Chapter 348
Chapter 348
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Translator: Ace
Chapter:
Chapter Title: Captured in the Blood Lake
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In the blood pool behind Peng Yan'er's head, the souls of ghost gods struggled within it, covered in gore, desperately trying to escape this bloody lake hell, only to be dragged back down by some inexplicable force every time.
The terror of the Blood Lake True Scripture was on full display.
The other ghost gods stared blankly at the scene, filled with unspeakable dread. The companions who had charged forward just moments ago had all perished in an instant, their souls even devoured by the blood pool behind this little Dapeng bird clan girl!
Peng Ju's Blood Lake True Scripture was powerful. The Eastern Palace had identified him as the killer of the Shepherd Ghost and Manman, and the several ghost gods who tried to capture him had all fallen to it.
But Peng Ju's version paled in comparison to his little sister's!
The leader, a three-headed, six-armed ghost god, lit up with excitement and laughed, "So you know the Blood Lake True Scripture too! Excellent!" His body swelled massively, transforming into a hundred-zhang-tall ghost god. His palm glowed with hazy green qi as he hunched forward and grabbed at Peng Yan'er.
Peng Yan'er flapped her wings, sending beams of blood-red sword light weaving up and down to meet his palm, piercing through the green qi.
The three-headed ghost god smiled faintly. Strange patterns emerged in his palm, forming a shield-like structure. Peng Yan'er's blood-red sword lights couldn't penetrate his palm in the slightest!
He was born from a higher race among the ghost gods, with even more of his bloodline power awakened.
A hundred-zhang physical body equated to the combined might of peak Refining God Realm experts from the mortal world. The Blood Lake True Scripture was formidable, but it couldn't harm him at all!
Seeing the tide turning against her, Peng Yan'er beat her wings and fled. The Peng bird clan was renowned for its speed to begin with, and after awakening her bloodline power, she was even faster than her brother Peng Ju. With a flap of her wings, she shattered the sound barrier, thunderous booms erupting from beneath her feathers!
The three-headed ghost god burst into laughter and leaped forward, catching up to Peng Yan'er in just two or three strides. He reached out and scooped her right into his grasp!
Peng Yan'er coughed up blood from the squeeze, unable to break free. "Lord Bichi, there's a skeleton over here too!"
The ghost gods searched the surroundings and spotted Chen Shi's white bone skeleton body. "It looks like it's already dead!" The three-headed ghost god Bichi declared, "This skeleton was Peng Ju's accomplice. Take it along as well!"
The ghost gods tried to lift the white bone skeleton, but it felt as heavy as a mountain. They chorused, "It's so heavy!"
The three-headed ghost god Bichi stepped forward and hoisted the white bone skeleton. To his surprise, there was a rotating blood pool behind the skeleton's skull as well. Even stranger, the blood pool was still operating, constantly drawing in the rosy glow from the nearby blood stream, refining it to nourish the bones!
The skeleton was in a state of death, yet it was somehow cultivating on its own! "The Blood Lake True Scripture truly is wondrous."
Bichi sighed in admiration as he picked up the white bone skeleton, then frowned. "It really is heavy. Quite inconvenient to carry."
He tossed the white bone skeleton to the ground and stomped down. Seven or eight ribs snapped, and the bones scattered apart. He said gravely, "Take the little bird. We're leaving!"
Peng Yan'er was stuffed into a birdcage, personally escorted by the three-headed ghost god as they scaled the Boundless Cliffs toward the capital of Tianchi Kingdom.
The great locust tree was littered with broken birdcages everywhere, while beside the blood stream at its base, Chen Shi's white bone skeleton lay scattered across the ground.
Peng Yan'er gazed outside her cage and murmured in her heart, "Brother Chen Shi, will you come back? Will you come save us?"
In Qianyang Mountain of the mortal world, Granny Sha, Du Yiran, and the others returned to Huangpo Village alongside Blackie Pot, carrying "Chen Shi," their expressions all rather unsightly.
Hu Xiaoliang reminded them, "He's about to wake up."
