Ascension Day

Xu Ying blushed slightly. "I’ll give it back when I’m finished. I’m not finished yet, am I? Look how worked up you are, as if I would actually run off with your book."

This Bear Demon was from Xiaoshan, and he and Xu Ying were old acquaintances.

Children from poor families learn to fend for themselves early on. Xu Ying was a Snake Catcher from Lingling who spent his days roaming the mountains, searching for Exotic Snakes. By treading off the beaten path so often, he was bound to encounter demons.

Though he was supposedly an honest boy, he had practiced the Taiyi Guiding Skill since he was young. His Qi Blood was abundant, and the average demon was no match for him. As a result, Xu Ying’s relationships with many demons in Lingling Mountain began with a fight.

He had practiced the Taiyi Guiding Skill for many years, and his cultivation had reached a peak. With no path forward, he began extorting these demons, demanding their Scriptures to study in an attempt to find the next stage of his cultivation.

The Bear Demon Xiong Qianli was one such victim.

"Are we really not going to eat him?" the Snake Demon Yuan Qi whispered, glancing at the Bear Demon and licking his lips. "I’m getting a little hungry."

Xiong Qianli glared. "Xu! So you really are going to eat me!"

Xu Ying tried to placate him. "Qianli, you know me. I’m a kind soul, a good person. I don’t eat demons. If I were going to eat you, I would have done it years ago." As soon as he finished speaking, his traitorous stomach let out a few loud growls.

Xiong Qianli jumped in fright, shrinking further into the corner and refusing to come out.

Xu Ying rummaged around the cave with Da Zhong following him, bumping into things and ringing out with loud CLANGS. Fortunately, the torrential rain made the mountain impassable. Otherwise, the noise would have certainly drawn their pursuers.

He searched for a long while but found only some pots and pans, a few old books, and some sweet potatoes in the cave. There was no other food.

Xu Ying glanced at Xiong Qianli in the corner. The Bear Demon trembled and cried out, "Don’t look at me! I don’t eat people! Last time, you told me not to harm anyone, so I even gave up eating chickens, ducks, cats, and dogs. There’s no meat here! See that field outside? I grew all these sweet potatoes myself!"

Xu Ying scratched his head. "It’s fine to eat a little wild game now and then. But whatever. It’s not like I can’t live without meat. A few sweet potatoes won’t kill me."

He took some sweet potatoes and put them in the fire to roast. A short while later, a delicious aroma filled the air.

The Bear Demon was hungry too. He carefully sidled up to the fire and asked for a few.

Seeing his pathetic display, the Snake Demon Yuan Qi couldn’t help but get angry. "This is your cave!" he shouted. "You grew the sweet potatoes, not him! Do you really have to be so timid?"

The Bear Demon wiped away his tears and sobbed, "That’s because you’ve never been beaten up by him..."

Yuan Qi couldn’t help but shed tears as well. "Brother, so you and I have suffered the same fate."

Xu Ying put down his roasted sweet potato and said with displeasure, "Qianli, I thought we were friends. I never expected you to talk like that!"

The Bear Demon, meek and timid, sat beside Yuan Qi and whispered, "He even picked up a rock and squeezed juice out of it, saying that if I didn’t give him the Scriptures, he’d squeeze the juice out of my head and make me drink it!"

Xu Ying overheard them. His face darkened, but he said nothing, just burying his head in his sweet potato and eating sullenly. ’He said he wanted to be friends, but now he’s bad-mouthing me behind my back! Hmph!’

The Snake Demon Yuan Qi peeked at Xu Ying and whispered, "When he threatened me for my Scriptures, he did the same thing—squeezed water out of a rock! It was terrifying!"

Xiong Qianli lowered his voice. "The behavior of a ruffian! Even we demons are more civilized than him!"

The Snake Demon Yuan Qi nodded vigorously. "Brother, what kind of books do you usually read?"

Xiong Qianli was both surprised and delighted. "You like to read, too?"

The two demons felt they had found a kindred spirit and had a great deal to talk about. It was just a shame that Xu Ying was there, getting in the way.

Xu Ying finished brewing the medicine, separating it into a poultice for external application and a decoction to be taken internally. He applied the medicine for the Snake Demon Yuan Qi. The Snake Demon Yuan Qi wrapped his tail around the large pot and drank the medicinal soup. GULP, GULP, GULP.

Xu Ying then treated his own wounds. His internal injuries weren’t severe, but his flesh wounds were significant and needed prompt treatment.

Once their wounds were treated, Xu Ying looked outside. The sky was dark, but the sun had not yet set.

"Yuan Qi, Da Zhong taught me the art of Inner Observation. It can heal injuries to the Five Viscera, improve one’s cultivation, and transform the Qi of the Five Viscera into Primordial Qi. I’ll teach it to you."

Sitting by the campfire, Xu Ying explained how to refine one’s consciousness into Divine Sense and use it to open the way into the Mysterious Domain. "Once you open the Mysterious Domain within your body," he said, "you’ll be able to see your own Five Viscera, with your heart and lungs hanging like inverted mountains. The Five Viscera contain the Five Qi, which emit a five-colored Divine Light that you can see by using the Great Sun Body Tempering technique. If you gather the Five Qi, you can achieve Five Qi Chaoyuan and cultivate Primordial Qi. Once you take that step, your Power will increase by leaps and bounds. Becoming a Demon King will be easy."

The Snake Demon Yuan Qi listened, captivated. The Bear Demon Xiong Qianli was also listening by the fire, but he seemed mostly lost.

After finishing his explanation, Xu Ying let them cultivate on their own while he once again performed Inner Observation, sending his Divine Sense into the Mysterious Domain within his body.

The Snake Demon Yuan Qi was an Exotic Snake whose strength was originally on par with Xu Ying’s. He had fought Xu Ying for three days and three nights before finally being captured, a testament to his extraordinary talent. He understood much after hearing Xu Ying’s explanation just once. Soon, he quieted his mind and entered a state of Meditation.

The Bear Demon, however, wasn’t as quick-witted, and could only sit by the fire and slowly try to comprehend the technique.

Xu Ying sat before the fire, his mind focused on Taiyi. With his eyes half-closed, a Divine Light flickered beneath his eyelids, like a tender yellow sprout.

Before his eyes, the White Jade Gate reappeared. He pushed it open and entered, once again stepping into the Mysterious Domain within his body.

His last visit to the Mysterious Domain had been too brief for him to linger. This time, however, the downpour had cut off his pursuers, giving him ample time to explore this world within himself.

Even though this was his second time entering the Mysterious Domain, the awe he felt upon his first visit had not diminished in the slightest!

Xu Ying floated in the air, gazing all around. He was utterly captivated by the dazzling spectrum of colors in the Mysterious Domain, hues that could not possibly exist in the waking world.