Day of Ascension

Xu Ying was in a daze. Someone who had known him had aged, yet he remained unchanged.

However, he only remembered the past few years. All the memories from those missing years were gone. Who was he?

Was he still Xu Ying?

His head split with pain as he desperately searched his memories of Xujiaping Village. The harder he tried to remember, the more unfamiliar memories surfaced. Different voices, different scenes, and the faces of different parents flooded his mind.

The old man asked with a trembling voice, “What exactly are you?”

Xu Ying said blankly, “What exactly am I?”

What had he done during those missing years? And with what identity?

Where had those missing years gone? Why couldn’t he remember them? Why didn’t he age? Why did Xiao Fengxian say that she had seen him three thousand years ago?

The world spun around Xu Ying, and he fell backward. Countless chaotic voices rang in his ears.

That old man who had recognized Xu Ying collapsed alongside him. In an instant, the village descended into chaos.

Someone cried out, “The young one is still breathing! Come save him, quick!”

“Who's the young one? The old one looks young, and the young one looks old!”

Still dazed, Xu Ying saw countless jumbled images flash through his mind. Face after face swayed before him, seemingly trying to tell him something, but the voices blended into incomprehensible noise.

Some images were very blurry, revealing the world's transformation through the ages. Mountains eroded and crumbled away. Lakes receded, leaving dead fish stranded on the cracked earth with their mouths agape.

New mountains rose from the ground, and new lakes rapidly formed.

He saw mulberry fields turn into a desert, and the desert turn back into a green oasis.

He saw the winds and clouds shift rapidly. The sun rose and set in the blink of an eye. Even the changing seasons seemed to accelerate countless times over.

He occasionally regained consciousness, only to black out again moments later. Amid the haze, he vaguely heard the toll of a bell. He opened his eyes in a daze and saw Dazhong hovering above him. The various diagrams on his inner walls seemed to come to life.

He heard Dazhong’s voice drift over from afar. “I’ll help him steady his scattered divine sense first. He should be fine. The shock was simply too great...”

Xu Ying watched the nearby mountains shift before losing consciousness again.

A familiar yet unfamiliar voice entered his ears.

“What should we call him?”

“Let’s call him... Xu Ying. He shall become renowned across the world, known by everyone, everywhere!”

A gentle hand caressed his face.

Another familiar yet unfamiliar voice murmured, “Xu Ying, Xu Ying. Remember your name, you’re not allowed to forget your name.”

......

Xu Ying drifted back to sleep amid the jolting motion. Once again, he saw someone walking toward him. That person felt incredibly familiar, yet he had never seen them before.

Then, he saw himself standing atop a cliff, holding someone's hand as they gazed at the mist-shrouded mountains and rivers together.

“No matter whether it takes a thousand or ten thousand lifetimes, I will find you. We’ll never separate again!”

Xu Ying suddenly awoke and sat up, only to slam his head into Dazhong. Pain exploded through his skull, and he collapsed back onto the bed.

Yuanqi’s voice rang out anxiously. “Master Zhong, Master Zhong, what happened?”

Dazhong replied sheepishly, “I was hovering too close to him. He slammed into me and knocked himself unconscious.”

Xu Ying woke up once more. This time, he stayed still and slowly opened his eyes, carefully surveying his surroundings before sitting up.

He was in a room. Judging by the furnishings, it was likely a woman’s room, though the things were very old. The copper mirror on the dressing table was blurry, and the room looked as though it had been abandoned for years.

A female ghost peeked out from the mirror to watch him. The moment she noticed him looking at her, she hurriedly withdrew.

When Xu Ying remained still, she gradually grew bolder. She began applying makeup in front of the mirror, then removed her head, placed it on the table, and slowly combed her hair.

Xu Ying sat up. The female ghost stared at him, bleeding from her seven orifices. Her face also turned eerie.

He rubbed his head, noticing that he had a bump.

A high-pitched sound rang in his ears. After a long while, his hearing finally returned.

The female ghost lost interest. She lay down on the bed inside the mirror, yawned lazily, curled up like a cat, and pulled the blanket over herself.

Xu Ying climbed out of bed and murmured, “Did Yuanqi and Master Zhong really choose a haunted house to stay in?”

The female ghost in the mirror quickly sat up and nodded repeatedly. He stood, but his legs gave way beneath him.

She giggled with her mouth covered, as if mocking him for being a soft-legged shrimp[1].

Xu Ying paid it no mind and steadied himself. His head was still splitting with pain. He left the room and entered a vast open space. They were inside an ancient, enormous mountain, with houses, courtyards, and an old palace. They all looked dilapidated; no one had maintained them in a very long time.

The area wasn’t huge and was relatively flat. Brick paths paved the complex, while the buildings were exquisitely constructed despite their dilapidated state.

Xu Ying looked down and saw a mountain gate.

The houses and palace suggested that this place had once belonged to a small sect more than three thousand years ago. After the disappearance of Qi Cultivators, it had been abandoned.

