Chapter 262
Chapter 262
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 262
Chapter Title: Chapter 262 Chaowen Dao
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The power of the Great Five Thunders Talisman was extraordinarily formidable. Even before the cannonballs from the Red Yi cannons arrived, the might of the Great Five Thunders Talisman had already assailed their surroundings, infiltrating their very flesh and souls. The Five Thunders consisted of heavenly, earthly, watery, draconic, and land deity thunder, respectively.
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Heavenly thunder originated from heavenly gods, earthly thunder from terrestrial deities, watery thunder from water gods, draconic thunder from dragon gods, and land deity thunder from the divine power of wild gods and grass spirits that received sacrifices. The Five Thunders Talisman harnessed the divine power of these five deities, transforming it into thunderbolts.
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When deployed from the palm or fingers, it became Palm Thunder or the Five Thunders Talisman. When unleashed across heaven and earth, it manifested as the Great Five Thunders Talisman!
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The cannonballs hurtling from the sky were densely inscribed with the Great Five Thunders Talisman. At this moment, the runes had detonated, forming a brilliantly radiant talismanic pattern around the projectiles that linked to the divine powers between heaven and earth. Chen Shi and the other juren felt an intense numbing sensation surging through their bodies—that was the effect of the watery thunder, making the moisture within them feel as though it were evaporating, decomposing, and exploding!
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Some juren with weaker cultivation swelled up like inflated balloons. They reacted decisively, circulating their vital blood to suppress the anomalies within their bodies.
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At that moment, their hair became disheveled and frizzy, each strand standing on end and drifting toward the sky.
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A wave of numbness also emanated from the soles of their feet, as if a bolt of lightning pierced straight through their bodies, connecting heaven and earth! Earthly thunder and heavenly thunder were closing in!
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At the same time, everyone's divine souls trembled, their ears filled with the roar of dragons that destabilized their spirits—this was the influence of draconic thunder!
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Behind them, the dilapidated ancient temple suddenly brimmed with incense energy, as if some阴神 had unleashed阴雷, filling them with a sensation of being universally condemned and doomed to failure! The Five Thunders had yet to fully erupt, yet they were already suffering immensely.
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The group watched as dozens of cannonballs streaked through the sky trailing fiery light and blooming thunder, hurtling toward their position at extreme speed. There was no time left to flee!
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The Great Five Thunders Talisman was merely an appetizer. The true eruption of thunderfire came the instant the cannonballs struck the ground, when Nine Yang Thunderfire would accompany the Five Thunders to pulverize everything, shatter everything, and melt everything away. One juren reacted with lightning speed, sacrificing his own golden core—only for a flash of thunder to reduce it to flying ash.
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The juren didn't even grunt before collapsing dead.
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The others paled in horror at the sight and dared not sacrifice their golden cores.
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Chen Shi summoned his sacred canopy, which rose into the air and spun rapidly, expanding to cover an acre or so, shielding everyone from the Five Thunders' power. Chen Shi shouted loudly,
> "You can now safely offer up your golden cores, nascent souls, and divine souls!"
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Sun Yisheng sacrificed his divine soul. The ten-zhang-tall soul activated sword arts, sending sword qi piercing through the long sky to intercept the incoming cannonballs. The other exam-taking scholars likewise sacrificed their golden cores and nascent souls in quick succession, though most possessed only golden cores, with just one or two having achieved nascent souls.
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With the canopy's protection, the Five Thunders no longer harmed them. Everyone unleashed their spells in turn—mostly Subduing Evil Sword arts of the noon-midnight variety—to meet the cannonballs head-on.
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However, as soon as their spells left the canopy's protective field, they shattered one after another amid the Five Thunders, unable to extend beyond the canopy's range.
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Even for a peak Void Refining Realm master like Sun Yisheng, whose sword qi was exceedingly refined, the majority of his strikes fragmented in the terrifying thunderfire before even touching the cannonballs.
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Fortunately, a good number of sword qi still struck true. The cannonballs exploded midair, with roaring flames and thunder expanding violently outward in the instant of detonation, engulfing an acre of space. Then came the rolling peals of thunder, dull yet majestic. Many were pierced through by the thunder's roar, their divine souls shaken as their three ethereal and seven corporeal souls threatened to scatter in all directions!
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Sun Yisheng fared no better. Clashing spells directly against the cannonballs had triggered a backlash that aggravated his old wounds, his divine soul teetering on the edge!
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The thunderous echoes further shook those injuries, nearly reopening them.
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The great invention of Medicine Sage Sun Simiao—slayer of gods and demons—was undoubtedly a supreme weapon, but it was even more unstoppable against cultivators!
