Chapter 380
Chapter 380
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 381
Chapter Title: Returning to the Homeland
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"Uncle Sheep, you're not suspecting me of being the mastermind behind it all, are you?" Chen Shi couldn't help but laugh.
Uncle Sheep also burst into laughter. "Of course I wouldn't suspect you. You were only nine years old back then! What could a nine-year-old child do? Could a nine-year-old lead a bunch of heavenly calamities in rebellion?"
Chen Shi laughed so hard he could barely stand. "I was only nine—could I have run off to the underworld and become the emperor of a bunch of heavenly calamities and demons? Which one of them isn't a dragon among men?"
"Who would submit to a nine-year-old kid?"
"Hahaha, the Nine-Year-Old Demon Emperor!"
Uncle Sheep laughed until he was rolling on the ground. "Don't they have anyone else?"
Chen Shi laughed until tears streamed down his face and bubbles came out of his nose. "That cyan ghostly hand that grabbed my heart—surely that can't be one of my subordinates, right?"
The two of them laughed until they were rolling on the ground.
Uncle Sheep suddenly stopped laughing and looked at him seriously. "Suppose—and I'm just supposing—that they really are your subordinates, and you really are the Demon Emperor?"
Chen Shi's expression turned solemn, but he suddenly burst out laughing. "You're saying that the cyan ghostly hand that crushed me to death several times is one of my subordinates?"
Uncle Sheep snorted with laughter and pounded the ground hard, gasping for breath. "It crushed you to death multiple times, and yet Granny Sha was still eagerly calling your soul back! What kind of subordinate would do something that stupid?"
Chen Shi laughed until he was kneeling on the ground, clutching his stomach. "If that's the case, then maybe the owner of that cyan ghostly hand is a green sheep. Maybe it's even Uncle Sheep's old man!"
Uncle Sheep stopped laughing, his face turning serious. "That's not a funny joke."
The two locked eyes and couldn't hold back—they burst out laughing again.
Uncle Sheep laughed until he was on the verge of passing out, panting as he said, "The one that crushed you to death might even be my mom! My mom is a green sheep too!"
A long while passed before the two finally stopped laughing.
Uncle Sheep lay on the ground, huffing and puffing, then suddenly said, "Dan Chengzi is inside your body. Do you think the other three Palm Teaching Venerables are inside you too?"
He was referring to the fourth-generation Palm Teaching Venerable Guangxian, the seventh-generation Palm Teaching Venerable Daocheng, and the sixteenth-generation Palm Teaching Venerable Jingxu.
Back then, Uncle Sheep, Chen Yindu, and the Qiongyang Ancestor had dug up the ancestral graves together and discovered that these three Palm Teaching Venerables' tombs were also empty cenotaphs with no corpses inside.
Chen Shi sat up abruptly. "That's definitely possible."
Uncle Sheep sat up as well. "Among these four Palm Teaching Venerables, the first three were figures from the True King Era. In that era, cultivators had very long lifespans—they could live for thousands of years, not like the mere century now. They faked their deaths, and what they were scheming for must have been huge."
Chen Shi pondered. "Besides Taihua Azure Palace's four Palm Teaching Venerables, what about the other sacred grounds?"
Uncle Sheep was stunned.
Yeah.
Taihua Azure Palace had four Palm Teaching Venerables who faked their deaths, abandoned their fleshly bodies, turned into heavenly calamities, and hid in the underworld. What about the other sacred grounds?
The Daoism's other two major sacred grounds, Supreme Haoyuan Palace and Celestial Master Mansion—were they really just sitting idly by?
Buddhism's three major sacred grounds—Water Moon Wonderland, Great Rewarding Nation Temple, and Bodhi Dao Field—didn't seem so innocent either.
So, could it be that a batch of Palm Teaching Venerables from these sacred grounds had also turned into heavenly calamities and were hiding in Chen Shi's sea of consciousness?