“Where is this place? Where are Master Zhong and Xiao Qi?”

Xu Ying walked up to the gate and looked back. He saw the enormous section of Mount Wu Wang that had broken away and crashed into two other towering peaks. The remaining mountain was still colossal, resembling the jagged stump of a snapped tree.

This unknown sect had been built on the sunny side of Mount Wu Wang, while Qin Yan Cave was on the shady side. Despite having lived here before, Xu Ying had never discovered the ruins hidden on the mountain's sunny side.

He moved around a bit and broke out in cold sweat. So, he had no choice but to sit down.

“I wonder what Master Zhong and Xiao Qi are doing, leaving me here. Aren't they afraid the female ghost will devour me?”

Xu Ying shook his head. Once he caught his breath, he slowly circulated his primordial qi to stimulate his vital energy and awaken his physical functions.

At the same time, his Mud-Pill and Crimson-Palace Secret Troves also opened in succession. Gradually, Xu Ying recovered to peak condition, though his head still hurt. He wasn't sure whether the pain came from hitting Master Zhong or from recalling his past and throwing his mind into chaos.

Xu Ying practiced Inner Vision and surveyed his ethereal void. Finding no injuries, he let out a sigh of relief. However, Master Zhong was nowhere to be found.

He tried hard to recall what had happened when he fainted. Another series of strange images and voices flooded his mind, intensifying his splitting headache. He quickly stopped.

“Someone saw me more than sixty years ago. Why don't I remember it at all?”

He composed himself. Could it be because of Meng Po Soup? Had that frowning old man really given him Meng Po Soup to erase my memories?

Yet the tea he had served him both times had tasted excellent, and neither time had he lost any memories.

Suddenly, Dazhong’s voice rang out, cursing, “I told you Qin Yan Cave’s Mud-Pill Palace Grotto Heaven isn’t a spiritual sanctuary. It’s just a trick to fool people. Yet, you refused to believe me and insisted on digging it up! Now I’m covered in mud! And you even left Ah Ying here. Who knows if that female ghost has already sucked him dry!”

Yuanqi’s voice rang out, “That female ghost definitely can’t harvest Ah Ying. I saw that she’s trapped inside the mirror. Moreover, the coffin maiden said this is a place of ascension. Since that is the case, there must be something extraordinary about it!”

Just then, Dazhong spotted Xu Ying sitting there. He lit up in delight and quickly flew over. He smiled.

“Ah Ying, you’re finally awake! Quick, let me suck a couple times! Yuanqi, that scumbag, wouldn’t let me suck his vital energy, saying it’s like being drained by a female ghost three hundred times a day. What nonsense! Would a female ghost's harvesting technique ever be as refined as mine?”

Xu Ying quickly denied, saying, “Master Zhong, I was unconscious for so long, I’m still not feeling very well. Let’s talk about this again in a few days!”

Dazhong had no choice but to give up. He said with earnest sincerity, “You need to work harder at cultivation. You've been unconscious for more than ten days and have already fallen behind. Learning is like rowing upstream: if you don't advance, you fall behind.”

“Master Zhong is right.” Xu Ying took the lesson humbly. “What’s with the female ghost?”

Yuanqi slithered over, covered in mud, and smiled. “She was sealed inside the copper mirror, so she can’t harm anyone. We took pity on her and left her be. Earlier, we went to Mount Wu Wang’s place of ascension. We were worried wild beasts might attack you, so we left her in your room.”

Xu Ying’s expression darkened. “Is this something a human would do?”

He immediately dismissed the thought. Neither of them is human. There's no point judging them by human standards.

He stretched himself. “That day, the coffin maiden said...”

Xu Ying imitated the coffin maiden’s tone and recited softly, “South of Xiao and Xiang rivers, the Abyss of Cangwu. Beneath Mount Jiuyi, the Ageless Immortal. This place of ascension has ultimately fallen into ruin. Was she referring to the place of ascension in Qin Yan Cave on Mount Wu Wang, or the one on Mount Jiuyi?”

Yuanqi replied, “It must be here! You said it yourself. The place of ascension within the Truth-Seeking Supreme Void Grotto Heaven is fake. An ascender didn’t leave behind the rosy light of ascension, but by the remains of a Qi Cultivator struck by lightning. So, the place of ascension she referred to must be Mount Wu Wang!”

Xu Ying nodded lightly. He turned his head to look at the severed Mount Wu Wang and murmured, “But even Mount Wu Wang has been severed. Where exactly is that place of ascension hidden?”

Just then, he saw two old oxen slowly walking up the mountain. They were covered in wounds, large and small. Although the injuries had scabbed over, they had yet to heal fully. There was no telling how many battles they had fought to reach this place.

Watching them, Xu Ying felt a strange sense of familiarity, as though he had seen them before.

Suddenly, the two old oxen looked up and spotted him. Their eyes lit up with joy, and they quickened their pace, charging toward him.

