Chapter 372
Chapter 372
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ace
Chapter: 374
Chapter Title: Jinghong's Evil Transformation (Part 2)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Chen Shi, Jade Spirit Child, and Black Pot followed Ancestor Qiongyang to the entrance of the Demon-Suppressing Cavern. Qiongyang gazed toward the Taihua Mountains under the moonlight, her brows furrowing slightly.
She had no idea where Jinghong would head at this moment.
The sky rippled faintly, and a Void Great Realm appeared silently, like a narrow eyelid slowly opening. Her primordial spirit hid within, observing the movements in the mountains below.
She was already a Great Vehicle Realm expert. Though her Void Great Realm wasn't refined to the thinness of a willow leaf, her cultivation was profoundly thick, rivaling the ancestors of the Thirteen Great Families.
"Little Ten, Jade Spirit Child, I'll stay hidden in the sky. You two enter the mountains and search!"
Ancestor Qiongyang's figure vanished without a trace, her voice echoing from an unknown direction. "Be careful—he can take on anyone's appearance when he transforms!"
Chen Shi and Jade Spirit Child exchanged a glance, both shuddering.
The Golden Cicada Shedding Shell Heavenly Immortal Chart was Taihua Azure Palace's method for cultivating ghost immortals, centered on metamorphosis and emergence. Chen Shi had seen this technique in the Tomb of the True King but had never practiced it.
It was originally a proper Daoist method, but cultivated by a powerful being like Sect Leader Jinghong, who had already begun his evil transformation, the technique likely carried a sinister eeriness.
"Jade Spirit Child, do you remember who killed Fan Kongliu?" Chen Shi sidled up to Jade Spirit Child, asking casually.
Jade Spirit Child's eyes flickered. "No one killed Fan Kongliu. I grabbed him by the legs and tossed him upside down into the Lockdragon Well at Perch霞 Observatory. True King, do you remember the name of that little path leading to the Moon-Grasping Hall in Perch霞 Observatory?"
"White Jade Path." Chen Shi said.
The two each let out a breath, lowering their guards.
Chen Shi grabbed a handful of leaves and blew on them with a single breath. Countless leaves transformed into birds and flew off.
"The Xu family's spell?" Jade Spirit Child was slightly startled.
Chen Shi explained, "It's actually just a simple transformation talisman. Hide a breath of primal qi within it and circulate a creation method, and you can turn many small objects into birds, using their eyes as your own to see things normally invisible."
Jade Spirit Child shook his head. "Talismans are too complex—I have no talent for them. I cultivate Taihua Azure Palace's Shadow Followers technique."
He activated the spell, and under the moonlight, his shadow suddenly split into dozens of strands. These dozens of shadows stood up like people, some sticking to the ground, darting swiftly in all directions, leaping, climbing, searching different ways.
Chen Shi marveled. The Tomb of the True King collected many Dao arts to prevent the loss of lost arts, so it mostly had techniques but few spells—often the method without the usage. He had never seen Jade Spirit Child's Shadow Followers technique.
As Jade Spirit Child moved, he said, "Yin is the shadow of yang; ghosts are the shadows of men; moon is the shadow of sun; emotion is the shadow of nature. Yang, man, sun, nature—all are lords of yin, ghosts, moon, and emotion. Once the lord is set, the shadow follows. That is the subtlety of the Shadow Followers technique."
Chen Shi took more leaves, blew a breath, and they turned into birds flying toward the mountains.
Black Pot followed behind them, its eyes piercing both yin and yang realms, searching the movements of both the netherworld and the mortal world simultaneously.
It would sometimes vanish into the netherworld, then poke its dog head out from there, looking around before ducking back in.
The two men and one dog searched along the mountain range. A giant spirit bent down from the mountainside—it was a girl in red robes with clear eyes—quietly asking what they were looking for.
She was the spirit of a demon tree, not yet deified, who called herself Phantom Consort.
Chen Shi's heart stirred. "Phantom Consort, we're looking for Sect Leader Jinghong. Have you seen him today?"
Phantom Consort's figure swayed like willow in the wind, her waist supple. "No, I haven't. Didn't Sect Leader Jinghong pass away as an immortal?"
Chen Shi asked, "After Sect Leader Jinghong's passing, have you noticed anything unusual in the mountains?"
Phantom Consort asked curiously, "What kind of unusual? Oh, right—one night, I saw two Tiger Brothers. Does that count?"
"Two Tiger Brothers?"
Jade Spirit Child's heart stirred. "Tiger Brother is Hu Ban, a powerful spirit in the mountains. Speaking of which, Hu Ban has been gone for a long time."
Similar demon spirits often vanished, usually relocating elsewhere to become local godmothers. Taihua Azure Palace turned a blind eye to it.
Phantom Consort said, "After that night, both Tiger Brothers disappeared. I thought it was strange."
"Tiger Hu Ban was eaten by Sect Leader Jinghong." Chen Shi and Jade Spirit Child exchanged a glance, thinking to themselves.
At that moment, a streak of light flew over. Chen Shi reached out and caught it—it was the Western King Jade Seal.
