Chapter 245
Chapter 245
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ace
Chapter: 245
Chapter Title: The Mansion Lord Has Stirred Up a Big Hornet's Nest
-----------------------------------------------------------------
The Temple of Lord Guan Sheng was in Qingzhou, not too far from Xinxian. At the wooden cart's top speed, they could get there in three to five days.
Before heading to the Temple of Lord Guan Sheng, Chen Shi still had a lot to take care of. After he got home, Blackie Pot, Granny Zhuang, and Lady Shiji came down from his small temple. Blackie Pot and Granny Zhuang started the fire and cooked, while Lady Shiji washed clothes.
"Blackie Pot, I'm out of blood!"
Chen Shi called out. Blackie Pot was in the middle of chopping meat. Hearing this, he hurriedly wiped his paws and poured a bowl of black dog blood for him.
Chen Shi mixed it with cinnabar. The wooden cart rolled over, ready for him to redraw the talismans on its body.
These past few days, with the Judge's Dragon Whisker Brush and Blackie Pot's blood—these two treasures—the wooden cart's power had grown stronger and stronger. This thing was an evil spirit after all, and it was gradually gaining some spirituality. It seemed to have awakened a tiny bit of intelligence.
But not much.
The most outrageous thing the wooden cart did was burn incense for itself every day and absorb the incense smoke. Who knew if it even worked.
Chen Shi said, "If only you knew how to draw them yourself. It'd save me a ton of trouble."
The wooden cart sprouted a bunch of arms and moved to draw, but drawing talismans was a talisman master's job. It required total focus, gathering one's qi in a single breath to complete the symbol in one go. Clearly, the wooden cart couldn't manage that.
Chen Shi drew them over once, adding several Heavenly Eye Talismans to the wooden cart—one each on its four sides and the bottom.
Eyes the size of fists opened on the wooden cart's four walls and underside, curiously peering around.
Before, it had no eyes and could only rely on the compass for direction. Now, with five eyes, it was curious about everything.
Chen Shi finished drawing, set the Judge's Dragon Whisker Brush on the altar, and thought to himself, "A few more days of borrowing it, and I can return it."
What else could he draw? Maybe try a few talismans?
His heart stirred. With the Judge's Dragon Whisker Brush and Blackie Pot's blood, how powerful would the talismans be?
...The master said he wasn't home. Just then, Sang Yu's voice came from outside.
"Wuwang Mansion Lord, please return."
Chen Shi heard this and glanced at the sky. It had just gotten dark, so he laughed. "Sister Sang Yu, since Lord Wuwang is here, of course I'm home."
Sang Yu replied, "The Mansion Lord arrived at just the right time. The Xiucai just got home."
Lord Wuwang's voice came.
"Thank you, miss."
"If Miss Sang Yu ever came to my Wuwang City, she wouldn't last a stick of incense before her tongue vanished."
Chen Shi straightened his clothes and went out to greet him with a smile. "Don't blame Sister Sang Yu, Mansion Lord. I told her to say that."
Lord Wuwang approached, anger in his heart, waiting for an explanation. Chen Shi welcomed him with a smile. "You wouldn't know, Mansion Lord, but to find the tip of the Dragon Whisker Brush, I nearly died several times in Great South Lake. I fought with my life on the line and barely survived. I snatched this treasure at great cost and only got home at midnight. Then your little ghost came urging me, so I couldn't help feeling a bit resentful."
Lord Wuwang's anger evaporated. "I was too impatient."
Chen Shi shook his head. "It's not your fault, Mansion Lord."
"The Dragon Whisker Brush concerns your life. You've sought this treasure for years—it's natural to worry about gain and loss."
"I've refused you for days now, but my resentment's long gone. Instead, I feel a bit guilty."
"Good thing you came. Otherwise, I'd have gone to Wuwang City tonight to present the Judge's Dragon Whisker Brush."
Lord Wuwang looked at him deeply and said slowly, "The True King's heartfelt words shame me."
"True King, if you were in my mansion, could you keep your tongue?"
Chen Shi burst out laughing.
Lord Wuwang laughed heartily too.
The rift between them vanished.
Chen Shi led him to the offering table in the main hall. The Judge's Dragon Whisker Brush, the Nether Spring Soaring Dragon Sword, and the Heavenly Canopy were enshrined there. Outside the door, the wooden cart was burning incense for itself.
Lord Wuwang took the Dragon Whisker Brush and examined it carefully. There was no spirit in it—clearly, Chen Shi hadn't nurtured it with his qi and blood. He let out a breath of relief, then bowed deeply to Chen Shi. "Thank you, True King!"
Chen Shi helped him up with a smile. "We're both from the Heavenly Court. No need for formalities. Mansion Lord, try this brush."
Lord Wuwang was about to activate it, but remembered this was Huangpo Village. If something went wrong, innocents might get hurt. He immediately walked out of the village.
