On the Path to the Great Dao

The eight Celestial Way immortals were deeply shaken by the scene before them, that single address of “fellow Daoist” came straight from the heart.

Chen Shi had comprehended yin and yang, grasping the principle of their mutual balance, and used it to open the void and form a grand realm. Once the grand realm appeared, it dispelled the demonic miasma across a thousand-li radius and triggered strange celestial phenomena, an achievement they could not help but admire.

Especially Feng Ruotong, who had seen Chen Shi’s yin-yang Dao Field twice before. Each time it left him greatly astonished.

The first time, he detected that Chen Shi’s yin-yang Dao Field could refine away demonic miasma, a sliver of hope born in the depths of despair.

The second time, he found the Dao Field had advanced further, its rate of improvement jaw-dropping.

But this time, Chen Shi shocked him even more by studying the Yin Yang Qi Bottle and deriving an even deeper insight.

Such innate talent and comprehension truly merited the nickname Child Prodigy!

“Although Wuwang obtained an Innate Dao Embryo, I fear, I fear…” a thought surfaced in Feng Ruotong’s mind, “I fear he is far inferior to him.”

Chen Shi stretched and looked at them in surprise, smiling: “What do you mean, gentlemen? I simply couldn’t help it for a moment and broke through to the Return to Emptiness realm, how dare I call myself your fellow Daoist? Please rise, please rise!”

Immortal Xi said, “His Majesty opened a new precedent, accomplishing what others could not. From top to bottom on Despair Slope, no one does not admire him. There is no longer any doubt about His Majesty’s ability to save the world. Now, we only need to return to Despair Slope to inspect the tombs of those eighteen Shang ministers. That will verify whether the Celestial Venerable is genuine!”

Daoist Wen urged, “The Celestial Venerable may emerge at any time, there is no time to lose, we must return to Despair Slope immediately!”

Feng Ruotong put away the Yin Yang Qi Bottle and said in a deep voice, “I also want to return to verify! If I do not see it with my own eyes, I will always harbor doubts. Daoist Qingyuan, you shall come with us!”

Qingyuan Daoist hesitated, unwilling in a thousand ways, but since he had not reached Dao Unification and was no match for Feng Ruotong and the others, he could only nod and agree.

Chen Shi said, “Gentlemen, when you go back to Despair Slope, if you encounter the Celestial Venerable, be careful he does not perceive a flaw. Zhong Wuwang said the Celestial Venerable’s suspicion is extreme.”

Feng Ruotong laughed, “We do have that subtlety of disposition. Rest assured, Your Majesty. Once we verify that the Celestial Venerable is indeed the culprit, we will leave Despair Slope immediately and rendezvous with Your Majesty!”

He was about to depart when he suddenly paused, thought for a moment, and took out the Yin Yang Qi Bottle, placing it in Chen Shi’s hands.

Chen Shi looked at him in astonishment. Feng Ruotong smiled, “This treasure is Despair Slope’s most powerful artifact, the only item that can rival the Tianluo Blood-Transforming Divine Blade. It was originally brought to Despair Slope by the True King, who was slain by the Celestial Venerable, and this treasure was then stored in the Eternal Immortal Pavilion. If I take it back, I must return it to the Eternal Immortal Pavilion, so better to leave it with Your Majesty for now.”

Chen Shi returned the Yin Yang Qi Bottle to him and shook his head, “If you meet the Celestial Venerable and he sees through you, this treasure might save your lives.”

Feng Ruotong hesitated, then said, “Does Your Majesty have incense? Offer a stick of incense to this bottle.”

At his words, Chen Shi lit an incense stick and inserted it into the bottle.

Feng Ruotong laughed, “Our cultivators on Despair Slope only worship the Celestial True God, not external objects. This bottle has never received incense offerings. Your Majesty’s stick may be its first. From now on, this treasure will be connected to your qi and blood.”

