On the Path to the Great Dao

Black Pot trotted over as well. Amidst the earlier chaos, Chen Shi had shouted for everyone to stay still, but no one listened—except for Black Pot, who stood motionless.

Everyone else had been captured by the String Puppeteers, but Black Pot was unscathed. Even Chen Shi's book box, which was beside Black Pot, had remained untouched amidst the chaos.

Chen Shi retrieved his brush, ink, paper, and inkstone and instructed Li Tianqing to sketch the patterns on the String Puppeteer while he ground cinnabar with black dog blood.

He picked up his brush, carefully examined the patterns Li Tianqing had drawn, infused his brush with true qi, and began to replicate the talismanic patterns on yellow paper. His strokes were fluid and precise, completing the talisman with a single motion.

Chen Shi pinched the talisman between his forefinger and middle finger, gave it a light shake, and the friction of the cinnabar activated the true qi within, causing the talisman to ignite.

Both Chen Shi and Li Tianqing stepped back, sensing an inexplicable force at work.

From the flames consuming the talisman, a strange squeaking sound arose. To their astonishment, a tiny String Puppeteer crawled out of the fire and ash!

Stunned, they watched as the tiny creature landed, spat out its strings, and latched onto Black Pot, attempting to drag the dog toward its mouth.

Although much smaller than Black Pot, it seemed determined to devour the larger creature.

Black Pot lunged and crushed the little String Puppeteer in one bite, reducing it to a mix of cinnabar and black dog blood. The dog ran to the mountain stream to clean its tongue and fur. Meanwhile, Chen Shi and Li Tianqing remained in shock, unable to recover their composure.

The merchants, now regaining their lives, thanked Chen Shi and Li Tianqing profusely, offering gratitude at every opportunity.

Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, Chen Shi said, "It's not even dark yet, and these evil entities are already emerging. The mountains are becoming incredibly dangerous. Everyone should leave quickly and find sanctuary in the village's Godmother."

Li Tianqing, still shaken, muttered, "This is too bizarre."

As the merchants busied themselves, Li Tianqing whispered, "Little Ten, I think the String Puppeteer is an artificial creation..." His own words felt far-fetched, and he hesitated.

Chen Shi nodded. "It does resemble a construct. But can something this sinister be man-made?"

Li Tianqing added, "If someone can create String Puppeteers, could they also create Hundred Infants? Or Floating Skulls?"

Chen Shi pondered aloud, "If these evils can be crafted, could someone manufacture Malevolent Spirits? Or even Demons?"

The two exchanged uneasy glances, their hearts pounding.

Just then, a crimson light erupted from the direction of the Kiln Factory, surging skyward and forming an endless red barrier that enveloped Qianyang Mountain.

The heavens quaked violently, threatening to collapse.

"Something catastrophic must have happened at the Kiln Factory," Chen Shi said. "Tianqing, let’s stop speculating and hurry to the village! Evil entities appearing in broad daylight is a terrible omen. Staying out here means certain death!"

At that moment, a merchant broke into wails, refusing to leave his cargo behind.

Chen Shi approached to inquire and was told, "His grain is ruined—it’s turned into porcelain. He’s lost everything and is beside himself with grief."

Inspecting the grain, Chen Shi found it to be unnaturally heavy—entirely transformed into porcelain rice.

Looking up at the nearby trees, he leaped up to pluck a few leaves and struck them together. The leaves produced crisp, chiming sounds.

The leaves, too, had become ceramic.

A gentle breeze stirred the branches, creating a symphony of crystalline tones that echoed throughout the mountain valleys.

Despite the haunting beauty of the scene, Chen Shi felt his hair stand on end.

The trees had turned to porcelain. The grain had turned to porcelain.

What would they eat?

Li Tianqing came to the same grim realization. The two, along with Black Pot, followed the merchants down the mountain, their expressions heavy.

As they exited Qianyang Mountain, they saw villagers leading oxen, with carts carrying children and the elderly. Women walked alongside, their faces pale with fear, fleeing toward the edge of the crimson barrier.

The villagers were from Gangzi Village, acquaintances of Chen Shi.

"Uncle Yushan, where are you heading?" Chen Shi asked.

The farmer replied, "We’re heading out, past the red curtain."

Looking down the mountain path, Chen Shi saw many families making their way toward the crimson barrier.

Li Tianqing’s face changed as a realization struck him. "This... reminds me of a recorded demon-grade calamity. We’re in a Demonic Domain! Stop! Everyone, stop!"

Raising his voice, he shouted, "You can’t leave! The edge of a Demonic Domain is surrounded by the Demonic Corridor. If you reach the edge, you’ll be sent back into the sky and fall to your deaths!"

Some hesitated, but others glanced at those ahead who continued walking and decided to follow.

Chen Shi warned loudly, "It’s almost dark! The evil entities will emerge to devour you! Return to the village and leave tomorrow!"

The threat worked, and many stopped to discuss their next steps.

Chen Shi sighed in relief and turned to Li Tianqing. "Tianqing, you’re well-read. How can we escape this Demonic Domain?"

Li Tianqing’s face was pale as he shook his head. "There’s no escape. Everyone will die unless the demon is killed. Judging by the rate of porcelainization, the Godmother in the village might extend the survival of ordinary people to five or six days. Outside the village, they’ll succumb in two days. By the fourth day, no ordinary person will survive."

He paused. "This is only the first day."