Chen Shi was curious about the Judge's Dragon Whisker Brush's power too, so he followed to the outskirts.
Lord Wuwang muttered incantations—true words that didn't sound like human speech, more like ghost talk from the underworld.
Darkness fell around them,阴风 swept through. Suddenly, a towering primordial spirit appeared behind Lord Wuwang—the largest Chen Shi had ever seen, hundreds of feet tall.
It held the Dragon Whisker Brush, the pen dozens of feet long, its tip like a coiling dragon's whiskers!
As Lord Wuwang's primordial spirit moved the brush, the earth shook, mountains trembled, lightning flashed, thunder roared,阴雷 rolled, ghost cries and god howls echoed. Blood rained from the heavens, blood springs gushed from the ground—utterly terrifying!
When the brush had been in Chen Shi's hands, its power was impressive, but his cultivation limited him from unleashing its full might.
Lord Wuwang had cultivated for fourteen hundred years, his magic power vast. In his hands, the Judge's Dragon Whisker Brush could unleash most of its power!
It even drew on the underworld's great dao rules. Behind him floated an image of Wuwang City as he wielded the brush!
But behind Wuwang City, a massive chunk of underworld land rose, flying toward it!
That was a fragment of the Tongue-Pulling Hell.
The continent Chen Shi had schemed against from the Moving Mountains Sect—the one belonging to their chief, Baili Mu—was also a fragment of the Tongue-Pulling Hell.
This fragment was the closest to Wuwang City, but it wasn't the only one.
Behind that massive underworld continent, in the underworld sky, more magnificent lands were flying this way!
These lands bore mountains and rivers. Though shrouded in eerie ghost qi, they were still breathtakingly grand!
Lord Wuwang hadn't expected this change either. He was shocked and delighted, but suddenly he sensed something—his face changed.
"Not good!"
He vanished in a rush, riding the阴风 into the underworld.
Chen Shi looked over. On those grand underworld continents stood towering ghost gods, their eyes shooting fire, lightning,阴光, scanning everywhere!
Other ghost gods soared into the air, their massive bodies bulging with ferocious muscles. Some trod the Yellow Springs, others rode white bone dragons or clouds and mist, searching all around.
Chains trailed rolling ghost qi through the underworld, suddenly turning into black pythons that slithered through heaven and earth.
These underworld ghost gods must have been roused by the disturbance from the Tongue-Pulling Hell fragment and come searching for the cause.
Lord Wuwang had kicked a massive hornet's nest!
Chen Shi was stunned and wary. Those ghost gods were searching this way. Lord Wuwang had just tested the brush here, and the rift between yin and yang realms from the Judge's Dragon Whisker Brush hadn't closed yet.
Chen Shi's face changed. As the ghost gods charged this way, suddenly a giant brush flew over. Its tip seemed dipped in thick ink as it rapidly smeared a huge circle in space, separating the yin and yang realms!
"True King, I'll hide for a few days!"
Lord Wuwang's voice echoed from afar.
Chen Shi breathed a sigh of relief and muttered, "At least you still have a conscience."
Those ghost gods must have gone after Lord Wuwang. Why were they chasing him?
Chen Shi pondered. Lord Wuwang was a living being over fourteen hundred years old—a yang world person wielding an underworld judge's brush. They ought to take it back.
But according to A Zhuo, massive changes had rocked the underworld. Many ghost gods had been killed, hung in the air, and the Tongue-Pulling Hell shattered. So the origins of these pursuing ghost gods were suspicious.
That night, Chen Shi went to the valley where Wuwang City appeared. But when the moon rose, nothing showed on the other side of the broken bridge.
He waited the whole night, but Wuwang City never appeared.
Wuwang City had vanished, and so had Lord Wuwang.
Chen Shi frowned slightly, a vague unease in his heart. There were so many powerful ghost gods chasing Lord Wuwang—who knew if he could escape.
"Just restoring the Judge's Brush caused this much commotion? Why are these ghost gods so obsessed with it?"
Chen Shi suddenly thought: if one Judge's Brush drew this much pursuit, what about Lord Qingtian?
He shivered. If Lord Qingtian appeared, the ghost gods chasing him would blot out the sky!
For several days straight, Chen Shi didn't see Wuwang City again. The ghost city seemed to have evaporated, and Lord Wuwang never reappeared. No one knew if he lived or died!
Chen Shi went to the Tomb of the True King, copied down the Thunderclap Jade Pivot Great Method, studied it for a few days until he mastered it, then drove to the Hu family manor outside Youcai Village.
The Hu girls were up early, singing like orioles and swallows. Seeing him, they said, "Xiucai, you're here for the clan leader? He's still sleeping."
Chen Shi said, "I'm looking for Feifei. Where is she?"
