Black Pot led the boat girl inside, then turned back and said, "Woof, woof woof."
The boat girl exclaid in surprise, "Provincial Graduate Chen has been crowned the top scholar? Then indeed we can't call him Master Provincial Graduate anymore, we should call him Master Top Scholar. When will you return to the underworld, sir? After all, you are a sacred being of the underworld; staying too long in the living world is also inappropriate."
"Woof woof, woof woof woof."
"That's true too, Master Top Scholar can't do without you."
Chen Shi walked forward from ahead. The boat girl hurriedly went up to et him and was about to greet him with proper etiquette, but Chen Shi was burning with impatience and gestured for her to skip the formalities, asking urgently, "Miss, have you rescued my mother's soul?"
The boat girl hesitated for a mont. "We rescued it, but... not completely."
Chen Shi didn't understand.
The boat girl explained, "After my father and I descended to the underworld, we imdiately traveled tens of thousands of miles and found the Primordial Palace where your mother's soul was imprisoned. The guards at the Primordial Palace weren't particularly strict. We sneaked in, injured a few underworld officers, and rescued your mother's soul. My father and I knew that if we tried to escape from the underworld, we'd never make it out, so we imdiately brought your mother's soul back to the living world and traveled from the living world to the Western Capital."
Chen Shi's eyes lit up, praising, "Smart!"
The boat girl continued, "After we arrived in the living world, with your mother's soul in tow, we could have reached the Western Capital in at most three days. But sothing happened on the very first night. I discovered that we were being tracked by sothing. Sothing had co out from the underworld, hiding in the darkness, constantly watching us from the shadows. Then, underworld officers began moving at night, intercepting us in the northern borderlands."
Chen Shi's heart stirred slightly. The northern borderlands were a frozen, snowy place where sunlight and moonlight were relatively sparse.
The sun in the sky was the eyes of the True God, fixed in space, eternally unmoving, so the seasons and climate were the sa everywhere, without change.
The northern borderlands received less sunlight, so the region was bitterly cold, a notoriously harsh and frigid land.
"Can underworld officers operate in the living world?" Chen Shi asked doubtfully.
As far as he knew, underworld ghost gods rarely could operate in the living world. The two realms of yin and yang each had their own rules; underworld creatures couldn't enter the living world with their physical bodies, while underworld officers often had physical bodies.
The boat girl and Boatman could appear in the living world because they had borrowed corpses to return their souls, abandoning their original bodies and occupying the bodies of a father and daughter who had drowned.
The boat girl said, "We underworld officers are relatively weak among ghost gods. We can enter the living world when yin energy is at its peak during the night, to guide the souls of the deceased into the underworld. At that ti, the two realms of yin and yang blend, and entering the living world to collect souls isn't difficult. Those underworld officers took advantage of that period to pursue and kill us. But on the first night, we still fought our way out of their encirclent. We planned to cross the northern borderlands after daybreak, but... the sky never brightened."
Chen Shi frowned.
Beside them, Black Pot couldn't help but ask, "Woof?"
"That's right, sir. The sky never brightened."
The boat girl said, "It was night the whole ti. My father and I trudged through the ice and snow in the darkness, with underworld officers finding us from ti to ti. After several battles, we fled for millions of miles. It was night the whole ti. Finally, we saw the Immortal Capital of the underworld."
Chen Shi's heart stirred slightly. "Immortal Capital? What place is the Immortal Capital?"
"A great capital composed of Primordial Palaces."
The boat girl explained, "Primordial Palaces are where souls reside. Everyone has a Primordial Palace where their soul lives. These Primordial Palaces form the Immortal Capital. When a person dies, their lamp is extinguished; after death, their Primordial Palace disappears. Inside your Primordial Palace, you would see your own Three Corpses, also called the Three Corpses Gods, residing in three rooms of the palace. We infiltrated the Immortal Capital, found your mother's Primordial Palace, and rescued her soul. Back then, Master Top Scholar was also suppressed by my father and in his own Primordial Palace within the Immortal Capital."
