Ascension Day

A calamitous roar, as if the mountains were collapsing and the earth were splitting asunder, resounded from the foot of the mountain. The waters of the Naihe River had already engulfed the mountain’s base. The churning water surged ever higher, creeping up the mountainside and devouring everything in its path!

Xu Ying and the Snake Demon Yuan Qi rushed back to the dilapidated temple, one after the other. Suddenly, they felt the air turn unbearably cold. The Snake Demon grew groggy, so chilled he nearly slipped into hibernation.

"Yuan Qi, circulate your Qi Blood! Don’t freeze to death!" Xu Ying shouted.

They circulated their Qi Blood to warm themselves, but the chill seemed to bore right into their marrow, a cold that even their Qi Blood struggled to expel.

Shivering, Xu Ying activated his Great Sun Body Tempering, and his body grew slightly warmer.

He clapped his hands together heavily before his chest, then fiercely slid them past one another. A spark of fire shot from his palms, reigniting the extinguished bonfire.

The man and the snake approached the bonfire, only to see its flames had turned a ghastly green. Within the green flames, the faces of old men occasionally materialized, their eyes rolled back in their heads, mouths open in silent screams. It was an unsettling sight!

"No wonder this temple is so dilapidated. The feng shui here is awful!" the Snake Demon Yuan Qi stammered, shivering with fright.

At the foot of the mountain, a man in a Yellow Robe led five bizarre figures, racing up the mountainside with incredible speed.

"True Yang Qi Blood, repel all yin and evil!"

The man in the Yellow Robe chanted under his breath as he ran. Suddenly, a potent True Yang Qi erupted from his body, repelling the sinister yin qi that came with the Naihe River.

His True Yang Qi Blood was immensely powerful and overbearing. The area around him became like a great furnace, unbearably hot, yet it also carried a heavy Demon Qi.

Under the pressure of his Demon Qi, the five bizarre figures beside him involuntarily reverted to their true forms, transforming one by one into massive beasts!

This man in the Yellow Robe was none other than the Mountain God of this very Stone Mountain, named Huang Siping. He normally resided in the Mountain God Temple and was venerated as the Stone Mountain God. His five monstrous subordinates were demons who guarded the Mountain God Temple—mere beasts such as river deer, wild foxes, wild dogs, and mountain cats.

They guarded Stone Mountain and were under orders from the City God to hunt for Xu Ying. They had intended to return to the Mountain God Temple at midnight but were drawn here by the unexpected, elephant-like roar that erupted when the Snake Demon Yuan Qi achieved his breakthrough.

They had just begun their ascent when the Naihe River came surging toward them, cutting off their path of retreat. They had no choice but to continue their desperate flight up the mountain!

The Stone Mountain God Huang Siping urged the other demons to speed up, but the Naihe River Water was rising too fast. In moments, it had swallowed a Fox Demon!

The moment the Fox Demon fell into the water, its fur and flesh dissolved instantly, leaving only a bare skeleton to be swept away by the churning tide.

The remaining demons felt their scalps tingle with terror and ran for their lives. Under the moonlight, they saw other figures moving not far away. The Stone Mountain God Huang Siping glanced over, startled. "The Grass Gods from Dengjia Village, Wu Family Ridge, and Old Wharf! They’re here too!"

The Divine Spirits of towns and villages are known as Grass Gods. They are the souls of virtuous people who are deified after death and take up residence within Divine Statues. Huang Siping, on the other hand, was a practitioner of Great Demon Cultivation. Having cultivated the Martial Dao to the Seventh Layer, he was appointed as a Mountain God. In a sense, he had achieved godhood in his mortal, Flesh Body.

Although both types of gods absorbed the Incense and Candlelight of the common folk and enjoyed their sacrificial offerings, there was a fundamental difference between them.

Those few Grass Gods were also fleeing for their lives, but one by one, they were swept into the surging Naihe River Water. Their Divine Statues shattered, and their souls were dragged away by the river, vanishing without a trace.

The four demons accompanying the Stone Mountain God Huang Siping also failed to escape, and in succession, they too were devoured by the Naihe River.

Just as Huang Siping was about to reach the dilapidated temple, he saw another man rushing toward it from the opposite side. It was a man in the attire of an official, dressed in black and red robes.

The two came face-to-face, each startled, and immediately assumed defensive stances.

"So, it is Prison Director Lord Wei." The yellow fur on the Stone Mountain God Huang Siping’s face twitched slightly.

The official in the black and red robes was the very man who had rescued Ding Quan. His name was Wei Chu, and he was one of the eight Prison Wardens of Lingling County. Earlier that day, he had led two other Prison Wardens to pursue Xu Ying, rescuing Ding Quan in the process. However, despite their relentless pursuit, they never managed to find Xu Ying.

He too had been drawn by the elephant-like roar of the Snake Demon Yuan Qi’s breakthrough. He had just started up the mountain when the Naihe River unexpectedly changed its course, and its waves devoured his two colleagues!

The loss of two Nuo Masters in quick succession left even Wei Chu deeply shaken.

"So, it’s the Stone Mountain God." The corner of Wei Chu’s eye twitched as he offered a smile that didn’t reach his eyes.

The City God and County Magistrate Zhou Yang were at odds. Both coveted control over Lingling and had been locked in open and secret struggles for many years. Consequently, the Lingling Officials and the various gods under the City God’s command were also hostile toward each other.

The current case involving Xu Ying’s deicide had exacerbated the tensions, pushing both sides to the brink. Each had issued kill-on-sight orders targeting the other’s forces.

Wei Chu feared no Grass God, but the Stone Mountain God Huang Siping was a Demon King who had attained divinity. His power was immense, making him a truly formidable rival.

The Stone Mountain God Huang Siping had a ten-foot-long Hundred-Refined Steel Horse-Cutting Saber strapped to his back. He gripped the weapon, bolstering his courage, and said, "The Naihe River has changed its course; we all face utter annihilation. Lord Wei, if we fight, we will both be grievously wounded. But if we join forces to survive this crisis, we might still have a chance. What do you say?"

Wei Chu frowned and glanced past Huang Siping. The Naihe River was, unbelievably, still rising, about to swallow the very ground they stood on. The only remaining high ground on Stone Mountain was the dilapidated temple before them.

If they started a fight, either one of them could fall into the water at any moment and meet a violent end.

Wei Chu nodded. "In the face of this catastrophe, we must indeed help one another. Let’s put our past grievances aside."

The two men entered the dilapidated temple and saw a young man and a Big Snake huddled around a bonfire, warming themselves. The fire burned a sickly green, and Ghost Souls continuously drifted up from its flames.

"Fugitive Xu Ying, do you recognize this official?" Wei Chu said, his voice dripping with condescension and heavy with the weight of his authority.

Xu Ying immediately clutched the silver hidden in his sleeve and said warily, "Master Wei, I have no money to give you."

’He had seen Officials extort money before. The lowly commoners always had to plaster on a smile, presenting the money with both hands. The official would maintain a lofty posture, not even deigning to look at the money, while his hand would quietly accept the bribe. Then he might even say something like, "There’s no need for this next time."’