On the Path to the Great Dao

The great serpent Profound Mountain coiled atop a distant peak, lying utterly still like a stone carving, watching Chen Shi without a twitch no matter how viciously Qingyang and the white fox cursed it.

He was on Qianyang Mountain, like a true god gazing down upon the mortal world—everything lay plain before his eyes, impossible to conceal.

He knew the mountain lord's spirit had entered the little temple in Chen Shi's mind. He also knew the outer-heavens true god had razed the mountain lord's temple this time, all because that yellow tiger had poked its head out from the little temple.

The yellow tiger's head was far too enormous. The apricot tree by the mountain lord's temple couldn't hide it, and the outer-heavens true god's eyes had spotted its trace.

Discovery meant destruction—that was the outer-heavens true god's principle for handling such matters.

Any anomaly detected would be swiftly annihilated.

Fortunately, Chen Shi had already carried the mountain lord's divine aspect down the mountain.

"Outer-heavens true god, why destroy existences like the mountain lord the moment you find them?"

Profound Mountain was deeply puzzled. He himself was immensely powerful, his body gigantic as he coiled upon the peak—why hadn't the outer-heavens true god destroyed him?

What conditions triggered destruction by the true god? He couldn't fathom it.

Gradually, sounds reached Chen Shi's ears. They were faint at first, then slowly sharpened into clarity.

The spirit beasts around them began to disperse.

Chen Shi laughed.

"Granny, Uncle Hu, Uncle Qingyang—I have a divine embryo now!"

Granny Sha let out a sigh.

"Got a divine embryo? Mmm, good. Keep cultivating hard. Poor mountain lord—just reborn, and now fallen..."

At those words, she froze. She whipped her head around and stared at Chen Shi in disbelief.

"You have a divine embryo? Even after someone carved it out, the true god grants you another?"

She had never heard of such a thing. Small wonder she was stunned.

Chen Shi circulated the Three Lights Righteous Qi Art. True qi instantly gathered, forming a small temple behind his head.

Granny Sha gaped as if she had swallowed a bellyful of eggs, her eyes bulging from their sockets as she stared incredulously at the little temple behind his head.

Any proper cultivator had a divine shrine at the back of their head.

Little Ten had clearly gone astray!

The little old woman reeled in shock. She set aside the mountain lord's temple's destruction and scrutinized Chen Shi's little temple closely. It was just a plain, unadorned palace—crude in the extreme.

Suddenly, a dainty yellow tiger poked its head out, peering at her with keen curiosity.

Granny Sha's eyes went perfectly round. She pointed at the yellow tiger in the little temple and stammered.

"Ti-tiger..."

The yellow tiger sat just inside the temple door, gazing at her with eyes full of kindly warmth—like a benevolent old granny.

Granny Sha jabbed a finger at the white fox, who was still railing against Profound Mountain, and stammered.

"Old Hu—tiger! Tiger!"

The Nine-Tailed Heavenly Fox snapped irritably.

"I'm right here! Profound Mountain, you ungrateful wretch—to think I once called you a true friend. Today, our bond is severed... Huh, Little Ten, where's your divine shrine?"

Granny Sha kicked him twice, hard. The Nine-Tailed White Fox shifted into a burly man with a bushy beard.

"Why kick me? Has Little Ten turned into an evil?"

Only then did he notice the yellow tiger in Chen Shi's little temple. His eyes flew wide. His body shuddered.

He said in a trembling voice.

"Qingyang! Qingyang! Baa—baa—look over here! Forget Profound Mountain! Hurry!"

Qingyang heard the call and lumbered behind them. Its head, vast as a mountain, stretched toward Chen Shi—but its eyes were too enormous, so it hastily shrank down.

The burly man said in a shaky voice.

"Qingyang—did you see it?"

Qingyang's body quaked. Tears welled in its eyes. Its voice trembled.

"I saw... the Mountain Lord!"

It dropped to its knees with a thud and kowtowed to the yellow tiger.

The burly man stared fixedly at the little temple and smacked its head firmly.

"The yellow tiger isn't the mountain lord. The one in the divine shrine is!"

Qingyang froze, then peered closer. Sure enough, deep within the little temple stood a divine shrine. Inside it sat a divine figure with ox horns and a human body, utterly still.

"The Mountain Lord lives!"

Qingyang and the burly man rejoiced wildly—but caution seized them at once. They glanced skyward, afraid to make too much noise.

"Little Ten, what's going on with this temple of yours?"

Granny Sha asked.

Chen Shi explained how he had taken a godmother, and how her blessing had transformed his divine shrine into a temple. Granny Sha, Qingyang, and the burly man exchanged uneasy glances.

"This little temple is bizarre beyond measure. Any spirit it encounters gets pulled inside, pinned to the divine shrine—they can't leave even if they try."

Chen Shi described the temple's peculiarities.

"Scholar Zhu ended up there. So did the mountain lord. They can only emerge if I will it."

