On the Path to the Great Dao

Chen Shi lowered his head, spread out the talisman paper, and retrieved a small knife from his bookcase. Then, rising to his feet, he walked toward Li Xiaoding.

One of the Jin Yiwei closest to Li Xiaoding noticed the knife in Chen Shi’s hand. Startled, he immediately shouted, "What are you doing? He’s got a knife!"

The other Jin Yiwei, hearing this, quickly gathered their true qi. Divine light surged from the backs of their heads as spirit shrines materialized, housing their Divine Embryos. Prepared to cast spells, they simultaneously rushed toward Chen Shi!

Li Xiaoding, alarmed by the shout of "He’s got a knife," rolled off his recliner in a panic. Suspicious and frightened, he instinctively pulled out a talisman.

With a whoosh, the talisman burned, releasing a surge of mystical energy. A radiant golden light immediately enveloped him, forming a bell-like barrier that shielded him entirely.

Chen Shi feigned terror, trembling as he let the knife slip from his hand and cried out, "I was just going to use the dog’s blood to draw a talisman! Please don’t kill me! Brother Li Guang, save me!"

The seven Jin Yiwei, who were poised to unleash their spells, hesitated and held back upon hearing this.

Li Xiaoding, who had scrambled to his feet, also paused. He turned to Li Guang, who had been ready to kill Chen Shi, and suddenly realized what was happening. Li Guang laughed, "It’s all a misunderstanding, Young Master! Drawing talismans does require black dog blood. Its strong yang energy, combined with cinnabar, makes the talisman’s power much greater."

Li Xiaoding kicked the black dog near him and cursed with a laugh, "I thought someone was coming to kill me! Turns out it’s just for this beast. Damn dog, you scared me half to death!"

He kicked the black dog again and sneered, "Well? Hurry up and get over there to die!" The black dog, stung by the kicks, sulkily wagged its tail. It seemed to grumble at human inconsistency—just moments ago, it was being praised as a "good dog" while its head was patted, and now it was being called "damn dog."

The black dog shuffled over to Chen Shi, who heaved a sigh of relief and bent down to pick up the knife.

Meanwhile, the seven Jin Yiwei also relaxed, dispersing their prepared spells. Six of them even dismissed their spirit shrines and turned back to their tasks, though Li Guang’s shrine still floated behind him, showing he remained on guard.

As Chen Shi bent to retrieve the knife, the positions of the seven men imprinted themselves in his mind through his peripheral vision.

He noted every raised foot, each movement to turn away, and all their postures.

"Four of them are less than a zhang away, two are over a zhang, and Li Guang is the closest. This is the perfect moment to act!"

Chen Shi gripped the knife tightly, a cold gleam flashing in his eyes. His first target was Li Guang.

Although Li Guang still maintained his shrine and Divine Embryo, Chen Shi was confident he could deliver a fatal strike before Li Guang had time to cast a spell.

"Is this Young Master Li Xiaoding’s camp?" A sweet voice suddenly called out.

A young girl dressed in bright red gauze pants and a purple-pink trailing skirt stood outside the camp, holding a large fruit basket. Smiling, she said, "I am Zi’e, a servant of the Ding family’s Fourth Miss. We’re setting up camp nearby for hunting. My mistress heard that Young Master Li is also here, so she asked me to stop by and strengthen the ties between our two families. Perhaps the gentlemen here could also help us with our camp setup?"

Chen Shi’s expression shifted as he gripped the knife and straightened. The murderous intent in his eyes vanished entirely.

The arrival of Zi’e, a Ding family maid, robbed him of the perfect opportunity to act.

While he could have struck during the brief moment when the group’s attention was on Zi’e, she, standing outside the camp, would have had time to prepare her own spells. Even if he managed to kill all seven Jin Yiwei, she could kill him before he reached Li Xiaoding.

And if Zi’e chose not to act and instead fled, news of Li Xiaoding’s murder would spread. That would bring disaster not only upon himself but also upon Grandpa and Huangpo Village—a catastrophe he absolutely could not allow.

"I’ll have to let this opportunity go," he thought.

Chen Shi called the black dog over and returned to his table. Zi’e seemed to have come merely to extend greetings and promote goodwill between the Ding and Li families. She likely wouldn’t stay long, giving him other chances later.

Meanwhile, one of the Jin Yiwei hurried to let Zi’e in and said with a grin, "Our Young Master was just saying he planned to visit you! Who would’ve thought you’d come first?" As he spoke, he reached out to take the fruit basket from Zi’e.

Zi’e took out a calling card and approached Li Xiaoding with a smile. "Young Master Li, you’re quite the prominent figure in Shuiniu County! During the last county examination, your remarkable performance was truly unexpected. Even my mistress, the Fourth Miss, said she couldn’t have imagined you had such hidden strength." She curtsied gracefully. "I am Zi’e, servant of the Ding family, and I present my mistress’s card to you."

