Chapter 385
Translator: Ace
Chapter: 386
Chapter Title: Immortal Arts Chapter
“She noticed us.”
In the depths of the Boundary Upper Realm, pairs of eyes withdrew one after another, avoiding contact with the white-clothed female immortal’s gaze.
Layer upon layer of clouds swiftly gathered, forming a thick barrier that blocked the White Jade Female Immortal’s line of sight.
A low voice rang out: “She is indeed injured, but her wounds are healing very quickly. There’s something strange about her. It’s as if she entered the阳间 from another world, truly gaining a new life.”
Another voice said: “She’s no longer shrouded in the gloom of twilight.”
“She seems to have escaped the state of evil transformation. Too strange.”
“An immortal from the previous era, resurrected from death. She’s worth studying.”
Chen Shi withdrew his gaze. The Boundary Upper Realm was vast and boundless, with swirling mists ahead. He had no idea what the white-clothed female immortal meant by her “kind.”
He didn’t know the white-clothed female immortal’s origins. During the Immortal Bridge incident, he had entered a state of enlightenment, comprehending the Wind-Thunder Transformation, Water-Fire Transformation, and Mountain-Marsh Transformation. By the time he gained some insight and awoke, he found the white-clothed female immortal turned into a blood-soaked figure, lying under a stone at his feet.
Chen Shi thus speculated that she was a juren participating in the spring examinations, caught up in the Immortal Bridge incident and fallen into a coma.
Later events with the white-clothed female immortal led him to guess that this woman was probably not one of the juren taking the metropolitan exam. She could help Chen Shi regulate his qi and blood, elevating his cultivation. As long as she sat in the Divine Shrine, Chen Shi’s cultivation would become extraordinarily pure, with effects even better than those of Shiji Niangniang.
She could also yank off the evil fuzz from Chen Shi’s evil-transformed body, rooting it out completely without recurrence.
It was because of this that Chen Shi noticed her abnormality. Then, on the foggy moonlit night when Tianzhen Daoist underwent evil transformation and he was forced into a desperate situation,
Chen Shi sacrificed the white-clothed female immortal. She met the seemingly invincible flesh wings of the evil-transformed Tianzhen Daoist head-on, shattering them with a single strike. The evil-transformed Tianzhen Daoist was forced to retreat, resolving a certain-death crisis.
Only then did Chen Shi realize that the woman he had saved likely had an extraordinary background.
Chen Shi had once suspected she might be the ghost immortal from Qixia Temple who triggered the Immortal Bridge incident.
He had looked into the Immortal Bridge incident. It was said that the Immortal Bridge blessed land had collided with the ghost god domain of Qixia Temple. That ghost immortal seized the chance to press the White Jade Long Bridge onto the Immortal Bridge blessed land, stepping from another world into the阳间 in an attempt to be reborn. The cabinet ministers activated the Nine Halls of the True King, heavily wounding the Qixia Temple ghost immortal.
But observing the white-clothed female immortal, Chen Shi didn’t see her as a ghost immortal at all—no trace of evil aura.
Yang Bi interrupted his musings, inviting him into the palace behind them and arranging accommodations.
This palace was called White Lang Palace. It wasn’t the traditional vermilion walls and green tiles, but white walls and black tiles, with the charm of ink-wash landscapes.
The mountains within the palace were shaped with an emphasis on form and intent, the plants mere accents, capturing the blank-space aesthetic of ink-wash landscapes—a unique scenery.
“Top Scholar Chen, you can rest in White Lang Palace first and recuperate for a while.”
Yang Bi said, “If you need any spirit herbs, just ask. The Boundary Upper Realm has plenty of top-grade ones, no inferior to those from Qingzhou.”
Hearing him mention Qingzhou spirit herbs, Chen Shi smiled faintly and said: “I have some spirit herbs from Qingzhou on me too.”
Yang Bi laughed: “I know the rough details of what you and Li Tianqing did in Qingzhou. Rest first, recover your body. Once you’re back at your peak, you and I can have our match whenever.”
Chen Shi nodded lightly.
Yang Bi looked at Zhang You and Li Qianyun. The two rose, about to leave with him.
Suddenly, Yang Bi stopped and asked: “Top Scholar Chen, I’m still a bit curious. When you broke into the Body Fusion Realm, did your body undergo any mutations?”
Chen Shi smiled: “It did. But I’ve resolved it. It’s not affecting me much now.”
Yang Bi’s mind trembled slightly. He nodded silently and turned to leave.
After they left, Chen Shi finally let out a breath and immediately lay down on the bed.
His bones were fractured and untreated, merely suppressed by his cultivation. The top priority was to heal the broken bones as soon as possible.
Several ginseng doll sprites ran out from his mini-temple, climbing onto his body. They mimicked checking his injuries—some prying open his eyelids to inspect his eyes, some opening his mouth to check his teeth, others pressing to his chest to listen to his heartbeat.
But one was reliable, chattering “ah-ah” as it called the other ginseng dolls, pointing out that Chen Shi’s bones and internal organs were injured.
The ginseng dolls returned to the mini-temple, using Chen Shi’s nascent soul to select herbs from the medicine field outside.
