Chapter 383: Sooner or Later on the Wall 25 |
Chen Shi asked the attendant, “Can I bring someone else to the Upper Realm?”
That attendant from the Yang family said, “Young Master Shaohu instructed in advance that if the Top Scholar asked about bringing people, he was to permit one.”
Chen Shi raised an eyebrow, a half-smile playing on his lips. “One person? Does Yang Bi know who I want to bring?”
The Yang attendant replied, “Young Master Shaohu said the one the Top Scholar wants to bring is surely Vice Minister Chen Tang, the former Minister of Revenue.”
Chen Shi said with interest, “Did Yang Bi tell you how he guessed that?”
The Yang attendant shook his head.
Chen Shi pondered, then told Chen Tang about this. Chen Tang said, “I know how he guessed. The reason he guessed that way is because among everyone around you, I have the strongest strength, the most meticulous mind, and I know the might of the Upper Realm and have restraint. Therefore, if you want to bring someone to the Upper Realm, you would definitely choose me.”
Chen Shi asked doubtfully, “How do you know about the Upper Realm?”
The Upper Realm was clearly the Thirteen Great Clans’ biggest asset. Chen Shi only knew about it because Yang Bi told him. Logically, Chen Tang couldn’t have known about the Upper Realm.
He relaxed his mind, and a thread of Chen Shi’s consciousness entered his consciousness.
The father and son stood together. Chen Tang slowly turned his head, and a dazzling divine light flooded into view, filling the sky with thousand-zhang tall gods, filling Chen Shi’s field of vision and nearly stopping his heart.
The great cauldron, the incense offerings, the various gods partaking of the incense, the pressure came rushing toward him.
Chen Tang turned his head back, and that strange vision disappeared.
The Upper Realm had used a peculiar method to reveal its magnificent side to him alone, forming a tremendous pressure.
This scene was equivalent to nearly two thousand gods standing behind him, watching him, monitoring everything about him. This kind of pressure was enough to make anyone collapse!
All these days, Chen Tang had been bearing the weight of the Upper Realm’s pressure. He had persisted without breaking, his Dao Heart could be called indestructible.
But under such watch and pressure, making progress in cultivation was nearly impossible!
On one hand, the Thirteen Great Clans were intimidating Chen Tang; on the other, they were crippling him, trapping him at the Return to Emptiness realm and preventing him from breaking through to the Great Ascension Realm!
Chen Shi withdrew his consciousness.
Chen Tang’s expression remained calm and composed, “I’ve only persisted for half a year. When your grandfather left the Western Capital back then, he also saw these things. Under the gaze of the gods, he persisted for eleven years.”
Although he had many complaints about his old father, he deeply felt how terrifying Chen Yindu was.
To persist for eleven years under the pressure of the Upper Realm without collapsing - this Dao Heart earned his sincere admiration.
Chen Shi was silent for a moment, then said, “The Thirteen Great Clans are treating you like this, why didn’t you tell me before?”
Chen Tang shook his head, “Your grandfather never said he had faced such a terrifying threat. He didn’t tell me, so naturally, I didn’t want to tell you. But since you’re going to the Upper Realm, I’m worried you might act recklessly, so I wanted to give you a heads-up first. The Thirteen Great Clans have the power to suppress you.”
Chen Shi nodded gently, “Chen Tang, come with me.”
Chen Tang snorted, somewhat unhappy about being addressed by his name directly, but he still followed him. Chen Shi walked into the Qianyang Mountain range. The mountains were peaceful and serene, with few evil spirits, and even when they appeared, they kept to themselves.
Along the way, the father and duo burned incense for the spirits of Qianyang Mountain. Now, their cultivation and strength had long surpassed most of the mountain’s spirits; only beings like the great snake Xuan Shan and Madam Zhuang were still above them. They didn’t really need to burn incense for these still-growing mountain spirits, but they still followed the rules they had observed since childhood.
