Day of Ascension

The emperor and Zhou Qiyun stood some distance apart.

Although the emperor’s expression was irritable and gloomy, his tone remained indifferent as he said, “An ancient Qi Cultivator? He was nothing more than a demon cultivator, not one of the orthodox path. Lord Zhou, Exorcism Techniques are the orthodox path. Do not stray down the wrong road.”

Xu Ying and Yuan Weiyang both jolted and exchanged a glance.

Xu Ying murmured, “From the way they’re talking... they don’t seem to be on good terms.”

Zhou Qiyun stared at the Qi Cultivator’s corpse in the shrine and lifted his white brows. “Your Majesty, has your injury not healed yet?”

The emperor said coolly, “I rule the world. The hearts of the masses turn toward me. Who could injure me? Who would dare injure me?”

Zhou Qiyun frowned, then smoothed his brow. “It’s good that Your Majesty wasn’t hurt. I thought the wound I left you with back then was still troubling you. It seems I worried for nothing.”

The incense qi around the emperor roiled violently, and the atmosphere in the great hall momentarily became oppressively heavy. Even Guo Xiaodie could tell something was wrong and did not dare speak.

Yuan Weiyang suddenly broke the silence. “Why is this ancient Qi Cultivator sitting in the shrine? He’s not a deity. Is he seated there to absorb incense qi and turn his fleshly body into a god?”

She was extremely quick-witted. Zhou Qiyun had cornered the emperor with a single sentence. If neither side backed down, the confrontation would end only in mutual destruction. She deliberately changed the subject, allowing both of them to step back.

Zhou Qiyun’s aura eased slightly. “This Qi Cultivator likely reached the end of his lifespan and had no chance of surviving tribulation, so he took another path to prolong his life.”

The emperor said, “A Qi Cultivator’s lifespan has its limit; a god does not. So long as incense endures, a god never dies.”

Both of them were exceedingly gifted. Just by looking at the posture of the ancient corpse, they knew what path he had cultivated.

Zhou Qiyun said softly, “But this is the wrong path. If incense qi could grant longevity, wouldn't every emperor throughout history have lived forever?

“Where are the emperors, generals, and ministers of old now? All that remains are the ghosts crying by their graves. Godhood through worship is a crooked road, a dead end!”

The corner of the emperor’s eye twitched, and his voice turned stern. “Which road isn’t a dead end? Even someone as capable as this Qi Cultivator before us exhausted his lifespan and was forced to seek godhood through worship.

“Yet some people refuse to face reality. They blindly persist along the Qi Cultivator's path, believing themselves unmatched, when they're nothing more than fools.”

The corner of Zhou Qiyun’s eye twitched violently as well.

The Zhou clan’s search for demon clan techniques, along with their excavation of ancient Qi Cultivators' tombs and grotto residences, had long ceased to be a secret. The emperor clearly knew everything about the clan’s movements. His words mocked Zhou Qiyun's futile pursuit of immortality.

Yuan Weiyang felt a headache coming on. She had already given them a graceful way out, yet they had clashed again.

“Brother Yuan, there’s a huge vat over here! Come take a look!” Xu Ying’s voice rang out in surprise.

Yuan Weiyang looked over and saw Xu Ying staring at the large water vat beneath the eaves outside the hall. She thought, We came out of that vat earlier. Why does he look like he’s seeing it for the first time?

She immediately understood and walked over to examine the big water vat with Xu Ying. Both of them circled it, commenting from all angles. She bent over to inspect the vat’s patterns, while he stood with one hand on his hip and the other pinching his chin, as if calculating the vat’s value.

“Do you think they’ll start fighting?” asked Yuan Weiyang in a voice as faint as a mosquito’s buzz.

“No idea,” Xu Ying replied. He continued examining the vat, his eyes flickering as he whispered, “Master Zhong said there were three experts in the hall. One is the emperor, and another is, naturally, Old Ancestor Zhou. So who’s the third expert?”

Yuan Weiyang couldn’t help but shiver. She secretly glanced back at the ancient Qi Cultivator seated in the shrine. A faint smile lingered on its face, but the flesh between his brows had already gone rigid in death.

Yuan Weiyang withdrew her gaze and whispered, “You mean he’s still alive? But he’s clearly a corpse! If he wasn’t dead, wouldn’t His Majesty and Old Ancestor Zhou be able to tell?”

Xu Ying kept studying the vat. “They may have already figured it out.”

In the great hall, Uncle Xiao was drenched in cold sweat. The pressure had now shifted onto him. If he did nothing, these two peerless experts would likely start fighting, and he would end up as collateral damage!

After thinking it over, he found a topic and hurriedly asked, “Strange. If this ancient Qi Cultivator took the path of godhood through worship, then why doesn’t he have any incense qi on him?”

