Day of Ascension

Xu Ying passed by the trio, paused for a moment, then turned back. He asked the frowning old man, “Elder, do you have any more tea? I’m a little thirsty.”

The old man replied stiffly, “I don’t!”

Xu Ying pleaded, “Elder, where can I buy this tea? I’ll get it myself.”

The trio's eyes twitched, but they swallowed their anger. When none of them answered, Xu Ying walked away.

The frowning old man exhaled a mouthful of turbid air. “Where’s the yellow ritual paper? Take it out and see if the higher-ups have replied.”

The white-robed old man grumbled, “We check it dozens of times every day, and you still keep asking to see it. Have we got a reply so far?”

Still, he took out the yellow ritual paper the earth god had given them to look at. There was still no reply. He muttered under his breath, “Are they born in the year of the turtle[1] or what? So slow!”

The red-robed woman turned to look at Xu Ying’s back. Still unwilling to let it go, she muttered, “One cup used to knock him out. We could make up a background for him on the spot and enjoy peace for years. Now he’s coming to us for more Meng Po Soup.”

Grief and indignation filled her heart. “What exactly is in Meng Po Soup? Can someone get addicted to it after drinking too much?”

Xu Ying walked onto the broken cliff, passed the area where the giant with two chains stood, and saw two huge footprints. They had crushed the trees into the ground.

Xu Ying wondered, Who is he exactly?

He spotted a shadow under the moonlight. Looking up, he saw that the coffin maiden had also come to the footprints and was examining them.

Delighted inside, he smiled. “Miss, thanks to your copper basin, I returned to Wu Wang safely and even made a fortune.”

The maiden looked at him in confusion. “Why would a Qi Cultivator lack money? Can’t you just turn stone into gold?”

Xu Ying’s eyes widened in surprise. Feeling a lack of confidence, he asked, “I’ve never learned it. Can someone like me learn it?”

The maiden looked him up and down and smiled gently. “You’ve reached the Gate-Knocking Stage? Turning stone into gold is still a little beyond you. Do this, then this, then that, and you’ll be fine.”

She demonstrated a few hand gestures with a perfectly serious expression.

Just as Xu Ying was about to follow her example, Dazhong whispered, “She’s teasing you. That’s not real mystic art.”

The maiden seemed to hear his voice and glanced over. Dazhong shuddered as though struck by a heavy blow. Before he realized what had happened, he flew out of Xu Ying’s mind and appeared behind him.

Dazhong jumped in fright. He hurried back into the back of Xu Ying’s head, panicking. Feeling his old injuries throbbing, he thought, The demoness has grown even stronger! Do I still have any hope of sending her back to Little Rocky Mountain in my lifetime?

Xu Ying ignored him and asked, “Miss, do you know the giant who left the footprints?”

She nodded lightly. “He should be an old acquaintance of mine. He’s remarkably knowledgeable and a delightful conversationalist. He lives in Mount Wu Wang. I once received his guidance and benefited greatly from it.”

Xu Ying pondered for a moment and asked, “That white jade palace in Qin Yan Cave is called the Mud-Pill Palace. Was the giant from earlier its master?”

The maiden gasped in surprise. “That should be him. You know him?”

Xu Ying’s heart pounded wildly. Waves of hot blood rose to his brain.

He steadied himself and tried to speak, but his throat felt dry. “What kind of a person is he?”

The maiden shook her head. “When I knew him, he was a very warm-hearted person. He was happy to help others. He was cautious by nature, far-sighted, ambitious, and possessed remarkable foresight. Everyone respected him. He was the most dazzling figure of my era and one of those with the greatest hope of ascending.”

After hesitating momentarily, she said, “We haven’t seen each other in three thousand years. I don’t know if he is still the same person I once knew.”

Lowering her voice, she asked, “The world has changed a lot. Feels so unfamiliar now. Do people change?”

His heart still pounding wildly, Xu Ying thought, The person she described is nothing like the Mud-Pill Palace Master I know. He’s a cunning villain whose schemes run layers deep. He turns his successors into crops, then waits for them to ripen before harvesting them.

