On the Path to the Great Dao Chapter 287: Fifth Father 76

Above the courtyard of Chaoxia Palace, the silencing talismans burned out one by one, finally turning to ashes that drifted down.

The function of the silencing talismans was not only to prevent outside sounds from coming in, but also to prevent the sounds inside from going out.

anwhile, within the palace, as if they hadn't seen the scene below, the mbers of the music troupe all walked out of Chaoxia Palace.

They only rembered performing the "Song of Heroes Subduing Demons" here. As for anything else, they saw nothing at all—their mories had been altered by Black Pot.

Inside Chaoxia Palace, Yu Lingzi stood up, looking around in confusion. The previous scene of madness had left him sowhat dazed.

The lingering thunderous roars and the lody of the demon-subduing song still echoed in his ears, taking a long ti to subside.

Apart from Li Tianqian, Gu Yan'er, and Ma Xueqing, who were still breathing, everyone else had already perished.

Only Chen Shi remained standing in the pool of blood, his violent qi and blood surging wildly. Thunder crackled around his body, forming a unique force field.

These thunderclaps were phenona brought by the Thunderous Jade Pivot Great thod, fueled at the cost of his own qi and blood. The damage to his physical body and Nascent Soul was imnse. It could not be sustained for long; otherwise, it would be self-mutilation.

Chen Shi dispersed the Thunderous Jade Pivot Great thod, and his sixteen-foot-tall Thunder Ancestor form slowly returned to normal.

The air was filled with the sll of burnt blood.

His aura rapidly declined; both his qi and blood were depleted, leaving him weak.

"Yu Lingzi, you should return to Tai Hua Qing Palace imdiately."

Chen Shi's voice reached his ears, startling him awake. "This disaster was caused by . I wasn't calm enough, and it has nothing to do with you. After you leave, I'll have Black Pot erase the mories of everyone here. Even if they investigate and find sothing suspicious, I'll take full responsibility alone. It has nothing to do with you."

Suddenly, Yu Lingzi opened his mouth and spat out a short sword about an inch long. With a swipe of his hand, it transford into a streak of sword light that flashed and pierced Li Tianqian's brow. Imdiately, he retracted his hand, and the short sword, following his sword-finger command, pierced through the temples of Ma Xueqing and Gu Yan'er.

Chen Shi froze, looking at him with confusion.

"Since we're on the sa boat now, I need to present a 'letter of commitnt' for you, Little Martial Uncle, to feel at ease with ."

Yu Lingzi sheathed his sword. With a rustling sound, talismans flew out from his sleeves, forming a Fengdu Soul-Shattering Array that trapped the Primordial Spirits of the three. He then threw the corpses of Jiang Fangshu and the others into the Soul-Shattering Array as well.

He stomped his foot heavily. The Fengdu Soul-Shattering Array suddenly sank and plumted into the underworld.

The landing spot was a place where many ghost gods gathered. Nurous ghost gods looked up toward the sky above.

Yu Lingzi activated the Fengdu Soul-Shattering Array, enveloping those ghost gods as well. The array activated, beating the ghost gods until their skin split and flesh tore. Yu Lingzi then threw several balls of thunder fire into the array, which exploded with a rumbling roar.

The many ghost gods were in a rather sorry state and couldn't help but fly into a rage. They broke the Fengdu Soul-Shattering Array, tearing the corpses within, along with the Primordial Spirits of the three, to shreds.

Yu Lingzi let out a sigh of relief. "Little Martial Uncle can rest assured now."

He felt uneasy. Chen Shi had committed these major cris and would surely need to silence witnesses. But now he had also committed a major cri and was on the sa boat as Chen Shi. This Little Martial Uncle probably wouldn't silence him now, right?

Chen Shi hesitated for a mont. The way Yu Lingzi had just destroyed the evidence and disposed of the bodies was so slick, clearly not the first ti he had done sothing like this.

This little Taoist was definitely not honest!

Chen Shi said hesitantly, "There's still Fan Kongliu..."

Yu Lingzi rushed out. Chen Shi took a step but felt his feet were heavy. Looking down, he saw crisscrossing thunder imprints around him, forming the talisman pattern of the Thunder Ancestor. Presumably, these were traces left by the falling thunder when he dispersed his power earlier.

