Chapter 314: Making a Big Hole 22 |
Zhuang Wujiu immediately returned from the mortal realm.
"Venerated Lord Guangxiao!"
He shouted loudly, and Venerated Lord Guangxiao flew over, carrying him towards the black iron pillar!
Venerated Lord Guangxiao was comparable to a Great Ascension Realm existence, his speed was extremely fast. Even if Black Pot ran at full strength, traveling from the Western Capital to the big iron pillar would take nearly half an hour, but with Venerated Lord Guangxiao carrying Zhuang Wujiu, it took only a quarter of an hour.
The two men stopped. Zhuang Wujiu immediately searched all around, trying to find the person who had taken the treasure. However, the place was a vast expanse of white, not even a ghost was present, let alone a person!
The treasure thief obviously wouldn't stay at the scene waiting to be caught; naturally, they had slipped away!
"Venerated Lord Guangxiao, the mortal realm!"
Zhuang Wujiu shouted, and Venerated Lord Guangxiao immediately broke through the barrier between the yin and yang realms with him, appearing in the mortal realm.
They appeared on the East Mountain of the Western Capital, on a post road that passed through the mountain.
Carts and horses were hung with Peach Wood Charms, lanterns were carried aloft, and there were Embroidered Uniform Guards providing protection, miniature shrines floating behind their heads, guarding against attacks by evil spirits.
Over the past few months, because talisman masters from Red Mountain Hall had been active in the countryside, eliminating many evil spirits, the number of evil spirits nearby had decreased significantly, making traveling at night much safer. However, after all, there were still evil spirits appearing, so merchant caravans still needed to hire Embroidered Uniform Guards for safety.
Zhuang Wujiu stood on the post road, watching the endless stream of people coming and going, his heart turning icy cold.
Finding the treasure thief under these circumstances was as difficult as ascending to heaven. Moreover, the thief might not even have taken this road!
"My main purpose for leaving seclusion this time was for this treasure. All these years, I have cultivated diligently, studied hard, hoping to take this treasure into my possession! Now this treasure has vanished without a trace. Doesn't that mean all my hard work over the years has been in vain?"
He was filled with melancholy, and a surge of malevolent anger rose in his heart, "Who exactly is secretly spying on me, stealing my magic treasure? This person must be sinister and cunning, secretly observing the steps I took to retrieve the treasure, stealing my treasure-refining skills! The moment I failed to retrieve the treasure, he immediately came to take it!"
He was both furious and somewhat wary.
That treasure was a remnant from ancient times, its power immense, unimaginable.
He had heard it was a treasure left behind by an ancient deity. For some unknown reason, that ancient deity disappeared, and this treasure was not yet fully refined, so it stood between heaven and earth, left to be tempered by the five innate energies of the world. To this day, who knows how many years had passed, and it had finally matured.
He had been ordered to leave seclusion, made all preparations, was full of confidence, and came for this treasure, yet someone else had plucked the peach!
Zhuang Wujiu was utterly dejected, but then he rallied his spirits: "Steal my treasure and think you can just walk away? It's not that easy! Guangxiao, immediately mobilize all Heaven's Listeners to monitor all movements within the Western Capital and a thousand-li radius!"
Venerated Lord Guangxiao acknowledged the order and immediately flew away.
Soon, many more Heaven's Listeners appeared inside and outside the Western Capital. Although there had been quite a few Heaven's Listeners before, they mostly monitored princes and nobles, people of higher status within the Western Capital. This time seemed different; even around the homes of commoners, Heaven's Listeners appeared, eavesdropping.
For a time, inside and outside the Western Capital, it was as quiet as a cicada in winter. People meeting each other didn't dare speak, often communicating with their eyes.
Before long, people discovered these Heaven's Listeners were extremely sensitive to words like "stick," "iron rod," "black iron," etc. If one accidentally uttered one of these words, seven or eight Heaven's Listeners would immediately appear around them, recording the speaker's words and actions.
