In the city of the Jade Capital, everyone looked up at the words on the Golden Seal-Script Immortal Talisman, overcome with inexplicable excitement.
The Immortal Dao bestows its blessing; one person shall ascend!
Could it truly be the immortal opportunity Xu Fu had spoken of?
Had the Immortal Realm sent down its blessing, permitting a single person to ascend?
"Could this be the immortal opportunity my Sun Moon Divine Sect's founder spoke of?" murmured the purple-robed young woman as she walked over.
Palace Master Zhang of the Shangqing Palace gazed into the sky, so overwhelmed with emotion that he could hardly contain himself: "Aba, aba!"
These sect leaders had mostly come to Kunlun in search of an immortal opportunity at the behest of their founding ancestors in the Immortal Realm. Those ancestors had never specified what the opportunity was, only telling them to come.
Initially, they had assumed it was the immortal pills bestowed by the Six Nuo Ancestors, but now it seemed that was not the case at all.
The true immortal opportunity was very likely a chance to ascend!
Yuan Weiyang whispered, "Ah Ying, something is strange. As soon as we arrived here, an immortal talisman fell from the sky, announcing that one person could become an immortal. How would the immortals know who can attain immortality?"
Xu Ying nodded gently. "It is indeed bizarre. Among us, only three possess the strength to become immortals. Xu Fu is one, and the Great Emperor of the Martial Dao inside the Heavenly Dao domain is another. There is one more, but he keeps a low profile and shouldn't be attempting tribulation and ascension. Could the talisman be referring to one of them?"
Yuan Weiyang glanced at the Great Emperor of the Martial Dao. "This fellow Daoist has not yet awakened, so he naturally cannot undergo tribulation to become an immortal."
Xu Ying cast a sidelong glance toward Qiao Zizhong of Mount Emei. Yuan Weiyang looked at Qiao Zizhong as well, her heart tightening. Lowering her voice, she murmured, "This man is exceptionally powerful."
"He won't make a move."
Xu Ying's gaze flickered as he surveyed the crowd. Aside from Qiao Zizhong, most of the others were only in the second Pass-Breaching stage and had yet to cultivate a Primordial Spirit; not a single one was an Ascension-stage Qi Refiner.
Zulong isn't here, nor are there any other Qi Refiners in the Ascension stage. That means the single person destined for immortality proclaimed by the talisman truly must be Xu Fu, he thought silently.
Sect Master Zhao of the Liangyi Sect could hardly suppress the excitement in his chest and whispered, "For forty-eight thousand years, no one has ascended."
Hearing this, Xu Ying felt a slight stir within.
Over the past forty-eight thousand years, every Qi Refiner who had attempted to ascend had perished beneath the Heavenly Tribulation. The sole exception was perhaps the Great Emperor of the Martial Dao behind him.
And now, was someone finally about to break that precedent?
Having seen all too many schemes and conspiracies, he could not bring himself to trust this heaven-sent immortal opportunity.
"Alas, we are not Ascension-stage Qi Refiners," Pavilion Master Lin of the Penglai Pavilion said, his expression grim and dejected.
Cult Master Han of the Heavenly Dao Cult was equally wistful. "If only we had awakened a century or so earlier, there would have been a place for us to contest this immortal ascension opportunity. What a shame..."
Sect Master Xiao of the Wuyan Sect and the others shook their heads one after another, lamenting what might have been.
Yuan Qi chuckled. "Your cultivation isn't high enough, so what is there to pity? Why not seize the moment to catch more of this rain and grab hold of this great fortune!"
He manifested his true form as a yuan snake, swelling into a colossal beast three hundred zhang long, opening his gaping maw wide to catch the immortal rain.
Seeing this, the others also channeled their cultivation methods to draw in the immortal rain, refusing to let such a rare chance slip by.
Soon, however, they discovered that if the immortal rain fell naturally upon them, it seeped deep into their viscera and nourished both their physical bodies and their Primordial Spirits. But if they actively seized and snatched it, it yielded virtually no benefit.
They had no choice but to stop, leaving only Yuan Qi with his jaws stretched wide, desperately swallowing raindrops. Beside the snake demon, a great bell sat with its mouth facing upward, enlarged to the size of a mountain, also catching the immortal rain with all its might.
Behind the head of Palace Master Zhang of the Shangqing Palace, large purple leaves suddenly sprouted, similarly striving to catch more of the rain.
As the immortal rain fell upon them, almost everyone gained profound insights that had previously eluded their cultivation. Some caught fleeting flashes of inspiration; some comprehended divine powers they had never mastered; some untangled baffling scriptures they had pondered in vain; and some deciphered elusive Dao resonances.
Everything that had once troubled them was now resolved effortlessly.
