On the Path to the Great Dao Chapter 343: Blood Lake True Scripture

"Granny Sha and the others are all formidable figures who can handle themselves. They'll definitely be fine. What's more, my father is out there with thirty-seven Tianji guardians. Even if my corpse escapes back to the mortal world, it won't be able to stir up much trouble. I'll just wait for them here..."

Chen Shi felt slightly relieved at this thought.

His corpse definitely couldn't have run far. All he had to do was wait. Once Granny Sha and the others finished exorcising the demon, they would either send his corpse back or perform a soul-summoning to call him back.

He looked into the distance. Rows of towering mountains stood majestically, likely the shadowy projection of Qianyang Mountain in the underworld.

Chen Shi drifted through the ruined palace complex, searching for ancient relics in hopes of finding clues about his Godmother.

"Could the stone tablet Godmother be that stone tablet outside this palace complex?"

Chen Shi's Primordial Spirit flew into the air, scanning the ruins. Though the palace had been destroyed, he could still imagine how magnificent this cluster of halls must have been in its pri.

This should have been a temple, vast enough to touch heaven and earth, spanning both the mortal world and the underworld.

The old willow tree outside the temple had lived for countless years, lush and verdant. Having absorbed so of the temple's incense offerings, it possessed extraordinary power, allowing it to also bridge the two realms.

This realization stunned Chen Shi more than anything!

His magic treasure, the Heaven-asuring Iron Ruler, was barely comparable to this in the underworld!

Chen Shi had never managed to unleash even a fraction of the Heaven-asuring Iron Ruler's true power. He could only make it grow or shrink, yet that alone was enough to defeat underworld officers and severely wound Wei Yue, the Young Master, and Zhuang Wujiu!

In the underworld, the Heaven-asuring Iron Ruler towered into the heavens, impossibly massive.

Yet the old willow tree's roots were comparable to the Heaven-asuring Iron Ruler, with so roots even buried deep within the high mound!

"This old willow tree is far more powerful than the Heaven-asuring Iron Ruler! So then, what exactly is my Godmother's origin?"

Chen Shi gazed up at Scholar Zhu outside the heavens, marveling. "My ntor, Scholar Zhu, had his ghost hung from this willow tree, creating this magnificent and eerie spectacle!"

"I wonder if I can climb the willow tree's roots back to the mortal world?"

He flew upward along the roots, feeling the pressure from above grow heavier the closer he got to the sky's peak. The sky's apex was near the real world, where everything was made of matter. For ghosts and demonic beasts without physical bodies, even the slightest bit of matter weighed as much as Mount Tai.

Chen Shi was already dead. Though he was in his Primordial Spirit state, without a physical body, he was a ghost. Even a Primordial Spirit was still a ghost in spirit form, making it nearly impossible for him to bear the crushing weight of the real world.

"Whoosh—"

A chilling wind howled in the high sky, shaking his form, sending him tumbling through the gale, his entire body frozen cold.

This chilling wind damaged the Primordial Spirit. If he were constantly exposed to it, his cultivation would likely suffer severe losses.

Chen Shi activated the Xiao Lang Imperial Chapter Technique to resist the chilling wind, then suddenly froze. "The Xiao Lang Imperial Chapter Technique is a physical cultivation thod. A Primordial Spirit can't practice it!"

The howling wind caught him and swept him into the distance.

In the sky, yin energy condensed into bleak, somber clouds, carried along by the chilling wind. Within the clouds were countless ice crystals, sharp as swords!

Chen Shi struggled to stabilize himself, activating the Third New Talisman to flash through the air with lightning bolts, dodging the ice crystals.

A storm raged in his mind. "The Limitless Jade Pearl Formula moves blood and qi, refining them into jade pearls that circulate within the body. Without a physical body, I can't practice it. The Five Manifestations Observing Flower Skill gathers the five elents' righteous qi, cultivating the heart, liver, spleen, lungs, and kidneys, strengthening blood and qi to refine an internal core. Without a physical body, I can't practice it. The Mysterious Subtle Sword Scripture refines sword qi internally, gathering blood and qi at the brow, storing sword qi in the hundred acupoints. Without a physical body, I can't practice it. The Treasures-Transformation True Art requires a physical body to practice. The Northern Emperor Demon-Subduing Divine Mantra requires a physical body to practice. The Heavenly Peng Demon-Subduing Great thod requires a physical body to practice. The Wind-Thunder Yu-Step Divine Mantra requires a physical body to practice..."