His eyes flashed as he activated the jade seal, smiling. "Phantom Consort, what is the name of this mountain you're on?"
Phantom Consort replied, "Cloud-Carving Peak, named for clouds emerging from the peak without intent."
Chen Shi raised the Western King Jade Seal high. It blazed with light, illuminating Cloud-Carving Peak in the Taihua Mountains. He intoned gravely, "Today, I, Chen Shi, exercise the True King's authority to decree Phantom Consort, true spirit, as the Mountain God of Cloud-Carving Peak. Command all spirits and aspects of the mountain, and exercise the rights of the earth deity! Thus decreed!"
With one stamp, the jade seal's light converged, pressing toward the exposed skin on Phantom Consort's arm. She dodged hastily but couldn't avoid it, and it stamped onto her chest.
She hurriedly wiped at it, crying, "It won't come off!"
Chen Shi reassured her, "It'll fade. Try channeling the divine authority."
Hearing this, Phantom Consort looked down at her chest. The Western King seal mark indeed gradually faded. When she tried channeling it, the mark reemerged, and suddenly the entire Cloud-Carving Peak's mountain spirits and divine aspects all submitted to her command. She could even borrow part of the cultivation of these deities and mountain spirits!
Phantom Consort was both shocked and delighted. Looking at Chen Shi, her expression became much more alluring as she giggled, "Little brother, I have two—stamp one here too!"
"Stamping two does nothing."
Chen Shi remained unmoved and sped away. "Daoist, let's go to the other peaks!"
Jade Spirit Child hurried after him, curious. "True King, what was the point of that stamp?"
Chen Shi sped toward another peak. "This is the Western King Jade Seal, symbol of the True King, granting the right to enfeoff lands. By sealing Phantom Consort as Cloud-Carving Peak's Mountain God, I can light up Cloud-Carving Peak on the Mountains and Rivers Sheji Map and borrow the power of all its mountain gods, spirits, and deities for my use."
Jade Spirit Child understood, thinking, "No wonder Uncle Master's codename in the Heavenly Court is True King. With the Western King Jade Seal and Mountains and Rivers Sheji Map, he holds both royal and divine authority in one—truly the True King of West Ox Continent."
The two arrived at this peak and found its most powerful mountain spirit.
This peak was Demon-Quelling Peak, named for its proximity to the Eighty-Eight Demon Peaks. Close to the demon peaks and tainted by demonic qi, the spirit guarding it was an old turtle named Age and Longevity.
Chen Shi raised the Western King Jade Seal and sealed Age and Longevity as Demon-Quelling Peak's Mountain God.
Demon-Quelling Peak lit up on the Mountains and Rivers Sheji Map with Age and Longevity's divine power, revealing everything on it in clear detail.
The two then went to Taihua Mountain's Weary Bird Peak, sealing its spirit Rose as Mountain God, then to Azure Luan Peak, sealing its spirit Azure Luan as Mountain God.
Taihua Mountain had twenty-four peaks in total. Busy until midnight, they sealed Mountain Gods on all except the main peak, including Mount Wenxu where the Demon-Suppressing Cavern was located.
Chen Shi frowned slightly. Now only the main peak of Taihua Azure Palace remained unlit. From the Mountains and Rivers Sheji Map alone, the other twenty-four peaks showed nothing unusual.
He gazed toward the brilliantly lit main peak.
"Sect Leader Jinghong loves eating spirits and aspects—he's secretly devoured many."
Chen Shi suddenly said, "So, who is the strongest spirit or aspect on Taihua Mountain?"
A spark lit in Jade Spirit Child's mind. "Uncle Master, isn't Ancestor Qingyang an evil spirit?"
Chen Shi's face grew solemn. "He is an evil spirit, but he maintains his sanity with incense fire qi."
Jade Spirit Child's face also grew solemn as he looked toward the main peak. "Then, Ancestor Qingyang must be the strongest spirit on our Taihua Mountain. If I were Sect Leader Jinghong, the one I'd most want to eat right now is probably Ancestor Qingyang."
Chen Shi suddenly recalled that Grandpa, during his own evil transformation back then, also loved eating evil spirits.
Grandpa had been cultivating corpse-disintegration immortal child and undergone evil transformation—Sect Leader Jinghong was doing the same!
Qingyang's primordial spirit towered a thousand zhang high, radiating divine light like the brightest torch in the moonlight. In Jinghong's eyes, it must look utterly delicious!
"Jade Spirit Child, let's go to the main peak! Black Pot, hide in the netherworld and prepare to support us!"
The two men and one dog approached the main peak simultaneously from yin and yang realms, heading straight for Qingyang Palace.
Taihua Azure Palace was celebrating two great joys: the return of the True Martial Demon-Slaying Sword, and Ancestor Qingyang's return. The entire palace buzzed with joy—Daoists bustled about, hanging lanterns and decorations. In a few days, they would hold a grand celebration. Daoist Changying had already sent word to the imperial court, the Thirteen Great Families, and other sacred grounds, inviting guests far and wide.
After a busy day, the main peak finally quieted down late at night.
