Chapter 42
Chapter 42
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 42
Chapter Title: Chapter 42 Alternative Arrival
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The Shrike Sword sensed something amiss. Though it possessed great power, without its master's sacrificial refinement, that power could not be fully unleashed.
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These paper figures were mere cutouts from paper, yet bolstered by Jin Hongying's mana, their might was astonishing—especially the paper swords and blades, which were incomparably hard. Even it could not pierce them easily!
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More paper figures clambered up ceaselessly, leaping into the manor like an organized troop.
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Jin Hongying sat at that moment by Mirror Lake outside the manor, scissors in hand as she cut paper.
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With every figure she snipped, it drifted lightly to the ground, sprang to life, and walked toward the manor.
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In a mere moment, dozens of paper figures pushed cannon mounts into the manor. They loaded gunpowder into the fire lances, stuffed bombs into the barrels, while others gripped paper knives and swords, charging straight for Young Master Xiao's coffin.
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The Shrike Sword moved to block them when suddenly, every paper figure burst into flame at once, crumbling to ash in an instant—even the ashes swept out of the manor by a gust of阴 wind!
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A deep, ancient voice boomed: "Jin Hongying, Mirror Lake Manor is no place for your rampage. Begone."
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The voice was profoundly resonant, laced with unimaginable mana. When it reached Jin Hongying's ears, it shattered her own mana like a meteor crashing into a still lake, sending wild ripples surging through her!
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Blood streamed from her eyes, ears, mouth, and nose!
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Jin Hongying coughed up blood in great heaves, collapsing to the ground, hands braced against the earth, barely able to rise!
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She clenched her teeth and flung her scissors skyward. They transformed into two massive serpents—one azure, one white—that swirled around her in a protective coil, shielding her at the center.
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The azure and white serpents lifted her into the air, but just as they reached mid-flight, their heads tumbled off, crashing outside the manor with a thunderous boom.
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In that instant their heads fell, a figure in red robes rustled with a whoosh and fled through the air.
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"Eh, her cultivation isn't weak at all. No wonder she's so arrogant, scorning even us old fogeys."
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The voice carried its lingering might. Jin Hongying was already airborne, fleeing over ten li away, when the sound pierced her mind. Her delicate frame shuddered violently, plummeting from the sky to crash into the forest below, tumbling end over end.
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Thorns tore at her tender skin, speckling her pale flesh with crimson dots. Her breath came in faint wisps, her gaze unfocused.
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Jin Hongying forcibly circulated her true qi to suppress her injuries, then fled in panicked haste.
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Inside Mirror Lake Manor, the Shrike Sword finally steadied itself when a large black dog trotted up to the manor gate with light steps. It halted at the entrance and glanced back.
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A tall elder followed the black dog to the manor and stepped inside.
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It was Chen Shi's grandpa who had spoken earlier, driving Jin Hongying away.
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One by one, the coffins creaked open. Young Master Xiao lay in bloodstained robes, his face deathly pale without a trace of color, bereft of his former dashing elegance—but at least he was awake.
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"My deepest thanks to Master Chen for the rescue."
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Young Master Xiao bowed deeply in gratitude, his body swaying unsteadily.
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"Even if I hadn't spoken up, the other fellow daoists would have risen to save you."
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Grandpa entered the manor, casting a wary glance at several of the coffins.
He murmured softly, "If they were to rise, that would spell real trouble."
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Young Master Xiao shifted the subject.
"Last night, you shadowed Little Ten in secret, trailing my carriage to ensure his safety. You can't fool me."
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Grandpa offered no denial.
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Young Master Xiao shot him a look.
"Little Ten's will is as unbreakable as iron. If he obtains the complete Three Lights Righteous Qi Art, he could forge an extraordinary path even without a Divine Embryo—his achievements would rival yours or mine. You should have gone to the Tomb of the True King yourself to fetch the full art for him. Yet you taught him nothing, which baffles me. With your abilities, if you'd bothered to instruct him properly, his accomplishments would be astounding!"
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Grandpa shook his head. "I cannot teach him."
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Young Master Xiao didn't grasp his meaning.