"Stone Ji Your Ladyship was right. The Thunderous Jade Pivot Great thod is too draining and shouldn't be used lightly!"

Chen Shi hesitated, thinking to himself, "With the tropolitan examination imminent, using this thod was indeed sowhat reckless. Using the Heavenly Peng Demon-Subduing Great thod would have been enough to eliminate them."

He mobilized his Nascent Soul to regulate his qi and blood, and the feeling of heaviness lessened slightly.

Chen Shi walked out of Chaoxia Palace. Black Pot followed him, altering the mories of the servants in the courtyard.

Just after arriving outside the palace, Chen Shi saw Yu Lingzi standing by the well. He had tied up the monk Fan Kongliu's legs and hands, was holding the monk by his two legs, head down and feet up, and was about to throw him into that Dragon-Locking Well.

Fan Kongliu had already been beaten unconscious by him. When he was hung by the wellside, he happened to wake up and imdiately struggled with all his might.

Yu Lingzi loosened his grip and threw the monk down.

After a long while, a *plop* sound ca from the bottom of the well.

Yu Lingzi rummaged through his sleeves, his face showing difficulty.

"What are you looking for?" Chen Shi asked.

"Thunder Talismans or similar talismans."

Yu Lingzi said, "A dragon king is locked in this well, with chains connected to its five internal organs. If these chains are struck by lightning, the electricity will hit the dragon king's heart, liver, spleen, lungs, and kidneys. After being struck by lightning, the dragon king will be in unbearable pain and will surely be furious. When it sees Fan Kongliu, it will kill him. Unfortunately, I just used up all the talismans in my sleeves to destroy the evidence."

Chen Shi handed him a few Five Thunder Talismans and Nine Yang Thunder Fire Talismans, asking curiously, "Yu Lingzi, who did you learn all this from?"

"My master."

Yu Lingzi activated the Five Thunder Talismans and Nine Yang Thunder Fire Talismans and threw them into the well, saying, "When I was young, my master took traveling the world. When we encountered injustice, he couldn't help but get furious and kill the evil officials and nobles. After doing it, he would always regret it and use various thods to destroy the evidence. I learned a bit by watching and listening."

Electric light burst forth from the well, followed by the clattering vibration of chains, as if so colossal creature in the well had been enraged by the thunder and was pulling on the chains with all its might. The ground was also trembling!

The two of them leaned over to peer into the well. It was pitch black inside, and they couldn't see anything, but a foul, fishy sll rushed upward!

Chen Shi took out a fire talisman and threw it down. The fire talisman fell along the well wall, illuminating the surroundings.

However, the fire talisman fell deeper and deeper. Even after falling about a hundred zhang into the well, it still hadn't reached the bottom.

"How deep is this well?" The two were sowhat horrified.

When the fire talisman was about to burn out, it finally reached the bottom of the well. Below was a pool of clear, clean water. There was no so-called dragon king.

Just as the fire talisman began to extinguish, suddenly, in front of that pool of clear water, a huge and rough eyelid slid open, pushing the clear water aside.

When the eyelid slid open, a gigantic eyeball pressed against the bottom of the well, staring directly at the two of them.

Chen Shi and Yu Lingzi quickly pulled their heads back, their hearts pounding wildly.

"Yu Lingzi, this place has already beco a trouble spot. I'm afraid it won't be long before soone investigates here and discovers the disappearance of these young masters and ladies."

Chen Shi got up and walked outward, saying, "Let's get out of here quickly! Black Pot, I'll leave the cleanup to you."

Black Pot walked behind, altering the mories of everyone they encountered.

The two left Qixia Taoist Temple and headed straight for outside the city. Yu Lingzi still felt uneasy, his heart in turmoil, always feeling that what he had done wasn't seamless enough.

Chen Shi took out a Celestial Court token and stuffed it into his hand. "Yu Lingzi, from now on, we are comrades. It's not convenient for you to stay in the Western Capital. Go to Gaoshan County to lay low for a while. When you get to Gaoshan County, go find Yu Tiancheng of Red Mountain Hall. He'll explain the origin of this token to you."

