The Ascension Bureau

"This is it, this is definitely it. A dragon lies hidden among the sea of clouds, purple energy reaches the Dipper. The land for three inches around has been transformed; the Dao is hidden within this formation. The Ascension Bureau—it can't be wrong."

Gazing at the sea of clouds swirling around the mountain below, so dense it refused to disperse, Zhou Huasheng carefully compared his compass with the terrain before him. The more he studied the mountain's contours, the more entranced he became. Without realizing it, he stepped forward.

The moment he put one foot out, the ground suddenly vanished beneath him. His body lurched, and the world before his eyes spun wildly.

"Ah!!"

With a bottomless abyss right in front of him, Zhou Huasheng instinctively clutched his head and screamed.

Fortunately, a large hand shot out from behind him just then, grabbed his collar, and pulled him back like a kitten.

"Not your time to die yet!"

Huo Ying patted Zhou Huasheng, who was still shaken, then gazed toward the valley below and fell into thought.

He had spent years searching for this place, wandering countless mountain ranges. He had never expected the legendary sacred ground to be hidden in such an unremarkable ravine. The discovery truly surprised him.

Turning around, he looked at Yang Guanjin and Old Bart beside him. His sparse white hair fluttered in the breeze as he walked over to Yang Guanjin.

"Pah! You'll get what's coming to you!"

Yang Guanjin spat scornfully and glared at Huo Ying, her bright, watery eyes nearly bloodshot.

But Huo Ying didn't care. Instead, he studied her face and said earnestly, "You look a lot like her. Keep these. Consider them a gift."

As he spoke, Huo Ying actually took off the boots he was wearing and set them down in front of Yang Guanjin.

The boots were made of human skin. Their leather had split in several places, and patches of unidentified animal hide had been stitched over it. Still, she could make out an eyehole on one of them, as if it were staring right at her.

Yang Guanjin's breathing grew ragged. Trembling, she took the boots into her arms and collapsed to her knees with a thud. Her unbearable fury left her unable to cry or speak in anger. All that escaped her was a heart-wrenching, low wail.

But to Huo Ying, that sound was nothing short of music.

"Heh heh heh..."

He grinned and strolled over to Xu Tong and the others. Opening his thick palm toward Yang Zixuan, he revealed a black bug.

At the sight of the dark, inky insect, Yang Zixuan's face darkened. He was about to speak, but Huo Ying seemed to have no intention of giving him the chance.

Huo Ying gripped Yang Zixuan's chin and shoved the bug into his mouth.

"What is this... Blegh~~~" The moment the bug went in, Yang Zixuan's face turned liver-colored. He opened his mouth to spit it out, only to find that he couldn't.

Mad Dog explained smugly from the side, "It's a parasitic bug. It acts up once every twelve hours, and when it does, you'll find out what it means to wish you were dead. Oh, right, once you swallow this thing, you can forget about spitting it out. Even when you return, it'll still be inside your body."

Mad Dog took a bottle from his pocket and removed a white pill from it. "This is the antidote. It's the only thing that can kill the bug in your stomach."

Then he popped the pill into his mouth and smacked his lips. "A little sour, but not bad. Tastes like preserved plums."

Yang Zixuan didn't need Mad Dog to explain. He had already received a notification from the space.

[Warning! Unknown organism detected. Unable to identify or remove. Please remove it yourself.]

Seeing Yang Zixuan's pained expression as he tried and failed to vomit, Huo Ying grinned in satisfaction and turned his attention to Xu Tong.

But Xu Tong already had his mouth wide open, as if he'd been waiting for Huo Ying to feed him. Noticing Huo Ying's odd look, Xu Tong asked curiously, "Um... Could you sprinkle some cumin on it?"

Even a ruthless man like Huo Ying was taken aback by Xu Tong. The smile vanished from his face. He tossed the bug into Xu Tong's mouth, then got to his feet and left.

"Hmph. You sure know how to put on an act. You'll see what it's like when the time comes!"

Mad Dog's mouth twitched. Unable to see Xu Tong cower, he turned around and angrily followed Huo Ying.

After feeding the bugs to Xiong Tao and Captain Wang, Huo Ying had their ropes untied. Not only that, he even arranged a decent feast for them: a whole roasted wild boar.

No one could figure out what Huo Ying was really up to.

At one point, Xu Tong saw the Mountain Miao apply another layer of ointment to Captain Wang. The captain, who had been gravely injured, slowly came around.

He seemed to be all right, but once he woke up, he became incredibly agitated. His entire face flushed red.

He couldn't stand or sit still. He even took off his clothes. After Old Bart told him about his current situation, his face twisted with fury, and he rushed up to Huo Ying, shouting at him.