This immortal rain carried supreme, wondrous principles; even when it splashed onto the ground and dissipated into immortal qi, it could still enhance their cultivation.
Mist and radiant rosy light billowed from every person, making them appear like immortals.
Inside the Heavenly Dao domain, the immortal rain fell on the Great Emperor of the Martial Dao, and the cloth-robed man stirred slightly, as if on the verge of waking.
Xu Ying put stray thoughts out of his mind and bathed in the immortal rain. A multitude of profound truths came flooding in. At that moment, his comprehension of the Heavenly Dao deepened, and his understanding of the Golden Box Golden Core Dao reached unprecedented heights!
In his mind, his Sword Dao Return to Truth Art even made another breakthrough, unraveling yet more sword principles!
Before his eyes, the Immortal Dao runes that sealed him emerged once more. The characters for "Qiu" and "Yu" continuously disassembled and analyzed themselves, explicating still more mysteries.
These were insights that neither his past self nor Xu Fu had ever fathomed!
During the Great Shang period, Xu Ying had lived a life of extraordinary might. Traveling alongside Jin Buyi, he had left behind a method to break the "Qiu" seal, hidden within Jin Buyi's memories.
With that method in hand, Xu Ying had forcibly broken through the Qiu seal, unlocking the physical bodies of a thousand lifetimes.
Yet as the seals grew older and heavier, they became increasingly difficult to unravel.
Now, nourished by this immortal rain, he unexpectedly comprehended quite a few more deciphering methods!
Having already unlocked the bodies of a thousand lifetimes, he was steadily drawing closer to that incomparably mighty physical body of his Great Shang incarnation!
In addition, there was the method Xu Fu had devised to break the "Yu" seal. Xu Ying had reversed that unsealing process to unlock lifetime after lifetime of memories, reaching all the way back to his four-hundredth incarnation.
In that four-hundredth life, there had been a large-scale sealing. It had been one of Xu Ying's more powerful incarnations; though he had not had the chance to reach an exceedingly high realm, his divine powers had been astonishing.
That life had taken place before Zulong's Fengshan sacrifices at Mount Tai.
Xu Ying had never fully unlocked the memories of that incarnation.
Now, under the nourishment of the immortal rain, Xu Ying grasped even more methods to break the "Yu" character. Gradually, the memories of that lifetime stirred and began to awaken, unfolding slowly like a painted scroll.
The memories of this life began in Jiuyuan Commandery in the northwest of Shenzhou.
He was herding sheep there, the son of a nomad.
One day, several Qin fangshi found him, paid money to purchase him, and escorted him to Xianyang to present him to Zulong.
Having unified Shenzhou and established his supreme hegemony, Zulong began to worry that his lifespan would run out and his realm would fall into instability; thus, he sought methods of longevity.
When Zulong saw Xu Ying, though they were old acquaintances, the emperor contemplated eating him on multiple occasions.
It was at that time that Xu Fu appeared in Xu Ying's memories—a youthful fangshi who had read widely in ancient classics. He advised Zulong, saying, "Your Majesty, your subject has read ancient historical records detailing the Undying People and ageless immortals. Most of them seemed absurd and bizarre, which I once thought were mere myths. Only today, upon beholding an ageless immortal, do I realize the ancients did not deceive me. I have read an illustrated atlas recounting that when the ageless immortal fell from the heavens back then, he brought with him immortal mountains such as Penglai, Fangzhang, and Yingzhou from the Immortal Realm. Your subject is willing to seek out the immortal mountains and immortal medicine for Your Majesty!"
Xu Ying's life was spared because of this. Marshalling the power of the entire realm, Zulong mobilized the three thousand strongest Qi Refiners to break Xu Ying's seals, unravelling a portion of the memories from Xu Ying's first incarnation.
In the process, Xu Ying endured unimaginable torture.
The three thousand strongest Qi Refiners, hailing from various sects, bombarded his brain with all manner of arts, blasting deep into his consciousness to hunt for traces of the seal.
They even used immortal artifacts to pry open Xu Ying's skull!
During those years, Xu Ying hovered between life and death so many times that merely hearing Zulong's voice filled him with dread. Fortunately, the Qin Qi Refiners finally managed to wear away a fraction of the seal on his first life.
At that moment, the immortal rain gradually tapered off. Xu Fu's voice rang out, startling Xu Ying from his recollections.
"This immortal rain has aided my enlightenment—the heavens themselves are assisting me!"
Spirited and exuberant, Xu Fu looked back and laughed. "Bathing in this immortal rain has allowed me to comprehend even more divine powers! Lord Xu, for this Heavenly Tribulation, I am fully prepared and certain of success!"
In the center of the Jade Capital, immortal light curled, and the Grand Dao grew exceptionally active, especially under the influence of the immortal rain, which filled the world with abundant Grand Dao principles.