Uncle Sheep frowned. If those heavenly calamities were really the immortal-seeking Palm Teaching Venerables from the various sacred grounds, then should they still root out the demons? And how?
Chen Shi murmured thoughtfully, "The Thirteen Great Families prepared the Upper Realm as a backup, while the six great sacred grounds of Buddhism and Daoism prepared heavenly calamities as a backup."
"This is getting interesting."
"Their target is most likely Despair Slope and the True God Beyond the Heavens," Uncle Sheep said.
Chen Shi's eyes flickered as he recalled that young man who had sacrificed the Innate Dao Embryo.
"Despair Slope, huh—"
The Taihua Azure Palace's Immortal Sword Returning to the Mountain ceremony proceeded as scheduled. Representatives from the other major sacred grounds arrived, making it quite lively. Officials from nearby provinces and counties also came to celebrate. Most surprisingly, Chief Minister Yan Xianzhi actually showed up too.
Taihua Azure Palace's former Palm Teacher had turned evil, nearly becoming a heavenly calamity and destroying Lone Star Province, but no one mentioned it—they just offered congratulations on the Immortal Sword's return.
Chief Minister Yan Xianzhi also represented the court in encouraging Palm Teacher Changying extensively, without mentioning at all that he had brought the immortal family's supreme treasure, the Wuying Hall, intending to eliminate Jinghong. If that treasure's power had erupted, it might have flattened Taihua Azure Palace as well.
"Young Master Chen!"
After the pleasantries, Yan Xianzhi called out to Chen Shi with a beaming smile. "Young Master Chen, long time no see."
Chen Shi paid his respects and flattered him. "Lord Yan, your health seems even more robust than when I was in the capital."
Yan Xianzhi laughed. "With you Chen clansmen out of the capital, I can eat my fill more than before. I heard you've been rooting out demons on Qianyang Mountain these days—how's it going?"
Chen Shi told the truth. "The demons in my body have all been removed."
Yan Xianzhi visibly relaxed, smiling ambiguously. "I've heard about that. With the demons removed, you can rest easy, and so can the court."
Chen Shi thought of the possible old schemers from the six great sacred grounds still lurking in his body, and his face fell as he sighed gloomily.
Yan Xianzhi understood immediately and laughed. "Are you thinking that without the demons, you've lost a layer of life insurance? Young Master Chen, don't think that way. Think about it—you're a court official. Who would dare touch you? Touching you is tantamount to challenging the court!"
In high spirits, his tone lightened. "Just don't be as reckless in your duties from now on. There might be people unafraid of the court who rely on their high cultivation to come kill you. The court can only handle your funeral and issue a wanted order—you wouldn't survive."
Chen Shi's face was full of worry.
Yan Xianzhi was in great spirits. "Also, when you meet those of higher rank in the future, bow your head when you should, kneel when you should. You're just a fifth-rank Attendant Lecturer in the Hanlin Academy—plenty of officials outrank you. Don't go around casually calling people brothers like you have no worries—I'm not saying kneel to me; I'm just nominally first-rank myself. Buck up, stand straight!"
Chen Shi pulled himself together, straightened his posture, and said solemnly, "My lord, after removing the demons, this official discovered several heavenly calamities still lurking in my body. Could the court lend a hand—"
Yan Xianzhi was pleased with his attitude and laughed. "Young Master Chen, you're a court official, so the court isn't unwilling to help, but it's not guaranteed—we'd need to discuss it in court. Just wait—wait, what?"
His expression changed slightly. "Several what?"
"Several heavenly calamities."
Chen Shi was tied up in knots. "They appeared after all the demons were removed."
Yan Xianzhi shivered and forced a laugh. "Elder Chen is such a joker, really—Changying, Daoist Changying!"
He abandoned Chen Shi and hurried over to Daoist Changying, exchanging more pleasantries before laughing. "As Chief Minister, I bear the heavy responsibility of the fifty provinces of West Ox New Continent. I've already been away from the capital for some time. The ceremony today was splendid, but alas, I can't stay. Farewell, farewell!"
