Ascension Day

Yuan Qi went to the other side of the mountain stream to hunt, while Xu Ying stripped naked, jumped into the water to wash off the bloodstains, and then cleaned his clothes.

A short while later, he put on his damp clothes and circulated his Qi Blood. His body steamed with heat, and it wasn’t long before he had steamed his clothes dry.

Suddenly, Yuan Qi’s cry of alarm rang out. Xu Ying hurried over and saw that the forest was in a state of chaos. Smashed and broken trees were everywhere, and waves of heat radiated from deeper within the woods. The further he went, the hotter it became.

Xu Ying took a few dozen more steps and saw that the trees ahead were all toppled, bent in the same direction!

And in the middle of the fallen trees, a Big Copper Bell, taller than a man, hovered two feet off the ground. Strange patterns on its Bell Wall would light up and then go dark, flickering erratically.

As the patterns flickered in and out of existence, the Big Copper Bell also bobbed up and down.

Even more bizarrely, when the Bell floated upward, it would slowly expand, and as it drifted down, it would gradually shrink again!

It was as if it were breathing.

But on the Bell Wall, there was a deep Palm Seal, more than three inches deep, that had almost punched straight through the Bell!

Judging by the palm and knuckles, it was a woman’s hand, very delicate.

Xu Ying couldn’t help but think of the female ghost from the coffin last night. ’Judging by the Palm Seal,’ he thought, ’it was probably left by that beautiful ghost.’

Around this Palm Seal, strange patterns intertwined, flaring up one moment and collapsing into ruin the next. It seemed as though the Palm Seal contained a terrifying power that was destroying the Big Copper Bell’s internal structure.

What was even more peculiar was that Xu Ying sensed the Big Copper Bell was using a strange Breathing Technique to stimulate its own potential and fight back against the terrifying power within the Palm Seal!

It was healing itself!

Not far away, the Snake Demon Yuan Qi was biting a ten-pound black wild pig, which had already died from his venom. Another Little Black Pig was pinned under his body, still alive.

The snake and the pig both stared, wide-eyed in terror, at the Big Copper Bell.

’How did this Bell end up here? I thought it had been swept into the Underworld. That gap in Jianshan... was that made by this thing crashing through?’

Xu Ying cautiously approached, reached out from a distance, and asked in a low voice, "Is it injured?"

The Snake Demon Yuan Qi, extremely anxious, hissed in a low voice, "Don’t do anything stupid! You’ll get yourself killed!"

Xu Ying mustered his courage and shuffled forward, one tiny step at a time.

The Snake Demon Yuan Qi yelled, "Xu Ying, get back here! You haven’t even left an heir for the Jiang Family yet! If you die, their bloodline ends with you!"

Xu Ying’s palm drew closer and closer to the Big Copper Bell.

Suddenly, the Big Copper Bell stopped. It no longer bobbed up and down, nor did it expand and shrink.

The Snake Demon Yuan Qi cried out in alarm and held his breath. Xu Ying also felt as if the Big Bell had grown a pair of eyes and was staring at him, waiting to see what he would do.

The temperature of the surrounding air shot up. The fallen trees, baked by the heat, began to make CRACKLING sounds and burst apart.

Xu Ying didn’t move a muscle.

After a moment, the Big Copper Bell resumed bobbing up and down, expanding and shrinking, concentrating fully on dealing with the Palm Seal on its wall. Apparently, the Bell had decided Xu Ying was no threat.

Xu Ying felt the surrounding air temperature drop significantly. He quietly took another step forward, his palm still outstretched.

The Big Copper Bell stopped again. Xu Ying froze.

The hearts of the Snake Demon Yuan Qi and the Little Black Pig were in their throats.

The Big Copper Bell resumed its rhythmic bobbing and breathing. Xu Ying’s hand landed gently on the Bell Wall. He stroked it and broke into a satisfied smile.

The Snake Demon Yuan Qi whispered, "You risked being smashed to death by the Da Zhong just to pat it?"

Xu Ying laughed. "Last night, we survived the Naihe River’s course change because of it. It’s injured, so of course we should give it a pat to comfort it. When my cats and dogs get a good petting like this, they always calm down."

The Snake Demon Yuan Qi actually thought there was a twisted sort of logic to his words. But the moment Xu Ying turned his head, a loud CLANG rang out as the Big Copper Bell fell from the air and crashed to the ground!

Xu Ying jumped in fright and quickly turned back. He saw the Big Copper Bell’s wall vibrating nonstop, the patterns on it a chaotic mess, flickering and twitching sporadically.

It looked exactly like a person on the verge of death from grave injuries!

"Get back here!"

The Snake Demon Yuan Qi shrieked, his voice a bit hoarse, "It’s dying! It’s going to explode any second and splatter you with blood!"

Seeing this, Xu Ying wasn’t sure if the violently trembling Da Zhong would actually explode, so he hurried back toward the Snake Demon Yuan Qi.

He had only taken two steps when he heard the sound of the great Bell scraping against the ground behind him. Xu Ying looked back and saw the Big Copper Bell was still behind him, having moved forward two steps. It was still twitching convulsively, as if it were about to breathe its last.

Xu Ying took a step forward, and the Big Copper Bell scraped forward one step as well.

Xu Ying took another step forward, and the Big Copper Bell slid forward another step with a twitch.

Xu Ying began to walk faster, and behind him, the Big Copper Bell went CLANGING and BANGING as it slid along, sticking right to his heels.

"You’ve been scammed!"

The Snake Demon Yuan Qi shrieked in a hushed voice, "You touched it, and now it’s scammed you! It’s seriously injured and can’t protect itself, so when you touched it, it latched onto you. See? This is why I always say you shouldn’t help old ladies cross the street!"

The Little Black Pig next to him nodded repeatedly, in deep agreement.

Xu Ying broke into a run. Behind him, the Big Copper Bell went CLANG, CLANG, CLANG, CLANG as it bumped and crashed along, kicking up a trail of smoke and dust, staying right on his tail!

Xu Ying dodged between two large, side-by-side trees. Behind him, with two loud CRACKS, both trees fell neatly to the ground!