The wooden cart rumbled along toward the Western Capital.
Many carriages traveled the road, shuttling to and from the Western Capital. Finely dressed riders raced past, their horses galloping at full speed.
Chen Shi sat inside the cart, thinking for a mont, then said, “Black Pot, bring those volus of Ghost Script so I can take a look.”
Black Pot opened his mouth, and a volu of Ghost Script flew out.
Chen Shi opened the ghostly book. After a single glance he saw the characters crawling and twisting, warping into different shapes, while strange sounds whispered in his ear like ghosts and gods murmuring beside him.
A cold wind blew all around, and the sky darkened.
The wooden cart rode along the post road to the Western Capital, the usual bustle of carriages and horses on the road, but suddenly everyone else vanished, leaving only them.
Chen Shi closed the book, the sky returned to normal, the ghostly voices vanished, and the noisy chatter of the post road returned. Carriage after carriage approached from the front, nearly colliding with the wooden cart, and the drivers scrambled to avoid them.
Many riders galloped recklessly, nearly smashing into the cart.
The wooden cart brushed past the passing carriages and rushing steeds. The drivers leaned out angry and flustered, calling toward Chen Shi, “Hurry up and be reborn already!”
Chen Shi apologized repeatedly, inwardly astonished. “Could that ghost book have pulled into another dinsion just now?”
“Black Pot, open a ghost book.”
Black Pot produced another volu, flipped it open and read, and nothing strange happened around them.
When Chen Shi opened the ghost book again, the earlier scene reappeared, the chilling wind whipping through.
He closed the book, and the surroundings returned to normal.
Chen Shi frowned slightly. He had wanted to understand the contents of the Ghost Script to help Black Pot comprehend it so it could cultivate faster. But these Ghost Scripts were extrely peculiar, seeming to possess a special power that prevented most people from reading them, only allowing specific individuals to access them.
“There are legends ever since Cangjie invented writing that ghosts and gods wept blood. Why would ghosts and gods cry after Cangjie made characters? Scholar Zhu said it was because with writing, creation could no longer hide its secrets, and ghosts and monsters could no longer hide their forms. Once humans had writing, they could describe the mysteries of ghosts and gods and pass cultivation knowledge down through generations, threatening ghostly rule, so the ghosts wept blood, feeling they’d lost power.”
Chen Shi pondered. “So the Ghost Script should be a record of the doctrines of ghosts and gods... Where Black Pot walks, everyone within a certain range is affected. This ability resembles the Ghost and God Domain. Could the doctrines recorded by ghosts and gods be the Ghost and God Domain? If so, my deriving the Three Transformations of Ghosts and Gods from the Bagua ans I actually comprehended their doctrines. In other words, such things can be recorded and passed down!”
His spirits rose. “Black Pot, how do you normally cultivate?”
Black Pot ran ahead of the cart, then stopped when he heard, looking at him puzzled. “Woof?”
“Confirm.” Chen Shi nodded emphatically.
Black Pot sat down, crossed his hind legs, placed his front paws on his chest, his eyes half open, half closed. He took his body as the seed and the world as the furnace, harmonizing with nature.
The dog slowly floated into the air while the wooden cart continued. It drifted along with the cart.
Its aura spread wider and wider. In its wake, the boundary between the yin and yang worlds blurred. Chen Shi looked down: the cart seed to be traveling on an incomparably smooth transparent plane, beneath which lay the underworld!
At that mont, the cart and the passersby on the post road were walking in the sky of the underworld; the underworld’s mountains and rivers could even be seen!
Those with keener sight could discern the ghosts and monsters clearly.
As the cart moved forward, Black Pot drifted on. People kept entering and exiting its Ghost and God Domain without noticing, as if nothing unusual had happened.
They believed everything was perfectly normal.
“Black Pot’s domain is a blurring domain. It muddles people’s perceptions, clouds thought, even the boundary between yin and yang becos indistinct!”
Chen Shi showed astonishnt. He had originally thought Black Pot’s domain only affected cognition. Now it seed this Ghost and God Domain was far more terrifying!
“No wonder the boatman and his daughter were deceived and fell from the yang world into the yin world! This kind of domain is too frightening!”
