Ascension Day

The old man picked up a scroll of scripture, flipped open a page, and smiled. "These scriptures are merely Demon Race Cultivation Techniques for the Qi Collection Stage and lack any subsequent Magic Skills. Yang’er, what did you bring them here for?"

County Magistrate Zhou Yang said quickly, "Father, look at the annotations at the end."

The old man, Zhou Yihang, was surprised. He flipped to the end and, just as his son had said, found Xu Ying’s annotations. His expression gradually grew solemn. He rapidly flipped through one scroll of scripture, then immediately snatched up another, scanned it just as quickly, and then grabbed the next!

In a matter of moments, Zhou Yihang had scanned all the scrolls. His expression was heavy as he said, "Whoever annotated these scriptures possesses an incredibly profound understanding of Demon Techniques. I’m afraid even the Zhou Clan Elders who specialize in this field are his inferiors! Where did you get these scrolls? Who is this person?"

Zhou Yang replied, "A fourteen-year-old boy. He’s a Snake Catcher."

Zhou Yihang looked up in astonishment. "A fourteen-year-old boy?"

Zhou Yang quickly explained, "He’s a Snake Catcher from Jiang Family Field named Xu Ying. For some unknown reason, he successfully cultivated a Demon Clan Technique and killed the Divine Spirit worshipped in Jiang Family Field. He’s currently on the run. I went there to investigate and found these scriptures he’d annotated."

Zhou Yihang rose to his feet, his face a mask of disbelief. "To study Demon Techniques, our Zhou Clan Elders have gone so far as to venture deep into forbidden zones and excavate Ancient Cave Mansions, suffering heavy casualties in the process! And yet, their insights may not be as profound as this fourteen-year-old Snake Catcher’s! Yang’er, you must find this person. Bring him back alive!"

Zhou Yang said cautiously, "The City God is also hunting him. I was worried he would fall into the City God’s hands, so I issued a kill-on-sight order."

"City God Xue Ling Mansion?"

Zhou Yihang’s expression shifted. He mused, "If he’s to fall into the City God’s hands, then killing him is the better option. A shame to waste such talent... Since the City God is already involved, I’d better handle this myself. Capturing Xu Ying alive would be ideal. If not, I will kill him personally. He absolutely cannot be allowed to fall into the City God’s hands!"

Zhou Yang bowed in agreement.

Zhou Yihang drifted away.

Zhou Yang straightened up, his expression one of confusion. He muttered under his breath, "Are Demon Clan Techniques really that important? Why are my Zhou Family’s ancestors and the Clan Elders so obsessed with them?"

The history of the Ancient Times is long lost, unable to be verified, with few written records remaining. In the present age, the Human Race primarily focuses on the Cultivation of Secret Treasures. The human body contains the Six Great Secret Treasures, and opening even one allows a person to become a Nuo Master, granting them incredible abilities.

The Zhou Family was one such Nuo Master Family, and one of the most powerful Noble Families in the world today. This was why Zhou Yang was so utterly baffled by his ancestors’ fixation on studying Demon Techniques.

’It’s one thing for the Zhou Clan Elders to be so obsessed with Demon Techniques,’ he wondered, ’but the City God is a Yin Spirit. Why is he so fixated on it too?’

He’d heard rumors within the clan that the Zhou Family’s ancestors were using Demon Techniques for some kind of mysterious research. Some even said they were trying to uncover the secrets of Ascension!

However, Zhou Yang was only a peripheral member of the Zhou Family, so he knew very little.

「Jiang Family Field Village.」

The villagers were cleaning up the aftermath and sweeping the streets. Inside Xu Ying’s house, a thin wisp of smoke suddenly curled up from the ground.

A short, stout little man wearing a tall hat and carrying a Deer Head Staff emerged from the smoke. He was none other than the Earth God from the nearby Earth God Temple, and he was clutching a scroll of scripture.

When the Officials had come to search earlier, the Earth God had snatched a scroll of scripture. Fearing discovery, he had quickly hidden underground, only daring to resurface after they had left.

The Earth God was no more than two feet tall. He unfurled the scripture with a RUSTLE, stroking his beard and shaking his head as he read it. He exclaimed, "Utter gibberish! Xu Ying’s annotations are complete gibberish! I’ll take this to the City God and let him see!"

With the scroll in hand, he took a leap, burrowed into the earth, and vanished.

A short while later, inside the Lingling City God Temple, the City God, Xue Ling Mansion, unrolled the scroll Xu Ying had annotated. His expression shifted as he studied it intently, before he abruptly snapped the scroll shut.

"Xu Ying wrote these annotations? What profound insights!"

City God Xue Ling Mansion commanded the Earth God, "Immediately relay my orders to all Divine Spirits in the Lingling area. Capture Xu Ying. Do not kill him. I want him alive!"

The Earth God replied hurriedly, "Most of the Divine Spirits near Lingling are already out searching for Xu Ying. They are not in their Shen Kan, so contacting them will be very difficult! What’s more, County Magistrate Zhou’s Nuo Masters have also been dispatched and are searching for Xu Ying as well!"

City God Xue Ling Mansion frowned. He rose from his Shen Kan and walked outside, saying coolly, "Forget it. I’ll go myself. This business with Xu Ying is too important. If the Zhou Family wants him too, then I must ensure that even if he dies, his corpse will absolutely not fall into their hands!"

———— To my readers: if you have money to spare, please support the book. If not, your readership is support enough. Zhai Zhu is writing his heart out, so the success of this new book is in your hands. Thank you!