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Grandpa fell silent for a moment.
"You've seen the azure ghost hand on his chest. There must be some horrifying entity behind it."
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Young Master Xiao nodded slightly. Back when they rescued Chen Shi's soul, he had been there on-site as a firsthand witness.
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Chen Yindu had summoned many to save Chen Shi, and he was one of them.
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After bringing Chen Shi back, that azure ghost hand had appeared on his chest. Despite exhausting every method at their disposal, none of them could erase the mark!
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The existence behind that ghost hand was unimaginably powerful, straddling the yin and yang realms, poised to cross from the underworld into the living world.
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In the end, they had joined forces to suppress it.
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"Though the ghost hand brings Little Ten suffering, it has also become part of his body. As long as Little Ten remains in the yang world—his heart in the yang— the ghost hand stays in the yang as well. In other words, a portion of its master's body lingers in the yang realm."
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Grandpa's expression grew grave. "If Little Ten cultivates and grows stronger, so too will the ghost hand. Once I realized this, I dared not teach him any cultivation."
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Young Master Xiao countered, "But he found the True King Tomb's technique on his own and embarked on this path anyway. Now that he's started, you should guide him carefully, help him grow—perhaps enough to contend with that ghost hand."
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"I've been observing him these past days, and I've made an even more terrifying discovery."
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Grandpa's face darkened further.
"Because of the azure ghost hand, Little Ten has been plagued by illness these last two years. I've scoured for medicines and tried every method to suppress it. At first, it was simple—a dose of medicine kept the attacks mild. But as he began cultivating, the outbreaks grew more frequent and ferocious. I thought it was the hand gaining strength, but then strange things happened. Last Moon Worship Festival at the Li family camp, nine people died by Little Ten's hand. I meant to clean up the scene to spare him any vendettas, but I discovered... those he killed had no souls."
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Young Master Xiao frowned in confusion. "No souls—what do you mean?"
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"It means the souls of those he killed simply vanished."
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Grandpa's expression turned peculiar. "When people die, their souls either linger at the site, tumble into the underworld, get led away by yin messengers after the seventh day, turn into vengeful ghosts from deep grudges, or get harvested by cultivators for treasures. But those nine at the Li camp? Their souls neither lingered, nor were taken by messengers or fled to the underworld. No other cultivators were present either. For the life of me, I couldn't tell where those souls went!"
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Young Master Xiao's face gradually hardened.
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He rarely admired anyone in his life, but Chen Yindu was one of the few.
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If even Chen Yindu couldn't trace the souls' whereabouts, something profoundly unnatural was at play!
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"Later, when the Zhao family's talisman master terrorized the countryside, those two Zhaos died by his hand—their souls vanished the instant they perished. Then yesterday's incident at Huangyang Village—I watched from the shadows the whole time. Twenty-one cultivators fell to Little Ten."
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Here Grandpa's face grew even graver. "And again, I found no trace of their souls."
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A chill crept up Young Master Xiao's tailbone, slithering along his spine to the base of his skull, raising fine goosebumps on his nape.
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"Master Chen, what are you suspecting?" His voice came out hoarse.
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Grandpa didn't answer directly, continuing instead: "Before the battle at Huangyang Village, there was one more baffling incident. A wrongful death named San Wang, moved by Little Ten's kindness, became a ghost and warned him in a dream overnight. But after that ghost entered Little Ten's dream... it never emerged."
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Grandpa stared fixedly at Chen Shi's small coffin.
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Young Master Xiao's gaze followed, as if beholding a specter.
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After a pause, Grandpa went on: "When we saved him all those years ago, I was overjoyed—he's my most cherished grandson. But that azure ghost hand on his chest made me realize he's not just my grandson. He's also part of that horrifying entity from the underworld. Now that he's cultivating, the ghost hand is gradually strengthening, devouring the souls of every cultivator who dies by his hand."
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Young Master Xiao interjected abruptly: "You're afraid of Little Ten, aren't you?"
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He locked eyes with Grandpa, his gaze sharp. "Master Chen, you're afraid."
