Chapter 131: Carnage in Lady Shiji's Temple
Inside Lady Shiji's Temple, the grand hall lay in ruins, and the divine shrine enshrining Lady Shiji had been shattered into dust. Powerhouses from the thirteen great families, including Li Xiaozheng and Xu Changsheng, had all suffered severe wounds and now lay sprawled across the ground in disarray.
Xu Changsheng's dream realm had shattered, and the Zhang family's Void Mirror was bent out of shape.
Of the Red and Green Elders, one had his head buried deep in the earth, while the other had half his body dangling on this side of the wall and the other half on the opposite side.
Li Xiaoti knelt on the ground, his knees having smashed the green bricks beneath him.
Li Xiaozheng was embedded in the wall, which bulged outward behind him.
Embedded in the wall alongside him was Gu Haozhi, a renowned elder of the Gu family.
Poison Mouth Fei Jiangqi had face-planted into the incense burner, her mouth filled with ash.
Ma Guangji lay pressed atop Jiang Pingyun, his head lolled to one side.
Zhai Guozheng's body had sunk into the earth, leaving only his gleaming bald head above ground. While circulating his cultivation art to resist the Yellow Turban Warrior, the Zhai family's technique had proven too ferocious, snapping off every hair on his head.
Cui Yunshan's head was stuck in the railing of the steps, while Yan Jishi lay sprawled flat on his back atop the steps. Meanwhile, Xia Zhenggong—the highest cultivator among them—knelt before Chen Yindu's grand talisman array, four black banners impaled through his body. His true body, condensed from the waters of the Hundred Schools, was disintegrating, with chunks of flesh sloughing off continuously.
As for the other disciples of the thirteen great families, they had all perished on the spot without exception!
Most terrifying of all, that single strike unleashed by the Head of Shiji through Chen Shi's body had torn Chen Yindu's grand talisman array to pieces. The air was now filled with drifting talismans, their glows faded.
Talismans continued to emit faint popping sounds, flashing briefly in midair before extinguishing.
When the Head of Shiji had summoned the Yellow Turban Warriors to strike downward earlier, Li Xiaozheng and the others had never imagined they could be so overwhelmingly powerful!
Back when their own cultivations were low—such as at the Divine Shrine Realm or Divine Embryo Realm—they would occasionally activate a Yellow Turban Warrior talisman to aid in battle or to buff themselves.
The buffs from the Yellow Turban Warrior talismans were limited, and the warriors themselves were weak, often slain by foes and reduced to cinnabar dust.
But the "Chen Shi"...
...had summoned Yellow Turban Warriors that were entirely different.
Those Yellow Turban Warriors possessed flesh bodies brimming with supreme divine power. As they crushed down, the magic power of the thirteen great families' experts, their primordial spirits, their treasures, their spells—none could withstand even a touch. Everything crumbled instantly!
What had saved their lives was actually Chen Yindu's grand talisman array!
The array had clashed once against those many Yellow Turban Warriors, absorbing the brunt of their assault. That was the only reason they hadn't died under the warriors' attacks.
Otherwise, a single move would have annihilated all of them—these Spirit Descent and Void Refining Realm powerhouses. Not one would have survived!
"Cough cough!"
Li Xiaozheng coughed violently and struggled free from the wall, spitting out a mouthful of fresh blood.
Among the survivors, he was the youngest, with the toughest body, so he was the first to regain his senses.
His feet hit the ground, his figure swaying unsteadily. Right before him, another floating talisman crackled sharply and exploded.
Flames rushed toward his face. Li Xiaozheng turned his head to dodge but failed, the fire scorching his beloved beard down to stubs.
The air filled with the stench of singed hair.
Li Xiaozheng inwardly examined his five viscera and six bowels, finding severe damage. His body couldn't move freely for the moment, but the greater harm was to his primordial spirit.
Damage to the primordial spirit was a grave matter, requiring long-term recovery—often one or two years. Some never fully healed, their cultivation stagnating forever, forever barred from the next realm.
Li Xiaozheng was the standout of the Li family's filial generation, his cultivation even surpassing some elders. Naturally, he didn't want his primordial spirit damaged like this.
At that moment, another bout of violent coughing echoed. Li Xiaozheng steadied himself and looked toward the sound. It was Poison Mouth Fei Jiangqi pulling her head from the incense burner, hacking up ash mingled with bloody ash.
Her wounds were far heavier than his, with ribs piercing out from under her arms, slick with gore.
A glint of inscrutable light flashed in Li Xiaozheng's eyes. He averted his gaze and looked to the others.
Most of the thirteen great families had perished in this upheaval, leaving only the Spirit Descent and Void Refining Realm experts.
