"The Fu Bird clan mbers' bodies are still warm, they must have died not long ago. The murderer hasn't gone far."
Chen Shi was about to step forward when he suddenly stopped, hesitated for a mont, then still activated his magic power to sweep up so divine blood and radiant light, storing them in the small temple.
Behind his head, the blood pool roared as it spun, doing its utmost to digest the power brought by the divine blood and radiant light!
Chen Shi commanded the lightning, soared into the air, vaulted over Boundless Cliff, and stood in the sky, looking around.
He stood in midair, scanning his surroundings, but didn't find the killer's figure. Turning his head, there were no ghost gods in the air either.
Above Boundless Cliff were still large and small mountains, but they were in a different climate from the rest of the Dark Mountains. Here, the peaks had much more vegetation, lush and green, blanketing the slopes.
On the mountain path, there were many skeleton imps just like him. Seeing him floating in the air, they imdiately called out, "Co down! Co down quickly!"
Chen Shi descended. He noticed that these skeleton imps were still wearing clothes, which were embroidered with countless fine talisman patterns using gold and silver threads—specifically talismans to refine yin energy. They were quite exquisite.
"You are... human cultivators? You're still alive?" Chen Shi asked in surprise.
This was the underworld, the Dark Mountains. Chen Shi frequented the underworld and even he found this place hard to discover. How could there be human cultivators here?
The leading skeleton imp made an old, hoarse voice. It was clearly an elderly man. "We are currently in a state of suspended death, entering the underworld to gather herbs. Are you not a disciple of the dicine King Sect?"
He studied the blood pool behind Chen Shi's head, quite surprised.
Just now, when they saw Chen Shi flying into the sky, they had thought he was a dicine King Sect disciple collecting dicinal herbs. But seeing the blood pool behind his head, it was obvious that the cultivation technique he practiced wasn't orthodox. Besides, judging by his voice, which still carried a youthful tone and had just started to change, he couldn't be very old.
"The dicine King Sect?"
Chen Shi inquired, "So you venerate Sun Simiao, the dicine King, as your founding patriarch."
The old man was startled. "You know our founding patriarch's na?"
Chen Shi said, "On Qianyang Mountain, there is an ancestral temple dedicated to your patriarch in the Western Ox New Continent. Your patriarch and I are fairly well-acquainted."
Several skeleton imps beca extrely excited. The old man's voice trembled. "Is there really an ancestral temple on Qianyang Mountain? Heaven have rcy, we've finally found our patriarch! You're not lying to us, are you?"
"Why would I lie to you?"
Chen Shi shook his head. "Your patriarch's primordial spirit had extinguished, and I was the one who awakened him. Now he serves as the mountain god of Qianyang Mountain."
The old man quickly knelt and begged, "I, Tong Qianshou, the current sect master of the dicine King Sect, beg the senior to take us to et the patriarch!"
Chen Shi helped him up and said, "My na is Chen Shi, I'm only twelve this year—not a senior. You can call Top Scholar Chen. I still have things to do. I need to go after so ghost gods. Have you seen any ghost gods pass by nearby? They should be wearing armor."
The Fu Bird village had many ghost god corpses, all wearing armor, which should have been standard-issue. The reason he called them ghost gods was that he also found many Little Yaksha corpses, so of them still holding incense in their hands.
The dicine King Sect disciples clearly didn't care who the top scholar was, which disappointed Chen Shi slightly.
dicine King Sect Master Tong Qianshou said, "A group of ghost gods did pass by in a hurry just now, heading toward the Heavenly Pool capital city."
A dicine King Sect skeleton made a woman's voice. "Those ghost gods were wearing armor, with little imps burning incense on their heads. Oh, and one of the ghost gods was carrying a pole with a birdcage hanging from it. Inside the cage was a Fu Bird."
She had observed very carefully and continued, "That Fu Bird should be a young girl, very well-grood. They went that way!"
Chen Shi said, "They're the ones I'm looking for!"
He stepped onto his lightning, about to fly up, when Tong Qianshou quickly said, "Top Scholar Chen, you must not fly! This place is extrely dangerous! You can only travel on foot!"
Chen Shi asked, "Why can't I fly?"