Chen Shi felt a slight stir in his heart, indeed sensing a strange aura breathing in concert with his own.

He was himself a grandmaster of balanced yin and yang, and the path he traveled resonated with the Yin Yang Qi Bottle in a remarkably similar way; a single shared flow of energy made him feel as if he had met a kindred spirit.

This sensation differed from that of the Tianluo Blood-Transforming Divine Blade.

The Tianluo Blood-Transforming Divine Blade connected through the Blood Lake Sutra, its demonic nature heavy, always scheming to occupy Chen Shi’s consciousness and control him.

The Yin Yang Qi Bottle, however, felt like soulmates across the seas, as if distance meant nothing.

That a treasure should feel like a Dao friend surprised Chen Shi somewhat.

Still, that single incense stick truly brought him much benefit.

Feng Ruotong put away the Yin Yang Qi Bottle and bowed, “Your Majesty, farewell until next time.”

Chen Shi returned the salute. As he rose, Feng Ruotong and the other seven Celestial Way immortals politely departed.

“Feng Ruotong has the heart of a pure child, as do Immortal Ping and the others.”

Chen Shi recalled Zhong Wuwang telling him of Kou Xianren’s deeds and thought, “Kou Xianren was the same. The Celestial Way immortals of Despair Slope, though stubborn, all aim to preserve the world’s order so people may live and reproduce. Once Despair Slope is no longer needed, they will immediately abandon it.”

Just then, Can’er dashed in from outside like a streak of white and ran up to his side, looking up to cry, “Brother, I’m hungry!”

Chen Shi checked the mulberry leaf hanging from her neck — it had been eaten. He quickly took out another mulberry leaf and hung it around her neck.

Can’er hugged the leaf and nibbled carefully, not daring to bite too big a mouthful.

Chen Shi’s heart stirred. He took her hand and entered the underworld, ascending to the Thick Virtue Palace.

Empress of Earth was already seated cross-legged on the lotus throne in the Thick Virtue Palace, holding a thick stack of account ledgers which she was flipping through. Seeing them arrive, she quickly closed the book and smiled, “Your Majesty, I have already set seals encircling the whole world, sea monsters shall not invade.”

Chen Shi asked curiously, “What are you reading, Your Ladyship?”

“Just a few small accounts.”

Empress of Earth replied without a change in expression, “My memory is poor, so I write down those who have offended me so I don’t forget. A few grudges were recently avenged and need to be checked off quickly, lest I owe more future favors.”

Chen Shi craned his neck to look at the ledger behind her. Empress of Earth shielded it and smiled, “They are not my grudges exactly, but other people’s grudges entrusted to me. Some are hard to handle, so they piled up. But now, I finally have a way… Haha, no more on that. Your Majesty didn’t come for that, you came for spiritual elixirs and miraculous medicines to revive Wu Qi, right? I just remembered a place that hides a treasure called the Purple Heaven Vine, which bears a purple gourd.”

Her eyes sparkled and her breath quickened slightly, “This treasure blooms once in ten thousand years, bears fruit once in ten thousand years, and matures once in ten thousand years, producing a single gourd. An ordinary person cannot pluck it; one must first imprint a talisman on the gourd to be able to take it. I will write a Rebirth Talisman in your hand; when you find the purple gourd produced by the Purple Heaven Vine, press your palm onto it and you can pluck the gourd.”

Chen Shi asked, “Can the gourd revive Wu Qi?”

Empress of Earth smiled, “This treasure belongs to the Purple Heaven… of course it can save him. You burn the Rebirth Talisman onto the gourd, and it becomes a Rebirth Gourd. Saw open the gourd’s mouth, and one gourd seed inside can cause Wu Qi to be reborn, regrow flesh, and regenerate his Primordial Spirit, perhaps accelerating the process by countless times!”

Chen Shi probed, “This Purple Heaven thing, surely it is not one of the godmother’s ledger enemies?”

