Celestial Ascent: A Tale of Myths and Martial Arts

The wilderness of Yongzhou is home to a peculiar serpent: black in substance, marked with white patches. Its touch withers the plants, and its bite—against it, no defense avails man.

Upon inscribing this line, Liu Zongyuan gently set down his brush, sighing as he rose to approach the window. He spoke softly, "The struggles of the populace are immense. The ferocity of oppressive governance surpasses that of even this strange serpent! From the fourteenth year of the Tianbao era until this day, the state of the nation has been deteriorating, and now even these venomous snakes run rampant through the countryside!"

The fourteenth year of Tianbao marked the definitive decline of the Zenithal Saint, Great Sage, Great Enlightened, and Filial Emperor, whose reign finally succumbed to incompetence. The Prince of Dongping's rebellion ignited, and the splendid, flourishing age was instantly shattered. Though the rebellion was eventually suppressed, years of ensuing warfare and the fragmentation of regional warlords ensured that the former prosperity could never be restored.

From that point onward, the Central Plain was shrouded in a demonic miasma, plagued by malevolent spirits. The imperial court itself was dominated by treacherous ministers and manipulative eunuchs. Men of noble aspiration, such as Liu Zongyuan, were often relegated to remote, impoverished regions, unable to realize their lofty ambitions and visions.

As Liu Zongyuan’s thoughts reached this point, a black gale suddenly howled outside the window. A venomous serpent, its body marked with alternating black and white rings, erupted from a drainage ditch onto the street. Wherever it passed, the flora withered with terrifying speed.

This was precisely the "peculiar serpent" of his composition, a creature of unmatched toxicity!

Yet, this particular specimen was monstrously large, exceeding three zhang (approx. 10 meters) in length. A flick of its tail demolished houses, and a spray from its mouth diffused a choking, poisonous mist.

The panic-stricken populace on the street scrambled and fled, daring not to linger.

A plump, pale piglet foraging on cabbage at the street corner was too slow to escape. Inhaling a single breath of the toxic fog, it kicked its four trotters and instantly perished.

Suddenly, a raggedly-dressed youth charged from behind, delivering a punch that unleashed a powerful gale, instantly scattering the dense, poisonous vapor.

The colossal snake was struck by sheer terror and fled forward with frantic speed. Overtaken by the youth, it was forced to turn and fight desperately, only to be met with a swift kick to its lower jaw, launching the huge serpent into a dizzying, airborne spin. The young man quickly closed the distance, leapt into the air, and with the swiftness of flying arrows, his ten fingers repeatedly struck the skeletal joints along the serpent's back.

A rapid succession of cracking sounds, like the detonation of firecrackers, echoed through the air. Wherever the youth’s fingers touched, the great snake's muscles and bones were meticulously dislocated.

In a mere instant, the youth had struck from the snake’s head to its tail, systematically unhinging every bone in its body, rendering it utterly immobile!

Witnessing this display, the people on the street burst into applause, cheering, “Xiao Ying! What magnificent skill!”

The youth, named Xu Ying, possessed long, slender limbs and delicate, finely-shaped fingers. His skin, slightly darkened by constant exposure to the elements, bore the marks of his life outdoors.

He was a celebrated snake-catcher from Lingling County in Yongzhou, who, at merely fourteen years old, had already mastered formidable skills.

Xu Ying seized the serpent's tail, preparing to depart, when Liu Zongyuan stepped out and called to him, inquiring, “Xu Ying, for what purpose do you catch this snake?”

The young man paused. Recognizing Liu Zongyuan, the Administrator of Yongzhou, he quickly offered a respectful salute, saying, “Magistrate Liu, this snake, once dried and prepared, serves as a medicinal ingredient capable of treating severe paralysis (da feng), muscle cramps and contractions (luan wan), and chronic sores and leprosy (lou li); it expels necrotic tissue and kills three kinds of parasites. The Prefect has decreed that whoever captures this serpent shall be exempted from tax levies.”

Liu Zongyuan smiled, “That is indeed a welcome arrangement.”

Xu Ying’s expression dimmed. He replied, “My grandfather was a snake-catcher, and he perished in the pursuit of this very trade. My father was also a snake-catcher, and he too died in the course of his duty. I have studied the methods of snake-catching under my father for six years. I fear I too may perish in this pursuit one day, though I know not when.”

