Chapter 232
Chapter 232
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 232
Chapter Title: Family-Heirloom Secret Art
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Chen Jieyuan still gave me, Gao, some face.
In the distance, Governor Gao Chang watched the scene unfold, a hint of joy in his heart as he chuckled.
He truly didn't kill anyone in Nandu.
If not for the demons hidden in his brow, he'd be someone worth befriending.
He had heard many legends about Chen Shi from the Gao family retainers and knew well Chen Shi's way of handling things.
Gao Chang's gaze fell on the Saintess Ying lying on the ground. He shook his head lightly and murmured,
"The Young Master is a taboo, but Chen Shi is also a taboo.
"Even as the saintess of the Bodhi Dojo, you can't slight Chen Shi and expect him to pledge loyalty to the Young Master.
"Saintess Ying is still too young. No wonder she couldn't outmatch the other women around the Young Master."
He didn't go to treat Saintess Ying's wounds and turned to leave.
"Young people must suffer some setbacks to grow!"
Saintess Ying lay on the sickbed, eyes wide open. Her once lively eyes were now dull, staring blankly at the ceiling without speaking or moving.
After a while, she caught her breath, closed her eyes, and two streams of clear tears slid down from the corners.
It was Baili Mu and the others who had carried her back to the Mountain-Shifting Sect's hall from the Huagai Shop.
She had been knocked unconscious by Chen Shi and left lying outside the shop. The shopkeeper kindly draped a coat over her to prevent exposure and had someone watch over her to keep the city's beggars from dragging her into an alley for mischief.
Baili Mu rushed over upon hearing the news. If not for his familiarity with Saintess Ying, he wouldn't have recognized the disfigured woman on the ground as the stunningly beautiful saintess.
After careful identification, he confirmed it was her and hurriedly carried her to the Mountain-Shifting Sect's hall. By the time he sent for a physician, Saintess Ying had already woken up.
Chen Shi had first kneed her in the lower abdomen, forcing the air from her lungs and throwing her qi and blood into chaos, her true energy out of control.
As she prepared to manifest her Nascent Soul, Chen Shi swung the Huagai pole down.
The Huagai pole was inscribed with countless talismans, a defensive treasure. Chen Shi's first strike—whether by coincidence or intent—hit precisely at the base of her skull, her Jade Pillow acupoint, forcing the emerging Divine Shrine back inside!
The second strike was even more precise, landing on her Heavenly Gate, the fontanel atop her head, severing her Nascent Soul's path out of the body.
Then came the relentless barrage of blows.
He swung so fiercely that the pole cracked and even splintered!
All the talismans on the Huagai pole exploded from the force, showing just how heavy his strikes were!
Baili Mu examined her and found mostly superficial wounds, nothing severe. The Bodhi Dojo's techniques were profoundly advanced, and Abbess Miaoyin, the head of the dojo, had passed down supreme arts. Though Saintess Ying was not yet sixteen, she had cultivated formidable skills. Breaking her golden body was no easy feat.
Moreover, though Chen Shi struck ruthlessly, he had restraint and avoided vital points.
But her tears still flowed uncontrollably.
This was the worst beating she had ever taken in her life.
Since leaving the mountain, every young talent she met had been courteous and refined—some heroic and bold, others gentle and scholarly, some prodigiously talented, others with grand ambitions for the world.
None like Chen Shi, who attacked without a word, then kicked her buttocks twice more out of lingering anger!
Before descending the mountain, her master Abbess Miaoyin had told her that the body was mere appearance, not the root—a stinking skin sack.
But the world was foolish, chasing appearances and forgetting the essence.
"You have a fine appearance. Men will admire you for it once you're down the mountain, granting you all sorts of conveniences.
"You can use your appearance to achieve your goals.
"Wield appearance skillfully, transcend it, and ultimately achieve formlessness."
That was one of her purposes in descending.
Yet her appearance was utterly useless against Chen Shi!
He showed no mercy in beating her.
Even Buddhas could ignite in ignorant fury—how much more so her, who was no Buddha?
"I wholeheartedly wanted what was best for you, considered your future, and tried to turn enmity into friendship with the Young Master! Yet my good intentions earned me a savage beating!"
Saintess Ying gritted her teeth, sat up, and touched the back of her head. It was swollen, bruised blood blocking the acupoint and preventing her Divine Shrine from manifesting.
