Chapter 360: Headbutting Bull |
Chen Shi and Wen Wuyu rode the wind, drifting along, with the lake and mountains of Heavenly Pool below their feet. Although it was the underworld, the scenery had its own unique beauty.
They couldn't fly too high, or they'd risk being targeted by demons lurking in the shadows. They also couldn't stray from the path, or they'd risk stepping into the territory of other powerful ghost gods at the lord level.
These were all extremely dangerous existences in the Dark Mountains. One careless misstep could cost them their lives. They wouldn't care whether you were a ruler or not.
"Are there really immortals in this world?" Chen Shi fell into deep thought, even with a beautiful companion by his side.
Immortals who fed on wind and dew, standing aloof from the world, only existed in the writings of scholars. No one had ever seen one.
If even the mortal world had never seen an immortal, could there truly be so-called immortals in a place like the underworld?
Compared to these ethereal legends, Chen Shi felt the white-clad woman living in the small temple was more like an immortal.
She didn't eat or sleep, and she exuded a refreshing aura. Whenever she sat on the miniature shrine in the small temple, Chen Shi always felt a sense of inner peace, and his cultivation became incredibly pure.
"Moreover, she can pull the Demonic Energy out of me, temporarily slowing down my demonization," Chen Shi thought to himself.
Chen Shi and Wen Wuyu left Heavenly Pool, flew past Boundless Cliff, and went farther and farther away.
Suddenly, Wen Wuyu descended, her form shifting. In a short time, she transformed from a young maiden into an ox-head lesser ghost, with two small, blunt ox horns growing from her head.
She was no more than two feet tall and walked briskly ahead of Chen Shi.
The girl also had an ox tail behind her, with fine, dense fur at the tip and thick, long fur at the base.
She arrived at a village of ox-head ghosts and asked a burly ox-head woman for directions: "Guaji, guaji?"
The ox-head woman raised her hoof and pointed at a mountain col in the distance: "Guaji."
Wen Wuyu bowed to the ox-head woman in thanks and walked with Chen Shi toward the mountain col, whispering, "She said the place where the immortal light burst forth is just ahead."
Chen Shi followed her, curiously touching her swishing ox tail.
Wen Wuyu stopped, turned to glance at him, both embarrassed and furious: "Touch it again, and I'll gore you to death!"
Chen Shi stammered, "I saw it swishing around, so I just wanted to feel it..."
Wen Wuyu snorted and continued walking.
When Chen Shi saw that tail swishing again, he inexplicably reached out and touched it once more.
Wen Wuyu was furious beyond shame. She turned and charged at him, shouting, "I'll fight you to the death! I'll stab you to death with my horns!"
Chen Shi quickly grabbed her horns and begged for mercy repeatedly, "Sister Wuyu, please spare me!"
Only then did Wen Wuyu let him off. Her eyes darted around as she suggested, "You're the ruler of Heavenly Pool Kingdom, and you've offended a lot of people. Those who want your life in Heavenly Pool could line up from here to the royal palace. This time, with the immortal revealing traces, many people will definitely come to find it. You should transform into a little ox-head too. It'll be easier for us to move around."
Chen Shi thought about it. Whenever he went out, many ghosts and gods would shout about killing the tyrant and then rush up to die. It was indeed troublesome.
So he immediately used his transformation technique and turned into an ox-head lesser ghost.
The ox-head lesser ghost he transformed into was also only about two feet tall, with an ox tail behind him.
When the transformation was complete, Chen Shi marveled. He felt an extra limb on his body—this tail—and he always wanted to swish it a couple of times.
Wen Wuyu reached out and grabbed his tail, laughing, "You touched my tail! Gotcha now!"
Chen Shi felt his tail was immobile, and he felt uncomfortable somewhere. So he reached out to grab her tail.
Wen Wuyu quickly turned sideways. Chen Shi lowered his head and charged, his blunt ox horns lifting the girl up and flipping her over.
Wen Wuyu grabbed his tail and pulled him down.
The two ox-head lesser ghosts fell to the ground, each fumbling for the other's tail, neither giving in.
Relying on his strength, Chen Shi pinned her down. Wen Wuyu tried to resist with her horns, and Chen Shi used his horns to push back.
Their heads collided. Chen Shi held her down and freed a hand to grab her tail.
"Got it!"
Chen Shi grabbed her tail and let out a cheer. Wen Wuyu suddenly stopped resisting. Chen Shi was stunned. He saw the little ox-head beneath him looking a bit shy. The two ox-heads stared into each other's eyes. Chen Shi felt his mouth go dry, his heart pounding, and a strange feeling arose.
Peng Qiao, the Lower Corpses God far away in the Immortal Capital, must be messing with my mind again, he thought to himself.
Chen Shi hesitated for a moment, then let go of her ox tail. He rolled over and sat down on the ground beside them.
