Chapter 54
Chapter 54
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 4
Chapter Title: Day Four of the Demon Transformation
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Li Jindou was both shocked and delighted.
"You know where the Qianyang Mountain Man is?"
Young Master Xiao ignored him and focused on healing his wounds.
Seeing this, Li Jindou hurriedly suppressed his own injuries as well.
They arrived at a mountain hollow, where in the middle of a stream, a tiny old woman lay sprawled on her back, floating in the water. It was unclear if she was dead or alive, but she still clutched the Ram-Horn Celestial Spirit Lamp tightly in her hand.
"If you're still alive, Granny, crawl up. I'll take you to see Chen Shi."
Young Master Xiao spoke.
The old woman soaking in the water twitched slightly, her voice faint as a thread.
"Young Master Xiao, won't you help an old lady up? I'm injured. Crawl up yourself."
Young Master Xiao was as terse as ever.
Granny Sha was furious beyond measure. She laboriously crawled ashore, still unwilling to let go of the Ram-Horn Celestial Spirit Lamp. After just two steps, she collapsed, but even then she wouldn't abandon the lamp. So she crawled with one hand while kicking with both feet, finally reaching the carriage.
Seeing her in such a wretched state too, Li Jindou finally felt at ease.
At least he had company now.
Granny Sha dragged herself onto the carriage and used every ounce of strength to haul the Ram-Horn Celestial Spirit Lamp aboard. She let out a breath.
"Where's Jin Hongying?"
Young Master Xiao shook his head.
"No need to worry about her. She runs faster than a rabbit."
Granny Sha asked no more.
The carriage set off again. As Granny Sha watched the mountain path, it grew more and more familiar, filling her with shock.
This road led to the Mountain Lord Temple!
Soon after, the carriage reached Zhuang Granny's tree hollow, which was crammed full of nearby villagers. Though their complexions weren't great, they hadn't turned to porcelain. Zhuang Granny sat cheerfully on her wooden bed, her kind face beaming, revealing just a few scattered teeth when she smiled.
She was the second most powerful spirit in Qianyang Mountain, hundreds of times stronger than the godmothers of the various villages, allowing these people to survive much longer.
The carriage passed the tree hollow and continued onward.
The mountain road grew increasingly rugged, but the coachman's skill was superb, keeping them as steady as if on flat ground.
They arrived at Giant Serpent Mystic Mountain, where a massive black serpent coiled around the peak, and the mountaintop was packed with people.
Even the back of Giant Serpent Mystic Mountain had quite a few people on it. The serpent was enormously thick and never moved, so they had no fear of falling off—
Mountain folk had their own mountain wisdom.
Their village spirits might not be strong enough, but Giant Serpent Mystic Mountain and Zhuang Granny were powerful enough to delay their porcelainization.
Granny Sha had thought the carriage would continue to the Mountain Lord Temple, but instead, it headed toward the peak where Mystic Mountain lay.
The carriage climbed the mountain and came to a stop.
Young Master Xiao shakily dismounted. With the slightest movement, fresh blood seeped out, staining his clothes.
Seeing this, Li Jindou felt much better.
"No wonder he doesn't move. Any motion pulls at his wounds. His injuries are about as severe as mine!
He tried to get off too, but his limbs gave way, and he tumbled from the carriage, sprawling on the ground.
Granny Sha shakily stepped down, leaving the lamp on the carriage this time. Her legs trembling, she followed Young Master Xiao.
Li Jindou gritted his teeth and crawled forward, thinking to himself,
"How could I stay in the carriage, waiting for the Qianyang Mountain Man to come see me?
Do I have a face that big? No, I don't. Only by dragging my severely wounded body over will I show my sincerity."
The three arrived beneath Giant Serpent Mystic Mountain's head, a flat clearing with a stone table and two stone benches.
Chen Yindu and a black-clothed young man were playing chess.
The black-clothed young man was Mystic Mountain's spirit.
They clearly knew each other.
"Why hasn't Master Chen made a move?"
Young Master Xiao asked.
Chen Yindu held a black piece, gazing at the board in slight contemplation, unsure where to place it.
Observing the board, he gently set down a piece, speaking unhurriedly.
"I've cultivated the Water-Fire Tempering Art, granting my body immortality through this method, but my lifespan is fated—I can't change that. By my count, I've been dead for seventy-three days."