She touched the top of her head—same there—fueling her rage further.
Raised in Buddhist practice with the Bodhi Dojo's supreme inheritance, she had mastered profound arts and stood out among her generation.
At the Nascent Soul Realm, her strength far surpassed that of sects like the Mountain-Shifting Sect—her cultivation vast, spells exquisite, and talisman master far superior to theirs.
Yet she hadn't even had a chance to act before Chen Shi suppressed and thrashed her!
If it had been a fair fight, a beating might have been acceptable. But being overwhelmed before she could strike, beaten senseless and knocked out, left her feeling utterly humiliated.
This wasn't just humiliating her—it humiliated the Bodhi Dojo's inheritance!
Baili Mu said,
"Rest assured, Saintess. New grudges and old—we of the Mountain-Shifting Sect will settle them with Chen Shi! I've already set men to tail him. Once he leaves the city, beyond a hundred li from Nandu, we'll strike immediately!"
Saintess Ying struggled out of bed, gritted her teeth, and said, "I'll go with you!"
Baili Mu smiled. "Saintess Ying, focus on recovering.
"Injuries to the Heavenly Gate and Jade Pillow are no small matter, not to mention..."
He trailed off. Chen Shi's knee to her lower abdomen had scattered her qi and blood viciously, even disrupting her primordial yin energy.
But the injury was private, so he didn't pry.
Saintess Ying indeed couldn't fight. She said,
"My Nascent Soul can't emerge, and my Divine Shrine...
"won't fly out."
Baili Mu bowed. "Wait for my news, Saintess."
Two days later, no word from Baili Mu. Saintess Ying grew frantic, but the swelling pain on her face had subsided, restoring her beauty—though the heavily struck areas still bore bruises.
Baili Mu hurried in. "The thief Chen has left the city.
"Can the Saintess move today?"
Saintess Ying said,
"The bruised blood on my head hasn't fully dissipated. Manifesting is difficult—he damaged my Heavenly Gate. I can't fight personally."
Baili Mu smiled. "Once we capture the thief Chen, I'll leave him breathing for you to vent on."
Saintess Ying shook her head. "Outworlders do not kill."
She paused, then added, "You handle it."
She followed the Mountain-Shifting Sect members out of the city. The sect had many members and experts, joined now by men from Hundred Refinements Hall.
Baili Mu's voice came then. "Saintess Ying, we must go a hundred li beyond Nandu—a long journey. Take the carriage."
Saintess Ying looked over to see two plum blossom deer pulling a Huagai carriage toward them, stopping beside her.
The Huagai was square, hanging inverted to cover a space over a zhang around. Fringed with tassels, the interior was lined with soft lambskin.
Though seemingly open inside, boarding revealed the space slightly larger than outside—likely due to talismans of taotie or pixiu.
Nandu's carriage craftsmanship was unparalleled.
Saintess Ying boarded. The two plum blossom deer up front were exotic breeds. As they ran, clouds formed beneath their hooves on landing, lifting their bodies.
On lifting, the clouds drifted back, raising the four wheels off the ground.
The carriage glided silently, clusters of several-chi-wide clouds trailing behind, floating skyward—quite the sight.
Baili Mu rode with Saintess Ying, exiting the city unhurriedly toward Great South Lake to the east.
Scouts reported continually to Baili Mu. "Chen Shi has reached the south of the city."
"Chen Shi has reached the Mandarin Duck Bridge!"
"Chen Shi is fifteen li from the city!"
"Chen Shi is heading toward Great South Lake!"
Behind the carriage trailed many Mountain-Shifting Sect experts. One woman drew a round bronze mirror from her treasure pouch. Its back bore four sea beast reliefs surrounding a sea god treading twin dragons.
She activated it, and the mirror grew to over a man's height.
The surface reflected Chen Shi's figure.
Saintess Ying peered in. Chen Shi held a Huagai pole taller than himself, like a folded umbrella, using it as a staff as he walked.
"His Huagai was blank before—now it has drawings!"
Saintess Ying spotted it and said at once, "That Huagai was bought together with him—originally blank! The pole was blank too, but now bears inscriptions! Sect Leader Baili, warn the men ahead at once—be very careful!"
A nearby Mountain-Shifting Sect incense master laughed. "No need for concern, Saintess.
"We've watched him these past days. He bought black dog blood and cinnabar, drew the talismans himself.