Moved by compassion, Liu Zongyuan offered, “The Prefect is a friend of mine. I can prevail upon him to annul this corvée labor for you and restore your standard tax obligations.”

Hearing this, the immense snake suddenly spoke with a human voice, bellowing, “Well said, Administrator Liu! Xu Ying, my years of arduous cultivation are not easily cast aside. Spare my life! You can pay your taxes, and I will continue practicing my demonic arts in the mountains!”

Liu Zongyuan started in alarm, exclaiming, “This is no mere snake, but a serpent demon!”

The great snake cried out, “My grandfather was a serpent demon, and he died at the hands of snake-catchers. My parents were also serpent demons, and they too perished by their hands. I am now one hundred and twenty years old. I thought I had escaped this fate and might finally transform into a jiao (flood dragon) to devour these scoundrels! Alas, it seems I must also die today at the hands of a snake-catcher…”

Xu Ying raised his hand and gave a slight pull on its lower jaw, meticulously dislocating its mandible. The great snake immediately fell silent, unable to continue speaking.

A flush of sorrow rose in Xu Ying’s eyes. He said, “Administrator Liu, by catching snakes, I am able to survive. If my taxes are reinstated, I fear I will starve to death in short order. If not for such dire necessity, who would willingly risk his life to capture a serpent demon?”

He then dragged the serpent demon away, his expression profoundly dejected.

Liu Zongyuan was unable to hold back his tears, lamenting, “Who could have known that the poison of taxation and levies is far more deadly than the snake! The peculiar serpent is toxic, yet the true venom lies in oppressive and unrestrained exactions!”

He returned to his chamber and swiftly wielded his brush, composing the immortal literary masterpiece, The Snake-Catcher's Tale.

Xu Ying dragged the serpent demon home and tossed it into a large earthenware jar. As night had fallen, he could not deliver the snake to the authorities to fulfill his obligation, and thus had to wait until dawn.

Xu Ying quickly lit a fire, prepared and hastily consumed a meager meal, and then fell into a deep sleep.

Within the jar, the great snake desperately writhed, attempting to reset its dislocated bones. It struggled until the middle of the night, when the sound of ferocious officials, behaving like bandits, storming the village was heard. They smashed, looted, burned, and loudly demanded that the villagers hand over their taxes.

Roused by the commotion, Xu Ying got up and lit a lamp. He peered into the jar, noted that the serpent demon was still there, and, with a sigh of relief, lay back down to sleep.

The serpent demon continued its painstaking effort to mend its bones. After an indeterminate period, it finally reset its lower jawbone, only to hear the sound of Xu Ying rising again.

The serpent demon slumped in utter despair.

Xu Ying dressed neatly and once more approached the jar to glance at the serpent demon. The snake lay motionless, thinking to itself, “Once I reset the bones at the back of my skull, I’ll suddenly rear up and give him a lethal strike, sending him to meet his grandfather and father!”

Facing the rising sun, Xu Ying slowly began his breathing exercises, silently circulating the Taiyi Dao-Yin technique.

With each inhalation and exhalation, the sunlight on his face seemed to brighten progressively with his intake of breath. One could even perceive tiny light particles in the air, which disappeared into his body with each breath.

A faint rumble, like distant thunder, could be heard emanating from Xu Ying's abdomen. This sound rose from his Dantian, gradually reaching his throat and nasal cavity, before slowly sinking back down into the Dantian.

In just a moment, a wave of heat steamed from Xu Ying’s body, and wisps of white mist curled upward.

His formidable skill was not taught by his grandfather or father.

In truth, he was not the biological son of his father, but a child rescued by his grandfather.

His father and grandfather bore the surname Jiang, while Xu Ying’s surname was Xu. Seven years prior, a great fire swept through Xu Family Hamlet. His grandfather rescued Xu Ying from the blaze and brought him to this place.

Xu Ying retained few memories of that fire, but dimly recalled a specific breathing method, which was the Taiyi Dao-Yin technique.

In his idle time, Xu Ying practiced this Taiyi Dao-Yin and has continued this practice for a full seven years.

He did not know what benefit this cultivation brought, but since he was otherwise unoccupied, a short practice in the morning required little time.

