"Transcendence and Ascension?"
The Emperor of the Yin Court was deeply shaken. The immortal light radiating from his colossal Primordial Spirit wavered for a moment. After a long pause, he spoke in an unhurried tone, "The word 'transcendence'—it has been ages since I heard anyone utter it. A thousand years? Or three thousand? Once, people still dared to speak of such things. Hearing it now stirs a certain... melancholy."
He fixed his gaze upon Zhou Qiyun. "All who once dared speak of transcendence and ascension have died. I watched those arrogant geniuses fall, one after another, vanish one by one, until heaven and earth fell silent and no voice remained. Only I, this残仙, cling to a wretched existence."
Zhou Qiyun straightened. "I humbly beg Your Majesty for guidance."
The Emperor of the Yin Court said, "Heavenly Tribulation originates from the Heavenly Dao World. Its power derives from the Heavenly Dao Artifact. No one can endure it. Any qi refiner who reaches the Ascension Stage will perish beneath the Tribulation. There is no ascension in this world—no Immortal Realm! Master Zhou, give it up. Be content as a Nuo Immortal. Even without ascending, you can live in the mortal world as freely as any immortal. And after death, you may come to the underworld—we need talented individuals like you here!"
Zhou Qiyun shook his head. "Does Your Majesty know the sparrow? It nests beneath the eaves, never flies higher than the treetops, flits low among the grasses, lives among chickens and dogs, scrabbling for seeds and insects. Its entire life is mediocrity. From the moment of its birth, one can see all the way to its death—nothing changes."
The Emperor of the Yin Court laughed. "Is that not the life of countless ordinary people?"
"But that is not the life I wish for!" Zhou Qiyun's expression was cold, yet flames danced within his eyes—the fire blazing in his heart had burned through to his gaze. "I do not wish to be ordinary. Even as a Nuo Immortal, I do not want to see my death from the day I am born. I want to soar. I want to spread my wings and ride the winds for ninety thousand miles!"
The Emperor of the Yin Court said, "You are a Nuo Immortal. The Nuo Immortals were created precisely to avoid the Heavenly Tribulation and become immortals in the mortal world. You have no tribulation to transcend—how can you transcend?"
Zhou Qiyun said, "I have already found the method to transcend. But I hesitate. I have reservations."
"Oh?" the Emperor said. "What gives you pause?"
"The world is full of mighty beings, of formidable powers. When I contemplate the natural Dao, I often sense ancient presences, hear inexplicable whispers—whispers that seem to come from hidden corners of the Divine Continent, or from another universe entirely." Zhou Qiyun continued, "This invasion of the underworld has alerted me. There exist beings of terrifying power I had never known. The underworld's invasion of the mortal realm, the Yin Court's involvement—such a grand scheme must have enormous ambitions. As a Nuo Immortal of the mortal world, I fear the Yin Court may strike me down during my tribulation."
A divine light swirled in his eyes, then suddenly surged. "I will not have someone stab me in the back while I face the tribulation. Before I transcend, I must eliminate all hidden dangers."
The Emperor of the Yin Court looked oddly amused. "Master Zhou misunderstands. The underworld's invasion of the mortal realm has nothing to do with the Yin Court. We ghosts are as vexed by it as anyone! We live peacefully in the netherworld—no death, no decay, no taxes, no suffering. It is quite comfortable, in fact. When the underworld invades, you living folk come scrambling over, disturbing our peace and disrupting our daily lives. Honestly, we find you more annoying than you find us."
Zhou Qiyun was stunned silent.
The Emperor of the Yin Court sighed. "We of the Yin Court are merely dead mortals who have been venerated as gods and receive incense offerings. What benefit would we gain from swallowing the mortal realm? Rest assured and proceed with your tribulation. No ghost, god, or Nuo Immortal from the Yin Court will interfere. The only ones you need to worry about are the living."
Zhou Qiyun was surprised. This had been the purpose of his visit—he had expected a fierce confrontation with the Yin Court, a battle that would cost rivers of blood.
He had not expected this trip to go so smoothly. The great figure of the Yin Court had no interest in fighting him, no ambition for power. The man's temperament was that of a Buddha—utterly serene.
Of course, Zhou Qiyun did not entirely believe him.
If the Yin Court truly was as the Emperor described—a gentle, benevolent Buddha—then why had they so aggressively expanded divine authority, intervening in mortal affairs?
