Chapter 343
Translator: Ace
Chapter: [Unknown]
Chapter Title: Adrift in Yin Mountain
"Granny Sha and the others are all powerhouses in their own right. They'll be fine. Besides, my dad's out there with thirty-seven Heavenly Mechanisms. Even if my corpse slips back to the yang world, it won't stir up much trouble. I'll just wait for them here..."
Chen Shi thought this over and felt a bit more at ease.
His body surely couldn't have gone far. All he needed to do was wait here. Once Granny Sha and the rest exorcised the demon, they'd send his body back—or summon his soul and bring him home.
He gazed into the distance, where mountains towered in endless ranks, impossibly vast. It had to be the projection of Qianyang Mountain in the underworld.
Chen Shi wandered through the ruins of this shattered palace complex, searching the ancient remnants for any clues about his Godmother.
"Stone Tablet Ten Mothers... could that be the stele outside these palace ruins?"
Chen Shi's soul flew into the air, sweeping divine light over the palace ruins below. Though long destroyed, he could still make out the grandeur of the temple complex that had once stood here.
This place must have been a temple spanning heaven and earth, bridging the yin and yang realms.
Even the ancient willow tree beyond the temple grounds had lived for countless years, lush and verdant. Absorbing a share of the temple's incense offerings, it possessed extraordinary power and thus pierced both yin and yang.
This realization shook Chen Shi to his core.
His treasure, the Measure Heaven Iron Ruler, performed no better than that in the underworld.
Chen Shi had yet to unleash even a fraction of the Measure Heaven Iron Ruler's might. Relying only on its ability to grow and shrink, he'd defeated yin attendants and gravely wounded Young Master Wei Yue, Zhuang Wuming, and others!
In the underworld, the Measure Heaven Iron Ruler stood vast as a mountain, immense beyond measure.
Yet the old willow's roots rivaled it—some even burrowed deep into the high ridge! This tree outclassed the Measure Heaven Iron Ruler by far!
So what exactly was his Tenth Mother?
Chen Shi looked up at Scholar Zhu hanging in the sky beyond and sighed in admiration,
"My esteemed teacher, Scholar Zhu—your ghost soul draped over this willow has created this spectacular yet eerie wonder!"
Could he climb the willow's roots back to the yang world? He flew upward along them, but the closer he got to the surface, the greater the pressure from above.
The real world above was solid matter. To bodiless ghosts and monsters, even a speck weighed like a mountain.
Chen Shi was dead. Though in soul form, without a body he was a ghost—and a soul-state ghost at that. He couldn't withstand the crushing weight of the real world.
"Hoo..."
Yin winds howled in the high air, battering his form, sending him tumbling, his entire being chilled to the bone.
These winds damaged the soul. Prolonged exposure would erode his cultivation.
Chen Shi circulated the Sky Jade Emperor Scripture to fend off the winds, then jolted to a realization,
"The Sky Jade Emperor Scripture is for fleshly cultivation. Without a body, I can't practice it!"
The roaring winds seized him, hurling him far away.
Yin energy congealed in the sky into dismal clouds of sorrow, whipped along by the winds. Amid the clouds drifted ice crystals, sharp as swords!
Chen Shi struggled to steady himself, activating the third new talisman. Thunder crackled around him in midair as he dodged the ice crystals.
Massive waves surged in his mind,
"The Wuji Jade Pearl Art moves qi and blood, refining it into jade pearls that course through the body. No body, can't cultivate. Five Manifestations Flower Viewing Art gathers the five elements' righteous qi to nurture heart, liver, spleen, lungs, and kidneys, bolstering qi and blood for inner elixir. No body, can't cultivate. Mysterious Subtlety Sword Scripture refines inner sword qi, gathering qi and blood at the brow to store it in the white aperture. No body, can't cultivate. Transformation Treasure True Art—no body, can't cultivate. North Emperor Subduing Demons—no body, can't cultivate. Canopy Marshal Subduing Demons Great Law—no body, can't cultivate. Wind Thunder Yu Step Divine Incantation—no body, can't cultivate..."
Dodging ice crystals formed from yin energy amid the gales, he mentally reviewed every technique he knew. All methods for cultivation, power enhancement—even some combat arts—were impossible!
Especially battle arts like the Canopy Marshal Subduing Demons Great Law and Thunderclap Jade Pivot Great Law, which burned vast amounts of qi and blood. They absolutely required a body!
In the underworld, none of these could be used!
