Ascension Day

A demon fox emerged from the house, stood up like a man, and bowed. "So it is the great Xu Demon King. Forgive us, forgive us. We are but wild foxes from the mountains. We witnessed the Xu Demon King’s heroic valor in slaying his enemies and wished to propose a marriage alliance."

"There’s no crime in ignorance. If you still wish to marry off your daughter, old sir, I’m available." The young man’s eyes sparkled.

The old demon fox just stammered obsequiously, not daring to mention the matter again.

Xu Ying thought it was a pity. He walked out of the town, following the woman’s voice. Before long, he saw a Black Coffin standing by the Naihe River, with long Chains dangling down to the water’s edge.

The girl from the coffin sat in front of the Black Coffin, hugging her knees as she gazed up at the moon.

Xu Ying looked up to see a moon as large as a bushel hanging over the far bank of the Naihe River. The moonlight was serene and ethereal, unlike anything in the Mortal World.

In the moonlight, the girl was even more beautiful.

Xu Ying’s heart pounded in his chest. He quietly called out to Lord Zhong a couple of times, but Da Zhong made no sound, as if it were dead. Yet, the great Bell was usually a chatterbox, constantly urging Xu Ying to cultivate so it could steal his Qi Blood, working him like a donkey turning a grindstone.

’Lord Zhong is being "magnanimous" again.’

Xu Ying composed himself, walked forward, and bowed in thanks. "Thank you for speaking up, miss. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have realized they were a pack of demon foxes."

The girl from the coffin’s gaze was gentle as it fell upon his face. Her voice was just as soft as she said, "You didn’t see through them because you haven’t yet mastered the Celestial Eye. ’Eyes hold Divine Light, Inner Observation of the sun and moon. Will flows like a polishing mirror, three lights gather between the brows.’ That is the secret to the Celestial Eye."

Upon hearing this, Xu Ying said, "’Eyes hold Divine Light’ must refer to Divine Sense. ’Inner Observation of the sun and moon’ refers to one’s eyes. ’Will flows like a polishing mirror’ means the Divine Sense is like a mirror. The three lights are the light of the sun and the moon, but what is the third light?"

The girl was surprised. "Your comprehension is excellent. The other light is in the hollow between your eyebrows. It is called Tian Guang. Focus your mind, place your Divine Sense between the sun and moon, and remember one thing: ’Will flows like a polishing mirror.’ Then you can open the Celestial Eye and see through the transformations of demons and monsters."

As she spoke, Xu Ying acted.

Xu Ying focused his mind, and his Divine Sense entered the Mysterious Domain. It floated between the sun and moon, and as he circulated it, in just a moment, he had polished his Divine Sense until it was like a Bright Mirror.

Suddenly, a light shone down from beyond the heavens—it was the third light, the Tian Guang!

At the same time, his eyes opened. The external world reflected in his left and right eyes was also projected into the Mysterious Domain. The light from his two eyes fell upon the mirror-like surface of his Divine Sense and made contact with the Tian Guang, triggering an instantaneous, bizarre transformation!

Xu Ying faced the light and looked, and the world was suddenly different!

On the right bank of the Naihe River, a dividing line had appeared between the Underworld and the Mortal World, like the twilight line where night meets day.

Where the two worlds of the Underworld and the Mortal World collided and overlapped, there was also a massive fissure. The space and land of the two worlds crashed and pressed against each other with terrifying force!

Xu Ying and the girl from the coffin were currently on the very edge of this great fissure!

The fissure was constantly expanding!

A tremendous sound, like the bellow of an ox or the roar of a dragon, echoed from within the fissure, like the cry of a monster. Xu Ying looked down and saw an immense, slick torso slithering within the rift, sometimes visible, sometimes not, as if some giant living creature was trapped underground, trying to break free!

But whenever he tried to get a closer look, all he could see were enormous, scale-like rocks.

He could also clearly see the invasion from the Underworld and the Ghost Souls wandering in the Naihe River!

Xu Ying’s heart leaped into his throat. ’Mastering the Celestial Eye to see Ghost Gods isn’t necessarily a good thing.’

The Ghost Souls retained their appearance from the moment of death. Some of their death states were so frightening that they could easily startle one’s own Soul Spirit.

Therefore, those who cultivate the Celestial Eye cannot open it often. Besides easily attracting ghosts, it was also easy to startle oneself, causing one’s Soul Spirit to become unsettled.

