Chapter 310
Chapter 310
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Translator: Ace
Chapter:
Chapter Title: Crafting the Universe Gate
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Chen Shi returned to the Chen mansion but didn't see Chen Tang. He couldn't help feeling puzzled.
"My dad hardly ever leaves the house after retiring from court. He stays home all day, glaring at me with his left eye like I'm an eyesore, then his right eye doing the same, nitpicking endlessly. What's got him venturing out today?"
He wheeled his mother out into the sunlight, helping her stretch her limbs and clear her meridians.
After trimming his mother's nails, Chen Shi gently worked each of her finger joints.
This was usually Chen Tang's task, but when he wasn't home, Chen Shi took over.
The boatman and his daughter had gone to the underworld over a month ago and hadn't returned. He felt a faint unease, unsure if they could retrieve his mother's soul.
"That father and daughter are clever. They shouldn't run into danger," he murmured.
Chen Shi sat beside his mother, slowly extending his primordial spirit force field to envelop her. Then he silently circulated the Supreme Sun-Moon Primordial Scripture.
The qi and blood in his mother's body stirred with the flow of sun and moon, gradually growing vigorous.
Chen Shi stood up, and his mother in the wheelchair rose with him. Chen Shi guided the sun in his primordial spirit force field with his left hand, and she mirrored the motion—feet apart, left hand embracing the sun, right hand the moon.
Chen Shi moved slowly, gradually performing the forms of the Supreme Sun-Moon Primordial Scripture.
His mother followed his movements, her qi and blood circulating within while the sun and moon tempered her externally.
Chen Shi cultivated at a leisurely pace, and his mother's cultivation steadily advanced, her qi and blood growing ever stronger.
After half an hour, Chen Shi sat back down, drawing fire back to his origin. Behind him, his mother settled into the wheelchair, mirroring the motion.
Her dantian brimmed with vigorous qi and blood, gradually condensing into a golden core.
With his mother's soul gone, she was a vegetable, her cultivation regressing without practice—lost entirely, in fact. The Supreme Sun-Moon Primordial Scripture that Chen Shi chose was from the Ten True Scriptures of Cultivation, a method leading straight to the Ascension Realm. It wasn't the fastest, but it was steady, with a gentle process that was exceptionally kind to the body.
After the imperial exam competition ended, Chen Shi helped his mother cultivate like this every day. In just a few days, he'd brought her to the Golden Core Realm.
According to Chen Tang, when his mother was pregnant with him, fearing her Nascent Soul might mistakenly enter reincarnation, she had shattered it, leaving her without cultivation. Only after his birth did she rebuild it.
When Chen Shi had his Divine Embryo cut out, his mother was already at the Soul Transformation Realm. But his death struck her hard, driving her mad. Later, her soul fled, leaving only an empty shell.
As long as Chen Shi helped her cultivate daily, when her soul returned, she could directly inhabit the body and become a cultivator again.
Moreover, by using the sunlight and moonlight from the small temple during cultivation, her lifespan far exceeded that of traditional methods—not to mention everything else.
When Chen Tang returned to the Chen mansion, he saw wind-fixing talismans hanging in the courtyard. Chen Shi had covered the ground with paper sheets scribbled all over, along with wood, bronze mirrors, and jade plaques, all drawn with bizarre talismans.
Blackie Pot lay nearby, drained of much black dog blood, feebly barking once at him.
Several maids tended to the dog, stroking its head to soothe it and feeding it meat strips to replenish blood.
Chen Tang looked puzzled. Chen Shi muttered to himself amid the piles of paper, his face, hands, and clothes smeared with cinnabar and dog blood stains.
The fox-grape mirror hiding the small universe lay discarded to the side.
Chen Tang arrived full of concerns, planning to question Chen Shi about not telling him about the Heavenly Court. Was his old father just an outsider?
But seeing Chen Shi so busy, he set it aside.
"Little Ten, what are you doing?"
Chen Shi lifted his head from the paper stacks, looking somewhat manic.
"Dad, perfect timing. I'm experimenting with a new talisman. I want to combine the Treasure Chest Talisman with the small universe to create a cultivation holy land for Red Mountain Hall—plus a spot for everyone to gather regularly."
Chen Tang looked bewildered.