Yu Lingzi was also worried that staying in the Western Capital might expose them, so he imdiately bid farewell and headed for Gaoshan County, thinking to himself, "Little Martial Uncle really does treat as one of his own."

He arrived at Gaoshan County, entered the branch of Red Mountain Hall, and ca to see Yu Tiancheng.

Yu Tiancheng looked at the token and smiled. "Did True King tell you about the purpose of the Celestial Court? Our Celestial Court is a secretive organization under the freeholders, aiming to rebel. Once you take the token, you either rebel or face death."

Yu Lingzi's spirits lifted. "I really am on board now!"

Seeing that he wasn't fearful but rather eager, Yu Tiancheng knew he was a kindred spirit. "In our Celestial Court, we all have different codenas. My codena is Jade Rabbit, and Zhuge Jian's codena is County Magistrate's Assistant. What will you use as your codena?"

Yu Lingzi thought for a mont. "I'll use Taoist as my codena."

On the other side, Chen Shi arrived at Guangji Treasury, also feeling a bit of lingering fear. He held on until the afternoon, then headed back with Black Pot and Wooden Cart.

Arriving at the city gate of the Western Capital, he warily looked at the guarding warriors and saw many experts from the Divine chanism Battalion holding Bowl-Mouthed Blunderbusses, inspecting people coming and going.

Chen Shi's eyelid twitched. He approached the city gate. Those Divine chanism Battalion warriors recognized him. "Young Master Chen, no need for inspection. Let him pass. Young Master Chen, your complexion doesn't look too good. Did you have fun at Apricot Blossom Tower last night? Sir, I have so Great Strength Kidney-Tonifying Pills here. I heard they were made by a dic from Red Mountain Hall. Would you like so?"

The firearms of the Divine chanism Battalion were all managed by Guangji Treasury, so the people of the Divine chanism Battalion all knew they couldn't afford to offend this Young Master Chen.

"Great Strength Kidney-Tonifying Pills? Made by Huang Fengnian? He works fast. When did he join Red Mountain Hall?"

Suppressing his doubts, Chen Shi asked, "What are you investigating?"

"Xiao Wangsun raided the Divine chanism Battalion at night and kidnapped our boss. We suspect Xiao Wangsun might enter the capital, so we're searching people coming and going," the leader of the Divine chanism Battalion said with annoyance.

"Your boss is..."

"Military Officer Jin Hongying, Lady Jin."

Hearing this, Chen Shi was sowhat surprised. Wasn't it always Jin Hongying chasing Xiao Wangsun all over the place before? How did Xiao Wangsun beco so bold as to break into the Divine chanism Battalion and kidnap Jin Hongying?

"A hen crowing at dawn—there must be sothing fishy!" he thought to himself.

Since the Divine chanism Battalion wasn't here to arrest him, he relaxed and entered the city.

Just after entering the city, suddenly soone patted his shoulder, and a voice sounded in his ear. "You killed the descendants of the Thirteen Great Clans and still dare to swagger into the city. You have quite the nerve!"

Chen Shi shuddered. The small temple was filled with iron caltrops as tall as a person, ready to be thrown out. However, the voice sounded sowhat familiar.

Chen Shi turned his head. A familiar face ca into view. Creation Little Five bore so resemblance to Chen Tang. He wore a scholar's Taoist robe, was a bit taller than Chen Shi, and was looking at him with a smile.

"Cre... Uncle Chen Wu!" Chen Shi was both shocked and delighted.

Creation Little Five snorted. "Don't call that so affectionately. I am Creation Little Five, not Chen Wu. Don't call uncle. Even if you called dad, I wouldn't acknowledge it. I'm just toying with you. Don't think I have any familial feelings for you."

He paused, then added, "Your grandpa killed several tis. That account hasn't been settled with you people surnad Chen yet..."

Chen Shi interrupted him. "Fifth Uncle, ever since you left that day, I've been thinking of you."

Creation Little Five fell silent, then suddenly burst into loud laughter. After a mont, his expression abruptly turned cold. "If you ever try to bind with familial feelings again in the future, I'll twist your neck off! Understood? Follow ."

Chen Shi obediently followed him into the city. Black Pot also beca extrely well-behaved at this mont.