The black-clothed young man, Giant Serpent Mystic Mountain's spirit, placed a white piece.
"Absorbing moonlight essence for seventy-three days, Du Wazi, and still keeping your sanity without turning into an Evil— that's already impressive."
Calling Chen Yindu "Du Wazi" showed that Chen Yindu had often come here to play as a child, and Giant Serpent Mystic Mountain knew him well.
Chen Yindu frowned slightly. Clearly, Mystic Mountain's move gave him a headache.
"The Evil Bodhisattva is a Demon. With its Demon Domain spread out, everything for a hundred li around is its territory. The Demon Domain is extremely harmful to ordinary people and greatly affects Evils too."
Lost in thought, he delayed placing his piece.
"That's why I'm hiding here with Senior Mystic Mountain—for its protection, to avoid the Demon's influence. If I go out, the Demon Domain will erode my mind, like exposing me to moonlight, or even worse. I don't want to become an Evil Spirit. In a fight with the Evil Bodhisattva, I could indeed slay it, but I'd lose control. Who knows, I might turn into an even more terrifying Evil than the Bodhisattva."
Granny Sha struggled to support her weary body.
"Old Chen, we've been beaten senseless. We're no match for the Evil Bodhisattva. Only you can stand against it now. If you don't act, everyone in this hundred-li radius will die!"
"What does it have to do with me?"
Chen Yindu smiled.
"Do I care about them?"
Granny Sha was so furious she nearly fetched her lamp to smash him.
Li Jindou felt a sense of shattered admiration, stammering,
"S-Senior, th-that's not right."
"If the people all die, you and Chen Shi won't escape either. Won't you die too?"
Chen Yindu placed his piece, as if victory was assured, smiling faintly.
"I'm already a dead man. What's there to fear about dying? My grandson has a ghostly handprint on his chest, constantly squeezing his heart. Once I die, he won't last. We'll both perish in this Demon Transformation, souls returning to the underworld, crossing the Yellow Springs together. In the afterlife, we can look out for each other, have company. Isn't that wonderful?"
He laughed aloud, seeming quite pleased.
"And with a million people buried with us grandsons, it'll be grander than an emperor's funeral. Just thinking about it is blissful. Must be our Chen family ancestors' graves smoking green."
Li Jindou was left speechless.
He himself wasn't really fighting for the people in this hundred-li radius—it was more for his grandson Li Tianqing and his own life that he'd charged the Kiln Works.
Now, using these people's lives to pressure Chen Yindu felt less than upright.
Granny Sha raged,
"You two might not even reach the underworld! In the Hundred-Day Demon Transformation, when the True God gazes down, everything turns to ash, nothing left—not even your grandsons' souls will escape being refined to dust! Dreaming of underworld revelry? Keep dreaming your big spring and autumn dreams!"
Chen Yindu laughed.
"Then my grandson and I will die a day early and enjoy the underworld first. Granny, don't try binding me with morals. I have none."
Granny Sha flew into a rage and turned to grab the Ram-Horn Celestial Spirit Lamp to smash him.
But as soon as she lifted the lamp, she ran out of strength, pinned by its over three hundred jin weight, unable to move.
Young Master Xiao stared coldly at Chen Yindu. After a moment, he said,
"Master Chen, why not state your conditions plainly?"
Chen Yindu's expression turned solemn. He slowly set down his chess piece and said gravely,
"In this life, I have one unfulfilled wish: I can't see Little Ten grow up safely. Little Ten needs a protector strong enough to prevent his old illness from recurring—one who can suppress the cyan ghostly hand when it flares up."
At these words, Young Master Xiao paled and slowly shook his head.
Granny Sha, who had been struggling under the lamp, stopped crawling upon hearing this.
Only Li Jindou was bewildered, not grasping the implication, and quickly said,
"Senior, my Li family is vast and powerful, full of experts. If Chen Shi comes to us, we can definitely cure his illness!"
Chen Yindu ignored him, his gaze still on Young Master Xiao.
Li Jindou was about to speak again when Young Master Xiao said,
"Brother Jindou, can you make decisions for the Li family?"
"I..."
Li Jindou opened his mouth, then swallowed his words.
He couldn't make decisions for the Li family master.
"Master Chen, I'd very much like to agree. Whether by righteousness or the debt of your teachings, I have no choice but to help. But I can't."
Young Master Xiao shook his head.
