Upon hearing this, Chen Shi said joyfully, "The Uncle A Zhuo Granny ntioned, is he the beekeeper A Zhuo, a friend of my grandpa? Before Grandpa passed away, he instructed that if I ever encountered danger, I should go find him, and he would definitely help even at the cost of his own life!"
Granny Sha snorted and dispatched the five Ghost Kings. Using the Ghost Kings' bodies, she blocked them and the Wooden Cart.
"Your grandpa was also muddle-headed in his old age. A Zhuo raises evil spirits. He was invaded by evil energy long ago, beca muddle-headed, and I'm afraid he has already turned into an evil spirit himself! Your grandpa entrusting you to him was just delivering you as a al! As early as ten years ago, A Zhuo's condition was extrely unstable... Did you see the bee insects? Just now, I heard the sound of bee insects!"
She was extrely tense. Using the Ghost Kings to block them was called 'ghost covering the eyes,' but the usual 'ghost covering the eyes' involves ghosts covering the other party's eyes, making what they see differ from reality. For example, a ghost covers soone's eyes so they can't see the cliff ahead, causing them to fall to their death, or makes them unable to see an incoming spell, so they don't dodge and get killed by it.
Granny Sha's 'ghost covering the eyes,' however, covered their own eyes, making things outside unable to see them.
"Silence!" she whispered.
Chen Shi couldn't help but feel a bit nervous too. Suddenly, he heard the buzzing vibration of wing mbranes in flight. Then, he saw the sky suddenly darken as a dense, black swarm of bees flew overhead towards Great South Lake.
The bee swarm moved extrely fast. Suddenly, one bee insect seed to detect sothing, abruptly turned back, and landed with a *swish*.
Peering through the five Ghost Kings, Chen Shi looked at that bee insect. It was about a head taller than an average person, wearing black and yellow clothing as smooth as silk, standing upright like a human, looking around, its mouth emitting rustling sounds.
Its head was that of a wasp, with antennae like jointed limbs on top, as flexible as arms, twitching and shaking.
It lifted its sleeve, revealing four arms.
Its mouthparts opened and closed, emitting more rustling sounds. Hearing them, Chen Shi unconsciously heard his grandpa's voice in his mind, calling him to co out.
Chen Shi felt a chill. "This bee insect is indeed an evil spirit! Uncle A Zhuo really is raising evil spirits!"
That bee insect probed around for a while, found nothing unusual. Just then, another bee insect flew over, speaking human words, shouting in the air, "The Master is waiting for us, hurry, hurry!"
Chen Shi looked up and saw another giant bee insect hovering in mid-air, with a bee insect's body and a human head. Its features were rather crude, its face covered in sharp bristles, like a scruffy old man who hadn't shaved for many years.
The two bee insects flew away, disappearing into the sky above Great South Lake.
Granny Sha dispersed the five Ghost Kings, looked towards Great South Lake, and said doubtfully, "A Zhuo is nearby too. I wonder what he's been up to these days... Pah, of course, doing evil spirit things!"
Her mind stirred slightly. The fourth and fifth of the five Ghost Kings rode a yin wind and flew away, presumably to track the bee swarm and search for A Zhuo's whereabouts.
"Your grandpa and these friends of his were once called the Five Great Villains. The worst among them was A Zhuo."
Granny Sha said, "Your grandpa had a nickna, 'Five Lakes Wanderer.' Nominally, it ant a freeholder living in the Five Lakes region. But behind his back, everyone said those five great lakes were filled with the bad water from his belly."
Chen Shi said angrily, "Granny, my grandpa is indeed dead, but his lifelong reputation does not allow you to speak ill of him behind his back!"
He respected his grandpa the most.
Granny Sha quickly smiled and said, "I won't say it, I won't say it. Xuan Yan County is right next to us. We should go hire a boat to get on the lake."
They arrived at Xuan Yan County. Xuan Yan County was about the sa size as Xinxiang County, not very large, but quite lively with prosperous comrce. There were many boats at the county's lakeside docks, often cargo ships traveling between the five lakes.
Chen Shi looked around and saw that the cultivators here were also accustod to practicing spells like wind, fire, and water. On the streets, talisman masters selling talismans mostly sold these three types.