The Emperor of the Yin Court sighed. "The Yin Court is not the ruler of the netherworld. We merely hold a small corner of it. We are not the masters here. Much of the underworld remains unknown to us. For instance, those few companions you brought with you—they wandered into uncharted territory. If you are quick enough, you might still recover their bodies intact."
Zhou Qiyun rose. "I thank Your Majesty for your consideration. Should I achieve my goal, I will repay this kindness."
The Emperor of the Yin Court smiled. "I would not dare."
Zhou Qiyun took his leave and departed the Hall of Samhara.
Suddenly, the Emperor's voice came from behind. "Master Zhou—the road ahead is already severed. Why bother competing? Why not lie back in the netherworld as we do? Pushing forward will only get you killed."
Zhou Qiyun turned back, smiled, and waved his hand before walking away without a word.
The Emperor of the Yin Court sighed, murmuring, "Good words cannot save a ghost doomed to die. Compassion cannot redeem those who seek their own end. I have said all I can—whether you heed it is your own affair."
Then, from the deep darkness behind him, a voice spoke. "His danger does not come from the Yin Court. The Yin Court can only pick at scraps. It is *those beings* who would devour him whole."
The Emperor of the Yin Court bowed slightly, his tone respectful. "Indeed. But we cannot keep eating scraps forever. We, too, wish to drink blood. We, too, wish to feast on flesh."
"Hee hee hee!" A strange laughter echoed from behind him. "The things in the Abyss can no longer be restrained. The underworld is invading the mortal realm. Yongzhou was merely the first point of incursion. Soon the entire Divine Continent—indeed, all of Yuan Shou—will be infiltrated and assimilated. When that happens, the mortal world will inevitably clash with the Abyss. And our opportunity will arrive!"
The giggling in the darkness soon swelled into roaring laughter. Then came the sound of wings flapping—a flock of crows burst from behind the Emperor of the Yin Court and soared into the distance.
These were the cold crows of the netherworld, creatures capable of traversing the boundary between the living and the dead.
The Emperor of the Yin Court watched them go, murmuring, "When the time comes... will I finally cease to be a puppet?"
Though he had died and resigned himself to inactivity, the blood within his corpse still ran hot.
Outside the Heavenly Court of the Yin, Zhou Qiyun lifted his gaze. A flock of cold crows swept across the sky, lending the netherworld an air of bleak desolation.
"The Emperor of the Yin Court's words were half truth, half lie. If the Yin Court truly lies prostrate, ready to be trampled, then why did they send forces to capture Xu Ying?"
His eyes flickered. "Emperor of the Yin Court—you may not be a true Ghost Immortal after all. If you were once a qi refiner who became an immortal—even a Ghost Immortal—you would be well versed in the qi refiner's cultivation system, and there would be no need to seize Xu Ying."
Xu Ying's greatest value lay in deciphering qi refiner techniques—what the world called demon arts—and restoring the qi refiner's cultivation system.
If the Emperor of the Yin Court truly possessed complete knowledge of qi refiner methods and systems, there would have been no need to order judges and city gods to hunt Xu Ying.
"The key to this ascension must rest on Xu Ying's shoulders."
Zhou Qiyun walked in the direction the Great Bell had gone, thinking silently, *I hope he can reconstruct the qi refiner cultivation system, allowing me to fuse qi refinement with Nuo methods! Only then will I have the confidence to transcend the Heavenly Tribulation!*
---
In the netherworld, within the Willow Forest.
A massive bell lay on its side on the ground, inching forward little by little, pushing the willows aside in its wake. Behind the serpent—Yuan Qi, great and dragon-horned—raised his head from among the willows, looking about.
The fog grew thicker and thicker. Soon Xu Ying, Yuan Weiyang, and Xiao Bo had all been swallowed by the mist. Yuan Qi could only follow the Great Bell forward, unable to see anyone. Panic rose in his heart. "A-Ying!" he called.
From the Willow Forest came echoing voices: "A-Ying!" "A-Ying!" "A-Ying!"
Then came the giggle of ghost children. Yuan Qi's hair stood on end, and he slithered forward quickly, pressing close to the Great Bell. From ahead, Xu Ying's muffled voice answered through the fog.
Yuan Qi felt somewhat relieved.
He raised his eyes to the sky and cried out in surprise, "A-Ying, look—the sun is rising!"
