"Chen Provincial Graduate, you still left so face for , Gao."
From a distance, Governor Gao Chang watched the scene with a trace of pleasure, smiling, "He really didn't slaughter people in my Carriage Capital. If there weren't so much demon in his brow, he'd be soone worth befriending."
He had heard many rumors about Chen Shi from mbers of the Gao Family and knew Chen Shi's way of handling matters.
Gao Chang's gaze landed on Saintess Xuan lying on the ground. He shook his head slightly and said in a low voice, "The Young Master is a Taboo, but Chen Shi is a Taboo too. Even if you are the Saintess of Bodhi Monastery, you cannot dishonor Chen Shi and force him to join the Young Master. Saintess Xuan is still too young; no wonder she couldn't beat the other won around the Young Master."
He did not go to help Saintess Xuan and turned to leave.
"Young people must suffer so losses to grow!"
Saintess Xuan lay on the sickbed, eyes wide open. Her normally lively eyes were now dull, staring fixedly upward, neither speaking nor moving.
After a long while, she finally breathed out, closed her eyes, and two clear tears slid down from the corners of her eyes.
It was Baili Mu and the others who carried her back from the Huagai Inn to the Mountain-Moving Clan.
She had been beaten by Chen Shi until she fainted, left outside the inn. The innkeeper kindly draped a coat over her to prevent indecency and had soone stand guard so the city's beggars wouldn't carry her into an alley for mischief.
When Baili Mu received word, he hurried over. If he had not been familiar with Saintess Xuan, he would not have recognized the badly beaten woman on the ground as the breathtakingly beautiful Saintess.
After identifying her, he quickly had her carried to the clan hall and sent for a physician. At that point, Saintess Xuan regained consciousness.
Chen Shi had first struck his knee into her lower abdon, leaving her breathless and throwing her qi and blood into disorder, her true energy running amok.
When she prepared to project her Nascent Soul, Chen Shi swung the Huagai pole and struck. The pole was stamped with many talismans; it was a defensive treasure. Whether by chance or design, Chen Shi's first blow struck the jade pillow at the back of her head, knocking the miniature shrine she was about to project back into place!
The second blow was even more fortunate, hitting the Heavenly Aperture on the crown of her head—the fontanel—cutting off the position from which her Nascent Soul could exit.
Then he swung the pole and struck hard again and again.
He pulled the pole so violently it splintered, even breaking off!
All the talismans on the Huagai pole were shattered by his blows; you can imagine how heavy his strikes were.
Baili Mu examined her and found only skin and flesh wounds, nothing fatal. The Bodhi Monastery’s teachings were profound; Elder Miaoyin was their foremost disciple master. Though Saintess Xuan was still under sixteen, she had refined solid skills. Breaking her Golden Body was not easy.
Moreover, although Chen Shi's blows were harsh, he exercised restraint and did not strike lethal areas.
Yet she could not stop her tears.
In her life, she had never been hit this hard.
Since leaving her mountain, every young talent she had t had been polite, or bold and magnanimous, or gentle and cultured, or extraordinarily talented, or world-minded.
None had been like Chen Shi, who beat without explanation, then kicked her butt when he was done!
When she was about to descend, her master, Elder Miaoyin, told her that the physical body was superficial, not fundantal—a re stinking skin bag. But most people were ignorant and pursued appearances, forgetting fundantals. If you are born with a good face, after descending the mountain n will admire you for your looks and give you many conveniences. You can use your looks to achieve your goals.
Use appearance wisely, transcend appearance, ultimately reach for Formlessness.
That was one of her purposes for leaving the mountain.
But her looks were utterly useless before Chen Shi!
He had shown her no rcy when he beat her.
Even Buddha could sotis be consud by ignorance-fire, let alone she, who was not Buddha.
"I only acted for your good, for your future. That's why I sought to make peace between you and the Young Master. My good intentions earned this beating!"
Saintess Xuan ground her teeth, sat up, and felt the back of her head. Her scalp was swollen; clotted blood blocked the acu-points, preventing her shrine from appearing. She touched the top of her head; the Heavenly Aperture was injured as well, which made her even angrier.
She had cultivated Buddhism since childhood and received Bodhi Monastery’s top transmission, refining formidable skills and becoming a standout of the young generation.
Though also at Nascent Soul stage, her strength far exceeded the Nascent Soul practitioners of clans like the Mountain-Moving Clan. Her cultivation was deep, her spells exquisite, and her talisman objects and talisman-weapons far superior to theirs!
