Chapter 37
Chapter 37
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 37
Chapter Title: Chapter 37 The Seven Refinements of the Big Dipper
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The other floating heads dangled their tongues from midair one after another, forming nooses as they tried to lasso Chen Shi.
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In the night, these nooses were hard to spot. With the slightest carelessness, one's head would slip right in, only to be hoisted up by the floating head and left strangling in the air.
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Taking advantage of the Galloping Horse Talisman's lingering power, Chen Shi raced along the post road, whistling away and leaving the floating heads far behind.
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The Galloping Horse Talisman conjured a breeze beneath his feet, making his steps light and swift. His sleeves fluttered as he strode forward, dashing and elegant under the moonlight.
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But Chen Shi's expression grew grimmer by the moment. His heartbeat quickened, as if something were pressing down on his chest.
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"Not now—not this moment!"
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Anxiety built as he pressed on. Traveling through the dark was dangerous enough to one's life; if his condition flared up now, it would truly be certain death!
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A wave of sharp pain began radiating from his heart.
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Chen Shi knew overexertion would trigger it—like after committing the crime at the Li family camp. He'd gotten home and fallen ill that very night.
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Or when he'd run into Old Man Iron Brush on the road and committed the crime of killing him and Steward Zhao Ming. Since he'd killed fewer people that time, no attack came that night—but the next evening, it struck and took his life!
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Now, he'd committed the Huangyang Village massacre, with twenty-one lives on his hands. This time, the illness hit faster and fiercer!
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In the past, attacks came in sleep: sudden agony in the heart, pain so intense he couldn't breathe.
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But now it struck while awake. He could feel a skeletal ghost hand gradually clenching his heart—the tighter it gripped, the faster it pounded!
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His vision blurred. The moonlit post road seemed to float amid clouds, swaying side to side, twisting, spinning—dragging his body into the sway, the twist, the spin.
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Blood filled his mouth, warmth trickled from his nostrils, and twin streams of nosebleed poured out.
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Fresh blood seeped from his eyes, his ears rang with a buzz as if warm liquid leaked from them.
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"I won't die here—I don't want to die here! I need to get home to Grandpa. Even if I die, let it be at home!"
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Chen Shi gasped in heaving breaths, eyes bulging as he strained to make out the road ahead. But it grew ever more elusive.
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"Heaven at its dawn, gods alone supreme. Evils in tumult, true gods unseen—ghosts alone plague mankind! Behold heaven's way, uphold heaven's path..."
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He circulated the Three Lights Righteous Qi Art, trying to suppress the ghost hand squeezing his heart. The Big Dipper's seven stars materialized around him, various stellar patterns shifting with his movement.
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Chen Shi staggered onward. Strange things in the surrounding woods noticed his plight and gave chase.
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Leading the pursuit were the floating heads—this breed of evil came in hordes, delighting in hanging people and dragging corpses through the air, dancing aloft.
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Sometimes one could see a dozen floating heads drifting overhead, long tongues below coiled around the dead's necks, a dozen corpses bobbing and swaying midair, limbs flailing in grotesque display.
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The floating heads flew above, while dozens of porcelain dolls scuttled along the ground toward Chen Shi, chattering in eerie yips and wails as they crawled.
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They seemed utterly gleeful, crawling at breakneck speed—even clambering onto roadside trees, only to get stuck.
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Whenever that happened, a long neck would manifest behind them, writhing like a serpent to pull them free.
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Others were tiny riders on little yellow horses, no taller than five or six inches, their mounts scarcely bigger. They galloped along, whooping and hollering, nocking tiny bows to loose arrows at Chen Shi.
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Thankfully, the Galloping Horse Talisman still empowered his legs, keeping these little folk at bay.
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But Chen Shi's condition was dire. It was only a matter of time before they caught up.
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He lurched along, the world spinning. Even the Big Dipper refinement couldn't hold back the cyan ghost hand.
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"Am I really going to die here?"
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The road ahead warped. Suddenly, pairs of red shoes blanketed the post road, leaving nowhere to step—any footfall would land on them.