Spell arts and divine abilities remained available to the soul, but they'd only drain his cultivation. In a place like the underworld, without a body, the soul would only weaken further.
The winds grew fiercer. Chen Shi's heart stirred. He traced a Wind-Stilling Talisman in the air. Pure qi, no blood—the talisman fixed the winds for a moment before shattering. The roaring gales swept him away.
Tumbling wildly in the wind, Chen Shi summoned his soul domain to anchor against the gale.
The soul domain manifested and linked instantly to the outer world. Yin energy invaded it, burrowing toward his body!
Chen Shi retracted it at once, but the infiltrating yin energy sparked violent shivers. His soul felt on the verge of freezing solid. He'd entered the underworld many times before, but with a body versus without—it was night and day!
The winds intensified, preventing him from holding position. Gritting his teeth, he repeatedly activated the third new talisman, riding thunder through the yin winds, his form flickering rapidly as he tried to escape.
After an unknowable time, he finally broke free, plummeting helplessly from the sky.
Chen Shi shivered uncontrollably, his soul on the brink of solidification. Forcing his magic to slow his fall, he still crashed heavily to the ground.
Nearby, mist clung low to the earth, drifting along. Countless lost souls wandered through it, all heading the same way.
Amid the mist lurked a monster. It too must have been chilled by the winds, now huddled by a campfire, warming itself.
Chen Shi unwittingly followed the souls forward. Spotting the roadside fire snapped him awake.
*What force bewitched me!*
He shook free of the souls and approached the monster's fire, shivering as he crouched and extended his hands to the flames. The warming creature was some bird-headed, human-faced breed, with a long beak—nostrils atop it—green skin, and red hair floating upward. It eyed Chen Shi curiously.
Wings sprouted from its back. An ice crystal pierced one; blood oozed from the wound.
It saw Chen Shi's kind differed from its own but didn't stop him from warming up. Instead, it rummaged in the mist, pulling out several "logs" to feed the fire.
Those "logs" were leg and rib bones—human or otherwise—that blazed green when touched by the eerie flames, repelling the yin energy.
Gradually, Chen Shi warmed a little and activated the second new talisman. Drawn by the White-Clothed Immortal, it deciphered the ancient script on the Measure Heaven Iron Ruler.
The second new talisman refined the soul, purging yin energy within to align body and soul toward pure yang. Warming by the fire, Chen Shi silently recited the incantation in his mind.
"Round Light Supreme Ultimate, Ruler of Divine Merit. Five Phases Righteous Qi, Endless Rotation. Primordial Unity Ancestor, Manifesting Success. Aiding the Dao's Might, Command Thunder, Drive Wind—Aligning Square Qi!"
Thunder light coursed through him, forming a taiji diagram that refined the invading yin energy.
He recited the incantation more than ten times, activating the talisman repeatedly. The yin energy invading his soul was fully purged.
Strangely, once cleansed, his hair floated upward too.
In soul form, over two zhang tall, his hair drifted skyward like in water—an odd sight.
Chen Shi exhaled deeply. Seeing the bird-faced monster staring in shock, he hesitated, then pointed his right hand like a sword at its wound.
Silently reciting the incantation, he activated the second new talisman. Five qi blended into primordial unity, birthing taiji thunder light that gradually refined the ice crystal from the wound.
After several repetitions, purging the monster's yin energy too, Chen Shi stood and looked around. Mountains loomed everywhere, peaks upon peaks. Ghosts trudged through the valleys, wading mist onward. No sign of Huangpo Village's high ridge or the willow roots bridging realms!
"No matter. Granny Sha will notice I'm missing soon and summon my soul, restoring me to my body," Chen Shi thought.
"Ga ji, ga ji." The bird-beaked monster spoke to him as it doused the fire.
Chen Shi laughed,
"I don't understand ghost tongue..."
But his words emerged as "ga ji, ga ji" too.
Realization dawned,
"I'm dead—a ghost now. Of course I understand ghost tongue! And everything I say comes out as ghost babble!"
The bird-beaked monster thanked him solemnly,
"I'm Peng Ju. Gratitude for your lifesaving aid."
Chen Shi smiled,
"I'm Chen Shi. You let me warm by your fire earlier, so I returned the favor. Do you know where we are?"
Peng Ju replied,
"This is Yin Mountain—called the Mountains of the Ten Directions."
Chen Shi pondered. In Western Cattle Divine Continent, aside from the Huangshi Mountains, no place boasted so many peaks. But Huangshi was volcanic, choked in smoke—not like here.
Nor was it the Henggong Mountains, full of rounded mounds unlike these jagged crests.
