Ascension Day

Da Zhong circled the skeleton, sensing it carefully. It said, "The Mysterious Energy is indeed coming from this person’s skull. It seems that before he died, he used his remaining energy to help someone perform Dragon Seeking Positioning and find the Mud Pill Secret Treasury."

Xu Ying walked to the ashes in the corner and sifted through them with his hand. His eyes suddenly lit up as he pulled a more-than-half-burnt book from the ashes.

The Snake Catcher had burned too many books. This one had been pressed to the very bottom, where the flames couldn’t reach it. A few pages remained, and the words on them were still faintly discernible.

Xu Ying examined it carefully, his heart thumping wildly. He exclaimed, "This describes the Magic Skill for opening the Mud Pill Secret Treasury!"

Da Zhong flew over and said, "The Magic Skill to open the Mud Pill Secret Treasury? That can’t be right. The Demoness I suppressed was a Qi Refiner. She knew the master of this place, so of course, the master was also a Qi Refiner! In their era, Nuo Art and Nuo Techniques hadn’t appeared yet. How could there be a Magic Skill to open a Secret Treasury?"

Xu Ying was also quite puzzled. "Could it be that this skeleton isn’t the person the girl in the coffin was looking for? Wait a minute, who was that Snake Catcher?"

He stood there, lost in thought, then suddenly said, "The Zhou Family of Lingling also began its rise over three hundred years ago, later moving to the Capital. The Zhou Family’s most guarded secret is the Mud Pill Secret Treasury. Could it be that the Snake Catcher who came to Qinyan Cave with Yuan Qi’s grandfather was the ancestor of the Zhou Family?"

Da Zhong was also a little stunned. "Three hundred years ago, a man and a snake entered Qinyan Cave. Three hundred years later, it was a man and a snake again. The two Snake Demons only found the White Jade Palace outside, but not the stone chamber within the Stone Wall. Both Snake Catchers found the stone chamber. This is too much of a coincidence."

Xu Ying glanced around. When the Zhou Family ancestor entered this place back then, the stone chamber must have been filled with an immense number of books, all detailing the various Nuo Techniques and Nuo Arts practiced by the master of this place.

The Zhou Family ancestor memorized the most critical Nuo Techniques and Nuo Arts, and what he couldn’t take with him, he burned. The books he took eventually allowed the Zhou Family to soar to power, transforming from a family of humble Snake Catchers in Lingling into a colossal Noble Family!

’The Elephant Power Ox Demon Fist that Yuan Qi’s grandfather obtained was most likely just a Low-level Demon Technique that the Zhou Family ancestor tossed to him out of pity,’ Xu Ying thought.

He carefully unfolded the remaining pages of the Ancient Book and read them closely. The text on the pages was incomplete, so he could only fill in the missing parts in his mind.

The book spoke of the Six Secrets of the Human Body, with the Mud Pill at the forefront. The Chaos Egg was the Mud Pill Secret Treasury, but the power it contained was so immense that one first needed to chisel into the Chaos.

By chiseling open a Grotto Heaven within the Chaos, one could fish out the Mud Ball Activity. Once one’s Cultivation reached a certain level, one could open another Grotto Heaven, delve deeper into the Mud Pill, and fish out even more Mud Ball Activity.

By repeating this process to open a Nine-layered Cave Heaven, one could fish out all the power of the Mud Pill Secret Treasury.

And the method to chisel open the Mud Pill Secret Treasury was extremely simple: strike the Chaos Egg with all one’s might!

’This kind of thing really does require the help of a Grand Nuo.’

Xu Ying put the pages away and mused, ’The Mud Pill Secret Treasury is inside the brain. The slightest mistake would mean opening a hole directly in my head, ending with my brains splattering everywhere. Even with the help of a Grand Nuo, I’m afraid it would still be incredibly dangerous.’

"I can help you."

Da Zhong said suddenly, "I am extremely powerful. Even though I was severely wounded by the Demoness, a single explosive strike from me in a short burst is something no Grand Nuo can match. But I won’t do it for free. If I help you open the Mud Pill Secret Treasury, you must provide me with more Qi Blood to help me heal."

Xu Ying glanced at it, hesitating.

Da Zhong was naturally extremely powerful. After being severely wounded, it could still clash head-on with two great masters, Zhou Yihang and City God Xue. Even while it was deep in slumber, Xu Ying had been able to use it to nearly smash Zhou Yihang and Evil City God Xue to death.

