On the Path to the Great Dao

With over a hundred evils hidden inside his body—evils that even someone with Chen Yindu's level of cultivation couldn't detect—there was no longer any point in debating the grade of each individual one!

Treating them as a single whole, what grade of evil was Chen Shi?

Demon-grade?

Disaster-grade?

Or calamity-grade?

Moreover, Chen Shi now resembled a channel and vessel linking the underworld and the mortal world, with even more evils crawling into his body, vanishing into hiding once inside!

Azure Sheep recalled his earlier proposal to invade Chen Shi's dream and trace the source of the evils, and a wave of dread washed over him.

Had they actually gone through with it, the three of them would already be ice-cold corpses by now.

The evils clambering from that ghost hand's master's arm into Chen Shi's body were nothing like the ones from Qianyang Mountain.

Even Qianyang Mountain's evils were terrifyingly wicked. But these from the underworld were far more vicious.

"Old Chen Tou, while Little Ten hasn't become a real threat yet, why not uphold righteousness and eliminate your own kin?"

Granny Sha let out a sigh as she made the suggestion.

"Once he does become a threat, he'll be a full-blown disaster. Even if you came back to life, you wouldn't stand a chance against him."

Azure Sheep and the bearded giant bobbed their six heads in vigorous agreement.

The bearded giant said, "Right now, only upholding righteousness and eliminating kin can safeguard the mortal world. Who knows when those evils inside Chen Shi will erupt. If one day he opens his mouth and an evil crawls out of his throat, it'd be a catastrophe rivaling the Evil Bodhisattva itself—to say nothing of the hundred-plus such evils packed inside him."

Azure Sheep said, "Old Chen Tou, you wouldn't want your lifetime of glory ruined in an instant, would you? Uphold righteousness, eliminate kin, and your name will live on forever."

Chen Yindu shot them a glance and said coolly, "Whoever lays a hand on my grandson, I'll come up there and fight them to the death."

Azure Sheep and the bearded giant fell silent.

Chen Yindu was an evil now himself, but fortunately they were in the underworld, where moonlight couldn't reach him.

If he returned to the mortal world, he'd likely demonize on the spot.

No one wanted to tangle with a demonized Chen Yindu.

Provoke him, and he might just team up with Chen Shi to wreak havoc in the mortal realm.

That would mean two problems: one big, one small.

Of course, Chen Yindu would be the smaller one.

Granny Sha pondered for a moment. "There's one other way: play it by ear and see what those evils inside Little Ten actually plan to do. They can't stay hidden in him forever—some are bound to lose patience and emerge. We can deal with any that come out. With our strength, plus Young Master Xiao's, we should manage. But first, we need to seal off the source."

Her gaze turned to the end of that azure ghost god's arm.

The azure ghost god's hand had reached into the mortal world; only the wrist was visible.

Azure Sheep said, "One-on-one, I fear no evil. The problem is all these evils swarming into Chen Shi—we can't kill them fast enough."

The bearded giant suggested, "So why not uphold righteousness and eliminate kin."

Chen Yindu shot him a glare and sneered, "Hu Xiaoliang, mention upholding righteousness one more time, and I'll uphold it on you."

The bearded giant shuddered and shut his mouth.

Chen Yindu said gravely, "I'll block the source. The mortal world is in your hands. If..."

He hesitated, then gritted his teeth. "If you really can't handle it, send word. I'll bring Little Ten down here to the underworld—we grandsons can stick together."

Granny Sha, the bearded giant, and Azure Sheep all grew solemn, realizing how hard those words had been for him to say.

Chen Yindu had always been domineering, pursuing his ideals at the expense of family, until in his later years—when his grandson's divine embryo was ripped out—he discovered the aching emptiness inside him.

No amount of friends or accomplishments could fill it.

Too bad his favorite grandson had already become a cold corpse by then.

The eight years that followed were his desperate attempt at making amends. He mobilized every connection, called in every favor, all to save Chen Shi.

What seemed impossible, he made happen.

