Chapter 380: Return to Homeland 23 |
"Uncle Goat, you don't actually suspect I'm the mastermind, do you?" Chen Shi couldn't help but laugh.
Blue Goat couldn't help laughing out loud as well, "Of course I couldn't suspect you. You were only nine back then. What can a nine-year-old do? Could a nine-year-old lead a group of cataclysms in rebellion?"
Chen Shi laughed uproariously, "I'm only nine, could I have gone to the underworld and become the Emperor of Demons over a bunch of cataclysms and devils? Aren't they all outstanding beings among humans? Who would obey a nine-year-old?"
"Haha, a nine-year-old Demon Emperor!"
Blue Goat laughed until he was breathless, "Do they have no one else?"
Chen Shi laughed until tears streamed down his face, bubbles at his nose, "That cyan ghost hand that squeezed my heart, it surely couldn't be one of my subordinates, right?"
The two rolled on the ground with laughter.
Blue Goat suddenly stopped laughing, looked at him, and said seriously, "Suppose — I mean suppose — they really were your subordinates, and you really were the Demon Emperor?"
Chen Shi's face turned serious for a moment, then he burst into a snort of laughter and said, "You mean the cyan ghost hand that squeezed me to death several times was my subordinate?"
Chen Shi knelt laughing on the ground, clutching his belly: "If that's the case, the owner of the cyan ghost hand might actually be a Blue Goat! Maybe it's your old man, Uncle Goat!"
Blue Goat's laughter stopped, his expression turning grave: "That joke isn't very funny."
They looked at each other, and couldn't hold it in, bursting out laughing again.
Blue Goat laughed until he was nearly out of breath, gasping, "It could have been my mother who squeezed you to death! My mother is a Blue Goat too!"
After a long while, the two finally stopped laughing.
Blue Goat lay on the ground, panting, then suddenly said, "Danchengzi is inside your body. Do you think the other three sect masters might also be inside your body?"
He referred to Fourth Generation Sect Master Guangxian, Seventh Generation Sect Master Daocheng, and Sixteenth Generation Sect Master Jingxu.
Back then, when Blue Goat, Chen Yindu, and Patriarch Qiongyang dug up the patriarch's tomb, they discovered the burial chambers of those three sect masters were also cenotaphs with no remains inside.
Chen Shi froze, then shot upright: "That is indeed possible."
Blue Goat sat up and said, "Among these four sect masters, the first three were figures from the True King era. In that era, cultivators lived far longer, able to live thousands of years, not like now where lifespans are only around a hundred years. Their feigned deaths had great purpose."
Chen Shi pondered, "Besides the four sect masters of Tai Hua Qing Palace, what about the masters of other holy lands?"
Blue Goat was stunned.
Indeed.
Tai Hua Qing Palace had four sect masters who faked death, abandoned their flesh, transformed into cataclysms, and hid in the underworld. But what about the other holy lands?
Would the other two Daoist great holy lands — Tai Shang Hao Yuan Palace and the Celestial Master Mansion — simply behave themselves?
The three great Buddhist holy lands — Water Moon Holy Land, Great Bao Guo Temple, and Bodhi Monastery — did not seem like the sort to sit idle either.
So, might the sect masters of those holy lands also have a group who transformed into cataclysms and hid in Chen Shi's sea of consciousness?
Blue Goat frowned. If those cataclysms were indeed sect masters from the major holy lands, then would extraction still be necessary? How would one extract a demon in that case?
Chen Shi fell into thought, murmuring, "The Thirteen Great Clans have prepared the Upper Realm as a contingency, and the six great Daoist and Buddhist holy lands have prepared cataclysms as a contingency. This is interesting."
"Their likely targets are mostly Despair Slope and the Celestial True God," Blue Goat said.
Chen Shi's eyes flickered as he recalled the young man who had activated the Innate Dao Embryo.
"Despair Slope, huh…"
Tai Hua Qing Palace's Immortal Sword Homecoming ceremony proceeded as scheduled. The other great holy lands also sent representatives, making the occasion lively. Officials from nearby prefectures and counties came to celebrate, and most surprisingly, Grand Secretary Yan Xianzhi of the Cabinet even attended.
The former sect master's aberration at Tai Hua Qing Palace had nearly become cataclysmic and devastated Lone Star Province, but no one spoke of that; they simply congratulated the return of the immortal sword.
Grand Secretary Yan Xianzhi, representing the court, offered much encouragement to Sect Master Chang Ying, and made no mention of bringing the imperial treasure Wuying Hall to eliminate Jinghong. If that treasure unleashed its power, it might level even Tai Hua Qing Palace.
"Lord Chen!" After exchanging greetings, Yan Xianzhi called to Chen Shi with a broad smile, "Lord Chen, long time no see."
Chen Shi bowed and flattered, "Lord Yan, you look even more vigorous than when I saw you in the Western Capital."