Tong Qianshou said, "There are demons lurking among the mountains. These demons are strange lifeforms born from the condensation of evil energy between heaven and earth. They are formless yet tangible, lying in wait to harm people. If you fly overhead, the demons will chase you, attach themselves to your body, and seize it. If Top Scholar Chen wants to chase those ghost gods, I'll lead the way."
Chen Shi thanked him.
The dicine King Sect woman said, "Sect Master, I'm familiar with the geography around here. I'll go with you, so we can look out for each other."
Tong Qianshou hadn't observed very carefully himself and was also worried about losing track. "It's good that you're coming along."
The woman said, "Top Scholar Chen, my na is Sang Xixi. I'm an officer of the dicine King Sect."
Chen Shi nodded. "Let's hurry."
Tong Qianshou quickly instructed the other skeletons, "You all go back first. Officer Sang and I will help guide the top scholar first!"
Those skeletons acknowledged.
Sang Xixi ran at full speed, clouds forming beneath her feet and wind rising from her sleeves, as if she were riding the wind, moving extrely fast. She looked back and saw Chen Shi steadily following behind her, keeping pace with Tong Qianshou. She thought to herself, "This Master Top Scholar's cultivation and strength must not be weak."
She could tell that Chen Shi was not very old, probably just a youth, but judging by his running speed, his cultivation was in no way inferior to hers.
Chen Shi inquired, "Sect Master Tong, what dicine are you gathering in the underworld?"
Tong Qianshou said, "Yin Dust Flower. That kind of flower!"
He pointed to a hillside. On the slope, many green plants were stealthily extending long tentacles. At the end of these tentacles were flower buds the size of water vats. Inside the buds, stans stretched out, each stan tip growing a pair of eyeballs, staring at them.
"This flower only exists in the underworld. It's a kind of vine, and its blossom is a precious dicinal ingredient. It can extend a person's lifespan and can also be used to refine treasures."
Tong Qianshou said, "After we pick them, we send them to the dicine King Sect, where our sect's alchemists can refine them into dicinal pills for extending life. We sell them at a good price to support our families."
Chen Shi asked, "I've heard that only after a cultivator dies can their primordial spirit co here, attaching itself to a skeleton. What thod did you use to co here?"
Tong Qianshou laughed. "We are the dicine King Sect, so naturally we understand all kinds of dicinal properties well. Before coming to the underworld, we take dicine that puts us into a suspended death state and climb into coffins. The underworld officers will then pull away our primordial spirits. When the dicine's effect wears off, we co back to life, and the officers, seeing that our lifespans are still intact, will try to send us back to the mortal world. At that point, we prepare plenty of spirit money to bribe the officers, allowing us to stay in the underworld. Then we can attach ourselves to skeletons and gather the Yin Dust Flowers."
This kind of sche required accomplices. After gathering so Yin Dust Flowers, an accomplice would summon their souls back, calling them back to the mortal world to prevent them from actually dying.
Tong Qianshou added, "But the Yin Dust Flowers are very strong. Sotis, instead of picking the flowers, we get picked by the flowers. Many of our sect mbers have been caught by the Yin Dust Flowers and buried under their roots as fertilizer."
He looked sowhat gloomy.
As the dicine King Sect Master, his disciples died gathering herbs, and he was powerless to do anything about it, which made him quite self-reproachful.
Tong Qianshou continued, "In the Dark Mountains, there are many ghost gods entrenched in the great mountains, ruling their own territories. We must avoid these places, or else we'll offend those ghost gods. Their strength is not inferior to existences in the Great Ascension Realm."
The strength of ghost gods varied greatly—so could even surpass the Great Ascension Realm, while others were only as strong as cultivators in the Spirit Transformation Realm.
For example, the Fu Bird tribe, upon reaching adulthood, grew to several zhang in height. If they had money, they could buy a Little Yaksha to burn incense for them daily, enabling them to beco ghost gods. But their strength was only a little stronger than cultivators in the Spirit Transformation Realm.
As for those ghost gods that were a thousand zhang tall, their strength was truly terrifying.
These were the ghost gods they needed to avoid.
However, this type of ghost god had their own territories, commanding countless ghost generals and imps. As long as you didn't invade their territory, they generally wouldn't bother skeleton imps like Chen Shi.
Chen Shi didn't know much about the Dark Mountains, so only now did he realize how dangerous it was for him to fly earlier.
"Top Scholar Chen, what business do you have with those ghost gods?" Tong Qianshou asked.
