Chapter 357
Chapter 357
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 358
Chapter Title: Caught You
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Chen Shi returned to the Heavenly Pool Nation once again, possessing the skeleton body. He felt that this skeleton's cultivation had surprisingly advanced by a great deal. The Blood Lake Hell had expanded even further, and there were now many more ghost gods.
The skeleton body's sturdiness was also astonishing, with all sorts of strange patterns emerging on its surface.
Chen Shi even sensed that the skeleton body's cultivation had surpassed his original body!
With this skeleton body plus the Blood Lake Hell, it was nearly at the Body Integration Realm, or even the Three Corpses Realm!
"The cultivation speed of the Blood Lake True Scripture is too fast!"
He couldn't help but marvel. However, the reason the Blood Lake True Scripture cultivated so quickly was, first, because Chen Shi's starting point was too high—he had originally been close to the Body Integration Realm, only held back from crossing into it by the invasion of evil qi. Second, there was an endless supply of divine blood as backing, with thousands of divine corpses hanging on the Immeasurable Cliff, providing divine blood without end.
The third reason was that the Blood Lake True Scripture was indeed an extremely domineering technique, seizing others' blood vitality for its own use—essentially plundering their cultivation and turning it into his own.
"It won't be long before this body of mine can contend with powerhouses of the God Refining Realm or even the Void Returning Realm!"
Chen Shi's primal spirit took residence in the skeleton body, only to feel his soul continuously strengthening.
The Blood Lake True Scripture didn't greatly enhance the primal spirit; its main effect was on the soul. Now, Chen Shi's soul had surpassed three zhang, reaching a length of ten zhang.
His primal spirit attainment rose accordingly, even showing signs of being suppressed by the soul!
If he entered the Body Integration Realm, uniting his Dao arena, primal spirit, and fleshly body, he would become a ten-zhang divine demon-like existence!
Yet up to now, Chen Shi still didn't dare to step into the Body Integration Realm.
He could clearly sense the evil qi between heaven and earth. If he entered the Body Integration Realm, the trend toward demonization would become unstoppable!
"Just how can I avoid demonization?" He sat on his throne, lost in thought.
In recent days, the Heavenly Pool Nation's capital had gained many skeleton imps, becoming a peculiar sight in the city.
These skeleton imps posted hiring notices, and large groups of little yakshas, ox-heads, and horse-faces came running over. The skeleton imps would then produce strange sheets of paper, drawn with structures of buildings and towers.
These imps chattered among themselves, explaining clearly to the little yakshas and other imps what needed to be built. The little yakshas nodded solemnly in succession.
Then they got to work with a clatter and clang, erecting pavilions and towers. After a few days, a Juxian Tower rose up in the Heavenly Pool Nation's capital.
On the day Juxian Tower opened, ghost gods from all the capital's tribes came to see the excitement. They found that the tower sold rare items from the yang world, such as exquisite fabrics, bright mirrors and perfumes for dressing up, hair ornaments, pendants, and other delicate things.
These items were nowhere to be seen in the Heavenly Pool Nation's capital on ordinary days, causing a huge stir. Masses of ghost tribes crowded into Juxian Tower, eager to buy these rarities from the yang world.
Juxian Tower didn't accept incense money; it only took yin沉 flowers, soul-returning lotuses, and other items unique to the underworld. Of course, soft, useless discarded metals like gold and silver were fine too.
Juxian Tower's business exploded instantly, with all its wares selling out.
In the underworld, spirit herbs like yin沉 flowers and soul-returning lotuses were quite rare, but ghost gods found it far easier to obtain them than cultivators. Some ghost gods even specially cleared swamps to plant soul-returning lotuses.
Juxian Tower sent these spirit herbs straight to the yang world, where the Medicine King Sect refined them into longevity-extending elixirs, which appeared in Juxian Towers everywhere. It wouldn't be long before they turned into wealth.