When she ntioned this, her sadness lessened a bit, and a trace of a smile appeared.
Chen Shi asked doubtfully, "You escaped from the Immortal Capital, traveled millions of miles in the living world, and then returned to the Immortal Capital? Did you get lost?"
The boat girl sighed and said, "At first, my father and I thought so too, but later we realized that wasn't it."
Chen Shi grew even more confused.
Black Pot said, "Woof woof?"
The boat girl showed a look of fear and said, "Yes, sir. We encountered a ghost wall. On the first night, we were already affected, pulled into the underworld. A terrifying, inexplicable existence influenced my father's and my minds and thoughts, making us believe we were still in the living world. When we saw the Immortal Capital, we knew escape was impossible. My father sent back to the living world, covering my escape and helping fight my way out of the encirclent."
She tightly gripped the broken half of the bamboo pole in her hand and said, "Master Top Scholar, my father and I did our best."
Chen Shi frowned. What kind of terrifying existence could influence the boat girl and her father's minds without them even noticing, making them enter the underworld without their awareness?
He glanced at Black Pot. This ability was very similar to Black Pot's ability.
Could there be others of Black Pot's kind in the underworld?
Chen Shi told her to go rest and recover from her injuries first. The boat girl hesitated for a mont, then said, "If Master Top Scholar goes to the Immortal Capital to rescue people, please be sure to call . My father is trapped in the Immortal Capital; as his child, I cannot not save him."
After seeing the boat girl off, Chen Shi pondered. Only then did he notice Chen Tang standing not far away, pushing a wheelchair. In the wheelchair was Chen Shi's mother.
"You heard everything?" Chen Shi said.
Chen Tang nodded gently.
Chen Shi stepped forward, took the wheelchair from his hands, and said, "These maids aren't reliable. One of us two has to stay behind to take care of my mother—either you stay or I stay. After you displayed your strength, the Western Capital is extrely wary of you. If the Thirteen Great Clans have a chance to eliminate you, they will definitely act. Even if they can't eliminate you, they will try to grasp your weakness."
Chen Shi's mother was Chen Tang's weakness.
Chen Tang walked with him along the corridor, looking sowhat reluctantly at the Chen residence being repaired, and said, "You go to the underworld; I'll stay. Take Black Pot with you. After you leave, I'll imdiately take your mother away from the Western Capital. We've both been away from Qianyang Mountain for a long ti; we haven't been back in years. She must miss Huangpo Village and Old Lady Wuzhu too."
Hearing this, Chen Shi turned his head to look at him. "Can you bear to part with the wealth and luxury of the Western Capital? Can you bear to give up your official position as the Grand Master of Glorious Salary?"
"What's there to not bear?"
Chen Tang shook his head and said, "Back when I entered the Western Capital, it was because I felt my strength was insufficient. Practicing cultivation in the countryside, I would never be able to find the person who hard you, and even if I found them, I wouldn't have the power to take revenge. To search for information and accumulate power, I had to enter the court as an official. Eleven years—I've reached this point."
A thousand emotions surged in his heart; he wanted to pour them all out, but when the words reached his lips, he just smiled and said, "But now that you've returned, what does the Western Capital's wealth and luxury have to do with ? Besides, I'm starting to miss ho a little."
Father and son stopped walking.
Chen Shi said, "The Western Capital court might not want you to return. In the Western Capital, you're a dragon that must coil; if you leave the Western Capital, you'll be a flood dragon entering the sea—they'll worry."
Chen Tang said leisurely, "I have one sword and one box; who dares to stop ? The question is, when you go to the underworld, without , can you manage?"
Chen Shi snorted. "I didn't have you before either, and didn't I live just fine?"
Chen Tang was displeased. "Chen Shi, I am after all your biological father. You should speak to with more respect."
"Fine, I know. Take good care of my mother."
Chen Shi instructed, "Without these maids and servants, I'm afraid you won't manage. Also, don't skimp on those few asly coins; when it's ti to spend money, be willing to spend it. If you have no money, I'll give you so."
Chen Tang lowered his head, looking for a handy stick.