Wen Wuyu propped herself up with her hands. Her clothes were a bit disheveled. She quickly sat up and straightened her clothes, hanging her head in silence, then stealing a glance at him, and quietly smoothing out her own ox tail.
Chen Shi's heart was thumping, and he didn't know how to break the silence.
"Two little ox hooves, making love in broad daylight!"
A rough voice broke the silence. Chen Shi and Wen Wuyu flushed bright red and quickly stood up. They saw a group of a dozen or so ghosts and gods walking toward them, led by none other than Crown Prince Xiang Kun.
Crown Prince Xiang Kun was about three zhang tall, tall and burly, with an elephant trunk and a human body, and two small, white, jade-like tusks.
With him were young masters from other ghost clans. One of them was a woman from the asura clan, a peerless beauty about one zhang and six or seven feet tall, wearing very little clothing—just a piece of colored cloth wrapped around her chest.
She also had a short colored cloth skirt tied around her waist, with bells hanging from her wrists and ankles. Her left nostril was also pierced, with a small silver bell hanging from it.
A slightly larger silver bell hung from a piercing in her navel as well.
This woman's name was You Fei.
Another came from the ghost mother clan, a woman with four legs and eight arms, holding several ghost babies in her arms, followed by swarms of ghost children.
This woman's name was Yan Wu.
Besides them, there was Gou Xi of the Dao Lao clan, You Huan of the Yuan Long clan, Chi Zun of the Fire Qiao clan, and others. They were all outstanding young masters from their respective clans.
"These little ox hooves are in heat season."
Gou Xi glanced at Chen Shi and Wen Wuyu and snickered, "They'll thrash around on the ground for a bit, then mate in the wild, and next year, they'll give birth to little ox calves."
You Fei giggled, "Those two little oxen are clearly still calves themselves. How can they give birth to little ox calves?"
Wen Wuyu, embarrassed, hid behind Chen Shi, peeking out cautiously.
Crown Prince Xiang Kun said, "Giving birth to little ox-heads is a good thing. That's one more draft animal to pay taxes next year. Little ox-head, do you know if there have been any immortals appearing nearby?"
Just as Chen Shi hesitated, Wen Wuyu nodded repeatedly and said crisply, "I know!"
"Lead the way," Crown Prince Xiang Kun ordered.
Wen Wuyu winked at Chen Shi. The two little ox-heads then led the way. Chi Zun of the Fire Qiao clan asked, "Is there really an immortal emerging here?"
"Yes."
Crown Prince Xiang Kun said, "My father went to find this immortal and ended up dying unexpectedly. The immortal light on his corpse was a type of immortal art. That immortal art has inconceivable power. Even an existence as powerful as my father couldn't withstand it in the slightest!"
The thought of Lord Xiang Fu's corpse sent a shiver down his spine.
Lord Xiang Fu was the most powerful existence in the Heavenly Pool Kingdom, yet he had died like a butchered livestock, an extremely gruesome death!
Yan Wu, coaxing a crying ghost baby in her arms, suddenly laughed, "Your Highness, your motives for seeking the immortal this time aren't that simple, are they?"
Crown Prince Xiang Kun's eyes flickered, and he laughed, "What motives could I have?"
Yan Wu said leisurely, "A few days ago, you saw Chen Shi's battle with that woman in the Heavenly Pool. After that, you became obsessed with finding the immortal. I think you were scared by Chen Shi."
Crown Prince Xiang Kun snorted coldly, saying calmly, "His strength is nothing much. How could I be scared by him? My bloodline power has already awakened to the sixth level. With six levels of bloodline power, aside from the clan elders and the clan head, I am not afraid of any ghost clan master!"
The dozen or so people present were all top young masters from various clans. They each sneered upon hearing this, unconvinced.
Crown Prince Xiang Kun continued, "Chen Shi has no bloodline power. Although his strength is not weak, he is still far behind me! If I ascend the throne and the various clans offer the most precious divine blood, I can awaken my bloodline to the ninth level, and I will be invincible under heaven! What does Chen Shi have? He doesn't even have a real physical body. Why should he be the ruler based on that?"
You Huan said, "When Your Highness saw his battle with that woman, did you not notice the lake of blood behind his head? That was the Blood Lake Hell! He practices a lost technique of our ghost clan. Based on that alone, he is worthy of being the ruler of our ghost clan! I once heard the clan head say inadvertently that Chen Shi is the one mentioned in the poems passed down by word of mouth who will save us!"
Crown Prince Xiang Kun laughed loudly, cutting him off, and said, "An outsider, the hero who will save us? You Huan, as long as we find the immortal and the immortal teaches us the lost language, we will be the heroes who save the ghost clan, not this outsider Chen Shi!"
The others nodded in agreement upon hearing this.
Gou Xi sighed, "After seeing Chen Shi's battle with that woman the other day, I realized that I probably can't compete with Chen Shi for the ruler's throne anymore. His strength is already close to that of the clan elders who have awakened their bloodline to the seventh level. And I'm only at the sixth level."