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These red shoes were embroidered with peach blossoms in pink thread along the sides, peonies at the toes—vivid and bright.
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The Spirits had appeared too.
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The Spirits assailed his mind, throwing his already jumbled senses into deeper chaos.
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Chen Shi's heart throbbed with ever-worsening pain. He swayed, unable to dodge the red shoes ahead—then suddenly, they all vanished, the road normalizing.
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Hoofbeats echoed along the post road. Four fine steeds drew a carriage toward him, a lantern dangling at the front. Wherever its light fell, evils scattered.
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"Whoa—"
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The driver reined in the horses, the carriage halting before Chen Shi.
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A noble young lord sat within. Though traveling a perilous country night, he remained utterly composed—as if nothing in the world could ruffle him.
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It was Young Master Xiao, whom Chen Shi had met once before.
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That day, Chen Shi and Grandpa had encountered him outside the manor at the Supreme Yin Corpse-Nurturing Grounds. Young Master Xiao's coffin had been ornate, his speech and bearing like a spring breeze—leaving a deep impression.
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"Long time no see, Chen Shi."
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Young Master Xiao sat in the carriage, his features mild as jade. Watching Chen Shi stumble closer amid swirling starlight, his eyes flickered.
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"The technique you cultivate is imperfect—a fragmented method. You've missed the essence of Big Dipper refinement. No wonder you're in such straits."
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Hearing his voice, Chen Shi fought to steady himself and bow in greeting—but he couldn't hold his stance.
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He tried to speak, but pain choked his breath.
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Young Master Xiao's poise was innate, like an immortal descended to earth—flawless in conduct.
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His looks were beyond reproach, his figure graceful; even a man could find no fault.
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His voice was rich and resonant, buzzing from his chest before emerging.
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"You gather the starlight into the Big Dipper's seven stars, letting them orbit you. But relying on their radiance alone tempers only hair, skin, and blood—not the organs, viscera, or marrow. These seven stars refine not just body and skin, but essence, qi, and spirit. Without grasping true refinement, you suffer as you do."
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Young Master Xiao's words pierced Chen Shi's mind. Though agony wracked him, his thoughts sharpened as never before. In a rasping voice, he said,
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"Please, sir—guide me!"
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Young Master Xiao instructed,
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"The purple star before your foot is Tian Shu, the ladle's tip. Look closely—the star holds a talismanic structure within."
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Chen Shi forced his focus past the pain, peering into the Tian Shu starlight. Upon close scrutiny, he indeed saw its inner structure.
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The starlight's form was peculiar: above, a "da" character enclosing the star cluster. Below, a yang-script "one," then a seal-script "zheng."
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Beneath that, a "zhi" character with a star chart and dragon motifs.
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Under the dragon motifs loomed twin "wei" characters.
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"The other six stars each hold their own talismanic structures."
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Chen Shi steadied his disordered mind and examined the rest. Sure enough, complex talismanic patterns filled these star clusters too!
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He had never noticed this before!
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"The Big Dipper's seven stars— Tian Shu, Tian Xuan, Tian Ji, Tian Quan, Yu Heng, Kai Yang, Yao Guang—each cluster formed by distinct talismanic seals."
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Young Master Xiao spoke calmly from the carriage.
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"Different seals contain different refinement methods. Step on Tian Shu and circulate its talisman."
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Gritting through the pain, Chen Shi trembled as he stepped onto the Tian Shu cluster, focusing his waning intent to circulate its star talisman.
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Suddenly, the cluster blazed. Starlight erupted, flooding into him—from his tailbone upward along the spine, through the leg bones to the hindbrain, across the skull, down the facial bones, over twenty-eight teeth.
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Then down the throat bones, past twenty-four ribs.
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In an instant, the starlight completed a circuit along his skeleton, tempering his frame as if steeped in nectar. A shiver ran through him; the heart-squeezing pain eased somewhat.
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At the same time, the Tian Shu star's energy depleted, its talisman shifting to Yao Guang's form.
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The Tian Xuan talisman to his right morphed into Tian Shu's.
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The other talismans rotated and changed, like an array where one shift moved all—each talisman adapting in turn.