They were clearly two different people!

The coffin maiden gazed toward Mount Jiuyi in the darkness and softly said, “An Exorcist undergoing tribulation is history in the making. Even if he fails, he will still tower above his contemporaries and be a grandmaster of his generation.”

Looking into the depths of the night, Xu Ying muttered, “He won’t succeed. He can’t succeed. He’s already meat on a chopping block...”

The coffin maiden lamented, “Yes, such an exceptionally talented figure, yet he’s about to die in the heavenly tribulation...”

Xu Ying’s eyes flickered. In the darkness of the night, a light also flickered.

Suddenly, the distant Mount Jiuyi lit up like a lighthouse in the dark.

That was the Zhou Heavenly Dao Site set up by the Zhou clan Exorcists. Its scale was unimaginably vast. A total of three hundred sixty named heavenly gods wielded the Heavenly Dao, matching the number of a full celestial cycle.

Meanwhile, the Zhou clan’s Dao arena had a total of three hundred sixty seats, scattered across the nine peaks of Mount Jiuyi. Some stood on the summits, some along the mountainsides, and others deep within the valleys.

All the ritual sites, large and small, lit up at this moment as the Zhou clan’s Exorcists performed a grand heaven-averting ritual at the sites.

Ordinarily, a sacrifice to Heaven honored only a single heavenly god. This time, however, the Zhou clan’s ritual was dedicated to all the heavenly gods of the Heavenly Dao World!

As the three hundred sixty Dao sites lit up, the peaks of those mountains hidden within the new lands gradually lit up as well.

In the night, on the high grounds of Mount Wu Wang, everyone fell deadly silent. Even the donkey, whose soul had been wounded, forgot to bray.

The sheer scale of the Dao ritual sites was overwhelming. These weren't sites for offering sacrifices to Heaven—they were sites for the descent of gods!

They were meant to invite the heavenly gods of the Heavenly Dao World to descend.

Even Young Master Xiang and Shisanniang were deeply shaken. When they had traveled to Zhudu under orders to summon the Plague God, the undertaking had already been enormous.

His descent had spread disease everywhere and diverted the Hell River, triggering a chain of events.

Zhou Qiyun's ritual was hundreds of times greater.

“How truly rich of him,” muttered Imperial Uncle Li as he squeezed his money pouch, which felt empty.

Old Ancestor Guo stroked his beard, then said in a voice that wasn’t loud, yet resonant, “Just how many graves has he robbed and tombs has he plundered? Being a Tomb Raider Captain[2] truly earns a fortune. Xiaodie, go pack up, let’s go plunder some ancestral tombs, too.”

Guo Xiaodie pursed her lips. “You’re still alive, Old Ancestor. What ancestral tomb do we even have to rob?”

Old Ancestor Guo grew furious. “Touch wood! I meant plundering other clans’ ancestral tombs!”

Old Ancestor Shi sighed emotionally. “Captain Zhou plundered graves for over two centuries, while we’re just getting started. Aren’t we a little too late now?”

Imperial Uncle Li smiled shyly. “Captain Shi, hasn’t your Shi clan also been tomb raiding for years?”

Old Ancestor Shi paid no attention to being exposed. “You jest, Captain Li. I’ve heard that Captain Zhou gained more than treasures in the new lands. Rumor has it that the Yuan clan helped him, along with a young man who keeps a giant snake.”

An uneasy silence fell over the crowd.

There was a giant snake on this very mountain, and they had all seen the young man who raised it when they climbed up.

The Yuan clan was a noble clan. Though old, Yuan Wuji was still holding down the fort. The young man with the giant snake, however, lacked such backing. Whoever captured him could simply keep him.

Old Ancestor Guo stroked his white beard. “If Captain Zhou can capture him, why can’t my clan?”

Guo Xiaodie whispered, “Old Ancestor, should I start addressing you as Tomb Raider Captain Guo?”