More critically, using the Celestial Eye consumed too much Divine Sense. Xu Ying did not yet know how to cultivate his Divine Sense to make it stronger, so he couldn’t keep his Celestial Eye open at all times.

While his Divine Sense could still hold out, he looked toward the girl from the coffin and was greatly shocked.

The girl asked, "You saw everything?"

Xu Ying nodded. Behind the girl sat another girl, a Divine Being, as vast as a mountain, presiding over the air and giving off a feeling of immense scale!

That Divine Being resembled the girl—their features and eyes were the same—but she was wreathed in brilliant Divine Light that was blindingly bright!

The light radiating from within her body could actually be seen as individual strands, each as fine as a hair and no more than a foot long!

Her body did not touch the ground. There was a cloud of qi beneath her, and she floated in the air. She seemed boundless and vast, yet she occupied no space at all.

Behind her were ribbons formed from Divine Light, not attached to her body but floating in the air.

The girl from the coffin had a charming and winsome innocence, while the Divine Being behind her was the very picture of majesty and divinity, august and inviolable!

Xu Ying suppressed his shock and asked, "What is that behind you?"

"A Primordial Spirit. You will have one in the future, too," the girl said.

"I’ll have one too?" Xu Ying was both shocked and delighted.

"You are now in the Qi Collection Stage, gathering Sun Essence Qi to supplement your Physique, soul, and Primordial Qi. When you enter the Gate-Opening Stage, you will open the Tailbone Profound Gate, unlocking the Qi Refining Gate and the path to the Heaven-Reaching River. The next step is the Cross-Refining Stage, where Water and Fire Inter-refining to build the Pill Furnace. After that is the second Knocking at the Gate, opening the Jiaji Gate, adding oil and life to increase your own lifespan."

The girl continued at an unhurried pace, "After that is the Heavy Tower Stage, where you fly across the Twelve-Storey Tower. Then the Jade Pool Stage, where you shed your mortal coil and cultivate a Primordial Spirit. In the Divine Bridge Stage, you cross the Divine Bridge. Then comes the Third Knocking Gate, striking the Jade Pillow Celestial Gate, and receiving Heaven’s mandate."

Xu Ying was captivated. "And then?"

The girl said, "And then comes Ascension to Immortality. However, that path has been severed."

Xu Ying was still lost in blissful imagination. Hearing her words, he couldn’t help but be startled. "Severed? What do you mean?"

"A great villain blocked it, cutting off the path to Immortality."

A trace of sorrow flickered in the girl’s eyes. She quickly composed herself, gazed at Wuyang Mountain in the night, and said, "Do you know the meaning of Wuyang?"

She didn’t wait for Xu Ying’s reply and said directly, "Wuyang means the unexpected. The so-called Wuyang is an encounter without expectation. I thought I was the only Qi Refiner left under heaven, but then I met you. We are the same kind."

A smile appeared on her face. "To think that three thousand years later, someone would still walk the path of a Qi Refiner. My path is not a lonely one after all."

She stood before the Black Coffin, her robes fluttering. "Three thousand years ago, I set a ship upon the Naihe River. Three thousand years later, I am here to board it. My ship has arrived."

Just as she spoke, the surface of the Naihe River began to surge violently. Huge waves rolled as a Tower Ship suddenly burst from the water, leaping out of the river!

On the deck of the Tower Ship, hundreds of skeletons holding sabers, swords, hooks, and forks were fighting amongst themselves. They never expected that the ship, which had sailed underwater for thousands of years, would suddenly surface. They were all stunned.

The girl flicked her sleeve and said coldly, "You ghost pirates, how dare you occupy my treasure ship? Scram!"

With a wave of her sleeve, all the skeletons on the Tower Ship flew up involuntarily and tumbled into the Naihe River.

The girl’s figure drifted up and landed on the prow. Xu Ying stood on the bank of the Naihe River and watched as the Tower Ship surged toward him. Naihe River Water constantly poured off its deck like a rushing waterfall, creating an immense sense of pressure.

The Tower Ship stopped. The girl poked her head out from the prow and smiled. "I have something important to do tonight, and I’m short one helper. Our chance meeting was fated. Come with me to do this important thing. Don’t worry, I’ll bring you back after sunrise."

Xu Ying leaped up and landed on the ship. "What is it?" he asked with a smile.

"A divine send-off."