Chapter 47: The Great Ming Treasure Ship
Ghosts-and-Gods Domains often possess unpredictable powers, varying in strength. Some can only alter the forms of cultivators at the Golden Core level, while others can affect even the strongest practitioners of the Integration Realm.
Li Jindou, a Nascent Soul master of the Divine Transformation Realm, had his body transformed in what seemed like an unremarkable kiln factory. It was a humiliating defeat for such an esteemed figure.
Though he tried to communicate his predicament, his now-porcelain voice sounded like birds chirping, unintelligible to the others. Seeing this, Chen Shi handed him pen and paper from his book box.
The tiny porcelain figure, barely taller than the pen, wrote hurriedly.
“Little Ten,” Tianqing read aloud, “my grandfather needs time to suppress the transformation and return to his original form. The longer he stays like this, the harder it will be to recover. We must hurry back to the village!”
Chen Shi’s eyes gleamed mischievously. “If you’re willing to pay, I can help your grandfather recover faster.”
Tianqing hesitated and relayed the offer to Li Jindou. The elder scrawled something curt on the paper.
“My grandfather doesn’t trust you,” Tianqing said, embarrassed.
Li Jindou glared inwardly. Tianqing is too honest for his own good—he says everything out loud!
As they made their way back to Huangpo Village, Chen Shi asked, “What happened in the kiln factory, Senior Li?”
The porcelain Li Jindou poked his head out of the book box, writing words like kiln workers, kiln caves, and essence.
Chen Shi inferred that Li Jindou had been searching for the domain’s source when the kiln workers attacked him. Judging by his notes, he had been captured and thrown into a kiln but managed to escape.
“Did you find the essence of the domain?” Chen Shi asked.
Li Jindou nodded.
“What is it?”
The porcelain elder hesitated before drawing a figure: a seated statue with eight arms, each holding a weapon, and four serene faces.
Tianqing recognized it immediately. “It’s the Eight-Armed Doumu Bodhisattva.”
Li Jindou clarified with additional notes: the statue was not stone but porcelain and incredibly large.
“A porcelain Bodhisattva as the essence of the domain?” Chen Shi wondered aloud.
Li Jindou wrote another note: It can move.
Both Chen Shi and Tianqing froze.
“A movable Ghosts-and-Gods Domain?” Tianqing murmured. “If this thing starts moving, wouldn’t it turn every living thing in its path into porcelain?”
Chen Shi shivered at the thought. If it moves, Huangpo Village would be the first to suffer.
Though the Bodhisattva had never moved before, that didn’t mean it never would. The unpredictability of Ghosts-and-Gods Domains was their greatest danger.
Back in the village, Li Jindou secluded himself in the west wing, using his primordial spirit to reverse the transformation. By dinnertime, his head had returned to flesh, albeit comically perched on his tiny porcelain body. He dared not move, afraid his head might topple off and shatter his fragile porcelain neck.
Late that night, as the village fell silent, faint murmurs drifted from the courtyard.
“The moon is so beautiful tonight... I feel like eating someone.”
“Black Pot smells delicious. I should eat Black Pot first.”
“Raising a grandson to prevent starvation… Little Ten would be a good start.”
“No, I can’t bask in the moonlight... but everyone smells so good.”
Li Jindou trembled, nearly snapping his porcelain neck. Panicking, he redoubled his efforts to suppress the transformation, realizing his recovery would now take even longer.
By morning, Li Jindou’s upper torso had returned to normal, but his lower body remained tiny and porcelain.
Suddenly, Tianqing burst into the room, excitement lighting up his face. “Little Ten! I think I’ve found a clue to the True King’s Tomb!”
He dragged Chen Shi back to the kiln factory, where he pointed to a barren patch of land.
“This,” Tianqing declared, “is an ancient road. It must lead to the True King’s Tomb!”
The area was overgrown with shrubs, making the path difficult to discern. Tianqing explained, “When they transported ceramics to the tomb, they built roads by compacting stones and sealing them with rice paste. Even after thousands of years, vegetation struggles to grow here. This bare stretch proves it!”
Chen Shi admired Tianqing’s reasoning but shook his head. “I’ve been to the True King’s Tomb many times. This road doesn’t lead there.”
“Then where does it go?” Tianqing asked, puzzled.
Both boys’ curiosity got the better of them, and they followed the path. Though partially collapsed by earthquakes, they managed to climb down with the help of vines.
The trail led to a dried-up riverbed where a massive, petrified ship sat motionless.
Chen Shi was stunned. He had never seen anything like it before.
“It’s a Great Ming Treasure Ship!” Tianqing exclaimed.
The ship, over 44 zhang long and 18 zhang wide, retained its wooden texture despite being petrified.
“It was likely petrified by some ancient spell,” Tianqing murmured, circling the ship. “If the spell could be reversed, this ship might still be seaworthy. But why is it here?”
As they explored further, Tianqing’s voice trembled with excitement. “The Great Ming Treasure Ships were said to be legendary vessels... Could this one belong to the True King? Does it hold the key to returning to our ancestral homeland?”
“Ancestral homeland?” Chen Shi asked, confused.
“Yes! The land of our ancestors—Ming China, the Divine Continent,” Tianqing explained. “Our ancestors sailed here and called this land Xiniu New Continent. My family records tell of Admiral Zheng He, who led a fleet of Treasure Ships carrying 27,000 people into uncharted seas. After seventeen years, they found this vast, uninhabited land. They named it New Homeland—Xinxing.”
Over centuries, the settlers lost contact with Ming China. Since the fall of the True King and the reign of Emperor Jiajing, no new rulers had come to govern the Xiniu New Continent.
Chen Shi listened, intrigued. “So, we’re all descendants of those settlers?”
“Yes,” Tianqing affirmed, staring at the petrified ship. “But maybe... this ship can take us back.”
The revelation left Chen Shi pondering the mysteries of their shared history.