As the old saying goes, filial sons co from under the rod. If a son is unfilial, it's definitely because he hasn't been beaten enough.
Seeing this, Chen Shi quickly put away the black iron rod, hiding it in his small temple.
In the afternoon, Chen Shi went to the Gaoshan County branch of the Red Mountain Hall to look for Granny Sha, but was told that Granny Sha and her son had gone to the countryside. Chen Shi searched for them. Granny Sha was in the countryside with Xiang Tianyu, summoning a soul for a household. Seeing Chen Shi arrive, Xiang Tianyu hurried forward to greet him, smiling, "Little Ten Brother!"
"Don't call him brother, call him Little Ten Younger Brother!"
Granny Sha laughed, then turned to look at Chen Shi, her face darkening. "Call Aunt!"
Chen Shi called her "Aunt" and examined Xiang Tianyu, surprised to discover that Xiang Tianyu now had a body and was no longer a ghost.
But this body didn't seem like a flesh-and-blood body.
Granny Sha smiled and said, "Tianyu, go play with Black Pot. I'll have a chat with Little Ten."
Xiang Tianyu took Black Pot and ran off to play.
Chen Shi watched Xiang Tianyu in the distance. He saw Black Pot teaching him how to fly a kite. He still had a child's temperant and was very fond of toys like pinwheels and kites.
"Aunt, Tianyu was trapped in the Buddhist Sect's hell for thirty years. He didn't co into contact with other people, so his ntality is still that of a child. But he won't remain childlike forever."
Chen Shi glanced at Granny Sha and said, "He will grow up sooner or later. If his body remains that of an eight- or nine-year-old, I'm afraid that wouldn't be good."
Granny Sha fell silent for a mont, then said, "I can't bear to let him leave. We mother and son were separated for thirty years. I'll find a way to make his body grow."
A voice ca from the small temple. Stone Ji Your Ladyship sneered, "I know of a guy who, after he died, his master made him a lotus root body. As a result, that kid never grew up his whole life!"
Hearing Stone Ji Your Ladyship's voice, Granny Sha ignored it and said, "Little Ten, why have you co looking for ?"
Chen Shi laid out his purpose completely. "I want to enter the underworld and go to the Immortal Capital to retrieve my mother's soul. Aunt, after all, I'm also a wanted criminal in the underworld. Is there any way to avoid being wanted?"
Granny Sha smiled and said, "I have a Spirit Transformation thod that can transform you into a Yin Spirit to enter the underworld."
Chen Shi felt slightly relieved and asked further, "Is there any way to avoid the underworld's ghost gods and directly enter the Primordial Palace of the Immortal Capital?"
Granny Sha shook her head. "The Primordial Palace is also called the Fate Palace. Changing the layout of the Primordial Palace can change one's fate. But entering the Primordial Palace isn't easy; only the person's own soul can enter; others cannot enter. If one could enter arbitrarily, saving you back then wouldn't have been so troubleso."
Chen Shi's heart stirred slightly. "Can one's own Primordial Spirit enter it?"
"If you cultivate to the Unity realm, with your Primordial Spirit and soul stable and unified, you can enter with your Primordial Spirit."
Granny Sha shook her head. "You are currently at the Nascent Soul Transformation realm; your Primordial Spirit isn't strong enough to that degree... Wait a mont. Summon your Primordial Spirit and let take a look."
Chen Shi summoned his Primordial Spirit. His Primordial Spirit had now grown to about ten feet tall, its entire body shining with brilliant divine light, illuminating the surroundings.
Granny Sha said, "When you summon your Primordial Spirit, it appears as if you are summoning it from your own fleshly body, but in reality, you are summoning the Primordial Spirit from the Primordial Palace... Wait a mont, your Primordial Spirit is a bit off!"
She made a grasping motion in the air, attempting to pull Chen Shi's soul out from his Primordial Spirit, but Chen Shi's entire Primordial Spirit flew over.