Chen Shi steadied his mind. Black Pot’s current Ghost and God Domain extended only four or five zhang; anyone beyond that distance was unaffected. The one who ambushed the boatman and his daughter had been observing them from afar in the darkness and could influence their judgnt from a long distance.
That enemy’s power was probably far greater than Black Pot’s.
“I wonder if feeding Black Pot more exotic beasts will let it grow faster. It’s worth a try.”
He thought to himself that for now he couldn’t randomly draw Black Pot’s blood; instead he needed to let Black Pot replenish itself more.
Just as he thought this, Chen Shi noticed many large-eared Heaven’s Listeners appearing along both sides of the post road. So fluttered in the air, slapping their ears; so landed on field ridges; so stood on riverbanks; so perched on tomb-tree branches in the fields. All held pen and paper, tilting their ears, ready to record.
Suddenly dozens of ear-like growths sprouted on the trees lining the post road, rustling; a great many.
Ears grew on the riverbank and even on passing carriages, face-basin-sized ears appearing, and ears sprouted rapidly on the flanks of horses as well!
Chen Shi imdiately noticed that Black Pot’s Ghost and God Domain shrank rapidly, actually being suppressed by another strange domain.
“Heaven’s Listener officers and exalted ones must be nearby! Maybe even a Venerated King; otherwise such suppression would be impossible!”
His heart pounded. “Could Zhuang Wujiu have found out I stole the black iron rod?”
Just then he felt sothing and turned toward the fields. Far off ca a rumble. Cannonballs were roaring toward the cart’s position from dozens of li away!
Those projectiles flew at high speed, each with a Great Five Thunder Talisman exploding on it, trailing bolts of lightning as they fell toward the cart. In monts they were only a dozen or so zhang away from the post road!
“These cannonballs are over two chi in diater — General Cannon rounds! One shot could pierce a Refining Void realm practitioner’s Dao Field and shatter their Primordial Spirit!”
Chen Shi’s eyes were sharp. He examined the talisman patterns on the rounded cannonballs. Having once served as an emissary in the Guangji Treasury, he knew a great deal about artillery and projectiles. He imdiately judged that if those cannonballs slamd down, the post road would be turned into a sea of lightning and blazing pure yang fire; dozens of acres would be annihilated, no one would survive!
Shhhh!
Chen Shi ford sword seals and thrust repeatedly. One by one the huge cannonballs detonated midair, and lightning and fire poured in all directions!
At the sa ti, the Huagai on the cart rose, floating in the air and spinning, instantly expanding to cover several acres.
Under the Huagai, two thousand four hundred talismans ignited, transforming into two thousand four hundred ghostly divine apparitions. The light beneath the canopy shimred, almost coalescing into substance. The divine lights linked and shone dazzlingly, like a resplendent Celestial Court erging as the canopy opened!
The lightning and blazing pure yang fire crashed onto the canopy. Bolts of thunder struck and shattered into fragnts, scattering. The flas hit the canopy’s surface and flowed off in streams!
The canopy successfully blocked the explosive force of the cannonballs outside the post road. The people on the road looked up in terror, only able to see bolts of lightning and fire exploding beyond the canopy. Under the canopy, there was calm.
“Die, thief Chen!”
A young eunuch, pale-faced and beardless, let out a shriek and charged at Chen Shi. His step descended and he leapt several zhang, his body rapidly changing. A Buddha-light burst from him, transforming into a Garuda with a human head and bird body over three zhang tall, a five zhang six chi wingspan. With a beat of its wings the wind sliced into invisible blades. Where it passed, people’s heads and bodies were separated, limbs flying everywhere!
But as the Garuda surged into the canopy’s reach, a cold gleam pierced the little eunuch’s Nascent Soul force field, striking the Garuda’s brow and then spiraling once around its neck.
The Garuda froze, then its physical body collapsed, its Primordial Spirit disintegrated, and its head fell off, returning to the form of a little eunuch.
At the sa ti, countless flying swords from the fields on the other side of the post road streaked over like a surging white tidal wave, plowing the cornfields flat where they passed!
