Chapter 62
Chapter 62
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: [Unknown]
Chapter Title: The Weight of the Innate Dao Embryo
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Li Jindou waited outside the manor, likely because the manor could only admit two people at a time. With Granny Sha and Young Master Xiao still healing their wounds, he had no choice but to wait outside.
Once the two of them had suppressed their injuries, they would probably yield a coffin for him to lie in.
In this rotation, all three of their wounds could be alleviated.
Yet, for three grand experts to fall to such a state—it couldn't help but evoke sighs.
"A piece of good news."
Jin Hongying glanced around, her tone laced with pride.
"We've eliminated the last kiln worker. The Evil Bodhisattva has no one left to repair its body. As long as we can unleash the power we had during our first joint assault, we can slay it!"
Everyone's eyes lit up.
Granny Sha let out a sigh and shook her head.
"The bad news is that all four of us are injured and can't muster the strength of that first joint assault."
Young Master Xiao added,
"The even worse news is that the Evil Bodhisattva is stronger now than it was five days ago."
Li Jindou frowned.
It was still a dead end.
Jin Hongying couldn't hold back.
"Young Master Xiao, hand over the Western King's Jade Seal! We're all facing death now—what use is keeping it for yourself?"
Young Master Xiao replied flatly,
"Even if I gave you the seal, you couldn't use it. The Western King's Jade can only be wielded by imperial bloodline. You want to use it to open the Tomb of the True King against the Evil Bodhisattva? Impossible."
Jin Hongying flew into a rage and barked,
"If you don't hand over the seal, I won't wait for the Evil Bodhisattva—today, this lady will send you on your way!"
Chen Shi and Li Tianqing exchanged surprised looks upon hearing this. When Jin Hongying faced them, she called herself "old lady" or "auntie," acting every bit the elder. But with Young Master Xiao, she referred to herself as "this lady."
What was the reason for that?
On the road, they had even argued over whether Little Gold liked him or him. Now it seemed neither was right.
Young Master Xiao shook his head.
"After two days of healing, you're no match for me."
Jin Hongying was furious. She shot a glance at Granny Sha and cried,
"Young Master Xiao, today this lady will fight you to the death!"
Granny Sha understood and quickly blocked her,劝道,
"With a great enemy before us, this is the moment to set aside old grudges and unite. How can we let personal enmities override the greater good?"
Li Jindou said,
"You lot keep bickering. I'm off to heal in a coffin. Grandson, why aren't you picking me up and putting me in? Are you waiting for me to crawl in myself?"
Li Tianqing had no idea what had upset him, but figuring old folks were like cranky children, he obliged, scooping up Li Jindou and carrying him into the manor.
From inside the manor came Li Jindou's voice:
"Wretched grandson, even in death I can't lie in a better coffin? I want to sleep in Young Master Xiao's casket—not Granny Sha's coffin."
Young Master Xiao's brow furrowed slightly. He resolved that if he survived, he could keep the outer four layers, but the jade coffin Li Jindou had lain in would definitely be discarded for a new one.
He wasn't used to sleeping in someone else's used coffin.
"Where's my grandpa? Isn't my grandpa here?"
Chen Shi looked around and asked.
He had followed Jin Hongying here precisely to find his grandfather, but with Grandpa yet to appear, unease gnawed at his heart.
Granny Sha's face soured.
"Chen Yindu, that old thief Chen? Bah—dirties my mouth!"
Chen Shi was astonished, wondering how his grandpa had offended her.
Young Master Xiao said,
"Master Chen is at the Black Serpent Mystic Mountain now. With this demonic upheaval, he can't act."
Chen Shi breathed a sigh of relief and smiled.
"My grandpa's getting on in years—his skills aren't what they used to be. It's right for him not to fight."
Granny Sha's expression grew odd, Young Master Xiao coughed repeatedly, and Jin Hongying, ignorant of Chen Yindu, had no clue who he was.
But seeing how Granny Sha and Young Master Xiao revered the man, she figured he must be someone extraordinary.
Chen Shi called for Blackie Pot and eagerly headed off to the Black Serpent Mystic Mountain to find his grandpa.
Granny Sha watched him go, then suddenly asked,
"Do you think Chen Yindu will act for his grandson's sake?"
Young Master Xiao was silent for a moment, then shook his head.
