Day of Ascension

Yuan Weiyang understood what Xu Ying meant. After pondering for a moment, she said to Uncle Xiao, “There will be trouble on Mount Jiuyi soon. Be ready to escape at any moment!”

Uncle Xiao’s expression turned grave, and he nodded silently.

Xu Ying went about his routine over the next few days. He went to the Truth-Seeking Supreme Void Grotto Heaven to cultivate during the day, and returned to Wutong Palace at night to rest. Whenever he had time, he deciphered the Nine Heavens Yang Spirit Mystic Altar Technique.

Time flew quickly, and about half a month passed like this.

During that time, Zhou Qiyun had likely recovered from his injuries, and Emperor Shengshen had also, surprisingly, stopped sending people to the underworld to harvest yang qi. The furious smashing from the Cangwu Sect's main hall ceased as well. Everything remained peaceful.

After fully deciphering the Nine Heavens Yang Spirit Mystic Altar Technique, Xu Ying transcribed its first half and handed it to Eunuch Chen. “Please tell His Majesty that I have the second half. Bring the Jade-Capital Secret Trove’s Dragon Tracking Technique to exchange for it.”

Eunuch Chen departed in a hurry.

Xu Ying immediately notified Yuan Weiyang. Before long, she finished packing and rushed over with Uncle Xiao.

Yuanqi shrank to the size of a noodle strand and hid inside Xu Ying’s collar. Meanwhile, Dazhong concealed himself within Xu Ying’s mind as usual.

As everyone prepared themselves, Xu Ying suddenly thought of Guo Xiaodie. She’s from the Guo clan. They must have received news by now. I wonder if we’ll be friends or enemies when we meet later.

Not long after, Eunuch Chen rushed back with a smile. “His Majesty has sent me to deliver the Jade-Capital Secret Trove’s Dragon Tracking Technique. Lord Xu, where is the second half of the scripture and the golden book?”

Xu Ying took it out and handed it to Eunuch Chen. In return, Eunuch Chen handed him a small booklet with a smile. “This is the Jade-Capital Secret Trove’s Dragon Tracking technique. His Majesty had penned it himself. Lord Xu, His Majesty has also summoned all of you to receive his reward in person.”

He accepted the Dragon Tracking Technique and bowed in gratitude. “Please lead the way, Eunuch Chen.”

Eunuch Chen led the group toward the Cangwu Sect’s main hall on the mountainside. As Xu Ying and Yuan Weiyang looked around, they noticed far more Jinwu Guards stationed along the treacherous terrain than a few days earlier.

Looking further down, they saw dozens of Exorcists being escorted up the mountain by two Jinwu Guards. One of them carried a sword case on his back, while the other held a white banner.

As Xu Ying's group passed, the Jinwu Guards ordered the Exorcists to kneel. They lined up obediently. One guard slapped his sword case, sending sword qi flying out to execute them one after another.

However, a few experts were among these Exorcists. Three of them sensed the danger, immediately activated exorcism techniques to resist the sword qi, and leaped away.

The Jinwu Guard called out, “Think of your family! If you die, it ends with you. If you flee, your entire clan will be executed!”

Two of the powerful Exorcists hesitated for a moment. Sword qi pierced their glabella, killing them instantly.

The last Exorcist remained decisive. Ignoring the warning, he leaped into the air. He leaped into the air, and his vital energy transformed into a white crane behind him. The crane’s wings spanned several zhang, and it soared into the sky.

However, Jinwu Guards were already stationed at strategic checkpoints. Streaks of sword qi tore through the air, killing that Exorcist. Decapitated, he plummeted from the sky.

Hiding inside Xu Ying’s collar, Yuanqi’s soul trembles at the sight. He said in a quivering voice, “Ah Ying...”

Dazhong also let out a dull clang.

Composing himself, Xu Ying followed Eunuch Chen. Yuan Weiyang acted as though she saw nothing, while Uncle Xiao clenched his fist before relaxing it.

They continued descending the mountain. Half a li later, they came upon another group of Jinwu Guards executing dozens more Exorcists. Another half a li farther, another round of execution took place. Some Exorcists wailed and screamed, while others tried their hardest to flee.

