Chapter 197
Chapter 197
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: [Number]
Chapter Title: Taboos and the Journey Ahead
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To master silver, one needed knowledge in that field.
He let out a sigh and continued staying in the city. Who knew when those several hundred thousand taels in banknotes might sprout wings and fly away?
"Grandpa lacked that kind of knowledge, which is why he ended up penniless.
I'm just afraid I'll take after him, unable to handle money and turning into a pauper myself."
He said with a worried frown.
Blackie Pot couldn't be bothered with him. It spat out a scroll of ghost scripture and settled on a stool to read.
After all, this was the rich man's worry—it had nothing to do with a dog.
No sooner had it sat down than a maidservant brought over some dried meats and fruits, placing them beside the hound.
Blackie Pot opened its mouth, and the maidservant half-squatted and half-kneeled at its side, picking up a strip of dried meat and feeding it straight in.
Blackie Pot chewed leisurely while reading. Suddenly, it occurred to the dog that this carefree life of luxury was built on piles of silver. If Old Master Chen ran out of money, its days of comfort might well come to an end.
Still, making money wasn't its forte. Better to let Chen Shi agonize over that.
Chen Shi was young at heart to begin with, so he quickly cast his worries aside and resumed cultivating the Eight Extremes Golden Palace Divine Chapter.
The Eight Extremes Golden Palace Divine Chapter contained far more than the Three Lights Righteous Qi Art—especially after Chen Shi's clash with Scholar Pei. When he activated this technique, he discovered it fused with his golden core force field, establishing eight poles within the field and erecting eight golden palaces.
The divine chapter stated: Chaos without form, silent and still; from it arise the myriad phenomena, forming the five elements. That which arises has its poles; that which forms has its lacks. Arising and forming, complete and deficient, abiding in serene immutability.
When the golden core force field spread out, it brought exactly this sense of chaotic myriad phenomena, arising and forming in seamless transition, utterly transparent and serene!
The eight poles of the force field held eight golden palaces standing like gates, divided into eight gates formed from a single breath.
The form of these eight gates resembled heavenly threshold towers—gate-shaped structures topped with eaves, bracket sets supporting them, carved dragons and painted phoenixes, guiding immortals, and all manner of ridge beasts.
The gates gleamed with brilliant golden light, divine power surging and gathering within, coalescing into golden orbs seemingly tugged by the gates themselves.
As Chen Shi circulated the technique, golden light poured from the eight golden palaces into his golden core, refining it. Meanwhile, the core orbited his body, tempering his hair and skin.
Suddenly, it dropped from the crown of his head through the heavenly gate, entering his body and flowing down the jade pillow, great vertebra, body pillar, utmost yang, waist yang, all the way to the tailbone.
From there, it passed through perineum, conception vessel, central palace, middle courtyard, up the throat, leaping the twelve-story tower, along the tongue tip into the nasal abyss, then leaping out through the heavenly gate once more.
After the core orbited his body for another round of tempering, it reentered the heavenly gate, this time circulating differently—along the eight extraordinary meridians to hands and feet before returning.
The Eight Gates Golden Palace Divine Chapter followed the routes of the minor and major five elements, divided into inner and outer heavenly circuits.
The minor five elements governed the five viscera and six bowels; the major, the limbs and head. The inner heavenly circuit ran within the body; the outer, both inside and out.
The tempering of the eight gates was far more ferocious than the Big Dipper refinement of the Three Lights Righteous Qi Art, yielding tremendous gains for the fleshly body.
Chen Shi sensed his qi, blood, pulses, sinews, and bones all surging upward in strength. The vast power within the golden core was being forged into his body—even his hair!
A single strand of his hair was now tougher than steel, more resilient than a wild ox's tendon. Even a sharp blade would take more than one or two hacks to sever it!
"No wonder the divine chapter's incantation claims one can refine a hundred-day golden core into a nascent soul.
Chen Shi thought to himself, 'With my nine revolutions of the golden core, it'll probably only take half a month more to complete them!'
Choosing the right technique was crucial for cultivation—speed and a solid foundation. Chen Shi had learned that lesson deeply.
Even with the treasure trove of techniques in the Tomb of the True King at his disposal, without guidance from a figure like Lady Shiji, he would have taken many detours.
Chen Shi cultivated diligently, and eight days later, his golden core smoothly entered the middle palace yellow court, shifting from green to blue-green as it completed the eighth revolution.
One more step, and it would be nine revolutions complete.
His seven returns, eight transformations, and nine restorations had already forged his body into a sacred embryo dharma body. Refining the golden core seed into the yellow sprout was a natural progression—no need, like other cultivators, to gather spiritual elixirs and wondrous medicines, using outer pills as the grand medicine!
His golden core, his qi and blood, his fleshly body—they were the grand medicine!
The divine chapter said: Return to the origin, revert to the root, restore the mandate of life—then the myriad spirits gather, transforming into an infant, uniting with the Dao in truth.