"Wind Talismans help ships sail, Fire Talismans burn opponents' ships to seize their goods, and Water-Calming Talismans are used to subdue the demonic winds in the lake."
Granny Sha explained, "In these five lakes, many aquatic creatures turn into evil spirits, accustod to using demonic winds to harm people."
Chen Shi praised, "Truly simple and honest folk customs, no less than Gongzhou."
They headed straight for the dock, but saw many cultivators had also arrived at the dock, also hiring boats.
Granny Sha's eyes showed a strange glint as she whispered, "These people are cultivators from elsewhere, and their skills are not weak. Could they have been attracted by the dragon's roar in the lake?"
Chen Shi also noticed these cultivators. Many summoned their miniature shrines, within which sat Divine Embryos, Golden Cores, or Nascent Souls.
A county town often only had three to five experts who had cultivated to the Nascent Soul stage. But just at the dock, Chen Shi saw nine cultivators who had achieved Nascent Soul!
So hadn't displayed their shrines, so their cultivation level was unknown, but the Nascent Soul stage cultivators treated them with great respect, suggesting their cultivation realm was even higher.
Many boats had already been hired. Only a few scattered fishing boats remained at the dock. Upon inquiry, the fishern, hearing they wanted to go to the lake to search for the dragon's roar, all waved their hands in refusal.
Chen Shi asked several families in a row, none willing to provide a boat.
Just then, a painted pleasure boat ca into view.
A familiar girl walked out of the boat—it was the boat girl from Jade Belt River in Huangpo Village.
Chen Shi's heart skipped a beat. He pretended not to see her and turned to leave.
The boat girl said with a smile, "Provincial Graduate Chen, there are no boats at the other docks either. If you want to go on the lake, you only have mine."
Chen Shi turned around, a smile on his face, feigning surprise. "So it's you, miss! Weren't you fishing in Huangpo Village? When did you co to Great South Lake? And your father? Isn't he on the boat?"
The boat girl smiled. "I just arrived not long ago. My father went to keep an eye on the righteous and incorruptible official. I'm the only one free, so I ca to keep tabs on the credit for our father-daughter pair."
The 'credit' she referred to was Chen Shi.
Previously, the father-daughter pair were always together, but this ti Chen Shi left Nannan behind and went out with Black Pot, so they had to split up to avoid losing track of either Nannan or Chen Shi.
Granny Sha walked over, glanced at the boat girl warily, and said, "You look sowhat familiar, girl. You're covered in yin energy, unlike soone from the world of the living."
The boat girl smiled. "Granny is quite famous in the underworld, known to all ghosts and gods. I have long admired your reputation."
Granny Sha's aura surged violently. A horn-shaped Underworld Lamp appeared in her hand, her expression turning grim as she shouted, "Underworld ghosts and gods want to arrest , chasing all the way to the world of the living! I knew you weren't human long ago!"
The boat girl also produced a Children's Heavenly Aperture Lamp in her hand, her killing intent surging, and sneered, "You think I'm afraid of you? Capturing you would also be great credit!"
Chen Shi jumped onto the painted pleasure boat and said, "How much is the fare to search for the dragon in the lake?"
Granny Sha and the boat girl stared at each other, eyes wide, expressions fierce, neither yielding an inch.
Black Pot also jumped onto the boat. The Wooden Cart rubbed its wheels on the shore, adjusted for a mont, then leaped and landed on the boat as well.
The boat girl took a step back, her tone softening. "Granny Sha, my father and I are not here to arrest you, but to watch over a prisoner."
Seeing her yield, Granny Sha looked at Chen Shi with a questioning expression.
The boat girl nodded slightly.
Granny Sha dispersed her killing intent, put away the horn-shaped Underworld Lamp, and jumped onto the boat.
The boat girl put away the Children's Heavenly Aperture Lamp, untied the mooring rope, and smiled. "The fare isn't expensive, one hundred taels of silver."
Chen Shi jumped up, angry. "Is your boat made of gold or silver? Why is it so expensive? Other people's boats only cost ten taels!"
The boat girl said with a giggle, "Provincial Graduate Chen..."
"Call Provincial Graduate Chen!"