All around stood colossal cauldrons, as tall as five or six stories, used by emperors from ancient to primordial times to offer sacrifices to heaven and ancestors.
At the east, west, south, and north corners of the Jade Capital, towering statues of refined copper stood—the Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Vermilion Bird, and Black Tortoise—their luster undimmed through myriad ages.
Succeeding generations of Great Emperors had left traces of ancestral sacrifices here.
The bloodline of the ancestors flows within our veins; the ancestral injunctions dare not be forgotten.
In a daze, Xu Ying seemed to see the Undying People moving through this place in ages past, wearing ancient totem masks, dancing Nuo dances, and chanting ancient ballads, seeking to awaken the heroic spirits of their ancestors and beseech the protection of immortals far off in the Immortal Realm.
He caught glimpses of emperors who had once ruled the mortal realm, solemn and dignified, ascending the Altar of Heaven amidst Nuo dances, ancient songs, and curling incense smoke to worship their ancestors and ascended immortals.
Fleeting fragments of his memories concerning Kunlun stirred awake.
Yet in the next moment, the patter of immortal rain and the ethereal mist of immortal qi replaced the incense smoke.
Looking through the immortal rain, Xu Ying saw that the colossal cauldrons had been shattered, their legs severed, marked with bloodstains. Inside some of the cauldrons lay human bones, broken and mutilated.
The statues of the Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Vermilion Bird, and Black Tortoise had also been cut down and dismembered, their limbs strewn about.
Crack.
He looked down; he had crushed a bone underfoot. Worn away by the passage of time, the bone had grown brittle and fragile, yet faint traces of wondrous bird-seal and insect-script remained on its surface, indicating that the entity who died here had been an extraordinarily powerful being.
They were the Undying People of Kunlun.
What on earth happened here? Who destroyed the ancestral land of Shenzhou?
Anger and bewilderment swirled in Xu Ying's heart, yet he did not even know toward whom to direct his vengeance.
Xu Fu climbed onto the ruined Altar of Heaven and let out a long howl.
He unleashed his cultivation, no longer suppressing his tribulation fate, allowing his calamity to link with heaven and earth and trigger the Heavenly Dao. "This is the Heavenly Tribulation of a Qi Refiner! All my life I have cultivated with bitter diligence, exhausting all wisdom to attain the supreme Dao, all for this very day! Gentlemen, you shall bear witness to my ascension!"
Rumble!
Accompanied by rolling thunder, the origin qi between heaven and earth roiled violently. Wind whipped up billowing clouds, and heavenly thunder took form.
Xu Ying looked up to see tribulation clouds rapidly taking shape. The authority of the Heavenly Dao grew increasingly oppressive. Vaguely visible stood the colossal phantoms of divine figures, as if towering beyond the heavens, gazing down upon the Jade Capital of Mount Kunlun with immense majesty.
The phantom images of heavenly gods!
Around the tribulation clouds, phantom projections of Heavenly Dao divine artifacts suddenly manifested one after another.
Xu Ying had witnessed a Heavenly Tribulation once before when Zhou Qiyun faced his, but that time Zhou Qiyun had tricked the righteous gods of the celestial heavens into descending. The heavenly gods' majesty had been so terrifying that no one dared draw near the center of the tribulation.
This time, Xu Fu was undergoing tribulation in the Jade Capital of Kunlun, allowing Xu Ying to observe the Heavenly Tribulation at close range.
Yet in the next moment, heavenly might bore down, forcing everyone to retreat.
Xu Ying could still hold his ground, but the heavenly authority radiating from the tribulation clouds grew heavier and heavier, gradually interfering with his spirit and will, so that he too was compelled to step back.
Many had already been driven out of the Jade Capital, retreating onto the God Bridge. Xu Ying and Yuan Weiyang were also gradually forced to withdraw from the Jade Capital.
The tribulation clouds spanned a thousand li, forming a colossal vortex of thunder. Heavenly lightning darted through the clouds, repeatedly illuminating the dark expanse!
Boom!
The might of the Heavenly Tribulation erupted. An incomparably dazzling bolt of lightning fell from the swirling vortex of tribulation clouds, casting long shadows behind Xu Ying and Yuan Weiyang!
Their shadows sharpened at first, then gradually faded, followed by terrifying spatial fluctuations howling through the air. The two hurriedly circulated their respective cultivation methods and divine powers to resist.
Whoosh—
The God Bridge jolted violently, bouncing everyone into the air. People quickly stabilized themselves and descended back onto the bridge.
Xu Ying narrowed his eyes to look. Beneath the tribulation, Xu Fu met the first strike head-on. The Dao qi within him erupted, and rather than defending, he went on the offensive, soaring toward the sky against the lightning. With a wave of his hand, a massive bronze peak flew forth to collide with the lightning tribulation!