Shao Jing sought out Li Tianqing and said, "The goods we're transporting from the yang world can't meet demand. Relying solely on bribing yin attendants is too slow and troublesome. I hear His Majesty has a treasure called the Nether Spring Wandering Dragon Sword, and a wooden cart. Perhaps we can use these two treasures to transport goods to the underworld."
Li Tianqing said, "I'll go with you to the yang world to borrow them."
The two returned to the yang world and came to Huangpo Village. Upon hearing their purpose, Witch Qingyu lent them the wooden cart and the canopy.
The two compared it to Granny Sha's yin-yang realms geography map, trying to pinpoint Yin Mountain's location on Qianyang Mountain, then headed into the mountains.
Li Tianqing examined the realms' geography and compared, saying, "It should be this place."
He activated the canopy. Beneath it, a strand of sword light like a silver fish flashed by—the sword light twisted like a winding nether spring, plunging deep into the underworld.
The two followed the nether spring into the underworld and scouted around, both frowning.
"Not right, not right! The geography doesn't match!"
The two returned to the yang world. Li Tianqing compared the map again, selected a few possible spots, activated the Nether Spring Wandering Dragon Sword once more, but still couldn't find the Heavenly Pool Nation after entering the underworld.
They tried several more locations, but upon entering the underworld, they still couldn't locate the Heavenly Pool Nation.
Li Tianqing said, "Take this sword to the underworld! Activate it from the underworld to enter the yang world, and we can pinpoint the Heavenly Pool Nation's exact position!"
The two immediately went to the Medicine King Sect, took drugs to fake death, and had their primal spirits carry the sword into the underworld. They bribed yin attendants again and were sent to the Heavenly Pool Nation.
The two possessed their own skeleton bodies. Li Tianqing activated the sword, its light tearing open the void. The pair flew in, passing through the rift to the opposite world, where they saw vast expanses everywhere and ghost gods all around.
"Not right! This is still the underworld!
Li Tianqing looked around and cried out in shock, "This should be the underworld of Qianyang Mountain! The underworld—has two layers!"
The two exchanged glances, both seeing the horror in the other's eyes.
The underworld near Qianyang Mountain very likely consisted of two layers of underworld overlapping. The first layer was the underworld of Western Ox New Continent, while the second was the layer where the Heavenly Pool Nation resided!
These two layers of underworld were actually overlapping!
That was why Li Tianqing's sword activation had never found the Heavenly Pool Nation.
Parts of these two underworlds intersected, causing ghosts and spirits to live mixed together.
But many places didn't intersect, merely overlapping—like Yin Mountain!
The two found Chen Shi and informed him of this.
Chen Shi was astonished. He had long noticed abnormalities in the underworld near Qianyang Mountain—it couldn't accommodate the Ten Thousand Great Mountains, and the former yin-yang opposition between Qianyang and Yin Mountain. Li Tianqing's discovery made him feel that simple yin-yang opposition couldn't explain this phenomenon.
"This matter—perhaps someone can explain it. Follow me!"
Chen Shi led the two to the Thunder Ape ghost tribe's settlement. Clan Leader Lei Qu listened to their intent, pondered for a moment, and said, "According to the poems handed down in my tribe, the place we inhabit is actually the yang world."
Chen Shi, Li Tianqing, and Shao Jing exchanged glances, utterly baffled.
Clan Leader Lei Qu said, "The handed-down poems say that when the first life died, the underworld was born. He stood in the underworld watching his yang world kin weep in grief, calling out to them, but they couldn't hear him. Yin and yang separated, unable to communicate. Then, when the cataclysm occurred, the yin and yang realms fused, indistinguishable from each other."
Li Tianqing asked, "What cataclysm?"
Lei Qu said, "The sun extinguished, the moon vanished. That's when the cataclysm began. Our ghost tribe chose to forget language to survive, eking out a harsh existence around Yin Mountain."
Li Tianqing frowned, feeling something off.
Shao Jing couldn't help saying, "In our yang world, the sun is setting earlier and earlier, and the nights are growing longer—"
He stopped here, not continuing.