By the time Chen Shi returned home, the sky was already bright, and many Heaven's Listeners had also appeared around the Chen residence. However, everyone in the Chen residence was busy repairing the house, so this matter didn't affect them much.
Seeing that Chen Shi had run away from home after causing trouble and now returned carrying a black rod, Chen Tang clearly thought he had been too harsh, scaring his son into going outside to pick up a rod for self-defense, afraid of being beaten by him.
Most of the anger in his heart dissipated. He said to Chen Shi, "An overly indulgent father ruins the son. The family fortune I've accumulated over these years can't withstand your few rounds of havoc. I'm out of money; I still owe the mason. You pay the bill."
Chen Shi laughed, "I say don't repair it. Once we pick up Mother, we'll return to Qianyang Mountain, not stay in the Western Capital anymore."
Chen Tang thought for a moment and nodded, "Once we pick up your mother, we'll go back. However, this courtyard still needs repairs. If we come to the capital, we still need a place to stay. You pay."
Chen Shi said, "Uncle Little Wu has deposited a lot of money at Juxian Pavilion. If you need money, go to Juxian Pavilion to withdraw it. Just say you're Chen Wu's younger brother, Chen Shi's father. You should be able to withdraw some money."
Chen Tang snorted. He and Creation Little Five were mortal enemies; he had been bullied by Creation Little Five since childhood. How could he use his money?
"But I can use my son's money," he thought to himself.
Chen Shi had Black Pot influence others' thoughts, then took out that black iron rod to examine it carefully.
He saw the object was only three feet eight inches long. Both ends were slightly thicker, but not by much, only about the thickness of a baby's arm. It had extremely complex patterns all over. Because it was pitch black all over, these patterns weren't very noticeable.
Chen Shi casually swung it; it whistled through the air, appearing quite heavy. But other than that, it seemed to have no other use.
"It's good for smashing people. Let's test its power first."
Chen Shi tried channeling his own qi and blood into it. The black iron rod showed no change.
He then offered several sticks of incense. The black iron rod absorbed the energy of incense offerings, but there was no feeling of mental connection with him.
Chen Shi pondered for a moment, planning to activate the Fourth New Talisman, using the Heavenly Cycle Fire Realm to activate this treasure. He suddenly remembered this object was enormous in the underworld. If it suddenly grew large, the Chen residence probably couldn't withstand it.
He immediately fetched the Fox Grape Mirror and entered the minor heaven within the mirror.
At this time, some talisman masters from Red Mountain Hall had already entered the minor heaven to cultivate. There were also some disciples from the Lu Ban Sect building houses, planning to construct some dwellings here for cultivators entering this place to use for secluded cultivation.
Others were carving steles here, inscribing the various cultivation techniques Chen Shi had taught onto stone tablets for others to study and cultivate.
Yu Tiancheng and others had already begun manufacturing new Celestial Court tokens—jade pendants—and had people deliver them to Celestial Court members.
These matters were trivial and didn't require Chen Shi's attention.
Chen Shi found an open area, gripped the black iron rod with his right hand, stirred up his vital energy, concentrated his qi and blood, forming the Fourth New Talisman. Immediately, flames spread around him, forming a Heavenly Cycle Fire Realm in an instant. The five innate energies swirled around the black iron pillar, intertwining and flowing.
"Hum!"
Accompanied by a tremor, Chen Shi suddenly felt an immense weight pressing down. He couldn't help but stumble forward.
At the same time, the black iron rod in his hand whooshed, extending to an unknown length. He could only see light flashing at the barrier of the minor heaven in the distance, as if struck by a heavy object!
This minor heaven was refined from the Realm of Emptiness of the Li Family's two ancestors, Li Xinshu and Li Kunyu, spanning several hundred li. The spot where Chen Shi stood was over two hundred li from the edge of the minor heaven!
Several talisman masters cultivating near the edge of the minor heaven hurried over. They saw a thick, huge black iron rod had actually pierced through the barrier of the minor heaven. Terrified, they quickly left the minor heaven to report to Yu Tiancheng, saying, "The Instructor used a rod to poke the sky! He poked a hole in the sky!"