The glaring flashes made Xu Ying's eyes water. In the blur, he barely caught sight of the bronze mountain being split apart, while behind Xu Fu, a vast, boundless Primordial Spirit leapt out and executed a level horizontal slash with a sword, severing the weakened heavenly lightning!
"That's my divine power!"
Spurred by the divine power Xu Fu had executed, a rush of memories flooded Xu Ying's mind. It was the scene from four thousand years ago when Zulong selected the elites of various sects and chose three thousand young boys and girls to send them across the sea.
Aboard that multi-decked vessel, the young Xu Fu had stood by his side and whispered, "Xu Ying, the elites of these sects mostly harbor ill intentions. Accompanying us to sea, their targets are you, as well as the immortal mountains and immortal medicine. Once those are found, that is when they will ruthlessly strike to kill. We must join hands to ensure our safety..."
Xu Ying turned, seized him by the throat, lifted the young Xu Fu off the deck, and said impassively, "Xu Fu, I still remember that it was your idea to mobilize the immortal artifacts of those sects to pry open my skull!"
Gasping for breath, Xu Fu struggled. "I only wanted to unlock your memories..."
Rumble!
Another bolt of heavenly thunder crashed down. Above the Jade Capital, Xu Fu battled the Heavenly Tribulation, and the divine powers he displayed stirred up even more of Xu Ying's memories.
They had crossed the sea to a place known as the Demonic Ruins, where Xu Ying had once hidden an immortal mountain.
Along the way, heavenly demons had emerged relentlessly—not only heavenly demons, but various ancient demon gods as well. With a cultivation merely at the Intertwined Refining stage, Xu Ying had led the company in slaughtering heavenly demons and resisting the demon gods, inspiring immense admiration in Xu Fu.
Yet Xu Ying's cultivation had been modest back then; at times when they could not triumph, they had to choose scapegoats to be sent to their deaths.
That multi-decked ship had turned into a purgatory of human nature, rife with intrigue, deceit, and mutual cutthroats. The others aboard truly harbored sinister designs: some were spies planted by Zulong, some bore vital missions from their sects, some secretly communicated with the Heavenly Dao world, and others carried orders from the Immortal Realm.
Xu Fu rose above the rest during this ordeal. Scheming against everyone except Xu Ying, and outwitting the demon gods that demanded human sacrifices, he used the three thousand Qi Refiners as sacrifices and cannon fodder until every last one was gone. He even managed to do away with many of the demon gods along the journey.
In the end, that ship too was wrecked upon the shores of the Demonic Ruins. Covered in wounds, the two supported each other and pressed deeper into the ruins.
Three years had passed since they set out to sea when they finally found the immortal mountain and immortal medicine Xu Ying had hidden.
Fangzhang.
Just at that moment, Xu Ying had struck without warning, piercing Xu Fu's forehead with a finger and slaying him!
Xu Ying fed him the immortal medicine, reviving him, and placed him upon the Fangzhang Immortal Mountain.
"If you step off this immortal mountain, you will die." Xu Ying turned and walked away.
Xu Fu shouted after him, "Why did you do this? We are friends—back-to-back friends! Why did you betray me?"
His rebukes gradually turned into weeping cries. "Take me with you! You can't fight those who scheme against you! I can help you! Take me with you, don't leave me behind in this demonic realm! I only wanted to be your shadow..."
Crack!
The deafening boom of explosive heavenly thunder jarred Xu Ying back to the present. He lifted his head and looked toward the sky.
From his memories, he had never taught Xu Fu those divine powers. Xu Fu had secretly learned them during that voyage across the sea by observing him in battle.
Aside from my divine powers, what else did you learn? Xu Ying thought silently.
Beneath the Heavenly Tribulation, Xu Fu began to sustain wounds, finding it difficult to hold out. Just then, a treasure sword radiating immortal light flew out from his Realm of Xiyi to meet the heavenly thunder!
Shi Yuqing gasped in shock, "How is my Sword Sect's Siwuxie in his hands... Wait, no! That isn't Siwuxie! It's an imitation!"
The treasure sword resembled Siwuxie, but it was not the genuine immortal sword; the moment it met the heavenly thunder, it was blown apart by the blast.
Yet in the next instant, countless magic treasures emerged behind Xu Fu, each glowing with immortal light—astonishingly, they were imitations of the guardian immortal artifacts of three thousand sects!
Witnessing this, Xu Ying thought, Back then, when Zulong ordered the various sects to surrender their immortal artifacts to pry open my skull, Xu Fu was the one in charge. If he could secretly learn my divine powers, he could also have secretly forged replicas of all those immortal artifacts. This Heavenly Tribulation...
He added silently in his heart, ...might truly pose no challenge to him.
Chapter 257