Chapter 331
Chapter 331
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 331
Chapter Title: Chapter 331 Xiao Shi saves his mother
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In the enveloping darkness, small boats drifted aimlessly. Figures stood aboard each one, clutching lanterns in their hands.
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Here among the numerous yin constables, there was no sky or earth, no river waters—everything lacked any foundation, as though a massive chunk of the Immortal Capital had been devoured by the blackness.
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This heavenly street, stretching toward the Yuanchen Palace at its distant end, served as the sole foothold. Any soul body arriving here would plummet eternally into the dark if it strayed from the street—like tumbling into a dream demon's grasp, falling endlessly.
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Yet the yin constables' small boats could float atop the darkness itself.
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The child-heaven spirit lamps clutched by the cluster of yin constables flared to life!
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Chen Shi let out a thunderous roar. The Heaven-Measuring Iron Ruler in his grip hovered into the air, the Universal Fire Realm howling around this unremarkable-looking iron rod in a whirlwind of flames. The fire realm spanned dozens of mu, igniting the weapon to its full potential!
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He channeled nearly every drop of his mana into the Universal Fire Realm.
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"Big! Big! Big! Big!"
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"Boom!"
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The instant the child-heaven spirit lamps ignited in the hands of dozens of yin constables amid the darkness, a black iron pillar erupted outward. It spanned the void, unleashing torrents of thunder that cascaded in all directions, transforming the blackness flanking the heavenly street into a churning sea of lightning.
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"Blackie Pot!"
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With Chen Shi's bellowing cry, Blackie Pot's frame swelled to even greater immensity. Head lowered against the colossal black iron pillar, it barreled forward along the heavenly street!
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Brute force incarnate, its charge accelerated relentlessly, shoving the Heaven-Measuring Iron Ruler onward in a rampage. Crashing impacts echoed from the darkness on either side as yin constables were battered by the pillar and crushed beneath its inexorable advance!
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Thunderbolts hammered the yin constables. The Heaven-Measuring Iron Ruler smashed them until plumes of yin fire erupted from their eyes, ears, mouths, and noses!
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Chen Shi sprinted furiously beneath Blackie Pot, hurtling along the bridge-like heavenly street toward the Yuanchen Palace at its far end!
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"Prisoner Chen Shi, you think this is the Immortal Capital?"
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A voice suddenly rang out from behind them.
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"Wrong. This is the grand prison Lord Qing Tian designed just for you! You fell here the last time you were captured too!"
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Chen Shi's heart jolted at the voice.
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"Was I suppressed by Lord Qing Tian? Does that mean my ties to him aren't as strong as I thought?"
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No time for deeper reflection—he charged ahead even faster.
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The voice emanated from Young Master Wei Yue's Yuanchen Palace. There, the Fire Judge towered a thousand zhang high, wreathed in roaring inferno flames, his gaze fixed on the void beyond the palace.
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A red-haired ghost perched on the Fire Judge's shoulder. Young Master Wei Yue stood before it, peering into the dark expanse. The Immortal Capital lay all around, yet the darkness ballooned ever outward, vast and endless. The heavenly street cleaving through it resembled a celestial bridge spanning thousands of li.
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Blackie Pot's mountain-sized bulk and the Heaven-Measuring Iron Ruler's hundreds-of-li length seemed diminished in scale.
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Young Master Wei Yue's eyes locked onto the Heaven-Measuring Iron Ruler. He turned to ask,
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"Is that iron pillar the prehistoric relic unearthed from beneath Western Capital?"
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The Fire Judge peered intently and nodded with a flicker of surprise.
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"Indeed, that treasure.
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"But word is, the disciples of Despair Slope already claimed it. No great clans would touch the thing. How did it end up with Chen Shi?"
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Young Master Wei Yue frowned in bewilderment, then chuckled.
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"Chen Shi can't possibly be from Despair Slope. If it's in his hands now, we'll just take it. Those Despair Slope fools won't have the gall to demand it back.
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"The treasure will belong to the Yan Clan."
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In the darkness, horse-faced and ox-headed yin constables shook free their true forms—one after another, six or seven hundred zhang tall—straining against the Heaven-Measuring Iron Ruler.
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At their feet, the small boats ballooned into massive wooden vessels, two or three li in length.
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Carved from single colossal logs, the boats had been too tiny before to reveal details. Now in their full glory, their cross-sections bore snarling ghost faces as they bobbed in the void.
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When a boat surged forward, its ghost face drew a long, greedy inhale. When retreating, it exhaled a forceful gust.
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Under strain, the face twisted into a savage grimace of exertion.
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More than forty yin constables heaved as one. Though Blackie Pot shoved them nearly a hundred li ahead, they finally halted the Heaven-Measuring Iron Ruler.
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With a thought from Chen Shi, the Heaven-Measuring Iron Ruler whistled and shrank. He seized it and pressed onward.
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The heavenly street sprawled impossibly vast beneath his feet. He dashed along it like a speck of an ant!
