Ascension Day

"So this is Thunder Sound Body Tempering!"

Xu Ying suddenly understood the truth of Thunder Sound Body Tempering, and a great joy welled up in his heart.

Suddenly, a brilliant light shone upon him. Xu Ying looked and saw qi gathering to form a radiant, fiery halo. It was like a great sun rising from within his body, roaming among his impossibly vast Five Viscera.

That great sun cast a cyan light upon his liver, a white light upon his lungs, a scarlet light upon his heart, a black light upon his kidneys, and a yellow light upon his spleen!

This was Great Sun Body Tempering!

Such a magnificent and majestic sight left him feeling refreshed and invigorated!

The inside of his body seemed to contain an Infinite Space!

This was Inner Observation!

Xu Ying looked back and saw "himself" floating before a white jade gate.

Just moments ago, he had pushed open this very gate, unlocking a fantastical, dream-like world within his own Flesh Body!

This world within his flesh was the Mysterious Domain the Big Copper Bell had spoken of!

The Big Copper Bell said, "Your aptitude is barely passable. Since you’ve opened the Mysterious Domain, I will teach you how to achieve Five Qi Chaoyuan. Use your Divine Sense as your will and draw upon the Qi of the Five Mountains."

Xu Ying followed its instructions, guiding with his Divine Sense. He saw streams of mysterious qi flow from his Five Viscera, which hung in the sky like inverted peaks, and converge upon him.

The Qi of the Five Viscera—heart, liver, spleen, lungs, and kidneys—separated into five colors: scarlet, cyan, yellow, white, and black. Guided by his Divine Sense, the Five Qi achieved Chaoyuan and merged into one!

As the five-colored streams of qi merged, a Divine Light erupted, sending out ten thousand rays of golden brilliance. Primordial Qi was formed!

This was Five Qi Chaoyuan!

Xu Ying felt an indescribable power fill his body. It was vast and mighty, purer and more potent than his previous Qi Blood!

As this wondrous Primordial Qi flowed through him, it even began to unknowingly heal many of the internal injuries to his Five Viscera!

The Big Copper Bell was also completely stunned. It had originally thought Xu Ying would need some time to achieve Five Qi Chaoyuan and refine the Five Qi from his viscera into Primordial Qi. It never expected Xu Ying to accomplish it so effortlessly, directly drawing in the Five Qi to achieve Chaoyuan!

’This great talent... I suppose I can finally consider him a genius, just barely,’ the Big Copper Bell thought. ’Of course, he’s still a tiny bit worse than my master! Yep, just a tiny little bit...’

Xu Ying circulated the Five Qi within him, achieving Five Qi Chaoyuan and transforming it into Primordial Qi. He felt his Qi Blood surge with vitality, his muscles and bones hummed in unison, and roars like those of dragons and tigers seemed to echo from his Five Viscera. He felt utterly comfortable in body and mind.

Yuan Qi was startled. In just a short time, he felt Xu Ying’s aura become long and steady, his Qi Blood rich and powerful.

"What’s happening to Ying?"

Just as he thought this, he saw Xu Ying’s Qi Blood rapidly wither, as if he’d just had his essence drained by a female ghost for three hundred rounds.

"That’s more like it... No, wait, that’s not normal at all! It must be that Bell’s doing!"

Yuan Qi’s serpentine face clouded over, his heart tangled in a struggle. ’Xu Ying is my brother!’ he thought. ’I can’t just stand by and watch him be drained by that Bell fiend!’

He mustered his courage and was about to speak when a bell suddenly rang in his mind. Yuan Qi’s courage instantly vanished. ’Well, getting drained a few times won’t kill him,’ he thought. ’Let them be.’

In the village at the foot of Jianshan, the villagers all stopped what they were doing and looked toward the entrance. A giant, fourteen feet tall, was walking into their small village.

The giant was bare-chested, with cyan ribbons wrapped around his body. He carried a round, rudder-shaped wheel on his back. He was barefoot, wearing only a pair of shorts, and his muscles were as sharp and defined as if carved by a knife and axe, like facets of a rock.

A cyan Incense Smoke Qi emanated from his body, originating from the Incense and Candlelight offered by his worshipers.

These wisps of Incense Smoke Qi were like Spiritual Snakes, flitting about his body with incredible agility.

The villagers heard faint whispers and their hearts grew cold. The old men quietly herded the livestock behind the village to hide them, women quickly scooped up their children, and the pretty young ladies and wives reached under their cooking pots, grabbing handfuls of soot to smear on their faces.

The Giant Divine Spirit surveyed the village as he walked. He suddenly stopped, grabbed an old man, and said in a booming voice, "Five chickens, two jars of wine. Boil the chickens in plain water with only some salt and star anise. Cook them for fifteen minutes, then take them out and chill them in cold water."

The old man, his voice cracking, said, "Upper God, my family only has two old hens. We need them to lay eggs so we can save up and sell them at the market in Huangtianpu Town. As for wine, I’ve never even tasted it, I don’t know what it’s like..."