Yu Tiancheng said in surprise, "There's such a thing?"
He was at the Red Mountain Hall branch in Gaoshan County. He hurried out, planning to activate the Celestial Court token to enter the minor heaven and see for himself, when he suddenly noticed many talisman masters in the branch looking up, staring dumbfounded towards the direction of the Western Capital.
Some talisman masters even climbed onto rooftops, craning their necks to look.
A few talisman masters with higher cultivation flew into the air, also staring dumbfounded towards the Western Capital.
Yu Tiancheng, puzzled, quickly flew into the air and looked towards the Western Capital. His expression turned dumbfounded, and he murmured, "What's going on?"
Blue Goat and Hu Xiaoliang were also in Red Mountain Hall. Seeing something interesting happening, Blue Goat jumped into the air first, laughing, "What are you all looking at? Let me see... such a big stick!"
His expression turned dumbfounded, his goat beard trembling.
Seeing this, Hu Xiaoliang also quickly came into the air and looked towards the Western Capital. He also stared, eyes wide.
They saw that within the Western Capital city, an enormous black iron pillar, appearing from nowhere, had pierced through the Western Capital city. It rose from within the city, standing diagonally in the air, like a giant black firecracker.
Hu Xiaoliang murmured, "The Western Capital... is it going to explode? Who did this?"
Everyone shook their heads.
Yu Tiancheng was about to speak when he suddenly remembered what those talisman masters who came to report earlier had said about Chen Shi poking a hole in the sky. He shuddered, quickly descended from the air, hurriedly took out the Celestial Court token, and was about to enter the minor heaven.
At this moment, outside the Meridian Gate of the Western Capital, it was cold and deserted, with few people around, only a few eunuchs sweeping.
It was currently court assembly time. The ministers were all in the court hall of the Hall of Supreme Harmony discussing matters. This was a rule passed down for thousands of years, unchangeable.
The sound of quarreling came from the court hall. The eunuchs sweeping outside were used to it.
If the civil and military officials of the Western Capital didn't quarrel during a court assembly one day, that would be a strange thing indeed.
Suddenly, there was a loud rumbling boom. The Meridian Gate, which had stood unshaken for thousands of years, was smashed to pieces. Amidst the thunderous roars, an incredibly thick black iron pillar whistled over the heads of the sweeping eunuchs, like a great cannon of the mortal world, mounted on the white jade steps in front of the Hall of Supreme Harmony, smashing the top few steps to bits.
The enormously thick pillar stabbed into the Hall of Supreme Harmony, lifting and throwing off the hall's roof and rear hall, grazing past the roof of Wuying Hall, one of the nine halls behind it!
Wuying Hall was a heavy treasure left by the True King. It was immediately activated, emitting brilliant treasure light soaring into the sky, radiating overwhelming power!
The sweeping eunuchs stood dumbfounded. Around them in space, there were faint crackling sounds, as if space was splitting, or like residual lightning exploding.
One eunuch turned his head with difficulty to look at the source of this black iron pillar. He saw the pillar passed through the center of the Meridian Gate. Behind it was empty, as if it had suddenly appeared out of nowhere, with no traceable source.
As for the Meridian Gate, only two gate pillars remained, which happened to be able to support this black iron pillar.—Calling it a black iron pillar, but this pillar was simply too thick. Probably dozens of people joining hands couldn't wrap their arms around it.
Inside the Hall of Supreme Harmony, the expressions of the civil and military officials froze on their faces, maintaining their previous quarrelsome expressions. The great hall above their heads showed signs of being melted from the intense friction. The huge black iron pillar pressed above their heads, bringing them immense pressure. The twisted, bizarre patterns on it made their hearts tremble.
The Hall of Supreme Harmony made crackling sounds, as if something was exploding.
Chief Grand Secretary Yan Xianzhi was the first to come to his senses. He hurriedly straightened his official hat, which had been knocked askew, startling him.
He rushed outside, shouting, "Quick! Quick! Go see what happened!"