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"Swish—"
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The towering ghost gods, six or seven hundred zhang each, invoked their child-heaven spirit lamps. Thick rays of light lanced from every direction, converging on him!
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Thunderous proclamations boomed from all sides.
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"Prisoner Chen Shi, surrender!"
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These beams targeted divine souls alone. Once pinned, no amount of cultivation or primordial spirit fortitude could save one—they would be blasted from their flesh, helpless to the slaughter!
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Blackie Pot thundered forth with a roar, demonic qi roiling across its body and demonic flames surging to repel the child-heaven spirit lamps' divine glow.
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Yet countless pillars pierced the demonic qi and fire, bearing down. Blackie Pot bounded across the heavenly street, intercepting them for Chen Shi.
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Each beam that struck sent its body into violent spasms, demonic soul quaking within its frame.
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Its soul destabilized, teetering on the brink of separation from its flesh several times over.
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Agony like flesh and soul being rent asunder—unbearable torment. With every hit, its face contorted, unleashing heaven-shaking howls.
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Still, Blackie Pot leaped and slashed, shielding the beams away.
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Its demonic soul proved too mighty; struck by a pillar, it merely shuddered before snapping back into its body. Not even the yin constables could rip it free entirely.
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Wooden boats closed in from every angle. Ox-headed and horse-faced yin constables slung their child-heaven spirit lamps from the prows, snatching up weapons—steel forks, double hooks, long spears—poised to close and carve them apart.
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Suddenly, three bucket-toting little imps burst from the flank. Barely two chi tall, they brimmed with terrifying power. An ox-headed little imp launched a flying kick, sending a six-hundred-zhang horse-faced yin constable tumbling into the dark.
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Another—a little night yaksha—met an ox-headed yin constable's three-pronged fork with a single punch. The enormous divine weapon reeled backward and vanished with a whoosh, hurling its wielder after it.
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The horse-faced little imp seized another night yaksha yin constable and smashed it down, then pounced toward the next foe.
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The trio bounded amid the wooden boats, smashing relentlessly. Against hordes of yin constables, a single strike sufficed. Those cast from their boats found no purchase in the darkness, flailing like drowning wretches before plummeting ever downward!
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Fresh wooden boats swarmed from all directions, their yin constables swinging divine weapons at the three little imps.
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More vessels plunged into the blackness, laden with yin commanders and yin constables under Judge Wei Ling, charging straight for the imps and Blackie Pot.
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"Chase Soul, Sin Karma, Knife Mountain—we've awaited you long enough!"
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From Young Master Wei Yue's Yuanchen Palace, the Fire and Earth Judges soared forth, lunging at the three little imps.
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The red-haired ghost scooped up Young Master Wei Yue from the Fire Judge's shoulder and alighted on the sky bridge to observe the fray from afar.
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Pressure mounted on the three bucket-toting little imps. Each unveiled a golden body, swelling into thousand-zhang titans of awesome stature, locked in ferocious combat.
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Countless more yin constables stormed the sky bridge, slashing at Blackie Pot from every quarter!
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Blackie Pot lunged left and right, ripping and biting. At times it trampled demonic flames into the dark to grapple hundred-zhang ghost gods in mortal strife; at others, it surged back onto the bridge, bowling aside yin constables lunging for Chen Shi!
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"Lord Qing Tian's design is masterful—a lone path tailored for Chen Shi."
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Young Master Wei Yue watched the melee, eyes glinting as he smiled.
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"Were it me, I might have no means to take him.
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"But Lord Qing Tian's beast-trapping array lures him right into the cage of his own accord."
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No sooner had he spoken than a streak of black light hurtled along the sky bridge, closing dozens of li in a heartbeat.
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The Universal Fire Realm whirled around the black light in a shrieking vortex!
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"The Heaven-Measuring Iron Ruler?" Young Master Wei Yue's eyes gleamed. He smiled thinly.
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"Chen Shi, you've spotted me?"
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The Heaven-Measuring Iron Ruler ballooned with a whistle, hurtling straight for him.
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Young Master Wei Yue stood with hands clasped behind his back, utterly still—not retreating, not resisting.
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The red-haired ghost interposed itself before him and bellowed skyward in fury.
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Its body surged taller, vaster, into a thousand-zhang ghost god of bulging, savage sinews. Both hands thrust forward!
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The Heaven-Measuring Iron Ruler arrived in a blink. Its tip had thickened to a full li wide!
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The red-haired ghost vaulted skyward, leaping clear of Young Master Wei Yue.
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Young Master Wei Yue's smile lingered as the whistling Heaven-Measuring Iron Ruler slammed into him!
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Shock flashed in his eyes. In that fleeting moment, he knew betrayal—and the raw, tyrannical force of collision!
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The Heaven-Measuring Iron Ruler pinned his body. Cracking snaps echoed from his bones, with his Yuanchen Palace looming dead behind.
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The impact was devastating—enough to pulverize his flesh outright!
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Young Master Wei Yue clenched his jaw and summoned his primordial spirit. The instant it fused with his body, his frame erupted in explosive growth, swelling massively!
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"Boom!"