During his training, he noticed the greatest effect of the Taiyi Dao-Yin was that the circulation of his qi and blood, when reaching a certain point, merely resulted in a powerful urinary stream.

“This technique is useless; it just lets me urinate farther,” Xu Ying once scoffed.

It was not until Xu Ying was older, accompanying his grandfather and father on a snake-catching trip, that he realized after defeating a large serpent that the Taiyi Dao-Yin's utility far exceeded merely urinating farther.

Xu Ying imparted the Taiyi Dao-Yin to his grandfather and father, but they began their study too late, and their progress was slow. They ultimately succumbed in the process of snake-catching.

Now, Xu Ying alone remained in the household.

Three years ago, Xu Ying had already brought the Taiyi Dao-Yin to its ultimate completion, his qi and blood surging like a thunderous torrent.

He sensed that there was clearly a path beyond, where the qi and blood could continue to circulate and transform, but regrettably, he lacked the subsequent parts of the technique.

Behind him, the serpent demon cautiously poked its head out of the jar. Seeing this, it was struck with dread.

Xu Ying's absorption of the sun’s essence to refine his qi and blood was even faster than its own cultivation. His speed in assimilating the sun's essence was not merely an absorption of solar vitality; he resembled a monster, opening its vast maw to devour the profound mysteries of the morning sun!

“He cultivates my demon race’s technique!” the serpent demon’s eyes widened, perplexed. “Is he not human? How can he cultivate the techniques of my demon race?”

When the sun reached its zenith, Xu Ying slowly ceased his breathing exercise, and the serpent demon hurriedly retracted its head.

After the sun reaches its peak, the fire element within the sunlight becomes intensely scorching. Practicing the Dao-Yin technique at this time would cause the practitioner’s qi and blood to become dangerously hot, risking spontaneous combustion and death!

Excessive practice becomes detrimental to the body. If one were to inadvertently over-train, accumulating an increasing amount of the fire element, one would need to gather the essence of the moon on a night of the full moon to neutralize the heat and ensure the purity of the cultivation base.

Xu Ying approached the jar, reached in, and pinched the serpent demon at its vital seven-inch point, lifting it out. His expression was benign as he said, “I am not one who delights in killing. I will ask, and you will answer, otherwise, I will end you. Do you understand?”

The serpent demon nodded repeatedly.

Xu Ying set it down and asked, “How did you become a demon?”

The serpent demon readily complied, explaining, “My grandfather was an ordinary venomous snake. One day, he stumbled into Qin Yan Cave. The cave suddenly collapsed on one side, revealing a scroll of scripture and a gourd of elixirs. My grandfather consumed the elixirs and suddenly gained enlightenment. His mind became much more astute, he could speak, read, and write. He then cultivated according to the scripture and became a demon. Later, my grandfather passed the scripture to my parents, who in turn passed it to me. We possess a clear lineage and deep family learning.”

Xu Ying nodded lightly and said, “Bring me your family’s scripture so I may examine it.”

The serpent demon hesitated.

Xu Ying picked up a fist-sized stone from beside the well and squeezed it hard. Water droplets were forced out of the rock.

The youth released his grip, and the stone crumbled into fine dust. He said flatly, “How do you compare to this stone?”

The serpent demon instantly decided, opened its mouth, and spat out a scroll of scripture.

Xu Ying unfurled the scroll. It recorded a Dao-Yin technique named the Great Sun Dao-Yin Technique, and a martial arts method called the Elephant Power Ox Demon Fist.

“You are a snake, without hands or feet. How do you practice the Elephant Power Ox Demon Fist?” Xu Ying couldn't help but laugh aloud. “Surely this martial art is meant for ox or elephant demons to practice?”

The serpent demon’s mouth twitched, but it thought to itself, “Having any technique to cultivate is better than none. How can I be in a position to be selective? Are you not also practicing a Dao-Yin technique belonging to my demon race?”

Xu Ying examined the text. The Great Sun Dao-Yin Technique was similar to his Taiyi Dao-Yin. However, after a brief contemplation, he realized that the Great Sun Dao-Yin Technique was considerably inferior to the Taiyi Dao-Yin in the speed with which it extracted solar essence.

The Great Sun Dao-Yin Technique documented their current cultivation stage, the Qi-Gathering Period.