Alas, the strategic checkpoints were heavily guarded. Where could they flee to?

Over the next ten li, Xu Ying's group saw more than a thousand Exorcists executed. Some were disciples and elders of the Cangwu Sect. The rest belonged to other martial sects and had been abducted.

They had once been useful, gathering yang qi from the underworld for the emperor's pill refinement. Now, they had outlived their usefulness.

Without a purpose, they had no reason to live. To protect the emperor's reputation, they had to die.

As they continued on their way, they spotted a fierce battle ahead. Three Jinwu Guards surrounded the Cangwu Sect's leader. The sect leader possessed extraordinary skills.

Though it was unclear which Secret Trove he cultivated with, the vital energy behind him was robust. He had already opened six grotto heavens and was a Great Exorcist of the jianghu!

Even so, the three Jinwu Guards had driven him into a desperate situation. He could lose his life at any moment.

Beyond the battlefield, the Cangwu Sect's main hall stood in clear view.

Suddenly, Eunuch Chen sighed and whispered, “Little Brother Xu, can’t you tell that the book His Majesty gave you is blank? Quickly leave.”

Uncle Xiao lowered his voice. “Much thanks.”

Then, he struck Eunuch Chen on the back of his shoulder. The latter spewed blood and tumbled down the cliff. Midair, he shrieked, “Capture the rebels!”

Taken aback, Uncle Xiao murmured, “I didn’t hit that hard. How is he spewing that much blood—”

“Go!” Xu Ying shouted and stepped forward. Sword qi swirled beneath his feet, enveloping him in an instant. With a swish, he turned into a stream of sword light and tore through the air!

Another stream of sword light chased after him—Yuan Weiyang.

Neither dared fly high into the sky. They skimmed just above the ground, and the overflowing sword qi shattered the grass, trees, and rocks along their path.

The Jinwu Guards had already noticed them. They slapped their sword cases, sending more than a dozen streaks of sword qi slashing toward the two streams of sword light.

Xu Ying and Yuan Weiyang couldn’t launch any counterattacks from within the swirling sword qi. The incoming sword qi streaks crashed into their protective sword light, greatly slowing them.

Suddenly, the sword light around Xu Ying dissipated. He leaped into the air. Then, a cloud ladder appeared beneath his feet. Using it as a foothold, he made another jump. Simultaneously, the sword case on his back clicked open to either side, revealing seven compartments, each containing a streak of sword qi.

Xu Ying formed a sword-finger seal. All streaks of sword qi shot out in succession, meeting the incoming sword qi with a series of metallic clangs and severing them all.

His sword case was Yuan Tiangang’s treasure. The sword qi within had been nurtured for a thousand years; its sharpness was unparalleled. The Jinwu Guards' sword cases couldn't compare.

Meanwhile, Yuan Weiyang’s protective sword qi gradually thinned. She leaped into the air and used Divine Sense Leaping to create footholds in midair. Then, she controlled flying swords to sever the sword qi besieging her.

Meanwhile, Uncle Xiao sprinted through the mountain forest like a ferocious tiger descending the mountain. He charged through each pass, killing the Jinwu Guards stationed there or hurling them off the cliffs.

The seven streaks of sword qi returned to Xu Ying’s sword case, and it clicked shut once more.

Sword qi surged around Xu Ying, transforming him into a thick stream of sword light that skimmed across the ground. Another stream of sword light swept in from the side and flew alongside him. It was Yuan Weiyang.

Their sword qi vanished into the mountain forest. With a short cry from each of them, they each eliminated the formidable enemies guarding the area and flew away on their swords once more.

Battle cries resounded throughout the mountain as the Jinwu Guards and Guo clan experts mobilized in succession, blocking every possible route of retreat.

Finally, Xu Ying and Yuan Weiyang reached the cliff overlooking the Abyss of Cangwu. The Guo clan’s experts were already guarding the cliff, and Guo Yue and Li Yingzhu were leading them. Guo Xiaodie was also among them.

The group radiated a murderous aura, prepared to fight.

The Guo clan was a noble clan. Although it wasn't as large as the Zhou clan, it was even more ancient, with deeper foundations. Their battle formation was already in place. Anyone stopped by them faced certain death.

