Day of Ascension

The woman spat a few times, gnawing at her as she feared Dazhong would expose her true thoughts.

Dazhong showed no mercy. “Woman, look up at your Golden Core. See what it has become. And you still dare claim that's not what you're thinking?”

Hua Xianchen quickly looked up and saw that her Golden Core had indeed become utterly defiled. Moments ago, it had shone with dazzling golden light, its divine radiance spilling in every direction, bright enough to illuminate drifting dust and even the deepest reaches of the void.

Now, every trace of that brilliance was gone.

Dazhong said earnestly, “Your thoughts have tainted your Golden Core. Cultivate your Dao heart and stop thinking about nonsense. Ah Ying, even if this girl receives your true teachings, she'll never become an immortal. Her innate disposition is lacking.”

Xu Ying gripped the stone axe and pressed its blade against the Golden Core. Immediately, the defiled Golden Core gradually regained its clarity.

Xu Ying smiled. “Master Zhong, what is innate disposition? Humans are naturally a chaotic mix of different thoughts. If a pure heart and good innate disposition alone were enough to attain immortality, what would be the point of cultivation?”

His words moved Hua Xianchen. Brother Ying really knows how to speak, unlike this bell. You can tell at a glance that he came from a temple and has been completely assimilated by the monks.

She smiled sweetly. “Brother Ying, why weren't you corrupted by the demonic nature of the stone axe?”

Xu Ying smiled, a little smug. “I have a good innate disposition.”

Hua Xianchen’s expression darkened. Birds of a feather. They're both just monks in disguise.

Xu Ying said, “Miss Hua, you should go practice first. Since your inherent disposition is lacking, you'll need time to temper your Dao Heart before you can comprehend and refine the True Fire of Samadhi.

“As for your Golden Core, you'll also have to refine the Divine Water of Samadhi. Only by combining water and fire can you gradually wash away its impurities. If you fail to cleanse it completely, forging your Primordial Spirit will be extremely difficult.”

Hua Xianchen furrowed her brow. “I have to refine the Divine Water of Samadhi as well? Water and fire don’t mix; how can they coexist?”

Frustration welled inside her. Refining the True Fire of Samadhi alone was already difficult. Adding the Divine Water of Samadhi, its opposing counterpart, would make mastering both take far longer.

Puzzled, Xu Ying said, “How did you forge your Golden Core? The Transmutation Stage is all about the mutual refinement of water and fire. You use the Divine Water of Samadhi and the True Fire of Samadhi to forge the cauldron before refining the Golden Core.”

Hua Xianchen said softly, “But the Transmutation Stage itself has water and fire. A sea of flames forms naturally there, alongside the waters of the Heavenly River. Everyone uses them to temper water and fire together before refining their Golden Core...”

Xu Ying fell silent for a while. “Everyone refines it that way?”

Hua Xianchen nodded.

Xu Ying laughed in sheer exasperation. “No wonder Exorcists replaced Qi Cultivators. You don't even know how to cultivate your own techniques properly, and your understanding of your cultivation realms is riddled with flaws. It's a miracle you haven't all cultivated yourselves to death.”

Hua Xianchen opened her mouth to argue, but stopped herself after a moment's thought. Every year, quite a few Qi Cultivators indeed cultivate themselves to death. Many die from qi deviation. Have we really been cultivating the wrong way all this time?

Gathering her courage, she asked, “Then why were we able to refine our Golden Cores without the Divine Water of Samadhi and the True Fire of Samadhi?”

Irritated, Xu Ying snapped, “How would I know? I’m only at the fourth heaven of the Gate-Knocking Stage and have yet to reach the Transmutation Stage. I don't have the cultivation method for the Divine Water of Samadhi, so I can’t tell you the secrets behind it.”

Hua Xianchen’s eyes lit up, and she hurried toward the exit. She smiled. “I know someone who’s bitterly cultivating the Divine Water of Samadhi. He must have the true method!”

