Chapter 206
Chapter 206
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 206
Chapter Title: Sect-Protecting Treasure: The Pivot
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In Hu Village, the crowd stood in stunned bewilderment, unwilling to leave.
The glimpse they had just caught was utterly shocking, the changes happening so swiftly that they couldn't react before everything came to an end.
The chain of bizarre events that unfolded tonight was utterly grotesque and outlandish.
The fox clan had always been fond of spouting nonsense, but tonight's string of freakish occurrences was even more absurd. If they went out and told other foxes about this, people would probably just say they had gone mad from drinking.
Chen Shi set down Guoguo, equally puzzled and on edge. He thought to himself:
"Those two demon gods are called Black and White Impermanence? Where did they come from? Why did they suddenly appear at that moment to whip Lady Shiji?"
He had been worried that Lady Shiji would devour Guoguo, so he had shielded her behind him. But he hadn't expected Lady Shiji's ferocity to surge, turning her aggression even toward him.
For Black and White Impermanence to suddenly appear and drive back Lady Shiji—this was truly eerie.
Chen Shi had faced peril many times before, but nothing like this had ever happened.
"Could it be because of Guoguo? Are those two demon gods actually here to protect her?"
His heart stirred. He crouched down, cupped Guoguo's little face, twisting it left and right, squeezing and kneading it as he examined her repeatedly, searching for any sign of difference.
But no matter how he looked, Guoguo seemed like an ordinary little girl, no different from any normal child.
At that moment, a paw landed on his shoulder.
Chen Shi turned his head to see Blackie Pot gazing at him, slowly shaking its head.
Chen Shi was utterly stunned. Blackie Pot was actually stopping him from pinching Guoguo's cheeks!
This was unprecedented!
Blackie Pot had always obeyed him unquestioningly, yet now it was actively intervening!
Even Blackie Pot was protecting her so fiercely—there had to be something wrong with Guoguo!
Even if Guoguo truly were a demon seed, it wouldn't warrant two demon gods guarding her.
A demon seed had to grow into a full demon before it could become a demon god.
There was no precedent for two demon gods protecting a mere demon seed!
Blackie Pot had repeatedly stormed into the underworld, battling and slaughtering its ghost gods—it couldn't possibly be protecting a demon seed either.
"Maybe Lady Shiji knows something."
Chen Shi's heart stirred again. He entered the small shrine to find Lady Shiji.
Lady Shiji was hiding inside the Divine Shrine. This time, she had eaten her fill. Beneath her massive head, a slender neck and tiny limbs had begun to sprout. But her head was so enormous compared to her body that she resembled an egg atop an ant's frame.
Chen Shi leaned in close. Lady Shiji shuddered and shrank back further into the Divine Shrine.
"Lady, do you think Guoguo might be a demon seed?"
Chen Shi asked. "I'm starting to suspect her myself."
"Her behavior has been too strange, but she shows no outward abnormalities."
"Lady? Lady?"
Lady Shiji remained silent, huddled in the corner of the Divine Shrine.
"Strange. So what's the deal with those two demon gods, one black and one white?"
Chen Shi muttered to himself. "They should be underworld demon gods, right? Why did they suddenly pop up, as if they've been following Guoguo all along?"
"Has the underworld realized Guoguo is a demon seed?"
Lady Shiji opened her mouth as if to speak, but then held back.
Chen Shi said:
"Why didn't the demon gods just capture this demon seed and take it back? Lady, do you have a way to extract the demon seed from Guoguo without harming her?"
Lady Shiji shook her head vigorously, like a rattle drum—Chen Shi even worried she might shake her head right off.
"With your cultivation level, you should be able to, right?"
Chen Shi said skeptically. "I think if you stripped out the demon seed, Guoguo would still be the same old Guoguo. You could absorb the demon seed yourself—what's not to like about that?"
Lady Shiji said nothing.
Chen Shi's eyes darted about as he proposed:
"Lady, come out once more and pretend you're going to eat Guoguo."
"We'll test it—see if those two demon gods called Black and White Impermanence show up again."
Lady Shiji's gaze toward him was like that of someone eyeing a scoundrel who took her for a fool.
Seeing she wouldn't take the bait, Chen Shi gave up and asked again:
"Lady, what sort of demon gods are Black and White Impermanence? Do you know their origins?"
Lady Shiji still said nothing.
Chen Shi said flatly:
"Lady, I'll let this defiance slide this time. If there's a next time, you can leave my little shrine and go be an Evil Spirit instead."
Chen Shi returned to his body. At that moment, Lady Shiji's voice echoed in his mind—no longer arrogant and overbearing, but soft and conciliatory:
"Envoy, I was too brazen just now. Please forgive me."
"I thought I could absorb that demon seed and restore my true form, so I got carried away."
