A chill ran down Xu Ying's spine. Calming his mind, he sorted through the chain of cause and effect.
While tracking the strange snake, Zhou Qiyun had stumbled into Qinyan Cave. Incredibly astute, he had followed the aura of the Master of the Mud Pill Palace to the stone chamber hidden within the cliff, obtaining the master's legacy.
Believing the skeleton in the chamber to be the Master of the Mud Pill Palace himself, he had kowtowed and acknowledged it as his master.
The skeleton helped him open his Mud Pill secret depository. Later, Zhou Qiyun uncovered the trap; he destroyed his own cave-heaven, reopened the depository, and broke out of the snare.
The master's second trap lay in the cultivation technique, in which he had deliberately left a flaw.
Yet Zhou Qiyun had seen through this trap as well. He spent over eighty years seeking out the Hidden Scenery latent transformation grounds of seventeen Nuo Immortals, uncovered a conspiracy aimed at Nuo Immortals, and mended the flaws in his own art, ultimately attaining Nuo Immortality.
Having mastered his technique and achieved Nuo Immortality, Zhou Qiyun refused to remain merely an earthly immortal. Yearning for ascension, he sought alternative paths and researched what the world called "demon cultivation techniques."
The incursions of the Nai River and the Netherworld had drawn Zhou Qiyun to Yongzhou's new territory. On Mount Wuwang, he crossed paths with the skeleton of the Master of the Mud Pill Palace riding the subterranean behemoth out of Qinyan Cave, hunting Xu Ying.
In that initial clash between master and disciple, neither dared prolong the battle.
Zhou Qiyun then set a trap beneath the giant locust tree, lured the Master of the Mud Pill Palace into it, and finally struck him down. Having eradicated this future menace, he could at last devote himself entirely to preparing for his heavenly tribulation and ascension.
"But what if the Master of the Mud Pill Palace killed by Zhou Qiyun wasn't the real one?"
Xu Ying stared off into space, then suddenly said to the bronze bell, "Lord Bell, what if Zhou Qiyun never truly escaped the second trap?"
The second trap was the flaw in the technique.
Zhou Qiyun believed he had repaired the defect in the Nuo methods. But what if that defect had been intentionally exposed by the Master of the Mud Pill Palace as bait, while the true vulnerability lay buried far deeper?
If Zhou Qiyun failed to notice the deeper flaw and, brimming with confidence after slaying the "Master of the Mud Pill Palace" with his own hands, let down his guard, then the moment he underwent his tribulation would be his point of utmost weakness.
Perhaps that would be when the true Master of the Mud Pill Palace came to harvest the fruit!
The stronger Zhou Qiyun became, the sweeter his "flavor" would be—an appetizing feast to whet the appetite!
The bronze bell pondered for a moment and said, "Ah Ying, you are overthinking this. What kind of monstrous talent is Zhou Qiyun? How could he fail to perceive a flaw in his own cultivation? Besides, from what I've observed, his Hidden Scenery latent transformation ground is already complete. His Hidden Scenery is the divine land of Shenzhou itself; such an art is bound to be fundamentally different from what the Master of the Mud Pill Palace passed down. If the technique is entirely different, the flaw naturally cannot exist."
Enlightenment dawned on Xu Ying, and he smiled. "Lord Bell is right. I was overthinking. The Master of the Mud Pill Palace must be dead."
He glanced down at the teacup and teapot on the table, then at the pulverized remains of the female immortal, still feeling somewhat dazed.
A single cup of tea had plotted the demise of a female immortal who had survived the heavenly tribulation and stood on the brink of ascension. Could such a formidable figure truly be reduced to that dried skeleton beneath the locust tree?
Now that the ascension site of Mount Wuwang was safe, Xu Ying stepped outside and instructed Niu Zhen and Niu Gan to tidy the interior. From now on, this place would be their sacred cultivation ground.
Of the ancient baleful weapons in the ascension site, only a gigantic stone axe remained. The brothers Niu Zhen and Niu Gan possessed immense strength, but the axe harbored an overwhelming malice that frightened them away from wielding it.
Carrying the stone axe, Xu Ying went to find Yuan Qi. The snake was utterly absorbed in comprehending the sword qi from the sword casket. With the casket strapped to his back, he had slithered up the cleaved summit of Mount Wuwang and leaped straight off.