Two years ago, Chen Shi's soul returned.

For anyone else, a person dead eight years coming back to life would be utterly eerie and horrifying.

But for Chen Yindu, it was the happiest moment of his life.

Those two years living with Chen Shi were the most joyful time he'd ever known.

Chen Shi was a sensible yet mischievous boy. Watching him grow day by day like any normal child was Chen Yindu's greatest happiness.

He wanted Chen Shi to live forever under the sun.

For him to say he'd bring Chen Shi to the underworld to live together— the inner turmoil and pain were unimaginable.

"Take care, Old Chen Tou."

Granny Sha and the other two turned to leave.

"One more thing."

Chen Yindu suddenly said, "I've been in the underworld this long, but I haven't heard a peep about the King of Hell."

The three froze. Granny Sha exhaled heavily. "If you haven't found the King of Hell, maybe you just haven't looked enough places. With all those infernal officers on the River of Forgetfulness, how could there be no King of Hell?"

Chen Yindu nodded slightly, watching them go before setting off himself toward the azure ghost god's right arm.

The closer he got, the vaster the azure ghost god loomed. Standing before it, he felt as insignificant as an ant.

Now that he was an evil himself, the other evils didn't attack him outright.

But if he blocked their path, they'd likely swarm him in a frenzy.

"Evils all around—who's afraid of who?"

The bearded giant's nose was keen, picking up the fragrant scent wafting from the mortal world. Azure Sheep's eyes were sharp, spotting the red glow of incense from afar.

With them along, getting lost was impossible.

They traveled half a day like this when Granny Sha's expression shifted. She whispered urgently, "Pick up the pace—something's locked onto us."

The bearded giant's three heads scanned around. The gloom was desolate, murky clouds swirling, as if hiding something within.

A chill ran through them. Something had indeed targeted them.

Azure Sheep said, "Old lady, you've offended a lot of big shots down here. They come for revenge?"

Granny Sha shook her head. "My spells are still working, masking our faces—no way old enemies spot us. This isn't random. We went to see Chen Yindu; someone was watching him, saw us meet, and now they're on us."

The three hurried faster, heading for the Mocking Wind Incense Burner.

The burner towered to the heavens, larger than any mountain, a single stick of incense atop it with a fiery glow like a setting sun.

Suddenly, the clouds plummeted, crashing to the ground and spreading as thick white mist.

As they flew forward, white fog surged in, heavy with moisture, engulfing their forms.

The mist was bizarrely vast—endless height, boundless width. They darted through it, losing all sense of direction.

Strange chuckles echoed from the darkness, coming from every side.

The bearded giant and Azure Sheep manifested their three heads and six arms, weapons drawn without a word.

The weapons were Granny Sha's gifts: bow, arrows, sword, halberd, cord, seal. No mere trinkets—these were ghost god arms tempered in endless battle, steeped in thick bloodlust and demonic aura.

No one knew where she'd gotten them.

"Keep your eyes on the incense tip."

Granny Sha said grimly, "Follow the incense tip, and you won't get lost."

"Is that so?"

A light laugh drifted from the mist. The fog ahead parted like white sand drifting in the air, revealing a woman in white robes holding a stick of incense, smiling at them.

Azure Sheep lunged to kill her.

But the mist surged, and she vanished.

Red dots flickered in the fog, like glowing incense tips.

Then colossal shapes charged at them from the haze.

Outside Huangpo Village.

Chen Shi rushed back from the county seat and spotted the altar still standing beyond the village.

Granny Sha's five great ghost kings guarded it as before.

One ghost king climbed to the third tier, replacing the incense in the Mocking Wind Burner.

"What on earth is Granny Sha up to?"

He was bursting with curiosity.

"Have you brothers eaten yet?"

Chen Shi sidled up and asked.

The four ghost kings on the lower tier ignored him, sitting cross-legged, eyes fixed on the incense sticks plunged into the dirt before them, inhaling the smoke.

