Ascension Day

’Brother Ying seems to be really good at making enemies,’ Yuan Qi thought. ’Looks like the trouble he’s in this time is pretty serious.’

Xu Ying raised the black, blood-stained cloth bag high, facing the incoming Incense Fire Flying Swords. The Divine Spirits cried out in alarm, hastily redirecting their Flying Swords, not daring to damage the black bag in the slightest.

With a loud shout, Xu Ying threw the bag with all his might, sending it flying far away.

The Divine Spirits immediately rushed toward the bag. Seizing the opportunity, Xu Ying fled for his life. Yuan Qi hurried over, shouting, "Ying, what did you do now?"

"I stole a few Ten Thousand Spirits Pills."

Xu Ying said, "There are no Spirit Pills in the bag. I have them all. Let’s go!"

Howls of extreme fury erupted from behind them. Yuan Qi looked back and saw the enraged Divine Spirits chasing them at an even faster speed, their anger blazing. Clearly, the bag did not contain what they were after.

It was now nighttime, and the surroundings were dark. As long as they could get far enough away, it wouldn’t be easy for these Divine Spirits from the broken temple to find them.

Just then, patches of Ghost Fire suddenly surged toward them. Amidst the Ghost Fire, a tall figure held a long whip, lashing it at the flames with a series of CRACKS!

The towering figure had a human body and an ox’s head, standing dozens of feet tall amidst a swirl of ghostly wind. The whip in its hand was sixty or seventy feet long. Every time it struck a patch of Ghost Fire, the fire would let out a shrill, ghostly wail.

Within the Ghost Fire were many living people and Exotic Beasts. Judging by their attire, some were nearby villagers, some were demons, and others were Nuo Masters who had just escaped from the Broken Temple World. They were all being herded forward in droves by the ox-headed monster!

They were like livestock, and the ox-headed monster was the herdsman, driving them onward!

As Xu Ying and Yuan Qi rushed closer, they saw a Nuo Master get struck by the whip. Though he had no visible injuries, he let out a blood-curdling scream as if in unbearable pain and was forced by the ox-headed figure to join the herd.

"And City God Xue!"

Xu Ying was stunned. He saw Xue Ling Mansion, the City God of Lingling City, also among the crowd of Ghost Souls. He was trembling from being beaten, terrified of the ox-headed monster and not daring to leave the herd.

When City God Xue saw Xu Ying, a look of joy appeared on his face, but he was immediately struck by the whip again, causing tears and snot to stream down his face from the pain.

There was more than one of these ox-headed monsters. Every few dozen paces stood another one, flogging the Ghost Souls and living people with its whip.

"They’re Ox Demons, Ghost Gods from the Underworld! Ying, be careful!"

Yuan Qi cried out, "The books say they were originally Cow Demons who cultivated into Demon Gods. They entered the Underworld to become Ghost Gods, absorbing the Incense and Candlelight of living beings and Nether Qi, which made them exceptionally powerful. The whips in their hands can strike the Divine Soul and are called Soul-Beating Whips. If you’re hit, it strikes your Divine Soul directly, causing immense pain!"

Xu Ying hastily changed direction and ran against the flow of the herd, back the way they came. "Xiaoqi, watch out for yourself!" he shouted.

Like Impermanence, these Ox Demons were extremely powerful Underworld Ghost Gods who would strike anyone they saw. Seeing Xu Ying run past the herd, they raised their Soul-Beating Whips and lashed out at him.

Xu Ying’s figure flickered as he dodged the long whips one after another. From behind, the Incense Fire Flying Swords flew in, only to be struck by the whips and explode with a series of loud POPS.

Xu Ying’s heart skipped a beat. ’These Underworld deities are incredibly powerful! They can even shatter Incense Fire Flying Swords! With so many of them here, has the Underworld invaded again?’

He looked around and saw that the nearby landscape had changed drastically. The lay of the land was completely different, with many strange, treacherous mountains that looked as if they had been carved by knives and hacked by axes.

Xu Ying looked for Wuyang Mountain, but it was nowhere to be seen!

"Ying, look out!"

Yuan Qi’s voice rang out as a Soul-Beating Whip came whistling through the air. Xu Ying broke out in a cold sweat and leaped to dodge it, but a second whip struck him with a loud CRACK!

The whip struck his body, but he didn’t feel the bone-deep pain he expected. Instead, it felt as if a whip had struck his soul, causing it to tremble.

Xu Ying froze, looking with bewilderment at the people who were screaming incessantly from being hit.

He had expected to be wracked with excruciating pain and scream just like them, but he felt almost nothing.

The Ox Demon that had hit Xu Ying was also quite confused. It lashed out with its whip again, and several other nearby Ox Demons also started whipping Xu Ying with a series of CRACKS!

Only then did Xu Ying get a good look at the so-called Soul-Beating Whip. He saw that the long whip was actually made of a human spine, section by section, a ghastly white.

