Chen Shi returned to the Chen residence but didn't see Chen Tang, which made him wonder.
"Ever since my father stopped attending court, he rarely goes out. He stays at ho every day, finding displeasing no matter how he looks at , constantly nitpicking and complaining. How co he was willing to run out today?"
He pushed his mother's wheelchair outside to sunbathe, moving her limbs and joints to unblock her ridians.
After trimming his mother's fingernails, Chen Shi gently flexed each of her finger joints one by one.
This was sothing Chen Tang usually did, but when Chen Tang wasn't ho, Chen Shi took over.
The Boatman and his daughter, the boat girl, had gone to the underworld and hadn't returned for over a month. He felt a faint unease, unsure if the two could save his mother's soul.
"The father and daughter are very clever, they probably won't encounter danger," he murmured softly.
Chen Shi sat beside his mother, slowly spreading his Primordial Spirit force field to envelop her, then silently activated the Supre Sun Moon Primordial Chaos Sutra.
The qi and blood within his mother's body began to circulate with the movent of the sun and moon, gradually growing more vigorous.
Chen Shi stood up, and his mother in the wheelchair also stood up simultaneously. Chen Shi used his left hand to guide the sun within his Primordial Spirit force field, and his mother mirrored his action, spreading her feet apart, left hand embracing the sun, right hand embracing the moon.
Chen Shi moved slowly, gradually performing the cultivation technique movents of the Supre Sun Moon Primordial Chaos Sutra.
His mother also moved with his actions, her internal qi and blood circulating while being tempered by the external sun and moon.
Chen Shi cultivated at a leisurely pace, and his mother's cultivation also gradually improved, her qi and blood growing stronger and stronger.
After half an hour, Chen Shi sat down again, returning the fire to the source. Behind him, his mother also sat back in her wheelchair, returning the fire to the source.
The qi and blood in her dantian beca extrely vigorous, gradually condensing to form a single Golden Core.
Chen Shi's mother had lost her soul and beco a vegetative person. In cultivation, if you don't advance, you regress; if you don't cultivate, you waste away. The original cultivation of this body had long been completely depleted.
The Supre Sun Moon Primordial Chaos Sutra that Chen Shi chose was also a cultivation technique from The Ten Books of Cultivation, a thod that led directly to the Ascension realm. This technique's cultivation speed wasn't too fast, but it was very stable. The cultivation process was gentle and extrely beneficial to the body.
After the top scholar competition ended, Chen Shi used this thod daily to help his mother cultivate. In just a few days, he had helped his mother reach the Golden Core realm.
According to what Chen Tang said, when his mother was pregnant with him, she worried her Nascent Soul might mistakenly enter the cycle of reincarnation, so she discarded her Nascent Soul and had no cultivation. Only after giving birth to him did she rebuild her cultivation.
When Chen Shi had his Divine Embryo cut away, his mother was already a Spirit Transformation realm cultivator. However, due to his death, she suffered a severe blow and beca insane. Later, her soul even ran away, leaving behind a physical shell.
As long as Chen Shi helped his mother cultivate daily, once her soul returned, she could directly take over her physical body and beco a cultivator.
Not only that, when Chen Shi assisted her cultivation, he utilized the sunlight and moonlight from the small temple. If nothing else, this thod far surpassed traditional cultivation techniques in terms of lifespan extension.
When Chen Tang returned to the Chen residence, he saw Wind-Stabilizing Talismans hanging in the courtyard. Chen Shi had spread papers all over the yard, with various scribbles and drawings on them. There were also pieces of wood, bronze mirrors, and jade tablets, all covered in strange and bizarre talisman inscriptions.
Black Pot lay nearby, having had much black dog blood taken from him. He let out a weak bark at Chen Tang.
A few maids were attending to the dog, stroking its head, comforting it, and feeding it small at strips to replenish its blood.
Chen Tang was puzzled. He saw Chen Shi muttering to himself amidst the piles of paper, with many stains from cinnabar and dog blood on his face, hands, and clothes.
The Fox Grape Mirror containing the minor heaven was tossed aside.