Granny Sha let out a light sound of surprise. Her palm lightly tapped, striking the chest of Chen Shi's Primordial Spirit. Chen Shi's soul shook, briefly separating from his Primordial Spirit, then imdiately rged back into it.
In that instant, Granny Sha saw a soul about ten feet tall emitting a white light all over, as if solid, and she couldn't help but be astonished.
"Your soul is a bit off!"
She circled Chen Shi's Primordial Spirit a few tis, perplexed, and said, "Your soul is too strong. With a soul this strong, your Three Corpses Gods must be terrifyingly powerful. When you sever the Three Corpses, you'll suffer!"
She looked at Chen Shi sympathetically. "Why do cultivators often get stuck at this realm when severing the Three Corpses? Usually it's because they've committed too many sins, killed too many lives, causing their Three Corpses Gods to beco too strong to sever. You've already refined your Three Corpses Gods to such strength at the Nascent Soul Transformation realm; when the ti cos, the Three Corpses Gods will sever you."
Chen Shi laughed. "I'm still far from the Three Corpses realm... Wait! Aunt Sha, are there cases where the owner of a Primordial Palace has died, but the Primordial Palace still remains in existence?"
Granny Sha said, "When a person dies, their lamp is extinguished; after death, their Primordial Palace also dissolves. The soul has nothing to rely on, which is why it becos a wandering ghost. But I've heard that after an immortal dies, their Primordial Palace remains in existence. Have you seen such a Primordial Palace?"
Chen Shi nodded gently.
Granny Sha exclaid in surprise, "You've really seen one? Where did you see it? Could it be that there really are immortals in this world?"
Chen Shi's expression turned strange. "Black Pot has a few Ghost Scripts that it took from a Primordial Palace. Back in Gongzhou, when I achieved the Golden Core, I saw Black Pot burrow into the underworld from under the stove, enter a palace hall, and bring back Ghost Scripts..."
Granny Sha asked doubtfully, "Could it have been Black Pot's own Primordial Palace?"
Chen Shi shook his head. "How could there be Ghost Scripts in Black Pot's own Primordial Palace?"
Granny Sha pondered. "Could it have been soone else's Primordial Palace? The dog went to steal Ghost Scripts from the Primordial Palace?"
"If there was a Primordial Spirit in the Primordial Palace, would it have allowed Black Pot to steal the Ghost Scripts? So, it's likely this Primordial Palace was unowned."
Chen Shi said, "Therefore I speculate that the owner of the Primordial Palace had died, leaving behind these Ghost Scripts."
Granny Sha looked at the dog playing with Xiang Tianyu, her eyes flickering. "Back when your grandfather brought this dog back from the underworld, I thought it was very strange. But at that ti, it was only palm-sized. Your grandfather raised it from a pup; there definitely shouldn't be any problem. But thinking about it now, could your grandfather have been bewitched by it to bring it ho? In reality, this little thing has been influencing your grandfather's thoughts all along?"
Black Pot's ears twitched. It turned its head, grinned, and showed them an innocent, harmless smile.
Granny Sha said, "It's trying to influence , change my thoughts. But then again, Little Ten, Black Pot grew up under your watch since it was a pup. What bad intentions could it possibly have?"
Chen Shi asked doubtfully, "Aunt, is this your real thought?"
"It's definitely my real thought!" Granny Sha was very certain.
Chen Shi glared fiercely at Black Pot, certain it was up to mischief, and shouted, "Black Pot, co back! Aunt Sha, we have to go back!"
Black Pot had no choice but to hand the kite string to Xiang Tianyu and run over.
Granny Sha held Xiang Tianyu's hand and chanically waved goodbye to them.
Chen Shi left Gaoshan County and returned to the Western Capital, thinking to himself, "Black Pot's abilities are getting stronger and stronger. But whatever bewitched the boat girl and her father, influencing the thoughts of ghost gods, even making them fall into the underworld without noticing—its strength is greater than Black Pot's. To rescue my mother, I must deal with another Black Pot... I need to make Black Pot improve its strength as soon as possible!"
—Zhai Zhu is still organizing the plot, so updates will be irregular.
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