"Undergo tribulation and ascend?"
The Son of Heaven of the Nether Court was profoundly shaken, and the immortal light radiating around his vast Primordial Spirit wavered with his shock. After a moment, he spoke in an unhurried voice, "The word 'tribulation'... it has been a very long time since I last heard anyone mention it. Has it been a thousand years, or three thousand? Back then, there were still people who brought up those words, which makes me feel rather sentimental and wistful."
He looked straight at Zhou Qiyun and said, "Those who dared mention undergoing tribulation and ascending back then are all dead. I watched those intractable geniuses fall one after another, vanish one by one, until the world grew utterly silent and no one spoke of it again. Only a remnant immortal like me was left, dragging out an ignoble existence."
Zhou Qiyun took on a solemn expression and asked respectfully, "I humbly request Your Majesty to guide me through the maze."
The Son of Heaven of the Nether Court said, "Heavenly Tribulation originates from the Heavenly Dao world, its power derived from the Heavenly Dao divine artifacts. No one can survive it. Any Qi Refiner who cultivates to the Ascension Stage will die beneath the Heavenly Tribulation. There is no ascension in this world, and no Immortal Realm! Master Zhou, give it up. Be content as a Nuo immortal. Even if you do not ascend, you live as carefree as an immortal in the mortal realm. And after you die, you can come to my Netherworld. The Netherworld needs talents like you!"
Zhou Qiyun shook his head. "Does Your Majesty know of the common sparrow? Roosting beneath the eaves, flying no higher than the treetops and dipping low among the grass, keeping company with chickens and dogs, fighting over grass seeds and insects, mediocre and aimless all its life. Looking ahead from the moment it is born, one can see straight to its death, without a single change for the rest of its days."
The Son of Heaven of the Nether Court smiled. "Is that not precisely the life of countless ordinary people?"
"Yet such a life is not what I want!"
Zhou Qiyun's face was indifferent as he said, "I have no desire to be an ordinary person, and even having become a Nuo immortal, I refuse to see straight to the end of my days at a single glance. I want to soar high, not be a sparrow. I will unfold my grand design, spread my wings, and soar ninety thousand li into the sky!"
Though his expression was cold, flames flickered within his pupils, as if the fire blazing deep in his heart had burned its way into his eyes.
The Son of Heaven of the Nether Court said, "You are a Nuo immortal. When the path of Nuo immortals was first created, its purpose was to evade the Heavenly Tribulation and become immortals of the mortal realm. You have no tribulation to face, so how can you undergo one?"
Zhou Qiyun said, "I have already found a method to undergo tribulation. Yet I still hesitate; I still waver."
The Son of Heaven of the Nether Court gave an "Mm" and asked, "What makes you hesitate?"
"In this world, generation after generation of strong figures emerge, masters stand like trees in a forest. When I contemplate heaven, earth, and nature, I often sense ancient auras and hear baffling whispers, seeming to come from hidden corners of Shenzhou, or perhaps another cosmic realm."
Zhou Qiyun said, "This invasion from the Netherworld served as a wake-up call, showing me that such formidable entities still exist in this world. The Netherworld invades, the mortal realm falls into turmoil, and the Nether Court leads the charge—you must be plotting something immense. As a Nuo immortal of the mortal realm, I feared I might suffer a covert strike from the Nether Court while undergoing my tribulation."
Divine light swirled within his eyes, then violently fluctuated for an instant as he said, "I do not want anyone stabbing me in the back while I undergo tribulation, so before I begin, I must eliminate all potential threats."
The Son of Heaven of the Nether Court wore an odd expression. "Master Zhou has misunderstood. The Netherworld's invasion of the mortal realm has nothing to do with the Nether Court. We ghosts are thoroughly annoyed by this matter as well. Living in the Netherworld, we do not die of old age, nor do we fall ill when we wither. We have no burden of taxes and no hardships of daily livelihood—how leisurely and carefree! When the Netherworld invades the mortal realm, you living folks come scurrying over, disturbing our peace and upending our normal lives. To be honest, we're even more annoyed than you are."
Zhou Qiyun was stunned, momentarily at a loss for words.
The Son of Heaven of the Nether Court sighed. "We in the Nether Court are merely dead people whom mortals revere as gods and offer faith and worship. What benefit would annexing the mortal realm bring us? You may undergo your tribulation with peace of mind. No ghost god or Nuo immortal of the Nether Court will stab you in the back. The only thing you need to be wary of is the mortal realm."
Zhou Qiyun was surprised. This had been the purpose of his journey. He had originally thought that coming to the Nether Court would inevitably mean a fierce struggle between dragon and tiger, with rivers of blood spilled at the very least.
Never had he imagined that this trip would be smoother than he could have dreamed. The high and mighty figure of the Nether Court had no intention of fighting him to the death, nor any ambition to vie for power or profit. His mindset was entirely that of a detached Buddha, steady as a rock.
Of course, Zhou Qiyun did not believe him completely.