Chen Tang had co with many things on his mind, intending to question Chen Shi about why he hadn't told him about the Celestial Court. Was his old father an outsider?
But seeing Chen Shi busy, he set the matter aside for now and asked, "Little Ten, what are you doing?"
Chen Shi looked up from the paper pile, his expression sowhat frenzied. "Father, you ca at the right ti. I'm testing a new talisman. I plan to combine the Treasure Chest Talisman with the minor heaven to create a cultivation holy land for Red Mountain Hall, and also to gather together frequently."
Chen Tang was sowhat bewildered.
Chen Shi explained, "Although the Thousand-li Communication Talisman created by Grandpa is good, it's always inconvenient for contact. Moreover, after each use, you need to remake the Thousand-li Communication Talisman, which is quite troubleso. So I was thinking, could I combine the Treasure Chest Talisman from the Precious Mirror of Talisman Creation with the minor heaven?"
The Treasure Chest Talisman was the wooden box Chen Tang was carrying. The box could store treasures; opening the chest correctly allowed you to retrieve the treasure inside. Opening it incorrectly would result in being eaten by the box monster. Destroying the box wouldn't retrieve the treasure either; you had to follow the correct unlocking steps to retrieve it.
Chen Tang still didn't quite understand. "What's the use of combining the Treasure Chest Talisman with the minor heaven?"
Chen Shi lowered his head to draw talismans. "If the box breaks, you can make another box and still retrieve the treasure. So, where exactly is the treasure inside the box? It definitely isn't inside the box. The box is just opening a spatial passage."
He finished drawing the new talisman with a single stroke. "I think the treasure inside the box is actually hidden in another secret space. So, as long as we create a box that enters the minor heaven, we can enter the minor heaven from anywhere, at any ti! This way, the talisman masters of Red Mountain Hall can enter the minor heaven to cultivate no matter where they are. Even when they encounter danger, they can hide inside the minor heaven!"
Chen Tang was dumbfounded.
His wooden box was a treasure he refined using the Treasure Chest Talisman. He was also a grandmaster of the talisman path, even capable of creating the Talisman God Tianji!
But he had never thought of creating such a bizarre and strange contraption!
Chen Shi activated the talisman on the paper and continued, "Of course, the box is just a taphor. It could be a box, a door, a mirror, even a jade talisman. As long as this new talisman can be created, Red Mountain Hall will have a supre holy land! The talisman masters of Red Mountain Hall, whether for communication, cultivation, or even self-protection, will find it much more convenient!"
The talisman on the paper resembled the Treasure Chest Talisman but had many more variations. Suddenly, the talisman's patterns began to writhe like crimson snakes. The space around the Chen residence twisted, and strokes of vermilion ink grew imnsely thick, intertwining and rolling around the courtyard!
The maids were terrified, hugging Black Pot and trembling.
Black Pot was also trembling, but not from fear—it was because too much blood had been taken, and his body was shivering from the cold.
Chen Shi thrust his cinnabar brush toward the paper. Suddenly, an enormously thick cinnabar brush appeared in the air, thrusting forward with a hiss!
"The spatial anchor point is wrong. I should set the spatial anchor point within the minor heaven, but this talisman's anchor point is incorrect."
Chen Shi withdrew the cinnabar brush, took out another ordinary brush, and copied the previous talisman onto a book scroll. "However, although this talisman's anchor point is wrong, it has great uses. It can be used during battles with enemies to make one's spells, supernatural powers, and sword qi appear unpredictably—a sword thrust from the front might erge from behind to stab the enemy."
After finishing the copy, he continued his experints.
Seeing this scene, Chen Tang didn't bring up the Celestial Court matter.
"I don't have this kind of creativity; I'm indeed not suited to join the Celestial Court," he thought to himself.
Chen Shi experinted with many talisman forms, seeking the correct spatial anchor point. Although he didn't succeed, he created quite a few new talismans based on the Treasure Chest Talisman, making Chen Tang realize he indeed lacked creativity.
He didn't have this kind of flexible mind. Chen Yindu, Creation Little Five, and Chen Shi—they were the sa kind of people.
"Found it!"