Chen Shi explained, "Grandpa's Thousand-Li Sound Transmission Talisman is great, but communication's still inconvenient, and you have to remake them after each use. So I wondered: can we combine the Treasure Chest Talisman from the Talisman Creation Treasure Mirror with the small universe?"
The Treasure Chest Talisman was the wooden box Chen Tang carried—it could store treasures. Open it correctly, and you retrieved them. Wrong method, and the box monster devoured you. Destroying the box didn't work either; only the right unlocking sequence did.
Chen Tang still didn't quite get it.
"What's the point of combining the Treasure Chest Talisman with the small universe?"
Chen Shi kept drawing talismans on paper.
"If the box shatters, you can remake one and still get the treasures. So where are they really? Not in the box. The box just opens a spatial passage."
He finished a new talisman with a flourish.
"I think the treasures are in some hidden space. So if we make a box that leads to the small universe, you could enter it anytime, anywhere! That way, Red Mountain Hall's talisman masters could cultivate there no matter where they are. Even in danger, they could hide inside!"
Chen Tang was dumbfounded.
His wooden box was a treasure he'd refined with the Treasure Chest Talisman. He was a grandmaster of talisman arts, even able to create the Talisman God Heaven's Mechanism!
But he'd never dreamed up something so outlandish!
Chen Shi activated the talisman on the paper and continued, "Of course, 'box' is just a metaphor. It could be a door, a mirror, even a jade talisman. Once we create this new talisman, Red Mountain Hall gets the ultimate holy land! Communication, cultivation, self-defense—all made effortless!"
The talisman on the paper resembled a Treasure Chest Talisman but with many variations. Suddenly, its lines writhed like crimson snakes. Space around the Chen mansion warped as the vermilion ink strokes thickened massively, intertwining and roiling through the courtyard!
The maids shuddered in terror, clutching Blackie Pot and trembling.
Blackie Pot trembled too—not from fear, but from blood loss leaving it chilled.
Chen Shi jabbed his cinnabar brush at the paper. A massive brush appeared in the air, stabbing down with a hiss!
"The spatial anchor's off. I need to fix the anchor in the small universe, not here where this talisman's anchored wrong."
Chen Shi withdrew the brush, took an ordinary one, and copied the talisman onto a scroll.
"But this one's still useful despite the anchor flaw. In combat, it lets your spells, divine abilities, or sword qi strike unpredictably—a thrust from the front emerging from behind to skewer the enemy."
He finished copying and resumed experimenting.
Seeing this, Chen Tang dropped the Heavenly Court matter.
"I lack this creativity. I'm truly not suited for the Heavenly Court," he thought.
Chen Shi tested many talisman forms, seeking the right spatial anchor. He failed to perfect it but created several new ones from the Treasure Chest base, making Chen Tang realize his own creative shortcomings.
He didn't have that flexible mind. Chen Yindu, Creation Little Five, and Chen Shi—they were the real innovators.
"Found it!"
Chen Shi's cheer rang through the courtyard.
Chen Tang looked over. Chen Shi held up a paper talisman with both hands, his head vanishing into it. He was fine, though.
Then his son crawled in—torso next, then legs—until he fully disappeared into the paper.
Moments later, Chen Shi flew out from the fox-grape mirror, landing and grabbing more paper to draw.
Chen Tang, baffled, asked, "You've created the new talisman. Why keep going?"
Chen Shi replied, "It's too complex—few could learn it. I need to simplify it. And encrypt it! Encryption turns it into a talisman key. Only key-holders can unlock the small universe. I can distribute unique keys—no leak worries. If one leaks, invalidate it remotely, blocking entry!"
Excited, he gestured wildly while explaining to Chen Tang. "I've set the anchor. It grows like a tree trunk from the seed-anchor. Each encrypted key is a branch. Users emerge at corresponding spots in the small universe. If a key leaks, the core talisman wipes that branch!"
He went on enthusiastically, then paused, puzzled. "Dad, you didn't get it?"
Chen Tang stayed silent.
Chen Shi deflated a bit and dove back into research.
Chen Tang thought, "I'm definitely not Heavenly Court material. Not this crazy."
Chen Shi worked obsessively on the encrypted talismans, soon finalizing over forty keys.
Three days later, Chen Shi looked exhausted but wildly exhilarated. He handed Chen Tang a jade pendant. "Dad, your talisman key. You need the matching unlock to activate it."
