The bee creatures hung the slovenly Daoist upside down—what they ant by "upside down" was tying his hands and feet backward, then threading a pole through them, lifting him up with his face and belly facing downward.
The slovenly Daoist had poisonous stingers all over his face and body. Hanging upside down while flying ant the stingers wouldn't touch the bee creatures.
Only when he was lowered down would they inevitably pierce deeper.
This Great Ascension Realm master had fallen in an utterly unjust way. With all his skills, he hadn't even had ti to strike before he was already poisoned and collapsed, captured by the underworld soldiers of the Bee Mansion.
His abilities were formidable, his cultivation profound and imnse; otherwise, he wouldn't have remained so calm facing A Zhuo, an underworld marshal.
But he had never expected that the poison bees and their stingers could be so terrifying!
"These poison bees might be creatures of the underworld. Stingers that ignore physical and Primordial Spirit defenses, toxins that can paralyze the Primordial Spirit—they're truly too powerful!"
Chen Shi marveled inwardly. With the slightest carelessness, even a Great Ascension Realm existence could take a major tumble.
A Zhuo called over a Bee Official and instructed, "You all escort Daoist Xue back to the underworld first. Execute his physical body, restrain his Primordial Spirit, and wait for to return to deal with him."
The Bee Official accepted the order and left with many bee creatures.
A Zhuo ca to the pigsty, where he saw five pigs inside, three large and two small.
He murmured incantations, blew a breath, and the five pigs in the sty transford into five prostrate humans, covered in filth, terrifyingly dirty.
Those five were precisely Shi Jingming's family, transford into pigs by the slovenly Daoist's spell. Now regaining their freedom, they couldn't help but weep loudly, kowtowing to A Zhuo.
"Your family has six mbers. Where is the other one?" A Zhuo inquired.
Shi Jingming tearfully explained, "My father was taken to the market by the demonic Daoist and sold!"
A Zhuo called over a Bee Official, instructing it to investigate Shi Jingming's father's whereabouts, saying, "If the butcher hasn't yet wielded the knife, there's still hope."
The Bee Official flew off.
After about half an hour, the Bee Official flew back, reporting, "The at has already been sold."
A Zhuo said to Shi Jingming, "I cannot save your father; I am powerless. Regarding my affairs, you must not spread them, or you will certainly damage your underworld virtue, and ghosts and deities will co to judge you."
Shi Jingming and his entire family, old and young, were profoundly grateful, swearing they would not spread the word.
A Zhuo did not revert to his underworld Bee Marshal appearance, remaining a simple, honest beekeeper. He led the bee cart away from this village.
Chen Shi followed him, asking, "Uncle A Zhuo, where are we going?"
"Ho," A Zhuo replied with a smile.
Chen Shi was stunned. Ho?
Did an underworld marshal still have a ho in the mortal world?
The old ox pulling the bee cart was transford from two Bee Officials. Their speed was not slow. They crossed mountains and ridges, arriving in the afternoon at a village beside a lotus pond. The village was built along the Great South Lake, quaint and charming, with a river running through it, flowing into the Great South Lake.
The bee cart walked onto a stone bridge. Several elderly people enjoying the cool under a tree at the bridgehead fanned themselves, giving A Zhuo a scrutinizing glance, then exclaid with surprise and joy, "A Zhuo is back!"
"Aunt Qu, Uncle Yuan, Uncle, I'm back!" A Zhuo laughed.
Chen Shi watched them talking at the bridgehead, finding the scene before him both bizarre and heartwarming.
A Zhuo was clearly a top-tier great cultivator of the current era, and also an underworld marshal. Not long ago, he had even led underworld soldiers to capture Daoist Xue, a Great Ascension Realm master who had escaped life and death!
And now, he was like an ordinary person, returning ho, eting villagers, chatting about everyday life!
His uncle laughed, "A Zhuo, don't block the road here. Hurry ho! Your wife and children have been hoping for your return these days!"