"Unlikely. If he acts, the demonic nature will influence him—his reason and humanity will fade, while his evil and demonic traits grow stronger. He'll struggle even more to suppress his wicked desires. Staying in the mortal world, he'd become another demon, far more harmful. I'd rather face the Evil Bodhisattva than a demonized Master Chen!"
Granny Sha thought of Chen Yindu demonized and shuddered involuntarily.
That would be many times more terrifying than the Evil Bodhisattva!
Compared to him, the Evil Bodhisattva was just a fledgling that only wielded porcelainization and eight weapons.
Young Master Xiao continued,
"Master Chen doesn't want to harm the world, so he can only go to the underworld. But without care, Chen Shi will surely die, so he can't go. Granny, could you be his godmother?"
Granny Sha shuddered and shook her head.
"A godmother is a protector who answers every call—I can't stay by his side around the clock. And besides..."
She showed fear but said no more.
Young Master Xiao said,
"I'm the same. Neither of us can commit, so Master Chen won't act. He's forcing us—making us have no choice but to agree to protect Chen Shi!"
Jin Hongying, lost in the fog, asked,
"What's wrong with Chen Shi? The kid seems fine to me. Why would he die without care? If you two won't look after him, let him follow me—I'll take him to the Divine Machine Battalion!"
Young Master Xiao shook his head.
"Lady Jin, that's a burden you can't shoulder—the Divine Machine Battalion can't either. Even if you bound together the Divine Machine, Five Armies, and Divine Pivot Battalions, you still couldn't bear it."
Jin Hongying sneered,
"There's no burden in this world that my shoulders can't carry!"
Granny Sha asked,
"Leader Jin, have you heard of the Innate Dao Embryo?"
Jin Hongying paused slightly.
"I've heard whispers. But the Innate Dao Embryo is just legend—stuff from tales."
Granny Sha explained,
"Divine Embryos are graded from nine to one, weakest ninth to strongest first. Each harbors different power and aptitude. But above the top first-grade Purple Jade Divine Embryo lies another: the Innate Dao Embryo. Its existence was long a mystery. Yet this supreme embryo and the weakest one appeared in the same family."
Young Master Xiao sighed, a mix of envy and regret.
"The weakest is the grandpa, Chen Yindu. The strongest is the grandson, Chen Shi."
Granny Sha continued,
"Old Chen ignored his family back in the day, abandoning his son to wander—one visit home a year was generous. His son grew up in the rural hometown, clueless on how to raise him properly. But the grandson shone. Chen Shi rocked the county exam, stunning the world. A true god descended, granting the legendary Innate Dao Embryo, making him the Dao Embryo Saint Body—the top child scholar of the fifty provinces! What glory! Pity, it's a sin to possess such a treasure."
She paused, then said,
"Master Chen rushed home upon hearing his grandson was the top child scholar of fifty provinces. But by the time he arrived, Chen Shi's corpse was cold—the Innate Dao Embryo long stolen, culprit unknown."
Hearing this, Jin Hongying suddenly recalled an old event, her face paling in fear.
When she joined the Divine Machine Battalion, she had no right to serve there. Just as hope faded, a catastrophe struck West Capital in Cherry Province: the warriors of the Divine Machine, Five Armies, and Divine Pivot Battalions were nearly wiped out!
Supervisors, martial officers, banner leaders, camp overseers—almost all perished!
The battalion slots were usually reserved for noble houses, but with so many dead and vacancies aplenty, she stumbled in, rose swiftly, and became a martial officer. One step more, and she'd be the commanding supervisor!
She'd always wondered why the three battalions guarding West Capital were decimated. She'd pored over archives, but details were vague: a hermit expert went mad, slaughtered civilians in West Capital; the battalions moved to suppress and suffered heavy losses.
And it wasn't just the battalions.
Rumor held many prominent figures died in West Capital, lost to the hermit's rampage.
The archives never named the hermit or explained the madness—key passages blacked out, illegible.
If that incident was Chen Shi's grandpa...
She shuddered. She truly couldn't shoulder it—the battalions combined couldn't either.
Jin Hongying puzzled inwardly.
That fight was so brutal, the slaughter so fierce—how did Chen Shi's grandpa survive? And Chen Shi, with his Innate Dao Embryo stolen—shouldn't he have died long ago? How did he come back to life?
She felt deep pity. Had the embryo not been taken then, what realm would he be in now?
She'd probably have to look up to him.
