Chapter 198 - The Predecessor Ascends

Fu Yi and Zhu Chanchan floated before Xu Ying, Yuanqi, and Dazhong like walking corpses, their feet dangling above the ground. The Purple Immortal Herb hovered between them, its writhing roots manipulating their bodies.

“Abba, abba!” the pair babbled, eyes rolled back.

It was a truly frightening sight.

Master Zhong is the only one who can keep the Grave Grass in check. Why is he trembling along with Master Qi? Xu Ying was utterly baffled.

The Purple Immortal Herb could burrow through the openings in a person’s face and penetrate their ethereal void, suppressing their Primordial Spirit. Even a fierce bird like Jin Buyi could fall under the herb’s control. Yet Dazhong possessed neither, rendering him immune.

The herb, though formidable, lacked Dazhong’s brute strength; in direct combat, the bell would easily dominate.

Then Xu Ying understood. “Master Zhong is broad-minded. That’s why he’s trembling.”

When Fu Yi finally regained consciousness, he felt completely severed from his Primordial Spirit, his divine sense, or primordial qi!

Worse, his stolen grotto heavens had vanished from his perception.

Most frightening of all, every mystic gateway he had opened across his Qi Cultivation journey appeared tightly sealed.

He was now a mere frail elder.

He steadied himself. Nothing like this had happened since he took charge of monitoring Xu Ying. Previously, before Xu Ying could ever advance past Great Exorcist, they would locate him and force Meng Po’s soup down his throat.

Now Xu Ying had begun turning the tables on them and had even managed to imprison him!

He still had no idea how he had lost!

Fu Yi looked around. Rather than a prison, he found himself lying on a bed in a reasonably tidy room. He sat up and walked outside. A clamor of voices reached him. Many people were returning from a hunt, dressed in simple clothes and straining to drag enormous prey behind them.

Their clothing had an ancient look, like that of people from the Great Shang era.

To his surprise, many of these seemingly ordinary people had dual cultivation of Qi and Exorcism, with many having opened a grotto heaven or two.

He gazed out over green mountains and clear waters stretching as far as the eye could see. The vast expanse of water seemed to hold the blue heavens upon its surface. Water and sky blended into one, clear and luminous as jade. The sight soothed the heart and lifted the spirits.

Yunmeng Marsh, he thought.

Only then did he spot the Fusang Divine Tree behind him. Atop it perched a giant Golden Crow, surrounded by Shang villagers as it preened its feathers. Ancient and frail, the Golden Crow kept nodding off.

“You’re awake?” Xu Ying’s voice made Fu Yi turn. Xu Ying had changed into Shang clothing and was teaching some of the Shang people a Dao art, explaining the subtleties of cultivation.

The Shang people favored loose garments woven from white silk. Dressed in white himself, Xu Ying looked refined and easygoing.

Fu Yi approached. Hearing Xu Ying explain the Eight Sounds of Primordial Nurturing, his pulse spiked.

This was an immortal art from the archaic era, written in Immortal Dao runes. Lacking the ability to read the runes directly, ancient Qi Cultivators had always required annotated translations to practice it.

He had never expected Xu Ying to pass on this cultivation method so freely.

Leaving the Shang people to ponder the teachings on their own, Xu Ying said to Fu Yi, “They fled Yuanshou during the Great Shang era to escape warfare and forced labor. They used to live inside a fish’s belly, so they’re also called the Fish Belly people. When the Fish Belly Realm collapsed, I brought them here to settle.”

The old man said, “No wonder they hold you in such reverence. You began slipping free of our control when Yunmeng Marsh appeared. None of us expected you to pass through the stone city and head for the Heavenly Path. By the time we found you, you were already refining your Dao arts and divine abilities.”

Regret gnawed at him. Had they caught Xu Ying moments earlier, they might have prevented this.

Xu Ying walked beside him, surveying the cities, towns, and villages the Shang people had newly built. He asked leisurely, “When did you take charge of watching me?”

Recognizing that Xu Ying held his life in his hands, Fu Yi promptly answered.

“In the six hundred and fortieth year of Ancestral Dragon’s reign. I was a Qi Cultivator on Mount Emei back then. Ancestral Dragon’s sacrifice to Heaven sparked great turmoil, and many people died. My predecessor sought me out afterward and put me in charge of your affairs.”

“What happened during the sacrifice to Heaven?” Xu Ying asked curiously.

Fu Yi glanced at him. “You don’t know?”

Xu Ying smiled. “How would I know?”

Fu Yi said, “I don’t know the details myself. I only heard that you were one of the offerings.”

Xu Ying’s face darkened. He had been a sacrificial offering?

Fu Yi added, “I was already an Ascension Stage Qi Cultivator during my time on Mount Emei. But I knew I had reached my limit. I had no hope of ever ascending.”