And these experts' injuries were certain to be heavier than his, not lighter.
He was in his prime, whereas Xu Changsheng and the Red and Green Elders—despite higher realms—had decayed bodies, making their wounds even graver.
"If possible..."
Li Xiaozheng hurried to his third brother Li Xiaoti's side, his eyes reddening as he said, "Third Brother, how bad are your injuries?"
Yet his heart pounded fiercely.
If possible, he could kill everyone here!
He could strike while these old fools were gravely wounded, eliminate them all, then frame it on Chen Shi—on the Head of Shiji!
His purpose in boarding the Great Ming Treasure Ship had been to use the power of the thirteen great families—including the Li family—to clear his path to claiming the ship.
As for how many of the thirteen families died, it was irrelevant to him.
Whether they died in the ship's Ghost God Domain or by his hand—it was all the same!
"The treasure ship divided into thirteen shares. Not only did I gain no merit, but I've sinned. But if I claim the entire ship alone..."
The hand supporting his third brother Li Xiaoti tightened gradually. His face twisted, though he kept a smile plastered on—like a demon from ancient murals!
"My injuries aren't serious..."
Li Xiaoti gradually felt the pain. He looked up, saw Li Xiaozheng's distorted face, and jolted in realization. He immediately barked, "Fourth Brother! The Master said a gentleman is cautious when alone, does not deceive in a dark room! Tend to the lowly self, do not betray the heart! Recall the Master's teachings!"
"Crack!"
Li Xiaozheng snapped his neck. He panted raggedly, eyes gleaming with excitement.
He pushed off with his feet and lunged toward the nearest target, Poison Mouth Fei Jiangqi, intent on finishing her. But just as his figure ghosted toward her, a chill pierced his back—his body nailed midair.
Li Xiaozheng looked down to see a claw with elongated talons piercing his heart. It slowly unfurled before his eyes.
He coughed up blood repeatedly, trying to turn his head, but life was ebbing swiftly. Darkness crept into his vision.
"I really wanted to see you unleash your demonic nature and slaughter them all."
A low chuckle came from behind him. A magnetic voice laced with indescribable malevolence seemed eager for his performance yet unable to restrain its own killing urge. Leisurely, it continued, "I also wanted to see you fail, reviled and ruined.
I wanted to see you all slaughter each other—but I couldn't hold back!
That magnetic voice grew excited. "Father locked me away for so long.
I couldn't hold back anymore... Father, I was wrong. I won't dare again. Don't hit me! Don't lock me up again—wait, it's just one of Father's talismans. Scared me half to death! Damn it!"
The tall figure behind Li Xiaozheng retracted its claw, the talons gradually reverting to human fingers.
Li Xiaozheng's corpse plummeted, smashing onto the ground.
Amid the ruins of Lady Shiji's Temple appeared a burly, towering young man who looked about twenty. His features were stately, somewhat resembling Chen Yindu in his youth.
Yet an ineffable evil clung to him. He eyed the crowd as if sizing up food.
Ma Guangji looked up at the young man, horror dawning on his face. He cried out, "Chen Tang!"
No sooner had the words left his mouth than his body was pierced through. He perished on the spot.
"Chen Tang?"
The young man smiled faintly. "You mean my worthless little brother? I'm not Chen Tang. I'm Chen Wu.
Others call me Creation Little Five."
Xu Changsheng trembled as he seized a mouse's tail tip and tapped it against his forehead, plunging into deep slumber.
His primordial spirit soared on clouds and mist, growing ever higher, ever stronger. It reached out to grasp the young man who resembled Chen Tang!
Cloud Dream Great Law!
This technique wove dreams, forming a dream domain where the user became incomparably powerful—even capable of influencing and altering reality!
The young man's body swelled massively. His neck and upper torso elongated, sprouting azure scales. It was as if a azure dragon had burst from his clothes—save that this dragon had a blue face, fangs, and a hideous, terrifying visage. Its foreclaws seized Xu Changsheng's primordial spirit and tore it asunder!
Xu Changsheng let out a muffled grunt and died!
Red and Green Elders, Zhang Wenshu, Yan Jishi, and the others watched in abject terror. They suddenly cried out, forcibly suppressing their wounds as they scattered in all directions.
Zhai Guozheng shouted, "Split up!"
But as the words left his lips, his head flew.
His head spun through the air, witnessing Creation Little Five flash past. Next, Cui Yunshan's back was pierced by a claw, Gao Ming's brow was shot through, Fei Jiangqi's neck twisted into a hemp braid, Jiang Pingyun's head smashed into his own gut...
His head hit the ground, and his vision plunged into darkness.