They led Chen Shi to a room and laughed. "Feifei's not awake yet. Xiucai, want us to wake her for you?"
"No need to trouble you sisters. I'll do it myself."
Chen Shi burst in. There were two heads under the quilt. He pulled one out—Hu Feifei—and shoved it back. He pulled out the other—Tu Tu—and relaxed.
Hu Feifei blinked sleepily, saw him, and shrieked. "How did you get here? Get out! You're barging into my boudoir—the other fox girls will laugh at me!"
Chen Shi shoved the groggy little girl back into her quilt. "Get up. I have something to tell you."
Hu Feifei threw off the quilt and patted the empty spot beside her, smiling ambiguously. "Say it right here."
"Want to come in? It's warm inside."
Fox girls' giggles came from outside, right under the window, teasing and shoving each other.
Hu Feifei's face flushed red. She got up, clutching the quilt to cover herself, pushed open the window, and snapped outside.
"Eavesdropping? We're all sisters—be bold and come listen in my room! I'm pure and upright. I don't mind you hearing!"
The fox girls scattered amid laughter. Someone teased from afar.
"Want to come in?"
Another chimed in. "It's so warm inside!"
"Hee hee, where's it warm? Spill the details."
"I'm gonna feel if it's warm."
Hu Feifei's face burned crimson. She stopped sleeping and chased Chen Shi out.
She and the little girl dressed and washed up before coming out to see him.
Chen Shi recounted his experiences at Great South Lake and Lord Wuwang being chased by underworld ghost gods. "Guoguo is Lord Qingtian. If they find her, it'll be even more dangerous."
Hu Feifei looked grave. "Where's Lord Wuwang?"
Chen Shi said, "Still on the run. I think he took Wuwang City with him—it's gone too. Has Tu Guo been normal these days?"
Hu Feifei said, "Normal as any normal little girl."
Chen Shi thought. "Lord Qingtian was beaten out of the underworld and had to reincarnate in the yang world. How do we restore Tu Nain's memories as Lord Qingtian?"
Hu Feifei said, "We don't know how to restore Lord Qingtian's memories, but Black and White Impermanence do."
"They only show up if Nain's in danger. So put Nain in danger."
Chen Shi shook his head. "Those two would beat us to death."
He remembered Lady Shiji getting thrashed into submission and felt a chill.
Hu Feifei suggested, "Have Clan Leader Xiaoliang threaten Tu Nain. The clan leader's powerful."
Chen Shi shook his head. "Don't you dare go to Uncle Hu. He'd get beaten to death. I'm heading out right away—don't do anything rash."
Hu Feifei was reluctant. "You just got back and you're leaving again? Nain misses you. Li Tianqing's run into some trouble."
Chen Shi explained, "I've already delayed a few days. I don't know if he's okay. By the way, here are two ginseng fruits. Give them to Uncle Hu."
He left the two ginseng fruits and hurried away from the Hu manor.
Outside the Hu manor, a boatman leaned on his bamboo pole across the way.
Seeing the boatman, Chen Shi finally relaxed and bowed slightly to him.
The boatman looked at him with a meaningful smile.
Chen Shi felt a chill from that smile. He drove to where Granny Zhuang's true body was, inviting her out of the small temple.
Granny Zhuang was a bit reluctant.
Chen Shi went to Xuan Mountain, tempted to make a move on the giant serpent Xuan Mountain, but after watching for a moment, he didn't dare. He gave up the idea of kidnapping Xuan Mountain as a Divine Embryo and headed straight for Qingzhou.
Granny Zhuang's cultivation had improved greatly!
When the giant serpent Xuan Mountain saw Granny Zhuang again, even it was startled.
Granny Zhuang was quite proud. She told how Chen Shi had captured her to use as a Divine Embryo. "My little sister got huge benefits from his small temple's divine intent. My cultivation soared, and I even refined the evil qi that had built up in me over the years. No more worry about turning into an evil."
The giant serpent Xuan Mountain congratulated her, though a sour feeling stirred in its heart. "I treated Little Ten well too, and I'm old friends with his grandpa. Why didn't he come for me? Am I not as close to him as Granny Zhuang?"
In Qingzhou's Temple of Lord Guan Sheng, Li Tianqing slept until midnight when a nameless killing intent jolted him awake. Without thinking, he flipped out of bed.
Clang!
A snow-bright saber flash cut through the temple. A bloody gash appeared on the wall where he'd been sleeping!
Then, a massive head rolled down from the wall, blood gushing.
Li Tianqing's eyes widened. He activated his Heavenly Eye Talisman to scan around, not daring to sleep the rest of the night. He grew anxious in his heart.
"Little Ten, why hasn't he come yet? I think I've been targeted by something unclean!"
He felt it wasn't the temple's wealth god harming him—it was protecting him!
End of chapter.