“Master Zhong!”

Before Xu Ying’s voice faded, a large bronze bell flew out from the back of his head and spun with a humming sound. Light radiated from its walls, spreading into layer upon layer until it formed an even larger wall of light.

Runes revolved across its exterior, while countless creations seemed to come alive within, vying to flourishing. His boundless vitality transformed into frightening might.

Clang!

The great bell shook. The light wall trembled with him, and the might shook the cliff. The Guo clan’s experts had already activated their formation to resist the bell’s might. Their combined auras formed an impregnable fortress of bronze walls and iron defenses, colliding head-on with the great bell.

In the next moment, the bell’s toll shattered the city wall. The Guo clan’s experts’ vital energies churned, forcing them back, yet their formation remained intact.

Clang!

The great bell rang a second time. The impact caused the wall to collapse and destroyed the fortress. The Guo clan’s experts spewed blood. Dazhong’s momentum reached a peak, and he rang for the third time. Immediately, their battle array was broken, and the shockwave sent them flying in all directions.

“Ah Ying, I can’t hold on any longer!” Dazhong cried out. The light wall withdrew abruptly as he returned to the back of Xu Ying’s head, vanishing from sight.

Seizing the opportunity, Xu Ying and Yuan Weiyang rushed to the edge of the cliff. They only needed to jump off the cliff, plunge into the lake, and dive into the Abyss of Cangwu to escape through the underworld.

Just then, the iridescent cloud in the sky above the Cangwu Sect’s hall drifted toward them.

That iridescent cloud was a symbol of imperial authority. Before it arrived, the sound of the masses’ prayers made their heads spin and blurred their consciousness.

Yet before it reached the cliff, it stopped in midair as though it had struck a wall of bronze and iron, unable to advance another inch.

A youth with white brows stood quietly under the iridescent cloud, looking toward the Cangwu Sect’s main hall. His eyes flickered as he weighed whether Xu Ying was worth falling out with Emperor Shengshen.

Xu Ying suddenly shouted, “Old Ancestor Zhou, I left a copy of the Nine Heavens Yang Spirit Mystic Altar Technique for you in Wutong Palace! It can resolve the flaw in Granny Tuo Immortal Book and allow you to cultivate without obstacles!”

Zhou Qiyun's heart shook. Disbelief flashed across his face as he turned to look at Xu Ying.

“Xu Ying, this is the second time you’ve tried to escape.” He turned his head back to face the main hall. His voice calm, he said, “Run. Don’t let me catch you.”

Breathing a sigh of relief, Xu Ying jumped off the cliff and plummeted toward the emerald lake. At the same moment, a host of Jinwu Guards leaped after him. The Guo clan's experts also soared into the air, using Cloud-Ladder Heavenly Bound to pursue Xu Ying and Yuan Weiyang.

With the momentum of a ferocious tiger, Uncle Xiao leaped down onto the back of an Jinwu Guard and blew him up with a single punch. He seized the guard's sword case and smashed it violently, causing it to explode. The sword qi streaks within shot out in all directions, forcing the Jinwu Guards and Guo clan experts to defend themselves.

Suddenly, Guo Yue leaped forward. With a wave of his hand, the winds and clouds in the sky surged violently as he clashed with Uncle Xiao.

Uncle Xiao let out a muffled groan. Five grotto heavens were behind him, yet he still spewed blood from the impact and plummeted.

As Guo Yue moved in to finish him off, Xu Ying leaped forward and caught Uncle Xiao. He cried out loud, “Master Zhong!”

Dazhong flew out, shouting, “I’m out of strength!”

Xu Ying swung the great bell and smashed him violently into Guo Yue. Dazhong let out a deafening roar as he cried out, “I told you I really can't do it anymore, but you just won't believe me!”

Guo Yue blocked the great bell with one hand and sensed that the bell was far weaker than before. Clearly, it was an arrow at the end of its flight. Delighted, he reached out with his other hand without hesitation to grab Xu Ying’s neck.

Just then, a tiny snake slipped out from Xu Ying’s collar and bit the webbing between Guo Yue's fingers.