"I dare not do so again."
Chen Shi snorted, signaling the envoy's displeasure.
Lady Shiji continued:
"Regardless, whether Black and White Impermanence are protecting that girl or not, Envoy, you should stay far away from her."
Chen Shi pressed for details. Lady Shiji explained:
"If I restored my true form, I wouldn't fear them and could tell you their origins."
"As I am now, merely a remnant, I dare not speak much, lest I offend them."
"Their true forms remain intact."
She paused, then said:
"They are upright gods of the underworld, originating from华夏 just like us."
"Their names must not be uttered. They capture escaped underworld criminals and guard the King of Hell."
"Capturing escaped underworld criminals?"
Chen Shi's heart chilled. He already had two underworld bailiffs by his side, come to capture him—this escaped underworld criminal.
"Guarding the King of Hell? Didn't the boat lady say the underworld's upright lord had gone missing?"
Chen Shi glanced warily at Guoguo. Could the underworld's upright lord be this little girl?
"Wasn't she the child born from a brothel whore after death?"
"Could she be the upright lord?"
"Black and White Impermanence—are they following me, or her?" he wondered silently.
The fox spirits of Hu Village had barely recovered from their fright and were hurriedly cleaning up the village.
Skins left behind by various Evil Spirits littered the village inside and out, drained of all essence.
But the hides were tough and could fetch a good price.
They busied themselves until the latter half of the night, just as drowsiness set in, when rustling sounds came from outside the village. The fox spirits followed the noise and saw a wooden puppet emerge from the bushes.
The puppet was only palm-sized, with clear features, flexible joints, and exquisite craftsmanship.
Spotting them, the puppet hurriedly ducked back into the grass. But these fox spirits were extraordinarily nimble, darting into the bushes to chase and surround it, capturing it.
This puppet was neither Evil nor Spirit; it could walk and move like a living person, even rolling its eyes.
It wore tiny clothes, though the foxes had torn them while catching it.
The foxes noticed a door on its back and, intrigued, opened it to reveal wooden organs inside—heart, liver, lungs, and more—all wooden, driven by gears that whirred intricately.
Chen Shi was resting but was roused by them. He came over and saw the puppet looking up at him. It suddenly spoke:
"Are you Chen Shi? I am Situ Wen, sect master of the Lu Ban Sect. I've finally found you."
Chen Shi examined the puppet and praised:
"Sect Master Situ, what technique is this?"
"To control a puppet to speak—truly ingenious."
The puppet declared proudly:
"This is the Art of Automatons, capable of creating people."
"I crafted three hundred and sixty automatons, sending them in all directions to search for you. We've finally tracked you here."
"Does my technique compare to your flying sword bird transformation?"
Chen Shi smiled faintly.
"Each excels in its own way."
"But your technique poses little threat to me."
The puppet fell silent for a moment, then conceded:
"Your method is one of transformation, controlling countless birds to strike and kill with immense power. I admit I'm no match. If I control automatons in combat, I can manage only seven."
"Chen Shi, you've repeatedly opposed the Young Master. I have prepared a Hongmen Banquet for you at Guanshan Collection in Yudu."
"At noon today, if you have the guts, come attend!"
Chen Shi shook his head:
"I'm not going."
The puppet flew into a rage and bellowed:
"I invite you to a banquet, and you refuse?!"
"Not going."
Chen Shi shook his head. "You called it a Hongmen Banquet yourself—clearly you've set up an ambush. Why would I walk into it?"
The puppet was furious nearly to death and shouted:
"There's only me at Guanshan Collection. Will you come or not? Don't you want to eradicate the Young Master's forces? I am one of them! Here's your chance! Come eliminate me—I'll avenge the matriarch too. Perfect for both!"
Chen Shi laughed:
"Fine, I'll go."
The puppet said gleefully:
"When?"
"Noon. I'll definitely be there."
Chen Shi replied.
The puppet snarled:
"If you don't come at noon, I'll come kill you!"
Chen Shi said solemnly:
"You're waiting alone—this is the perfect chance to kill you. Why would I miss it? Rest assured, I'll arrive at noon."
The puppet leaped from Chen Shi's palm and scurried into the grass.
Chen Shi plucked a hair, blew on it, and it turned into a cricket that hopped into the grass after the puppet.
"I'll sleep for a bit."
Chen Shi said to Hu Feifei. "Wake me after the hour of the snake."
Hu Feifei agreed. Chen Shi returned to his room to sleep. When the hour of the snake arrived, the sky was already bright, and the fox spirits had finished breakfast. Only then did Hu Feifei wake him.
Chen Shi washed up, ate breakfast, straightened his clothes, splashed his face, and felt refreshed. He said to Hu Feifei:
"Sister Feifei, stay in the village and watch Guoguo. I'll be back soon."