Chen Shi and Jade Spirit Child arrived on the mountain, seeing lights everywhere but few people—only the occasional night-watch Daoist, who said nothing upon seeing them, merely staring.
Chen Shi controlled his flock of birds to fly overhead, patrolling and searching the whole mountain.
Jade Spirit Child's shadows darted and leaped, observing everywhere.
Suddenly, one bird froze midair, as if caught in a spiderweb, motionless. Then it dropped with a plop.
Chen Shi frowned and approached. The bird was just an empty shell—its flesh and blood completely gone!
The bird's internal flesh seemed to have vanished into thin air!
"This bird was made from leaves, but the transformation talisman involves creation arts, so whatever it becomes gains that thing's features..."
He had just thought this when plops sounded incessantly around them. Birds fell like rain—soon all the airborne birds crashed down, littering the ground!
Chen Shi crouched to inspect them—every bird was devoid of flesh and blood!
A chill crawled up Chen Shi's scalp. His spell hadn't been broken!
These leaf-turned birds were still birds, but the flesh formed by the transformation had been devoured by some invisible force!
This power resembled the primordial spirit's ability to extract brains from afar!
But primordial spirits couldn't escape his eyes, and this force was invisible, unknowable!
Under nearby lamplight, a night-watch Daoist looked their way, still silent—as if flocks of birds plummeting was nothing unusual.
Chen Shi's heart pounded fiercely. He subtly signaled Jade Spirit Child with his eyes.
Jade Spirit Child understood and immediately sent his shadows toward the night-watch Daoist.
Moments later, Jade Spirit Child's face grew odd. He whispered, "No danger."
Chen Shi and he walked forward to the Daoist. The night-watch Daoist stared at them with wide eyes. A breeze blew, and the Daoist's body swayed slightly.
Chen Shi's face changed slightly. He reached out and grabbed the Daoist's wrist.
At that instant,阴风 howled. Black Pot appeared beside Chen Shi, startling them so their hairs stood on end, faces paling.
"Black Pot, you scared me to death!" Chen Shi grumbled.
He had grabbed the Daoist's wrist but clutched only air—the wrist was just skin, flesh entirely gone!
"Woof, woof." Black Pot barked from behind the Daoist.
Chen Shi circled behind. On the ground were two rows of bloody footprints leading from the Daoist's back toward Qingyang Palace.
His heart jolted. The night-watch Daoist's back had split wide open—from the crown of his head down the nape, neck, spine, all the way to his butt crack.
The Daoist was like a golden cicada larva emerging as an adult cicada, shedding his human skin here and crawling hand-and-foot toward Qingyang Palace.
"This is the evil transformation, right?" Jade Spirit Child murmured.
Chen Shi steadied himself. "It's the evil transformation. Could this Daoist be Sect Leader Jinghong?"
Jade Spirit Child circled to the Daoist's front and examined his face closely, shaking his head. "The face doesn't match. It's Uncle Master Wen..."
Black Pot whooshed into the netherworld. Jade Spirit Child nearly jumped, complaining, "Black Pot, can you make less noise!"
Chen Shi whispered, "Ancestor Qiongyang is still watching from above—we won't be in danger. Let's follow the footprints!"
Jade Spirit Child relaxed a bit, smiling. "Ancestor Qiongyang is Taihua Azure Palace's strongest in cultivation and power. With her here, nothing will happen."
The two steeled themselves and followed the quadruped prints. Ahead, the footprints grew fainter.
"Has the blood run out?" Chen Shi wondered.
Then they saw a Daoist crawling on all fours under a big red lantern at a courtyard's outer gate, frozen motionless.
This was the skin-shed Uncle Master Wen from before, back to them, his body emitting rustling sounds and popping cracks.
He had grown new skin, so he was no longer bleeding.
"Why hasn't Ancestor Qiongyang struck yet to eliminate Sect Leader Jinghong?" The two grew anxious inwardly.
Uncle Master Wen stood still, the popping cracks growing faster.
Chen Shi quietly circled around to his front. Uncle Master Wen's head was tilted up, staring ahead, eyes bulging in fury, mouth agape, tongue pressed to the roof.
His eyes had turned deathly white, pupilless.
Suddenly, rustling sounds came again, followed by pops. Uncle Master Wen's back split open anew—from crown to butt crack!
Then, from the bloody gash in his back skin, a bulge slowly rose—like a cicada emerging, slowly pulling its head free from the old husk, then its upper body.
He molted inside his own skin, gradually extricating his upper body, drawing out bloody arms, then slowly legs, landing softly on the ground, crawling forward on all fours, slow and deliberate.
He seemed not to see Chen Shi and Jade Spirit Child, crawling toward Qingyang Palace unperturbed.
"Hoo—"
Black Pot appeared in a whirlwind, poking out its head. This startled Chen Shi nearly into jumping, and he glared fiercely at it.
"Pot Grandpa, can you stop popping out to scare people?" Jade Spirit Child said shakily, heart racing.
Black Pot surveyed the scene, then shrank back into the netherworld, vanishing.
Chen Shi was about to follow Uncle Master Wen when suddenly the courtyard gate behind them creaked open, emitting a long, drawn-out sound.