They knew the properties well, having Chen Shi pick some fruits, leaves, or stems to consume directly.
Chen Shi used his nascent soul to deliver the herbs straight to his body’s stomach and intestines, activating their power. The medicinal energy gradually spread, reconnecting his broken bones, while his injured organs slowly self-repaired.
Seeing him take the spirit herbs, the ginseng dolls relaxed and rooted back into the medicine field.
Chen Shi circulated the medicinal power. After a long while, he opened his eyes—his injuries improved somewhat.
Seeing he was out of danger, the white-clothed female immortal hid in the mini-temple behind his head, helping regulate his breathing for faster recovery.
After a long while, Chen Shi tried getting out of bed. As long as he didn’t walk too fast, his bones shouldn’t break.
Chen Shi left the room, hesitating before choosing not to use the Blood Lake True Scripture, which healed the fastest.
The Blood Lake True Scripture was the fastest self-healing technique he knew—even pulverized bones could recover in short order.
Chen Shi’s skeletal form in the underworld was an expert in this art, fully aware of its power. But the Blood Lake True Scripture advanced too quickly, requiring vast amounts of fresh blood for practice, even killing other experts to fill the Blood Lake Hell to advance realms.
“This is the Boundary Upper Realm, full of gods. No place to kill, and I can’t beat these gods——”
Chen Shi sighed regretfully, activating the First New Symbol, silently reciting the divine incantation. Thunder light exploded within him continuously, coursing along his bones, tempering them repeatedly.
His reconnected bones were surely fragile at the fractures; diligent cultivation was needed to make them as strong as before.
It had to be said, the First New Symbol was worthy of being a supreme body-tempering art. By the second day, Chen Shi sensed his bones were as tough as ever.
His heart stirred: “Back then, I studied the patterns on the Heaven-Spanning Iron Ruler, transcribed them, but overexerted my mind and fell asleep. When I woke, I saw four new symbols drawn on the four sheets of paper. Since it wasn’t my dad or grandpa who drew them, there’s only one possibility.”
His eyes sparkled, breath quickening. He hurried to the mini-temple and examined the white-clothed female immortal up and down.
The white-clothed female immortal huddled in the corner of the Divine Shrine, eyeing him warily, gesturing frantically while babbling “aba-aba” anxiously.
Chen Shi understood: her body wasn’t healed yet, don’t rush, what if he got hurt again? Chen Shi laughed: “Earlier, I was controlled by Peng and had strange thoughts about you. But this time, I’m not here for that.”
He fetched the Heaven-Spanning Iron Ruler from the corner, pointing to the patterns. “You understand this?”
The white-clothed female immortal nodded lightly.
Chen Shi was thrilled, grabbing paper and brush. “Decode all the patterns on the iron ruler, and I won’t hold it against you for injuring me.”
The white-clothed female immortal came down from the Divine Shrine, took the paper and brush, and compared them to the Heaven-Spanning Iron Ruler’s patterns, translating them into intricate, exquisite talismans. Besides the four new symbols Chen Shi had already seen, there were five more.
But decoding these patterns seemed extremely taxing for her too. Her speed slowed, especially the later ones, taking longer and longer.
When the final pattern was decoded, she yawned and fell into a deep sleep.
Seeing this, Chen Shi picked her up. Instead of placing her in the Divine Shrine, he left the mini-temple, returned to the room, laid the girl on the bed, and tucked her in.
Leaning close to her beautiful face, he surprisingly felt no profane urges. He wondered: “Could it be that at night in the underworld, Peng left the Yuan Chen Palace to complain about me to the Yama King?”
He tucked her in properly, rose, and went out to the courtyard.
He directed his nascent soul to study the five new symbols in the mini-temple.
When his gaze fell on the fifth new symbol, a divine incantation arose in his mind, reciting solemnly and profoundly: “Ancestral qi births fourfold, auxiliary qi follows the gang. Dipper turns with time, qi swirls around kui gang. Front taken as yin, back as yang. Mysterious eyes red, two qi soar, from heaven descending, merging my true light.”
Chen Shi felt his qi and blood surge with the recitation, flowing along strange routes.
“Buzz!”
His nascent soul dao field unfurled. Within it appeared the Northern and Southern Dippers. Ancestral qi generated in the field, qi vortices swirling around the stars.
Chen Shi was astonished. The previous four new symbols were mostly thunder arts: one for tempering body and soul, one for refining the pure阳 body, one for riding thunder, the fourth the Zhou Tian Fire Realm for activating the Heaven-Spanning Iron Ruler. He’d thought the later ones similar, but this was a qi cultivation method!
After reciting the incantation once, his nascent soul dao field shifted stars, forming yin-yang dual qi descending from heaven,
infusing his body, bringing indescribable comfort.
“This is a technique, but it seems incomplete. Yet it starts with the dao field—too astonishing!”
Chen Shi looked at the sixth new symbol. The divine incantation rang in his ears again, qi moving accordingly. Nascent soul, dao field, and body suddenly merged as one. Southern and Northern Dipper star images imprinted on his chest and back, yin-yang qi tempering ceaselessly within.