Her elegant figure, adorned face, and added charm drew the attention of the Jin Yiwei, who had just started to return to their tasks. They came back instead, hoping to exchange a few words with her and get closer.

After all, spring outings were as much about mingling with the opposite sex as they were about hunting. Otherwise, who would bother trekking into the mountains?

Chen Shi, seated on a stool, bent down to draw blood from the black dog. Suddenly, he froze.

"Everyone is close together again. Another perfect chance to strike! Except... that damn Zi’e is in the way!"

The black dog gritted its teeth, reluctant. Its old master would at least offer it a piece of exotic beast meat to compensate for the blood drawn. The young master, however, was not nearly as generous.

Resigned, the dog closed its eyes, bracing itself for the blade. But suddenly, there was a gust of wind.

Whoosh!

The dog opened its eyes, only to find that Chen Shi, knife in hand, had disappeared.

The next moment, blood sprayed in an arc as Chen Shi's blade slashed across Li Guang's throat!

Li Guang’s eyes widened. He opened his mouth to shout, but Chen Shi had already moved behind another Jin Yiwei. His knife stabbed into the man’s back, piercing his heart with precision, slipping neatly between the ribs.

Chen Shi spun around to face the same Jin Yiwei and drove the knife into the man’s chest from the front, targeting his heart again with unerring accuracy.

As Chen Shi attempted to pull the blade free, his grip slipped—the handle was slick with blood. Without hesitation, he lunged toward the third Jin Yiwei, fingers outstretched.

Pop!Pop!

His fingers gouged into the man’s eyes, bursting them and penetrating the skull. Twisting his fingers, he scrambled the brain matter within.

Pulling his hand free, Chen Shi twisted his body and stepped forward with his left foot. As his foot landed, his right leg lashed out like a cleaver, smashing into the neck of the fourth Jin Yiwei.

The force was so immense that the man’s neck twisted unnaturally, snapping with an audible crack. Before the man’s face hit the ground, Chen Shi leaped over his body and slammed both palms into the fifth Jin Yiwei’s ears.

The man’s head shook violently as blood gushed from his eyes, ears, nose, and mouth. His eyeballs bulged as if about to pop out of their sockets.

Meanwhile, Li Guang, still clutching his slashed throat, managed a gurgled scream. Blood bubbled out with the sound. He belatedly realized that his neck was nearly severed, held together by only a strip of muscle.

"This kid is so fast!" he thought in his fading moments. "But why is he killing us?"

As darkness crept into his vision, Li Guang caught one last glimpse of Chen Shi rushing toward the sixth Jin Yiwei, whose face was frozen in shock, unable to comprehend what was happening.

Chen Shi’s curled fingers punched into the man’s chest, the force shattering his ribs with a series of crack sounds. Blood spurted from the man’s mouth as he began to activate his Divine Shrine. However, before he could finish summoning a spell, Chen Shi pressed his palm against the man’s face and unleashed a surge of brutal strength.

Boom!

The man’s head slammed into the rocky ground, smashing both his skull and the stone beneath it.

Chen Shi crouched low, his eyes locking onto the seventh Jin Yiwei.

The final guard was already channeling his true qi, activating his Divine Shrine. His Divine Embryo stirred to life, and divine power surged through his body.

But just as that power began to manifest, Chen Shi’s knee drove upward into his groin with a force that obliterated everything. The impact sent the man’s body airborne, flipping him head-over-heels.

Before the man could land, Chen Shi’s foot shot forward, the tip of his boot smashing into the man’s temple.

Crack!

The man’s neck snapped as his body crumpled lifelessly to the ground.

Thud!Thud!Thud!

The bodies of Li Guang and two other Jin Yiwei toppled to the ground.

Chen Shi dashed back to the second Jin Yiwei’s corpse, yanked out the blood-slick knife, and turned to face Zi’e.

No one had anticipated this turn of events. Zi’e, stunned, began to activate her Divine Embryo to cast a spell.

But before her "Ziwe Blade" spell could form, a sharp pain pierced her chest. Looking down, she saw two bloodstained hands gripping her neck and jaw.

Her vision spun violently as her head was twisted around. She glimpsed her back before darkness consumed her.

Chen Shi twisted her neck with a vicious crack and yanked the knife from her heart before her body fell.

Thud.Thud.Thud.

Bodies hit the ground one after another.

Suddenly, the sound of burning filled the air. Chen Shi turned to see Li Xiaoding frantically activating a Golden Bell Talisman. The talisman burned brightly, surrounding him with a golden bell-shaped barrier.

Trembling and wide-eyed with terror, Li Xiaoding stared at Chen Shi.

Though a Divine Embryo-stage cultivator, capable of killing Chen Shi with ease, his overwhelming fear clouded his mind. He couldn’t recall a single spell he’d learned.

He even forgot he was a cultivator, or that he had a Divine Embryo.