Daoist Changying was stunned but didn't dare stop him, hastily seeing him off.
Daoist Changying was puzzled and murmured, "Lord Yan waited in Youzhou City for over ten days just for the Immortal Sword Returning ceremony. He could wait that long—why couldn't he even stay for a meal?"
At the grand event, Daoist Changying showed the True Martial Evil-Slaying Sword to the guests. When the immortal sword was activated, rays of rosy light filled the air, drawing cheers from the crowd.
To demonstrate the sword's power, Daoist Changying had someone bring in a rampaging black boar spirit. The immortal sword activated, its rosy light sweeping over, and the black boar spirit was instantly reduced to half its body, dying on the spot.
Everyone exclaimed in admiration.
After the event, Daoist Changying left the Four Elders of Taihua to guard the sect and set off with the Qiongyang Ancestor, leading a large group of accomplished Daoists to Qianyang Mountain. They planned to retrieve Daoist Tianzhen's corpse.
However, safely entering the underworld with a true body wasn't easy, but fortunately, the Red Mountain Hall's talisman masters had a passage into the underworld at Qianyang Mountain.
Living people entering the underworld would suffer lifespan loss from the yin energy assault, and even cultivators would have their cultivation damaged by the yin energy, so they couldn't stay long.
Chen Shi drew some Summon Yin God Talismans and gave them to the Daoists. With these, they no longer had to worry about being invaded by evil energy.
Daoist Changying and the others entered the underworld from Qianyang Mountain, then passed through Red Mountain Hall's Broken Bridge into the Yin Mountains. As the Daoists descended the bridge, they saw colossal thousand-zhang divine corpses hanging from Wuliang Cliff, filling their hearts with awe.
Daoist Changying instructed the group, "Everyone, this is the underworld, teeming with ghosts and gods. Proceed with caution."
The Daoists' faces were grave as they nodded.
At that moment, ghost gods hundreds of zhang tall approached. Daoist Changying tensed, the Daoists secretly prepared defenses, their hearts filled with terror.
Ghost gods varied in strength—the powerful ones rivaled Great Vehicle Realm cultivators, the weak ones were merely Golden Core or Nascent Soul level, and the weakest, like minor yakshas or ox-headed imps, couldn't even beat a slightly older child.
But these ghost gods were absolute elites, and there were a huge number of them.
Especially the dozen or so shorter ones, which exerted even greater pressure, making Daoist Changying and the others' hearts race.
"These ghost gods are lord-level existences!"
The Qiongyang Ancestor quietly mobilized her Void Great Realm, the Thunderous Great Mighty Virtue God Incantation at the ready for instant strike. She whispered to Changying, "I've encountered one like this before—extremely powerful. Their strength isn't quite up to you or me, but close."
Daoist Changying's face was grave.
If it were just one or two lord-level ghost gods, they could handle it easily, but there were over ten at that level among them!
Chen Shi smiled. "Everyone, no need to worry. These are ghost gods under my command. The journey to Daoist Tianzhen's immortal hall is far, and some wild ghost gods can be dangerous, so I had them escort you."
Daoist Changying, Qiongyang, and the others were shocked and suspicious. The Qiongyang Ancestor exclaimed, "Ghost gods under your demons?"
Chen Shi said humbly, "Qiongyang Grandma, to be honest, I've built up a little business in the underworld."
"A little business?"
Qiongyang blinked. "How little?"
"All the territory you can see is mine."
Chen Shi fought to keep the grin off his face. "And the vast expanse you can't see is mine too. This is the empire I built for my grandpa. After you pass, Qiongyang Grandma, you can live happily here with him."
"You're quite the filial one."
Qiongyang strained her eyes toward the distance and murmured, "You've even burned him his paramour—he's got a place to put her now."
The ghost gods approached, and Daoist Changying still felt tense. He saw them about to kneel on one knee to pay respects to Chen Shi. Chen Shi waved them off, speaking ghostly words nonstop to stop their obeisance.
