On the Path to the Great Dao

The Ghost Mansion Suppressing Talisman turned a residence into a haunted house. Once affixed, the mansion became like a vicious ghost that devoured people.

Chen Shi had no idea why his grandpa's Artifact Creation Compendium included these bizarre and quirky talismans.

But he had learned far too many talismans. Since he knew them, he would put them to use.

After that humanoid giant mushroom was ensnared, it yanked fiercely, actually dragging the tongue out from the ghost house. The building was torn into pieces.

No sooner had it pulled out the ghost house's tongue than massive mountains materialized above its head. These were the Five Mountains True Form Chart, drawn from Chen Shi's own vital blood and transforming into the Five Sacred Peaks crashing down!

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Deafening blasts rang out, bending the mushroom cap of that humanoid giant mushroom until it boomed and half-kneeled on the ground.

Chen Shi pinched a sword art with one hand while drawing talismans in the air with the other, unleashing another barrage of Five Mountains that thundered down, finally smashing the humanoid giant mushroom flat to the pavement.

Another humanoid giant mushroom lunged forward. Its moves were methodical and ferocious, flowing with the grace of a grandmaster martial artist—every strike lethal, every technique a killer blow!

Its mushroom golden core danced before and behind it. When a fist rocketed forth, the golden core surged with immense power, channeling along the arm to multiply its strength several times over in an instant, booming with thunderous clamor! When it retracted the punch, the golden core withdrew as well, sinking back into its dantian at the waist.

When a leg swept out, the golden core launched from the dantian, racing along with the kick to the heel and amplifying its power explosively.

When it pulled back the leg, the golden core returned once more to the dantian.

This was a technique Chen Shi had never seen before: empowering attacks with an externalized golden core.

"This is the exquisite refinement method after the golden core leaves the body!"

Chen Shi dodged at high speed. His right hand flashed with a sword art as he drew a Nine Heavens Wind and Thunder Talisman in midair. The thunder talisman rose, hovering in the sky.

Just as the talisman was about to unleash its radiant brilliance, another humanoid giant mushroom flipped and leaped dozens of feet high, kicking the thunder talisman!

The talisman's power erupted only to be shattered!

Chen Shi's intent was clear: cripple their golden cores first.

Though he could externalize his own golden core, the enemies were three Golden Core Realm "mushroom cultivators."

And he was just one man, so he first deployed the Nine Heavens Wind and Thunder Talisman to force them all from using their cores.

He hadn't expected these three "mushroom cultivators" to be so clever, instantly targeting his Nine Heavens Wind and Thunder Talisman.

The humanoid giant mushroom whistled down from the sky, somersaulting once before splitting its thick right leg toward Chen Shi!

Chen Shi slammed down his left foot hard. Vital blood surged beneath it, manifesting a Galloping Horse Talisman. Then he lifted and dropped his right foot, constructing another Galloping Horse Talisman with vital blood!

The power of the two talismans erupted, propelling him like a bolt of lightning to evade the leg.

The humanoid giant mushroom's right leg smashed the ground, shattering slabs of bluestone and sending dust billowing everywhere.

At the same time, the one previously pinned by Chen Shi's barrage of Five Mountains True Form Charts finally shattered the peaks and rose, charging over. Its massive hand whooshed with wind and thunder, slapping toward him.

With a single thought, Chen Shi formed a Xun Wind Talisman before him. Wind swirled around his body, making him drift like a leaf in the breeze. Combined with his Northern Dipper Seven Star Steps underfoot, he could even walk briefly through the air.

The humanoid giant mushroom's palm hadn't even touched Chen Shi before the gale it whipped up "blew him away."

.

The other two humanoid giant mushrooms attacked relentlessly but couldn't land a scratch.

As long as the Xun Wind Talisman's effect held, their assaults would only blow Chen Shi farther away time and again—none of their punches or kicks could connect!

High in the air, Chen Shi unleashed a flurry of water talismans, fire talismans, and thunder talismans in succession. Yet the three humanoid giant mushrooms assaulted with such ferocity that his talismans couldn't reach them.

Suddenly, the three humanoid giant mushrooms froze in place, utterly motionless.

Just then, the power of Chen Shi's Xun Wind Talisman ran dry.

Chen Shi took a few swift steps through the air before lightly landing on a rooftop to the right of the street.

At that moment, the three human-head mushrooms controlling the humanoid giant mushrooms swayed drunkenly left and right, staggering every which way!

Right beside Chen Shi was one of the human-head mushrooms, only about five foot eight tall with spindly arms and legs that couldn't support its massive head. It suddenly toppled, tumbling head over heels off the rooftop.

The other two human-head mushrooms just stood there dumbly.

Suddenly, one human-head mushroom's cranium swelled up. With a sharp crack—like a door creaking open—its skull flipped outward from within.

A bug sat inside the human-head mushroom's skull, munching contentedly on its brain.