If the Nether Court were truly as the Son of Heaven described—a harmless yes-man and a living Buddha—then why aggressively expand theocracy and intervene in the mortal world?
The Son of Heaven of the Nether Court sighed. "My Nether Court is by no means the ruler of the Netherworld; we merely hold on to our little corner. We cannot call the shots or make the decisions here. Many parts of the Netherworld remain unfamiliar territory even to our Nether Court. For instance, the few people Master Zhou brought along have fled into unknown lands. If you go in time, you might still find their corpses intact."
Zhou Qiyun stood up and said, "Thank you for your accommodation, Your Majesty. If Zhou achieves success, I will certainly repay you."
The Son of Heaven of the Nether Court smiled. "I would not dare presume."
Zhou Qiyun took his leave and departed the Hall of Senluo.
Suddenly, the voice of the Son of Heaven of the Nether Court drifted from behind him: "Master Zhou, the road ahead is severed, so why bother striving? Is it not pleasant to lie flat in the Netherworld like us? If you force yourself to fight for it, you will die!"
Zhou Qiyun turned around, gave a smile, waved his hand, and walked away.
The Son of Heaven of the Nether Court sighed and murmured, "Good words cannot persuade a ghost destined for doom, nor can compassion save one bent on ruin. I have said all there is to say. Good or ill, make your own choice."
Just then, a voice echoed from the thick darkness behind him: "His danger does not come from the Nether Court. The Nether Court can only feed on leftovers and cold scraps, while those fellows intend to devour him down to the bone."
The Son of Heaven of the Nether Court bowed slightly and replied respectfully, "Indeed. But we cannot go on eating cold scraps forever. We want to drink blood too, and we want to eat flesh!"
"Hee-hee-hee!"
A bizarre laugh came from behind him. "The things in the abyss can no longer hold back. The Netherworld is invading the mortal realm; Yongzhou is merely the first invasion site. Soon, various parts of Shenzhou, and even the entirety of Yuanshou, will be overrun and assimilated. When that happens, the mortal realm will inevitably clash with the abyss—and that is when our chance will come!"
The snickering in the darkness soon erupted into hearty laughter. Then came the flapping of wings as a flock of crows burst out from behind the Son of Heaven of the Nether Court, flying into the distance.
These crows were jackdaws of the Netherworld, capable of traversing between the realms of yin and yang.
Watching the jackdaws depart, the Son of Heaven of the Nether Court murmured softly, "Once the chance arrives, will I finally be able to stop being a puppet?"
Though he was dead and had lain flat, hot blood seemed to still course within his corpse.
Outside the Heavenly Court of the Netherworld, Zhou Qiyun looked up and saw a flock of jackdaws flying across the sky, casting an extra air of desolation and chill over the Netherworld.
"The words of the Son of Heaven of the Nether Court were half truth, half lie. If the Nether Court truly lay flat and let others trample over them, why would they fight over Xu Ying?"
Zhou Qiyun's eyes flickered, and he muttered in a low voice, "Son of Heaven of the Nether Court, you may not truly be a ghost immortal either. If you had become an immortal as a Qi Refiner—even a ghost immortal—you would be well-versed in the Qi Refiners' cultivation system, and there would be no need for you to fight over Xu Ying."
Xu Ying's greatest value lay in deciphering Qi Refiner cultivation techniques—what the world viewed as monster techniques—and restoring the Qi Refiners' system of practice.
If the Son of Heaven of the Nether Court truly knew the Qi Refiners' techniques and system inside and out, there would have been no need whatsoever for him to order the vice prefect and City God to hunt down Xu Ying.
"The key to this ascension must rest on Xu Ying."
Zhou Qiyun strode off in the direction where the bronze bell had flown, thinking silently, *I hope he can piece together the Qi Refiners' cultivation system so I can fuse Qi Refinement with Nuo techniques! Only then will I have the confidence to undergo tribulation and ascend!*
In the Netherworld, amid a willow forest.
A colossal bell lay overturned on the ground, inching forward bit by bit and shoving the willow trees askew. Behind the bell was a great serpent bearing dragon-like horns, raising its head from the willow forest from time to time to peer about in all directions.
The fog grew heavier and heavier. Gradually, Xu Ying, Yuan Weiyang, and Uncle Xiao were submerged in the mist. Yuan Qi could only follow the bronze bell forward, unable to see any silhouettes of the others. Panic began to rise in his heart, and he called out, "Ah Ying!"
Instant echoes bounced through the willow forest: "Ah Ying!" "Ah Ying!" "Ah Ying!"
Then came the giggles of ghost babies. Yuan Qi's skin crawled, and he hastily slithered two steps forward to get closer to the bronze bell. Just then, Xu Ying's answering shout came from ahead of the bell, sounding somewhat muffled through the fog.
Yuan Qi felt slightly relieved.
He looked up at the sky and suddenly cried out in pleasant surprise, "Ah Ying, look quick! A sun is rising!"