Zhou Qiyun and the emperor both knew that if they did not restrain themselves, the only option would be to settle matters with their fists, so they both went along with the opening.

The emperor stepped forward and said, “When people die, it’s like a lamp going out. It is the same with gods as well. After he died, the incense qi naturally went out. This man didn’t dare endure tribulation and longed to become a god to gain immortality. He was a pitiful wretch.”

His words carried a hidden meaning, clearly referring to Zhou Qiyun’s tribulation.

Zhou Qiyun’s pupils contracted sharply. “Your Majesty knows a great deal about Qi Cultivators. It seems you have cultivated incense power and obtained quite a few Qi Cultivator techniques, yes? Your Majesty cultivates with yang qi, and that doesn’t look like the orthodox path. Your Majesty, you’ve gone down the wrong road, haven’t you?”

The emperor said coolly, “If bandits can walk that road, why can’t I? A certain somebody is searching everywhere for demonic arts. Why can’t I look for some too?”

A vein throbbed on Zhou Qiyun’s forehead.

Uncle Xiao turned, walked off, and came over to the big water vat. He bent down to inspect the surface and cried out in surprise, “What a huge vat! Could it be a treasure?”

He lowered his voice and whispered, “Young Master, Demon King Xu, what should we do now?”

Their situation was probably even more dangerous than it had been when the heavenly gods had surrounded the parasol tree. Back then, they could still run for their lives. Now, they might not even have a chance to escape!

Xu Ying said quietly, “As soon as they start fighting, we’ll jump into the vat and return to the Abyss of Cangwu!”

Inside the great hall, Guo Xiaodie gathered her courage and asked, “Why is this Qi Cultivator covered in so many talismans? What do these talismans mean?”

“Good question. Lord Zhou must know, right?” The emperor looked at Zhou Qiyun.

Zhou Qiyun shook his head. “I am truly terrified. Your Majesty is learned in the ways of Heaven and Man; surely you possess some understanding of this.”

The two of them once again faced off.

Guo Xiaodie slipped out of the great hall and said in surprise, “There’s actually a vat here! Such a beautiful vat. How did it end up here?”

She lowered her voice and said excitedly, “Is the dynasty going to change hands today?”

Yuan Weiyang and Uncle Xiao both frowned. If they couldn’t ease the tension between the emperor and Zhou Qiyun today, the dynasty really might change hands.

Even then, it would have nothing to do with people like them. Whether the survivor was the Emperor or Zhou Qiyun, neither would leave them alive. To preserve a righteous reputation, the victor would silence every witness and leave no stain behind.

Xu Ying frowned. His gaze drifted to the plaque embedded in the mountainside above the great hall, and he paused. The plaque was written in bird-worm seal script, with a few characters whose meaning was unclear.

He stretched and said with a smile, “I know what the talismans on this ancient Qi Cultivator mean.”

The emperor and Zhou Qiyun looked at him. Xu Ying stood outside the great hall and smiled. “Those talismans are seals.”

The emperor said, “Even a three-year-old child could see that much.”

Xu Ying said, “But neither a three-year-old child nor Your Majesty noticed that these talismans separately seal his primordial spirit, primordial qi, and body. They've sealed his entire being.”

Zhou Qiyun looked over with interest. “Continue.”

Xu Ying said, “The technique he cultivates is the untainted [1], but the technique itself isn’t perfect. It needs the aid of talismans. These talismans are actually seals he placed on himself.”

The emperor thought for a moment. “He uses talismans to compensate for the flaws in his technique, sealing his own acupoints to achieve immortality? There's actually such a peculiar technique in this world?”

Xu Ying shook his head. “Your Majesty is wrong again.”

The emperor looked at him and said with commanding authority, “Are you making a fool of me?”

Xu Ying continued, “He didn't seal himself to keep his essence from leaking out. He sealed himself to keep something outside from getting in.”

The emperor and Zhou Qiyun both froze. Outside the hall, Yuan Weiyang, Guo Xiaodie, and Uncle Xiao were also stunned. The ancient Qi Cultivator had sealed himself to keep something out? What was that thing?

“No!”

The emperor said firmly, “You’re wrong! His forehead clearly split open, and flesh poured from the wound, transforming into a giant serpent! If he had sealed himself, how could such a change have occurred? You dare deceive the emperor? You deserve punishment!”

Xu Ying shook his head. “His forehead split open because something outside tore it open. That thing entered through the wound and took up residence inside his body.”

A chill ran up everyone’s spine, and all of them looked toward the ancient Qi Cultivator’s corpse in the shrine.