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As long as one hadn't severed the three corpses, all feared thunder. With the Medicine Sage's gunpowder paving the way via thunderfire, no matter one's cultivation, none could withstand a barrage of cannon fire—it was merely a question of how much powder was needed. Ignoring his soul's injuries, Sun Yisheng whipped his arms about, fingers flicking out countless more strands of sword qi that soared skyward like a peacock fanning its tail, intercepting the remaining cannonballs.
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His realm was profound, his spellcasting swift. Even the cannonballs fell one by one to his strikes!
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In a flash, those cannonballs closed to within a hundred zhang. Another volley detonated, booming explosions sending blazing fire waves sweeping across the earth, melting sand and stone! Sun Yisheng's soul-hands had flesh stripped away to expose bone, his wounds erupting, yet he pressed on, unleashing even more sword qi against the rest.
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Cannonball after cannonball burst in the air. The final one hurtled toward them from just two zhang away, about to slam down. Sun Yisheng, battered by successive backlashes with his vital blood churning, had no time left to block it. Gritting his teeth, he prepared to tank it with his soul-domain.
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> "Even my domain can't neutralize all of this cannonball's power! Among everyone here, I'm likely the only one who could survive the bombardment. These juren... I can't protect them..."
His thought unfinished, a serpentine sword qi suddenly shot from the canopy like a roaming dragon, slashing into that final cannonball.
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The cannonball erupted with a deafening boom!
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Thunderfire poured down, shockwaves roiling, thunderous clamor sweeping all before it!
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Sun Yisheng moved to resist, only to see a magnificent celestial palace scene emerge beneath that luo umbrella in the sky. Twelve hundred talismans ignited, shifting from flat to立体, manifesting twelve hundred deities great and small in staggered array. The luo umbrella spun with a howl, propping against the surging thunderfire onslaught as countless bolts detonated around it, fire waves surging wildly.
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The luo umbrella whirled furiously, blasted backward by the explosions, forcing everyone beneath it to shuffle rapidly back over a hundred steps. It fully absorbed the cannonball's power and came to a halt. The group stopped as well.
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Chen Shi raised his hand, and the luo umbrella shrank swiftly. The heavenly deities reverted to runes on its canopy and shaft, returning to his grasp. Only now did the runes on the luo umbrella appear greatly dimmed.
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Yet the Luotian Grand Rite had withstood this cannonade!
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Their sheltering ancient temple, however, collapsed amid the barrage, reduced to rubble. Chen Shi leaned on the luo umbrella, puzzled.
> "Could it be the Divine Mechanism Battalion shelling us?"
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He had witnessed the Divine Mechanism Battalion's cannons blasting Young Master Xiao, with countless experts amid the thunderfire like gods descended, swarming the mountaintop to besiege him. The Red Yi cannons combined with personal cultivator might formed a killing net that leveled an entire peak! Even someone as mighty as Young Master Xiao had nearly perished there.
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But wasn't Jin Hongying in charge of the Divine Mechanism Battalion? Could Jin Hongying, forgetting old affections, be ambushing him en route?
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Back then, they had peeked on little Jin bathing. How could little Jin be so heartless?
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Sun Yisheng suppressed his injuries, thinking to himself,
> "Ever since heading west, my wounds haven't healed..."
He had taken the brunt of the bombardment, his old injuries flaring, leaving him somewhat despondent.
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As the thunderfire dissipated, the ground ahead lay molten, steaming with heat—even he felt a chill.
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In the distance, cannon fire erupted anew, trails of fiery light streaking forth.
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> "Run back!"
Chen Shi shouted. The group snapped to, bolting madly along their incoming path.
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Once fired, these cannonballs couldn't curve midair. Running back to escape the bombardment range would save them. After all, Red Yi cannons were heavy and immobile; as long as they outpaced the cannons' relocation, they'd live.
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Their cultivations varied, their speeds uneven. They each activated galloping horse talismans, but couldn't yet flee the blast radius.
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Sun Yisheng hurried alongside the wooden cart, looking skyward to see those fire-and-thunder trails arcing through the air—changing direction mid-flight to pursue them! Sun Yisheng blanked momentarily, exclaiming in shock,
> "These cannonballs are already talisman soldiers!"
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Cannonballs were disposable, but refined as talisman soldiers—runes repeatedly inscribed, incense offered in worship—they could gain spirits. In flight, they obeyed commands. Yet such cannonballs were priceless!
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> "Who exactly commands the Divine Mechanism Battalion's power to intercept us?"
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Sun Yisheng recalled Chen Tang's instructions, his heart stirring.
> "Could it be the Thirteen Great Houses?"