While dodging the ice crystals ford by yin energy in the gale, he reviewed every technique he knew. Any technique ant for cultivation, increasing power, or even so combat thods were all unusable!

Especially techniques like the Heavenly Peng Demon-Subduing Great thod and the Thunderous Jade Pivot Great thod—combat thods that consud vast amounts of blood and qi, requiring the physical body as a foundation!

In the underworld, none of these thods could be used!

However, magical spells and divine abilities could still be employed by the Primordial Spirit, but they would only drain his cultivation base. Particularly in a place like the underworld, without a physical body, the Primordial Spirit would only grow weaker and weaker.

The wind grew stronger. Chen Shi's heart stirred, and he drew a Wind-Stabilizing Talisman in midair.

This talisman contained only qi, no blood. It held the wind steady for a mont, then collapsed. Chen Shi was caught by the howling gale and sent flying into the distance.

Tumbling through the wind, Chen Shi imdiately activated his Primordial Spirit Dao Field, using it to stabilize himself against the wind.

The mont the Primordial Spirit Dao Field appeared, it connected with the external world. Yin energy seeped into the field, burrowing into his body!

Chen Shi imdiately withdrew his Dao Field, but the invading yin energy sent shivers through him. His Primordial Spirit felt like it was about to freeze solid.

He had entered and left the underworld many tis before, but with a physical body and without one were two completely different things!

The wind grew stronger, making it impossible for him to steady himself. He could only grit his teeth and continuously activate the Third New Talisman, flashing through the gale with lightning, trying to escape the chilling wind.

After an unknown amount of ti, he finally broke free from the wind and fell uncontrollably from the sky.

Chen Shi shivered from the cold, his Primordial Spirit feeling like it was about to solidify. He forcefully channeled his magical power to slow his descent, but he still hit the ground with a heavy thud.

Not far away, mist clung to the ground, flowing like a river. Countless confused ghosts waded through the mist, all walking in the sa direction.

There was also a ghostly creature in the mist, likely also chilled by the wind earlier, sitting around a campfire warming itself.

Chen Shi found himself unconsciously following the ghosts forward. It was only when he saw the campfire by the roadside that he snapped awake. "I was bewitched by so force!"

He shivered as he stepped out from among the ghosts, walked over to the ghostly creature's campfire, crouched down trembling, and extended his hands to warm them.

The ghostly creature warming itself by the fire was of so unknown species. It had a bird's head on a human face, a long bird beak with nostrils on top, green skin, and red hair floating upward. It looked at Chen Shi with confusion as he ward himself.

It had wings, and one ice crystal had struck its wing, the wound still bleeding.

It could tell that Chen Shi was a different species, but it didn't stop him from warming himself. Instead, it groped through the mist, pulled out a few "logs," and tossed them into the fire.

—Those logs appeared to be leg bones and ribs, whether human or from other creatures. They burned in the green flas, managing to drive back the yin energy.

Gradually, Chen Shi's body ward a little. He activated the Second New Talisman.

This talisman was drawn by the white-robed fairy, designed to decipher the prehistoric text patterns on the Heaven-asuring Iron Ruler.

The Second New Talisman was a talisman for refining the Primordial Spirit, capable of purifying the yin energy within the body, drawing the physical body and Primordial Spirit closer to pure yang.

Chen Shi ward himself by the fire while silently reciting the divine language in his mind.

"Perfect Primordial Chaos, the ruler wields divine power. The five elents' righteous qi, circulating without end. The origin of chaos, moving toward success. Assisting the Dao with might, commanding thunder and driving wind, all qi converge as one!"

Thunder crackled within his body, forming a Taiji diagram that refined away the yin energy that had invaded him.