"The Huagai does have many talisman inscriptions, but they're fresh, unrefined—not impressive.
"Forging talisman soldiers isn't simple. After drawing, one must trace daily for the talismans to endure.
"Chen Shi drew these in two days—no time to refine."
Another Hundred Refinements Hall incense master said, "His umbrella has many talismans, but too many—chaotic and disordered.
"Forging talisman soldiers isn't about more talismans. They must be arranged precisely, selectively.
"Piling them hampers the talisman soldier's power."
Baili Mu laughed. "Different trades are worlds apart. Chen Shi is indeed a talisman master, but forging talisman soldiers is another craft. That Huagai pole of his is ruined."
Saintess Ying thought it over. The Huagai Chen Shi bought had 108 folds. Written small, each could hold a talisman.
The wooden pole could take several more.
Over a hundred talismans, properly combined, would yield astonishing power—a top-tier talisman soldier!
But combinations and arrangements were profound arts, not mastered in a day or two.
Even Hundred Refinements Hall masters might study for days, debating heatedly with peers.
A slight error in arrangement, and during forging, the talisman soldier might merely fail—or explode, injuring many.
Saintess Ying examined the mirror closely. Chen Shi's Huagai was folded, but edges revealed talisman corners.
She frowned doubtfully.
"He seems to have drawn more than one talisman per fold.
"From the edges, each fold has at least nine talismans—maybe more!"
The Huagai folds were slender hardwood slats, testing one's brush skill for talismans.
Nine or ten per fold made one a fine craftsman in Hundred Refinements Hall!
"One hundred eight folds—that's over a thousand talismans! Plus the pole's, probably many more!
Saintess Ying's eyes flickered as she watched Chen Shi in the mirror. "What talisman soldier did he forge?"
Chen Shi, Huagai in hand, walked briskly toward South Lake.
He was nearing a hundred li from Nandu.
Along the road appeared odd figures: gray-robed people standing by graves on either side of the post road, coffins upright beside them, staring fixedly at him.
Chen Shi glanced at them; they met his gaze without flinching.
He pressed on along the post road. The sky darkened,阴风 rising. The road emptied of travelers—only him walking.
Ahead, someone burned paper. Paper money blazed in a fire basin, twisting upward on the flames.
Around the basin crouched wretched-faced figures on the road,阴风 swirling about them. As paper money flew from the fire, they leaped to snatch it, faces joyful.
"Men light candles, ghosts blow them out.
"Candle extinguished, no gold-touching.
"The paper-burner muttered, "Gold-touching startles ghost gods."
Ranks of candles lined the road, lit with greenish flames.
Beside each squatted a little ghost in a red bellyband, pale and staring, eager to blow them out.
Chen Shi passed the fire basin, Huagai propped, avoiding the paper-snatching ghosts.
"Little brother, you've entered the ghost gate, unaware.
"From behind, the paper-burner's voice came. "The moment you crossed the fire basin, you entered my burial ground."
Chen Shi halted, turned. "Who are you?"
The paper-burner looked up, face deathly pale with ghostly features, and smiled. "Mountain-Shifting Sect, Candle-Lighter.
"Chen Shi, you stole the Young Master's treasure, the Nether Spring Wandering Dragon Sword. Return it, and I'll leave you a whole corpse!"
His words ended, and the world vanished—only the post road remained, flanked by coffins and ghosts!
After opening great tombs, Mountain-Shifting Sect couldn't rush in for loot. Candle-Lighters entered first, lighting candles to check for ghosts.
Thus, every Candle-Lighter mastered supreme arts: binding ghosts and monsters essential, raising them their specialty.
Chen Shi surveyed the surroundings and praised,
"Commanding ghosts in the mortal world—a fine art.
"You're a walking underworld."
He unfurled the Huagai. The canopy burst open, flooding the area with blindingly bright light!
Its 108 folds bore ten distinct talismans each—1,080 in total!
The arm-thick handle held 120 more.
Together, 1,200 talismans, corresponding to 1,200 divine seats of Huaxia.
These 1,200 gods in Huaxia Divine Continent were known as the Luo Heaven Gods.
Chen Shi raised the Huagai, the grand Luo Heaven ritual slowly activating. He smiled. "I'd love to see if the Mountain-Shifting Sect's arts surpass my family-heirloom secret art."
End of chapter.