Chapter 191
Chapter 191
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 191
Chapter Title: The Eight Extremes Golden Palace Lifespan Limit
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Chen Shi had always thought that Lady Shi Ji was a deity from the Divine Continent of华夏.
But Lady Shi Ji had borrowed his body to display her demonic might, making him realize that the first god residing in his little shrine was actually a demon!
He had agreed to help a demon reconstruct her true body!
He had just escaped the wolf's den, only to enter the tiger's lair!
"
Upper Envoy, do not have too much contact with her, lest she sees that my body is incomplete. That little harlot will surely stir up trouble.
"
Lady Shi Ji whispered.
Chen Shi rallied his spirits and laughed.
"Senior Uncle Ying, where are you all headed?
"
Ying Rumei did not dare not answer.
"Wandering the mortal world to cultivate and seeking places thick with demonic qi.
"
Chen Shi let out a breath of relief.
"I'm out to exorcise evils and spirits. Looks like we're not headed the same way. I won't see you off then.
"
Ying Rumei also secretly breathed a sigh of relief, thinking to herself:
"So when he said he'd see me off, he meant send me on my way... literally.
I thought he was going to kill me.
"
She deeply felt the perils of the human world. Before she fully matured, she absolutely could not act recklessly. Thus, she bid farewell and took her leave.
Monk Wuchen bowed.
"Benefactor Chen, farewell!
"
With that, he hurriedly followed after her.
Chen Shi watched them depart into the distance and finally set down his suspended heart. But immediately after, his heart was suspended once more.
Ying Rumei had left, but Lady Shi Ji was still there—and he still had to help her reconstruct her true body!
Tigers eat people, and then ghosts gather around the tiger, killing others to find substitutes so they can more easily enter the underworld to reincarnate. That's why it's called "making oxtail for the tiger."
Am I making oxtail for the tiger right now?
Just as this thought crossed his mind, he suddenly felt his true qi circulating with unprecedented smoothness. His golden core also spun with a flexibility and ease like never before. He was astonished in his heart.
After Lady Shi Ji awakened, nourishing his qi, refining his qi, and tempering his golden core all became easier than ever before. Especially with her qi pulling it along, the golden core tempered his heart, liver, spleen, lungs, and kidneys, along with the elixir chamber, qi apertures, essence hall, and spirit chamber. This accelerated his seven returns, eight transformations, and nine restorations!
Faster than ever before!
Chen Shi tried channeling the Three Lights Righteous Qi Art. He felt the sun, moon, and stars of the little shrine surging toward him like tidal waves—vast and boundless. The three heavenly lights transformed into the righteous qi of heaven and earth, pouring into his body and tempered by the golden core before feeding back into his flesh!
In just a short moment, the gains surpassed an entire day of his hard cultivation!
It wouldn't be long before he could catch up to Li Tianqing!
In other words, Lady Shi Ji as this "Divine Embryo"
was far superior to the Purple Jade Divine Embryo!
"
I wonder if it can compare to the Innate Dao Embryo?
"
Chen Shi thought to himself.
With Lady Shi Ji as the Divine Embryo, his cultivation speed was this fast. One could only imagine the speed of an Innate Dao Embryo. What level would it reach after ten years of uninterrupted hard cultivation?
"
I still have another Divine Shrine. If I could get that witch into the shrine to cultivate too, could I surpass even the Innate Dao Embryo?
"
He mused inwardly.
Unfortunately, if Ying Rumei entered the shrine, she would detect that Lady Shi Ji was outwardly strong but inwardly weak. At that point, Chen Shi would be in danger.
"
Upper Envoy, your aptitude is not bad!
"
Lady Shi Ji praised.
"The righteous method you cultivate comes from the Upper Clarity Heavenly Heart Righteous Method, known as the Jade Emperor's Heart Technique. It's an excellent path for immortal cultivation.
Paired with the Great Transformation Divine Method, it can turn you into a god, with immense combat prowess!
