Chapter 339
Chapter 339
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Translator: Ace
Chapter:
Chapter Title: Li Tianqing Returns
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Wu Qingyu looked toward Huangpo Village. She saw that Chen Shi was tired from cultivation and had simply lain down on the White-Clothed Fairy's lap. The fairy sat beneath the tree, digging out his earwax for him.
"Her age is just a tiny bit older."
Chen Tang said, "But it's not that much. She's simply too beautiful. I'm worried she'll disrupt Little Ten's Taoist heart and make him lose his drive to advance."
Wu Qingyu said, "I think she's a fine young lady—gentle, shy. Some bastard must have beaten her senseless. If she could recover her memories, she'd make a perfect match."
Chen Tang said, "Her trailing after Little Ten all the time, even crawling into his bedding—it's no way to go on. One of them doesn't understand relations between men and women, the other has lost her memory. If they keep muddling along like this, trouble's bound to brew sooner or later."
Wu Qingyu smiled.
"I say we let nature take its course. No need for us to meddle."
Chen Tang nodded.
At noon, County Magistrate Hu Feifei hurried over from the county seat. Chen Shi took Nannuo along to accompany the county magistrate on a tour of the mountains and streams.
Wu Qingyu said, "The county magistrate's not bad either. Her family were your old friends—if they could pair up, it'd be families uniting through marriage."
Chen Tang wouldn't hear of it.
"Hu the county magistrate's a fox spirit."
Wu Qingyu gave a cold laugh.
"And how many fox spirits have you scholars kept?"
"True, I'm a scholar, but I've never kept one! Besides, fox spirits are experts at seducing with their charms. They make men drown in lust and abandon all ambition."
"I see the county magistrate as tough as iron. She's spent all this time around Little Ten without laying a hand on him."
"That's true enough. Let nature take its course, then."
When Chen Shi and Hu Feifei returned to the village, they spotted from afar a youth in pale green robes standing by the roadside at the village entrance, waiting for them.
The youth appeared young in years, but he was already tall as any grown man. His features were refined, bearing the steady reserve of a noble house scion.
Behind his head floated a small courtyard, arranged in the layout of a temple complex.
"Tianqing!"
Chen Shi was both shocked and delighted. He dropped Hu Feifei and rushed over, laughing.
"Tianqing, you're finally back! You had me worried sick for ages. I went looking for you right after getting back from the western capital, but you weren't there!"
The youth was none other than Li Tianqing. Half a year apart, and he had shot up tall. His skin wasn't quite as fair as before—he seemed far more mature. He laughed.
"I just got back from out of town myself. I saw Grandpa and Mother, then heard you'd come, so I hurried right over. Congratulations on topping the imperial exams!"
Chen Shi laughed.
"If I could top them, so can you. Thing is, it doesn't amount to much. The court won't even hand out an official post. I figured topping the exams would make me a True King or something."
The two left Hu Feifei and the White-Clothed Fairy off to the side as they chattered away with great enthusiasm. Chen Shi recounted his recent ordeals—the exotic beasts and ambushes on the road to the capital exams, the Buddhist hells, slaying the young master, storming the Immortal Capital to rescue his mother. All manner of heart-stopping exploits that left Li Tianqing wide-eyed in awe.
"My time was spent hauling around Lord Guan Sheng the Emperor, dodging the Li clan's hunters. First I stashed Grandpa and Mother up on Qianyang Mountain, then it was running every which way, clashing with our pursuers."
Li Tianqing shared his own tales too. Chen Shi heard how he sized up every foe's vulnerabilities and couldn't help breaking into a cold sweat.
The two had known each other for years, their friendship deep. They talked without end—from ordeals to techniques, from techniques to spells. Before long, they were demonstrating right there outside the village. Rumblings echoed from beyond Huangpo Village as spells streaked through the air now and then.
"Oh, right—I've been having some issues with my body lately."
Chen Shi glanced around, then quietly confided his morning strangeness to Li Tianqing.
Li Tianqing gasped in shock.
