Ascension Day

Beside the Water Gate Temple was a small village. By now, it had been reduced to ruins. The emergence of the Underworld’s New Land had a great impact here, tearing the village to pieces.

Several houses from the east side of the village now stood on a high, distant cliff. Others lay at the cliff’s base, and a few more were perched precariously over the great fissure.

Xu Ying looked up and saw that the cliff face was remarkably smooth. Across the fissure was another cliff, and the two bluffs looked as if they had once been a single mountain, split apart by someone.

Below the fissure was a bottomless Abyss. A cold wind howled mournfully within it!

The underworldly aura here was incredibly dense. Many new mountains from the Underworld had appeared, grim and exuding a cold aura. Some were even formed from piles of white bones!

At the peak of one such mountain rested a giant skull. It looked human, but it was immense, and a sword hilt was embedded in it.

Xu Ying averted his gaze. It was daytime now. If night were to fall, this place would surely become a domain of ghouls and demons, with countless monsters running rampant!

And the Water Gate Temple sat right on the centerline of the great fissure.

The centerline of the dilapidated temple’s gate perfectly aligned with the centerline of the great fissure!

When Xu Ying saw this, an image immediately appeared in his mind: a surge of majestic Sword Qi cleaving the Azure Vault of Heaven, tearing the earth asunder, and splitting a great mountain in two!

Upon arriving, the Sword Intent within the great fissure suddenly intensified dozens of times over. The closer he got to the Water Gate Temple, the stronger the Sword Intent became!

Xu Ying could even faintly sense a beam of sword light, like a rainbow from beyond the heavens, that seemed about to pierce his Mysterious Domain!

There were more people here than he had expected. Besides Ghost Gods, there were also many Nuo Masters. Some were dressed as Official Nuo, while others looked like they belonged to wandering sects.

"Why are there so many people here?"

Xu Ying wondered. He asked a Nuo Master who looked like he was from a wandering sect. The Nuo Master told him that this was the New Land, a place rich with treasures and rare, exotic herbs that drew people in droves.

Another Nuo Master told him, "The Zhou Family and the Yin Court are both trying to capture a wanted criminal named Xu Ying. I heard he’s an expert at deciphering Demon Clan Techniques. The news somehow got out. Several of the great Noble Families are taking this very seriously and have sent people to try and capture Xu Ying, to test their luck. What’s your name, young man?"

"I am Ding Quan."

The Nuo Master saw the impossibly large serpent beside him and was terrified. Although he was suspicious, he didn’t dare ask any more questions.

The entrance to the dilapidated temple hung over the center of the great fissure. Despite being suspended there, the temple itself hadn’t split apart. Someone had used Nuo Art to grow a Cyan Vine into a long bridge, leading directly to the temple’s gateway.

Xu Ying walked onto the long bridge and saw someone observing the great fissure. Beside them were ink, brushes, paper, and an inkstone. They had even taken out a ruler to measure the fissure, though for what purpose, he couldn’t tell.

Xu Ying walked closer. The person was a young master, appearing only a year or two older than him. He had fair skin and was about the same height.

However, Xu Ying had a broad frame with large hands and feet, giving him a somewhat rustic appearance. In contrast, while this youth was also tall, he had a smaller build, and his features—from his brows and eyes to his nose and lips—were far more delicate.

He was dressed in white robes trimmed with dark teal, embroidered with a light-cyan Chi Dragon Pattern. His attire was elegant and unadorned by excess accessories.

Beside him stood an old man in the traditional attire of a servant—green robes, cloth shoes, and graying hair. He shot a wary look at Xu Ying and Yuan Qi as they approached.

Xu Ying paid him no mind, his gaze fixed on the Water Gate Temple. From outside, he could still see the ancient halls and shrines within, as well as several large trees, no different from what he had seen when he came here two years ago.

But when he stood before the temple gate and looked inside, he saw a completely different scene!

Through the gateway, two majestic mountains came into view. They soared high into the sky, wreathed in clouds and mist, floating as if in a painting.

Behind the green mountains, a sun hung high in the sky. It was bright and pure, with no scorching heat or blinding glare, and it orbited the two Immortal Mountains!

Xu Ying was utterly stunned. The two Immortal Mountains and that sun had actually risen from within the temple!

He could even see an invisible barrier of light surrounding the floating mountains, like a shield separating that world from the outside!

Boulders that fell from these two Immortal Mountains would float in the air if they landed within the barrier. If they fell outside of it, they would plummet to the ground!

In other words, inside the temple and outside were two different worlds!

"How is this possible?" Xu Ying asked, bewildered.

Yuan Qi murmured, "Has the world... regressed to its primeval state?"

Suddenly, the world inside the dilapidated temple shook violently, and the ground outside swayed from side to side. A third majestic Immortal Mountain was now slowly rising from within the temple!

Xu Ying gazed up at the rising Immortal Mountain and muttered, "This world has probably gone completely mad."

Then, realization dawned on him, and he cried out, "I understand! The temple gate is a portal, cleaved open by the Sword Qi of an unparalleled master of the Sword Dao! This portal connects to another world! The sun and the Immortal Mountains we’re seeing are all things from that other world!"

"Be quiet!" the old servant in green robes threatened in a low voice.

Xu Ying paid him no mind, his imagination running wild.

’In the distant past, an unparalleled expert used their sword to cleave a mountain, split the earth, and punch through to another world. Later, someone built the Water Gate Temple at the entrance to that world!’

’But for some reason, the world behind the gate was hidden away. Someone built another large temple near the original, and it wasn’t until the invasion of the Underworld shattered the seal that this great temple reappeared in the mortal realm!’

Yuan Qi was skeptical and asked, "Lord Zhong, can someone really do all this?"