These spirits bowed to them in thanks, absorbing the energy of incense offerings from the two experts.
Chen Shi brought Chen Tang to Wuwang City.
Prefect Wu Wang, with his Judge’s Brush and Tongue-Pulling Hell, had previously been hunted by the underworld. Now the Thirteen Great Clans had pacified the Ten Kings of Hell. Even without this particular Judge’s Brush and Tongue-Pulling Hell, it wouldn’t matter much. Additionally, since Qianyang Mountain was now a rebel stronghold, the underworld was reluctant to attack this place. So Prefect Wu Wang had returned to Qianyang Mountain.
At this time, merchant caravans were coming and going in Wuwang City - caravans from the Juxian Pavilion. They transported goods from the mortal world through Wuwang City into the underworld, brought them to the Heavenly Pool Ghost Kingdom to exchange for the kingdom’s goods, then hauled them back to the mortal world for sale.
Thus, Wuwang City had become a node connecting the yin and yang realms.
Father and son passed through Wuwang City and entered the underworld. Chen Tang looked around, thinking to himself, “Wuwang City connects the yin and yang realms. Clearly, Tongue-Pulling Hell is the one connecting them. This means the yin and yang realms are beginning to merge. Could it really be that the underworld and mortal world will combine?”
Chen Shi brought him along the Juxian Pavilion’s merchant route to the underworld base of Qianyang Mountain, to that broken bridge.
Father and son crossed the broken bridge and stood at the bridgehead.
Chen Shi said, “Chen Tang, turn around.”
Chen Tang turned around, and his mind and spirit were shaken.
Corpses of gods hung on Boundless Cliff, row upon row, stretching beyond sight!
Those gods were powerful, their auras terrifying, their presence shocking, but now they were all pierced through their bodies, nailed to the cliff face, as if to demonstrate, to intimidate!
Their divine blood flowed from their bodies, dripping down the cliff face, forming an ever-flowing blood stream at the foot of Boundless Cliff!
At that moment, a white-boned skeleton wearing a crown walked over, came to the bridgehead, and leaped down, landing beside the blood stream. It collected divine blood to cultivate the Blood Lake Sutra, and the Blood Lake Hell behind its skull stretched for over a hundred li, carrying a heavy, immense pressure.
This scene left Chen Tang shocked beyond words.
The nearly two thousand gods of the Thirteen Great Clans truly meant nothing compared to the countless divine corpses hanging on Boundless Cliff!
“Father, there’s no need to keep some things bottled up inside you.”
Chen Shi raised his hand and patted Chen Tang on the shoulder, “What seems to you like a heavy, insurmountable chasm may not be such a big deal to me. Stay here for a few days, and when you look at the vast pantheon of the Thirteen Great Clans again, you’ll find they’re nothing special.”
Chen Tang took a long deep breath, walked down from the broken bridge, came to the blood stream, and said to the white-boned skeleton, “Brother Dao, sorry for the disturbance.”
The white-boned skeleton said, “Dad, it’s me. You don’t need to do this. This is the Heavenly Pool Kingdom. You are the Emperor Father. You don’t need to lower your posture for anyone.”
Chen Tang: “…”
He indeed sat down before Boundless Cliff, observing the endless divine corpses.
The Upper Realm of the Thirteen Great Clans had brought him an unparalleled sense of oppression, placing him in a desperate situation where he was monitored, oppressed, and both life and death were in enemy hands. But now, that sense of oppression and despair was gradually fading, replaced by an extremely stable state of mind. It was the calmness that even heaven’s collapse wouldn’t disturb; it was arrogance, defiance, unyielding insubordination.
He suddenly could understand where Chen Shi’s lawless mindset came from.
Because now, he had that mindset too.
Ignoring authority and power, ignoring the disparity between enemy and self.
You may be strong, but you’re strong. Sooner or later, you’ll be on the wall.