Yan laughed, "With you Chens gone from the Western Capital, I eat a little better than before. I heard you've been extracting demons on Qianyang Mountain lately. How did it go?"
Chen Shi answered honestly, "The demons in my body have all been extracted."
Yan clearly relaxed, half-smiling, "I heard the news too. With the demons gone, you can be relieved, and so can the court."
Chen Shi thought about the possibility that the six great holy lands might still hide some elderly Yin scoundrels in his body, and his brow furrowed as he sighed softly.
Yan Xianzhi observed and understood, smiling, "Do you feel like you lost a layer of protection when the demons were removed? Little Chen, you mustn't think that way. Remember, you're an official of the court. Who dares touch you? To harm you is to challenge the court!"
People are buoyed by good news, and his tone lightened: "Just don't be as sloppy in your work as before. You can't rule out someone fearless of the court, relying on high cultivation to kill you. If that happens, the court can only take care of matters afterward and put out a bounty. You won't survive."
Chen Shi was gloomy-faced.
Yan looked fresh and brisk, "Also, in the future if you meet officials higher than you, lower your head when you should, kneel when you should. You're only an Attendant Academician of the Hanlin Academy, a fifth-rank position. There are many higher offices. Don't be so carefree calling everyone brother and close. I'm not asking you to kneel to me; I only hold a nominal higher rank. Chin up, stand straight!"
Chen Shi straightened and said solemnly, "Sir, after I extracted the demons, I discovered several cataclysms lurking within me. Could the court help…?"
Yan was pleased with his attitude, smiling, "Little Chen, as a court official, the court isn't unwilling to help, but it won't necessarily do so automatically. This needs discussion in court. Wait and see… hold on!" His face changed slightly, "Several what?"
"Several cataclysms." Chen Shi felt tangled and said, "After all the demons were removed, these appeared."
Yan shivered, then laughed loudly, "Lord Chen really knows how to joke, truly… Chang Ying, Chang Ying Daoist!"
He left Chen Shi and walked straight toward Chang Ying, exchanging more pleasantries and saying, "As Grand Secretary, I shoulder the responsibilities of fifty prefectures of the Western Ox New Continent. It's been a while since I left the Western Capital. Today's ceremony is well done, but I can't stay. Farewell, farewell!"
Chang Ying was taken aback but dared not stop him, hastily sending him off.
Yan Xianzhi left in a hurry as if avoiding a pestilence.
Chang Ying whispered in puzzlement, "Lord Yan waited in Youzhou City for over ten days before holding the Immortal Sword Homecoming ceremony. He could wait ten days; why can't he stay for a single meal?"
At the ceremony, Chang Ying showed the True Martial Exorcising Sword to the guests. When the sword was invoked, radiant lights streamed forth and the crowd cheered.
To demonstrate the sword's power, Chang Ying ordered a mischievous black boar spirit brought forward. When the sword was invoked and light swept across, the boar spirit instantly lost half its body and died horribly.
All were astonished.
After the ceremony, Chang Ying left the Tai Hua Four Elders to guard the Dao, and he and Patriarch Qiongyang, accompanied by many accomplished Daoists, marched grandly to Qianyang Mountain.
They planned to bring back Daoist Tianzhen's corpse.
However, allowing the true body to safely enter the underworld was not easy. Fortunately, Red Mountain Hall's talisman master association had a passage into the underworld on Qianyang Mountain.
Living people entering the underworld suffer lifespan loss from the invading yin qi, and cultivators also lose cultivation, so one cannot stay long there.
Chen Shi drew some Call-Yin-Spirit talismans and handed them to these Daoists; with these talismans, they needn't fear being invaded by evil qi.
Chang Ying and the others entered the underworld from Qianyang Mountain, then passed by Red Mountain Hall's broken bridge into Yin Mountain. The Daoists walked down the broken bridge and saw the Boundless Cliff hanging with thousands-of-zhang divine corpses, chills running through them.
Chang Ying instructed the Daoists, "Everyone, this place is the underworld. Ghosts and gods are everywhere. Be careful."
Their expressions were grave, and each nodded.
At that moment, towering ghost gods hundreds of zhang tall approached. Chang Ying was stern; the Daoists secretly braced themselves, fear gripping their hearts.
The ghost gods varied in strength; the powerful could rival Great Ascension cultivators, while the weaker ones were Golden Core or Nascent Soul level. The weakest, like little yaksha or ox-head lesser ghosts, couldn't even be beaten by slightly older children.
But these ghost gods were among the top fighters, and they came in huge numbers.
Particularly, a dozen or so medium-sized ghost gods brought even greater pressure to Chang Ying and the rest, making their hearts tremble.
"These ghost gods are lord-level beings!" Patriarch Qiongyang quietly mobilized his Realm of Emptiness and prepared the Thunderous Great Vigor Mantra, ready to strike, whispering to Chang Ying, "I once encountered a ghost god like this, extremely powerful. Their strength is not far behind ours."
Chang Ying's face was grave.