"You too? Truth be told, mine started half a year before yours. I have to slap on a Calming Mind Talisman just to keep it down."
Chen Shi fretted.
"Earlier, while Nannuo, the county magistrate, and I were out sightseeing, I kept sneaking glances at her chest without meaning to. I think my lower household god's got hold of me. It's frighteningly potent."
Li Tianqing said, "Mine's got to be mighty too. By the way, did you run into Little Gold in the western capital?"
Chen Shi grew glum, his face darkening.
"I did. But Little Gold's gotten awfully close to Young Master Xiao. I saw them riding in the same carriage..."
Li Tianqing looked as if a spirit treasure had smashed his soul square on—face ashen, utterly heartbroken.
"Little Ten, I suddenly feel like getting drunk."
"Me too."
The two lads bolted off to town for drinks. Their first sip had them both grimacing. Li Tianqing stuck out his tongue.
"Too spicy! Shopkeeper, cut mine with two taels of water."
"Same for mine," said Chen Shi.
The shopkeeper shook his head as he went to dilute it, muttering under his breath.
"If you can't handle it, don't drink. Wasting my fine brew..."
The watered-down wine went down easier.
As the two youths drank, they reminisced about how they'd first met Jin Hongying, consoling each other not to grieve. Someday another beauty like that big sister would come along for them—no pretty-boy like Young Master Xiao would steal her away.
It was past midnight by the time they staggered back to the village, arms around each other, belting out mournful tunes along the road. Once in Huangpo Village, they skipped sleep entirely, sprawling on the tiled rooftops to gab till dawn.
"They look like they've just been through a breakup."
Wu Qingyu, roused by the noise, said to Chen Tang.
Chen Tang frowned.
"Seems that way. Who's this Little Gold?"
"Has to be Officer Jin Hongying of the Divine Mechanism Battalion." Chen Tang sounded unsure.
Wu Qingyu couldn't hold back.
"Does Lady Jin even know about their heartbreak?"
Chen Tang shook his head.
"No idea... I mean, I don't know. But I'd wager Lady Jin has no clue either."
Chen Shi and Li Tianqing moped for two or three days before shaking off the blow of lost love.
Over the next half month or so, Chen Shi copied down every cultivation system arrayed outside the Tomb of the True King, stashing them all in his Minor Universe Heaven.
With Li Tianqing back, he set him to studying the techniques. Whenever the Red Mountain Hall talisman masters hit a snag, Li Tianqing offered pointers.
Li Tianqing was sharp-minded and observant, with startling insight. Chen Shi had noticed long ago how he zeroed in on foes' weaknesses to strike at openings.
The more techniques and spells he mastered, the better he got at cracking them. Delving into the True King Tomb's arts gave him a massive boost.
That day, the Immortal Capital brimmed with celebration. Ghost runners, clerks, and judges streamed in from every direction. The Yama Kings of halls like Xuanming, Puming, Jue, Taihe, and Mingchen all converged to congratulate Vice Judge Wei Ling on succeeding to the throne of the Fifth Hall Yama—the new Yama Sovereign.
Yang Bi knew Young Master Wei Yue was a bungler and feared he'd botch things, so he took charge personally. He'd laid ambushes well in advance: any remnants of Lord Qingtian's faction would be rounded up in one fell swoop. Only once Wei Ling had ascended as the new King Yama did he breathe a little easier.
Word spread among discontented ghosts and gods in the Immortal Capital: "A Yama King needs the Book of Life and Death to command life and death across the realm. Without it, without mastery over the hells—what sort of Yama King is Wei Ling?"
Yang Bi asked Young Master Wei Yue, "How would you handle a thing like that?"
Wei Yue said, "Track down whoever spread it and kill them to cut off future woes."
Yang Bi smiled.
"Killing does nip trouble in the bud, but the words of ghosts are fearsome things. Slay one, and the rest will gossip all the more."
Wei Yue said, "Then kill them all!"
Yang Bi kept his patience.
"Why not find this rumor-mongering ghost or god and promote them to ghost runner? The underworld teems with them, most scraping by without prospects—begging scraps in the Immortal Capital, unable to cross to the mortal world.