He repeated the divine language over a dozen tis, activating the Second New Talisman repeatedly until all the invading yin energy was purified from his Primordial Spirit.

Strangely enough, after purifying the yin energy, his hair began to float upward as well.

He was in his Primordial Spirit form, over two zhang tall. His hair floated toward the sky, as if underwater, an incredibly wondrous sight.

Chen Shi let out a long breath. Seeing the bird-headed, human-faced ghostly creature staring at him in amazent, he hesitated for a mont, then made a sword-finger gesture with his right hand and touched it to the wound on the creature's wing.

Chen Shi silently recited the divine language, activating the Second New Talisman. The five energies mixed and rged, forming Taiji thunder-light that gradually refined the ice crystal in the creature's wound.

He repeated this several tis, also purifying the yin energy within the ghostly creature's body. Only then did he stand up and look around.

The surrounding mountains stretched endlessly into the mist, towering peaks everywhere. Countless ghosts walked among the mountains, wading through the fog.

As for the high mound of Huangpo Village and the willow tree roots that connected heaven and earth—they were nowhere to be seen!

"It's fine. Granny Sha will soon realize I'm missing. She'll perform a soul-summoning to bring back to my physical body," Chen Shi thought to himself.

"Gua ji gua ji," the bird-beaked ghostly creature said, putting out the campfire.

Chen Shi smiled. "I don't understand ghost language..."

But when he spoke, his words also ca out as "gua ji gua ji" sounds.

Chen Shi suddenly understood. "I'm dead, turned into a ghost, so of course I can understand ghost language! The mont I open my mouth, I'm speaking nothing but ghost talk!"

The bird-beaked ghostly creature solemnly thanked him. "My na is Pengju. Thank you for your help, sir."

Chen Shi smiled. "My na is Chen Shi. Since you let warm myself by your fire, it's only right that I repay you. Do you know where this place is?"

Pengju said, "This place is called Yinshan, also known as the Mountains of Ten Thousand Peaks."

Chen Shi thought carefully. Apart from the Huangshi Mountain Range in Western Ox New Continent, there didn't seem to be any place with this many mountains. But the Huangshi Mountain Range was full of volcanoes, with smoke blotting out the sky, unlike the scenery here.

This clearly wasn't the Henggong Mountain Range either. Those mountains were round and lumpy, not matching the peaks here.

"How can I get back?"

Just as Chen Shi had this thought, his wrist was suddenly grabbed by Pengju. Chen Shi realized he had unknowingly walked into the crowd of ghosts, following them into the distance!

Pengju said, "If you let these wandering souls take you away, you'll likely beco food for the ghostly creatures."

Chen Shi quickly said, "I'm newly dead. I don't know these things."

"No wonder."

Pengju said, "You must be a cultivator, right? Your accent doesn't sound like it's from around here."

Chen Shi said, "I'm from Xinxiang."

Pengju blinked, not understanding where Xinxiang was.

Chen Shi explained, "It's where there's a huge willow tree that spans both the mortal world and the underworld. Beneath the willow tree is a high mound."

"Ah, the high mound."

Pengju suddenly understood and said, "I saw you using thunder techniques earlier, refining yin energy. Do you understand ghost-deity texts?"

His eyes sparkled as he took a roll of ghost scripture from his bosom, looking at Chen Shi expectantly.

Chen Shi hesitated for a mont, then took the ghost scripture. "I probably can't read it... Eh?"

He opened the ghost scripture and looked at it. The bizarre, ghost-scrawl-like characters suddenly beca orderly before his eyes. Though Chen Shi had never studied this script, he could sohow read it!

This script was very similar to the text patterns on the Heaven-asuring Iron Ruler, but far inferior in terms of the amount of information it contained.

Having seen the four new talismans deciphered from the Heaven-asuring Iron Ruler's text, Chen Shi found that he could actually read the text in this ghost scripture!

This ghost scripture recorded a technique called the Blood Lake True Scripture, a thod specifically for cultivating the soul!

Chen Shi stared blankly, feeling that sothing was off.