"
Chen Shi suppressed his thoughts about the Innate Dao Embryo and shook his head.
"In the Three Lights Righteous Qi Art I obtained, there is no Transformation Divine Method.
"
Lady Shi Ji was stunned.
"No Transformation Divine Method is fine too. The Three Lights Righteous Qi Art has the Divine Fire Canopy and the Heavenly Net methods—capable of capturing gods up close and ghosts from afar. Extremely powerful.
"
Chen Shi shook his head.
"No, that either.
"
Lady Shi Ji fell silent for a moment.
"What about the Supreme True Great Curse for refining demons?
"
"No.
"
"What about the Five Emperors Method for commanding the various gods?
"
No, that either.
Chen Shi realized that the Three Lights Righteous Qi Art he had obtained was incomplete. It lacked spells, the Transformation Divine Method and other combat techniques, methods for refining and commanding generals, and even spirit descent methods. It was sorely lacking.
No wonder. The Three Lights Righteous Qi Art was inscribed on a stele outside the Tomb of the True King. The stele was only so big, so it could only hold so much—thus only the core circulation method was engraved, while the other methods were omitted.
Lady Shi Ji fell silent for a moment.
"Upper Envoy, allow me one more impertinence!
"
With that, she took control of Chen Shi's body again, sensing heaven and responding to earth. After a moment, she returned the body to him.
"This world's heaven and earth are incomplete, severed from the Divine Continent of华夏. Even if you had methods for commanding generals and troops, you couldn't summon them here.
Their absence is no great loss.
It's just a pity that such a fine supreme method is incomplete.
"
Chen Shi's mind shook. The techniques from the Tomb of the True King were already among the rarest in the world. He had attended gatherings of scattered cultivators and knew their methods well—they paled in comparison to those from the Tomb of the True King.
If even the Tomb of the True King's techniques were incomplete, one could imagine the state of those circulating in the wider world!
"It's strange. When I first arrived in this world, it wasn't collapsed to this degree. Why, after these years, has it become so unbearable?
"
Lady Shi Ji murmured.
Chen Shi's expression turned solemn.
"Shi Ji, from now on, if you want to possess my body, you must tell me in advance and get my agreement first. If I don't agree, you cannot act on your own! Understand?
"
Lady Shi Ji hurriedly smiled.
"Understood! Understood! I overstepped just now—please forgive me, Upper Envoy.
"
Chen Shi quietly breathed a sigh of relief. If Lady Shi Ji acted recklessly, he truly might not be able to resist.
"
What did you mean earlier by the world's collapse?
"
Chen Shi sat in the carriage, letting Blackie Pot pull the cart wherever.
Lady Shi Ji said:
"When I first landed in West Ox New Continent, I noticed this world's heaven and earth were incomplete. There are no true sun and moon—only the eyes of those big things from beyond the sky masquerading as such, harboring strange powers.
Without proper sun and moon, there are no four seasons.
Without the cycle of seasons, there are no twenty-four solar terms.
The common folk's farming, forestry, animal husbandry, and fishing all differ from those in the Divine Continent of华夏, forced to rely on those big things from beyond the sky.
"
She saw deeply.
"At such times, human effort is futile. The people's daily farming, catches, three meals a day—even their lives and fortunes—all hang on those big things from beyond the sky.
In the Divine Continent of华夏, cultivators can battle natural disasters to harvest crops, command heavenly troops and generals to protect the people and guard the land and waters.
But in West Ox New Continent, all that is in vain. Against those big things from beyond the sky, man conquering heaven is mere talk.
That's why I say this world's heaven and earth have collapsed.
"
Chen Shi pondered.
"
Now, those big things from beyond the sky have undergone a change.
"
Lady Shi Ji seemed to sense something.
"It's accelerating the collapse, strengthening the powers of evil spirits.
"
He looked up at the sky and murmured:
"Accelerating the collapse, huh? Xijing must have noticed this collapse too. I wonder what countermeasures they have?