Granny Sha traded looks with Qingyang and the burly man. They each glimpsed the terror in the others' eyes.

Even an existence like the mountain lord had offered no resistance—dragged straight into the temple to sit meekly in the shrine. What manner of being was Chen Shi's godmother?

"Little Ten, don't let the mountain lord out yet. The true god watches from beyond the heavens—I'm afraid not a single move here escapes his sight. Wait until the mountain lord's divine aspect fully forms. Then we can build him a proper temple and shrine."

Granny Sha was seasoned, after all.

She continued.

"Keep the mountain lord's return secret. Not a word to outsiders. Otherwise, word reaches heavenly ears—not just the mountain lord, but you yourself will be in peril!"

At "reaches heavenly ears," Qingyang and the burly man sobered instantly. Their faces grew grave.

Chen Shi noted their expressions and grasped the gravity of those words.

He asked, puzzled.

"Reaches heavenly ears—does that mean someone can contact the outer-heavens true god?"

"Don't pry into that. Brushing against them too soon could mean an early grave."

Granny Sha said.

"Qingyang, Old Hu—let's offer some incense to the mountain lord first."

One person, one fox, one sheep each took up incense sticks. They bowed toward Chen Shi and worshipped.

Chen Shi dodged in haste—but Qingyang and the burly man pinned him fast. He couldn't budge.

"We're worshipping the mountain lord, not you. No need for embarrassment!"

Granny Sha said.

Chen Shi stood obediently in place. Once their worship ended, the incense smoke rose from their hands, drifting into the little temple to plant itself in the burner.

"Granny, you're all my elders. Let me kowtow in return!"

As Chen Shi spoke those words, he started to kneel. The three paled sharply and blocked him at once. Granny Sha's face hardened.

She barked.

"Little Ten—we're paying respects to the mountain lord, not you. It doesn't violate seniority! But if you kowtow to us, the mountain lord kowtows too. We couldn't bear it—we'd lose years off our lives!"

Qingyang and the burly man nodded vigorously.

Qingyang said.

"While the mountain lord resides in your temple, you can't kowtow to anyone—understand? A nod at most!"

Chen Shi nodded.

Granny Sha breathed a sigh of relief. She eyed his little temple, puzzled.

"Has anything felt off since your divine shrine became this little temple?"

Chen Shi answered honestly.

"Nothing much. But I feel like... I can enshrine the mountain lord and the yellow tiger."

The three gawked and traded stunned looks.

Enshrine the mountain lord too?

Did this little temple grasp who—no, what—the mountain lord was? It dared command him!

Qingyang sneered.

"Enshrine the mountain lord? I don't b—"

The burly man clapped a hand over its mouth before "believe" could escape.

Granny Sha chuckled.

"Little Ten, no need to prove it. Granny believes you. Qingyang—one more word of nonsense, and I'll stew you tonight!"

The burly man nodded eagerly.

Chen Shi asked.

"Granny, with the mountain lord sitting in my little temple—making it my divine embryo—can I still receive the true god's blessing at the Postnatal God Descent Grand Sacrifice and gain a divine embryo?"

Granny Sha replied.

"Ever seen anyone with two divine embryos?"

Chen Shi shook his head.

Granny Sha smiled.

"You've got one already—no second will come. Little Ten, quit daydreaming. Tomorrow's the posting of results. Head to the county early—don't be late."

Chen Shi called for Blackie Pot, climbed onto the wooden cart, waved farewell, and set off for the county seat.

"Little Ten—keep that little temple hidden from others!"

Granny Sha called after him, still uneasy.

"And don't show your divine embryo either!"

Chen Shi called back. The cart receded into the distance.

Once it vanished from sight, Granny Sha's smile dropped. She met the eyes of Qingyang and the burly man.

"Little Ten's stone godmother is definitely trouble!"

Granny Sha said.

"Old Chen Tou entrusted the boy to us on his deathbed—like handing over an orphan. We can't be careless, or some evil might latch onto Little Ten!"

Qingyang said.

"The stone godmother didn't bless him sooner or later—only after Old Chen Tou died. She feared him uncovering her secrets."

The burly man laughed heartily.

"Our strength matches Old Chen Tou's, each of us. Alive, he could hold her in check. The three of us together at Yellow Earth Slope? We'll pin her down threefold!"

Their plan set, the three set off at once for Huangpo Village—to Yellow Earth Slope beyond its bounds.

Moments later, they reached the slope. One step forward, and the sky tilted, the earth flipped. The yellow soil hung inverted like the heavens, while endless void yawned beneath their feet. A fierce sense of weightless plunge assailed them.

Nine tails sprouted behind the burly man. He shook them violently and barked.

"Steady!"

The plunge ceased.

The three pressed onward, aiming to scale the inverted sky.

Yet each step brought crushing pressure that mounted relentlessly—like bearing mountain after mountain toward the heavens!