The ghost tribe's sun had extinguished, fusing yin and yang realms into one, dooming them to eternal night.
Would the yang world undergo the same?
Would yin and yang realms merge there too?
A faint unease stirred in their hearts.
Lei Qu said, "The former sovereign led the Elephant Boat ghost tribe's elders out because he heard an immortal had appeared in Yin Mountain—said to be an ancestor of the ghost tribe. He went searching for that immortal to uncover what happened back then, but met with misfortune."
He looked deeply at Chen Shi and said, "Your Majesty, it seems some force in the void is stopping those who seek the truth.
The Heavenly Pool Ghost Nation has already lost one sovereign; we can't lose a second."
Chen Shi thanked him for his kind intentions.
The three took their leave and came to the capital's streets.
Chen Shi looked at the varied ghost tribes on the streets. They hadn't seen daylight for ages, their appearances terrifying. Though they possessed divine power, their lives were far from easy.
They might have been divine tribes before, but now they were no different from monsters.
If the same happened in the yang world, how many could survive?
At this moment, Li Tianqing puzzled, "There are Heavenly Listeners here too?"
Chen Shi's heart stirred. Several Heavenly Listeners landed on nearby eaves, ears turned toward them.
"Heavenly Listeners are truly everywhere, infiltrating every crevice! They monitored the former sovereign before—now they're starting on me—"
Chen Shi stopped abruptly, thinking to himself, "When the former sovereign died, Heavenly Listeners swarmed, all flying toward the palace! This means the former sovereign's actions drew the Heavenly Listeners' attention and重视! And the former sovereign was seeking the legendary ghost tribe immortal! That must be what alerted the Heavenly Listeners! Perhaps the former sovereign's death is connected to these Heavenly Listeners too."
His gaze flickered.
The former sovereign had been extremely powerful, a powerhouse with awakened Elephant Boat ghost tribe bloodline—his strength likely no weaker than the ancestors of the Thirteen Great Families!
Plus many Elephant Boat ghost tribe elders—this was no small force!
The matter of an ancient immortal appearing was equally重大!
Then, the one responsible was no ordinary Heavenly Listener!
"There's a big fish in the Heavenly Pool Nation's capital." Chen Shi withdrew his gaze, thinking to himself.
Li Tianqing suddenly thought of something and said, "Little Ten, these Heavenly Listeners—"
Chen Shi shook his head slightly. Li Tianqing understood and said no more.
They returned to the palace. Chen Shi stood before the king's hall, looking into the distance. Heavenly Listeners in the Heavenly Pool Nation's capital rose and fell from time to time, then rose again, then fell. The ghost tribe citizens seemed long accustomed to them, ignoring them entirely.
Shao Jing went off to handle his own affairs, while Li Tianqing stayed in the palace. The two observed the patterns of these Heavenly Listeners' flights from before the hall.
For many days straight, they didn't move.
"Found it!" Li Tianqing said first.
His powers of observation were sharper, his mind more meticulous—he had first discerned the Heavenly Listeners' pattern.
Chen Shi immediately strode outward, saying in a deep voice, "Since you've come to my territory, leaving without my permission won't be that easy!"
In the Great Belly tribe's settlement, a little yaksha expertly forked his bundle over his shoulder and walked out. There were many such little yakshas—working one day and resting three, taking a day's pay to eat, drink, and play until it ran out, then coming back for more work.
It walked forward with head down. Just as it was about to leave the Great Belly tribe, a pair of feet appeared before it—feet without flesh, only toe bones.
"Little yaksha, long time no see."
A voice sounded from above. "Weren't you supposed to be working in my Yuan Chen Palace? Why are you here? Right, you also swindled heaps of incense money from me! Where's my money?
The little yaksha shuddered and looked up to see Sovereign Chen in fur robes and crown, staring it down.
The little yaksha backed away, laughing, "Has Your Majesty mistaken me for another yaksha? We little yakshas all look-
Another voice came from behind: "Every little yaksha looks different. Those with keen eyes can tell them apart."