Chen Shi said unhappily, "I'm the top provincial graduate from two provinces. If you call just a provincial graduate, didn't I take the exams for nothing?"
The boat girl pursed her lips and smiled. "You didn't even take the exam... Fine, fine, Graduate Master! Although my boat is expensive, it was transported all the way from Xinxiang, a journey of a thousand miles, very hard work. Plus, I'm on the boat to protect you. What other boat offers this benefit?"
Chen Shi snorted, not wanting to hire her boat, but there were no other boats left at the dock, so he had no choice.
He paid with silver notes, his heart aching with pain. One hundred taels of silver could buy several boats.
The boat girl activated a Wind Talisman, using a bamboo pole to change course, and said with a smile, "Graduate Master, I'm not earning this hundred taels from you for nothing. I arrived a while earlier than you, made so inquiries, and know a bit more than you."
Chen Shi's mind stirred slightly as he inquired, "What's the deal with the dragon's roar in the lake? Is there really a dragon? And those cultivators, are they also here for the dragon's roar?"
The boat girl pushed against the water's surface, the painted pleasure boat gradually accelerating. "These people are indeed here for the dragon's roar. Rumors in the city say that when boatn were transporting goods, a great fog spread over the lake, and a dragon appeared within the fog. And it wasn't just one or two people who saw it; many boatn saw it. It's said that when the dragon appeared, dragon whiskers appeared in the air, followed by the dragon's body revealing itself in the fog, with huge scales. So also say it's not a divine dragon, but a magic treasure."
She recounted what she had heard. "The dragon's roar and dragon form are just phenona displayed by that treasure as it's about to erge. If it truly is a magic treasure, its power must be extraordinary."
Chen Shi said to Granny Sha, "This dragon is most likely the Judge's Dragon-Whisk Brush. This matter is simple. We find the source of the dragon's roar, let the others fight over the treasure, beating each other bloody. We set up an altar nearby. Black Pot and I will enter the underworld and seize the treasure from there."
Granny Sha laughed. "That's a great thod!"
The surface of this Great South Lake was extrely vast, stretching as far as the eye could see.
The painted pleasure boat went faster and faster, gradually catching up with the boats ahead. Suddenly, mist surged across the lake surface, a vast expanse of white, swallowing boat after boat. Even when Chen Shi summoned his small temple to illuminate the way ahead, it couldn't shine very far.
Suddenly, a deep, lodious dragon's roar ca from within the mist, reverberating across the lake. The lake water churned noisily, and the lake surface shook incessantly!
Chen Shi's chest humd, his limbs and bones going numb. The dragon's roar shook the void where his Nascent Soul resided as if it were about to shatter, and his Nascent Soul also went numb.
Hearing the dragon's roar on shore versus hearing it within the mist were two completely different things; the sense of shock and awe was not on the sa level!
Even the boat girl slowed the boat's speed now, not daring to go too fast.
The mist grew heavier. They occasionally bumped into other boats, less than ten paces apart, barely able to see the light of miniature shrines on the other boats, along with three or five Nascent Souls and Golden Cores floating in front of the boats, illuminating the way for the boatn.
When they discovered the painted pleasure boat Chen Shi was on, they were each startled, prepared their spells, summoned talisman objects and talisman-weapons, and stood ready for battle.
Only after the two boats passed each other did they lower their guard.
Just then, lightning flashed and thunder rumbled within the mist, bolts of lightning striking down.
"Which son of a bitch activated the Nine Yang Heavenly Thunder Guidance at this ti?"
A chorus of curses ca from within the mist. Many cultivators couldn't retrieve their Nascent Souls or Golden Cores in ti and were struck dead on the spot. No wonder they were cursing.
Then, another deep dragon's roar ca, and the shaking of the lake surface grew even more violent.
The boat girl poled with her bamboo pole. Suddenly, a boat crossed in front of them. The people on board were five skeletons wearing clothes, with miniature shrines and Divine Embryos behind their heads, three Golden Cores, and two Nascent Souls.
Chen Shi was startled, then realized, "We've entered the underworld! This lake surface has turned into the Wangchuan of the underworld, so they've turned into skeletons!"