The result was only to be expected. Huo Ying knocked him out with a single punch. They weren't even in the same league.

Seeing this, Xu Tong curiously went over to one of the Miao people and pointed at the green ointment in his hand. Then he took a candy from his Prop Catalog and offered it to him, gesturing that he wanted to trade.

At the sight of the candy in Xu Tong's hand, the Miao man immediately became wary. Only after Xu Tong gestured a few times to show that it was something to eat did the Miao man grow curious. He cautiously took the candy and examined it.

Only after trying a lick did he realize, to his surprise, that the sweet thing was delicious.

So, quite naturally, he handed Xu Tong the jar of green ointment.

These Miao people weren't bad, really. They were simple and honest by nature, not the kind of demons who killed without blinking. Unfortunately, their leader was.

After putting the ointment into his Prop Catalog, Xu Tong received information about it.

[Hundred-Insect Blood-Vitalizing Juice]

Method of production unknown. A Miao anesthetic.

Usage: Apply to wounds to stop bleeding quickly and gain a 200% recovery effect for 30 minutes.

(Note: All medicine has some toxicity. Excessive use may cause symptoms of blood fever.)

Seeing the effects, Xu Tong immediately understood why Captain Wang had become so agitated. Still, this medicine was genuinely useful. Xu Tong tried to trade for more, but none of the Miao people were willing to make another deal with him.

They'd noticed that the tongues of the companions who had eaten the candy had turned red, and now they suspected the candy Xu Tong had offered was poisonous.

In fact, it was just food coloring. But no matter how much Xu Tong explained, the Miao people refused to go near him again.

After a hearty meal, they began descending the mountain.

As they walked through the thick woods, Yang Zixuan suddenly stopped. He cast a doubtful glance at the bushes beside him.

He gently parted them, revealing a kneeling corpse.

The dried corpse wore a cloak. Its hands were clasped together, as if it were devoutly worshipping something ahead.

When everyone had cleared away the bushes, they saw that there were six such corpses, all identical, kneeling with their hands pressed together and facing forward.

"These look like Tibetan lamas."

After examining them closely, Xiong Tao said with a puzzled expression, "Why would these lamas die here?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Zhou Huasheng hurried over and studied the area around the lamas. His expression grew more and more excited.

"That's right, it has to be. This is the Ascension Bureau. These lamas must have found the place, which is why they knelt down and worshipped."

"Then why did they die here?"

Mad Dog asked from the side, his face full of suspicion.

For a moment, Zhou Huasheng had no answer. In the end, he could only offer a vague guess. "Maybe they had other ideas. Who knows?"

But when he followed the direction in which the lamas had been worshipping, his eyes widened. A dilapidated stone pagoda stood in the woods ahead.

"Yes! Yes! It has to be!"

He pointed excitedly toward the pagoda and told Huo Ying, "That's it. This has to be the place we're looking for."

Huo Ying nodded in satisfaction. Then he glanced sideways, and the Miao people around them immediately raised their bows and aimed their arrows at Xu Tong and the others.

"You go first!" Huo Ying shoved Yang Guanjin toward Xu Tong and the others while grabbing Old Bart by the throat with his other hand.

"Dad!" Yang Guanjin's expression changed. She tried to turn back, but an arrow landed at her feet first.

Huo Ying pointed toward the path ahead. The reason he hadn't killed them, and had even treated their injuries, wasn't because he was kindhearted. He'd wanted them to lead the way for him and his men.

At the same time, Xu Tong and the others heard a notification from the space.

[Main Mission 2: Explore the Ascension Bureau]

Mission Objective: Discover the secret of the Ascension Bureau.

Mission Hint: What exactly is an immortal? Perhaps you'll find your own answer here.

"Heh heh. Good luck, everyone. Oh, and don't forget the time. You've got about ten hours. If you don't come back obediently, the bug might chew a huge hole in your stomach."

Mad Dog waved at them and offered a kindly reminder.

"Let's go. We've come this far. It's not like we have a choice." With a grim expression, Yang Zixuan summoned his Flying Blade and took the lead.

"Pah! That bastard!"

Xiong Tao spat out a mouthful of phlegm, but Mad Dog nimbly dodged it.

Huo Ying and the others waited where they were for a while. Once Xu Tong and the rest had gone some distance, they followed at an unhurried pace.

Only after the group had left did the deserted woods fall quiet again.

"Crack!!"

Suddenly, an odd sound came from one of the dried corpses. Its head began to jerk unnaturally, as if it had come back to life.

As the sound grew louder, a red-headed centipede emerged from the corpse's empty eye socket. It swayed its long antennae above its head, then slowly crawled out of the eyehole...