Chen Shi's cheer ca from the courtyard.
Chen Tang looked over. Chen Shi was holding a paper talisman with both hands, his head poking into the talisman. His head disappeared, but he was still alive and well.
He then saw his son climb into the paper talisman, soon leaving only half his body, then just two legs, and quickly completely climbing into the paper talisman, vanishing.
After a mont, Chen Shi flew out from the Fox Grape Mirror, landed on the ground, and went back to drawing talismans.
Chen Tang was puzzled. "You've already created the new talisman. What else are you doing?"
Chen Shi said, "This talisman is too complex; very few people can learn it. I need to simplify the talisman. And I need to encrypt this new talisman! After encryption, it becos equivalent to a string of talisman keys. Only talisman masters who possess the correct key can open the minor heaven and enter it! I can also distribute keys. Each person's talisman key is different, so we don't have to worry about leaks. If a leak occurs, I can invalidate the leaked talisman key, making it unable to enter the minor heaven!"
Speaking excitedly, he gestured animatedly, explaining to Chen Tang while gesturing: "I've determined the anchor point. Using the anchor point as a seed, a tree trunk grows outward. Each encrypted talisman key is like a branch. When soone uses a talisman key to enter the minor heaven, they will appear at the corresponding location within the minor heaven. If a key is exposed, I can erase that location through the core talisman, making the location invalid!"
He spoke incessantly. At this point, he suddenly asked, puzzled, "Father, you didn't understand?"
Chen Tang remained silent.
Chen Shi felt sowhat disappointed and continued burying himself in research.
Chen Tang thought, "I'm indeed not suited to join the Celestial Court. I'm not this crazy."
Chen Shi forgot to eat and sleep, delving into encrypting the new talisman, quickly determining over forty types of talisman keys.
Three days later, Chen Shi appeared quite exhausted, but his spirits were highly excited. He took out a jade pendant and handed it to Chen Tang. "Father, this is your talisman secret key. You need to understand the corresponding decryption thod to activate it."
He also handed over a piece of paper with the steps for decrypting the talisman.
Chen Tang learned quickly, mastering the talisman decryption thod in no ti.
He activated the jade pendant. Light shone from within, projecting a door composed of talisman patterns in front of him.
However, this door was a three-dinsional portal, with intricate and complex construction. Moreover, the lines of the talisman patterns were slowly changing, dazzling to the eye.
Chen Tang perford the corresponding decryption, unraveling the talisman formation. He stepped through the door and found himself already within the minor heaven, right beside that strange starry river.
Chen Shi was waiting for him by the starry river, smiling. "How is it?"
Chen Tang pondered for a mont. "This talisman is good, but what if an enemy chases from behind and also enters the minor heaven through this door?"
Chen Shi said, "When you decrypted the talisman just now, you used your own vital energy. Try dispersing your qi and blood."
Chen Tang dispersed his qi and blood. The door behind him suddenly closed. This way, enemies couldn't enter the minor heaven.
Chen Tang flew out of the minor heaven. He saw the jade pendant that had been floating in the air earlier fallen to the ground. "If I accidentally close the portal, how can I return to the original location? The jade talisman remains at the original spot; I don't have the jade talisman in my hand."
Chen Shi said, "You create another jade talisman, equivalent to creating another box monster. Activate the jade talisman, and you'll open another door. One end of the door is the minor heaven; the other end is the location you left. If you're evading a powerful enemy, you can also leave through the minor heaven. Moreover, if you know all the talisman keys, you can open different portals to go to the sides of people holding keys in various locations! The only problem now is not knowing the effective distance."
He added, "If the effective distance is only a few hundred li, then it's a failure. If it's a few thousand li, it can only barely be considered sowhat useful. Only if it can cover the entire Western Ox New Continent can it be considered successful. If it's also effective in strange places like the underworld, then it's a great success! However, all these need testing to determine."
Chen Tang sighed. "This thing is too heaven-defying; it will surely incur heavenly punishnt. If exposed, the Thirteen Great Clans, the imperial court, and the Celestial True God will spare no effort to hunt you down. It's best for only a few people to master it, with those few selecting more people, allowing them to enter the minor heaven to cultivate through the keys they hold. The qualification to enter the minor heaven for cultivation should be treated as a reward for those with rit."