The little yaksha turned to see Li Tianqing standing behind, blocking its retreat.
The little yaksha quickly smiled obsequiously. "Your Majesty's money—I haven't touched a single coin. I'll return it all right now!"
It hurriedly untied its bundle to get the money, but suddenly spotted the Great Belly ghost tribe's clan leader nearby, while a shadow fell over its head.
It looked up to see the Thunder Ape tribe's clan leader standing amid thunderclouds, guarding above.
Besides them, several more ghost tribe clan leaders approached from different directions.
The little yaksha sighed and didn't take out the incense money, laughing, "So you've found me out."
Its body gradually changed, slowly transforming from the short, ugly little yaksha into a dignified and pretty young woman, with a round, fair face, delicate features, slender arched brows, a touch of blush on her cheeks, somewhat alluring.
Her attire differed from Great Ming styles: a transparent outer robe, gossamer thin, with a form-fitting pink dress inside that accentuated her slender waist's seductive curves.
Chen Shi reached out. "Where's my money?"
The woman chuckled softly. "You and I are both living people—your paper money is useless to me, so I really didn't spend it."
She produced heaps of paper money—the very paper money from Chen Shi's Yuan Treasure Tree. Back in the Immortal Capital days, Chen Shi had seen this little yaksha work three years for him without pay, pitying it, so he'd given it most of the paper money from the Yuan Treasure Tree.
Who knew that a few days later, the little yaksha would abscond with the money, vanishing without a trace!
Chen Shi took back the paper money, his tone softening. "How should I address the lady?"
"Wuyu."
The woman smiled sweetly. "Wen Wuyu."
Chen Shi nodded slightly, lest his crown fall. "Lady Wen, come with me."
Wen Wuyu followed him.
Clan Leaders Lei Qu and the others followed closely on either side.
Chen Shi waved them off, signaling them to withdraw, and strolled casually until they unknowingly reached the Heavenly Pool beside the capital. The lake was calm, reflecting their images.
Chen Shi said, "Lady Wen, isn't Despair Slope detached from worldly affairs? Why intervene in mortal matters and kill the Heavenly Pool Nation's former sovereign?"
Wen Wuyu bent down, extending a slender jade hand from her sleeve to toy with the lake water, shaking her head with a faint smile. "People of Despair Slope rarely intervene in the human world. Sovereign Fu didn't die by my arrangement—he fell to the immortal's hand."
Chen Shi's heart jolted. "An immortal? There really is one in Yin Mountain?"
Wen Wuyu smiled without answering.
Chen Shi didn't press further, instead asking, "Then, when will Despair Slope intervene?"
"When the world is without Dao, demon flowers bloom everywhere, on the eve of the true gods' world-ending, Despair Slope will act to set things right and prevent the true gods' extinction."
Wen Wuyu gazed at the distant lake light, saying wistfully, "Many misunderstand Despair Slope, thinking it the shadowy hand ruling the human world—even the Thirteen Great Families believe this."
Chen Shi smiled. "It's not?"
"Of course not."
Wen Wuyu stood, saying earnestly, "The 'despair' in Despair Slope is despair toward the true gods' world-ending—it's the struggle before great despair arrives, a heroic act to save the world. Saving humanity from despair, continuing civilization and lives—that is Despair Slope's creed."
Chen Shi couldn't help feeling deep respect. "I never imagined Despair Slope was such a noble place. I admire it!"
Wen Wuyu smiled. "Ignorance is no sin. We send Heavenly Listeners to monitor the human world to prevent demonic nature from accumulating too deeply, averting the true gods' extinction. Unfortunately, the Heavenly Listeners' actions often lead to misunderstandings."
Chen Shi turned the conversation. "Since Despair Slope is so noble, why cut off my innate Dao embryo?"
Wen Wuyu fell silent.
Chen Shi's foot landed on the lake surface, walking toward the center, saying indifferently, "Make your move. I want to see just how powerful my innate Dao embryo is."