A moment later, above the ruins of Lady Shiji's Temple, a dozen-odd corpses floated, arrayed like a shrike drying its stored prey.
From below came furtive whispers.
"Father locked me up for so long, all because of that tiny mistake. So what if I snuck a few people to eat? Such a petty man.
Every time he catches me, he beats me. This time he even threw me in the little black room.
Better to just kill Father! Kill him and avenge the beatings and imprisonment!
"Hee hee, kill Father, and no one will discipline me anymore! While I'm at it, kill my little brother Chen Tang too!
The Great Ming Treasure Ship sailed through the De River, boring into the mountain depths. Meanwhile, on the river's surface, amid the forests lining both shores, more than a dozen figures raced along, tracking this treasure ship from the True King era.
They watched as the ship entered the mountain, only for the great peak to suddenly seal shut, severing the De River.
The dozen figures halted one by one, sitting cross-legged. Their ears instantly enlarged, fanning wide in the wind as they cocked them toward the mountain's interior, listening intently to what lay within.
These were the Heavenly Hearing Emissaries. They had come to eavesdrop on Chen Shi because of his treasonous words.
Aboard the ship, Chen Shi and Li Tianqing sprinted madly along, their hair ties streaming straight back in the rushing wind. They feared being overtaken by Li Xiaozheng and the others once they recovered.
Yet even at such speeds, they still couldn't catch up to Blackie. Both inwardly cursed, "No loyalty!"
When they finally burst onto the deck, they saw the dog halted there, refusing to run farther.
The red bellyband doll sat astride the dog's back, clutching its ears for dear life lest it fall.
Chen Shi and Li Tianqing nearly collided with the dog and skidded to a stop.
The Great Ming Treasure Ship was sailing through pitch darkness, where one couldn't see their own hand. All they could hear was the trickle of water.
Chen Shi strained his eyes, trying to make out their surroundings. Suddenly, Li Tianqing activated his divine shrine. Divine light radiated outward, though it didn't extend far.
Li Tianqing's Divine Embryo settled into the divine shrine and spat out its golden core, brightening the area dozens of times over.
Chen Shi felt deep envy. Though he could capture spirits, divine images, or evils to serve as his Divine Embryo, he couldn't make a golden core leave the body as effortlessly as a true one.
Under the golden core's radiance, they could barely make out their surroundings.
The Great Ming Treasure Ship was now carrying them along an underground dark river, its ceiling and walls sheer black stone.
A rumbling came from behind the ship. Li Tianqing hurriedly directed his golden core backward, revealing the stone walls steadily closing in!
However far the ship sailed, the walls sealed up by that much!
Ice chilled their hearts. They could tread the waves, true—but it consumed tremendous energy, and the ship's speed nearly matched their own wave-treading pace.
If Li Xiaozheng and the others caught up...
Chen Shi said, "I promised Governor Li I'd crack the stone ship's domain. I did, and he permitted me to take any treasure aboard. So I took the Head of Shiji."
He blinked at Li Tianqing. "So I didn't break my promise. The Governor has no reason to kill me, right?"
Li Tianqing shook his head. "You kept your word, but the Governor can break his.
Even if the Governor doesn't, the thirteen great families' experts still can."
Chen Shi slumped in despair. Then he remembered something and hurriedly pulled out all his incense, lit it, and placed it in the little shrine, inserting it into the burner.
Seeing this, Li Tianqing did the same, lighting all his incense and handing it over.
He hadn't had the habit before, but after all that had happened on Qianyang Mountain, he always carried incense whenever he went out.
Chen Shi arranged the incense sticks. The two youths muttered prayers, hoping the Head of Shiji would awaken swiftly and help them through this crisis.
They prayed for a moment, but Shiji showed no sign of waking.
Chen Shi circulated the Three Lights Righteous Qi Art, attempting to activate the Head of Shiji. But the gap was too vast—he couldn't manage it.
The two youths and the dog were plunged into utter despair.
The red bellyband doll patted the dog's head, consoling it not to be sad.
At that moment, the Great Ming Treasure Ship's speed gradually slowed. Chen Shi hurried to the prow, where light gleamed ahead.
Soon, a dock nestled within the mountain came into view. Lining both sides of the dock hung pearls the size of bushel baskets, emitting a gentle glow.
Li Tianqing joined Chen Shi at his side. The two youths peered toward the dock's flanks, where stone statues met their eyes.
A clanking of sliding chains echoed from overhead. Chen Shi looked up to see a massive chain spanning the riverway above the ship. Following it with his gaze, he spotted a massive black coffin—upside down—sliding along the chain toward the treasure ship.
"Quick, look at those stone men!"
Li Tianqing's voice held a note of panic.