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"Right ahead—step on Tian Shu again."
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Chen Shi lunged forward, his foot landing on the transforming Tian Xuan talisman.
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The instant it touched, Tian Xuan completed its shift to Tian Shu. Starlight burst anew, surging through his bones—the tempering bliss even stronger!
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The stellar force stretched the cyan ghost hand gripping his heart, dulling the pain further!
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Hope dawned. Without waiting for a cue, Chen Shi pivoted, his third step falling as Tian Ji shifted from Tian Xuan to Tian Shu.
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By the time his foot landed, the third Tian Shu had formed!
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His form arced gracefully around the carriage, dragon-like, trailing an afterimage.
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His fourth step came swifter, ghostly.
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The fifth carried him onto a roadside tree trunk—as if treading level ground, with no hint of falling!
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Step by step, Chen Shi accelerated, excitement mounting as the heart pain faded.
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Treading the Big Dipper, he'd unwittingly mastered an extraordinary footwork!
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Tian Shu refined his bones ever stronger, marrow ever purer. Qi and blood churned in exquisite comfort.
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"Now—switch to Tian Xuan!"
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Without hesitation, Chen Shi stepped onto the Tian Xuan star. Its talisman seal erupted, starlight swarming into his heart aperture.
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With a thudding heartbeat, his heart pumped the star-infused blood to limbs and head, coursing through every vessel great and small to the extremities!
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The cyan ghost hand shuddered with the pulse, unable to clench!
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As Chen Shi followed Tian Xuan, the Big Dipper array beneath shifted ceaselessly, starforce washing his blood, bolstering his heart chambers.
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His qi and blood surged ever more vigorously, breath growing profound.
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Tian Shu refined bone, Tian Xuan refined blood!
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Once the cycle finished, Young Master Xiao prompted at the right moment,
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"Now Tian Ji!"
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Chen Shi altered his gait, stepping onto Tian Ji. Its talisman power exploded, merging with his sinews and fascia.
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His major tendons thrummed like bowstrings—for swifter punches; his fascia drummed like great war drums—for greater power.
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After Chen Shi circled once, tempering all major sinews, his foot fell onto Tian Quan.
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Young Master Xiao watched without further guidance.
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Each refinement ran just one cycle; soon he'd trod all seven Big Dipper stars.
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Tian Quan refined muscle, Yu Heng refined skin.
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What Kai Yang and Yao Guang refined, Chen Shi couldn't say for sure. Stepping on Kai Yang, his true qi flowed, the Divine Shrine reappearing—likely refining true qi, though he wasn't certain.
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Treading Yao Guang brought uncanny clarity, thoughts sharper than ever.
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Most crucially, his heart pain dwindled!
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"Kai Yang refines true qi, Yao Guang refines spirit."
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Young Master Xiao continued,
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"The Big Dipper's seven refinements temper your bones, heart, blood, muscles, skin, qi, and spirit. The technique you practice is extraordinary."
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He pondered, comparing it to every method he'd seen—still deeming Chen Shi's top-tier.
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Chen Shi halted, qi and blood roiling wildly before settling. The heart agony was gone. Shock and joy mingled within him.
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Young Master Xiao's guidance was vital—not only saving his life in crisis, but sparing the perils of trial and error!
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He recalled fumbling qi and blood in that ruined mountain temple, blood rushing to his brain until he passed out.
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"Don't lose focus. Now draw the fire home to origin—refine it into your dantian as cultivation base."
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Young Master Xiao observed his aura.
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"Finish practice without drawing fire home, and it's wasted. Circulate spirit, guard the dantian with intent."
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Chen Shi complied, drawing body-wide qi and blood into his dantian. It briefly formed true qi—then dispersed without trace, leaving him downcast.
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Young Master Xiao noted the true qi's dissipation. After a moment's thought, he said,
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"The Big Dipper's seven refinements temper bone, heart, blood, flesh, skin, qi, spirit. You merely can't retain true qi, but the other six advance swiftly. Future achievements aren't impossible. Odd—these basics, surely Master Chen never taught you?"