On the Path to the Great Dao Chapter 341: Demonic Corruption

"Break through to the Emptiness Refining realm?"

Cold Mountain Freeholder and Migrant Guest Freeholder looked at each other in astonishnt. Just now Yu Tiancheng was at the peak of the Spirit Transformation realm, and now he was about to break through to the Emptiness Refining realm?

There are indeed practitioners who progress rapidly, but not this fast!

Cold Mountain Freeholder coughed, stepped onto the sacrificial platform, checked Yu Tiancheng's cultivation progress and said, "On the cultivation path there are indeed all sorts of deluding insights. Even I sotis get the illusion of ascending to immortality, and when I wake up to find my body aged and life energy drained, I can't help but feel lancholic. You must have had such a deep comprehension just now that you had that illusion... Are you really going to break through to Emptiness Refining?!"

He was startled.

When the True God's Descent occurred earlier, the Divine Embryo's second descent brought imnse power that tempered Yu Tiancheng's flesh, elevating his body to a new level.

Emptiness Refining, with the True God's aid, shatters the void. And the process of shattering the void is the process of turning the Primordial Spirit's field into a Primordial Spirit Dao Field!

Right now Yu Tiancheng's Primordial Spirit Dao Field was forming!

Migrant Guest Freeholder was also frightened and stepped forward to inspect. He saw that Yu Tiancheng's Divine Embryo contained incomparably vast power—power enough to transform his Primordial Spirit field into a Dao Field!

But power alone is not enough; one also needs comprehension of the Dao.

At this mont countless Dao thods rushed into Yu Tiancheng's mind, insights continuously popping out, and his Primordial Spirit power was rapidly converting into a Dao Field. The barrier between his body and the outer heaven-and-earth was gradually being shattered!

Yu Tiancheng's eyeballs looked like two extrely springy flesh balls, bouncing in his sockets in all directions as he murmured, "Qi connects suprely, fragrant streams pouring, nurturing all living things, adorned at the Golden Gate, roots bright and clear, commanding the stone landscape, jellyfish pour essence, following heaven's luck, prospering with the sun, nine apertures receive truth, freeing the original form... I understand, I understand!"

"Solar soul flow, five colors pouring, refining soul at the Golden Gate, perfect scene towering, spiritual radiance spitting light, receiving the Bright Sky River... haha, so this is how it's resolved! So simple!"

"Yellow qi and yin splendor, yang essence cave fresh, bathing the nine souls, crowned at the golden morning, perfect clarity announces, jade embryo refines into immortality... so that's it, so that's it!"

"I'm breaking through! No, I mustn't break through, I only just cultivated to Divine Descent... Is realm fate-determined? Step by step like climbing Kunlun! I'm breaking through!"

...

Cold Migration Elders stared blankly at the seemingly frenzied Yu Tiancheng. Yu Tiancheng, like a large rabbit, leapt off the sacrificial platform and bounded into the clouds. The Primordial Spirit Dao Field spread out, the bright moon revolving and hanging in the sky, dazzling to behold.

In the air, long winds chased the moon, and a Dao Field ford on its own.

Migrant Guest Freeholder murmured, "An Innate Dao Embryo, can cultivation be that fast?"

Cold Mountain Freeholder shook his head as he observed Yu Tiancheng, "Maybe it's not that the Innate Dao Embryo cultivates that fast, but a strand of the Innate Dao Embryo's aura bringing power and insight that lets a lesser disciple cultivate so quickly."

Migrant Guest Freeholder asked, "Will this be counterproductive?"

Cold Mountain Freeholder shook his head, "I'm worried it might grow a bit too robust. If a lesser disciple receives so much insight and cannot bear it, he might go mad."

He couldn't help but marvel: the Innate Dao Embryo is truly powerful. Chen Shi's Dao Embryo was seized, and rely by its remaining aura the insights and power it conferred far exceeded a First-Grade Divine Embryo, even allowing soone to leap realms!

After a long while, Yu Tiancheng sat in the air, ignoring the outside world. Cold Migration Elders both showed looks of envy; Yu Tiancheng had entered a state of Dao comprehension. He had gained so many insights he needed to absorb them.

A cultivator might spend a lifeti and never enter such a comprehension state, yet this True God Descent had caused Yu Tiancheng to do exactly that!