When nascent soul, dao field, and body unified, the changes from the fifth new symbol’s dao field now manifested in his body!
Chen Shi even felt the bodily sensations of ancestral qi birthing fourfold, dippers shifting stars!
“This technique seems stronger than the Xiaolang Emperor Chapter!”
He looked at the seventh new symbol. With the incantation, his body felt like it was about to split heaven and earth. Vast power erupted, attempting to open a great body realm in the void within him!
“Not good! The seventh new symbol is for opening a void great realm!”
Chen Shi tried to stop, but all qi and blood drained instantly. Nascent soul and dao field power were sucked dry in a moment!
He didn’t even groan, eyes blacking out as he toppled stiffly.
The seventh new symbol’s incantation vanished, the heaven-splitting power dissipating.
In the depths of the Boundary Upper Realm, the ancestors of the thirteen great families awoke one after another, gazing toward White Lang Palace.
“Fluctuations of the Immortal Formula!”
“It vanished again!”
They were shocked and uncertain.
After a long while, Chen Shi groggily awoke to find himself on the sickbed, the still-sleeping white-clothed immortal beside him.
“Why am I here?”
He tried to rise but was utterly weak, head splitting. He groaned involuntarily.
Chen Shi checked himself—cultivation nearly gone, qi and blood exhausted, nascent soul weaker than ever.
Li Qianyun’s voice came from outside: “Top Scholar Chen, you’re awake?”
The woman hurried in. Seeing him sit up, she quickly supported him: “I came to visit and found you collapsed in the courtyard, so I took the liberty of putting you in bed. No need to thank me.”
She laughed as she said this.
Chen Shi thanked her.
Li Qianyun puzzled: “What happened to you? You were already injured, several bones broken. Now even your nascent soul is hurt.”
Chen Shi rose, went to the vanity, and looked in the mirror. The face was ghastly pale, even lips bloodless.
“I injured myself during cultivation by accident.”
Chen Shi said, “A few days’ rest and I’ll recover.”
Li Qianyun shook her head: “Your injuries are too severe now. Not suitable to duel Yang Bi. Rest longer.”
Chen Shi also sensed the qi-blood loss and nascent soul damage—indeed unfit for battle soon. He nodded.
He moved toward the door. Li Qianyun stepped up to support him. Chen Shi shook his head, smiling: “No need. I can walk. I’m hungry. Any food?”
“There’s none here.”
Li Qianyun said, “The Boundary Upper Realm is the abode of gods. Rarely any smoke from fires. We eat things like lingzhi grass here—a single one fills you for half a year.”
She took out a lingzhi fruit and gave it to Chen Shi.
Chen Shi ate it, feeling full indeed, but soon his stomach growled hungrily again.
Li Qianyun was helpless: “I only have this one, saved from skimping. Was planning to use it for seclusion.”
Chen Shi staggered outside the palace: “Where’s that Azure Cloud Carriage? I remember three Dragon Chargers tied at the front—should make a good meal.”
Li Qianyun hurried after, laughing wryly: “Those are mounts for receiving honored guests, all great demons with cultivation. Can’t just catch and eat them. I do have some snacks I brought, to chew occasionally for a taste.”
Chen Shi turned to her. Li Qianyun jumped, fearing he’d roast her.
Chen Shi said: “Miss, hand them over to save a life!”
Li Qianyun pulled out her hidden jerky, dried fruits, and snacks, piling them mountain-high. Embarrassed: “Don’t tell anyone I hid these—”
Chen Shi devoured them ravenously. After a long while, more than half were gone.
Chen Shi felt his life preserved at last and relaxed.
Li Qianyun blinked, smiling: “Top Scholar Chen, you’re well-read and worldly. There’s a type of person with meticulous minds, observation peerless. They can deduce your techniques from daily habits, find flaws in your spells. Even if cultivated perfectly, can’t guard against their attacks. How to deal with such people?”
Chen Shi wiped oil from his mouth: “You mean Li Tianqing, right? He beat you?”
Li Qianyun’s face flushed awkwardly.
She had indeed lost to Li Tianqing, and badly.
She thought she’d mastered the Li family secrets fully—dealing with him should be easy. But Li Tianqing observed her for eight days and defeated her in six moves!
Chen Shi glanced at her: “You cultivated in the Boundary Upper Realm, still no confidence against him?”
Li Qianyun said: “Though my cultivation advanced greatly, thinking of his methods, I feel if he observes me for days, he’ll still find weaknesses.”
“Then don’t fight.”
Chen Shi stood, patting dust from his rear: “Give Li Tianqing enough observation time, and he could kill even me in ten moves. Miss Qianyun, you’ll never find a way to counter him. Nor can I. This talent of his is innate.”
Li Qianyun looked disappointed: “Then how to defeat him?”
“If it were me, I’d rush to his side instantly, attack at max speed, leaving no time to find flaws!”
Chen Shi smiled: “But among the young people I’ve met, only I’m fast enough—for him to not react! You all... aren’t.”
At that moment, a voice came: “A mere outer sect disciple, really that strong?”