They dwarfed black bears, with massive hands and feet, fangs, wild brows, indigo faces, and hair like flames.

Any ordinary person would be scared half to death.

Chen Shi stepped right up to them, pulling out fresh incense from his book. He handed a few sticks to each and grinned. "This is Tranquilizing Incense, new from Baixiang Record in the county seat. Give it a try."

The ghost kings lit up and savored it with blissful expressions. "Prime quality indeed."

Chen Shi said bashfully, "Brother ghosts, I've always been clueless about getting along, but I truly want to befriend you five. Luckily, I've got a bit of coin to burn—enough for extra incense to honor you all."

The five great ghost kings saw his bookish manners and couldn't bring themselves to shoo him off.

Chen Shi offered more sticks. "I'm closer to Granny than her own son, but I'm narrow-minded and ignorant. What's she setting up here? Brothers, care to fill me in?"

The four lesser ghost kings were straightforward types and spilled everything: Granny Sha, Azure Sheep, and the bearded giant heading to the underworld.

The eldest ghost king tried to shut them up, but it was too late.

Chen Shi's eyes lit up. He grinned. "Mind if I take a peek up top?"

The five ghost kings hesitated, huddling to confer. "Granny does treat him like her own boy. Not letting him look would be awkward. If he tattles later, we'll catch hell for nothing."

The eldest reluctantly said, "Fine, go take a look. But don't touch any of the altar's setup. Mess with it, and Granny might get trapped down there."

Chen Shi beamed, agreed eagerly, and climbed the altar with utmost care, eyeing the strange banners and talismans.

"Eldest brother, the dog's heading up too."

The second ghost king spotted Blackie Pot trailing Chen Shi onto the altar and grew anxious.

"Dogs can't go up!"

The ghost kings panicked. "Get down quick! Black dogs carry too much yang energy—it'll disrupt the nether lamps!"

Chen Shi had reached the second tier and was inspecting it when he heard. He spun around to call Blackie Pot down, but the dog was already on the third tier, nose to the ground, sniffing curiously everywhere.

"Blackie Pot, down now!"

Chen Shi panicked too and raced up to the third tier, afraid the dog would ruin the arrangement.

He'd just arrived when Blackie Pot's head vanished.

Looking closer, he saw a small incense burner in the altar's center, a single stick burning, tendrils of smoke wafting up. The dog's head was plunged right into the smoke.

But no dog head poked out the other side.

"Blackie Pot, out now!"

Chen Shi lunged to grab the big dog, but Blackie Pot's legs bunched and it leaped straight into the smoke, gone.

Chen Shi dove forward, his head piercing the smoke. Suddenly, another world bloomed before his eyes.

His own head appeared enormous in midair, while below loomed the mountain-sized Mocking Wind bronze statue, belching smoke from its mouth.

Ahead, in the thick fog, colossal beasts rampaged, clashing and pouncing wildly, ripping apart or smashing the skulls of unimaginable horrors lurking in the mist.

Chen Shi gaped in shock. Moments later, one such beast—grown immense—came barreling this way, bearing the oddly mounted Granny Sha, Azure Sheep, and bearded giant.

Chen Shi yanked his head back. Whoosh—the black dog leaped out of the smoke.

Granny Sha, Azure Sheep, and the bearded giant tumbled and rolled off the altar, covered in blood and wounds.

"That dog's got issues!"

Azure Sheep sprang up on hind legs, rear paws planted, front claw jabbing at Blackie Pot as it barked.

The bearded giant hurriedly clamped its mouth, but too late.

Granny Sha scrambled up, brushed off the dust, and said, "Perfectly normal dog. My spell's the problem. Azure Sheep, don't spout nonsense—you saw how Little Ten's head looked huge too, right?"

Azure Sheep said dubiously, "But Little Ten has the same..."

The bearded giant mashed its paw over Azure Sheep's mouth, stifling the word "issues."

"You're a sheep yourself—don't you have issues? Shut it!"

The bearded giant snapped in exasperation.

End of chapter.