Chapter 351
Chapter 351
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 352
Chapter Title: The Sovereign Passes Away That Day
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Tianchi Kingdom's capital had no fixed boundaries. The buildings were merely taller, more ornate, and on a larger scale than those in the villages and tribes. To Chen Shi, though, they were just clusters of villages and tribes of varying sizes.
Sang Xixi whispered, "Each village or tribe is a clan settlement. The inhabitants are often of the same race, with a presiding ghost god who enjoys their incense offerings. The other ghosts and monsters serve as their worshippers. These tribes together form Tianchi Kingdom's capital."
Chen Shi glanced toward one of the tribes. In the center of the village sat a towering ghost god, several zhang tall, ensconced in the largest manor, which was built on a scale fit for giants. The tribe's other ghosts and monsters lived in ordinary stone houses, all existing to serve this mighty ghost god.
That ghost god fixed its gaze on him, its forehead suddenly splitting open to reveal a single eye. A brilliant light shone toward them, like a miniature sun hidden in its brow.
Sang Xixi led Chen Shi and Peng Yan'er away from the spot under the ghost god's scrutiny. She explained, "Those ghosts and monsters sustain the ghost god with offerings, and in return, the ghost god protects them when danger comes. If the ghost god dies, they select the strongest among them to receive the incense and become the new ghost god."
In the distance, ghosts and monsters from one tribe stood on a wooden platform several zhang high, pounding furiously on a massive drum. Others clashed atop the platform, their collisions unleashing terrifying brute force that drew Chen Shi's attention.
These ghosts and monsters were adults, their bodies robust and brimming with immense strength. Some had even awakened part of their bloodline, granting them astonishing combat prowess.
Their bloodlines far surpassed those of the Peng Bird clan. Every casual gesture unleashed power comparable to experts at the Divine Descent Realm or Void Refining Realm!
Seeing this, Chen Shi felt a chill in his heart. "The ghost clan's bloodline power is too formidable!"
The underworld drew distinctions between ghosts, ghost monsters, ghost gods, and demons.
Ghosts referred to the souls of humans or livestock like cattle and horses that, after death, drifted into the underworld and, lacking a vessel, transformed into spirits.
Ghost monsters were underworld creatures born from yin energy, such as yakshas, ox-headed fiends, horse-faced fiends, and other ghost races.
Ghost gods came in two varieties. One type were adult ghost monsters who received incense sacrifices and worship from their kin or other ghosts, ascending to godhood. The other were humans, livestock, or demons who had performed great merits in life and, after death, received long-term worship from the living world, earning divine posts in the underworld through their virtues.
Demons, meanwhile, were bizarre species born from the underworld's malevolent energies. They often lacked physical forms, attaching to withered bones, underworld plants, or lurking in shadows, appearing and vanishing unpredictably.
On the distant arena platform, one ghost monster suddenly thrust its hands forward and clapped them together heavily. A torrent of floodwaters erupted, slamming its opponent flying!
The scouring force of that deluge was astonishing, shattering the opponent's bones and snapping its tendons.
Sang Xixi whispered, "See anything telling?"
Chen Shi's voice grew grave as he replied in a low tone, "I do. Divine abilities!"
"Exactly—divine abilities!"
Sang Xixi praised him effusively, then grew a bit annoyed. "How did you spot it? When the sect master brought me here, we saw ghost monsters vying for a divine throne. They used divine abilities too, but even after watching for a good while, I couldn't tell."
Chen Shi said softly, "Spells borrow from the heavens, earth, and spirits. Divine abilities draw from one's own might."
He was a grand master of spells, proficient in the Grand Zhou Heaven Canon with its 2,400 talismans, which could evolve into thousands or even tens of thousands of spells.
Talismans were the pictographic scripts of spells, recording the forms of gods and demons to wield extraordinary power through their likenesses.
Scripts were the true names of gods and demons, invoked to borrow their strength or even transform into them.
Scripts were the languages of gods and demons, commanding natural forces through divine and demonic tongues.
All these belonged to spells.
But cultivating divine abilities harnessed one's innate might, without relying on gods or demons!
Divine abilities meant communing with the divine through one's own power, needing no external aid.
The ghost clan's bloodline power was precisely divine abilities!
Adult ghosts could awaken their bloodlines and master divine abilities!