What Xu Ying worried about was that Da Zhong was too fierce. If it unleashed a full-power strike inside his head, his head probably wouldn’t just have a hole opened in it—it would explode with a BANG.

’There probably wouldn’t be anything left from the neck up,’ Xu Ying thought.

Seeing him hesitate, Da Zhong said suspiciously, "Do you not trust me? You, Xu! In all my time, I, Lord Zhong, have been through no less than a thousand battles, large and small. How dare you not trust me? Who doesn’t know that Lord Zhong of Little Stone Mountain is known for being reliable and has a stellar reputation?"

Xu Ying stammered, "Yes, yes, of course. But... how did the girl in the coffin escape?"

Da Zhong flew into a thunderous rage and shouted, "Someone obviously ambushed me and rescued the Demoness during the chaos! Those bastards have been plotting against me for a long time! They even went on a killing spree, forcing the Naihe River to change its course and strike Little Stone Mountain! Otherwise, how could I have let the Demoness escape?"

Xu Ying hesitated. Da Zhong quickly said, "Let’s go outside the cave! I’ll show you my accuracy!"

So, Xu Ying walked out of the stone chamber and into the Mud Pill Palace, where he saw that Yuan Qi was still unconscious.

He walked out of Qinyan Cave and onto Wuyang Mountain. A cool breeze rustled by. Da Zhong floated up and said, "Do you see that towering tree on the mountain?"

Xu Ying looked into the distance and saw, at the very top of a cliff on Wuyang Mountain, a towering tree about thirty zhang tall, looking exceptionally majestic.

Da Zhong said, "I will now display my power and destroy it with the sound of my toll. Watch closely!"

Xu Ying looked up in anticipation. Suddenly, with a DONG, the bell rang out, and space rippled layer by layer. In the next instant, a dozen or so men and women were blasted out of the forest, flailing their arms and legs in mid-air.

Xu Ying’s heart leaped in shock. ’The Lingling Officials! They actually found their way here!’

A moment later, the dozen or so Officials landed, crashing in a way that sent birds and beasts in the forest scattering.

Da Zhong paused, then said, "I sensed someone had arrived and was hiding in the woods, spying on us, so I changed my target and flushed them out. Ying, I’ve used up all the power I’ve accumulated over the past two days. The rest is up to you!"

With that, the great bell zipped into the back of Xu Ying’s head and vanished without a trace.

The sound of hurried footsteps came from the woods, and the dozen or so Officials, now bruised and swollen, emerged from the forest.

Xu Ying stood his ground and said lightly, "My Cultivation has greatly improved, and I have become a Demon King. You are no match for me."

The dozen or so Officials were all eager to make a move, but a voice rang out, laughing, "Xu Demon King is a unique specimen of the Human Race. Now that you have cultivated into a Demon King, it’s only natural that ordinary Official Nuo are no match for you. Therefore, this time, there is no need for them to act. I shall personally subdue you."

Xu Ying followed the voice and saw County Magistrate Zhou Yang, dressed in a magnificent black silk robe, striding out of the forest.

"Set up the swords!" Zhou Yang said softly.

Only then did Xu Ying notice that each of the Officials carried a sword basket on their back, containing a dozen or so Treasure Swords. The Officials stopped about thirty paces from him, drew the Treasure Swords from their baskets, planted them in the ground, and then quickly retreated.

Zhou Yang stepped forward, took a seed from his sleeve, and planted it in the center of the Sword Array.

The seed rapidly took root and sprouted, quickly growing into a towering tree. Its canopy covered an area of several mu, and its long, thin branches drooped down, each one soft yet tough.

The tree was like a demon. Its branches danced, pulling the Treasure Swords planted all around out of the ground with metallic CLANGS!

"This tree is called Feng Hua. Legend says it is a Demon Tree that absorbed Phoenix Blood. Under my control, it will wield a hundred swords and execute my Zhou Family’s Ultimate Skill, the Circulation Demon Slaying Sword."

Zhou Yang smiled faintly. "Xu Ying, as the parental official of Lingling, I love my people as if they were my own children. I will offer you a way out. If you are willing to surrender, not only will I clear your name, but I will also make you an official."

"To do what? Become a corrupt official like you?"

Xu Ying walked over to a nearby willow tree, broke off a Willow Branch as thick as his little finger, and smiled. "You corrupt official, let me see how the Ultimate Skill your ancestor obtained from Qinyan Cave compares to what I’ve figured out on my own!"