For six thousand years, this yellow earth slope had stood undisturbed for good reason.

Even so, the three were mighty. They endured the strain and crested the slope. There hung a scholar-ghost from a crooked-necked tree.

Supporting one another, they strained toward the old willow tree.

Scholar Zhu watched them curiously. These three oddities looked frail as candles in the wind.

"Don't die at my feet—I can't abide it! Find somewhere else to drop!"

Scholar Zhu yelled.

The three paid no heed. The intensifying pressure set their bodies quaking, faces purpling.

Their legs buckled. At last, they reached the old willow.

"Thud!"

Granny Sha crumpled to her knees, palms to the ground. She fought not to bow—but her neck bore a Mount Tai. Yield, or snap. She bowed.

"Thud!" "Thud!"

Qingyang and the burly man hit the dirt almost together, pinned down.

The burly man's frame shuddered. Teeth gritted, he fumbled shaking incense from his robes, lit it all, and thrust it before the stone stele beneath the willow.

The pressure fled his body. He slumped onto his back in the grass, gasping for air.

Granny Sha and Qingyang followed suit—incense lit and planted. The pressure eased sharply.

After a brief rest, the three hurried back down the slope.

Granny Sha glanced back at the old willow, heart still pounding.

She murmured.

"What on earth is the godmother Old Chen Tou found for Little Ten?"

She knit her brows. Chen Yindu was in the underworld now, blocking evils from Chen Shi's body—no time for other concerns. Otherwise, she might have asked him there.

Yet the underworld held eyes on Chen Yindu. Venturing there risked grave peril for them too.

Granny Sha eyed the stele, then recalled the evils inside Chen Shi. Her head throbbed.

"Old Chen Tou, this burden you've left... who could shoulder it?"

She sighed.

Chen Shi reached the county seat as the sky turned bloody red, the sun dipping low.

He drove to the Wencai Academy. Inside waited Fu Leisheng, Tian Huaiyi, and Shen Yusheng.

"Chen Shi—I was just coming to find you."

Tian Huaiyi's face was stern.

"Shen Yusheng aced the literary exam—the true god descended and granted him a first-rank Wenchang divine embryo. Your martial exam feat guarantees a top-tier god-granted divine embryo. You two are in dire straits. This season every year, students vanish—kidnapped, their divine embryos carved out."

He paused.

"Last night, a noblewoman of vast powers approached me. She hinted at a fortune for Shen Yusheng's Wenchang divine embryo, with high office and riches to boot. I refused."

Chen Shi's heart stirred.

"Li family noblewoman?"

Tian Huaiyi hesitated, evading a direct answer.

"I consulted my honored teacher. He can't shield Shen Yusheng. Only one place can: the county yamen. Tonight, I'll take him there, stand guard beneath the Myriad Souls Banner. If that noblewoman sends anyone, they'll see they can't breach it and withdraw—no side schemes."

The Myriad Souls Banner guarded all of Xinxiang County, its might tremendous. With the new county magistrate yet to arrive, Tian Huaiyi wielding it could repel even Nascent Soul Realm or Soul Transformation Realm foes!

"Chen Shi—you coming too?"

Tian Huaiyi asked.

Chen Shi shook his head.

"No divine embryo here—no danger."

Fu Leisheng said.

"Huaiyi, protect your junior brother Shen without fail!"

Tian Huaiyi smiled.

"Honored teacher—back then, I was a penniless urchin, lucky to enter your tutelage. A countryside slacker, clueless about the world's ways. You taught me right from wrong, loyalty and grace. Then to the frontier garrison, battling evils amid bloodied soldiers—not warped by official snobberies. That noblewoman's favor might sway others, but to me? Dung. Rest easy, teacher!"

Fu Leisheng nodded quietly and patted Shen Yusheng's head.

"Yusheng—go with your senior brother to the yamen. Borrow its righteous qi to steady yourself!"

Shen Yusheng followed Tian Huaiyi in silence.

Fu Leisheng exhaled heavily and glanced at Chen Shi.

"You're not targeted yet—but danger lingers. I'll stay at the academy tonight."

Chen Shi bowed his thanks.

That night dragged endlessly. Neither Chen Shi nor Fu Leisheng could sleep.

Fu Leisheng read late by lamplight. Chen Shi dozed beside him. Just past midnight, a ghostly wind blew in. The lamp flame turned sickly green, leaping a full foot high.

Blackie Pot sprang up, barking madly.

The wind reeked of blood.

Chen Shi jolted awake and shielded the flame with his hand. He looked back—outside the window stood a blood-drenched figure: Tian Huaiyi.

"Honored teacher—your disciple is worthless. I failed to protect junior brother Shen."

The bloodied man knelt wailing in the ghostly wind and kowtowed.

"Grace like mountains—I, Huaiyi, betrayed your charge. This life, no repayment. Next life alone for your benevolence!"