At the tip of the whip was a section of neck bone, and at its very end was a skull. Its mouth opened and closed with a KLAK-KLAK sound, grinning from ear to ear as if it were overjoyed.

However, while the Bone Soul-Beating Whip seemed delighted to strike others, whenever it struck Xu Ying, its face turned miserable, as if whipping him was not a pleasant task at all.

Yuan Qi grew frantic and rushed forward to rescue Xu Ying, but he was struck by a whip. The pain instantly pierced his Divine Soul, causing his body to contort as he let out a blood-curdling shriek.

The whip that struck him began to cackle, KLAK KLAK.

After being whipped more than a dozen times by the surrounding Ox Demons without feeling any pain, Xu Ying grew anxious as the dozen or so Divine Spirits from the broken temple closed in. He suddenly reached out and grabbed a Bone Soul-Beating Whip as it lashed toward him.

The Ox Demon was furious and struggled with him for the long whip. But how astonishing was Xu Ying’s strength? After mastering the Elephant Power Ox Demon Fist, ordinary Divine Spirits were no match for his power. Now that he had also broken through to the Gate-Opening Stage, his Primordial Qi had surged, and his strength had skyrocketed!

He swung the Ox Demon into the air, whip and all. The Ox Demon’s eyes went blank, completely at a loss, when it heard a loud CRACK. Xu Ying had swung the long whip, with the Ox Demon still attached, into the other Ox Demons.

"MOO—"

The other Ox Demons cried out in pain, tears bursting from their eyes. Even the whip’s original owner was struck with soul-piercing agony and couldn’t help but let go.

Xu Ying swung the long whip, raining down blows and lashing the Ox Demons until they were rolling on the ground.

From behind, the Ox-Headed Divine Spirit who had torn off Xu Ying’s Inconstancy Mask finally caught up. With a furious roar, it leaped into the air and pounced at Xu Ying. Without a second thought, Xu Ying lashed out with the whip.

"CRACK!"

The crack of the whip was loud as it struck the Ox-Headed Divine Spirit. The Divine Spirit immediately felt a tearing pain in its Divine Soul, as if its Flesh Body was also about to be ripped to shreds. The agony was worse than being drawn and quartered. It let out a wretched scream and plummeted from the sky.

Xu Ying was both surprised and delighted. He whipped it again. Even though this Ox-Headed Divine Spirit possessed an incredibly profound reserve of Incense Smoke Qi, its soul was still wracked with such intense pain that it couldn’t stop screaming. Its fingers twisted, its body convulsed, and its face contorted in agony.

The pain from a tearing Divine Soul was simply too intense. It made it impossible for the being to focus its mind, let alone gather its Magical Power to kill Xu Ying.

The Ox Demons that Xu Ying had just sent rolling on the ground took the opportunity to get back on their feet, each one grabbing their whip.

Xu Ying’s heart tensed, but unexpectedly, the Ox Demons stood with him. Raising their whips, they began lashing the Ox-Headed Divine Spirit without a word!

"CRACK! CRACK! CRACK!"

The whips cracked loudly, making the Ox-Headed Divine Spirit howl incessantly.

Xu Ying landed another lash, sending the Ox-Headed Divine Spirit rolling on the ground. The Ox Demons whipped it again and again. The Divine Spirit’s cries shook the heavens as it struggled endlessly, but it was powerless against Xu Ying and the group of Ox Demons.

Yuan Qi watched from the side, stunned. ’Ying always manages to make friends so quickly... If only I had a whip, I could join them.’

The dozen or so Divine Spirits from the broken temple were catching up from behind. Seeing this, Xu Ying cracked his whip and made a run for it.

The Ox Demons also hastily put away their whips and hurried after Xu Ying, moving against the direction of the herd.

Yuan Qi was utterly astonished. The Ox Demons weren’t whipping him or Xu Ying anymore. It was as if they considered them one of their own.

Another Divine Spirit from the broken temple caught up. Xu Ying and the Ox Demons attacked together, felling it with their whips and leaving it rolling on the ground. Strangely enough, ever since Xu Ying had given them a beating, the Ox Demons seemed to have accepted him. Whoever Xu Ying whipped, they would whip too!

Yuan Qi snatched a Bone Soul-Beating Whip from one of the Ox Demons, coiled his tail around it, and viciously lashed the unlucky fellow on the ground, satisfying his own craving for a bit of the action.

"This is no place to linger! Let’s go, quickly!" Xu Ying shouted.

Only then did Yuan Qi reluctantly stop whipping and hurry after him.

Xu Ying and Yuan Qi led the group of Ox Demons for twenty or thirty li, but still, they couldn’t see Wuyang Mountain. Just as he was growing anxious, he saw a willow tree by the Naihe River ahead. A Cyan Lamp hung from the tree.

Beneath the lamp was a person, a table, two chairs, a pot of tea, two teacups, and a Cyan Paper Umbrella.