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He and Chen Shi flanked left and right, escorting the group like wrathful dragons rampaging across the desolate plain. Above their heads, thunderlight and firelight closed in rapidly!
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> "Lord Sun, how did they pinpoint our position?"
Chen Shi bellowed.
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Sun Yisheng came to his senses, shouting back,
> "The sky! There must be scouts lurking in the clouds overhead, tracking our movements and monitoring us!"
The cannonballs arrived. Chen Shi activated the luo umbrella, which soared up.
> "You handle the scouts—I'll guard the cart!"
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Sun Yisheng hesitated an instant, but saw the luo umbrella expanding to cover an acre. A sword light shot from within, cleaving open a dark spring—beyond which lay the阴森阴间. A head-sized cannonball flew in, detonating massively in the underworld.
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Seeing this, Sun Yisheng hesitated no longer. His divine soul rocketed upward to the high sky, scanning about to spot three clouds trailing the cart at four or five li altitude. His soul whistled forth, charging straight for them.
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Each cloud concealed a man, prone atop it with lightning-warding talismans pasted on their bodies. The clouds themselves were specially refined, summonable to float in the air.
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Spotting him, the three leaped up. One shook a banner, unleashing rolling thunderfire straight at him. That banner was a talisman soldier, inscribed with thunder and fire runes augmented by saltpeter gunpowder—terrifyingly potent.
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Sun Yisheng's soul activated its domain, smashing straight through. The domain shuddered violently amid the thunderfire and powder blasts.
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He burst through the inferno, sword qi lashing out to behead the man. Wheeling, another sword light flew to meet the next assailant. That foe faced sword light splitting—one to two, two to four, four to eight, eight to sixteen, endlessly dividing!
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The man stayed calm amid peril, activating arts that sprouted a thousand arms, each wielding spells to block the sword lights. But at the tenth split, he faltered.
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> "Sizzle! Sizzle! Sizzle!"
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Sword lights pierced him from every direction.
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The man's eyes bulged, holding his form intact as he snarled,
> "Chen Tang's Profound Subtlety Sword Scripture?"
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Sun Yisheng's soul streaked past, voice entering his ears:
> "You recognize the Profound Subtlety Sword Scripture? Then you must be an elite of the Western Capital's Divine Mechanism Battalion. I've only mastered up to the tenth split of Lord Chen's sword scripture. Had you blocked the tenth, I couldn't have killed you."
> "Chen Tang is that strong?"
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The man's brows and beard bristled in fury. He spat,
> "I don't believe it!"
Unable to hold together, he shattered into countless chunks of flesh.
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Sun Yisheng pursued the last one. Glancing down mid-chase, he saw beneath the canopy a treasured sword weaving like a roaming dragon, diverting incoming cannonballs into the underworld. They boomed there harmlessly.
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Some cannonballs veered off, detonating around the cart in rolling fire waves and surging shockwaves that engulfed everything—but the cart's astonishing speed left them trailing behind. Still, the cannonballs were too swift; any lapse, and all beneath the umbrella would perish!
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Sun Yisheng overtook the final foe, a talisman master who flung out a several-hundred-zhang talisman array exploding into myriad deities besieging him—exceedingly troublesome.
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Sun Yisheng ignored the talisman-born gods and demons, trading blows rapidly, wound for wound. Finally, with his soul riddled dozens of times over, he slew the talisman master! Descending from the heavens, he meant to return to his body when a cannonball hurtled at him.
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Sun Yisheng hurriedly activated his soul-domain. The cannonball crashed in, detonating massively. His form quaked wildly. Summoning a final breath, he kept his soul intact and dropped back into flesh.
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His face deathly pale, he meant to shield Chen Shi from more cannonballs—only to spew fresh blood, his senses swimming as his soul edged toward dispersal.
> "Young Master Chen, tell Lord Chen Tang I didn't flee."
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Sun Yisheng's voice faint as drifting silk, he said to Chen Shi,
> "I repay his recognition... but I may not get you to Western Capital..."
> "You won't die!"
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Chen Shi reached for the Ram-Horn Heavenly Spirit Lamp, barking,
> "Black Pot! Black Pot! Save him, quick!"
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Black Pot reared up on hind legs in panic, yanking Sun Yisheng's soul from his body and stuffing it into the lamp flame. Chen Shi's face darkened as he steadied the toppling Sun Yisheng.
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The other juren rushed to help, loading Sun Yisheng onto the wooden cart. Encircling it, they fled madly until escaping the bombardment zone.
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Chen Shi slowed. Fire clouds choked the sky; dusk fell.
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The juren huddled in fear, glancing about restlessly, murmuring,
> "The evils will come soon, no doubt."