From within the fog, Xu Ying's muffled voice called back, "It's the dead of night, where would a sun come from?"
He hopped up in the mist, popping his head out, and looked up. Sure enough, a sun hung in the sky of the Netherworld.
Yet it was clearly nighttime in the Netherworld—how could a sun be rising?
Besides, this sun didn't look proper at all. A proper sun radiated rays in all directions, giving off boundless heat and light, but this sun was stuffed full of paper money—burned paper money at that.
This paper money looked like the kind used to offer sacrifices to ancestors. Without realizing it, the air had filled with the scent of incense and charred paper.
Beneath the sun, a flock of jackdaws flew past with noisy caws. The flapping of their wings stirred up such a disturbance that it kicked up a great flurry of paper-money ashes from within the sun.
Yuan Weiyang also jumped hard, poking her head out of the fog, and said in shock, "There really is a sun? What kind of world is this?"
"Young Master, stay calm. Remember what the Mistress instructed? 'Remain impassive even if Mount Tai collapses before you.'"
Uncle Xiao's voice came from the fog. Having said that, the old man hopped up and bounced out of the mist. When he saw that sun, he cried out in shock, "What bloody nonsense is this?! How can there be such a sun?!"
"Uncle Xiao, stay calm. Remain impassive," Yuan Weiyang said calmly, wearing an unfazed expression.
Yet in the next moment, she could no longer maintain her composure. From among the ashes on the sun's surface, a colossal creature was awakened by the flock of jackdaws. Its wings vibrated, flinging the paper-money ashes off the sun's face and scattering them everywhere across the sky!
Then, spreading its wings, the behemoth flew out from the Netherworld's sun, giving chase to the jackdaws!
It was a gigantic bird with only a skeleton and feathers remaining. It possessed three bird legs and lacked any flesh or blood. Its avian head resembled a crow, yet it was cloaked in golden feathers. Though it had been dead for who knew how long, it still exuded a monstrous, terrifying savagery!
As it beat its wings and flew, it dragged three thick, pitch-black chains out from the sun, fastened to its three legs.
The three-legged golden crow flapped its wings, dragging this sun of the Netherworld behind it as it chased the jackdaws into the distance.
Xu Ying and the others remained speechless for a long time. Yuan Qi suddenly broke the silence, letting out a lonely holler: "Is there really no one in charge in the Netherworld?! A bird drags the sun away, and nobody cares?! Nobody's running this place, huh... Humph!"
By now, the fog had gradually thinned. In the willow forest, the elusive ghost babies, with sleepy eyes and yawning mouths, walked barefoot up into the willow trees.
Grasping the charred branches with the soles of their feet, they hung upside down with their arms crossed over their chests, resembling large snow-white bats.
They were all over the willow forest. Countless snow-white ghost babies crawled out from who knew where, climbing up the trees to sleep upside down. For a time, dozens of ghost babies hung from the boughs of every single willow tree, like fruit borne by the branches.
As Xu Ying and the others looked on in bewilderment, the willow forest fell quiet. Chilly gusts blew through, and the mist gradually receded before the ghostly wind, soon dropping to their waists.
The surroundings were dim and murky. Suddenly, a white figure flew in, drifting flutteringly with feet never touching the ground.
It was an eccentric figure, entirely snow-white and over a zhang tall. A white robe draped over him from head to toe, and in his hand was a staff wound with strips of white cloth. His hair was white as well; only the long tongue protruding from his mouth was scarlet.
The strange figure drifted through the ancient trees. He paused before each ghost baby hanging upside down, using his long tongue to lick its face.
Those ghost babies licked by him shriveled up at a pace visible to the naked eye, their vitality wilting away.
"An impermanence ghost!" Xu Ying whispered under his breath.
He had once possessed an impermanence mask, disguising himself as an impermanence ghost to mingle among the ghost gods in the ruined temple realm. Yuan Qi had told him that such masks were refined by Nuo masters who severed them from the nether ghost gods known as impermanence ghosts; donning one allowed the wearer to transform into an impermanence ghost.
To think they would encounter a genuine impermanence ghost here!
"It is harvesting qi!" Yuan Weiyang said softly.
With her reminder, Xu Ying noticed it as well, and his heart turned grim. This impermanence ghost was siphoning the ghost babies' yang qi. The ghost babies would capture living creatures and lost spirits that wandered into this place, draining their yang qi. Once the ghost babies fell asleep, this impermanence ghost would drift over to siphon it from them!
Suddenly, more impermanence ghosts drifted in through the air, all dressed identically with mourning staffs and red tongues.
They stopped beside the willow trees throughout the forest, harvesting the ghost babies like fruit hanging from branches.
Xu Ying had intended to pay them no heed and slip away, when suddenly a voice carried over: "Senior Brother, there are people over there!"
"Quiet, don't speak!"
Xu Ying's heart jolted violently. His eyes widened in disbelief, and he whipped his head around toward those impermanence ghosts.
*They're human? Heavenly Eye, open!*
Chapter 62