She caught sight of the little phoenix, Feng Xian'er, and hesitated. After a brief pause, she asked, “Should I come back to visit at a later date? Roughly how long would you need, Old Ancestor Xu?”

Xu Ying waved his hand. “The sooner, the better.”

Hua Xianchen looked at him in surprise. That makes sense. He’s someone from the same era as Old Ancestor Xu Fu. It’s only natural that his physical abilities have deteriorated.

With that, she departed in haste. Before long, she returned with another person. He was the Qi Cultivator from Emperor Wu's era of the Eastern Han, Dong Meiqing. Broad-shouldered and powerfully built, he was second only to Xu Fu in both seniority and cultivation. He had already forged his Primordial Spirit and reached the Ascension Stage.

Dong Meiqing’s strength was deeply unfathomable, and he was also well-versed in the Divine Water of Samadhi. He immediately took out his ancestral text, the Five Lanterns Divine Water Guide, held it with both hands, and presented it respectfully to Xu Ying.

He said, “Old Ancestor Xu, the Five Lanterns Divine Water Guide is an inheritance left by my ancestors, which my father passed down to me. I am a man of meager talent and shallow learning. I relied on this ultimate technique to purify my physique, Golden Core, and Primordial Spirit, granting me a long life.

“It allowed me to live until today without my body aging. Even so, I can feel my lifespan gradually drawing to an end.”

Xu Ying flipped the text open. Its margins were filled with annotations, almost certainly insights recorded by Dong Meiqing's ancestors over generations of cultivation.

After reading the entire text, he found surprisingly few flaws. In fact, it was nearly on par with the Granny Tuo Immortal Book!

The Granny Tuo Immortal Book contained the ancient Qi Cultivator Granny Tuo’s interpretation of the Eight Sounds of Primordial Nurturing. It was already an exceptionally rare cultivation manual that led directly to ascension.

The Five Lanterns Divine Water Guide also led directly to ascension, though it was slightly weaker.

Xu Ying closed the text. “You only refined the divine water, and not the true fire?”

Dong Meiqing shook his head. “I have not.”

Xu Ying circled him once before stopping. “Do you live in a volcano?”

Surprised, Dong Meiqing asked, “How did you know, Old Ancestor?”

“If you didn't, you'd already be dead. The Divine Water of Samadhi purifies your physique, Primordial Spirit, and Golden Core, but it also hollows them out. Without the True Fire of Samadhi to replenish your inner yang, surviving inside a volcano is the bare minimum.

“You must have also consumed some kind of spirit elixir. Only elixirs fit for immortals could stop the Divine Water of Samadhi from hollowing you out completely. What was it?”

Dong Meiqing shook his head. “I’ve never consumed any immortal elixirs.”

Surprised, Xu Ying pondered for a moment. Then, his eyes suddenly lit up, and he smiled. “You’re an Exorcist!”

Dong Meiqing’s expression immediately changed to one of surprise. He quickly looked around. Seeing no one nearby, he said, “Your wisdom is truly unmatched, Old Ancestor. Back in Emperor Wu’s era, the path of Heaven-Man Resonance was popular. Though I was a Qi Cultivator, I succumbed to the trend and practiced an exorcism art.

“Most Qi Cultivators disliked Exorcists. Although some of us have unlocked our Secret Troves and learned exorcism arts, we've always kept it strictly hidden.”

Xu Ying didn't think much of it. “I’ve also unlocked my Secret Troves. Is the one you unlocked the Mud Pill?”

Dong Meiqing voiced his assent.

“No wonder. One can steal immortal herbs from the Mud-Pill Secret Trove. The Divine Water of Samadhi hollows you out, but you’ve accumulated vast amounts of immortal herbs for eternal life within you. That’s why you could until now.”

Puzzled, Xu Ying asked, “But why weren’t you devoured?”

Dong Meiqing was left bewildered by the question. Coming to a realization, Xu Ying quickly asked, “Who taught you the exorcism art for the Mud-Pill Secret Trove you practice?”