The Giant Divine Spirit threw him to the ground and sneered, "Do you want me to eat people instead? Go search the village!"

The old man scrambled away, desperately begging everyone he could in the village, and managed to procure a few chickens.

Trembling with fear, the villagers prepared the boiled chicken. They also scraped together two jars of thin wine, straining out the cloudy dregs, and offered it all to the Giant Divine Spirit.

The old man poured the wine, his hands trembling. "Upper God, where have you come from?"

The Giant Divine Spirit devoured the chicken and gulped down the wine. "I have enjoyed incense offerings in Yangzitang Town for two hundred and thirty-four years without interruption," he said. "The townsfolk of Yangzitang Town call me Immortal Yang. I am acting on the orders of the City God to capture the wanted criminal, Xu Ying. Do you have a daughter? Have her come sing and drink with me."

The old man lamented, "I can’t even afford a wife, how could I have a daughter?"

The Giant Divine Spirit glanced at the neighboring house, saw a young girl, and had her brought over to sing for entertainment. "How old are you?" he asked.

"Twelve."

"Twelve is still young. When you’re fourteen or fifteen, don’t get married. I will come for you. I’ll take you as my proper wife, it will be no disgrace to you."

The Giant Divine Spirit tossed the girl a chicken leg. The girl, who was pale and malnourished, hurriedly clutched the chicken leg and began to gnaw on it, weeping with gratitude. The sight made the old man next to her swallow, his Adam’s apple bobbing with envy.

Just then, the Giant Divine Spirit sensed something and looked toward the village entrance. He saw a somewhat scrawny youth walking toward them.

The youth was only fourteen or fifteen, but he was tall with a broad frame, and had large hands and feet. Though his clothes were tattered, he had an imposing bearing, and a hint of untamable defiance was hidden in his eyes.

The youth looked unwell. He had dark circles under his eyes, which were sunken, and his Qi Blood was insufficient.

Following behind him was a Big Snake, black and white, several dozen feet long, exuding a natural Demon Qi.

"The Godslayer, Xu Ying!"

The Giant Divine Spirit roared with laughter and stood up, his voice like a great bell. "The other Divine Spirits all rushed northwest, thinking they could intercept you there. But I was smart. I knew you might do the opposite. So I stayed here, and just as I expected, I’ve found you!"

The youth was indeed Xu Ying, and he showed no panic at the giant’s words.

The Snake Demon Yuan Qi shouted, "Since you know you’re facing the Godslayer, why haven’t you scrammed yet? Lingling Judicial Assistant Ding Quan and Prison Chief Wei Chu both died at Eldest Young Master Xu’s hands! Their bodies are still on Stone Mountain as proof! Stone Mountain God Huang Siping had a leg chopped off by Eldest Young Master Xu and fled for his life! If you know what’s good for you, get lost now, and your Lord Xu and Lord Niu will grant you a chance to live!"

The Giant Divine Spirit looked surprised, then chuckled. "Xu Ying, the Stone Mountain God is a Demon King, and the Prison Warden and Judicial Assistant were Nuo Masters. For them to fall at your hands, it seems you do have some skill. However, what makes you so sure that I am weaker than them?"

He strode forward and flicked his finger. A bolt of Incense Smoke Qi shot out, fast as lightning. It transformed into a sharp arrow in mid-air, piercing the unprepared Snake Demon Yuan Qi and nailing him to the ground!

Tears of pain streamed down Yuan Qi’s face. He knew he had run into a tough opponent. "You’re here to capture the fugitive Xu Ying! What does that have to do with me, Niu Yuanqi? Why did you hurt me?"

The giant ignored him. With a light wipe of his palm, the Incense Smoke Qi in his hand formed a sharp sword over ten feet long. He flicked the blade, producing a clear, ringing hum, and said leisurely, "Kneel, Xu Ying. Don’t resist me. Let me cut off your head and take it to the City God to complete my mission!"

"Kneel?"

Xu Ying clenched his fists, looking down at his own scarred hands. The corner of his mouth twitched stubbornly. "When I beat that Divine Lord in Jiang Family Field to death, I made a silent vow. From that day on, I would never again kneel to gods of wood and clay."

The youth’s Qi Blood boiled, forming a Divine Being with the head of an elephant and the body of a man, over ten feet tall, behind him. It raised its head and let out a heaven-shaking, earth-shattering roar at the Giant Divine Spirit.

Xu Ying raised his head, his eyes blazing like stars in the dead of night. "I was born free! Anyone who dares to ride on my head, anyone who dares call me a slave, anyone who dares tell me to kneel—I’ll fucking beat them to death!"

---Author’s Note: I’ve had bad pollen allergies lately, and Zhai Zhu’s nose has been like an unstoppable faucet. I’m sneezing constantly, and it’s affecting my normal routine and life. Ascension Day is in its new-book period, so the stats are crucial. Brothers, please vote with your monthly tickets~