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His body crashed into the Yuanchen Palace astern. Blood poured from him; his wounds were dire.
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From eyes, ears, mouth, and nose, the Heaven-Measuring Iron Ruler shrank swiftly to a three-foot-eight-inch black iron rod and streaked away through the air.
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Young Master Wei Yue hacked up gouts of blood and dropped to one knee. Straining to look up, he saw the red-haired ghost bounding like lightning toward Chen Shi, smashing every yin constable in its path!
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Shock, rage, grief, and confusion warred within Young Master Wei Yue.
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"Red Flame, why betray me?"
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The red-haired ghost had shadowed him loyally for years. He'd named it Red Flame; it had braved life-and-death trials at his side countless times. He'd counted on it blocking that strike—yet it had fled and turned coat, aiding Chen Shi!
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The red-haired ghost carved forward along the sky bridge, swiftly overtaking Chen Shi and Blackie Pot to escort their charge!
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Seeing the red-haired ghost, Chen Shi stared in utter shock.
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"Miss... it's you?"
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The red-haired ghost flipped midair, kicking a yin constable flying before landing solidly on the bridge.
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"It's me!"
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Chen Shi remained flabbergasted.
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"How did you possess the red-haired ghost?"
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The red-haired ghost sounded aggrieved.
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"I have no idea. It just... happened, all in a daze.
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"The wretch was more stunned than I was when I arrived."
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Chen Shi could scarcely credit it.
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The red-haired ghost's power clearly outstripped the Boat Lady's—yet she'd commandeered it, shunting its own primordial spirit aside.
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Granny Sha's possession art wasn't merely a vessel for takeover. It doubled as a lethal strike!
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"Granny Sha meant only to devise a temporary possession technique. But in crafting it, she got sloppy out of habit—'eh, it'll work anyway.'
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"Who knew a fluke would turn it into a way for the weak to topple the strong!"
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With the red-haired ghost's aid, it and Blackie Pot shielded Chen Shi from either flank. Their pace surged; the Yuanchen Palace lay just a hundred li distant!
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"Wake the Calamity Hound!"
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Young Master Wei Yue barked the order.
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"Hurry—wake the Calamity Hound! Have it deal with them!"
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Several yin constables spurred their wooden boats toward a titanic shape in the dark.
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Chains thicker than imagination bound the behemoth, linking it to the Yuanchen Palace. It slumbered deeply, a vast golden talisman gleaming on its brow.
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A dormant giant hound, radiating an aura to shake the heavens.
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A beast of such scale left even yin constables quaking in its presence.
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The red-haired ghost sprang aboard a wooden boat, hurling its yin constable overboard, and raced toward the colossus.
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Too late—the others had reached the hound's crown. The red-haired ghost cursed inwardly as one dashed for the forehead talisman. Abruptly, a stone house materialized in its path. The door swung open, and out stepped a young man—strikingly handsome, scholarly in mien, though his hands were callused and broad from heavy labor.
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"Not too late!"
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The young man eyed the onrushing hundreds-zhang ghost god and smiled faintly.
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"Ghost gods? A dime a dozen. But a twenty-year-old in Mahayana Realm? Seen that before?"
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The yin constable lunged and stomped down—only to find the young man swelling larger with proximity.
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By the moment of impact, his foe loomed a thousand zhang tall. The constable was the mite now!
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The young man flicked his sleeve. The attacker flew.
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Yin constables swarmed from every side. The young man drew a deep breath. A void great realm, wan as a crescent moon, bloomed behind him—then merged seamlessly into his flesh.
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Flesh, primordial spirit, and void unified at last. He'd refined the Void Great Realm to a single arc of light!
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Perched atop the giant hound's head, he faced the onslaught. His strikes swept grandly—no foe withstood even one.
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A Yan Clan yin commander charged, swelling into a thousand-zhang primordial spirit. Golden body ablaze, incense smoke coiling, it roared and invoked the Supreme Sun-Moon Primordial Unity Scripture. Three suns and moons wheeled about its form, its palm thrusting forth.
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One of the ten paramount true cultivation tomes, it led straight to perfected Ascension Realm—rivaled only by immortal arts.
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The commander had reached Mahayana in life via the scripture. Bereft of flesh, its years forging a ghost god golden body in the underworld had yielded formidable might.
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Their clash: the Yan Clan yin commander grunted and reeled back from the Calamity Hound's crown!
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Chen Shi barreled ahead. Witnessing this, joy and shock surged through him.
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"Grandpa Du?"
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The young man threw back his head and laughed, voice booming with vitality.
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"Little Ten, no more 'Grandpa'! Call me Uncle Du from now on!"
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Chen Shi's spirits soared. He adapted at once.
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"Got it, Uncle Du!"
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Blackie Pot shielded him through the melee, reaching the Yuanchen Palace's threshold.
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Chen Shi produced the prohibition talisman from Lady Ling Su and affixed it to the doors. He shoved—and they swung open.
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Chen Shi stepped inside the Yuanchen Palace.
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"Mom, I'm here to save you!"