Everyone turned to A Zhuo. With a slight mental stir, swarms of bee insects larger than humans flew in. *Pfft pfft pfft*—they jabbed their stingers into "Chen Shi's" body one after another.
"Chen Shi," already numb all over, foamed at the mouth from the poison stings and convulsed uncontrollably.
Qingyang eyed "Chen Shi" with concern. "We just stung him not long ago. Stinging him again? What if we overdo it and kill him?"
"It's fine, it's fine. Little Ten was dead to begin with."
Granny Sha patted her chest confidently. "Even if he dies a few more times, I can still fish him back."
Du Yiran said, "Better to jab him a few more times, just to make sure he doesn't escape again."
The demon possessing Chen Shi's body was that multi-armed, monkey-like one. This demon excelled at transformations, shifting into all sorts of forms and vanishing without a trace. Capturing it had been a nightmare for the five of them—they'd chased it halfway across West Niu New Continent before cornering it on the shore of the Dark Sea. The demon had tried to leap into the Dark Sea, but luckily A Zhuo's ambush of venomous bees stung it, sending it tumbling into the waves.
The group had hesitated to extract the demon, fearing another might take its place in Chen Shi's body.
Their plan was to escort "Chen Shi" back to Huangpo Village and summon Chen Shi's soul back in. But mishaps still occurred along the way—the bees' venom didn't paralyze "Chen Shi" for long, and he'd escaped several times. That was why Hu Xiaoliang urged A Zhuo to administer more anesthetic ahead of schedule.
"Back in Huangpo Village, Chen Tang and his wife are going to laugh at us, aren't they?" Du Yiran suddenly said.
No one spoke.
"But it's still safer to bring Chen Tang along."
Qingyang suggested, "Chen Tang may be no fun at all, but with Granny's tricks alone, we probably can't suppress the demons inside Little Ten."
"Woof woof!" Blackie Pot barked.
Granny Sha's face flushed slightly, but she didn't object.
The group arrived at Huangpo Village. Chen Tang stood there with a box in hand, his face stern as he glared at them murderously. The five avoided his gaze. Granny Sha stammered, "Little Tang, we can explain!"
She kicked A Zhuo in the butt, shoving him forward in front of Chen Tang.
A Zhuo inwardly groaned. Chen Tang hated Creator Little Five the most, and he was a close second. As a child, he'd followed Chen Yindu around, who treated him better than his own son, so he'd seen the jealous looks in Chen Tang's eyes.
Steel ing himself, A Zhuo haltingly explained the whole story from start to finish.
He had now broken through to the Great Vehicle Realm, one of the world's rare top experts, but this explanation left him feeling more exhausted than clashing with an adult demon.
Chen Tang remained expressionless and said nothing.
Du Yiran considered pulling rank as his uncle but felt too embarrassed given his overly youthful appearance now.
After a moment, Chen Tang said, "You're all elders, but you can't let playfulness get the better of you. My wife and I have only this one son. He finally came back from the dead with great difficulty. I hope the five elders can show some understanding."
The five flushed red with shame.
Chen Tang continued, "Summon my son's primal soul back first. This time, I'll handle the demon extraction arrangements to ensure nothing goes wrong."
Granny Sha and the others were a hundred percent reluctant. With Chen Tang in charge, everything would be micromanaged to perfection, turning them into mere tools for the extraction with zero fun.
But who could argue? Chen Tang and Chen Shi were the aggrieved parties.
Soon after, Granny Sha summoned Chen Shi's primal soul. Du Yiran and the others seized the chance to yank out the demon inside him. Chen Shi's primal soul reentered his body, and he awoke groggily, feeling utterly numb, unable even to move his eyeballs.
"A Zhuo, how much longer until the bee venom wears off?" Granny Sha's voice came.
"About half a shichen left."
Granny Sha said, "Little Ten's primal soul seems different from before—much stronger."
Du Yiran examined him and puzzled, "It really is stronger, but his soul cultivation hasn't grown. Strange."