Dong Meiqing replied, “When all other schools were suppressed and only exorcism techniques mattered, countless cultivation techniques for the six secrets circulated. Anyone could easily learn them.

“It was only after something went wrong with Heaven-Man Resonance that people gradually stopped teaching cultivation techniques for the six secrets freely.”

Xu Ying asked in confusion, “Something went wrong with Heaven-Man Resonance? What?”

Recalling his childhood, Dong Meiqing said, “I was still very young then. My family possessed an ancestral cultivation technique, so I first cultivated a body brimming with primordial qi before learning exorcism arts and opening my Secret Trove.

“At that time, everyone unlocked their own Secret Troves. The path of Heaven-Man Resonance was also very popular. Later on, as more and more people performed the resonance, the sky itself began to warp. The earth rose into the sky.”

Not only did land float overhead, but rivers stretching thousands of li drifted through the heavens as well.

Standing on high ground, one could touch the mountain peaks in the sky simply by reaching out. Qi Cultivators could leap straight into the seas floating above.

Heaven-Man Resonance twisted the entire world. In Dong Meiqing’s memories, a vast, deep abyss began to devour the heavens, earth, and all living creatures. He spent his days constantly on the run, living in terror.

By the time peace returned, the world had become unrecognizable.

The Divine Land had shrunk dramatically, and the Yuanshou Continent was only a fraction of its former size. The other Qi Cultivators had vanished without a trace.

Those powerful figures had simply vanished from the mortal realm, and the world had become unrecognizable.

Gradually, Qi Cultivators went extinct, and exorcism arts prospered.

Xu Ying couldn’t help but fall into deep thought. From Dong Meiqing's account, it was clear that the exorcism arts circulating during Emperor Wu's reign were genuine arts capable of stealing immortal herbs.

It matched the opening passage of the Mud-Pill Radiant Vestige Longevity Mantra Zhou Qiyun had obtained.

Harvest the qi of the Mud-Pill Palace and draw upon the elixir of immortality!

The exorcism arts back then could steal immortal herbs and refine them. Dong Qingmei has relied on such true exorcism arts to survive to this day, preventing the Divine Water of Samadhi from hollowing him out completely.

But why did those true exorcism arts disappear along with the Qi Cultivators? And why had the exorcism arts passed down today become nothing more than traps that devoured their practitioners?

Xu Ying looked up at the sky, baffled. “What exactly went wrong with Heaven-Man Resonance?”

During the final years of the ancient era, the path of Heaven-Man Resonance must have reached a fever pitch. Yet almost no records from that age remained, as though someone had deliberately erased that chapter of history to keep posterity from learning the truth.

Xu Ying refined the method for refining the Divine Water of Samadhi from the Five Lanterns Divine Water Guide and corrected several flaws in the technique. In the process, he mastered the technique himself.

He returned the text to Dong Meiqing and said, “Disseminate the methods I’ve deciphered and corrected for the Divine Water of Samadhi and the True Fire of Samadhi. Get the Qi Cultivators to practice them diligently.

“Even those who have already forged their Golden Cores and Primordial Spirits must cultivate the mutual refinement of water and fire again to purge their impurities. Only then can they advance further. Also, make a copy of your exorcism art and bring it to me.”

Dong Meiqing was overjoyed and hurried away.

Yuanqi watched him leave and couldn't help but sigh in admiration. “Ah Ying, that man is truly a heaven-sent prodigy. With just an incomplete cultivation technique and an exorcism art, he still reached the Ascension Stage. Had he been born in the ancient age of the Qi Cultivators, he would surely have attained immortality.”

Dazhong was also moved. “Unfortunately, Dong Meiqing was born at the end of the Qi Cultivators’ era, wasting his talents. Worse, he took the wrong path and opened only the Mud-Pill Secret Trove among the Six Secret Troves. He was never destined to reach the absolute pinnacle.”