Yet she had no ti to act before being suppressed and beaten by Chen Shi!
If it had been a fair fight, being beaten by Chen Shi might have been tolerable. The problem was she had no chance to act, knocked senseless before she could resist, which made her feel extrely wronged.
This wasn't only a humiliation to her personally; it humiliated the Bodhi Monastery’s transmission!
Baili Mu said, "Saintess, rest assured. For both old and new grievances, Mountain-Moving Clan will definitely hold Chen Shi accountable. I've already had people tail him. Once he leaves the Carriage Capital one hundred li, we'll strike imdiately!"
Saintess Xuan struggled out of bed and bit her lip, "I'll go with you!"
Baili Mu smiled, "Saintess, recuperate. Injuries to the Heavenly Aperture and the jade pillow are not small matters. Besides…"
He didn't finish. Chen Shi's knee had struck her lower abdon with the intent to scatter her yin qi, so the blow had been especially vicious. That area was private; he did not press for details.
Saintess Xuan truly could not act. "My Nascent Soul cannot leave the body, the miniature shrine won't appear."
Baili Mu bowed slightly. "Saintess, wait for my news."
Two days passed with no news. Saintess Xuan grew anxious, but the swelling in her face subsided and her beauty returned, though bruises remained where he had struck hardest.
That day, Baili Mu hurried in. "Chen thief has left the city. Saintess, can you move?"
Saintess Xuan said, "The clang of blood on my crown hasn't completely resolved. It's difficult to project. He injured my Heavenly Aperture; I cannot personally act."
Baili Mu smiled, "Once we capture Chen thief, I'll keep him alive for you to take your revenge."
Saintess Xuan shook her head. "Monastics do not take life."
She paused, then said, "Let your people act."
She accompanied Mountain-Moving Clan's group out of the city. The clan numbered many and had nurous experts, and people from the Hundred Refinents Hall also followed.
At that mont, Baili Mu's voice ca: "Saintess Xuan, we must walk more than a hundred li from the Carriage Capital. The journey is long; please get into the carriage."
Saintess Xuan looked and saw two sika deer pulling a Huagai carriage approaching and stopping beside her.
The Huagai was square, hanging down to cover an area of a few zhang. Beaded cords hung around its rim. Inside, lambswool lined the carriage, soft and comfortable.
Although you could see everything from outside, stepping inside revealed the carriage space was slightly larger than outside, likely the result of talismanic runes of taotie or pixiu augnting the interior.
The Carriage Capital's coachmaking was indeed exceptional.
Saintess Xuan boarded and noticed the two sika deer in front were unusual. When running, each hoof produced a puff of cloud from the ground to lift its body. As the hoof lifted, the cloud trailed back and lifted the carriage wheels from the ground.
This vehicle ran silently, and behind it floated clusters of square-shaped clouds a few feet across, drifting skyward—quite a sight.
Baili Mu and Saintess Xuan rode without haste toward the Great South Lake to the east of the city.
Informants repeatedly ca to Baili Mu, reporting, "Chen Shi has reached the south of the city."
"Chen Shi is at the Mandarin Duck Bridge!"
"Chen Shi is already fifteen li out of the city!"
"Chen Shi heads toward Great South Lake!"
...
Behind the carriage, many of Mountain-Moving Clan's capable people followed. One woman took from her treasure box a round bronze mirror. The mirror's back bore reliefs of four sea beasts around a sea god standing on twin dragons.
The woman activated the mirror; it grew larger and beca over a person's height. The mirror's surface reflected Chen Shi's figure.
Saintess Xuan peered and saw Chen Shi leaning on a Huagai pole, taller than he was, like a folded umbrella propped as he walked.
"His Huagai was originally blank; now sothing's been painted on it!"
Saintess Xuan stared at the image of Chen Shi and imdiately said, "This Huagai is the sa one we bought together. It had no marks! Even the pole was blank; now there are stamped talismans on it! Master Baili, you must notify those ahead—be careful!"
A Mountain-Moving Clan incense master beside her chuckled, "Saintess, no need to worry. We've watched him these past days and saw him buy black dog blood and cinnabar and paint talismans himself. The Huagai indeed has many talisman imprints, but the work is fresh and hasn't been ritual-refined yet. It's nothing extraordinary."
Refining talisman-weapons isn't simple. After painting various talismans, one must trace them day after day to make the scripts endure.
Chen Shi had only two days to paint those imprints—there was no ti to trace them.
