"Automatically entering a state of guarded awareness?" Stone Ji Your Ladyship was taken aback.
Chen Shi's skeletal body's current condition was called guarded awareness, also called a single- thought of guarded awareness, aning a thread of consciousness was left behind to guard the body.
This technique is often used in cultivation.
For example, guarding the dantian, guarding the brow, and so on—turning intention into a single thought to remain stationed at a specific place to refine Qi.
So cultivators, when their primordial spirit leaves the body to roam the world, must leave behind a single thought to guard themselves, lest the primordial spirit gets lost in the heavens and earth and cannot find its way back.
Chen Shi's guarded awareness was clearly an unconscious residue: a single thought left to guard the body.
Stone Ji Your Ladyship observed Chen Shi's skeletal form and noticed this skeleton was so used to cultivation it actually rested, and at night, under the care of the broad-shouldered palace maids, soaked in the lava pool with arms pleasantly spread.
After bathing, it would drape itself in a fur cloak, put on a crown, and walk the palace with all the proper airs.
It did not remain confined to the palace, it also went out to wander, only not speaking or interacting.
Stone Ji Your Ladyship watched Chen Shi's skeleton pacing before her and sighed inwardly, "This envoy's body looks deliciously appealing, a pity I cannot absorb it."
She had co out on rare business, and she looked toward the giant bronze coin in the Eastern Palace, thinking, "The coin remains. Where is the deity who commands the coin? Even soone as mighty as you has fallen? No, impossible."
She drifted up and flew out of the palace, landing in the coin's central hole.
Stone Ji Your Ladyship lightly touched the coin and carefully sensed its aura. This treasure was extraordinary, long tempered by rituals and inheriting incense offerings from across the world; its owner would most likely have left traces of their essence within it.
She probed the coin with divine perception and could only find nurous scattered extraordinary powers and many shattered lingering remnants of thought, nothing else.
"These remnants might be Brother Zhao's final consciousness."
Stone Ji Your Ladyship sighed, lancholy in her heart.
At that mont, the palace trembled with a surge of divine ability. Stone Ji Your Ladyship stiffened, shot into the air, and flew to hover above the palace!
From below ca a shout inside the palace: "Kill the foolish sovereign!"
Chaos erupted beneath, dozens of ghost-gods crashed into the palace, clashing with guards, charging toward the royal hall where Chen Shi stood.
Those ghost-gods clearly did not know the primordial spirit had already departed. At this mont, the skeleton housed only Chen Shi's single thought; even if they killed Chen Shi's skeleton, they would only destroy the skeletal body and cause no harm to him.
Stone Ji Your Ladyship noticed many ghost-gods had already broken into the royal hall and hurried toward it, thinking, "If the envoy entrusted the safety of this body to and I fail, won't my status be lowered again?"
"Proclaim the crown prince! Restore the court's order!" one ghost-god cried.
As Stone Ji Your Ladyship surged into the royal hall, a flash of bloodlight appeared inside. Chen Shi's skeleton moved like a specter, weaving through the ghost-gods before abruptly stopping.
The dozen or so ghost-gods in the hall froze, then their flesh rapidly shriveled, each turning into a desiccated corpse.
Ahead of him, a ghost-god general roared, his body swelling rapidly to reveal a true form dozens of zhang tall, radiating blazing fury. He threw a punch; before the flas touched Chen Shi, they exploded and expanded!
This was an unusual fla divine ability—bloodline power, with extrely high temperature; contact caused explosion, its destructive force terrifying.
The blood-lake hell at the back of Chen Shi's skeletal head whirred into a frenzy as he raised his hand to et the blow.
That ghost-god general belonged to the Fire Qiao clan, hulking in stature, yet his skeletal form appeared thin and frail. At the mont their fists collided, roaring flas engulfed Chen Shi's skeleton, scorching his bones a bright red so they glowed, yet astonishingly did not reduce him to ashes!
Simultaneously, another ghost-god burst out from the other side of the hall and raised his hand. A colossal torrent of water slamd toward Chen Shi's skeleton; where water and fire t, even the sturdiest magical treasures would shatter from the swap of scalding heat and chilling cold.
Chen Shi's skeleton still stood firm. The blood-lake hell's divine power unleashed; before the fire Qiao could recover, it spat blood and was blasted backward by a trendous force. Midflight, the hands of the blood-lake hell reached out from behind Chen Shi's head, grabbing the fire Qiao's face and lifting him, dragging him into the blood-lake hell!