A Zhuo gave a simple, honest smile, leading the bee cart across the bridge to the opposite shore, walking along the riverside road toward ho.
He was like an ordinary villager who had ventured out to make a living elsewhere, rarely returning ho. He greeted every villager he t, chatting about daily life, his deanor sowhat shy.
The villagers were also curious about Chen Shi's origins. A Zhuo said, "A hired helper who also wants to learn beekeeping."
Chen Shi greeted the villagers.
"What a well-behaved and sensible young man!" people praised.
"Hmph, if I brought out my status as a provincial graduate master, I could lord it over you all..."
Chen Shi thought that even an underworld marshal acted like an ordinary person; his status as a provincial graduate master was truly not worth showing off. So he continued pretending to be ordinary.
A Zhuo returned to his ho and opened the courtyard gate.
In the courtyard was a diligent woman, around forty years old, her hair tied up with a patterned silk ribbon. Holding a winnowing basket, she was scattering shriveled rice grains to feed the chickens. Seeing him enter, her eyes imdiately lit up with surprise and joy.
She put down the basket and ran over, then suddenly noticed Chen Shi beside him. Hesitating for a mont, she still ran over, hugging A Zhuo excitedly, jumping and laughing. Suddenly rembering sothing, she turned back and shouted loudly, "Qiao Wei, Qiao Hu! Your father is back! Aren't you coming out?"
Clattering sounds ca from the main room. Two children, a few years younger than Chen Shi, rushed out and threw themselves at A Zhuo.
A Zhuo laughed heartily, picking them up with one arm each, using his beard to tickle their faces, making the two children giggle incessantly.
"A Ying, I went out beekeeping and earned a bit of money."
After playing for a while, A Zhuo put the two children down, took out a money pouch, and tossed it to the woman, smiling. "It should be enough for our family's use."
The woman, A Ying, accepted the money, looked at Chen Shi, and showed a puzzled expression.
"Auntie."
Chen Shi greeted the woman A Ying, saying, "My na is Chen Shi, from Huangpo Village at Qianyang Mountain..."
The woman A Ying beca alert. "You're surnad Chen? What's your relation to that old man Chen?"
Chen Shi said, "Chen Yindu is my grandfather."
The woman A Ying snorted, becoming even less welcoming. "Your grandfather was unreliable, full of bad ideas, always running over here and corrupting my A Zhuo. He'd be gone for months at a ti, sotis coming back covered in injuries. And there were a few other unreliable ones, called Du Yiran, Hu Xiaoliang..."
Chen Shi said sorrowfully, "My grandfather has passed away."
The woman A Ying started to speak but stopped. After a mont, she said, "Since he's passed, I won't speak ill of him. But your grandfather... better not to say."
Chen Shi felt embarrassed.
The woman A Ying said, "It's all the older generation's misdeeds, nothing to do with you. Don't take it to heart. You haven't eaten yet, right? I'll prepare a couple of dishes. A Zhuo, co help with the fire."
The husband and wife went to work. Chen Shi had so free ti, so he took out that Judge's Dragon-Whisker Brush and examined it repeatedly.
An ordinary writing brush is just a shaft plus a wolf-hair tip, but this brush was slightly larger than a normal one. The tip wasn't made of wolf hair but dragon whiskers, seemingly containing extraordinary power.
"This brush can determine life and death?"
Chen Shi enshrined the Judge's Brush, lit incense, and saw the energy of incense offerings drift smokily, flowing into the Judge's Brush, clearly indicating they were one entity.
Chen Shi also took out the Dark Spring Swimming Dragon Sword and offered incense to this sword as well.
This was a ritual offering.
The offering was to make the treasure spiritual.
Besides offering, there was also refining.
Refining was using one's own qi and blood to nourish the treasure, moistening its spirituality, making the magic treasure's power even stronger.