Xu Ying looked up in astonishment. "Lord Qi possesses such courage! He will surely master the Sword Kinesis Art!"
*Thud.*
The giant snake crashed not far away, twitched twice, and lay still. The sword qi within the casket had not stirred in the slightest.
Xu Ying walked over and asked, "Lord Qi, why not give up on the sword and train with an axe instead? I just found one."
Yuan Qi glanced at the stone axe with utter contempt. "Only clumsy, brainless brutes use weapons like that."
Seeing his disdain, Xu Ying dropped the matter. Having little fondness for the stone axe himself, he casually tossed it into a corner.
Yuan Qi slithered back up the fractured mountain, determined to try again.
Before long, he plunged from the sky once more, hit the ground with a dull thud, lay there catching his breath for a while, and then crawled back up the slope.
Xu Ying settled into life on the mountain. He spent his days cultivating inside the ascension site; when boredom struck, he instructed the two bull demons in their techniques and gave Yuan Qi pointers on swordsmanship.
Occasionally, thoughts of Yuan Weiyang crossed his mind, stirring a restless heat and irritation in his chest.
The two bull demons made rapid progress. Soon, they opened their Realms of Xiyi and harmonized their five qis. The yin energy within their bodies receded, and their cultivation grew stronger by the day.
Yuan Qi's daily routine of studying the sword, contemplating sword qi, and hurling himself off the cliff became a permanent fixture on Mount Wuwang, drawing numerous specters and demons to halt and watch. Even the bronze bell couldn't help admiring his persistence. It told Xu Ying, "Yuan Qi may simply lack the aptitude for this. Tell him to stop."
Xu Ying shook his head. "He practiced the Elephant-Strength Bull Demon Fist—a style completely unsuited to him—for a hundred and twenty years. Once his stubbornness kicks in, not even a team of oxen could pull him back."
After days of crashing down, Yuan Qi was covered in bruises. On this day, as he leaped from the summit, a flying sword suddenly struck from below, nearly severing his neck!
Yuan Qi twisted his body midair, evading the blade by a hair's breadth. Yet another volley of gleaming sword lights slashed toward him, intent on chopping him to pieces!
Terror surged through Yuan Qi, making his scales bristle. Gritting his teeth, he refrained from deploying the Dragon Snake Awakening Technique, focusing all his mind on visualizing and sensing the sword qi.
A whistling burst of sword light suddenly flared beside him, resonating with the energy in the sword casket. With a sharp hiss, the sword qi erupted from the casket, transforming into swirling rings of white radiance that enveloped him.
The incoming sword lights struck his protective sword barrier with a succession of sharp clangs, shattering it until he could no longer stay aloft.
Plunging toward the ground, Yuan Qi was ecstatic. *I mastered it! I really mastered it!*
Then a thought struck him: *Could Ah Ying be ambushing me with sword qi? To think he'd come up with a method like this, forcing me to break through in a life-or-death pinch...*
Before he hit the earth, over a dozen more sword lights darted toward him. The shattered sword qi from earlier dissolved into wisps of green smoke, carrying the unmistakable scent of incense!
Alarm seized Yuan Qi. *It isn't Ah Ying—it's gods from the Nether Court!*
With a roar, he revealed his true form, transforming into a massive serpent over two hundred feet long. Still in midair, he activated the True Cultivation of the Ba Snake, swelling into a thousand-foot monstrosity. His blood and vitality surged with immense ferocity, blazing like a wildfire on a mountain ridge as his aura pierced the clouds!
He whipped his thick tail toward the heavens, wrapping it securely around a cliff edge with a loud slap. Hanging suspended, he raised his head and unleashed the Dragon Snake Awakening Technique. Vitality surged behind him, coalescing into the twin dao images of the Dragon and the Snake!
These manifestations towered even larger than Yuan Qi's colossal physique, coiling around Mount Wuwang's precipice in a ring of churning mist—a breathtaking, terrifying sight!
The incoming flying swords struck Yuan Qi's body one after another with sharp clinks, dissipating into wisps of incense smoke.
Rushing out at the commotion, Niu Zhen and Niu Gan looked up at Yuan Qi's true form and froze, gripped by an instinctive dread.
This was Yuan Qi's true form after awakening his primordial bloodline and receiving the empowerment from Zhou Qiyun!