After uniting with the Dao in truth came the Dao within one's body, forging the Dao body.
Chen Shi couldn't help but daydream. The divine chapter described the Dao body's applications: with every gesture, spells and divine abilities manifested.
How enviable!
Could one truly refine a Dao body upon forming the nascent soul?
He bent down and picked up a withered flower from the garden, pondering inwardly: 'Compared to the innate Dao embryo, which is stronger—a Dao body or that?'
The wilted flower gradually bloomed vibrant in his hand, its fragrance soul-refreshing, as if reborn.
Seeds formed amid the petals, sprouting roots and shoots at breakneck speed, branching out until it grew into a peony bush half as tall as a man, bearing three blossoms.
As the peonies bloomed, the flowers turned into three little red birds that flapped away.
The peony in Chen Shi's hand withered rapidly, as if drained of vitality.
The three little red birds flitted and hopped through the shrubs. Suddenly, one shook its head and ballooned to the size of a small hill, lunging at the approaching maidservant Qing'er, nearly swallowing her whole!
Qing'er was scared out of her wits. Just then, the attacking bird dropped dead, its body rotting away in an instant and scattering into petals.
The other two birds flew toward Chen Shi. When they landed in his hand, their bodies disintegrated into two peony blossoms.
Chen Shi handed the two flowers casually to the still-shaken Qing'er and shook his head.
"My spells still can't bend entirely to my will. The things they create inevitably turn sinister."
Qing'er steadied herself, then remembered her purpose. "Master, Governor Xu is here to see you. He's having tea in the front hall."
Chen Shi's heart stirred as he headed to the front hall.
The front hall was for receiving guests. Qing'er walked ahead, holding the flowers. Suddenly recalling they had been little red birds—and that one had nearly eaten her—she hurriedly stuck the two peonies into a vase in the corner.
No sooner had she done so than the flowers withered and crumbled at top speed, disintegrating into motes of spiritual energy that drifted into the air.
Qing'er froze, not understanding what had happened.
Chen Shi saw it all and thought: 'Without forging the Dao body, I can't turn the false into true. There's always something lacking.'
He entered the front hall, where Governor Xu Jian sat sipping tea. Seeing him arrive, Xu rose hastily.
Chen Shi smiled. "Please, Governor Xu, have a seat."
Qing'er took fresh tea from another maidservant and brought it to Chen Shi's side.
Chen Shi asked, "Governor, do you have news?"
Xu Jian hesitated, then said, "Brother Chen, after we parted last time, I split my efforts two ways upon returning to the prefecture. One team of clever cultivators headed straight to Yudu to probe the young master's background and whereabouts. The other was me, using a Thousand-Li Sound Transmission Talisman to contact the clan elders and ask if they knew anything of his origins.
You know how well-informed my people are. I could tell you what you ate for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, or which maidservant you chatted with."
Chen Shi nodded lightly.
"You know more than even the Heavenly Listeners outside my gate."
Xu Jian seemed not to catch the sarcasm in his words and pressed on: "The cultivators I sent are all experts with tricks up their sleeves, no less than the Heavenly Listeners.
They hadn't been in Yudu long when contact with them was lost."
Chen Shi raised an eyebrow.
Xu Jian continued, "I had the prefecture's talisman masters use soul-summoning talismans to call their souls and learn what happened."
Chen Shi asked, "No souls returned?"
Xu Jian nodded slightly.
Chen Shi tapped his index finger on the tea table. After a moment, he said, "What did your Xu family seniors say?"
"I contacted Fifth Uncle.
Fifth Uncle Xu Bufan holds a high position in our Xu family."
Xu Jian said: "He once served as an attaché in the Ministry of Revenue, handling the realm's finances—extremely well-connected. We're on good terms.
When I asked about that young master residing in Prince Zheng's Mansion, his tone suddenly turned stern."
He met Chen Shi's eyes and said softly, "Fifth Uncle told me not to poke around blindly."
Chen Shi's heart skipped. "Even the Xu family fears this young master?"
"I wondered the same, so I asked him outright.
Fifth Uncle said the Xu family isn't afraid of the young master's power, but we have no desire to provoke him.
He said the young master's affairs involve too much—far beyond what I should inquire into.
He even asked why I was suddenly asking about him.
Brother Chen."
He steadied himself, took a sip of tea, set down the cup, and rose. "Some people in this world are taboos—ones you can't even mention.
You're a taboo, Brother Chen. The young master is a taboo.
Whatever lies between you is your business. I can't afford to get involved.
I'll take my leave."
He departed hastily, not waiting for Chen Shi to see him out.
"A taboo? When did I become some unmentionable taboo?
What level is this young master at, to be ranked alongside me
as a taboo?"
Chen Shi murmured in surprise.
"If that's how it is... I'll head to Yudu myself!"
End of chapter.