Chen Shi said, "I promised a ghost called Peng Ju that I would take care of his sister. His sister was taken by those ghosts, so I'm going to rescue her."
Tong Qianshou frowned slightly. "Among the ghost gods that just passed by, there was a three-headed ghost god. He's very strong. We might not be able to handle him..."
Suddenly, Sang Xixi slowed down and whispered, "They're up ahead!"
Chen Shi and Tong Qianshou also slowed down. Chen Shi looked ahead and saw that there were fewer mountain peaks. A series of large and irregular lakes ca into view.
These lakes were not far apart, each connected by waterways, forming a complex water system like a scattering of stars. And at the source of the water was a split in the sky, where a great flood poured down from above, cascading like flying jade and spilling jewels. From a distance, it looked like a silver river hanging in the sky.
On the shore of the lake closest to them, more than a dozen ghost gods in armor were hurrying along. They varied in height, the shortest being three or four zhang tall. Most of them had Little Yakshas on their bodies, burning incense and worshipping.
Chen Shi dispersed the blood pool spinning behind his head and quickly walked toward those ghost gods.
Tong Qianshou caught up with him and whispered, "Top Scholar Chen, do you see that ghost god whose two arms are two long sabers, hunched over? He's a ghost god of the Saber-Toothed tribe. His arms have been tempered thousands of tis, making them extrely formidable."
Chen Shi looked and indeed saw a strange ghost god, hunched over, with no nose or ears on its head—only a huge mouth. Its nostrils were on its back, like fist-sized holes, from which billowing green smoke erupted when it breathed.
"The one holding an axe is a ghost god of the Thunder Ape tribe. He can stand in the dark clouds and ambush people from above."
Tong Qianshou lowered his voice. "That big-bellied, headless ghost god—his face is actually on his belly in front, which you can't see from this angle. His ears are on either side of his buttocks. He's from the Big-Belly tribe, incredibly strong."
Chen Shi asked, "And the one with three heads?"
Tong Qianshou's voice turned solemn. "That's a famous combat race in the underworld, called the Azure Fiend tribe. Their combat power is astonishing. I've seen this Azure Fiend a few tis in the Heavenly Pool capital city. He once manifested sanctity, revealing a hundred-zhang ghost god form! Only cultivators in the Refining Spirit Realm, whose primordial spirits reach a hundred zhang, and who unify their primordial spirit and physical body, can achieve a hundred-zhang body! He's probably comparable to a Refining Spirit Realm powerhouse!"
Chen Shi shook his head. "Not quite. Without a cultivation technique, relying solely on bloodline power, his strength is at most the Three Corpses Realm."
Tong Qianshou hesitated for a mont, then said, "Top Scholar Chen, to be honest, I haven't severed the Three Corpses yet. I'm only in the Body Unification Realm, having unified my Divine Embryo, Primordial Spirit, and physical body. I'm afraid I won't be much help..."
For him to have cultivated to the Body Unification Realm was already extrely impressive. He was the strongest sect master in a thousand years. None of the previous sect masters could compare to him.
But the Body Unification Realm was one whole realm below the Three Corpses Realm, and the difference in strength was enormous. As for the higher Refining Spirit Realm, it was even further out of reach.
Sang Xixi said, "Sect Master, why not use our dicine King Sect's town-sect treasure?"
Tong Qianshou said, "You an?"
Sang Xixi said excitedly, "Blow them up with gunpowder!"
Tong Qianshou shook his head. "I didn't bring any..."
"I brought two hundred catties of gunpowder!" the skeleton woman said, even more excited, producing a dinsion pouch.
Tong Qianshou gritted his teeth. "Leave it to ! Benefactor, you take the opportunity to..."
Chen Shi said, "I need to get close to them."
"What?" Tong Qianshou was confused.
Chen Shi walked toward Bo Chi and the other ghost gods.
Tong Qianshou grabbed the dinsion pouch and said to Sang Xixi, "Xixi, you return to the dicine King Sect imdiately! If I don't co back, you will be the dicine King Sect Master!"
He hurried after Chen Shi, clutching the dinsion pouch tightly in his hand, his heart pounding with tension.
Bo Chi and the other ghost gods weren't walking fast. They chatted and laughed, and they also noticed the approaching skeleton imp but paid him no attention. There were many such skeleton imps in the Heavenly Pool capital city, very good at doing business and trading things they didn't need.
