive Heaven, but hard to abuse the common folk.’ Abuse the common folk, and they’ll rise up and kill the bastards!"

"A pair of rebels!" the young masters roared, enraged.

Pei Jing stepped forward and couldn’t help but sneer. "Heaven send down calamities? How much do you unruly commoners offer in sacrifice to Heaven each year? Is it even a tenth of what our Noble Families offer? Even Lord Tian himself has to eat what we give, take what we offer, and use what we provide. How would he dare bring disaster upon us?"

He reached for Xu Ying, exclaiming excitedly, "My grand-uncle sent me to the Library Cave to search for records of the Undead. I kept my wits about me, and sure enough, you’re one of them! Once we capture you and refine the Elixir of Immortality, the clan elders will be overjoyed! When we present you to the Emperor, my Pei Family will have performed a service of unparalleled glory!"

With a casual wave of his hand, Xu Ying plunged the world around them into darkness. Stars glittered in the gloom, and within the Celestial Curtain, countless heavenly bodies shifted in unison with his Palm Power!

The fourth move of the Bi Luo Poem: Star Opening the Green Fall!

Pei Jing found himself shrouded in darkness. Though bright daylight was only a few dozen yards away, he couldn’t see a thing. He was startled. ’The Guo Family’s Nuo Art!’

Xu Ying’s Palm Power descended. Pei Jing pushed his Cultivation to its absolute limit to meet the blow, sneering, "When it comes to Cultivation, no one can rival the Pei Family!"

The instant their Palm Powers collided, the Primordial Qi within Xu Ying’s body suddenly reversed. Night turned to day, and the blue sky appeared like an inverted mirror, profoundly deep, deflecting his opponent’s seemingly invincible Magical Power!

The third move of the Bi Luo Poem: Body Mirror!

The essence of this move was that the Flesh Body became as vast as the sky itself, capable of absorbing anything and shattering an enemy’s most powerful attacks!

Pei Jing felt his boundless Magical Power strike nothing but empty air. It was as if he had punched himself; a massive jolt shot through his chest, and his Qi and Blood roiled.

Xu Ying’s Body Mirror transformed into Nine Wilds Surrounding Comfort. A green pasture expanded in all directions beneath his feet, while a vast, azure sky arched over him like an inverted dome.

His right hand flashed through nine inversions, forming nine consecutive seals. Each palm strike landed squarely on Pei Jing’s chest. After his first move failed, Pei Jing was struck nine more times in rapid succession, the heavy blows caving in his ribs and driving the shattered bones into his Five Viscera!