Everyone fell silent.
Crown Prince Xiang Kun was also a bit dejected. The day after Chen Shi defeated Wen Wuyu, the masters of the Eastern Palace scattered like birds and beasts, running off without a trace. Although these ghosts and gods could support him as ruler, the prerequisite was that he must have the strength to be the ruler. The ghost kingdom valued strength above all else. Since his strength was inferior to Chen Shi's, these ghosts and gods looked down on him too, so they ran.
Suddenly, Crown Prince Xiang Kun barked, "You two little brats, speed it up!"
Chen Shi and Wen Wuyu quickly quickened their pace.
Wen Wuyu whispered, "They really admire you."
Chen Shi lowered his voice and said, "I defeated you. Do you admire me?"
Wen Wuyu sneered, "Not at all. I was just one move short. I didn't use my full strength, which is why I lost to your Spirit Banner Ten Extremities Array. If I had used all my strength, hmph..."
Chen Shi smiled but said nothing.
Seeing his expression, Wen Wuyu became both angry and anxious. She was about to grab his tail, but Chen Shi wrapped his tail around his waist, leaving her empty-handed.
Wen Wuyu reached out to snatch it. Chen Shi dodged and reached out to grab her tail.
Wen Wuyu clamped her tail between her buttocks and laughed, "You can't catch it!"
The two of them frolicked, moving forward together.
Seeing this, Crown Prince Xiang Kun and the others wore smiles on their faces but shook their heads individually.
You Fei pursed her lips and smiled, "It must be spring. Even the wind carries the scent of heat."
Soon, Wen Wuyu led them to that mountain col. Passing through it, a split peak came into view. Floating inside the peak was a celestial hall, radiating gentle beams of light. Thick, black chains bound the hall in place.
Chen Shi was stunned too: "So there really are immortals!"
That celestial hall floated as if it didn't belong to this world. If the chains were released, it would ascend and fly away.
"I caught your tail!" Wen Wuyu tugged his tail and cried out fiercely.
Crown Prince Xiang Kun, You Fei, and the other ghosts and gods looked over with strange expressions.
Wen Wuyu's face flushed crimson. Even in her ox-head lesser ghost form, she couldn't hide her embarrassment. She slowly let go of Chen Shi's tail and lowered her head, thinking, "Thank goodness I turned into an ox-head lesser ghost. Otherwise, I would have had to kill everyone to shut them up."
You Fei couldn't help but laugh, "Your Highness, don't silence them. It's actually quite amusing."
Crown Prince Xiang Kun was also moved to mercy and said, "Fine, let them live. Let's go! The immortal is the priority!"
The dozen or so ghosts and gods stepped forward first, heading toward the split mountain.
Chen Shi was still gazing at the magnificent celestial hall shrouded in immortal light, his tail unconsciously slapping his own butt. Suddenly, he said, "Wuyu, I've seen something similar in the mortal world."
Wen Wuyu said, "You mean that time in the mortal world when a mountain suddenly rose from the plain overnight, with a temple on top? You've seen something like that before?"
Chen Shi nodded. "That's right. I also saw a mountain split open, revealing a hall of a deity inside."
Wen Wuyu's eyes glinted. "These are all rebels, targets that my Despair Slope must eliminate! If you ever encounter such things again, tell me, and I'll go destroy those temples!"
Chen Shi shook his head. "You're wrong. They are gods from China, deities who protect the people, not rebels."
Wen Wuyu met his gaze and argued, "They confuse the people's faith, disturb their minds, and act in the name of gods to foment rebellion! They are rebels!"
Chen Shi met her eyes. "Heaven is great, earth is great, but the people's hearts are the greatest! Protecting the people, answering their prayers, winning their hearts—that is not rebellion!"
Neither gave ground.
After a moment, Chen Shi looked a little disappointed and said softly, "Maybe it's because we both turned into ox-head lesser ghosts that I mistakenly thought we were the same kind of people. I'm sorry, I forgot you came from Despair Slope. We are never the same kind. I am the rebel in your eyes."
They averted their gazes.
Wen Wuyu stood beside him, staring at the celestial hall in the distant, split mountain. After a moment of silence, she said, "After I returned to Despair Slope with my master, I never made any more friends. Chen Shi, you are my last friend."
Chen Shi was also watching the celestial hall in the mountain, his tail unconsciously slapping his own butt.
Wen Wuyu quietly hooked the tip of her tail around the tip of his tail. Chen Shi flicked hers away.
Wen Wuyu hooked it back. Chen Shi flicked it once, but it didn't come off, so he gave up struggling.
Just then, a furious roar came from near the distant celestial hall: "Damn it, there's an ambush from the Yu Kingdom! Fight them!"
Chen Shi's heart stirred. He said quickly, "Let's go check it out!"
Wen Wuyu nodded. Their tails quietly parted, and the two little ox-heads leaped nimbly toward the celestial hall.