He passed a paper with the unlocking steps. Chen Tang learned fast, mastering it quickly.
He activated the pendant. Light projected a door of intricate, shifting talisman lines ahead—three-dimensional, dizzyingly complex.
Chen Tang performed the unlock, dissolving the array, and stepped through into the small universe beside the strange starry river.
Chen Shi waited there, grinning. "Well?"
Chen Tang pondered. "Great talisman, but what if enemies chase and enter the door too?"
Chen Shi said, "You used your vital energy to unlock. Disperse your qi and blood—try."
Chen Tang did, and the door snapped shut behind. Enemies couldn't follow.
Chen Tang exited the small universe. The floating pendant had fallen. "If I close the door by accident, how do I return? The jade stays behind; I have none."
Chen Shi explained, "Make another jade—like a new box monster. Activate it, and it opens a door: one side small universe, the other your exit point. Fleeing foes? Exit via small universe. Know all keys? Open doors to any key-holder's location! Only issue: unknown range."
He added, "If just hundreds of li, failure. Thousands? Barely useful. Whole Western Cattle New Continent? Success. Works in underworld-like places? Huge win! Testing needed."
Chen Tang sighed. "Too heaven-defying—draws heavenly wrath. Exposed, Thirteen Families, court, outer true gods would hunt you relentlessly. Limit to elites; select more via their keys as rewards for merit."
Chen Shi, new to officialdom, didn't grasp incentives well. Chen Tang said, "Give me all keys. I'll handle it."
Chen Shi drew them all and handed them over. Chen Tang went straight to Gaoshan County, consulting Yu Tiancheng, Granny Sha, Qingyang, and others. "Key-holders must be Heavenly Court members. Recruits undergo strict vetting: character, no Thirteen Families spies."
Everyone nodded.
Chen Tang was expert at this; they trusted him to manage.
That day, after clocking in at the Hanlin Academy's Wei Pavilion, Chen Shi headed home. A voice called, "Lord Little Chen, hold up."
He turned to see a yellow-robed youth emerge from the adjacent academy building—likely a Hanlin official, but plain-clothed. Puzzled, Chen Shi asked, "What can I do for you, brother?"
The yellow-robed youth smiled. "Zhuang Wuji here. You skipped the academy for days—closed-door cultivation, I figured, so I didn't disturb. Finally here; I had to meet you."
He approached, sizing Chen Shi up in surprise. "You've grown since eleven years ago. Dead and reborn, the body really regrows?"
Chen Shi frowned slightly. "You've met me before?"
Zhuang Wuji replied, "Once, when you lived. Child prodigy scholar, I'm puzzled: no Divine Embryo, yet you reached this realm and beat the young master?"
Bewildered, he continued, "Never heard of surviving Divine Embryo removal. Or true gods granting a second. Could you manifest yours? I'd like to see your comeback secret."
"No."
Chen Shi refused flatly.
Zhuang Wuji didn't press, smiling. "Your secrets are yours; I understand, no forcing."
Chen Shi bowed slightly. "Farewell."
He walked toward the Hanlin exit, finding Zhuang Wuji oddly suspicious.
Suddenly, a fleshy ear sprouted on a nearby tree—basin-sized.
Chen Shi pressed on. Ears bloomed everywhere: academy walls, eaves, trees, ground, ponds, doors. Tiny as sesame seeds, huge ones spanning ten-plus zhang across the ground!
He walked within a gigantic ear!
"Heavenly Listeners!"
Chen Shi's hand itched. He reached to scratch—and saw an ear on his hand!
Alarmed, he unleashed his primordial spirit force field. Wind-thunder, water-fire, mountain-swamp Ghost God Domains enveloped him, countering the Heavenly Listeners' Ghost God Domain and refining the ear away!
As the hand-ear withered, a tall man entered the Hanlin, passing Chen Shi en route to Zhuang Wuji.
Each step sprouted dense ears on the ground!
Chen Shi glanced back. The man knelt on one knee before Zhuang Wuji, head bowed. "Heavenly Listener Lord Guang Xiao pays respects to Your Excellency! All data on Chen Shi's division, as requested!"
Chen Shi's heart jolted. "He's the Heavenly Listeners' top boss!"
Heavenly Listeners had rigid ranks: apostles, deacons, lords, lord-kings, lord-masters.
Lord-masters were the pinnacle—each a Mahayana Realm powerhouse!