After half a shichen, Chen Shi could finally move. He struggled to sit up and smiled. "Auntie Sha, Uncle Du, have you removed all the demons from my body?"
Du Yiran coughed repeatedly, and everyone's faces looked a bit awkward. Chen Shi asked suspiciously, "Did something go wrong?"
"Just a tiny little problem."
Granny Sha laughed. "We only extracted two demons... but we're almost there! Don't worry—as long as you die one more time, we can pull out all the demons at once!"
Chen Shi had thought the five elders would have extracted everything over these past dozen days. Only two? He felt a bit disappointed, but then thought, "In that case, I'll make another trip to the underworld."
Qianyang Mountain in the underworld held many secrets yet to uncover, and the Peng siblings were ghosts worth befriending. Chen Shi didn't mind returning at all.
Granny Sha, the five elders, and Blackie Pot gathered by Chen Tang, whispering and huddling together out of Chen Shi's earshot.
Qingyang said, "For this demon extraction, we can't do it in the underworld—too many variables. The site should be Uncle Du's Void Great Realm. Even if a demon mutation happens, it won't escape easily."
Chen Tang shook his head. "A demon mutation pollutes everything in the covered area—things tainted with demonic qi, beings with demonic nature, the Great Dao twisted into Demonic Dao. If it mutates in Uncle Du's Void Great Realm, Uncle Du becomes the first demon. So the extraction site has to be the underworld, but this time we'll prepare thoroughly."
Qingyang muttered, "No fun..."
Chen Tang shot him a look, and Qingyang fell silent.
Chen Tang said, "We'll use Sister Qiutong's setup, but station experts by each altar to move them at any time, expanding or shrinking the coverage to match the mutation's range changes. Not every demon's demonic domain is just a hundred li—stronger ones have larger domains."
He looked around and added, "You'll lead this time. Uncle Du and A Zhuo as main forces: A Zhuo in the air to suppress the initial upward surge of demonic qi; Uncle Du confronts the demon's magic head-on.
"Uncle Yang wrestles it physically; Uncle Hu severs the surrounding space to block escape to the mortal world.
"Sister Qiutong, no direct combat—just shine the Sheep Horn Heavenly Spirit Lamp on its demonic soul to scatter its wits. Blackie Pot doesn't fight either—once Sister Qiutong blasts out part of the demonic soul, pounce and bite it, dragging the soul out!" His arrangements were airtight, earning nods from the group and the dog.
With such clear divisions, mistakes would be minimized.
Chen Tang said, "I'll set up the Heavenly Mechanism outside for support. If needed, I'll use its Ghost God Domain to suppress the demonic domain and help you out. But the Heavenly Mechanism has low intelligence and is easily invaded by demons, so no direct combat. I'll still have to rely on you all."
Granny Sha and the others eased up a bit, conceding Chen Tang wasn't entirely useless—at least he was reliable. "But before we start, I need you to rehearse, perfect your coordination until it's seamless."
Chen Tang declared, "We'll rehearse outside now. I'll use the Heavenly Mechanism as the demon—you five fight with perfect teamwork, sticking strictly to your roles. Absolutely no meddling in others' tasks!"
Granny Sha and the rest pulled long faces, now convinced Chen Tang was utterly no fun.
Du Yiran sighed. "Just go along with him. We messed up, after all." The group headed to the mountains to rehearse.
By afternoon, Chen Shi could barely walk. A Zhuo's poison bees were vicious—the excessive venom left his body sluggish. The white-clothed fairy noticed his soul's return and rejoiced, circling him happily.
Chen Shi lounged in a recliner in the courtyard, sunning himself. The white-clothed fairy snuggled beside him, feeding him grapes—fresh ones his mother had picked from Old Lady Wuzhu's vineyard, sweet with a tangy edge that filled his mouth with saliva.
"Not bringing the little temple to the underworld is inconvenient. I wonder if I can separate the little temple from my body and have it follow my primal soul?"
Chen Shi spat out a grape skin, and the white-clothed fairy quickly caught it with a paper.