If such a horde of ghosts invaded the mortal world—
Chen Shi frowned slightly, thinking, "Spells are slower to activate than divine abilities. Divine abilities are faster, but a race can typically only master one or two. Spells offer far greater variety and complexity. So which is stronger remains debatable."
He relaxed a bit.
He noticed areas for smelting and forging here too, organized by tribes, with all the ghosts and monsters engaged in smithing and metallurgy.
He spotted another tribe weaving cloth—not on looms, but by hand. The female ghosts there had eight arms, their needles darting like lightning. Yet the fabric they produced was coarse.
Chen Shi finally understood where those little yakshas' ragged loincloths had come from.
"The little yakshas' rags must be bought from here. They're not torn when purchased, but the little ones are usually broke, and after wearing them a while, they fall apart."
Though rugged, Tianchi Kingdom had highly developed craftsmanship. Chen Shi saw tribes specializing in shipbuilding, fishing gear, and even commerce among the ghost races.
Beyond that, there were hulking ghost gods clad in armor, wielding axes, blades, and forks—likely the capital's guardian warriors.
As he traveled along, he witnessed customs utterly unlike the mortal world, broadening his horizons immensely.
Sang Xixi said, "In Tianchi Kingdom, we skeleton cultivators—who refine earth into form—are classified as our own race: skeleton ghosts. Our status is low, not much better than little yakshas. We have no tribes of our own. Cultivators who come here to make a living often possess skeletons after death, scavenging treasures from the underworld to send back to their families in the mortal world."
A thought suddenly struck Chen Shi. He said, "We skeleton ghosts are cultivator nascent souls possessing skeletons. Could little yakshas, ox-headed imps, horse-faced imps, and the like be cultivators from other worlds possessing those little bodies?"
Sang Xixi blinked, then laughed. "Now that you mention it, it's possible. But little yakshas are born from ghost mothers, unlike us—our nascent souls hail from the mortal world, and the skeletons are from the dead. So, probably not."
Chen Shi, not fully grasping this, asked, "If they're bones from mortal dead, how do they end up in the underworld?"
Sang Xixi wasn't entirely clear either. "I've heard elders say that when mortals die and are buried, their corpses rot into bones that sink deeper and deeper. At the depth of the Nine Springs, they drop into the underworld. Other elders disagree, claiming the yin and yang realms occupy the same space simultaneously. After death, with yin overwhelming, one appears in the underworld. In life, yang dominates, so you're in the mortal world. They say some people see ghosts because their own yin is too heavy. Who knows who's right."
Chen Shi spotted a few scantily clad skeletons—likely skeleton cultivators—with two incense sticks, one per ear hole, their flames flickering.
But the city teemed more with little yakshas, ox-headed imps, and similar small fry scurrying busily about.
"Heavenly Listeners!"
Chen Shi suddenly saw several big-eared heavenly listeners flying overhead toward a grand complex of buildings and couldn't help freezing. "These heavenly listeners are everywhere!"
Just then, more heavenly listeners streamed in from all directions—perhaps two or three hundred—converging on that towering architecture.
Sang Xixi eyed their path. "They're heading to the sovereign's palace. Strange—what's happening there?"
She grew excited, eager for the spectacle.
Where heavenly listeners gathered in droves, something was always afoot.
Soon, they reached a stone courtyard. Sang Xixi opened the door, revealing two clothed skeletons inside—likely Medicine King Sect disciples.
Sang Xixi went to fetch clothes. "Long sleeves or short?"
Chen Shi said, "Can I skip clothes? They're inconvenient for fighting. I thought about going naked in the mortal world, but it'd cause a scandal."
Sang Xixi sneered, "No clothes? Let everyone gawk at your ribs and pelvis? Clothes have perks—you can hide talisman soldiers and treasures in your ribcage or pelvis, out of sight. My cosmos sack is in my pelvis. When I need it, I just reach in and pull it out."
Her cosmos sack was indeed remarkable, and Chen Shi envied it greatly.
This treasure restored the Qian and Kun trigrams of the innate Eight Trigrams into talismans for refining, boasting vast internal space—said to hold an entire world in one sack.
Lost to time, Sang Xixi's was a rare find; even after stashing Chen Shi's firearms inside, it wasn't full.
"I could study this and have the Luban Sect try mass-producing them for Jixian Tower to sell," Chen Shi mused.
Sang Xixi found him a physician's青袍青袍, which fit well enough, though walking exposed his gleaming thigh bones.
She also procured a black hat with horizontal rods and fan-like leaves on the sides that wobbled with each step.