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To his shock, Grandpa betrayed real fear—his body even trembling faintly.
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Young Master Xiao reeled. He knew Chen Yindu could feel fear, but trembling with it? That was beyond imagining.
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Fear to the point of physical shaking!
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A thought flashed through his mind. He blurted, "That's why you've only watched Little Ten from afar—not out of worry he'd die outside, but fear he'd lose control!"
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Grandpa said nothing, as if tacitly admitting it.
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After a moment, Grandpa asked: "Young Master Xiao, you've witnessed evil-, spirit-, and demon-level calamities. Have you ever seen disaster- or calamity-level ones?"
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Young Master Xiao shook his head. "I've only heard tales of such things—never laid eyes on them."
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Grandpa's voice sank low: "If the ghost hand ever breaks free, then someday, you'll witness a calamity-level disaster descending—through his very body."
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Young Master Xiao shivered again.
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Though he'd never seen disaster- or calamity-level calamities, he had faced a demon-level one—and it was utterly horrifying.
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Grandpa regarded him gravely, with utmost solemnity. "Young Master Xiao, I'm old now, unable to linger long in the yang world. He needs a godmother strong enough to suppress that ghost hand."
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"Don't look to me."
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Young Master Xiao understood and shook his head. "I harbor fear myself. If I fail to contain it and catastrophe erupts, I'd be the sinner. I refuse to become that sinner!"
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Grandpa's brows furrowed slightly. "What about the Water-Fire Tempering Art? You don't want it?"
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Young Master Xiao's frame quivered, but he shook his head. "Better a hero's fragrant bones in death than a coward's infamy in life. Master Chen, please leave!"
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Grandpa erupted in fury: "Coward!"
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Young Master Xiao retreated into his coffin. "Call me what you will!"
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Grandpa stormed out of the manor in anger.
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Blackie Pot hurried after him, the dog's heart pounding with unease. Today it had overheard far too many secrets—would the old man silence it to keep them buried?
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Fortunately, though Grandpa was enraged, he took out no anger on the dog.
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Grandpa halted abruptly, staring blankly at a leaf. An ant circled helplessly atop it, unable to find a path.
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"I'm just like this ant... no idea what to do. I must find Little Ten a godmother powerful enough. Otherwise, I'll have no choice but to kill him—both of us head to the underworld together. Perhaps... that wouldn't be so bad. No—I can't do that!"
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He wrestled inwardly, his face twisting in torment.
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"Little Ten is my grandson, carrying my bloodline. I cannot kill him. I cannot... No matter the cost, he must live safe and whole! Even if it shatters me to pieces, he will live on!"
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What is born with us, we do not take in death.
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But so long as bloodline endures, so does eternity.
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In the Mountain Lord Temple these past days, Chen Shi cultivated with single-minded focus, advancing toward Five Viscera Perfected and Bone Refining Marrow Cleansing.
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Practicing in the Mountain Lord Temple granted him sunlight, moonlight, and starlight in full—the three lights complete. Combined with the Big Dipper Seven Refinements tempering his bones, heart, blood, flesh, skin, qi, and spirit, his body grew ever stronger, inching closer to the Saint Embryo Body.
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This day, as he trod the Tian Shu step, channeling the Tian Shu star rune to temper his flesh, he felt each organ suddenly possess an independent life—as if divine spirits dwelled within. Any damage or affliction to them registered crystal-clear in his mind, distinct and vivid!
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Moreover, as the Big Dipper circulated, wounds or maladies in his five viscera and six bowels healed in short order!
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He could remain in peak health at all times!
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This was Five Viscera Perfected.
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Chen Shi brimmed with shock and delight. With a mere thought, he circulated his qi and blood, feeling it surge two or three times more vigorously than before—even channeling into his hair, as if the strands themselves came alive!
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His hair thrummed with eerie vitality.
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With each step, qi and blood suffused his bones, his strength climbing unceasingly. At this moment, his true bone tempering completed as well!
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"I may lack a Divine Embryo, but I've forged the Saint Embryo Body spoken of in the Three Lights Righteous Qi Art. My flesh is my Divine Embryo!"