Old Ancestor Guo spat and cursed, “Nonsense! Real men are open and upright. How could they do such things?”

After a short pause, he continued, “Fortunately, I’m not a real man. If I hadn’t become Captain Guo, who knows how far these old fossils would’ve gotten ahead of me? By then, they might've eaten me alive before I even realized it. This world is truly treacherous.”

His booming voice echoed across the mountain.

Standing atop the broken cliff, Xu Ying could not help but have a favorable impression of Old Ancestor Guo.

He’s the only one honest enough to admit he’s wicked.

Just then, the skies above Mount Jiuyi churned, as if thick thunderclouds had gathered. It seemed like a massive creature was rolling within, vaguely visible through the flashes of light.

Xu Ying grew anxious and looked up.

Standing by his side, the maiden gazed into the distance. “It’s not the heavenly tribulation. They’re offering sacrifices to heaven and drawing the Heavenly Dao World closer to this one. The thing within the clouds is a heavenly god. He sensed the offerings, stretched His body, and is following that sensation to find His way here.”

Xu Ying was deeply shaken. It wasn’t his first time seeing a heavenly god, yet he still felt as if his soul was trembling. Even across such an immense distance, he could hear a strange sound: the murmur of a heavenly god.

Xu Ying asked, “Could Zhou Qiyun be bribing the heavenly gods?”

Her eyes widened in surprise. “He is trying, but how could he bribe a heavenly god? No matter how many offerings he presents, the heavenly god won't show leniency when his heavenly tribulation arrives. Those are two separate matters. A heavenly god must act according to the Heavenly Dao.”

Suddenly, the sky was torn apart. Even people a thousand li away could see this scene clearly. It was like a massive star from beyond the heavens closing in, with enormous limbs scraping against the sky over the Divine Land. The gigantic scales on those limbs were dragging long streaks of white vapor as they slowly descended.

That was a heavenly god responding to mankind's calls and sacrifices. Resonating with Heaven from the Heavenly Dao World, He descended toward one of the Dao ritual sites on Mount Jiuyi.

Rumble!

The sky above Mount Jiuyi exploded again and again as another heavenly god answered the Heaven-Man Resonance, squeezed through the barrier between the two worlds, and descended into this realm.

On Mount Wu Wang, numerous old ancestors and mysterious experts all stood up, eyes wide, watching the scene in horror.

Even the Underworld Court Emperor’s true form sat upright in his coffin, turning his stiffened neck to look toward Mount Jiuyi. An eight-facet sword pierced his head. Standing not far away, Yuanqi stole a glance and saw the hole in his head that went through the front and back. Looking through it, it was like viewing through a telescope.

Yuanqi clicked his tongue in amazement and called the bull demons over to take a look.

The brothers had once served as underworld gods who roamed the underworld. They trembled at the mere sight of the emperor. How could they possibly dare to look?

“What is Captain Zhou trying to do?” Old Ancestor Guo stroked his beard and said loudly, “Does he intend to summon all the heavenly gods to the mortal realm?”

Xu Ying was deeply shaken. He murmured, “Smart.”

The coffin maiden was just as shaken, immediately realizing Zhou Qiyun’s thoughts. She muttered under her breath, “He’s not bribing the heavenly gods, but kidnapping them! He, he...”

Overwhelmed with excitement, she muttered, “Perhaps he really does have a chance of overcoming his tribulation!”

Deep thunder rumbled endlessly within the clouds as more colossal figures descended. They carried a mysterious power that distorted the minds of all who beheld them. They entered the mortal realm in succession and landed upon the magnificent ritual sites to claim their sacrifices.

As more heavenly gods descended from the Heavenly Dao World, the sky a thousand li away seemed on the verge of collapse under the weight of their auras.

In this short period of time, over a hundred heavenly gods descended into the mortal realm, and even more were answering the heavenly resonance!

The old ancestors of the noble clans clenched their fists tightly, watching this scene anxiously. Each had trained in their exorcism arts to the absolute peak of the present age. They had reached the end of the path, with nowhere left to advance.