When he awoke from this comprehension, his cultivation would surely have advanced greatly!

Three days later, Yu Tiancheng finally awoke. When Cold Migration Elders saw him again, they found he bore an otherworldly aura, his cultivation noticeably advanced!

"Master, where is Instructor Chen?" Yu Tiancheng asked.

Cold Mountain Freeholder smiled, "He left three days ago."

Yu Tiancheng looked wistful, "I didn't even get a chance to thank him."

"The Celestial True God is too mighty."

Chen Shi returned to Huangpo Village, still savoring the mont of taking the Celestial True God as his Primordial Spirit and comprehending heaven and earth.

Compared to the white-clad fairy, compared to Stone Ji Your Ladyship, compared to all the deities he'd encountered, it was far stronger!

At the mont he used the Celestial True God as a Primordial Spirit, he felt as if he were the master of the universe!

Yu Tiancheng gained greatly, but his gains were not insignificant either. Although he had no Divine Embryo and couldn't receive the True God's power, he comprehended far more.

However, during his contemplation he still sensed sothing odd.

"The Celestial True God doesn't seem to have a corporeal body."

His expression turned strange. Using the True God as a Primordial Spirit to comprehend heaven and earth, he could not perceive the True God's physical form.

He even felt that the Celestial True God did not seem to be a living thing!

This sensation was bizarre.

"The Celestial True God is strong, but only offers such a brief comprehension. Pity that a Divine Embryo can only trigger one True God Descent. If one could keep contemplating..." He paused.

Chen Shi's eyes widened as a bold idea sprouted like wild grass, "The one who triggered the Descent wasn't ! The one who caused the Descent was Yu Tiancheng, not ! I don't have a Divine Embryo! That ans if soone else offers themselves to the True God to start a Descent, I could ride that Descent again?"

He imdiately returned to the Minor Heaven, instantly contacting talisman masters across Red Mountain Hall. If soone cultivated to Divine Descent, Red Mountain Hall would provide the Seven Treasures and set up a sacrificial altar!

Before long, more than a dozen cultivators who had reached the peak of Spirit Transformation and were preparing to breakthrough ca to Minor Heaven, including Chen Shi's old acquaintance Zhuge Jian, Lu Ban Sect leader Situ Wen, and Hu Feifei. The others were regular visitors to Minor Heaven as well.

Chen Shi imdiately asked Shao Jing to gather heavenly materials and asked Situ Wen to prepare the altar.

He set the altar on Qianyang Mountain. Once the first set of Seven Treasures was assembled, Chen Shi had Situ Wen sit on the altar, then called upon Chen Tang to take action and connect heaven and earth.

Situ Wen offered the Seven Treasures, ascending to the heavens, and Chen Shi once again borrowed the opportunity of a Divine Embryo's ascending to resonate with the Celestial True God.

"Whoosh—"

A long rainbow-like divine light descended from the sky, flooding the sacrificial platform. The brilliance was intense and shocked all of Qianyang Mountain.

The Seven Treasures Shao Jing purchased this ti were of lesser quality than those for Yu Tiancheng, so the Descent lasted a bit shorter. Nevertheless, the Descent was still a great success. When Situ Wen's Divine Embryo returned to his body, he involuntarily stepped into the Emptiness Refining realm!

Situ Wen floated in the air, contemplating the Dao for days. It happened to be a rainy, thunderous period, yet grand buildings appeared in the lightning—majestic structures that made thunder unable to harm him.

On the third day, Situ Wen slowly descended.

Yu Tiancheng and Situ Wen's experiences sent Red Mountain Hall nearly into a boil; everyone wished to reach Spirit Transformation imdiately so that, with Chen Shi's help, they could obtain True God Descent and skip years of hardship!

From ti to ti a beam of divine light would streak across the sky on Qianyang Mountain.

Zhuge Jian, Hu Feifei and others successively reached Emptiness Refining. Those who had not yet reached Emptiness Refining still achieved a consummation of Divine Descent; with a few months of polishing and fully contemplating the insights from the True God's Descent, breaking through to Emptiness Refining would be effortless!