"
On his return from Gongzhou, his cultivation had broken through from the third turn of the golden core to the fifth, and he had mastered the Two Elders of Cold Migration's Thousand-Li Flying Sword technique. His strength had surged.
Moreover, enfeoffing gods in Gongzhou had lit up the entire Gongzhou Province on the Mountains and Rivers Geography Chart, allowing him to mobilize the divine powers of the province—a new layer of assurance.
He thought himself much stronger, but with nightfall coming earlier again, plus Lady Shi Ji's talk of accelerating collapse, he urgently wanted to boost his cultivation and strength.
Chen Shi asked:
"Niangniang, do you know what happened at the end of the True King Era that caused it to end?
"
Lady Shi Ji said:
"I do not.
When I landed in West Ox New Continent, I found the world's collapse and was overjoyed, so I became an evil spirit.
I thought I could compete with the local bumpkin spirits, quickly recover to my peak, even surpass it.
Then return to the Divine Continent of华夏 to get revenge on that master-disciple pair.
But no sooner had I become an evil spirit than I was captured by cultivators under the True King and suppressed.
"
Tears welled in her eyes.
"Later, I was taken out and placed in a ship,
they said to return to the Divine Continent of华夏.
I had only just become an evil spirit, hadn't even had time to rampage, and now I was to return to the continent...
"
Chen Shi comforted Lady Shi Ji until she stopped crying. He smiled.
"Niangniang, your thinking was wrong from the start.
You're a deity of the Divine Continent of华夏—how could you come to West Ox New Continent to become an evil spirit? You should have joined the local cultivators, helping them eradicate evil spirits and pacify demons, calamities, and misfortunes.
Absorbing the power of evil spirits to restore your true body would be effortless, and you'd earn a fine reputation to boot.
"
Lady Shi Ji fell silent for a moment, then said wistfully:
"To be honest, I did consider it. But my reputation isn't great.
Becoming an evil spirit was a last resort.
"
Chen Shi fell silent.
Just how notorious was this "Divine Embryo" of his that she had to come to West Ox New Continent to become an evil spirit?
From how she was captured right after becoming one, her reputation must be terrible.
Would people call him a little demon head for using her as a Divine Embryo?
But cultivating with Lady Shi Ji as the Divine Embryo boosted him so quickly, tempering his golden core better. He was reluctant to give it up.
And he had no way to give it up anyway.
Lady Shi Ji was a vast god after all, a demon god despite her incompleteness.
If he made her unhappy, she might turn him to stone and chew him like sugarcane.
"
Niangniang, do you have a complete cultivation method?
"
Chen Shi asked.
"
I do.
"
Lady Shi Ji understood his intent.
"But I'm a yao demon, and my immortal path doesn't align with you humans.
My method requires refining humans into bones, using white bones as nourishment and fodder for petrification essence.
Thus, my sacred mountain is called Skeleton Mountain, and my cave abode and dojo is the White Bone Cave.
"
Chen Shi thought that her being suppressed right after coming ashore didn't seem so unjust after all.
"Later, that master-disciple pair killed me, and I took the divine path, sealed as the Star Lord of the Moon's Wanderings.
"
Lady Shi Ji sighed, seemingly lamenting her fate. Composing herself, she said:
"Whether my immortal cultivation method or divine cultivation method, neither suits you, Upper Envoy.
"
Chen Shi's heart stirred. Though the True King had sailed away from the Tomb of the True King, the tomb remained. Outside it stood countless steles inscribed with various methods. He didn't know which were powerful, but Lady Shi Ji surely did!
Returning to Huangpo Village, Chen Shi headed straight for the Tomb of the True King.
As he entered the tomb's territory, the divine beast statues outside began emanating boundless terror, warping the surrounding heaven, earth, time, and space.
Lady Shi Ji was awed inwardly:
"Worthily the Upper Envoy—even these powerful beings guarding the tomb outside bow to him. The moment he arrives, they manifest to welcome him.
I could never command such respect.