Creation Little Five said, "What you did at Qixia Taoist Temple wasn't bad. It suits my taste. But the work was too sloppy, leaving many clues. You actually didn't kill everyone who saw you. Do you think altering people's mories with this dog ans they can't be restored? You underestimate the Thirteen Great Clans."

Chen Shi was startled. "Can the Thirteen Great Clans find out I did it?"

"Yes."

Creation Little Five said, "But not anymore. I've already silenced everyone at Qixia Taoist Temple who saw you. The traces of your thunder techniques that you left behind, I've also erased. I'm not doing this for your sake."

He added, "I want to watch you defeat Chen Tang!"

He revealed an excited expression, laughing. "Chen Tang is my younger brother. In the years I haven't seen him, he always puts on that punchable face. When he was little, he was especially jealous, always wanting to outperform in front of Father, but I was always better. He would be green with envy every ti! He even tried to do bad things and fra , but I always exposed him, and Father would hang him up and beat him."

Recalling the past made him even more excited. "Those tis were always the most enjoyable for . He's not as fun after growing up, too deep and scheming. There are too few tis I can provoke him. However, I can teach you how to defeat him."

Chen Shi said, "Fifth Uncle, I've damaged my vitality. I'm afraid I won't be able to train well..."

Creation Little Five smiled. "A little bit of vitality is very easy to replenish."

He took Chen Shi to Listening Rain Pavilion at the intersection of Chang'an Street. A pot-bellied middle-aged man ca forward. "Chen Wu, it's ti to pay your rent."

"Can you give a few more days?"

Creation Little Five pleaded. "I'm a bit short on cash lately."

The middle-aged man, sticking out his big belly, said unhappily, "Extend today, extend tomorrow, how many tis can I extend? If you have silver, keep living here. If not, roll up your bedding and go back to the countryside!"

Creation Little Five's face darkened, and he licked his lips. Chen Shi asked, "How much?"

"Three taels of silver for this month," the middle-aged man said.

Chen Shi took out three taels of broken silver and paid the rent. The middle-aged man took the money, then called out to another person, shouting, "Min Ting, you bastard, ti to pay rent! No money? Go sell your ass if you have no money!"

Creation Little Five took Chen Shi upstairs, snorting coldly. "If I didn't actually owe him rent, I'd definitely make him die horribly!"

Chen Shi asked, "Is this landlord a Great Ascension Realm senior?"

Creation Little Five shook his head.

"Is he a Tribulation Crossing Realm cultivator then?"

Creation Little Five shook his head again. "He's just an ordinary person who has achieved Spirit Transformation. I just don't bother with him."

Chen Shi thought, "Spirit Transformation Realm is still an ordinary person?"

The two went upstairs and entered the room Creation Little Five rented. It wasn't big, just a single room. A wardrobe hung a few sets of clean, washed clothes, and there were several pairs of shoes, also washed clean. Apart from that, there were the Four Treasures of the Study, and nothing else.

"Fifth Uncle, move in and live with ."

Chen Shi suggested. "Chen Tang's house can still spare a room."

"No, I can't live with him."

Creation Little Five pulled out a stool, saying, "Besides, I have money, a lot of it, but I just can't convert it into cash."

He hesitated for a mont. "Do you know how to fence stolen goods?"

Chen Shi didn't understand.

Creation Little Five said, "After coming to the Western Capital, I killed a few people and looted so valuables, but I'm stuck because I don't have a channel to fence them. That's why I have to put up with living here."

He could handle most of the world's problems, could deal with powerful existences like the great clan patriarchs, but the only thing he couldn't handle was interpersonal relationships. A thick corpse cloud hung over the Western Capital, ford from the bodies of the Western Capital's powerful and wealthy. These people carried many valuables, but Creation Little Five simply had no way to dispose of these items.

Chen Shi said hesitantly, "I do have a channel for fencing goods. My Celestial Court has an accountant who has brought his business to the Western Capital. If you urgently need money, I can take you to see him."

Creation Little Five's eyes lit up, and he smiled. "No rush for now. First, I'll take you to replenish your vitality. Oh, by the way, tell the dog we won't be sleeping at Chen Tang's place tonight. I'm taking you to a great place!"

Chen Shi asked, "What great place?"

"A minor heaven I refined using the Realm of Emptiness of the two Li Family patriarchs!"