He sighed. “Even with two or three thousand years of life left, I’d only be wasting time. Honestly, every Qi Cultivator was in the same boat. Which Ascension Stage cultivator wasn’t a genius of extraordinary talent? Yet every single one choked under the weight of the heavenly tribulation, despairing of ever ascending.”

Though he spoke lightly, Xu Ying could feel that despair. The path to ascension had been sealed off for everyone. Even unparalleled geniuses were trapped!

Fu Yi said. “Then one day, my predecessor came to the Golden Summit of Mount Emei and found me. He told me that he had accumulated sufficient merit and was about to ascend to the Immortal Realm, so he needed to find a successor.

“When he explained his duties, I was stunned. It took me a long time to process it. He promised that if I did the job well, I’d eventually earn enough merit to become an immortal myself.”

Xu Ying shook his head and laughed. “And you believed him?”

“Of course I didn’t. But he underwent his tribulation right before my eyes. The orthodox gods of the heavenly pantheon appeared in succession from the Heavenly Dao World, and the heavenly tribulation sent down only a few token bolts of tribulation lightning. After that, I had no choice but to believe.”

“You mean he really ascended?” Xu Ying blurted out.

“Beyond any doubt.”

“He survived the heavenly tribulation?” Xu Ying pressed.

“With ease. His heavenly tribulation covered an area only a few li across. Forget an Ascension Stage expert, even a newbie Qi Cultivator who’d barely formed a Primordial Spirit could have survived it.”

“You watched him ascend?”

Fu Yi nodded.

Xu Ying was stunned. Even the strength of a heavenly tribulation could be manipulated?

He burst out, “If someone controls the heavenly tribulation, there is no justice! The rulers above adjust the lethality and pick whoever they want to pass! Why don’t you fight back? Why don’t you tear down a broken system?”

His voice rose. “Fu Yi, don't hate the person who ascended before you. Hate the ones holding the reins! They’re the ones keeping you grounded!”

Fu Yi watched him with a strange expression. Only when Xu Ying finished did he sneer, “You want to rebel?”

Xu Ying stared at him and murmured, “Shouldn’t we?”

Fu Yi scoffed, “Of course not! Do you know what’s up there? The Immortal Realm! You want to rebel against the Immortal Realm? An immortal could crush you with a single finger!

“Besides, immortals are all-powerful. What’s wrong with opening a door for one of their juniors? Isn’t it still closed to everyone else? How is that unfair? If you want to blame someone, blame that supreme ascender!”

His voice turned vicious. “He drove the heavenly tribulation to a level no one could survive! He pushed everyone else past their breaking point, the one who ruined Qi cultivation! He’s the reason we ended up devouring Exorcist Immortals!”

Malice surged through him as he shouted, “Do you think I wanted to eat Exorcist Immortals? Do you think those Qi Cultivators wanted to eat them? That supreme ascender drove us to it! Without him, none of this horror would’ve existed!”

Xu Ying was more bewildered than ever.

Fu Yi drew a ragged breath. “After I witnessed my predecessor’s ascension, I was thrilled. I realized this would be my only chance to rise above ordinary Qi Cultivators and join the ranks of the immortals! I wanted to ascend. I wanted to become an immortal. I refused to rot in the lower realm with all the other Qi Cultivators!”

His face twisted as he snarled, “I refused to live like them, like maggots! I wanted to stand above everyone else. I wanted to become an immortal! I wanted even the Heavenly Dao to submit to me!”

He had accepted the mandate, taking full control of monitoring the Ageless Immortal. Bei Chenzi and Yutang had joined later.

Xu Ying asked, “Fu Yi, the Heavenly Path is broken. How did your predecessor ascend?”

“What Heavenly Path?” Fu Yi did not understand.

Xu Ying explained, “The Heavenly Path is the road ascenders travel when they ascend. It is formed from a spiritual root of heaven and earth, with relay stations along the way. The first relay station is Little Profound Heaven.

“Immortals from the myriad realms ascend there and take Origin Dao Essence to cleanse their mortal qi. But that Heavenly Path has been severed!”

Fu Yi paused, then burst out laughing. “Utter nonsense! Why would anyone need to travel along a Heavenly Path after surviving their tribulation? Naturally, they ascend straight to the Immortal Realm!”

Xu Ying shook his head. “You watched Zhou Qiyun undergo his tribulation. You should know that a Heavenly Dao World lies between the Immortal Realm and the mortal world. Clearly, ascension doesn’t take you straight to the Immortal Realm in a single leap. There has to be a stop along the way!”

Fu Yi stared blankly for a moment, then laughed. “You don’t know a damn thing. You’ve never ascended! I saw it with my own eyes. How could it be false?”

Despite his words, he no longer felt so certain.

Xu Ying smiled. “Of course I’ve never ascended, but I have been to the Heavenly Path. Little Stone City took me there. I saw an immortal palace where ancient ascenders left behind their sacred calligraphy.”