The fire Qiao panicked and struggled mightily but was dragged in by the ghastly hands.
Chen Shi's skeleton turned his head and looked at the water Qiao.
The water Qiao realized the danger and fled. His steps beca a rushing river; waves carried his body as he howled away, bursting out of the palace.
Chen Shi's skeleton stomped hard, and the blood-lake hell at the back of his head flattened out. In an instant, centered on the royal hall, a radius of sixteen li all transford into his blood-lake hell!
The water Qiao, blown into the blood-lake hell, struggled in vain, feeling his blood rapidly drained. In a blink he beca a bleached skeleton sinking into the blood-lake, leaving behind only a wronged spirit thrashing within.
"Shua—"
The blood-lake hell rose upright into the air, rapidly shrinking into a pool about a foot across, hanging behind Chen Shi's skull.
On the ground, the dozens of ghost-gods that had stord the palace had beco dried corpses.
The other guards stood there bewildered, each in stunned uncertainty.
Stone Ji Your Ladyship was equally puzzled. She had intended to intervene, but seeing Chen Shi's skeletal moves, she realized she need not step in.
Yet this was only a skeleton body, refined to such horrific effectiveness!
What struck Stone Ji Your Ladyship as most incredible was the single thought of awareness Chen Shi left behind—its combat instinct was terrifying!
"Perhaps the envoy himself did not notice that this single thought retained combat instincts which could make the skeleton function so fiercely!"
Chen Shi's skeleton sat cross-legged, activating the Blood Lake Sutra to refine the blood aura just seized, reinforcing and expanding the blood-lake hell.
Stone Ji Your Ladyship protected him, thinking, "Those attacking now must be ghost-gods who covet the throne but dare not co personally, so they bribed a batch of ghost-gods to break into the palace. These fools probably saw leave the palace and took the chance to try to eliminate the envoy."
To do this under the noses of the major ghost-clan chiefs proved only how corrupt with ambition they were.
In the days that followed, Chen Shi's skeleton carried on as before: cultivation, bathing, sleeping, then cultivation again, bathing again, sleeping again.
Occasional assassination attempts still occurred, but before Stone Ji Your Ladyship could act, Chen Shi's skeleton personally cut down the ghost-god assassins!
Only then did the Heavenly Pool Kingdom co to realize that their sovereign appeared weak but in fact was exceedingly formidable.
One day, Chen Shi's skeletal body refined all the divine blood it carried, then walked out of the palace, left the capital of the Heavenly Pool Kingdom, and headed toward Boundless Cliff.
Stone Ji Your Ladyship followed closely, wary of ambush.
Within the capital they could not risk deploying hundred-zhang or thousand-zhang ghost-gods to assassinate the sovereign, but beyond the city limits, such taboos did not apply.
Stone Ji Your Ladyship trailed Chen Shi all the way. Along the road they indeed encountered a thousand-zhang ghost-god who had awakened bloodline power, but after a brief clash with her, it retreated, unwilling to attack Chen Shi.
Chen Shi's skeleton arrived at the Blood Creek, cautiously collected divine blood as Chen Shi would, then returned to the Heavenly Pool capital to continue training.
Stone Ji Your Ladyship widened her eyes. Could a single thought achieve such feats?
In Huangpo Village's Chen residence, Chen Shi's mother Wu Qingyu wore a face like frozen iron, glaring at Chen Tang with rage.
Chen Tang stood by the wall, holding a box, head bowed, avoiding her gaze.
Black Pot tucked his tail and stood beside him with lowered head.
Blue Goat whistled and looked around nervously.
Fox Clan Chief Xiaoliang sat on the wall with a heavy sigh.
Granny Sha, disheveled and dusty, held her son Xiang Tianyu by one hand and her disciple Little Dingxiang by the other, her face full of smiles.
A Zhuo sat, honest and straightforward, on the doorstep.
"Dear niece, this matter can't entirely be blad on Little Tang..." Du Yiran cleared his throat and was about to speak when Wu Qingyu swept him a cold glare; Du Yiran fell silent like a frightened bird and did not plead for Chen Tang.
They had gone to the underworld to exorcise demons for Chen Shi. Chen Tang had made ticulous preparations but still suffered a mishap.
Earlier they had successfully extracted over sixty demons and sealed them in the Spirit-Searching Bag, all without incident. Chen Tang's arrangents were indeed clever—exorcism had been easy and effortless. Even when encountering surprisingly powerful demons, they could suppress them.
However, they also found that the later demons were increasingly stronger.