Chen Shi balked at wearing it, but Sang Xixi said, "Put it on, and you can stash stuff in your skull too."
He thought it over and donned the hat.
His little shrine did need hiding—perhaps in the skull.
Sang Xixi said, "I'll scout for news. You two stay put."
Chen Shi cautioned, "Don't dawdle. Bichi's death won't stay secret long. If the East Palace catches on, rescuing anyone will be impossible."
Sang Xixi headed out. "Back soon!"
Chen Shi and Peng Yan'er stayed to cultivate the Blood Lake True Scripture.
Peng Yan'er had slain many ghost gods but hadn't broken through to Blood Lake Realm yet. Chen Shi had only just entered it and needed time to acclimate.
His little shrine held some divine blood and rosy clouds. He gave the rosy clouds to Peng Yan'er for her cultivation, while he experimented with the divine blood.
Now at Blood Lake Realm, having forged his blood lake hell, refining divine blood was far less perilous than before.
Still, his body teetered perpetually on the brink of collapse—mending, then cracking anew.
This skeleton's foundation was poor: bones on the verge of decay. Through the Blood Lake True Scripture, Chen Shi had wrought miracles from rot. Now, activating the scripture revealed new patterns on the bones—likely from absorbing the bloodline power of Bichi and the other ghost gods he'd slain!
As his cultivation rose, the blood lake behind his head expanded, gradually spanning several li—a nascent vision of blood lake hell.
The ghost gods' souls writhed in the lake, undergoing redemption.
Chen Shi sensed his own soul strengthening with each redemption!
"The more ghost god souls redeemed, the faster my soul grows. This blood lake needs more ghost gods to cleanse their sins."
He refined three drops of divine blood, expanding the lake to five or six li across. But Blood Sea Realm was still distant.
"Blood Sea Realm is the Blood Lake True Scripture's final layer. At its peak, ten thousand redemptions lead to immortality. Reaching that isn't easy. But it doesn't seem impossible," Chen Shi thought.
Countless divine corpses dangled from Boundless Cliff, their blood pooling into streams below. Chen Shi figured refining just a short stretch would propel him to Blood Sea peak.
"The real challenge is redeeming ten thousand ghost gods."
He sighed inwardly—how many wicked ghost gods must one slay to ascend?
This breakthrough to Blood Lake Realm brought surging divine power, even faintly birthing a ghost god domain sensation.
It felt wondrous; he sensed that unfurling the blood lake behind him would create a ghost god domain spanning five or six li!
And he would be its sovereign—the judge and king of this blood lake hell!
"What race created such a simple yet terrifying scripture—only to have their civilizing script eradicated?"
Chen Shi shuddered. What force had reduced these fearsome ghosts to their current state?
Just then, the door opened. Sang Xixi entered, tone grave. "Big trouble. Tianchi Kingdom's sovereign has passed away. Those heavenly listeners just now were witnessing his death. The crown prince has left the East Palace, rushing to the sovereign's palace!"
Chen Shi stood swiftly. "This is our prime chance to rescue!"
Sang Xixi shook her head. "East Palace is locked down tight, ghost gods sealing it. No way to sneak in as physicians!"
Chen Shi headed out calmly. "Then we'll force our way in. Yan'er, let's go!"
Peng Yan'er assented and hurried after him.
Sang Xixi caught up, grinning. "Hold up—first, I'll send the Medicine King Sect disciples back to the mortal world."
Chen Shi asked oddly, "You too?"
"Of course!"
Sang Xixi declared righteously, "You're our sect's great benefactor—we repay kindness! Don't worry, I won't misuse those big fireworks!"
She instructed the disciples, but Chen Shi suspected she just wanted to set off some explosives.
Sang Xixi finished up, bustling out excitedly. "Follow me!"
Chen Shi and Peng Yan'er hurried after her toward the East Palace.
Suddenly, Chen Shi halted, glancing back in puzzlement. "How could they be here? Did I see wrong?"
He turned and chased after Sang Xixi.
At the street corner, Monk Wuchen paused, looking back. "Uncle, why stop?"
The black-clad girl turned, revealing her fair, lovely face with a puzzled expression. "I just spotted an old acquaintance—odd, he died so quick. Karma for his misdeeds? Heaven's eye is sharp."
Wuchen asked, "Old acquaintance?"
Ying Rumeng approached. "Come on. Find a place thick with demonic qi—I'm nearly ripe."