Chen Shi was only a few dozen paces away from Bo Chi and the other ghost gods when Tong Qianshou caught up from behind, quickly overtaking Chen Shi.
Just then, one of the ghost gods noticed the dinsion pouch in Tong Qianshou's hand and imdiately turned around, nocking an arrow and aiming at Tong Qianshou, shouting, "What are you carrying?"
Tong Qianshou quickly laughed. "dicine! dicine to supplent yin lifespan!"
He shook the dinsion pouch, smiling. "Gentlen ghost gods, I've refined so miraculous dicine to supplent yin lifespan. It's a hundred tis better than Shen Beast flesh and blood. Would any of you like so?"
"A hundred tis?"
Those ghost gods were tempted by his words and looked at the three-headed Azure Fiend. "Lord Bo Chi, what do you think..."
Bo Chi's gaze fell on Chen Shi, who was beside Tong Qianshou. "Let them co over."
A Saber-Toothed ghost called out, "Co over here!"
Tong Qianshou walked in front of Chen Shi, whispering, "Stay behind . Don't co too close."
His leg bones were trembling slightly as he calculated the distance between himself and Bo Chi. He thought, "A few more steps, and the gunpowder will blow us all to pieces."
Thirty paces.
At this distance, would two hundred catties of gunpowder, plus a Nine Yang Heaven Thunder talisman, be enough to kill Bo Chi?
He wasn't sure.
Tong Qianshou continued forward.
Twenty paces.
This distance should be enough to kill Bo Chi. But when he threw the dinsion pouch, as it flew through the air, Bo Chi would probably imdiately retreat, increasing the distance.
Tong Qianshou gritted his teeth and kept walking. He thought, "Ten more steps. Ten steps, and I will..."
The Saber-Toothed ghost asked suspiciously, "Little one, your legs are trembling... Stop! Stop right there!"
Tong Qianshou's body was shaking. Just as he was about to rush forward, Chen Shi's voice ca from behind him. "This distance is enough."
*Crack!*
Dazzling lightning exploded behind him. Chen Shi shot forward on rolling thunder, charging into the midst of the ten-odd ghost gods!
Behind his head, a blood pool surged forth, spinning with a roar. Blood-colored sword qi, crackling as it accompanied his sword fingers, flashed as it pierced through one massive ghost god after another, draining away all their blood energy and souls!
In an instant, the lightning was stained red, illuminating everything. The blood-colored sword qi, empowered by the blood energy of over a dozen ghost gods, surged in power, stabbing toward Bo Chi!
His speed was unbelievably fast. But Bo Chi, after all, was a ghost god with awakened high-tier bloodline. As the sword light ca at him, his body expanded, and he stepped back, thrusting his palm forward. Brilliant patterns flowed within his palm, interweaving to form a shield shape!
This was the ultimate defense of the Azure Fiend tribe, indestructible!
The Azure Fiend tribe was a combat race among ghost gods, renowned for their formidable battle prowess. As long as he could block Chen Shi's sword strike, he could use thunderous ans to blast Chen Shi to pieces!
Just as his palm touched this blood-colored sword qi, Chen Shi let out a furious shout. Above the blood pool behind his head, within the small temple, a drop of divine blood flew out and crashed into the blood pool!
*Boom!*
The violent divine blood, triggered by the Blood Lake Sutra, erupted with explosive divine power in an instant, causing the blood pool to surge wildly, nearly tearing Chen Shi's tiny skeleton body apart!
He poured all the power of that indigestible divine blood into this single blood-colored sword strike!
The sword light expanded!
Bo Chi's eyes widened. The shield patterns in his palm exploded with cracking sounds. A bloody sword light burst through the back of his hand.
Half of his palm flew off, withering in midair.
Chen Shi, riding lightning, appeared before him and grabbed the flying sword light.
He swung the sword!
The vast blood sword swept across his neck in a single, swift motion.
Chen Shi landed heavily, every bone in his body cracking and splitting with sharp sounds. At the sa ti, the blood pool behind his head rumbled, pulling the souls of those ten-odd ghost gods, along with Bo Chi's soul, all into the blood pool.
The Blood Lake Sutra entered its next stage: the Blood Lake Hell was ford!
—Here's the third chapter! Making up for the chapter I owed due to being sick the day before yesterday! The last month of 2024, begging for monthly votes!
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