Guo Yue immediately lost all feeling in his hand, then his arm. Horrified, he cried out in a panic, “Yingzhu, Yingzhu, come save me! A strange snake has bitten me!”

The beautiful madam was just about to capture Yuan Weiyang, but she panicked and rushed over. She saw black qi rapidly spreading toward his shoulder. Once it reached his heart, lungs, and brain, not even an immortal could save him. Left without a choice, she gritted her teeth and severed his entire arm!

“Rest assured, my dear. I’ll kill Demon King Xu and avenge you!”

Li Yingzhu helped him stop the bleeding. Then, the couple looked over, only to see that Xu Ying had already charged into the emerald lake along with Uncle Xiao and entered the Abyss of Cangwu. So, they rushed after them.

Upon reaching the Abyss of Cangwu, the two found Jinwu Guards and Guo clan experts locked in fierce battle along the abyss. Sword light clashed incessantly as corpses plummeted one after another to violent deaths.

Xu Ying flew into a murderous frenzy and activated Yuan Tiangang’s sword case to kill. It flew into the air and clicked open. Sometimes, it unleashed torrents of sword qi that carved through enemies like vegetables. Other times, the sword qi revolved around Xu Ying as he charged into the crowd, deflecting attacks and severing limbs wherever he went.

Li Yingzhu and Guo Yue’s eyes turned bloodshot at the sight, and they shouted fiercely, “Step aside, all of you!”

Using the Cloud-Ladder Heavenly Bound, the couple rapidly closed in. Xu Ying and Yuan Weiyang broke free from their entanglement with the crowd and turned into two streams of sword light to flee.

The couple soon outpaced the others in pursuit. Suddenly, a stream of sword light shot toward them and blocked their path. Guo Xiaodie's voice came from within.

“Second Aunt, Fourth Uncle, don’t chase them anymore!”

Seeing the sword qi around her, Li Yingzhu instantly realized she had received Xu Ying’s true teachings of the Sword Kinesis Mantra. She stamped her foot. “Xiaodie, did he teach you? What was the price?”

Guo Xiaodie bowed. “There was no price! He saw that I didn’t understand it and taught me directly!”

Stunned for a moment, Li Yingzhu turned to look at Guo Yue’s severed arm. She sighed in defeat. “This is the price our Guo clan paid for the Sword Kinesis Mantra...”

Pale from the pain, Guo Yue’s forehead was covered in sweat as he whispered, “My dear, I know several experts of the Zhou clan. I can grow it back.”

Li Yingzhu’s complexion recovered slightly. “Could it be that our Guo clan obtained the Sword Kinesis Mantra for free?”

Guo Yue nodded lightly.

Overjoyed inside, Li Yingzhu smiled. “In that case, we really shouldn’t go too far. Xiaodie, we still have to keep up appearances. Otherwise, we’d have a hard time explaining things to His Majesty. We’ll just give them a way out.”

Delighted, Guo Xiaodie turned her head back to look. Xu Ying and the others had already disappeared into the vast underworld without a trace.

Xu Ying, Yuan Weiyang, and Uncle Xiao faced several more attempts on their lives. Ultimately, they shook off their pursuers using the underworld’s geography. However, the underworld was vast and boundless. They were unsure of their location, either.

Before long, Xu Ying looked up and saw towering divine statues shrouded in incense smoke, standing between the mountains. He immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

That was the Underworld Court.

If they had arrived at the Underworld Court, it meant that the Heavenly God Hall was near!

Soon, the trio arrived at the Heavenly God Hall. Under numerous watchful eyes, they carefully made their way through the ancient divine hall. Surprisingly, they passed through safely without being questioned.

Outside the Ghost Cub Hill, Yuan Weiyang stopped and smiled brightly. “Demon King Xu, let’s part ways here. It’s time I return and report to my honored mother.”

Xu Ying stopped and said reluctantly, “I should also look into my origins. After parting ways, there’s no telling when I’ll meet you again.”

Yuan Weiyang hesitated for a moment before smiling. “I was very happy during the time we spent together. If you ever come to the capital, I’ll introduce you to my younger sister.”

Uncle Xiao froze for a moment, then looked at Yuan Weiyang in confusion. Isn’t Young Master an only daughter? What younger sister?