"
The sheep-horned, human-bodied tomb guardian beast had intended to lead the others in welcoming Chen Shi. But seeing a massive woman's head poking around curiously from within Chen Shi's little shrine, it hesitated.
"
Isn't that Lady Shi Ji? How did this evil god get out?
"
It was puzzled inwardly, but with Lady Shi Ji's head now in Chen Shi's shrine, it wasn't in a position to inquire.
"
What brings the Holy Envoy here with Lady Shi Ji?
"
It wondered.
Chen Shi sped along until he reached the stele forest, where stele after stele came into view.
Chen Shi said rapidly:
"Niangniang, help me see which method is the best! Let's hurry!
"
Lady Shi Ji was puzzled as to why the rush—in her eyes, these tomb guardians were utterly deferential to Chen Shi, no need for such haste.
"
The Upper Envoy must be urgently seeking a suitable method.
"
Lady Shi Ji browsed. The various methods on the steles were ingenious but no better than the Three Lights Righteous Qi Art, and most were incomplete—some had methods but no spells, some spells but no methods, some transformation divine methods, others only altar construction.
"
This stele holds the Eight Extremes Golden Palace Divine Chapter, with golden core and nascent soul methods—perfect for you now!
"
Lady Shi Ji said.
"The Eight Extremes Golden Palace Divine Chapter: In ten months, refine the golden core to the ninth turn, transform elixir to embryo, forge the infant.
You're already at the fifth turn. In another four months, you'll surely form your nascent soul!
"
...Righteous qi surges, and the divine opens naturally.
Chen Shi looked and saw the stele read: With spirit upon matter, ten months'功.
Ten months complete, sacred embryo formed; enter and exit without hindrance, free to roam.
(Excerpted from the Great Clarity Golden Palace Jade Florescence Immortal Scripture, Eight Extremes Divine Chapter, Three Sovereigns Inner Secret Text, Sacred Embryo Chapter, Article Six)
It also said: When yang number is full, nourish the sacred embryo; essence's initial spirit opens hand and foot.
From nine to nine in refinement, behold the nine; one body divides into several.
"
This righteous qi perfectly connects to the Three Lights Righteous Qi Art's golden core essentials!
The sacred embryo and body beyond the body therein are precisely the nascent soul.
The Three Lights Righteous Qi Art reaches the golden core realm, but subsequent methods are somewhat lacking—precisely continued by the Eight Extremes Golden Palace Divine Chapter.
He swiftly memorized the Eight Extremes Golden Palace Divine Chapter, then turned and dashed away, whistling out of the Tomb of the True King.
The tomb guardian beasts bowed in farewell.
Chen Shi breathed a sigh of relief. Back home, he immediately transcribed the Eight Extremes Golden Palace Divine Chapter from memory and studied it repeatedly.
"
The Eight Extremes Golden Palace Divine Chapter is the golden core and nascent soul methods from the Great Clarity Righteous Qi Art.
"
Lady Shi Ji said.
"Once accomplished, it grants a lifespan of a thousand years.
"
Chen Shi, deep in study, was stunned and hurriedly asked:
"A lifespan of how much?
"
"A thousand years.
"
Lady Shi Ji said.
"Impossible!
"
Chen Shi declared firmly.
"Absolutely impossible! Cultivators living to a hundred is already remarkable. Just forming a nascent soul—how could that grant a thousand years?
"
Lady Shi Ji laughed.
"If you don't believe me, cultivate the Eight Extremes Golden Palace Divine Chapter and see.
With minor accomplishment, you'll know your lifespan yourself.
"
Chen Shi was dubious but studied the Eight Extremes Golden Palace Divine Chapter thoroughly before beginning cultivation.
With Lady Shi Ji as his Divine Embryo, a few days later, he achieved minor accomplishment. On this day, Chen Shi suddenly had a realization and sensed his lifespan's limit.
Four hundred eighty-seven years hence, the golden core would shatter, and he would perish of old age.
Chen Shi was stunned.
End of chapter.