They had also sought out other paths, robbing tombs to trace the footsteps of predecessors in search of the history of Qi Cultivators. Along the way, they had uncovered countless astonishing secrets and treasures.

They had seen the Zhou clan’s sacrifices to the heavenly gods in many ancient mural texts before, but the Zhou clan was the only one to have researched them so thoroughly and to have done so on such a massive scale.

Zhou Qiyun alone possessed the audacity to attempt something so reckless.

“What exactly is Captain Zhou trying to do?”

Blinding light erupted behind each of them as they unleashed their Radiant Vestige lands of sublimation. The sky immediately turned chaotic, with wind and rain raging.

Their lands of sublimation included celestial palace complexes, boundless mountain ranges, vast rivers, the sun, moon, and sky, and even a sweeping star field.

Their divine souls soared to the summit of their respective Radiant Vestige lands of sublimation and gazed into the distance, gaining a clearer view.

Next to Xu Ying, the maiden gasped in surprise. “They wanted to refine their Primordial Spirits, but they all did it wrong.”

Xu Ying nodded lightly. Though his cultivation was shallow, he could tell that what these Exorcist Immortals had refined were not proper Primordial Spirits. Every one of them was a foul, chaotic mess.

Without warning, the winds and clouds above Mount Jiuyi surged as a tribulation cloud violently erupted!

The power of the tribulation cloud surged from beyond the heavens, approaching at terrifying speed. In mere moments, it completely enveloped Mount Jiuyi. The thunderclouds expanded continuously, churning as they stretched into the horizon.

The nine peaks of Mount Jiuyi spanned roughly one hundred li. The thunderclouds quickly exceeded that, swallowing the first ring of mountains surrounding Mount Jiuyi, then the second, then the third.

The power of the tribulation cloud came from the Heavenly Dao World. It was the power of a Heavenly Dao Divine Artifact!

The so-called heavenly resonance was a communion between heaven and a mortal. It occurred precisely because Zhou Qiyun communed with his heavenly tribulation, and the Heavenly Dao Divine Artifact responded, descending to unleash the tribulation.

The might of this heavenly tribulation was truly terrifying. The horrific force surging from the Heavenly Dao World continued to encroach outward. Rumbling heavenly thunder and celestial fire darted through the thunderclouds, making the sky look bright yet gloomy.

The thunderclouds reached the third inner layer of the myriad mountains, but did not stop there. They continued expanding outward.

An indescribable, suffocating dread gripped Xu Ying’s mind as he watched this scene. With Mount Jiuyi at the center, the thunderclouds spread out and quickly surpassed the five-hundred-li mark left by the heavenly tribulation in the Truth-Seeking Supreme Void Grotto Heaven!

Yet, it still didn’t stop.

The thunderclouds continued expanding outward. Like a massive millstone, they rumbled as they swirled, expanded again, swirled again, and expanded even more!

At this point, the heavenly tribulation’s radius had reached eight hundred li.

Only then did the rate of expansion begin to slow.

On Mount Wu Wang, everyone finally understood what it meant to be hopeless[3].

To be without hope was to be in despair!

Faced with a heavenly tribulation of this scale, no one stood a chance at overcoming it!

Next to Xu Ying, the coffin girl sighed faintly. It was precisely this kind of super-scale heavenly tribulation that blocked everyone’s dreams of ascension.

However...

Xu Ying muttered, “Zhou Qiyun found an opportunity.”

He kidnapped all the heavenly gods of the Heavenly Dao World.

He had dragged all three hundred sixty of them into the mortal realm.

1. The Chinese have twelve zodiac animals, and turtle isn’t one of them. This is purely an insult. ☜

2. A highly famous historical and fictional term in Chinese lore. Originally a real military tomb-raiding rank created by Cao Cao during the Three Kingdoms period to fund his army, it is now the universal fantasy term for elite, mystical grave robbers. ☜

3. It sounds similar to Wu Wang. ☜