Xu Ying continued, “Qi Cultivators have an inner world called the ethereal void. That thing parasitized it, devoured his primordial spirit, and took control of his body.”

Zhou Qiyun frowned. “Xu Ying, all of this is just your speculation.”

Xu Ying gripped the door rings on the great hall’s entrance with both hands and pulled hard, slowly closing the hall doors until only a crack remained. “If neither of you believes me, there’s a talisman on the ground. Pick it up and place it on his forehead. If he doesn't want to be sealed, he'll react.”

The emperor and Zhou Qiyun exchanged a look, then looked toward the talisman on the floor.

Zhou Qiyun bent down, picked up the fallen talisman, and pressed it toward the ancient Qi Cultivator's forehead. Just as his hand was about to touch the forehead, the corpse suddenly grinned.

His mouth split all the way to his ears, revealing a full set of sharp teeth. His eyes were almost entirely white, with only a vertical pupil in the center!

Clang!

Xu Ying slammed the hall doors shut. Thunder rumbled inside the great hall, accompanied by dragon roars and tiger howls. The entire hall shook violently as blinding light burst through the cracks around the doors.

All they heard was a series of piercing shrieks as light beams shot out, reaching the mountain several dozen li away. Xu Ying, Yuan Weiyang, and Guo Xiaodie stood there dazed. The mountain peak looked like a steamed bun carved by more than a dozen blades, yet it remained standing.

The commotion inside the hall only grew more terrifying, as though primordial beasts were locked in battle, shaking the entire mountain.

“Demon King Xu, what’s the thing that got into that Qi Cultivator’s body?” shouted Guo Xiaodie.

Xu Ying looked up at the plaque above the doors. The bird-worm seal script on it was complicated and hard to understand, but he recognized it.

Truth-Seeking Supreme Void Grotto Heaven Demon Suppression Hall!

“Demon,” he told Guo Xiaodie.

The Qi Cultivator in the shrine had once suppressed demons. In the end, however, a heavenly demon invaded him, devoured his primordial spirit, seized his body, and sat in the shrine like a god, accepting the people's worship in hopes of becoming a true deity.

Boom!

Another violent tremor rolled through the Demon Suppression Hall. Beneath Xu Ying and the others’ feet, the wormlike mass of flesh connected to the water vat suddenly twitched and convulsed, then settled back into silence.

Everyone’s hearts pounded as they stared at the hall doors. The hall beyond was deathly quiet.

Suddenly, blood gurgled out through the crack in the doors, reeking horribly. Guo Xiaodie and Yuan Weiyang hurriedly covered their mouths and noses. Next, the doors were pulled open from inside. Zhou Qiyun was covered in blood, looking utterly wretched, with fresh wounds on his face and body.

Blood stained the corner of his mouth and streaked his white brows. He limped out of the Demon Suppression Hall, exposing the jagged ends of broken bone through the wound in his thigh. and they could even see the broken, jagged ends of bone at his thigh wound, pale and glaringly white!

When had the famed Old Ancestor Zhou ever looked so miserable? He seized Xu Ying by the collar and lifted him, saying viciously, “You wanted to kill me?”

Xu Ying hung from his hand like a dead fish, not struggling at all. “I figured you are an Exorcist Immortal brave enough to undergo heavenly tribulation and ascend, so you shouldn’t be any inferior to an ancient Qi Cultivator, right? If you don’t have any means of exorcising demons, then what right do you have to speak of transcending tribulation?”

Zhou Qiyun fixed him with a cold stare. After a moment, he finally set him down.

“Don't let there be a next time.”

Xu Ying rubbed his neck and looked behind him, only to see the emperor also emerging from the hall with a dark expression. He was in no better shape than Zhou Qiyun. The two greatest experts had nearly been buried in the Demon Suppression Hall!

The emperor looked at Xu Ying, divine light flickered in his eyes, and said leisurely, “My gaze can kill. But today, I won’t kill you yet.”

He coughed violently, spat out a mouthful of blood, and steadied himself against the door, his legs still trembling a little. Leaning on the door, he panted hard and glared viciously at Xu Ying.

“You’ve got rebel bones!”

Xu Ying whispered, “Master Zhong, with your current strength, can you take them both out?”

Dazhong said, “No.”

Xu Ying smiled. “Your Majesty, this was all just a misunderstanding.”

Yuan Weiyang cut, “Why would the heavenly demon and the heavenly god join forces to surround and attack the phoenix?”

1. In Buddhism, 无漏 (anāsrava) means "untainted" or "free from outflows (āsravas)," referring to a state free from the mental defilements of greed, hatred, ignorance, and attachment that perpetuate saṃsāra. 无漏法 refers to the Buddha's teachings and practices that lead to liberation by eliminating these defilements. ☜