Chen Shi carefully examined these two treasures. The Judge's Brush used dragon whiskers, while the Swimming Dragon Sword absorbed the dragon energy of mountain ranges. Each had its own rits.
However, by calculation, the Judge's Brush's power should be greater, and its functions more peculiar. The Swimming Dragon Sword's functions were relatively simpler.
"Regardless, this treasure is what I promised to the Wuwang Prefect. No matter how good it is, I must give it to him."
After the two treasures absorbed the energy of incense offerings, Chen Shi offered up the Swimming Dragon Sword and Dragon Whisker Brush, placing them inside the small temple.
Suddenly, a thought stirred in his heart: "I can treat Stone Ji Your Ladyship as a Divine Embryo to aid my cultivation. Then, can I treat the Swimming Dragon Sword or Dragon Whisker Brush as Divine Embryos?"
He tried activating the Eight Extres Golden Palace Divine Chapter. The eight golden gates manifested, but the two treasures did not enter the miniature shrines. Presumably, although they had spirituality, they didn't reach the level of Divine Embryos.
The woman A Ying finished cooking and called them over to eat.
Chen Shi also sat down. The woman A Ying enthusiastically served him dishes, smiling, "Nephew, what you were practicing just now, was that a cultivation technique? Are you a cultivator? Can you teach A Zhuo? Don't think your Uncle Zhuo is clumsy; he's actually very clever! He learns anything in one go. Teach him! Teach him! Auntie will make you delicious food!"
Chen Shi was taken aback, holding his chopsticks in his mouth as he looked at A Zhuo.
The woman A Ying clearly didn't know that her husband was one of the world's strongest cultivators and also an underworld marshal.
A Zhuo said, "I'm too old; I definitely can't learn. A Ying, don't make trouble."
The woman A Ying smiled again. "Can you teach Xiao Hu and Xiao Wei? Attending private school for reading is very expensive; our family probably can't afford it."
Chen Shi hesitated for a mont, then said, "I haven't attended private school either, but I can teach..."
A Zhuo interrupted him, "A Ying, don't think about these things. Eat first. Little Ten ca over just to visit . He has to go back in a couple of days; he can't stay here long."
The woman A Ying sighed regretfully.
After finishing the al, she smiled again. "Nephew, take Xiao Wei and Xiao Hu out to play. Your uncle and I have so matters this afternoon. Play until the sun is about to set before coming back, okay?"
Chen Shi nodded. "Alright!" With that, he took the two children out.
Although Qiao Wei and Qiao Hu were young, they were sturdy and full of energy. Chen Shi took them to rob bird nests, dig for loaches, catch fish, and fight with the village dogs. These two little guys still weren't tired.
Seeing there was still ti, Chen Shi surveyed the area outside the village, then took Qiao Wei and Qiao Hu to dig mud in a small stream ditch, building a dam, planning to block off a section of the ditch, bail out the water inside, and catch fish.
The three of them were working enthusiastically when several peculiarly dressed people passed by the small stream ditch, suddenly stopping and asking the three in the ditch, "Little benefactors, have you seen such a large dog and such a child in the past few days?"
Chen Shi and Qiao Wei and Qiao Hu were panting and splashing water, their faces and bodies covered in mud. Hearing this, they looked up and saw one person holding a painting depicting a giant dog shrouded in billowing demonic flas and thick smoke.
Another person held a painting of Chen Shi himself!
Chen Shi's heart skipped a beat. "The rightful owners of the Dark Spring Swimming Dragon Sword have co looking for !"
He was about to speak when Qiao Hu and Qiao Wei shook their heads in unison, saying, "Don't know, haven't seen them."
The few peculiarly dressed people nodded and headed toward the village.
After they walked farther away, Qiao Hu and Qiao Wei hurriedly said, "Brother Little Ten, you should leave quickly! They're here to settle accounts with you. If you delay, it'll be too late!"