Yuanqi was overjoyed and rushed forward, exclaiming, “I was just getting hungry. I’ll start with these two oxen!”

As he drew close to the oxen, he found them somewhat familiar. He couldn’t help but feel a jolt in his heart. Could it be Them?

His expression immediately changed, and he quickly turned around, running back up the mountain. However, he was too big and couldn’t change direction quickly enough.

As the oxen rushed forward, black smoke suddenly enveloped them, emanating eerie ghost qi. They transformed into bull demons, standing amidst a ghostly wind, each with a white bone soul-striking whip in hand. Without a word, they lashed at the approaching Yuanqi and made him squirm on the ground.

They surrounded Yuanqi and whipped him relentlessly until Xu Ying rushed over and ordered them to stop.

Xu Ying was shocked. He sized up the bull demons. “Master Zhong, is that Them?”

Dazhong replied, “They are the bull demons who followed you back then, but weren’t there five of Them?”

Previously, at the Water Entrance Temple, five bull demons had followed him to Mount Wu Wang. Later, the mountain collapsed, and these bull demons followed him back to the Water Entrance Temple.

When Xu Ying boarded Zhou Qiyun’s dragon carriage, they couldn’t get on and were left behind. The dragon carriage had flown for a long time before reaching the great locust.

Xu Ying stayed there for a time before traveling to Ghost Cub Hill and entering the Underworld Court. From there, he journeyed to the Abyss of Cangwu, passed through it to Mt. Jiuyi, and eventually reached Qiyang.

After that, he fell unconscious, and Yuanqi brought him back to Mount Wu Wang.

Xu Ying had thought that these bull demons would leave. Unexpectedly, they never abandoned him. They crossed mountains and valleys to return here!

Five bull demons had originally followed him, but only two remained now. The other three had probably perished along the way. Judging by the wounds on these two, they must have suffered a lot on their way back!

The newly emerged lands were filled with danger, not only for living beings like Xu Ying but also for underworld creatures such as the bull demons.

Xu Ying was moved inside and stepped forward.

“Since you have chosen to follow me, I won’t abandon you anymore. From today on, you two shall be the chief disciples of the Demon King, Xu Ying!” Xu Ying laughed out loud.

“Being demonic cultivators, you have strayed onto the path of the gods. I shall teach you the techniques of qi refinement and unlocking the six secrets of the human body, dual cultivation in both qi and exorcism!”

Yuanqi struggled to get back up and looked at the bull demons. “I can’t help thinking they aren't very bright. Surely you aren't taking two dummies as your first disciples?”

Xu Ying’s heart skipped a beat. Recalling the bull demons’ past behavior, he grew uneasy.

Dazhong said, “These two bull demons used to herd in the underworld, attacking anyone They saw. When They failed to beat you up and received a beating instead, They started following you. It does seem like Their brains are lacking...”

The veins on Xu Ying’s forehead twitched, and he cleared his throat. “Don’t panic. The path of godhood has merely poisoned Them. Absorbing incense qi had caused them to lose Their true nature! Surely, They can return to being bull demons after practicing my Qi cultivation techniques!”

Yuanqi whispered, “How about kicking Them out of your lineage?”

Xu Ying said sheepishly, “I just took Them in and haven't taught Them anything yet. If I expel Them now, my reputation will be ruined.”

He paused for a moment, then lowered his voice and continued, “I’ll expel Them after some time. Oh, right, Master Qi, you’re well-read, so help me come up with good names for Them.”

Yuanqi pondered and said, “In the I Ching[2], it states that for the Wu Wang, the twenty-fifth hexagram, or the Innocence, there is supreme success, and perseverance is beneficial. Its structure consists of Zhen below and Qian above. Since we have returned to Mount Wu Wang and reunited with Them, why not call them Niu Zhen and Niu Qian?”

Delighted, Xu Ying smiled. “Master Qi is indeed a cultured man.”

He sized up the two bull demons, then said to the one with a missing ear, “From now on, you’re called Niu Zhen.”

The other bull demon’s facial features were intact, but wounds crisscrossed his body, painting a shocking sight. Xu Ying said, “And you’re called Niu Qian.”

The bull demons exchanged glances. Standing amidst the swirling ghostly wind, They bowed, clasping Their hooves before their chests. “Master, thank you for bestowing us our names!”

Xu Ying was astonished.

Yuanqi was also deeply shaken and exclaimed in shock, “They’re not idiots!”

Niu Zhen said with a muffled, booming voice, “We were originally bull demons in the mortal realm and then became Demon Kings. How can we be idiots?

“We were only worried about our lifespans running out, so we had no choice but to become the Underworld Court’s lackeys. Now that we've met a wise master and received names from you, there's no need to keep pretending to be fools.”

1. An insult to describe someone as being easily scared or weak-willed. In this case, it was literal. ☜

2. Also known as the Book of Changes, an ancient Chinese divination text. ☜