Hand them a rice bowl, and they'll never smash it. They'll defend you to the hilt. However much they hated you before, that's how fiercely they'll shield you now."
Wei Yue's eyes lit up. He laughed.
"I'll make them a runner, then send them on some deadly errand—pick them off en route. No one left to wag tongues!"
Yang Bi's eye twitched. He badly wanted to kill the fool and install a new young master, but he held back.
*This waste doesn't need to accomplish anything. He just needs to occupy the seat.*
With Wei Ling's ascension wrapped up, Yang Bi eased up a touch. He summoned a Yang clansman and asked, "Any odd moves from Top Scholar Chen these days?"
"None."
The Yang clansman said, "Top Scholar Chen holes up in Huangpo Village day in, day out. Farthest he goes is New Township county seat. Cultivates morning and night, without fail."
Yang Bi asked who he kept company with. The clansman replied, "Li Tianqing's thick as thieves with him. New Township's Hu County Magistrate drops by Huangpo Village often. Top Scholar Chen burns incense in the mountains too—close with the local spirits."
Yang Bi was taken aback.
"I figured he wouldn't stay put, but here he is, behaving himself in Huangpo Village. How's his cultivation coming?"
"Advancing by leaps and bounds."
The clansman said, "His primordial spirit's nearly sixteen zhang tall."
Yang Bi paled in shock. A sixteen-zhang primordial spirit was the threshold for breaking into Divine Descent Realm. Chen Shi had gone from Incarnation Realm to sixteen-zhang primordial spirit in no time flat!
*Not counting those eight years he was dead, he's just twelve or thirteen. Breaking into Divine Descent Realm in so short a span? No—that can't be right!*
Yang Bi paced back and forth, muttering to himself.
"Someone carved out his divine embryo. He can't get a second boon from the Great Outer True God.
Without a god-granted divine embryo, he can't reach Divine Descent Realm. Nor Void Refining Realm...
No. I need to see him myself—figure out how he's breaking through to Divine Descent!"
He set out once more for Huangpo Village.
Up on the yellow earth slope, Chen Shi sat beneath the old willow tree, a scroll in hand. The White-Clothed Fairy leaned against him, listening as he expounded on the text's profundities.
"...The gentleman hides his sharp tool on his person and awaits the right moment to strike. It means the gentleman keeps his lethal weapon close, biding his time for the perfect opening—one strike to finish the foe."
Yang Bi, accompanied by the bird-headed, human-bodied woman in green robes, climbed the slope. He halted at the words, doubt stirring in his heart.
*Is that what it means? Have I misunderstood all along?*
He composed himself and pressed on up the slope.
*He's the zhuangyuan whose fame filled the capital, after all. There must be deep wisdom in this reading of the Book of Changes.*
Chen Shi's voice drifted down from above.
"...'Yin Jia' means we must prepare well in advance. Only with preparations can we face the unknown without peril—like keeping an auspicious weapon in your bosom that can one-shot a dozen foes. Store all manner of skills in your heart. Then, even in dire straits, you can read the moment, seize the ideal chance to strike, and rise triumphant."
Yang Bi jolted as understanding dawned. His eyes went wide.
"It's clear! Crystal clear! A true zhuangyuan!"
He reached the hilltop. Chen Shi handed the scroll to the White-Clothed Fairy and laughed.
"How's Shaohu got time to visit me today?"
Yang Bi smiled.
"I've come to tell you: Yesterday's grand ceremony in the Immortal Capital installed the Fifth Hall's new Yama King—a total success. Two judges tried assassinating Lord Yama Wei Ling during the rite. I've got them in custody."
Chen Shi laughed.
"Congratulations."
Yang Bi eyed him, puzzled.
"You're not burning with righteous fury? No urge to bash my head in?"
Chen Shi shook his head and glanced toward Nannuo, who was fishing alongside the boatman's family.
"You think I saved Lord Qingtian just to wreck your thirteen great houses' plans?"
Yang Bi laughed.