He pondered, "If I could bring the little temple, it'd be much safer. The little temple was a gift from my godmother—not part of my fleshly body—so it doesn't need to attach to the body. The primal soul can take it to the underworld. If Blackie Pot sits on the divine shrine, he could come too..."
The white-clothed fairy diligently massaged his shoulders and back, speeding the venom's dissipation.
Chen Shi sat up, his primal soul flying out to gaze at his body, peering into the insights at the back of his mind. The body was a microcosm, brimming with mysteries.
In his mind was the Sea of Consciousness, vast and boundless—an ocean of awareness where lightning occasionally flashed, like thunder extending into the distance. That was the scene from a thought sparking in Chen Shi's mind.
Within the Sea of Consciousness lurked an abyss, sealed away beneath the waters.
If Chen Shi died, the Sea would dry up, revealing the abyss. The demons hidden there would crawl out and seize the body.
Above the Sea was the Divine Court, home of the primal soul, radiant as a heavenly palace. Higher still lay the Heavenly Gate, where the soul exited the body.
Gazing downward: nose like a celestial chasm, tongue like the Jade Pool, throat like twelve-story towers, spine like the thirty-three heavens, heart liver spleen lungs kidneys as the Five Sacred Mountains floating in the air, large and small intestines twisting nine turns like the Yellow Springs straight to the underworld.
The body's skin was like the heavenly canopy barrier, encompassing this magnificent vista within. Shattering the void meant breaking free of that barrier's restraints.
Chen Shi had already achieved void-shattering, merging naturally with the outer world's heavens and earth, but he sensed constant dangers from the evil qi pervading them.
His gaze focused on the little temple.
Like the divine shrine, his little temple was hidden inside the jade pillow bone at the back of his skull.
The jade pillow bone connected to the brain via an acupoint that linked upward to the heavens and downward to the spine and neck vertebrae—an extremely vital spot. The otherworldly true god had implanted the Divine Embryo there.
Chen Shi had never pondered why the Divine Embryo landed there before, but now he saw the ingenuity.
"The Divine Embryo needs a foundation to take root, so the True King devised the divine shrine first, hidden in the jade pillow acupoint, giving the falling Divine Embryo a landing spot. That's how the Divine Shrine and Divine Embryo realms came about. But I don't need that!"
His eyes gleamed. "I have no Divine Embryo to implant! So my divine shrine and little temple don't need to hide in the jade pillow acupoint!"
With a mental stir, the little temple emerged behind his head, floating behind his primal soul.
Chen Shi's primal soul leaped and flew about, the little temple trailing faithfully behind without issue.
The next evening, Chen Tang deemed their rehearsals foolproof. He led the group, including Chen Shi, to the underworld, accompanied by Sun Yisheng and many other Combined Body Realm experts.
Sun Yisheng and the others had been minor clerks in the Ministry of Revenue, but all were Refining Void or Divine Descent Realm cultivators. After joining Red Mountain Hall, with wealth mates land and methods aplenty, their cultivation had soared!
They were Chen Tang's old subordinates, each assigned to an altar.
After confirming no flaws in the coordination, Chen Tang nodded in satisfaction and said to Qingyang, "Uncle Yang, please do the deed and kill my son. I can't watch this."
Qingyang, experienced as ever, thrust his hand into Chen Shi's back, sending him on his way!
Chen Shi's corpse slumped to the ground, his primal soul departing the body, drawn to another form as it shattered space and vanished. Suddenly, Chen Shi's corpse on the ground erupted in laughter. "Hahaha!"
"It's finally my turn!"
"Chen Shi" bolted upright, his demonic domain exploding outward. He bellowed, "This world, submit at my feet! Conquest or destruction—choose one!"
Deep in the Yin Mountains, before the Boundless Cliffs by the blood stream, the scattered bones began to tremble and slowly reassemble into a complete skeleton.
*Whoosh—*
Light flared behind the skeleton's skull, the blood pool whirling. A little temple floated above the blood pool.
The skeleton turned its head, beholding the corpses of numerous Dapeng birds. A nameless karmic fire blazed fiercely in its chest!
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