It had countless segments and legs. Its front four pairs of legs resembled tiny hands with delicate palms.

It was this creature that had burrowed into the human-head mushroom's brain, devoured the contents, and gnawed a circle around the inside of the skull to make a hinged lid.

Evidently finding it stuffy inside, it had flipped open the skull.

Brain Bug.

Ranked as a seventh-grade creation in the Artifact Creation Compendium of Talismans.

The human-head mushroom that had tumbled from the rooftop also had a bug crawling out, happily devouring its skull.

Though the brain bug was weak—only seventh-grade among ninth-grade talisman creations, far inferior to the ghost mansion—if used properly, it could achieve miraculous victories.

The brains of these three humanoid giant mushrooms were the three human-head mushrooms; their eyes were eye mushrooms.

While battling the three humanoid giant mushrooms, Chen Shi had silently drawn three brain bug talismans. While they focused on him, the bugs burrowed into the human-head mushrooms, ate their brains, and left the giant mushrooms uncontrolled.

Suddenly, hissing sounds filled the air as the caps of the three humanoid giant mushrooms split open, spewing thick clouds of spores.

The humanoid giant mushrooms withered like the aged, collapsing to the ground and melting into pools of black sludge.

Chen Shi hurriedly applied a Dust-Cleansing Talisman to himself to avoid the spores.

"You're not bad."

The third human-head mushroom's skull was pierced by a brain bug too, yet it abruptly lifted its head toward Chen Shi with a bizarre smile.

"Young friend, you're not bad at all."

"Your foundation, adaptability, and magical power are all flawless."

"You have great potential to become my spirit child."

That human-head mushroom shriveled too, dissolving into black sludge.

The three brain bugs, still craving more brains, were suddenly sliced in half by three streaks of sword qi.

Chen Shi stood atop the rooftop, clenching his sword finger into a fist. The three sword qis dissipated.

His gaze turned toward Daxing Zen Temple in the distance, eyes flickering.

"Has Master Kuzhu truly become a demon seed?"

He murmured to himself, "If he's already a demon seed, why search for a reincarnated spirit child? Isn't Monk Wuzuo the one he prearranged for reincarnation? If he hasn't become a demon seed, how did he create this demon domain?"

Chen Shi leaped down from the rooftop, then sacrificed his golden core. It flew from the heavenly gate atop his head, settling at his dantian before him.

Chen Shi tested the humanoid giant mushroom's method, throwing a punch. His golden core surged upward from the dantian to his armpit, then curved forward along his arm!

"Boom!"

Thunder roared, rolling from one end of the street to the other.

Chen Shi's punch unleashed booming thunder, rattling the windows on both sides!

"The Great Guoguo Temple's golden body combat methods are indeed formidable. Just this golden core technique alone multiplies my punches and kicks several times over!"

Chen Shi exhaled a breath of turbid qi, eyes gleaming. "I really want to see the complete Zhangliu Golden Body Combat Method!"

Daxing Zen Temple.

Governor Fei Tianzheng, General Xia, and Magistrate Ma arrived outside the temple. They watched the golden light soaring skyward from within, hearing grand chants of Buddhist scriptures in their ears—as if a Buddha in the temple were reciting the Lotus Sutra.

Everyone's nascent souls stood behind them. Fei Tianzheng's nascent soul raised the Ten Thousand Soul Banner in one hand and the Gongzhou Earth Book in the other.

"My lords, whether we break the demon domain is all on this strike!"

Fei Tianzheng bellowed. The Gongzhou Earth Book flew up abruptly. In the next moment, maps of Gongzhou's sixty-seven counties stitched together in the air, forming a complete geographical chart. Mountains, rivers, lakes, and the village gods worshipped across the counties lit up one by one!

Everyone roared in unison, pouring their magical power into the treasure. The Gongzhou Earth Book carried immense might, crashing down toward Daxing Zen Temple!

In that instant, the golden light shuddered. The entire demon domain rippled violently!

Nearly every survivor in Gongzhou City sensed the violent fluctuation, staring in shock and uncertainty toward Daxing Zen Temple.

Fei Tianzheng, General Xia, and the others were activating the earth book's power for the first time. They had feared Master Kuzhu's reputation earlier, but now that the book's might was unleashed, their confidence surged back!

The earth book represented supreme royal authority over Xiniu New Continent!

Back then, after the True King took the continent's geographical charts into his tomb, rule over villages and towns collapsed without them, as did oversight of counties. Thus, the cabinet ordered surveys of the land, drew maps of mountains and rivers, and created fifty earth books encompassing the geography and village godmothers of all fifty provinces.

These treasures were held by provincial governors, allowing oversight of county magistrates and restraint of village godmothers.

Governors rarely used the earth books. Fei Tianzheng and the others wouldn't have unless desperate.