The boat girl shook her head. "This place isn't the underworld. Rather, that treasure is an underworld treasure, transforming this place into the underworld."
She had just said this when suddenly the mist ahead churned, and a massive body, roughly ten feet thick, silently slid through the mist.
Chen Shi stood at the bow of the boat, only a few steps away from that thick, ink-black body. He could even see a layer of mist ford by dew on the black scales.
Those scales interlocked and rubbed against each other, accompanied by an overwhelmingly powerful sense of oppression.
"There really is a dragon!"
Chen Shi realized, seeing the slender dragon body vanish into the mist.
The Wuwang Spear behind his back vibrated violently, as if wanting to fly away!
Chen Shi steadied the spear, nearly being pulled off his feet. He quickly said, "Black Pot, light the incense!"
Black Pot hurriedly pulled out a bundle of incense from the Wooden Cart, inserted it into the Incense Burner, lit it, and worshiped the Wuwang Spear. The large spear absorbed the energy of incense offerings and gradually stabilized.
Granny Sha was also shocked and doubtful. "Little Ten, this dragon... doesn't seem fake!"
Chen Shi's heart pounded wildly. Could there really be a dragon in the lake?
Or was this dragon transford from the brush tip of the Judge's Dragon-Whisk Brush?
The other boats must have also discovered this dragon and gave chase. Conflicts quickly erupted. Spells whizzed and crisscrossed in the mist, mixed with the sounds of talisman objects and talisman-weapons clashing.
Because visibility was poor, fighting in the mist beca extrely dangerous. People kept getting hit.
Granny Sha consulted the Topographic Map, directing the painted pleasure boat's course, gradually avoiding the crowd.
Then, a small island ca into their view. Granny Sha's eyes lit up. "Dock here."
The boat girl moored the painted pleasure boat by the small island. Granny Sha said, "If the Topographic Map given by Wuwang Prefect has no error, that treasure should be right here. Little Ten, I'll set up a ritual altar here and send you into the underworld!"
She stomped her foot. Three Ghost Kings flew over, carrying the Ritual Altar to the small island.
Chen Shi had seen this Ritual Altar outside the village before; it had once sent Granny Sha, Blue Goat, and the Bearded Man into the underworld.
Granny Sha perford rites on the altar. Before long, gusts of yin wind arose—she had already opened the underworld.
She brought over a small mocking-wind Incense Burner, inserted a stick of incense, and said, "Little Ten, enter the underworld from this altar. When you look back, you'll see the incense smoke. Follow it back, and you can return here."
Chen Shi acknowledged and, with Black Pot, ascended the altar.
Granny Sha stomped her foot. Chen Shi imdiately felt the ground vanish beneath his feet as he fell towards the underworld.
The boat girl ca to the side of the Ritual Altar, carefully examining its layout and talismans. Her expression gradually turned puzzled.
Granny Sha smiled. "Haven't seen my thods before, have you?"
The boat girl shook her head. "Never seen them. Your altar... seems a bit not quite standard..."
Granny Sha's heart skipped a beat. "It is indeed a bit not quite standard. However, every ti I've entered and exited the underworld, I've relied on this altar."
The boat girl said, "You can enter the underworld and co back out the sa way. But you have several errors in your setup. The location you enter the underworld may not correspond to the location in the world of the living."
Granny Sha said guiltily, "May I ask what you an, miss?"
The boat girl said, "The underworld Graduate Master entered is probably very far from here, not the place you intended to go."
Chen Shi fell rapidly through the air alongside Black Pot. Suddenly, Black Pot's entire body burst into raging demonic flas, emitting billowing thick smoke, his physique growing larger and larger.
Chen Shi landed on Black Pot's back. Looking down from above, he saw treasure light shooting into the sky. A dragon-shaped massive object shuttled between the realms of yin and yang, currently fighting and battling with powerful beings from the world of the living.
anwhile, the underworld sky kept cracking open. One powerful figure after another descended from the sky, attacking that dragon-shaped object, trying to suppress it.
"I really ca to the right place!"
Chen Shi was overjoyed. He brandished the large spear in his hand and laughed. "This task is incredibly simple! Black Pot, let's go grab the treasure!"
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