"How long will this transformation last?" Chen Shi asked.

"If the demon isn’t slain, it will only grow stronger, and the transformation will continue indefinitely," Li Tianqing explained. He crouched, drawing a small circle around a porcelainized blade of grass, then a larger circle around it. "As the demon grows stronger, the domain will expand, devouring more territory."

He drew an even larger circle. "It will continue expanding. Once it reaches a radius of a thousand miles, the demon will evolve into a calamity."

Evil Entity, Malevolent Spirit, Demon, Calamity, Catastrophe.

Demons ranked third.

A calamity would mean total devastation—thousands of miles reduced to barren wasteland with no signs of life.

"But no recorded demon transformation has lasted a hundred days," Li Tianqing added as he stood. "By then, a True God would intervene."

Chen Shi exhaled in relief. "Then we just have to survive a hundred days!"

Li Tianqing shook his head. "When a True God annihilates a demon, they incinerate everything within a hundred-mile radius. Nothing survives."

"There’s only one way to live," he concluded.

"We must eliminate the demon before the hundred-day mark and stop the transformation!"

...

Thus began the first day of the transformation.

Returning to Huangpo Village, Chen Shi and Li Tianqing found their grandfathers absent.

Attempting to cook, Chen Shi discovered the rice and flour at home had also turned to porcelain.

"Looks like the only food left is poultry or livestock," Chen Shi suggested. "I’ll borrow a duck from Granny Yuzhu and hunt an exotic beast tomorrow to repay her."

Li Tianqing agreed.

A commotion soon broke out. Granny Yuzhu, wielding a knife, chased after Chen Shi, who fled into the courtyard with the duck and slammed the door shut.

Heart pounding, Li Tianqing listened to Granny Yuzhu’s indignant shouts and felt mortified. He had never done something so disgraceful.

"We’ll return the favor with a hunt tomorrow, so there’s no need to feel embarrassed," Chen Shi said nonchalantly. "Tianqing, help boil some water to pluck the feathers."

Li Tianqing quickly set to work.

As Black Pot barked, Chen Shi remarked, "It’s already late."

The night passed uneventfully, though cries and arguments occasionally echoed through the village as families debated whether to flee in the dead of night.

Chen Shi paid them no mind and eventually fell asleep.

Sometime later, he awoke abruptly with severe chest pain and convulsions. Without hesitation, he activated the Seven-Star Refinement technique. Though the episode came suddenly, it was mild and soon subsided.

Exhaling deeply, he lay back down but found sleep elusive.

He went to the courtyard, gazing at the sky. The heavens were shrouded in crimson, making it impossible to distinguish day from night.

Under the red barrier, the world seemed encased in a pale crimson dome, obscuring the sun and moon.

Black Pot barked again.

"Dawn," Chen Shi thought.

Yet, it still looked like night.

...

Second Day of Transformation.

Their grandfathers remained absent.

Thunderous sounds echoed from the direction of the Kiln Factory.

Chen Shi and Li Tianqing ventured out to hunt. Along the way, they encountered Liu Tianzhu, a robust hunter from Huangpo Village known for his agility and strength.

Now, Liu Tianzhu moved sluggishly, his voice sharp and tinged with birdsong—a side effect of his porcelainized vocal cords.

"Tianzhu, it’s too dangerous out here. Go back to the village. I’ll bring any game I catch to you," Chen Shi offered.

Grateful, Liu Tianzhu turned to leave, though his movements remained slow.

On their way, they saw many others moving just as sluggishly.

By midday, the pair returned with three wild boars, four Xinxing Rats, several rabbits, and a llama.

Chen Shi, with his great strength, had no trouble hauling the load.

Near Huangpo Village, they encountered people turned entirely to porcelain.

Staying in the village slowed the transformation, but leaving accelerated it.

At the village entrance, they found Liu Tianzhu, his face frozen in a smile, standing as if walking, now fully ceramic.

"Tianqing, if we kill that Evil Bodhisattva, will they return to normal?" Chen Shi asked suddenly.

"Probably," Li Tianqing replied hesitantly. "The books document demon transformations and methods to address them, but they never explain how ordinary people survive. I don’t even know if they can."

He paused. "Historical records are similar. I’ve read many, but they barely mention commoners, focusing instead on emperors and nobles. To them, ordinary people are like livestock, unworthy of record."

Chen Shi entered the village, placed the game down, and walked back out.

"But we are not livestock!"

He carried Liu Tianzhu’s porcelain body back to the village, placing it carefully in his home.

Over and over, he ventured out, bringing back every porcelainized villager he found and settling them safely in the village.

"We are human, never livestock!" he said angrily.

Moved by his determination, Li Tianqing joined in. Together, they worked tirelessly, finally finishing by midday.

Afterward, they skinned and divided the game, delivering portions to each household. At Granny Yuzhu’s, Chen Shi left extra rabbits.

Xinxing Rat, despite being a pest, was a kind of exotic beast whose blood and flesh contained spiritual power, slowing porcelainization in ordinary people. Chen Shi ensured every household received some.

Granny Yuzhu, holding the meat and rabbits, felt a pang of shame as she recalled her earlier outburst.

Returning home, she reflected for a long time before instructing her granddaughter, "From now on, don’t call Chen Shi a brat anymore."

"But Grandma, you told me to call him that," the girl replied, puzzled.

Granny Yuzhu, overcome with guilt, said, "If I ever do it again, slap my mouth with your shoe!"