Fu Yi burst out laughing and shook his head. “That can’t be the only route to ascension. There must be others. We serve the rulers above, so naturally they open a back door for us! We aren't like those wretched fools who have to face a true, lethal tribulation!”

Still doubtful, Xu Ying summoned Yuanqi. “Master Qi, you and Master Zhong should get ready. We’re going to the Golden Summit of Emei.”

He turned back to Fu Yi. “Fu Yi, since your predecessor ascended, his ascension site should still be there. Let’s go take a look.”

Fu Yi was just as eager to fly straight back to Emei and nodded repeatedly.

Xu Ying called out to Zhu Chanchan. “Chanchan, want to come to the Golden Summit of Emei?”

Zhu Chanchan turned her head woodenly toward him. “Abba, abba.”

Purple blades of the herb swayed behind the girl’s head.

Xu Ying could only sigh. “Suit yourself. Just try not to leave her completely useless.”

“Abba, abba.”

Xu Ying grabbed Fu Yi and leaped onto Yuanqi’s forehead as the serpent revealed his true form. Spanning over three hundred zhang, the young serpent was far from fully grown, yet he radiated the intimidating aura of a primeval beast.

That aura roused Jin Buyi from sleep, and he wiped the drool from the corner of his mouth. Fearing he would attract his attention, Yuanqi hastily summoned his sword qi. The snake rose gradually into the air, then streaked away with sword qi circling him.

Although he had awakened his primeval beast bloodline, he was still a demon Qi Cultivator and an Exorcist. His vital energy was extraordinarily powerful, already matching that of a fully grown beast. He was outstanding in his own right, but Dazhong, Jin Buyi, and the Purple Immortal Herb were so powerful that they overshadowed him.

After a long flight, Yuanqi finally reached Emei. Unbound from the ancient seals that once chained heaven and earth, its towering peaks rivaled—and perhaps even surpassed—those of Mount Jiuyi. Majestic peaks and jagged ridges bristled everywhere, bathed in streaming, rosy light.

Unlike the grotto heavens and spiritual sanctuaries elsewhere, the ascension sites here often stood out in the open. Wherever rosy light shone, a golden summit rose, crowned with a magnificent palace complex. In their heyday, countless Qi Cultivators had practiced here.

Even now, Xu Ying could see Qi Cultivators flying among the mountains. Clearly, quite a few had come to make their homes here in this era, too.

Fu Yi looked around, searching for a while before pointing toward one of the golden summits. “My predecessor ascended there!”

Yuanqi flew over and landed on the golden summit. A grand, imposing palace complex stood there. Spotting the giant serpent’s arrival, young Qi Cultivators poured out from the complex to look.

Someone recognized Xu Ying and cried out joyfully, “It’s Young Master Xu! The Ageless Immortal!”

Xu Ying looked over. The speaker was probably one of Xu Fu’s students, though he could not remember his name.

Fu Yi hurried beneath the rosy light on the golden summit. “My predecessor ascended right here! Xu Ying, this is the very spot where he ascended to the Immortal Realm!”

Xu Ying tilted his head back. With a gentle push of his will, countless Eyes of Heaven manifested in the air, surrounding the beam of rosy light to inspect it from every angle.

These were the Eyes of Heaven. Heaven’s Fate had used this very divine ability of the Heavenly Dao to discern the flaws in Xu Ying’s Eight Arts of the Combat God.

After studying the light for a while, Xu Ying activated the Primordial Dao Heavenly Domain Resonance. Powerful streams of divine sense pierced through the glow, tracing its source deep into the void.

Crack!

Lightning flashed across the sky, and thunder roared. More and more bolts crackled around them.

Xu Ying pushed his Primordial Dao Heavenly Domain Resonance to its limit. If Weiyang were here to help me, I wouldn’t have to strain so hard. That reminds me, I wonder if there’s any new rouge in the city...

The thought had barely crossed his mind when the sky shook with a thunderous rumble. His probing divine sense had dragged an enormous abyss out of the void!

The abyss hung suspended between heaven and earth, immeasurably deep. The peaks of the Emei Mountains were so high that the abyss seemed to loom directly overhead, its oppressive presence bearing down on them.

“Don’t come any closer!”

A mass of flesh writhed within the abyss. Its upper half was human, and it waved at them.

Xu Ying’s divine sense shuddered from the violent impact, and he could no longer hold the abyss in place. The terrifying abyss was slowly swallowed by the sky, fading from sight. He cut off his divine sense, seized Fu Yi by the collar, and hauled him up before him.

He said with a cold sneer, “Your predecessor didn’t ascend to the Immortal Realm. He ascended into the abyss!”

The horror had not yet faded from Fu Yi’s face. Just moments before, he had seen immortals’ corpses drifting in the deepest reaches of the abyss, floating like drowned bodies on water.

His face turned ashen, and all hope drained away. After a while, he asked, “Xu Ying, what do you want to know?”

Xu Ying hesitated, then said, “Xujiaping Village.”