After a few days, Chen Tang’s mindset had recovered to its peak state, returning to the mindset of the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue of the Western Capital. His eyes revealed confidence, neither servile nor overbearing, calculating strategies.
He returned to the mortal world and went back to Huangpo Village. Chen Shi was accompanying his mother Wu Qingyu in her cultivation. Seeing him return, Chen Shi gave him a once-over and slowly nodded, “A while ago, you were just Chen Tang. Now you’re my father. If you go with me to the Upper Realm, you won’t embarrass the Chen family’s face.”
Chen Tang drew the Xuanwei Sword, intending to execute this rebellious son. Wu Qingyu quickly intervened, “It’s the father’s fault if the son is not taught well. Neither of us taught him. It was your father who did. Grandfathers spoil their grandchildren. Raising a child like this is already considered successful. Consider that he is our own flesh and blood, so spare him.”
Chen Tang returned the sword to its sheath, fuming, “You’re just going to pamper him. Sooner or later, he’ll bring about a great disaster outside! I’ll pack up and go to the Upper Realm with him!”
Chen Shi brought the white-clad fairy to meet the Yang attendant, saying, “Let’s set off.”
The Yang attendant asked in surprise, “You’re not bringing Vice Minister Chen?”
Chen Shi shook his head, “I don’t like others guessing my intentions, so I changed the person.”
The Yang attendant looked at him with a strange expression, shaking his head inwardly. “Among his subordinates, the one with the most stable emotions and strongest strength is his own father. He doesn’t use his father but instead brings a weak, vulnerable woman. He’s stubborn and arrogant. For the sake of his own pride, he puts himself in a dangerous situation. This is an unwise move. Is this man really Young Master Shaohu’s formidable opponent?”
He prepared the carriage, inviting Chen Shi and the white-clad fairy to board.
The carriage was a Cloud-Green Grand Chariot, larger than ordinary carriages, with four pillars. Its four blue sides were painted with landscapes. The roof was a green cloud-shaped canopy, and the roof ornament was three bright pearls. The carriage was pulled by three strange beasts that resembled both dragons and horses, called Dragon-Steeds.
Chen Shi and the white-clad fairy walked into the treasure chariot. Inside, they saw lush green mountains all around. Looking up, there were green clouds everywhere, and three suns hung in the sky, their light bright but not hot.
This treasure chariot was already a magical artifact, extremely noble. Ordinary clans couldn’t afford to use it.
The treasure chariot started moving. Chen Shi looked outside. It seemed as if a myriad worlds were shifting stars. Dragon breeds pulled them, letting them roam through the void. It was extremely marvelous.
Chen Shi exclaimed in admiration, “The foundation of the clans is indeed extraordinary.”
Chen Tang finished packing and rushed out, but the Cloud-Green Grand Chariot had already sailed into the void, beyond pursuit!
Chen Tang was furious, “You brat! You don’t take me, but instead take that woman of unknown origin. Let’s see who will protect you in the Upper Realm!”
Wu Qingyu saw him return and asked doubtfully, “You didn’t go with him?”
Chen Tang told her about Chen Shi bringing the white-clad fairy to the Upper Realm, saying, “He didn’t bring me, but instead brought that mute girl. I’m afraid he’ll be in great danger in the Upper Realm! You’ve ruined our son!”
Wu Qingyu said, “It was his grandfather who taught him. I can’t be blamed for that. But Little Ten has always been calculating. If he didn’t bring you but instead brought the mute girl, he must have his reasons.”
As she spoke, she saw Stone Ji Your Ladyship on the yellow earth slope, burning incense for Chen Shi’s stone tablet Godmother. Clearly, Chen Shi hadn’t brought her either.
Wu Qingyu’s heart stirred, “Atang, are you sure you are the strongest among us?”