Qi-Gathering involves harvesting the solar essence, which are the light particles condensed from sunlight, to strengthen the physique and enhance qi and blood.

Xu Ying frowned. The Great Sun Dao-Yin Technique in the scripture, like his Taiyi Dao-Yin, broke off after the completion of the Qi-Gathering Period, with no subsequent techniques recorded!

“Do you sense a path beyond the completion of the Qi-Gathering stage?” Xu Ying inquired.

The serpent demon replied cautiously, “After reaching the peak of cultivation, I only feel my qi and blood are full, surging and turbulent, with an urge to break through a barrier. However, I do not know where that barrier lies.”

Xu Ying frowned, rose, and went to the main hall, returning with a basket full of scrolls.

He poured the scrolls out of the basket and spread them across the floor.

The serpent demon was horrified. The scrolls were records of various Dao-Yin techniques, dozens of them in total!

In recent years, Xu Ying had captured not only serpent demons but also other various demon creatures. The demons within a radius of dozens of miles had almost all been caught by him!

These demons had encountered various fortuitous circumstances: some had stumbled into ancient caves, others had heard scriptures carved on rock walls, and yet others had discovered celestial realms underwater, thus allowing them to become demons through cultivation.

However, the techniques they acquired were all only complete up to the Qi-Gathering Period, with no subsequent stages!

The Taiyi Dao-Yin that Xu Ying currently practiced was the same. Although he could continue to elevate his qi and blood cultivation, he could clearly sense that there was a path ahead, yet that path was abruptly severed, lost in a vast and chaotic void, with no clear place to set foot.

“Why do all these techniques break off at the Qi-Gathering Period?” Xu Ying muttered, furrowing his brow.

The serpent demon was filled with righteous indignation, declaring fiercely, “I believe someone is targeting my demon race, destroying all of our techniques and leaving only the Qi-Gathering portion! This is most likely a conspiracy by the human elders!”

Xu Ying shook his head, “If they had the ability to destroy the later stages of the techniques, why not simply destroy all of them? Clearly, there is another underlying reason.”

He turned to the Elephant Power Ox Demon Fist, and his expression subtly changed.

This martial arts technique was a combat method. Its practitioner did not necessarily need to be an ox or elephant demon; any race could cultivate it. Of course, for a serpent demon to practice it, it would first need to transform into a human, thus possessing limbs.

The Elephant Power Ox Demon Fist was unique in its method of mobilizing qi and blood, allowing the circulation speed to multiply exponentially. This instantaneously amplified the explosive force to that of a giant elephant, hence the name, Divine Elephant Power!

The terms "Ox Demon" refer to the state the practitioner enters when executing this fist technique: due to the excessive speed of qi and blood circulation, maintaining rationality is difficult, leading to a state of frenzy, hence the designation Ox Demon!

Furthermore, this martial arts technique caused the practitioner's body to instantly swell up, becoming several inches or even a foot taller than normal! Their hands and feet also grew larger than usual!

Xu Ying’s interest was piqued. Previously, he relied on brute strength to subdue the serpent demons and other creatures; he was not proficient in fist and foot combat. With the acquisition of the Elephant Power Ox Demon Fist, his power was bound to increase dramatically!

Just then, a villager's voice was heard outside, calling, “A-Ying, come out! It’s time to worship the god!”

[End of Chapter]

Xu Ying tucked the scripture into his clothes, gently pinched the serpent demon's nape, and said, “I will be back after the worship. If you are still here, I will wax and dry you for my submission. Also, do not harm anyone.”

The serpent demon felt its neck bones being reset and was simultaneously startled and delighted.

Xu Ying walked out of his courtyard and headed towards the ancestral hall of Jiang Family Field. He saw the villagers looking sallow and wearing ragged, threadbare clothes, yet the ancestral hall itself was built to be grand and splendid, exquisitely beautiful.

Every household in Jiang Family Field, rich and poor, arrived: the wealthy gentry carrying cooked chickens and ducks, and thick, large incense sticks; the poor villagers, like Xu Ying, offered simple fruit and white rice, holding three sticks of incense, walking one by one toward the ancestral hall.

Those who were truly destitute, like Xu Ying, arrived empty-handed.

Xu Ying follow