"Wasn't it?"
Chen Shi shook his head.
"No. I ran into her in the young master's Rouge Alley. They'd driven her mother to death and raised her like a bastard whelp. By eleven or twelve, they had her entertaining guests.
Her making it to adulthood was heaven's mercy alone.
That's why I killed the boss—and the young master too.
But propping up Lord Qingtian to reclaim the throne of Yama King? What's that got to do with me?"
Yang Bi's eyes gleamed.
"'The gentleman hides his sharp tool and awaits the right moment.' I heard you plain as day."
Chen Shi laughed frankly.
"I *am* a gentleman.
I hide my sharp tool not to hunt for a chance to take you down—to wipe out the thirteen houses.
No—it's so that when you and the other twelve houses cross me, I've got the weapon in my bosom to take you and those twelve houses out in one go."
Yang Bi mused.
"So not murderous intent, but intent to defend? Hence the hidden tool."
Chen Shi nodded.
"Exactly."
Yang Bi pondered a moment, then praised.
"Worthily the zhuangyuan—your literary brilliance shook the capital. Were this 'hide your tool' mindset universal, our age would rival the True King era.
To my purpose: Top Scholar Chen, without a true divine embryo, how do you cultivate so swiftly? No embryo means no breaking past Incarnation Realm—no Divine Descent, no Void Refining. You're stuck there forever..."
Chen Shi laughed.
"In the True King era, without divine embryos or true god boons—how did they cultivate?"
Yang Bi arched a brow, smirking faintly.
"You hold the Tomb of the True King—you've claimed its treasures, untouched True King era techniques, naturally.
But knowing the methods is one thing. The refining arts are long lost. Even we thirteen houses lack them.
So how do you leap over Divine Descent and Void Refining straight into Body Fusion?"
He asked earnestly.
"I know you've forged a sixteen-zhang primordial spirit. But without a true god's descent to empower your embryo and spirit, how do you sense the heavens, attune to the earth—shatter the void for that heaven-man communion? Without shattering the void, how do you transform your spirit's force field into a spirit dao domain?"
Chen Shi smiled faintly. Suddenly, his own primordial spirit manifested behind him—over a zhang in height, radiant with divine light, utterly dazzling! Yang Bi's face shifted.
"Your spirit's gone beyond sixteen zhang?"
Chen Shi laughed.
"Shaohu, you take the sixteen-zhang spirit as Incarnation Realm's limit? Yesterday in cultivation, I unwittingly broke past it. Don't know how to shatter the void? Yesterday I withdrew my spirit into my body and drew in heaven-earth righteous qi to cultivate. Suddenly, I grasped what shattering the void truly means."
Yang Bi shuddered.
"Might you share your insight?"
"Why not?"
Chen Shi said, "The body within is a minor heaven-earth; without, the greater.
The so-called void is the barrier of flesh. Shattering the void means shattering the divide between flesh and the outer heaven-earth—making body one with the all, so spirit enters and exits the flesh without passing heaven's gate. Limbs and torso, hair and skin—all become portals, free of hindrance.
That is shattering the void."
Yang Bi's mind reeled. Moments later, he exhaled stale breath.
"This is your own realization?"
Chen Shi nodded lightly.
"You're near Body Fusion yourself, aren't you?"
Yang Bi nodded mutely.
Chen Shi said, "Lucky coincidence—Body Fusion's my next step. Shatter the void, fuse spirit and body—no more barriers."
Killing intent flickered in Yang Bi's eyes, then faded. He laughed.
"You skip two whole realms. You don't grasp how mighty a true god's boon is."
Chen Shi laughed.
"And if I achieve this strength—no, greater—without any true god's boon?"
Yang Bi rose and headed downslope, then paused.
"When you've reached Body Fusion, let's have a go. Win, and I'll stake my life shielding you. The thirteen houses won't touch a hair on your head. But..."
He reached the base, climbed into his carriage, and called up to the slope.
"Top Scholar Chen, think it through. True King's path led him to seal away every immortal under heaven. You think you can escape that fate?"