He had fused the True Cultivation of the Ba Snake with the Dragon Snake Awakening Technique. In terms of sheer destructive power, even if Xu Ying performed the techniques himself, he would fall far short of Yuan Qi's raw might. The serpent's torrential blood and vitality were staggering, fully rivaling Xu Ying's own!
A voice of admiration called out from the foot of the mountain. A dignified speaker praised, "I took you for an ordinary demon king, yet you possess such astonishing might. It seems I underestimated you."
Yuan Qi looked down and saw a tall scholar emerging from the forest. Behind him stood a retinue of City Gods from various counties across Yongzhou, each enveloped in dense incense smoke and exuding profound power.
The one who had ambushed him earlier was none other than Xue Lingfu, the City God of Lingling.
Xue Lingfu took a step forward and proclaimed, "This is Controller-General Ling of Yongzhou Prefecture! By decree of the Son of Heaven, he has arrived to summon Xu Ying to the Netherworld to answer for his crimes!"
Yuan Qi's heart sank. *Controller-General Ling? This is bad!*
In the hierarchy of the Nether Court, a controller-general outranked even ghost kings—he was a grand provincial commissioner!
Controller-General Ling was powerful enough to contend directly with Regional Inspector Zhou Heng. Zhou Heng possessed the true heritage of the Zhou family and had opened five layers of cave-heavens in his Mud Pill depository; though frightfully obese, his martial prowess had allowed him to escape alive from the assault of a ghost Nuo Immortal.
Controller-General Ling's arrival boded nothing but trouble!
Just as the thought crossed Yuan Qi's mind, hearty laughter rang out. "Controller-General Ling, what a chance encounter! Greetings from this official!"
Yuan Qi was startled. That voice belonged to Regional Inspector Zhou Heng!
*Zhou Heng found his way here? Does that mean the Zhou clan ancestor did too?* he wondered.
Regional Inspector Zhou Heng floated through the air, his rotund belly protruding as a fat bird gripped his shoulders and carried him forward. Panting for breath, he said, "I come on the orders of our Zhou clan ancestor to deliver a letter to Xu Ying. Controller-General Ling, your business for the Son of Heaven of the Nether Court will have to wait."
Controller-General Ling glared at Zhou Heng, sneered coldly, and turned to lead his entourage away.
City God Xue Lingfu quickly urged, "Controller-General, we outnumber him! Let's strike together and finish him off!"
Controller-General Ling shook his head. "I naturally have no fear of a mere Zhou Heng. But the Nether Court fears the Zhou clan ancestor immensely and refuses to cross him. I thought the old monster had no idea Xu Ying was here, so I came to claim the prize. Who would have guessed he could still locate the boy?"
Atop Mount Wuwang, Xu Ying received Zhou Qiyun's letter from Zhou Heng. Unfolding it, he read the familiar opening—*Seeing this letter is like seeing my face*—followed by polite inquiries after his health.
Zhou Qiyun wrote that during his contemplation of the Nine Heavens Yang Spirit over the past few days, several perplexing points had arisen. He had sent Zhou Heng to deliver his greetings in hopes of receiving an explanation.
Xu Ying set down the letter and asked, "Lord Zhou, how long has your ancestor known I was hiding here?"
Regional Inspector Zhou Heng replied, "He has known for over ten days."
Xu Ying felt a chill, yet he smiled. "Why hasn't Old Ancestor Zhou come to capture me?"
Zhou Heng chuckled. "I asked our ancestor the very same thing. He said whether you are here or at his side makes no difference. He is busy constructing an altar to offer sacrifices to Heaven and prepare for ascension, so he has no time to travel here."
Xu Ying burst into hearty laughter, though internally he grew vigilant. "Old Ancestor Zhou flatters me. I shall pen a reply for you to take back."
Taking up a brush, he answered Zhou Qiyun's questions.
After a moment's thought, Xu Ying brought over the teacup left behind by the Master of the Mud Pill Palace and poured a cup of tea from the pot. "Lord Zhou, take this back for your ancestor to see. Remember, the tea in this cup must not be spilled."
Carrying the teacup and the letter, Zhou Heng hurried toward Mount Jiuyi. Upon meeting Zhou Qiyun, he presented the correspondence. Zhou Qiyun unfolded the sheet, read it thoroughly, and asked, "What did Xu Ying say?"