Chen Shi smiled. "How do you know they're here for ?"
"Mother said before, when my father and your grandfather caused trouble outside, officials often ca looking with portraits."
Chen Shi gently raised his hand. The water in the small stream ditch flew up by itself, landing on the other side of the dam. Only fish remained jumping in the ditch. He smiled, "You two catch the fish quickly. After catching the fish, go ho. These people are the ones with a grievance against . I'll go to the river to wash up and et them."
Qiao Hu and Qiao Wei hurriedly caught fish. After they finished, Chen Shi escorted them across the bridge, went under the bridge to wash the mud off his body and face, then ca onto the bridge and sat under a tree.
Sure enough, those few peculiarly dressed people soon hurriedly returned. They had probably inquired in the village and learned that the person in the portrait was in the village, so they rushed back to the small stream ditch.
Chen Shi stood up, smiling, "Friends, no need to search. I've been waiting here for quite so ti."
The five people clearly saw Chen Shi's appearance. One person flew backward, instantly retreating a hundred zhang, reaching the surface of the Great South Lake. With a stomp of his foot, a crack sounded. The great water of the lake swirled up, taking the form of a water dragon, vivid and lifelike!
Another person leaped like flying, jumping backward, covering sixty or seventy zhang in one step. The next mont, he jumped several dozen zhang away, standing on the roof ridge of a house, legs half-crouched, ready to exert force at any mont.
The miniature shrine behind his head lit up. His Nascent Soul flew out, cultivation techniques circulating. Instantly, qi and blood gathered under his arms, drilling out six arms. He took out talisman-swords one by one from the miniature shrine. The swords were enhanced with various talismans, primarily thunder techniques, their power extraordinarily great.
Two others rushed past one side of Chen Shi, also running over a hundred zhang before stopping. One raised his hand, and the other was lifted by his magic power, rising high into the air, looking down from above.
The two, one above and one below, each offered up their talisman-weapons.
The talisman-weapon of the person below flew out from the miniature shrine, whistling and spinning. It was actually a wheel-shaped disk, hollow inside, with a circular blade on the outside and saw teeth inside. With a gentle rotation, the power of the talisman imprints erupted, whooshing into blazing flas.
The person above offered up flying needles, about a hundred in total, arranged in a ring, needle tips pointing downward, aid at Chen Shi.
The fifth person remained standing in place, facing Chen Shi, but a miniature shrine also flew out from behind his head, with a Divine Embryo presiding and a Nascent Soul sitting in the Divine Embryo's palm.
All five were Nascent Soul Realm experts. In a brief instant, they had completed their formation.
Seeing this, Chen Shi's eyes lit up, praising, "All of you gentlen have excellent skills! This encirclent and killing technique must have been practiced many tis. However, don't misunderstand. I stopped you not to fight, but to return that treasure to you."
A small temple manifested behind his head.
Chen Shi had enshrined both the Judge's Dragon-Whisker Brush and the Dark Spring Swimming Dragon Sword in the temple, tempering them with his own qi and blood.
Although sowhat reluctant, the Dark Spring Swimming Dragon Sword was, after all, a treasure these people had painstakingly searched for. Despite his reluctance, he had to return it.
The person facing Chen Shi was dressed as a fortune teller. Seeing the small temple behind Chen Shi's head, he showed so surprise. But upon seeing the Swimming Dragon Sword fly out from the temple, he cast aside his surprise, smiling slightly, stroking his beard. "A wise man submits to circumstances. Little brother, you are quite wise. However, you seized the Mountain-Moving Clan's treasure, offended the Mountain-Moving Clan. rely returning the sword, and you think this matter can be settled? Should I call you naive..."
Chen Shi frowned slightly. "What clan are you from?"
The fortune teller smiled. "The Mountain-Moving Clan."
Chen Shi gripped the Swimming Dragon Sword, gently tilting the blade, saying calmly, "So, you are the Young Master's people?"
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