Everything on the field ridges shattered under the swordlight!
Thunk! Thunk! Thunk! Thunk!
Sword after sword struck the space under the canopy. Though empty, it was like piercing bronze-and-iron walls; the swords were nailed in midair.
Each flying sword trembled violently, not moving far but vibrating at extrely high frequency. Still, they could not advance an inch.
“For our young master’s revenge!”
From the field, a green-robed Daoist with a Taoist crown sprinted toward them, leaping into the air in a few bounds, running wildly in flight, accelerating while his Nascent Soul force field spread.
Midair, he suddenly ford sword-mark seals with both hands, palms together at his chest, and let out a shout as he thrust forward with all his strength!
He raised his Nascent Spirit like a sharp sword; his Nascent Soul force field slamd into the thousand-plus flying swords!
The green-robed Daoist’s two sword-seal thrusts struck ahead. He raised them above his head, his body parallel to the ground, throwing himself into the flying mass. Using his body as sword and spirit as blade, he collided in brutal sacrifice against the canopy’s bronze-and-iron wall.
The thousand flying swords were driven on by his unmatched montum and plunged deep into the canopy’s space!
A thousand swords, Nascent Soul, and flesh fused into one, becoming an unparalleled great sword that sliced through the canopy’s ford space with a hiss, the tip of the sword glinting as it ca toward the cart!
Chen Shi, sitting in the cart, t the massive sword tip with a single punch. The swords shattered with crackling explosions. The talisman patterns on the swords and the extraordinary power within them all unraveled!
His terrifying power transmitted into the green-robed Daoist’s Nascent Soul field. The field was pierced by countless flying-sword fragnts sent hurtling backward, the Nascent Soul riddled with holes, leaking like a battered vessel.
The Daoist’s body convulsed in midair, his skull pierced by fragnts of his own flying swords. With a plop he fell to the ground.
“Kill that dog official...”
He had not finished speaking before his head lolled to the side and he died.
Chen Shi’s other hand continued to point, and a series of explosions reverberated in the sky. The detonations were the General Cannon projectiles, fired from dozens of li away, exploding one after another midair!
The attackers were fully sixty li away: ten General Cannon pieces and a seventy-man combat team. They asured the wind, set the range, loaded charges, ramd projectiles, ignited, cleaned the bore, reloaded — seven n per cannon, coordinating seamlessly.
Aside from those seventy warriors, one armored man stood in the air, treading auspicious clouds, watching the scene sixty li away.
Munitions detonated one after another in the sky. Instead of hitting their target, the exploding cannonballs ca progressively closer!
“No good! That thief top scholar is formidable!”
The armored warrior suddenly fell, bellowing as he forced his Nascent Soul field to shield those soldiers.
Sss—
An invisible sword energy pierced his Nascent Soul field. Even across sixty li, its montum remained undiminished. It pierced his Nascent Soul field and impaled one of the General Cannon pieces behind him!
That cannon tore apart in an explosion, waves of fire and lightning pouring out. The seven n guarding that cannon were all consud in the fire and lightning!
The armored warrior was shocked and enraged. He summoned his Nascent Soul and stood in the air, and from a distance he saw the wooden cart sixty li away. Chen Shi raised a hand and grabbed the canopy, whoosh — he hurled it in their direction!
The canopy contracted into a closed umbrella, which then suddenly beat the air like a wing, transforming into a golden eagle several zhang wide, flapping and tearing through the sky!
“Bring that eagle down!” the armored warrior shouted.
Nine General Cannon pieces imdiately adjusted their muzzles and fired at the golden eagle.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
A series of cannon blasts rang out. The golden eagle looped and darted in the air, spinning to dodge each projectile, and in the blink of an eye hovered above the sixty-four-man combat squad.
The golden eagle dove headfirst, flapped, body spinning, and then suddenly spread its wings.
The instant the wings opened, the golden eagle transford back into the canopy, divine light scattering to blot out the sky!
The sixty-four-man squad lost their footing and were irresistibly sucked upward, falling beneath the canopy.
The armored warrior, a deep cultivator, tried to escape. Just as he fled his Nascent Soul, a sudden roaming-dragon sword pierced through, slaying his Nascent Soul!