Empress of Earth snorted with laughter, “What enemies would I have? Who dares to be my enemy? Enough, enough, do not overthink. Will you go pick the gourd?”

“I will! Of course I will!”

Chen Shi brightened and started to leave, “I will borrow something from Daoist Willow!”

Empress of Earth said, “He is a wretched soul, don’t always borrow his things under false pretenses!”

“Godmother, rest assured, I will handle it properly.”

Outside the palace, Daoist Willow was about to bury captured masters from the great clans in the ground so he could absorb their nutrients; seeing Chen Shi arrive, his heart jolted.

Chen Shi said, “I’ve come to borrow the Celestial Immortal Three Ultimates Formation.”

Daoist Willow handed him the willow leaves, a little unwilling, “Your Majesty, be careful with these; these are my only three leaves.”

Chen Shi took the willow leaves but did not leave, still standing there. Daoist Willow complained, “I truly have no other treasures.”

Chen Shi smiled, “That’s not why I came; I do not know the operational method of the Celestial Immortal Three Ultimates Formation.”

Daoist Willow had no choice but to transmit the operational method to him, thinking, “He will even learn the method too, will he return it to me afterwards? He will, right?”

Chen Shi returned to the Thick Virtue Palace and found Empress of Earth once more scribbling in her ledger. Seeing him, she quickly put it away and smiled, “Your Majesty, look.”

She raised a hand and with a gentle point a beam of divine light flew from the lotus platform, extending into the mysterious yellow sea behind.

Empress of Earth said, “Follow this beam of light and you will arrive at the Purple Heaven. Once there you will see the Purple Heaven Vine, impossible to miss. Extend your hand.”

Chen Shi extended his left hand. Empress of Earth traced the air over his palm with delicate jade fingers, and a golden talisman appeared in his palm, extremely complex and different from ordinary talismans, embedded with Daoic patterns, novel and ingenious.

Chen Shi felt a tremor in his heart and was about to study it closely when the golden talisman faded away.

Empress of Earth warned, “Do not use your left hand to fight others, otherwise the Rebirth Talisman will act on that person and send them to rebirth as well. Your left hand must only imprint the gourd, remember that.”

“Fight others?” Chen Shi stiffened, just about to ask when the Lady waved and smiled, “Go now, the sooner you go the sooner you return.”

Without further choice, Chen Shi fell into the mysterious yellow sea and looked back to see the lotus platform as vast as a mountain, with the Lady seated upon it, majestic beyond measure.

He steadied his mind and immediately summoned a willow leaf, which transformed into a boat. Sitting aboard, the willow-leaf boat followed the light bridge and broke through the void.

Chen Shi traveled for an unknown length of time. The water on both sides was pitch black, surging and swirling, and from time to time the silhouettes of gigantic sea monsters flashed by.

“Am I in the Dark Sea? Yet it doesn’t quite feel like it,” he thought.

He scanned the surroundings. This journey felt different from his last sea crossing; this time it was like passing through a strange dark medium.

The light bridge felt like a channel and he was traveling through a void corridor.

But why would such a dark medium exist in the void? Why were there sea monsters?

While he pondered, an extremely dazzling light suddenly flared ahead. In the next instant, the willow-leaf boat shot out of the corridor and emerged into a magnificent, splendid world.

The realm looked like a fairyland. The first thing to strike him was an unimaginably vast purple vine hanging down from the heavens, its tendrils cascading to the ground, of unknown height, of unknown thickness!

Chen Shi stared blankly at the sight, then mustered his courage and flew toward the purple vine.

“Purple Heaven… the sky held up by a purple vine! What on earth is the gourd the Lady asked me to pick?”

In the Thick Virtue Palace, Empress of Earth took up her ledger and a cinnabar brush, and smiling, she erased a name from the book.

“Enemy count minus one… Purple Heaven Immortal Lord, may you travel well on your way through the Opening the Calamity.”

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