Chen Tang said calmly, “I’m sure. Of the five outlaws and one master that Father befriended, Uncle Du Yiran has the highest cultivation, Brother Qiao Zhuo has the best talent, and Aunt Qiongyang has the purest thunder techniques. The three of them have already reached the Great Ascension Realm, but in a life-and-death battle, they would surely die by my hand. The three of them together wouldn’t last three exchanges. Granny Sha could fight me in the underworld and cause me trouble, but she couldn’t withstand five moves. Uncle Blue Goat is dead, Uncle Hu is timid and insignificant. Only Huo Dog might be able to vie with me for supremacy.”
Wu Qingyu asked doubtfully, “Then why does Little Ten think you’re not the strongest?”
Chen Tang’s heart stirred, “You mean the mute girl is the strongest?”
He couldn’t help but feel bewildered. “If she is stronger than me, who could she be? Could she be another of my father’s lovers? No, that’s not right. She clearly likes Little Ten very much. It’s not that kind of cross-generational affection…”
The white-clad fairy of Qixia Taoist Temple in the Western Capital had always been a legend. She had been sealed and suppressed by the True King. Apart from the Thirteen Great Clans having records of the fairy’s appearance, very few people had ever seen her true form.
During the metropolitan examination, the white-clad fairy had just broken free from her seal and was severely wounded by the Cabinet’s thirteen ministers using the True King’s Nine Halls. Chen Tang hadn’t seen the fairy’s appearance either, so he only knew that there was a sealed prehistoric calamity that had come out, causing chaos. But he never knew that this calamity was right by Chen Shi’s side.
In the Cloud-Green Grand Chariot, the white-clad fairy yawned and lay down, resting her head on Chen Shi’s leg to sleep.
Chen Shi was slightly nervous. He felt the Lower Corpses God Peng Qiao growing stronger again, thinking to himself, “After this battle with Yang Bi, I must find an opportunity to cut down Peng Qiao. Otherwise, it will always make my mind wander and hinder my cultivation!”
The white-clad fairy opened one eye to peek at him. When she saw Chen Shi looking back, she quickly closed her eyes, a faint blush flying across her fair face.
Chen Shi’s heart stirred, having a somewhat unusual feeling. He became inwardly alert, “I need to make progress, to achieve higher accomplishments. I must kill Peng Qiao as soon as possible! It’s always urging me to feel this way about this girl… She smells so good——”
Just then, boundless divine light shone through, penetrating the lush green mountains depicted on the Cloud-Green Grand Chariot, causing the green clouds and three suns to reveal their true forms. They reverted to the embroidered green clouds and three roof ornaments on the treasure chariot.
Chen Shi suppressed his unusual thoughts, pushed open the window lattice, and looked outside. A magnificent landscape of mountains and rivers came into view. Mountain ranges rose and fell one after another, stars gathered in the sky, forming star rivers, surging and flowing.
A group of imposing gods were either sitting or standing, floating in the clouds, or appearing within the star rivers. Their bodies were vast, divine light swirled around them, and the energy of incense offerings formed green clouds floating around them.
Before them, massive incense burners had incense offering energy rising in wisps. There was also incense offering energy coming from the lower realm, continuously surging in. It turned into clouds and ribbons that drifted behind their heads and under their armpits, gradually forming extraordinary power that merged into the gods’ bodies.
The Cloud-Green Grand Chariot flew past one towering god. Chen Shi looked up at the god’s face, and just then, the god looked down.
Their eyes met, and Chen Shi immediately felt a heavy divine might and an unparalleled sense of oppression.
This god had absorbed incense offerings for thousands of years, and his divine power was vast and boundless. It was even comparable to the great snake Xuan Shan.
He had no physical body, instead using extraordinary power to rebuild his Golden Body. There were even some peculiar textures on his body, which should be talismans formed during the reconstruction of his Golden Body, extremely complex!
“Just dry bones in a tomb.” Chen Shi withdrew his gaze and gently stroked the beauty’s hair on his knee.