Through the fog, Xu Ying's muffled voice came, "It's the dead of night. What sun?"
He bounced up through the fog, revealing his head, and looked upward. Indeed, a sun hung in the netherworld sky.
But it was clearly the dead of night in the underworld—how could there be a sun?
Moreover, this sun looked entirely improper. A proper sun blazes with infinite heat and radiance, but this sun was stuffed with joss paper—and burned joss paper, at that.
The paper money appeared to be the kind used to honor the dead. At some point, the air had filled with the smell of incense offerings and scorched paper.
Beneath the sun, a flock of cold crows flew past, cawing. Their wingbeats were so vigorous they stirred up ash from the sun's surface.
Yuan Weiyang also jumped up, poking her head through the fog, exclaiming, "There really is a sun? What kind of world is this?"
"Young Master, stay calm. Remember what the mistress taught us: remain unmoved even if Mount Tai collapses before you."
Xiao Bo's voice drifted from the fog. Then the old man hopped up and cleared the mist, caught sight of the sun, and blustered, "What in the—there is such a thing as this?"
"Xiao Bo, stay calm. Unmoved." Yuan Weiyang's tone was composed, her expression serene.
She could not remain calm for long. From the ash on the sun's surface, something colossal stirred—the cold crows had awakened it. It shook its wings, sending ash flying in every direction!
Then the great creature took flight, bursting from the netherworld sun, chasing the cold crows!
It was a giant bird reduced to nothing but skeleton and feathers. It had three legs, no flesh at all, and its skull resembled a raven's—yet it wore golden plumage. Though it had been dead for untold ages, it radiated a savage, murderous aura!
As it took flight, three massive chains dragged behind it—pitch black, bound to its three legs.
The Three-Legged Golden Crow beat its wings, dragging the netherworld sun behind it, pursuing the cold crows into the distance.
Xu Ying and the others stared in silence for a long while. Then Yuan Qi broke the quiet with a solitary shout, "Is no one in charge of the underworld? The sun was just carried off by a bird and nobody cares? Nobody, right... hmph!"
The fog gradually thinned. In the Willow Forest, the ghost children appeared one by one, drowsy and yawning, padding barefoot onto the willow branches.
They curled their toes around the charred branches and hung upside down, arms folded across their chests—like a multitude of snow-white bats.
They were everywhere, emerging from who knew where—scores of ghost children climbed the trees and dangled, sleeping. Within moments, dozens of them hung from every branch, as though the willows had borne strange, pale fruit.
As Xu Ying and the others looked on in puzzlement, the Willow Forest fell quiet. A cold wind blew through, and the fog receded until it reached only their waists.
The surroundings were dim and hazy. Then a white figure drifted toward them—floating, its feet never touching the ground.
It was a humanoid figure, entirely white, standing over a zhang tall. A white robe covered it from head to toe. In its hand it held a staff wound with white cloth strips. Its hair, too, was white—the only color the long, scarlet tongue protruding from its mouth.
The creature drifted among the ancient willows. It would stop before a ghost child hanging upside down and lick its face with that long, red tongue.
Every ghost child it licked withered visibly, their presence fading like a candle blown out.
"Impermanence!" Xu Ying exclaimed softly.
He had once possessed an Impermanence mask—worn to pose among the ghosts of a ruined temple world. Yuan Qi had told him such masks were crafted by Nuo masters who harvested the flesh of Impermanence ghosts from the underworld. Wearing one transformed the user into an Impermanence.
He had never expected to encounter a real Impermanence ghost here.
"It is harvesting qi," Yuan Weiyang whispered.
Xu Ying, reminded by her words, understood. A chill ran through him—this Impermanence ghost was feeding on the yang qi of the ghost children. The ghost children lured in wandering living beings and spirits, draining their yang qi. Then, once the ghost children fell asleep, this Impermanence would drift over and harvest their qi in turn.
Then more Impermanences drifted in from the sky, all identically dressed—Mourning Staff, scarlet tongue.
They hovered in the Willow Forest, stopping beside each tree. The ghost children were like fruit on the branches, and the Impermanences gathered them at will.
Xu Ying had planned to ignore them and leave. Then a voice rang out: "Senior Brother, there are people over there!"
"Silence—speak no more!"
Xu Ying's heart jolted. His eyes widened in disbelief, and he turned toward the Impermanence ghosts.
"They are... human? Spirit Mirror, open!"