If there had only been one or two lord-level ghost gods, they could handle it, but among these ghost gods there were more than ten of that caliber!
Chen Shi smiled, "You need not worry. These are my ghost gods. The journey to Daoist Tianzhen's immortal hall is long; some wild ghost gods are dangerous, so I had them escort you."
Chang Ying, Qiongyang, and the others were startled. Patriarch Qiongyang exclaimed, "Your ghost gods?"
Chen Shi was modest, "Grandmother Qiongyang, to be frank, I have a little enterprise in the underworld."
"A little enterprise?" Qiongyang blinked, "How small?"
"All the lands within your sight are mine." Chen Shi restrained the grin at his lips, "A large realm you cannot see is mine too. This is the territory I secured for my grandfather. After Grandmother Qiongyang dies, she can live happily here with my grandfather."
"You're truly filial." Qiongyang peered into the distance, murmuring, "You burned your grandfather's lovers for him, and now he has a place to rest."
As the ghost gods approached, Chang Ying couldn't help but be nervous. The ghost gods themselves then knelt on one knee to salute Chen Shi. Chen Shi waved and spoke in a flood of ghost language, forbidding them to kneel.
These powerful ghost gods indeed did not trouble them and escorted them through the vast Yin Mountain territories.
"This place is called Yin Mountain, but long ago it had a more resounding name, Ten Thousand Mountains," Chen Shi explained.
Qiongyang was stunned, "Yin Mountain I can understand, but Ten Thousand Mountains sounds like a land in the mortal world."
"Long ago, this place may have been in the mortal world, but later dramatic changes occurred and it sank into the underworld, causing the yin and yang realms to merge."
Chen Shi's eyes flickered as he smiled, "Perhaps in the future, our mortal world will also merge with the underworld."
Patriarch Qiongyang was stunned and sighed softly, "That would be so ancient a thing. I'm afraid I won't live to see it."
The many ghost gods escorted them, and along the way they indeed saw numerous lord-level ghost gods occupying mountains and rivers, commanding hordes of ghosts and ghost tribes. Even an eminent sect like Tai Hua Qing Palace could not safely traverse Yin Mountain without such escort.
They traveled thousands of li and arrived at a split mountain range where chains crisscrossed, suspending an immortal hall between two rocky halves.
Chen Shi had the ghost gods guard the foot of the mountain, and he led Qiongyang, Chang Ying, and the others carefully through streaks of radiant light to the immortal hall.
"Daoist Tianzhen, this is Chen Shi. I have not gone back on my word."
Chen Shi burned incense before the immortal hall, holding the censer and softly saying, "I have already returned the True Martial Exorcising Sword to Tai Hua Qingyang Palace. Today, Tai Hua Qingyang Palace's current sect master, Chang Ying Daoist, personally comes to welcome you home."
Incense wound upward and drifted into the immortal hall.
The immortal light shrouding the hall's entrance trembled and slowly dispersed to both sides, revealing half the body of a thin little Taoist.
Chen Shi stepped aside and signaled Chang Ying to enter.
Chang Ying collected himself, smoothed his crown and robe, held the incense, and entered.
The other Daoists each held incense and walked in.
They all offered incense.
Chang Ying bowed and said, "Disciple Chang Ying comes to respectfully welcome Daoist Tianzhen back to Tai Hua Mountain. I have heard that Tianzhen's nature is original to the Dao, that returning to one's primal fate is to return to one's true self. Senior, today you return to your roots."
Chains clattered and shook. Chen Shi stood outside the immortal hall and saw thick chains draw out from the cliff walls and coil like spiritual serpents.
"Were you regarded as a calamity by the True King and struck down by your peers with your own sect's immortal swords, and yet you hold no resentment?" Chen Shi said softly, "Perhaps you waited all those years just to hear the word 'home.' A nature pure as an infant can do that without resentment. Had you lived, you might have solved the thorny problem of cultivator aberration back then, without making the world suffer."
The immortal hall trembled, rose gently with everyone inside, then suddenly tore through the void and vanished from the underworld.
The split mountain rumbled and closed, restoring itself.
The immortal hall returned to Tai Hua Qing Palace, descending upon the former site of Blue Goat Palace.
Chang Ying removed Daoist Tianzhen's corpse and had it interred in the patriarch's tomb.
Chen Shi came to pay respects and saw light flickering on the immortal tomb. It looked as if a small Taoist sat within the light, tending a furnace while holding a scroll and rocking his head in study.
Chen Shi offered incense respectfully, then turned and left, murmuring inwardly, "In antiquity there were true immortals who lifted the heavens and grasped yin and yang, breathed refined qi, guarded the spirit, muscle and form fused as one, thus they could live as long as the heavens and earth, without end. This is the way's origin. Daoist Tianzhen was likely such. Alas, this realm has changed and cannot tolerate you. It cannot tolerate me either. What are we to do…"
"Then we will move stars and change constellations, remake heaven and earth!"