"Xu Ying said you flatter him, Ancestor."
Zhou Heng offered the teacup and smiled. "He also asked me to bring this cup of tea back for you to see."
Zhou Qiyun gestured for him to set it aside and returned to studying the letter. Before long, he became completely absorbed in the contents. When he finally emerged from his reverie, three days had passed. The teacup at the edge of the table had already been cleared away by a maid, who had discarded the tea.
Zhou Qiyun remembered the cup, but failing to find it, he thought nothing more of the matter.
"Heng'er, make another trip to Mount Wuwang,"
Zhou Qiyun wrote another letter, handed it to Zhou Heng, and instructed, "When you meet Xu Ying, be sure to remain courteous and show proper respect."
Zhou Heng bowed in assent and departed with the letter.
When he arrived at Mount Wuwang, he found Xu Ying instructing the two bull demons on how to refine away their incense smoke.
Zhou Heng waited respectfully. Once Xu Ying finished teaching, he stepped forward and presented Zhou Qiyun's letter.
Xu Ying took it, puzzled. "Lord Zhou, do you have no official duties to attend to?"
Zhou Heng laughed. "Now that the new territory has surfaced, Yongzhou Prefecture has long ceased to exist. The county seats are fragmented and scattered, leaving me as a regional inspector with no office or subordinates. I have no official business to manage!"
Xu Ying smiled. "Then the common folk of Yongzhou can enjoy a few days of peace."
Zhou Heng flushed with embarrassment and anger, but recalling Zhou Qiyun's warning, he dared not lose his temper.
Xu Ying unfolded the letter and read carefully. Zhou Qiyun raised several new doubts, explaining that while merging the Nine Heavens Yang Spirit with Granny Tuo's Immortal Scripture, he had experienced unsettling discomfort, and wished to ask Xu Ying how to resolve it.
Xu Ying took up his brush to reply, then asked, "Lord Zhou, when your ancestor saw the teacup and the tea, how did he react? Did he give you any message to pass along?"
Zhou Heng blinked in surprise and shook his head. "None at all."
Xu Ying fell into contemplation. *Could I truly be overthinking things?* Setting the matter aside, he ceased to dwell on it. Through their correspondence, Xu Ying tracked Zhou Qiyun's cultivation progress based on the questions he posed. Zhou Qiyun was merging the two techniques at an astonishing pace, advancing with tremendous speed; in just two short months, he had attained the Jade Pool realm.
Gradually, Zhou Qiyun's letters grew fewer, with longer intervals between each delivery.
The questions he asked became increasingly demanding, pushing Xu Ying's limits to answer.
"The ancestor has achieved the God Bridge,"
Zhou Heng said during another visit to Mount Wuwang, delivering a fresh letter to Xu Ying. "The sacrificial altar has also been completed."
Xu Ying's heart gave a slight jolt. "When does your ancestor intend to kill me?"
Zhou Heng shook his head. "He never spoke of such a thing. He only told me to bring this letter."
Xu Ying opened the page. Once again, it began with the familiar greeting—*Seeing this letter is like seeing my face*—followed by formal pleasantries. This time, however, Zhou Qiyun asked no questions regarding cultivation techniques; instead, he detailed his method for facing the heavenly tribulation.
Through excavating ancient tombs, he had uncovered numerous records gathered by ancient Qi Refiners detailing the nature of the tribulation:
*"The heavenly tribulation arises from the human heart. Resonating between Heaven and humanity, it forms Heavenly Dao divine artifacts that dispense calamity. Heavenly gods wield these artifacts; whenever a Qi Refiner undergoes tribulation, the tribulation's wrath emanates from these Heavenly Dao divine artifacts. Therefore, to survive the tribulation, one must first offer sacrifices to Heaven."
Zhou Qiyun wrote in the letter: "I have toiled for over a century, amassing countless treasures across the realm. I intend to sacrifice these treasures to the heavenly gods, diminishing the tribulation's power to aid my ascension! Master Xu, if I ascend, your life is secure. If I fail, I shall have Zhou Heng deliver one final letter."
There the writing came to an abrupt halt.
Xu Ying gripped the paper, standing in silence. *If he fails and Zhou Heng returns, it will surely be to carry out his dying command to take my life.*
Chapter 84