Ascension Day

Xu Ying leaped over a boulder the height of two or three men. The next moment, the boulder was crushed to dust. The Big Copper Bell, clanging loudly, was still right behind him, refusing to leave his side.

Xu Ying ran back. The Snake Demon Yuan Qi and the Little Black Pig watched as the Da Zhong continued to drag on the ground behind him, banging and crashing into things.

The young man stopped, his face expressionless as two streaks of tears slid down his cheeks.

"I’ve killed a man and a god, and now I’m wanted by the City God and the Government. With this Da Zhong trailing behind me, making sure everyone can see and hear me, I’ll be lucky to last half a day." Xu Ying tilted his head back, looking at the sky to keep the tears from rolling into his mouth.

Suddenly, the Big Copper Bell behind him floated up without a sound. It spun slowly, growing smaller and smaller, and then with a SWISH, it shot into the back of his head!

Xu Ying saw the horrified expressions on the faces of the Snake Demon Yuan Qi and the Little Black Pig as they stared at something behind him. He whipped his head around, only to see that the Big Copper Bell had vanished. A mix of shock and delight washed over him as he laughed, "I finally got rid of that burden."

Yuan Qi pointed the tip of his tail at Xu Ying’s head and stammered, about to speak, when a bell suddenly rang in his mind. Horrified, Yuan Qi’s tail went limp.

"Yuan Qi, you caught two wild boars," Xu Ying said, eyeing the Little Black Pig pinned beneath the Snake Demon. "This one seems unusually intelligent. Why don’t we let it go?" he suggested.

Yuan Qi said, "This black pig was killed by my venom, and my venom has no antidote. If you eat it, you’ll drop dead for sure. This living one isn’t poisoned. Are you sure you want to let it go?"

A short while later, two small wild boars were roasting over a bonfire, their skin glistening with oil. Fat dripped into the flames, filling the air with the scent of pine smoke and roasting meat.

After Xu Ying and Yuan Qi had eaten and drunk their fill, they continued on their way to Wu Wang Mountain.

"Xiaoqi, for some reason, whenever I shake my head, I always hear a bell."

Xu Ying shook his head again. He looked surprised, tilting his head to listen for a moment before saying, "I think I’m hearing things."

Yuan Qi stared at the ground, feigning ignorance, and said nothing.

Xu Ying shook his head again, and once again, he heard the ringing.

’Stop shaking your head! If you keep that up, you’ll shake it right off!’ The Snake Demon Yuan Qi was secretly terrified, worried that if Xu Ying shook his head too violently, the Da Zhong would shatter his skull from the inside.

Not only did Xu Ying keep hearing the bell, but he also felt his Qi Blood weakening. He grew winded after walking only a short distance, but he simply assumed his injuries hadn’t fully healed yet.

Yuan Qi, however, was scared out of his wits. In just a few short moments, Xu Ying had become gaunt and withered. His face was sallow, dark circles ringed his eyes, and he looked as if a female ghost had drained his essence for three hundred rounds.

Suddenly, a voice as deep and resonant as a great bell sounded in Xu Ying’s mind. "Young man, do you know of Inner Observation and Contemplation?"

Xu Ying froze. "Who’s there?" he asked urgently. "Who’s speaking?"

The Snake Demon Yuan Qi froze, glancing around. "Someone’s talking? I didn’t hear anything."

In Xu Ying’s mind, the voice drawled, "Your Qi Blood Cultivation is clearly sufficient, and you’ve cultivated the Qi Collection Stage to its absolute peak. And yet, you don’t understand Inner Observation and Contemplation. Your Cultivation cannot advance any further."

Xu Ying looked all around but couldn’t see who was speaking. He asked tentatively, "May I ask, Senior, what is Inner Observation and Contemplation? How does one practice Inner Observation? How does one practice Contemplation?"

The voice explained leisurely, "Inner Observation and Contemplation. Inner Observation means to draw from within. During the Qi Collection Stage, you practice Gathering the Sun’s Essence. That is drawing from an external source, gathering essence to bolster your Qi Blood. Inner Observation, on the other hand, is to look inward. You observe the inside of your own body, open the Mysterious Domain, and witness the extraordinary, mystical, and phantasmal landscape of your Five Viscera. Once you reach that step and achieve Five Qi Chaoyuan by Harmonizing the Five Qi and transforming them into Primordial Qi, only then have you reached Qi Collection Great Success. And only after reaching Qi Collection Great Success can you perceive the Human Body’s Profound Gate and advance to the next Realm."

Xu Ying was confused. "Senior," he said, "the next Realm you’re describing doesn’t match the Nuo Master Realms. Are you perhaps speaking of a cultivation method for the Demon Race?"

Yuan Qi heard Xu Ying muttering and quickly looked over, only to see him talking to thin air with a furtive air. ’What’s wrong with Ying?’ he wondered.

The voice sounded puzzled. "What’s a Nuo Master? I’m talking about a Qi Refiner! Aren’t you a Qi Refiner?"