"Chen Shi's grandpa has reason not to help—anyone whose grandson was treated so would be merciful not to raze Great Ming in revenge!"
At that moment, Young Master Xiao said,
"With no other way, we must rely on them to deal with the Evil Bodhisattva."
"Them?"
Granny Sha blinked, following his gaze to Mirror Lake Manor.
There, beneath every ancient tree, stood a casket.
Granny Sha refused flatly,
"No! Who knows their state now? They were already off when they entered the coffins. If they wake human, fine—but if corrupted, each one's threat rivals the Evil Bodhisattva or Old Chen!"
Young Master Xiao exhaled heavily.
"Then only one path remains. We four, with resolve to die, fight once more! Granny..."
Granny Sha's face flickered uncertainly as she shook the ram-horn heavenly spirit lantern at the manor gate.
This lamp bore her wish to find her son, Xiang Tianyu.
"Fine! If I die, I can search the underworld for Tianyu!"
Granny Sha looked up and laughed.
"Young Master Xiao, I'll accompany you to the death!"
Young Master Xiao turned to Jin Hongying.
"Hongying..."
"Don't call me Hongying—call me Lady Jin!"
Jin Hongying huffed, hesitated, then said,
"Now, only risking death brings life. I'll take the gamble!"
Young Master Xiao glanced at his own casket. Li Jindou's muffled voice came through layers of coffins:
"I must carve a path to life for my wretched grandson. No matter what, I'm joining!"
"Lady Jin, you first—rest and heal in Granny's coffin. You have one day to suppress and treat your wounds."
Young Master Xiao said,
"After one day, we plan against the Evil Bodhisattva."
Jin Hongying was intensely curious about the coffins in this mysterious manor and hesitated.
"Lying in a coffin heals wounds?"
As she moved to enter, she remembered Li Tianqing was still inside and stopped.
Li Tianqing emerged from the manor, and only then did she cautiously step in—no crushing pressure assailed her this time.
Jin Hongying reached the southwest corner, Granny Sha's coffin, lay down, and the lid closed automatically, sealing her inside.
Oddly, this ultimate yin corpse-nurturing ground harbored a peculiar force born from utter death—a power gathered by the coffins, flowing into her body to heal her wounds.
The healing mended not just flesh, but spirit and soul, leaving her utterly at ease!
"No wonder they love lying in coffins!"
Jin Hongying felt so comfortable she nearly dozed off, thinking,
"One day here beats a year of my training! Right, Chen Shi knows this place well—does he have a coffin here too? Did he really die so long ago? So he's not eleven. Can someone dead that long truly revive?"
Outside the manor, Li Tianqing said,
"For encircling the Evil Bodhisattva, perhaps I can help a bit."
Young Master Xiao and Granny Sha's gazes settled on him. Li Tianqing continued,
"I've seen the Evil Bodhisattva twice. Its body is covered in details—from its eight eyes, skin surface, even ear holes—all etched with varied talismans as patterns. Its eight weapons are the same, bearing talisman designs from True King era master craftsmen. Each talisman signifies a spell. Record them all, and you know its spells. Know its spells, and you can plan its slaying."
Granny Sha's eyes lit up as she praised,
"Li Jindou's such a fool, yet he has such a clever grandson—must be his daughter-in-law's good pick!"
Furious cursing erupted from the casket.
Li Tianqing said,
"My mother was indeed clever, just bad luck to end up with my dad."
Li Jindou stopped cursing and sighed, as if accepting it.
Young Master Xiao frowned slightly and shook his head.
"The Evil Bodhisattva's talismans are countless, hidden in blue-and-white porcelain—who can memorize them all?"
"I memorized them."
Li Tianqing stated.
Granny Sha frowned too.
"Memorizing isn't enough—you need to decipher them. But expertise has its specialties."
Li Tianqing replied,
"Chen Shi can. He knows any talisman at a glance."
Granny Sha and Young Master Xiao exchanged looks, both seeing a spark of hope in the other's eyes.
Young Master Xiao eyed Li Tianqing deeply.
"You're impressive. What Divine Embryo are you?"
"Purple Jade Divine Embryo."
"Me too."
Young Master Xiao smiled, clearly admiring him.
"We're not like those fools. Stick with me these days, and I can remake you in mere days, sparing you many detours."
Granny Sha grew wary.
"Young Master Xiao, what do you mean by that? Hongying, Hongying! Come out and kill this bastard!"
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