Yang Bi had been busy these days consolidating the Thirteen Great Clans' underworld power structure to craft a Yama bureaucracy that answered to him. Now that the work was finally done, he sought a Yang Family youth and asked, "What has Scholar Chen been doing lately?"

The Yang Family youth recounted how Chen Shi had helped them breakthrough and reach Divine Descent.

Yang Bi was greatly shocked and murmured, "It can be done like this?"

He couldn't help feeling a sense of urgency, thinking, "I must not be distracted! Otherwise Chen Shi might breakthrough to the Body Unification realm ahead of !"

He cald his mind and returned to the Upper Realm to focus on cultivation; he must breakthrough at once!

Using the Celestial True God as his Primordial Spirit, Chen Shi's comprehension of Dao thods deepened.

One day, after helping the tenth cultivator breakthrough to Emptiness Refining, Chen Shi fell into a state of Dao comprehension himself.

It was his first ti comprehending the Dao, sitting quietly on the altar.

During this comprehension nothing unusual occurred until the fifth day, when Chen Shi suddenly felt his body beco like a Golden Core—boundless and without edge.

The barrier between his body and heaven-and-earth seed to vanish!

This was the shattering of the void.

He comprehended this patch of heaven-and-earth and felt as if the cosmos were a part of his own body.

This was the sign of Emptiness Refining's great consummation!

He had no Divine Embryo and therefore should not be able to reach Divine Descent or Emptiness Refining, yet he showed signs similar to the great consummation of Emptiness Refining!

"No Divine Embryo, and I can still breakthrough!"

Chen Shi rejoiced in his heart. Suddenly, a most yin, most evil qi surged toward him from heaven and earth!

This yin-evil qi was part of the world. Originally he could use his body to resist its invasion, but now that he had opened the barrier between body and heaven-and-earth and shattered the void, that protective screen was gone!

"Yang Bi's warning might be right. Following the old cultivation path could indeed bring disaster!"

He woke from his comprehension with cold sweat on his brow and tried to refine this most yin, most evil qi.

In his small temple there was righteous energy from the Divine Continent of China, and the small temple could refine evil qi. But after refining a portion of the evil qi Chen Shi would feel another wave of worldly evil qi pouring into him!

He continued to refine, yet after each refinent a new batch of evil qi stread in!

This evil qi was not extrely powerful and did not imdiately do much harm, but accumulation would eventually turn him into sothing like an evil spirit!

If he continued cultivating now, he might be walking down the path to becoming an evil spirit!

"True King might be right," Chen Shi thought silently, "there's probably a major problem with this piece of heaven-and-earth!"

Qianyang Mountain, Yuanlou Village.

At dawn villagers rose early. So went to the fields, a few hunters prepared to head into the mountains together, and others bundled furs to sell at Xinxiang County. If timing allowed, they could be back before nightfall.

Xinxiang County had a new magistrate, surnad Hu, a woman. She was much better than the previous magistrate, replacing many officials and reducing extortion. Selling mountain goods now fetched four to five tenths more money than before.

At that mont villagers suddenly noticed a stone house had appeared outside the village at so unknown ti.

The stone house was small, seemingly only two or three rooms, its roof hung with thick snow.

But Qianyang Mountain enjoys a year-round climate of early sumr and late spring; how could there be snow?

The door opened and a spirited young man walked out and strode through the village.

He ca before the village's Godmother, an ancient tree whose canopy covered acres and stood lush.

"Blue Goat!"

The young man called, "You're out!"

From the tree hollow Blue Goat lazily stepped out, inspected the young man and exclaid in shock, "Old Du, is that really you? How did you beco so young?"

The young man was Du Yiran. Hearing this he smiled with so pride, "I wasn't very old to begin with. After taking the Ginseng Grass Fruit Little Ten gave , I beca even younger. Put on so clothes at least!"

Blue Goat cursed, "I was born an animal, what clothes would I wear? You turned young and now I can't call you brother. Yiran, from now on you can call Uncle."

He stepped into the hollow, pulled on a sheepskin cloak, and walked out.

But to other villagers a blue sheepskin cloak seed to drift out from the tree hollow—Blue Goat had died and beco an evil spirit, invisible to them most of the ti. They only saw Blue Goat when he wanted to be seen. And seeing Blue Goat often happened at night when the evil spirit road.