Hu Feifei said:
"No need for me to go with you? Our fox clan has experts too!"
Chen Shi laughed:
"I'm not going to fight."
"No need for you to follow."
"Blackie Pot, let's go!"
He left the wooden cart in Hu Village and departed swiftly with Blackie Pot.
"Not going to fight?"
Hu Feifei wondered in surprise. "Then what is he going for?"
Guanshan Collection lay north of Yudu City, near Mount Henggong. It was named for the peaks resembling a mountain gate, with "Guanshan" meaning the gateway to the mountains, now closed.
Hence, it was called Guanshan.
It was an abandoned market town, once bustling—a proper settlement where nearby villagers gathered for fairs.
Later, the godmother here died, the town declined, and residents either moved away or were slain by Evils.
The place grew ever more dilapidated, filled with crumbling, unattended houses and not a soul in sight.
At the town center, Situ Wen sat boldly in the middle of the road, waiting for Chen Shi.
Situ Wen was a tall, burly man, his skin darkened from years of outdoor labor, with broad shoulders, large hands and feet, and callused palms.
The Lu Ban Sect had always been a faction of builders and craftsmen, passing down skills in woodworking, architecture, and mechanisms. By Situ Wen's generation, it was countless generations old.
It had survived numerous catastrophes, making it an exceedingly ancient sect.
It housed many奇妙 techniques, though many had been lost by Situ Wen's time.
In recent years, with Evils proliferating and folk too poor to build homes, the sect's business had dwindled.
Situ Wen raised his hand, and numerous wooden puppets marched over, sitting in the shadows.
These were his automatons, numerous and excellent for scouting.
"Damn it, Chen Shi still hasn't come!"
Situ Wen grew irritable waiting and snarled, "If he doesn't show by noon, I'll raze the village and wipe out those foxes!"
A cricket perched on one puppet. It hopped off, bouncing around to survey the surroundings.
The cricket hopped into a shadowy street corner, then transformed into a rat that darted across, prowling the abandoned town to scout the layout.
Puppets lay in ambush within the houses, lifelike as real people.
They carried various weapons, emitting no aura fluctuations.
Sensing alone couldn't detect them.
The rat slipped through house after house, stealthily inspecting Situ Wen's setup.
Situ Wen was hot-tempered. After a short wait, he cursed Chen Shi, repeating it twenty or thirty times by noon.
"That bastard still hasn't come! Fine, if not, I'll slaughter my way to Hu Village!"
He strode toward the edge of Guanshan Collection, hesitated, then turned back, muttering, "Maybe he's on his way. I'll wait a bit more."
He waited another half hour, then couldn't hold back. Rising, he said:
"Little thief, disrupting my focus!"
He walked outward, then halted: "My setup is so exquisite—how can I abandon it halfway? I'll wait a bit longer, just a bit..."
After a few more quarters of an hour, Situ Wen paced anxiously, grinding his teeth: "Coming or not? Lost his way? Wait more...? Just a little longer!"
"Forget waiting, that bastard's toying with me!"
Situ Wen leaped up. "Chen Shi, I swear I'll kill you!"
As dusk approached, he finally stopped waiting and stood.
The entire town suddenly rose from the ground. Houses creaked and groaned, bulging and deforming, combining into a colossal mechanism automaton!
This automaton towered twelve or thirteen zhang high, its body composed of layered houses, with rooms inside.
Its legs were cylindrical houses, tiered with spiral staircases ascending within.
Doors and windows dotted the exterior, revealing the interiors.
The head was a cluster of one tall and four short buildings—pavilions and towers of exquisite design.
Some houses held beauties playing qin, painting, dancing gracefully, their lovely faces glancing about— all automaton maidens, not real.
Others housed assassins with sharp blades; still more contained sturdy Yellow Scarf Warriors inscribed with talismans.
All automatons.
This was the Lu Ban Sect's war machine, called the Pivot—the sect's protecting treasure.
At the Pivot's core was a massive pill furnace spanning one zhang four or five chi. It burned fine coal, with automatons shoveling more in continuously.
The furnace blazed like a miniature sun, radiating boundless heat.
Around it, mechanical golden pills flew in ceaselessly, entering the furnace before whistling out to carry heat to the Pivot's limbs, propelling it forward.
Once their heat depleted, the pills returned to the furnace, cycling endlessly.
Situ Wen leaped to the topmost building, watching the Pivot stride from Guanshan Collection:
"I'll flatten Hu Village and slay him now!"
At that moment, a man and a dog approached from the front.
From afar, Chen Shi's voice laughed:
"Situ Wen, we agreed to meet here, yet you break your word! I came to keep the appointment, and now you're leaving!"