"Because I can't do it. Once my wounds heal and my strength returns to its peak, I can fight the Evil Bodhisattva. But to win? That's a thousand difficulties and ten thousand obstacles—I'd still need others' help."
He had slain a Demon before, in Sanfan County, where a Demon Lotus bloomed, birthing a Heavenly Demon.
Back then, when the Demon Lotus appeared, many mistook it for a heavenly treasure and experts came to seize it.
Only when the Demon Domain bloomed did they realize it was an Evil Demon's birth.
Trapped within, the powerhouses joined forces to assault the Demon Lotus. In the end, most experts died, and only Young Master Xiao survived, slaying the Demon nurtured within the lotus.
The Evil Bodhisattva was no weaker than that Demon Lotus—it was one the True King had carefully selected before death to guard the Kiln Works, and it had already grown for three days.
In a one-on-one duel, Young Master Xiao had no confidence in victory.
He exhaled.
"As for dealing with a Disaster-grade far stronger than a mere Demon-grade, I'm even less capable."
Beneath the lamp, Granny Sha sighed in dejection.
Young Master Xiao's words were exactly what she wanted to say.
Chen Shi's body harbored at least a Disaster-grade Evil Element.
Possibly even a Calamity!
Hearing "Disaster-grade," Li Jindou deflated too and fell silent.
Chen Yindu pinched a chess piece, still utterly composed, his chess skill surging as he pressed Mystic Mountain hard, leaving it drenched in sweat.
Young Master Xiao said no more and turned to leave.
Li Jindou hesitated, then crawled back onto the carriage with effort.
Granny Sha broke free from the bronze lamp's weight and returned to the carriage.
The carriage departed.
Looking back from afar, Chen Yindu and Mystic Mountain chatted and laughed, while Mystic Mountain looked annoyed, wanting to take back a move.
"That old bastard's awfully calm!"
Granny Sha fumed...
Demon Transformation, fourth day.
On the mountain path, Chen Shi and Li Tianqing returned empty-handed, Blackie Pot trotting ahead. This time, they had no harvest.
The Xinxian rats had turned to porcelain, and other exotic beasts had either hidden or porcelainized too. There wasn't much left to find nowadays.
Strange—why hasn't Blackie Pot porcelainized?
Li Tianqing was even more curious than Chen Shi. The black dog seemed utterly unaffected by the Evil Bodhisattva, its steps light, as if more at ease than the two boys.
"Little Ten, where'd your grandpa pick up Blackie Pot? Can you get one for me too?"
Chen Shi shook his head.
"Grandpa never said. But if you want one, it's simple—find a bitch to breed with. One litter can have several pups."
Li Tianqing's eyes lit up, nodding repeatedly.
"We can breed extras and sell them for money."
Hearing "sell for money," Chen Shi's eyes brightened too. His gaze toward Blackie Pot softened, like looking at a god of wealth.
The dog ahead shivered involuntarily and looked back at them resentfully.
At that moment, voices came from ahead—giggles and laughter, quite lively.
Chen Shi and Li Tianqing tensed at once, each activating their Divine Shrines. Blackie Pot ran back, hiding behind them.
Chen Shi only pretended to activate his Divine Shrine—actually, without a Divine Embryo enthroned, it was useless. But if others didn't look closely, they'd be startled, wary of his spells, only to eat a punch from him.
Lately, they'd found corpses of some cultivators, likely killed in fights over food. Food had become everyone's greatest challenge.
For food, lives meant nothing—others' or their own.
The two boys and dog reached a wider stretch of path and stood against the cliff wall.
Ahead came over a dozen people, mostly maids, with a young man in scholar's robes laughing and chatting amid them.
Four maids among them each activated their Divine Shrines' Divine Embryos, which bloomed with light like four bright lanterns, illuminating the group and surroundings.
These four were positioned at the front, rear, and middle, perfectly covering the group with the Divine Shrines' glow.
This was a technique to guard against Evil ambushes.
Chen Shi glanced over and immediately saw it was a three-shift system.
Twelve people total, groups of four taking turns activating their Divine Shrines to protect the group. When one shift tired, the next took over. This rotation ensured the group always had eight at peak fighting strength.
These days, the living people seen in the mountains were all cultivators out hunting spirit beasts. Chen Shi had encountered a few groups of cultivators before, but none as organized and methodical as this one.
The maids spotted Chen Shi and the other, whispering to the young man,
"Young Master, two kids and a dog!"