"Is this your own skin?" Du Yiran patted the sheepskin cloak curiously, "It's good. Make one too."

"Fine, after I die you can skin and make clothes out of ! That's my father's skin!"

Blue Goat, annoyed, punched him twice in the chest and said, "I heard Old Chen went looking for you, and you chased him off. Old Chen ca back and said you might die; I worried about it for a long ti. How did you return?"

Du Yiran walked out of the village, "Sha Qiutong called back. When Old Chen sought , my wounds flared and I indeed couldn't live for many years. I didn't want him to be sad, so I chased him off."

He left the stone house in Yuanlou Village and, along with Blue Goat, headed to Gangzi Village.

A swarm of human-headed bees flew silently overhead. Blue Goat glanced up and sneered, "They see an elder and can't even greet him!"

No sooner had he spoken than A Zhuo descended from the sky, landing before them and bowing, "Uncle Du, Uncle Blue Goat."

Du Yiran looked A Zhuo over and was moved, "Qiao Zhuo, what realm have you reached?"

"A few days ago I reached the Great Ascension realm," A Zhuo replied.

Du Yiran nodded lightly, "You haven't wasted Chen Yindu's training. Chen Yindu, Sha Qiutong, Hu Xiaoliang, Blue Goat, and you—no wonder you're called the Five Great Villains!"

Blue Goat and A Zhuo sneered at the title.

They left Qianyang Mountain and saw the bearded man Hu Xiaoliang already waiting outside Gangzi Village, saying, "Hurry, Sha Qiutong has been waiting for us a long ti."

Just then a young woman led a child out of the village by the hand, followed by a maid of twelve or thirteen, who had co of age into a lovely appearance.

Granny Sha sized them up and smiled, "Today the Five Great Villains gather, only Chen Yindu is missing!"

They all laughed without speaking, glancing at the other four.

Du Yiran asked, "Qiutong, why did you summon us?"

Granny Sha replied, "Isn't it Old Chen's order? Old Chen wants us to take care of his grandson and pull out all the demons from inside him. Previously we tried pulling them out one or two at a ti and it was incredibly difficult, near death. Now that I've beco young again, Xiaoliang revived, A Zhuo is an underworld marshal and has reached Great Ascension, and Old Du is young again, our strength has greatly increased. I thought we could do it in one go and remove all the demons from Little Ten's body!"

Blue Goat made a muffled sound.

Of the Five Great Villains, aside from him the others were either rejuvenated or resurrected—only he was truly dead.

"Good thing Old Chen is with ..." he found slight comfort in that thought.

Du Yiran asked, "How do we pull them out?"

Granny Sha said, "Those demons hide in the abyss of his Sea of Consciousness. While he's alive, the abyss is sealed and the demons cannot co out. If we go in to exorcise them, we'd have to use Primordial Spirits, and going in would be suicide. When he dies, those demons will scramble out of the abyss and occupy his body. At that ti pulling them out is the most stable approach."

A Zhuo frowned, "We have to kill him first?"

Granny Sha smiled, "Not really kill him, just temporarily kill him. He is a Corpse Liberation Immortal with a body tempered by Water-Fire Refining, dead yet not decayed. Rest assured, I have experience. He's died more than once."

Hu Xiaoliang frowned, "If he dies he'll undergo demonic transformation. If that happens, his demonic field will cover a hundred-li area; Qianyang Mountain might fall entirely under his demonic domain, causing countless deaths and injuries!"

Granny Sha smiled, "I've already prepared. The place to extract the demons is in the underworld!"

At this everyone hesitated a little.

Sha Qiutong's preparations had always been thorough, though they had also witnessed her flaws.

Although Sha Qiutong had terrifying talent in the path of souls and created many soul techniques, she had never been flawless—various oversights tended to occur.

Her techniques often reached the state of usable and effective, but with a chance of error.

Blue Goat said, "When Little Ten had those demons inside him before, the Thirteen Great Clans had to deliberate before acting. If we remove all his demons, wouldn't that take away one of his ans of self-preservation?"

Du Yiran folded his arms, "With and the other Four Villains, what fear is there of the Thirteen Great Clans?"

"That's true."

Blue Goat nodded and grew excited, "No ti to waste, let's do it now. Where is Little Ten? I'll go kill him!"