"How do I get back?"
As the thought crossed his mind, his wrist tightened—Peng Ju had grabbed him. Unnoticed, Chen Shi had drifted into the ghost throng, following them onward!
Peng Ju warned,
"If these lost souls take you, you'll end up as monster fodder."
Chen Shi hurriedly said,
"I just died—didn't know."
"No wonder."
Peng Ju continued,
"You're a cultivator, right? Your accent isn't local."
Chen Shi said,
"From Xinxiang."
Peng Ju's eyes puzzled—what was Xinxiang?
Chen Shi explained,
"There's a massive willow piercing yin and yang. High ridge beneath it."
"Ah, from the high ridge."
Peng Ju nodded,
"I saw you wield thunder to refine yin energy earlier. You know the Ghost God Domain scriptures?"
His eyes gleamed. From his bosom, he drew a ghostbook, gazing at Chen Shi expectantly.
Chen Shi hesitated, took it,
"I probably can't read..."
He flipped it open. The ghost-script talismans straightened in his vision. Though he'd never studied them, he could read them effortlessly!
The script resembled the Measure Heaven Iron Ruler's patterns but held far less information.
Having seen the four new talismans derived from the Ruler's script, he could now read this ghostbook!
It detailed a technique called the Blood Lake True Scripture—for soul cultivation!
Chen Shi stared, something off.
*When comprehending the four new talismans, I heard sacred divine chants, true sutras. Clearly, the Ruler's patterns are divine script. But how does divine script connect to ghost script?*
He pored over the Blood Lake True Scripture. Its text matched Blackie Pot's ghostbook—both ghost script.
Yet Chen Shi knew only the divine chants in the four new talismans—and could read ghost script! Something was wrong!
Silent for a beat, Peng Ju dimmed,
"You can't read it either?"
Chen Shi shook his head,
"I can. But where'd you get this book?"
Peng Ju said,
"Family heirloom."
"Really?" Chen Shi doubted.
"Absolutely true!"
Peng Ju swore vehemently, pointing skyward,
"Strike me with lightning if I lie half a word! Ancestral legacy. But by my father's and grandfather's time, no one could read it."
Chen Shi half-believed, smiled,
"If it's ancestral, you must know its name."
"Blood Lake True Scripture!"
Chen Shi's suspicions deepened, but Peng Ju naming it suggested truth. Did divine and ghost scripts truly align? And who drew those four new talismans on the desk?
*Dad couldn't. Probably not Grandpa. If he were back, he'd have awakened me. The only expert near me then was...*
An image of a woman flashed in his mind.
*Stone Bank Lady! Did she repay my nurturing by drawing the four new talismans?*
Peng Ju pleaded,
"Can you teach me?"
Chen Shi laughed,
"Of course. But I can't stay long in the underworld. Soon, someone will summon my soul and revive me."
Peng Ju doubted. Chen Shi was certain.
In the yang world, Granny Sha, Du Yiran, Qingyang, Hu Xiaoliang, and A Zhuo madly pursued "Chen Shi." That "Chen Shi" was a demon—supremely cunning, vanishing like a ghost. Spotting them, it shed its multi-armed form, blending into crowds, hiding its shape to slip away.
Granny Sha and company were frantic. Though their five wielded myriad arts, catching a demon bent on escape was immensely difficult.
Hu Xiaoliang caught up to Granny Sha, asking,
"Summon Little Ten's soul—could we control the demon then?"
Granny Sha, half-mad, snapped,
"We'd need his body first! What's the point without it? Blackie Pot, any scent of Little Ten?"
They'd chased to Niucheng. "Chen Shi" melted into the bustling market. Blackie Pot snuffled the ground ahead, seeking the scent.
Suddenly, Blackie Pot sneezed repeatedly, tears streaming.
Qingyang sniffed the ground, sneezed too, and raged,
"Old Demon Chen dusted the ground with pepper!"
Then, a white-clad figure caught their eye.
Granny Sha's eyes lit up. She laughed,
"Little Ten's sweetheart! Follow her! Girl, where's your little lover?"
The White-Clothed Immortal spotted them, flushed crimson, and darted behind an old tea egg vendor.
The vendor involuntarily manifested a small temple image. Seeing Granny Sha's group charge, it revealed its true form and fled!
In Yin Mountain's underworld, Chen Shi taught Peng Ju the Blood Lake True Scripture's two great methods. Still, Granny Sha never summoned him.
*He doesn't know he's thoroughly dead.*