"When I comprehended the four new talismans, I distinctly heard the most sacred divine language reciting the true scripture. Obviously, the text patterns on the Heaven-asuring Iron Ruler should be divine script. But how could divine script be connected to ghost script?"

He read through the Blood Lake True Scripture multiple tis. The text in this book was similar to the text in Black Pot's ghost scripture, both likely being ghost script.

But Chen Shi had only learned the divine language contained within the four new talismans, yet he could sohow read ghost script!

"There's definitely sothing wrong here!"

He was silent for a long ti. Pengju said dejectedly, "You can't read it either?"

Chen Shi shook his head. "I can read it. But this book—how did you get it?"

Pengju said, "It's been passed down in my family."

"Really?" Chen Shi was a bit suspicious.

"Absolutely true!"

Pengju was quite agitated, raising his hand to swear to heaven. "If I'm lying in the slightest, may lightning strike dead! This is a technique passed down from my ancestors. But by my father and grandfather's generation, they were illiterate and couldn't read it."

Chen Shi was skeptical but amused. "Since it's a family heirloom, you must at least know the na of this technique, right?"

"The Blood Lake True Scripture!"

Chen Shi's suspicions grew. Since Pengju could na it, it might really be a family heirloom. Could divine script and ghost script truly be connected?

And also, who had drawn those four new talismans on the desk?

"My father definitely doesn't have that ability. Probably not my grandfather either. If Grandpa had co back, he would have awakened long ago. At that ti, the only expert by my side was..."

An image of a woman flashed through his mind.

"Stone Ji Your Ladyship! Could it be that Stone Ji repaid for nurturing her by drawing those four new talismans?"

Pengju looked at him pleadingly. "Can you teach ?"

Chen Shi smiled. "Of course I can. But I can't stay long in the underworld. Before long, soone will perform a soul-summoning to bring back to life."

Pengju looked a bit skeptical.

Chen Shi was very confident.

In the mortal world, Granny Sha, Du Yiran, Blue Goat, Hu Xiaoliang, and A Zhuo were frantically chasing after "Chen Shi." The "Chen Shi" was a demon, cunning and elusive. Whenever it noticed them closing in, it imdiately dispersed its multi-ard form, blended into the crowd, hid itself, and took the opportunity to escape.

Granny Sha and the others were tearing their hair out. No matter how many tricks the five of them had, catching a demon that was deliberately trying to escape was incredibly difficult.

He was in his Primordial Spirit form, over two zhang tall. His hair floated toward the sky, as if underwater, an incredibly strange and wondrous sight.

Granny Sha was sowhat exasperated. "We need to find Little Ten's physical body first! What good is summoning his Primordial Spirit back without his body? Black Pot, can you sll Little Ten's scent?"

They had chased for over ten thousand li and arrived at Ox City. "Chen Shi" blended into the bustling market. Black Pot pressed his nose to the ground, sniffing wildly as he searched for "Chen Shi's" scent.

Suddenly, Black Pot sneezed several tis in a row, tears streaming down his face.

Blue Goat crouched down and sniffed the ground too, sneezing as well. He fud, "Old Demon Chen sprinkled pepper powder on the ground!"

Just then, a white-clad figure caught their eye.

Granny Sha's eyes lit up, and she laughed. "Little Ten's sweetheart! Follow her! Young lady, where's your little lover?"

The white-robed fairy saw them and blushed with shyness. She slipped into the back of an old woman who was buying tea eggs.

A small temple involuntarily appeared behind the old woman's head. Seeing Granny Sha and the others rushing toward her, she quickly revealed her true form and fled for her life!

Chen Shi spent two days in the underworld's Yinshan teaching Pengju the Blood Lake True Scripture, but Granny Sha still hadn't perford the soul-summoning.

"He still doesn't know... he's already completely dead."

Pengju sighed inwardly and said, "Chen Shi, if you have nowhere to go, why not co with ? I'm a ssenger for the Eastern Palace."

—Thank you to the two alliance leaders, Divine Fla Maple and Moonlight lody, for your generous support through tips and rewards.