When the sixty-fourth demon possessed soone, its demonic domain had already expanded over four hundred li. Even with Chen Tang's many experts brought along, it was difficult to confine that demon's domain.
Chen Tang reluctantly used Tianji to suppress it, at which point Granny Sha blasted the demonic soul from Chen Shi's body, and Black Pot bit down to seal it.
But at the sixty-fifth demon, Chen Tang's setup finally revealed a flaw.
This demon was more terrifying. While Chen Tang used the Talisman God Tianji to subdue it, the demon seized the chance to possess the Tianji itself.
It severed itself from Chen Shi's body, and imdiately another demon occupied Chen Shi's corpse, slipping away in the chaos!
Chen Tang and the others fought a desperate battle with the talisman demon. After a great struggle they suppressed it, then searched for "Chen Shi" for days before finally locating him; another fierce battle ensued before they captured him.
They returned Chen Shi's body to Huangpo Village, which led to Wu Qingyu lecturing her husband.
"You nearly caused several uncles to lose their lives!" Wu Qingyu scolded. "You almost lost Little Ten too! Didn't you say it was foolproof?"
Chen Tang replied, "I did not anticipate two demons appearing simultaneously. That was my error."
Wu Qingyu softened her tone and said, "Two demons—one possessed the Talisman God Tianji, another occupied Little Ten's flesh. Is it possible for multiple demons to inhabit Little Ten's body at once?"
Chen Tang said, "If the sea of consciousness is dried up, the abyss appears. If the sea of consciousness remains, the abyss is sealed. When a demon occupies Little Ten's flesh, the sea of consciousness will surge and the abyss will close, so multiple demons occupying one body should not occur."
Wu Qingyu responded, "You're describing a demon crawling out of the abyss alone. But what if two or three demons crawled out at the sa ti?"
Chen Tang shook his head, "I've consulted the court chronicles on demonic transformations; there has never been a recorded case of two demons occupying one body."
Wu Qingyu shook her head, "The demons inside them are not as nurous as those inside Little Ten."
Chen Tang pondered briefly, then his expression turned grave: "Mistress's reprimand is deserved. Granny Sha, please summon back Little Ten's primordial spirit. We must plan long-term."
Granny Sha perford the ritual and called Chen Shi's primordial spirit back.
Chen Shi stirred awake faintly and saw Granny Sha, Du Yiran and the others discussing strategy with Chen Tang and Black Pot in the courtyard, heatedly debating how to deal with twin or triple-born demons.
"I'm awake!"
Chen Shi asked, "Have the demons in my body all been drawn out?"
"Mm-mm."
They answered evasively, "Awake? That's good."
Chen Shi suspiciously said, "Father, did you not pull all the demons from my body again? Did another mistake occur?"
Chen Tang's face remained calm: "Only a tiny slip. But we found the root cause; next ti it won't fail."
They continued to discuss counterasures, leaving Chen Shi aside.
Wu Qingyu brought steaming hot food to the table, smiling, "Let them talk. They've fussed over you for days and you haven't eaten a grain—eat more now."
Chen Shi sat and devoured the al.
He had eaten nothing in the underworld and had been chased around in the mortal world; his stomach had long since been empty.
Wu Qingyu watched him eat with a smile and said, "Eat slowly. There's more in the pot."
Chen Shi stared at her, and Wu Qingyu glanced at herself in puzzlent and smiled, "What's wrong?"
Chen Shi swallowed hard, lowered his head, and said, "When I was little and saw soone else's family, I always dread of having this mont, parents at my side. Now it's real and I feel so happy, but I'm afraid it's fake, that I'm dreaming and you'll be gone when I wake."
Wu Qingyu reached out to ruffle his hair and smiled, "Our family is reunited now, and from now on we'll never be apart again."
Chen Shi shovelled rice into his mouth and said in a muffled voice, "We still need to get Grandpa back! I'm confident I can refine the demonic qi from Grandpa's body!"
Wu Qingyu smiled, "Yes, we must get your grandfather back!"
Chen Shi hesitated and then quietly said, "Mother, I'll tell you a secret. In the underworld, I beca the sovereign of the Heavenly Pool ghost kingdom. Do you believe ?"
Wu Qingyu's eyes flickered and she laughed, "I believe you, of course I believe you."
Chen Shi scratched his head, "It's so absurd you'd actually believe it."
Wu Qingyu burst into a soft laugh, "I've seen more absurd things happen to you. If you beca sovereign of a ghost kingdom, that's nothing—I can believe it."
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