Another incense master from the Hundred Refinents Hall said, "Though many talismans cover his umbrella, they're too many and disorderly. Refining talisman-weapons isn't about more talismans being better. Proper distribution and selection are needed. Blind accumulation limits a talisman-weapon's power."
Baili Mu smiled, "Different trades have different mountains to climb. Chen Shi is indeed a talisman master, but refining talisman-weapons is another craft. He ruined that Huagai."
Saintess Xuan thought carefully. The Huagai Chen Shi bought had one hundred and eight folds. If the talismans were painted smaller, each fold could hold one talisman. The pole could have several talismans painted on it as well.
A hundred-plus talismans, if combined properly, would be astonishingly powerful—top tier!
But how to arrange and combine them is a major study; not sothing solved in a day or two.
Even a master of the Hundred Refinents Hall might stew over it for days and gather peers to debate, often fiercely. If the arrangent is slightly off, the talisman-weapon might fail during forging at best, and at worst explode, maiming many.
Saintess Xuan scrutinized the mirror. On the Huagai Chen Shi leaned on, the folds had been drawn in, but talisman edges were still visible from the rim.
She suspected, "It looks like he painted more than one talisman on each fold. From the edges, each fold has at least nine talismans, maybe more!"
The umbrella folds were extrely narrow, rigid wooden strips. Painting talismans there required exquisite brush control.
Drawing nine or ten talismans on a single fold would mark soone as a skilled forger at the Hundred Refinents Hall!
"One hundred and eight folds tis at least ten talismans per fold is over a thousand talismans! Add the pole's talismans, and that's a massive number!"
Saintess Xuan's eyes flickered as she focused on Chen Shi in the mirror. "What kind of talisman-weapon did he refine?"
Chen Shi leaned on the Huagai and walked steadily toward the South Lake.
He was now nearly a hundred li from the Carriage Capital.
Along the roadside, odd figures began to appear: gray-clad people standing on both sides of the post road, beside graves. Coffins were propped nearby, and they stared at him.
Chen Shi's gaze swept them. They did not flinch and t his eyes.
He continued along the post road. The sky dimd and a cold wind rose. There were no pedestrians; only he walked on the road.
Ahead soone burned paper; offering money fluttered in the brazier, rising in the flas.
Around the brazier squatted so pitiful-looking people, the cold wind swirling around them. When the paper rose from the flas they leapt to snatch it, showing delight.
"People light candles, ghosts blow out the lamp. When a candle goes out, do not touch the gold."
The paper-burner murmured, "Touch the gold and ghosts and gods are alard."
Rows of candles were planted along the road, green-tinged flas burning.
Beside each candle squatted a small ghost wearing a red belly cloth, pale white, staring as if trying to blow it out.
Chen Shi walked past the brazier, avoiding the ghosts waiting to snatch the offerings.
"Little brother, you've already stepped into the Gate of Death and don't even know it."
From behind Chen Shi ca the voice of the paper-burner. "The mont you stepped into the brazier's fla, you entered my burial ground."
Chen Shi stopped, turned, and asked, "Who are you?"
The paper-burner looked up, revealing a pale, ghastly face with so ghostly features and smiled, "Mountain-Moving Clan's candle lighter. Chen Shi, you stole the Young Master's treasure, the Dark Spring Swimming Dragon Sword. Return the treasure and I can leave your body intact!"
No sooner had he spoken than the world around vanished; only the post road remained, flanked by coffins and ghostly creatures!
When Mountain-Moving Clan opens a tomb, they don't rush into the grave to seek treasure. The candle lighter must enter first to light candles and determine whether a tomb is haunted. Therefore every candle lighter must master secret techniques to control and bind ghosts. Raising ghosts and monsters is their specialty.
Chen Shi scanned the scene and praised, "To command ghosts in the mortal realm, that's a fine spell. You walk like the underworld itself."
He opened the Huagai. The canopy unfurled, and in an instant an overwhelmingly bright light shone around!
On the umbrella's one hundred and eight folds, each strip bore ten different talismans—one thousand and eighty distinct scripts!
The arm-thick pole was also densely covered with talismans, one hundred and twenty of them.
In total, twelve hundred talismans corresponding to twelve hundred Chinese divine positions.
These twelve hundred deities in the Divine Continent are collectively called the Luotian Gods.
Chen Shi raised the Huagai. The great Luotian ritual slowly activated, and he smiled, "I really want to see which is superior, Mountain-Moving Clan's spells or my family's heritage mastery."
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