Chen Shi hadn't been an official for many days and wasn't very clear about rewards and punishnts.
Chen Tang said, "Give all the keys. I'll handle it."
Chen Shi then drew all the secret keys and gave them to Chen Tang. Chen Tang imdiately went to Gaoshan County to discuss with Yu Tiancheng, Granny Sha, Blue Goat, and others. "Anyone qualified to hold a key must be a mber of the Celestial Court. Those entering the Celestial Court also need strict vetting, examining their character and whether they are spies from the Thirteen Great Clans."
Everyone nodded in agreent.
Chen Tang was adept at these matters. Having him handle this put everyone at ease.
That day, after Chen Shi reported for duty at the Hanlin Academy's duty pavilion, he planned to return ho. Just then, a voice called out, "Young Lord Chen, please wait."
Chen Shi turned to look and saw a young man in a yellow robe walking out from the academy next to the duty pavilion. He seed to be a Hanlin Academy official but wasn't wearing official robes. Puzzled, Chen Shi asked, "Brother, why did you call out to ?"
The yellow-robed young man smiled. "I am Zhuang Wujiu. You haven't co to the Hanlin Academy for the past few days, probably in seclusion, so I didn't disturb you. Now that you've finally co, I must et you."
He walked over, looking Chen Shi up and down, surprised. "You've grown much taller compared to eleven years ago. After dying and reviving, can the physical body really grow again?"
Chen Shi frowned slightly. "You've seen before?"
The yellow-robed young man Zhuang Wujiu said, "I was fortunate to have seen you once. At that ti, you were still alive. Child Prodigy, I have so doubts. Without your Divine Embryo, how did you cultivate to your current realm, and how did you defeat Young Master?"
He wore a puzzled expression. "I've never heard of anyone surviving after having their Divine Embryo cut away. Nor have I heard of the True God bestowing a Divine Embryo a second ti. Could you please manifest your Divine Embryo? I'd like to see the secret of your coback."
"No," Chen Shi flatly refused.
Zhuang Wujiu didn't press, smiling. "You have your own secrets, unwilling to reveal them lightly. I can understand; I won't force you."
Chen Shi gave a slight bow. "Farewell."
He walked toward the exit of the Hanlin Academy, feeling this young man nad Zhuang Wujiu was very strange.
Just then, a fleshy ear suddenly grew on a nearby tree, as large as a washbasin.
Chen Shi continued walking. He saw fleshy ears growing on the walls of the academies on both sides of the Hanlin Academy, under the eaves, on trees, on the ground, in ponds, on doors—large and small, so as tiny as sesa seeds, the largest on the ground spanning over ten zhang!
At this mont, he was walking inside a gigantic ear conch!
"Heaven's Listeners!"
Chen Shi felt an itch on the back of his hand. Just as he was about to scratch it, he saw an ear growing on the back of his hand!
His heart turned cold. He activated his Primordial Spirit force field, enveloping himself with the wind-thunder, water-fire, mountain-marsh Ghost and God Domains. Using the Ghost and God Domain to counter the Heaven's Listeners' Ghost and God Domain, he refined away the ear on his hand!
Just as the ear on his hand withered, he saw a tall man walk into the Hanlin Academy, passing by him and heading straight for Zhuang Wujiu.
Wherever the man's feet landed, densely packed ears sprouted from the ground!
Chen Shi looked back and saw the man arrive before Zhuang Wujiu, kneeling on one knee, bowing his head. "Heaven's Listener Venerated King Guangxiao pays respects to the Exalted One! The information on Chen Shi's departnt that the Exalted One requested is all here!"
Chen Shi's heart trembled slightly. "He's the Heaven's Listeners' superior!"
The Heaven's Listeners had a strict hierarchy: Envoys, Officers, Exalted Ones, Venerated Kings, Venerated Lords.
Venerated Lord was the top rank. Every Venerated Lord was an existence at the Great Ascension Realm!
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