The civil and military officials hurriedly ran outside. They saw that enormous black iron pillar had pierced through the Western Capital city, extending outside the city, with who knows how much length still beyond the walls.
This object was perfectly straight, showing not the slightest tendency to bend!
The corners of the civil and military officials' eyes twitched.
At the same time, Zhuang Wujiu also saw this black iron pillar. His heart was greatly shaken, and he hurried towards this place, thinking, "That thief is indeed still within the Western Capital city! This time, let's see where you can escape to!"
He flew over. Before he could land, he suddenly saw the black iron pillar rapidly shrink and contract, whooshing as it disappeared!
Zhuang Wujiu landed, arriving before the Meridian Gate. The two pillars of the gate swayed and collapsed with a crash.
Even though he was someone who didn't show joy or anger on his face, he couldn't help but feel enraged now: "This person actually uses such a method to provoke me! To provoke Despair Slope! What audacity!"
Yan Xianzhi's face was also livid. He let out a sharp cry, saying sternly, "Investigate! Investigate thoroughly for me! Find out exactly who did this!"
Within the minor heaven, Chen Shi's hand was pinned under the rod, his shoulder dislocated, unable to move.
He had no idea what a huge commotion this treasure test had caused outside.
The rod on his end hadn't thickened; it had just lengthened many times over. He could still hold it, but it was simply too heavy. Forget lifting it; even pulling his hand out was extremely difficult!
Chen Shi tried to pull his hand out with force, but couldn't move it at all. Moving even a little hurt terribly. He thought, "My finger bones might be crushed! This rod is good, but how do I retract it?"
His heart stirred slightly. He tried withdrawing the Heavenly Cycle Fire Realm and the innate five elements energy surrounding his body. Suddenly, with a swish, the black iron pillar changed back into an ordinary rod, appearing in his hand.
Chen Shi got up, switched hands, picked up this black iron rod, and swung it a few times. He thought, "This thing is handy enough, but once activated, it's not handy anymore. Too heavy, impossible to swing. However, this object is incredibly hard; it can be used to perform supernatural powers like the Ten Thousand Mile Flying Sword Technique. Fly it hundreds of li away to poke someone, then suddenly make it big! Thud—"
By the time Yu Tiancheng and the others entered the minor heaven, Chen Shi had already left the minor heaven, not meeting them.
Chen Tang went to Wuchang Street to buy soybean milk, fried dough sticks, and steamed buns, also packing some pickles.—Yesterday, when Chen Shi was testing the Third New Talisman, the kitchen was also blown up. Black Pot had nowhere to cook, so they had to buy breakfast.
Father and son ate pickles and chewed on buns. Chen Tang talked about what he had seen and heard, saying, "In the time it took me to go out to buy food, a major incident happened in the Western Capital. As I was carrying breakfast to the intersection of our Qianyang Street, I heard a loud boom. A pitch-black pillar appeared from the Meridian Gate, piercing through the Western Capital city. The Hall of Supreme Harmony was crushed. I watched for a while before coming back. Luckily, the food was still warm."
Chen Shi's heart stirred slightly: "Pitch-black pillar?"
Chen Tang's expression turned grave, "I suspect an evil spirit has entered the Western Capital. Otherwise, why would even the Meridian Gate collapse?"
Chen Shi secretly glanced at the iron rod leaning against the corner of the wall, his expression unchanged.
Chen Tang noticed his gaze, glanced at that iron rod, then shifted his gaze away. This iron rod was too ordinary; it should be something Chen Shi used for sword practice, not even qualifying as a talisman-weapon.
After finishing breakfast, Black Pot tied on an apron and cleared the dishes. Just then, there was a knock on the door from outside.
Black Pot quickly wiped his hands clean and went to open the door. He saw Boat Girl standing outside, her clothes in tatters, covered in dust, with bluish-black old wounds on her face. She held a broken bamboo pole, mostly snapped in half. Seeing Black Pot, she smiled sheepishly and said, "Is Provincial Graduate Master here..."