His body, along with the other soldiers, flew into the air and fell into the umbrella.
The canopy closed, becoming a great umbrella. A flood of blood and broken bone poured out like a tide.
Inside the wooden cart, Chen Shi raised a hand and the canopy flew back. He gripped the handle. The handle bore no bloodstains — because he had pasted purification talismans on the canopy.
The cart took the canopy back and set it by his side. Then he rummaged inside the carriage for incense and lit a few sticks to offer for himself and for the canopy.
“Black Pot!”
Chen Shi called. Black Pot had stopped cultivating and was dispersing his domain as he ran along the post road. People on the road soon forgot the matter and returned to their business.
“Could these be the leftover n of the young master attacking ?” Chen Shi frowned slightly and drove on toward the Western Capital.
The Heaven’s Listeners flapped their ears and flew off in all directions.
Chen Shi watched their flight; all the Heaven’s Listeners flew toward the sa direction.
After going only about ten li, a qilin carriage was parked by the roadside ahead. Zhuang Wujiu stood beside the carriage, and several Heaven’s Listeners were around him. Zhuang Wujiu held docunts and read, then looked up to glance at Chen Shi as he passed.
The cart moved at a fair speed, and it should have quickly left Zhuang Wujiu and the qilin carriage far behind, but for so reason after the cart passed, another Zhuang Wujiu and qilin carriage appeared ahead.
The wooden cart passed again, and yet another Zhuang Wujiu and qilin carriage stood ahead.
Other pedestrians and travelers on the road behaved normally. Only the space surrounding the cart seed trapped in an endless loop.
Such Dao techniques were profound beyond asure!
Chen Shi raised an eyebrow and lightly tapped the cart.
The cart stopped.
Chen Shi disembarked and faced Zhuang Wujiu, his emotions churning. “Eleven years ago, Zhuang Wujiu was taken to Xinxiang County by experts from Despair Slope. The Thirteen Great Clans all claim they did not obtain my Innate Dao Embryo, so could my embryo be on Zhuang Wujiu?”
Zhuang Wujiu shoved the docunt to a Heaven’s Listener at his side and walked toward him. “Child Prodigy, I’m returning to the mountain. Before I go I specially ca to see you.”
Chen Shi’s gaze rested on that docunt.
Seeing this, Zhuang Wujiu smiled. “Listen to my explanation. I have long wanted to know whether you regained the Innate Dao Embryo. You refused to show , so I had to find a way. Coincidentally, the young master has so followers who owe him deep favors and wished to eliminate you. I had the Heaven’s Listeners select three n.
“One is a leader in the Divine Pivot Battalion, trained in the Great Five Thunder Heart thod taught by the young master. One is a little eunuch from the Eastern Depot, trained in the Unempty Transford-God Mantra. The third is the hall chief of the Hundred Refinents Hall, trained in the Treasures-Transformation True Art. The young master bought them and taught them techniques suited to their natures.”
He smiled. “The Divine Pivot leader favors playing with thunder, fire, and gunpowder, so he was taught the Great Five Thunder Heart thod. The Eastern Depot eunuch has no concerns of male-female affairs, so Buddhist thods suit him; thus he learned the Unempty Transford-God Mantra. The Hundred Refinents Hall chief excels at refining treasures, so he was suited to the Treasures-Transformation True Art.
“These three are not of high status, not sons of great clans, but their talents are exceptional and they had no chance to receive better techniques. The young master matched techniques to their natures, making them grateful to tears. These small figures are not major players of the Fu Zheng Pavilion, but they have backbone, willing to die for the young master’s revenge.”
Chen Shi asked, “So you borrowed those three to test , to see whether I had regained the Innate Dao Embryo?”
Zhuang Wujiu smiled. “Exactly.”
Chen Shi’s face remained expressionless. “So, did your test succeed?”
“No. But your performance disappointed .”
Zhuang Wujiu showed a look of disappointnt and shook his head. “Chen Shi, don’t you feel that you are unworthy of the Innate Dao Embryo?”
—Finally untangled the plot, thanks for waiting! Normal updates resu!
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