As the fire clouds cleared, moonlight bathed the earth—though grayish-yellow in hue.
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Wind was rising again.
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Chen Shi halted the cart, announcing to the group,
> "We'll camp in the wild tonight."
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He affixed a wind-stilling talisman to the cart, then hung a lantern left by Grandpa from the front.
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Darkness deepened. Outside, the wind strengthened.
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The group sat leaning against the cart, watching gales howl louder, kicking up flying sand and stones.
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In the gloom, eerie silhouettes crept closer. But encountering the lantern's glow, they recoiled as if scalded.
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Sun Yisheng coughed inside the cart. The juren rummaged out their personal spirit medicines, passing them in. Chen Shi thanked them, returning the medicines.
> "His soul is wounded—these spirit drugs are useless."
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Chen Shi's little shrine still held some spirit herbs, though he didn't recognize them. Fortunately, among the juren was an apothecary—the same one who'd offered to heal them earlier, named Huang Fengnian. Chen Shi brought Huang Fengnian's awareness to the shrine, asking him to identify.
> "This is a sacred herb for soul wounds, called Soul-Stilling Grass. And this Return-Yang Flower fruit works too. But for maximum effect, refine them into pills."
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Chen Shi harvested the herbs, letting Huang Fengnian prescribe the formula. With ingredients readied, they still needed a pill refiner.
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One juren raised a hand sheepishly.
> "M-me. I'm a pill refiner. Mine are passable, but my furnace is poor—I can't control the heat well."
Another female juren chimed in,
> "I'm adept at fire spells. I can help you with the heat."
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They collaborated seamlessly, soon refining the needed pills and feeding them to Sun Yisheng.
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Chen Shi checked: Sun Yisheng's wounds had stabilized, no longer as dire. Black Pot took Sun Yisheng into the underworld, borrowing its power to recuperate his soul.
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Seated by the cart, Chen Shi questioned the group, discovering each juren had one or two specialties: apothecaries, musicians, talisman masters, pill refiners, even fortune-tellers and feng shui masters—every trade represented.
> "Sure, we passed the juren exams, but without money, how do we survive? Gotta make a living, right?"
Female juren Tian Yue'e laughed.
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Their cultivation methods were mostly Heavenly Heart Righteous Qi Art, topping out at golden core realm. Only one had broken through—Huang Fengnian the apothecary, accidentally via a premium spirit herb. Passing juren exams and cultivating this far, none were fools. But lacking superior methods, they couldn't advance further.
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> "Didn't you switch to other arts?"
Chen Shi asked. They all laughed.
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> "Switch to what? Where from?"
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Tian Yue'e smiled.
> "A county magnate offered to make me his concubine—no title, just a wild woman. Said he'd give me a nascent soul method. I thought three or four days, then refused. My dad slaved to put me through school. I cultivated all these years not to be some lord's sidepiece."
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Huang Fengnian said,
> "Our county magistrate had me work in the yamen, promising promotion. I served him years, but that nascent soul method he dangled never came. I figured he'd string me along forever."
Another female juren laughed.
> "You lot have it better—at least paths exist. Me? No paths at all. I live in my village; I'm the only juren there."
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The group chattered animatedly of their plights, laughing as they went—their sun-reddened faces making their teeth gleam white. Chen Shi couldn't hold back.
> "With your talents, you won't fail the jinshi exams! Why risk your lives coming to Western Capital?"
> "Because it changes fate,"
Tian Yue'e grinned.
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Someone murmured,
> "It's our one shot at changing fate. Miss it, and life's over."
They burst laughing.
> "Fail, and we see the end of our days plain as day."
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Chen Shi fell silent a moment, thinking inwardly,
> "To not teach the people to fight is to abandon them. The court has abandoned us."
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He imparted the Big Dipper Seven Refinings' tempering method.
> "Follow the Big Dipper Seven Refinings for seven returns, eight transformations, nine returns—you'll form nascent souls soon enough. As for full methods, wait till I return; I'll pass them on. We'll head to Western Capital together and ace the exams till the lords drop dead!"
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He rose, plucking the canopy from the cart.
> "Guard the cart. I'm heading out. Sis Feifei, watch the little one. It's dark—don't wander."
The group pondered the Seven Refinings, startled at his words.
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Tian Yue'e asked,
> "Night's fallen, gale raging—where to?"
> "Revenge."
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Chen Shi leaned on the canopy, striding into the howling winds. His voice carried back,
> "The Master said: Hear the Way at dawn, die content at dusk. I heard their cannons; tonight, I go finish them!"
Moonless night, high winds—the perfect hour for murder and arson!