A few days later, Dong Meiqing delivered the Mud-Pill Palace exorcism art he had transcribed. Xu Ying read through it carefully and found that this cultivation technique indeed contained the method to refine the immortal herbs of longevity, transforming them into one’s own vigor and thus extending one's lifespan!

On the other hand, the Mud-Pill Radiant Vestige Longevity Mantra only explained how to harvest immortal herbs. It contained nothing about refining them.

Xu Ying thought, Zhou Qiyun died a wrongful death. If he had known how to refine the longevity herbs and extend his lifespan, he wouldn't have rushed to ascend. Given a few more years to prepare, it's hard to say who would have won between him and the Mud-Pill Palace Master.

Over the next several days, Qi Cultivators arrived one after another, each bringing treasured cultivation manuals for Xu Ying to decipher and explain to them. Some were ancient, badly damaged texts containing only a handful of surviving lines. Even for Xu Ying, restoring them was painstaking work.

He spent several hours just to restore one fragmented text.

Though arduous, Xu Ying reaped a bountiful harvest in return. He learned various divine abilities for Qi Cultivators. In the past, he had known only a handful of exorcism techniques. Now he could wield all manner of divine abilities and mystic arts with ease.

More importantly, he had restored the missing methods of the Mud-Pill Radiant Vestige Longevity Mantra, allowing him to refine the immortal herbs of longevity. As immense vitality flowed into him, his cultivation advanced rapidly. His physique and Primordial Spirit both grew steadily stronger.

Xu Fu came over. “Mister Xu, our preparations are complete. It is time to go resurrect the First Emperor.”

Xu Ying asked, “Where is the First Emperor?”

“He’s sealed within Mount Li. I’ve already spread the word that a precious treasure has appeared in Mount Li to have those Exorcist noble clans clear the path for us first. We will enter after they have sacrificed their blood; it will be much less dangerous for us.”

He paused for a moment, invited Xu Ying to step onto the Fangzhang Immortal Mountain, and continued with a faint smile, “Resurrecting the First Emperor requires the sacrifice of many lives. All I have to do is spread a rumor, and they'll offer their lives willingly. I won't even have to lift a finger.”

The Fangzhang Immortal Mountain drove northwest as Xu Ying wondered, Has Chanchan found her artifact yet? It’ll be too late if she doesn’t show up soon!

***

At the ruins of Haojing.[1]

Zhu Chanchan was making her way through the mountains outside Haojing when she caught sight of a certain mountain peak. Overjoyed, she sprinted toward that peak.

Before she even got close to the mountain, she spotted hundreds of Exorcists fighting fiercely at the mountain base, contesting for treasures. The mountain had risen from the newly emerged lands. At first, it appeared unremarkable, but after a thunderstorm, bronze artifacts had washed down its slopes.

There were bronze cauldrons, bronze trees, bronze swords, and other treasures, all extremely formidable. This news caught the attention of all the nearby noble clans, and they came to seize them.

Seeing Zhu Chanchan flying toward them, the crowd immediately raised their guards. However, when they saw she wasn’t trying to contest for the treasures and continued flying toward the mountain peak instead, they all breathed a sigh of relief.

She landed at the foot of the mountain, before the cliff, and gazed up at the summit, her face filled with excitement.

She reached out to gently touch the cliff wall and said softly, “I’m back... It’s been six thousand years, but I’m finally back. Do you still remember me? Do you still remember the imprints I branded on you? Come out. Today, I’ll undo your seal!”

Suddenly, the entire mountain shook violently. Huge boulders broke off from the surface, gradually revealing the bronze patterns within the mountain!

The entire mountain was a massive artifact!

This was the Flying Peak[2]. Zhu Chanchan had forged using “scrap materials!”

1. The ancient capital city of the Western Zhou Dynasty. ☜

2. Check out the wiki entry under the Feilang Feng grottos section if you’re interested: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lingyin_Temple ☜