These powerful ghost gods indeed caused them no trouble, escorting them through the vast Yin Mountain settlements.
"This place is called the Yin Mountains, but it used to have a grand name: the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains," Chen Shi said.
Qiongyang was stunned. "Yin Mountains makes sense, but Hundred Thousand Great Mountains sounds like a place in the yang world."
"Long ago, this might have been the yang world, but some cataclysm happened, it sank into the underworld, and the yin and yang realms fused."
Chen Shi's eyes flickered as he smiled. "Who knows—maybe in the future, our yang world will fuse with the underworld too."
The Qiongyang Ancestor zoned out for a moment and sighed softly. "That would be an event eons from now. I'm afraid I won't live to see it."
The many ghost gods escorted them, and along the way, they indeed spotted numerous lord-level ghost gods perched amid the mountains and rivers, commanding lesser ghost gods and ghost tribes. Even a prestigious sect like Taihua Azure Palace couldn't have safely crossed the Yin Mountains without this escort.
They traveled thousands of li to the split mountain peaks, where chains crisscrossed, suspending the immortal hall between the two halves.
Chen Shi had the ghost gods guard the base of the mountain and carefully led Qiongyang, Changying, and the others through layers of rosy light to the hall's entrance.
"Daoist Tianzhen, it's Chen Shi. I haven't gone back on my word."
Chen Shi lit incense before the immortal hall, holding it aloft as he murmured, "I've returned the True Martial Evil-Slaying Sword to Taihua Azure Palace. Today, Taihua Azure Palace's current Palm Teaching Venerable, Daoist Changying, has come personally to welcome you home, Senior."
The incense smoke wafted gently into the hall.
The immortal light shrouding the hall's doors rippled slightly, slowly parting to reveal half the body of a scrawny Daoist.
Chen Shi stepped aside, gesturing to Daoist Changying.
Daoist Changying steadied himself, adjusted his Daoist crown and robes, and entered holding incense.
The other Daoists followed, each holding incense as they entered the hall.
The Daoists offered incense.
Daoist Changying bowed. "Your disciple Changying has come to respectfully welcome Senior Daoist Tianzhen back to Taihua Mountain. I have heard that the nature of Tianzhen is the great origin of the Dao. Restored to primal life, returned to Tianzhen. Senior, today you return like fallen leaves to their roots."
Clanking sounds of chains shaking came. Chen Shi went outside the hall and saw massive chains withdrawing from the cliff walls, coiling back like spirit serpents.
"Treated as a calamity by the True King, slain by fellow sect members with your own sect's immortal sword—do you hold no resentment?"
Chen Shi murmured, "Just waiting for the words 'welcome home.' The pure nature of Tianzhen must be like an infant's innocence to harbor no grudges. If you'd lived, perhaps you could have solved the thorny problem of cultivator corruption back then, sparing the world further trouble."
The immortal hall shook, carrying them all as it rose slowly into the air, then shattered the void and vanished from the underworld.
The split mountain rumbled closed, restoring wholeness.
The immortal hall returned to Taihua Azure Palace, descending onto the old site of Azure Sheep Palace.
Daoist Changying reverently removed Daoist Tianzhen's corpse and buried it in the ancestral graveyard.
Chen Shi went to pay respects and saw light shimmering over the immortal grave, like a little Daoist sitting amid the glow, refining pills in a furnace while holding a scroll of scriptures, bobbing his head as he studied.
Chen Shi offered incense and turned to leave, murmuring inwardly, "In ancient times, there were True Men who supported heaven and earth, grasped yin and yang, breathed essence, stood alone guarding spirit, muscles unified as one—thus they could match heaven and earth's lifespan, without end. This is the birth of their Dao. Daoist Tianzhen was probably like that. Alas, this heaven and earth have changed, no longer容 you. No longer容 you, nor me—what to do—"
"Then shift stars and swap constellations, change heaven and earth!"