The Gongzhou Earth Book thundered into Daxing Zen Temple with colossal power.

The golden Buddha statue inside—with its mushroom-headed skull—raised a hand to meet the earth book.

"Boom!"

Blinding golden light erupted from there, like a sun rising in Daxing Zen Temple!

Then, everything dimmed.

Everyone who had looked toward the temple found the world plunged into darkness, their eyes struggling to adjust.

The golden Buddha hand gripped the earth book, which creaked and trembled.

Fei Tianzheng and the others flushed red, straining to urge the book onward. But its power was steadily suppressed, the immense force ebbing bit by bit back into the tome!

Fei Tianzheng and company looked ready to burst, blood trickling from their mouths, faces twisted in savagery.

At that moment, mushroom-headed giants emerged from the temple. In their midst was a human-head mushroom bearing Master Kuzhu's face.

Everyone's eyes twitched violently. Fei Tianzheng freed a hand to raise the Ten Thousand Soul Banner, unleashing over ten thousand yin spirits that swarmed the mushroom-headed giants!

"Amitabha!"

The human-head mushroom intoned a Buddha's name. A colossal ten-thousand-zhang Buddha manifested in the temple, its golden light piercing everywhere and forcing the ten thousand yin spirits back into the banner.

Fei Tianzheng and the others didn't hesitate, wheeling about and shouting: "While the green hills remain!"

They abandoned the earth book and fled.

Mushroom-headed monks stood guard on either side, protecting Daxing Zen Temple.

The human-head mushroom didn't pursue. Instead, it returned inside, directing the mushroom-headed great Buddha to suppress the earth book. It chuckled: "Good disciple, your master has found another spirit child."

"His aptitude surpasses even yours."

"Congratulations, Master."

Monk Wuchen's face was deferential as he sat in the darkness.

The human-head mushroom laughed: "One mote of dust reflects one world; one instant contains one eternity."

"Humankind is born in dust, like mayflies—a lifetime in a single instant."

"Do you know how to attain eternity, disciple?"

Monk Wuzuo bowed: "This disciple does not know."

The human-head mushroom floated up, chuckling: "By seeking another instant."

"Link one instant to the next, extending endlessly—that is eternity."

It soared away into the distance: "I go to seek the next instant!"

Monk Wuzuo breathed a sigh of relief, drenched in sweat.

He had truly been terrified to his core, convinced he would become Kuzhu's spirit child!

But now it seemed Kuzhu had found a more suitable one.

"Someone with better aptitude than me? Who could it be?"

He wondered.

Chen Shi continued searching the city for the big rabbit that Hall Master Yu had become. He thought: "The evil that Hall Master Yu turned into is a hairless, fleshy rabbit. If anyone sees it, they'll probably catch it and roast it like a bunny."

Mushroom-headed giants multiplied in the city. Chen Shi saw many mushroom-headed humans capturing cultivators everywhere, stuffing them into cages hung at their waists.

He carefully avoided these mushroom-heads when suddenly, a pair of pudgy ears poked above another street. His heart leaped: "It's the Hall Master!"

The rabbit that Yu Tiancheng had evilly transformed into was hairless even on its ears.

Chen Shi leaped onto a rooftop, laughing: "Hall Master Yu!"

The massive pudgy rabbit heard him and tried to flee. Chen Shi hurriedly called: "Godmother's cultivation is exhausted. If you run, everyone in Red Mountain Hall dies!"

The eerie, evil rabbit halted, covering its face, unwilling to face him directly.

Chen Shi laughed: "Hall Master, what evil haven't I seen? Drop your hands."

The rabbit freak lowered its hands. Chen Shi spotted two long buck teeth and flinched inwardly: "This one's new, alright."

Just then, the rabbit freak's body shrank rapidly, reverting to normal size and restoring its former appearance.

Yu Tiancheng was astonished and delighted, baffled at how his evil qi had been suppressed.

Clopping footsteps approached from behind him.

Chen Shi stared behind him in horror. Yu Tiancheng whipped around to see a mushroom-man resembling an old monk walking their way.

"Spirit child, I hope you can withstand this old monk's nascent soul."

The old monk human-head mushroom grinned eerily before whooshing into a streak of light.

Yu Tiancheng cried out, reaching to grab it—but clutched empty air. The light beam plunged into Chen Shi's brow and vanished!

Chen Shi froze in place, eyes bulging, unable to move.

After a moment, a streak of light burst from Chen Shi's brow, slamming into the street with a thud. It tumbled wildly before crashing into the opposite wall.

The wall collapsed with a boom.

When the dust settled, Yu Tiancheng looked over to see the old monk human-head mushroom beaten black and blue, nose bloodied and face swollen.

The old monk human-head mushroom scrambled up, coughing golden blood, then fled into the sky.

"Spirit child, what do you hide in your sea of consciousness?"

Its terrified voice echoed from afar.

End of chapter.