On the old willow tree, the ghost of a scholar remained silent.
His name was Zhu Youcai.
He had hanged himself here, his tongue sticking out a foot long, and his face turned a purplish color like a pig's liver. It was not a pleasant sight.
"Little Eleven isn't honest at all, using my name to say this woman is ugly," he thought to himself. "But then again, although this woman isn't bad-looking, her heart is bad. I wonder if Little Shi can handle it?"
He was in a ghostly state, so these people couldn't see him or hear his voice.
He was hanged here, and even though he turned into a ghost, he couldn't leave this old tree to inform Chen Shi's grandfather.
"The porcelain dolls that Big Sister mentioned should be a bunch of little ones that only appear at dusk, coming out from the grass and whispering," Chen Shi recounted as if listing treasures. "They speak quickly and closely, so it's hard to understand what they're saying. If people get close, they hide back in the grass and can't be found. Once people leave, they come out again. By morning, they disappear. Big Sister, you're looking for them, right?"
He had indeed seen these porcelain dolls and often played with them, so he was quite familiar with them.
The woman in purple and the men in Flying Fish uniforms were excited and nodded repeatedly upon hearing this.
"Sir, this little fellow... our young friend described them so clearly, it shows that they must be nearby!" said the man named Fang He in a Flying Fish uniform with a smile. "The rumors are true; there really is a True King's Tomb here! Those porcelain dolls must be the burial items that have gained life! If we can get these treasures..."
The woman in purple got angry, her almond-shaped eyes glaring at him fiercely.
Fang He was startled and quickly shut his mouth.
The woman in purple glanced at Chen Shi and noticed he looked confused, clearly a country boy who didn't know what a grand tomb or gaining life meant, so she relaxed.
"Little brother, can you take us to where those porcelain dolls disappear?" the woman in purple asked gently.
Chen Shi looked troubled. "My grandpa is waiting for me to go back home for dinner..."
The woman in purple chuckled. "I have some delicious food here, made from spirit beasts and exotic herbs. Isn't it better than your home-cooked meals?"
She clapped her hands, and soon someone brought out some dried meat.
Chen Shi tasted a piece, and it was indeed exceptionally tasty, so he agreed.
The group followed Chen Shi, and the woman in purple asked, "Little brother, what's your name?"
Chen Shi answered honestly, "My name is Honest. The teacher who taught me to read said Honest means sincere and real. The villagers call me Little Honest. I never lie!"
Everyone laughed to themselves, thinking, "Who has the surname Honest? This country teacher is really uneducated."
Fang He looked serious and whispered to the woman in purple, "Sir, there's something off about this boy..."
The woman in purple had already noticed and nodded slightly, "I noticed too."
She looked intrigued and whispered, "Who would have thought that at such a young age, he's already a cultivator."
Ahead, Chen Shi continued eating the dried meat. The boy's body emitted slight waves of energy, indicating the flow of True Qi, which was quite strong.
Behind his head, a faint glow appeared, forming a Divine Altar that was barely visible!
The dried meat was made from various spirit beasts and exotic herbs, containing strong spiritual energy. When Chen Shi ate it, the energy was refined, and his cultivation was unintentionally revealed.
"Qi Refining Stage, Divine Fetus Stage!" the woman in purple whispered. "He's already formed a Divine Altar, likely blessed by a True God, bestowing a Divine Fetus! In the provincial capital, he could already participate in the provincial examination! A young scholar in his teens..."
She was astonished.
Cultivation is divided into five major stages: Qi Refining, Spirit Transformation, Spirit Refining, Returning to Void, and Union with Dao.
In Qi Refining, there are further stages: Qi Refining, Foundation Building, Divine Altar, and Divine Fetus. Reaching the Divine Fetus Stage is quite remarkable and qualifies one to take the provincial examination and become a scholar, gaining a reputation.
Nowadays, studying and cultivation go hand in hand.
Scholars are cultivators who can cultivate the truth, earn titles, and enter the court as officials.
Chen Shi, at just over ten years old, had reached the Divine Fetus Stage, which was rare, even in the whole world!
If he earned a title, it would surely shock the world!
The woman in purple and the others were from a prominent family in the provincial capital and were shocked to encounter such a genius in the countryside.
"Something's wrong!"
The woman in purple saw the Divine Altar behind Chen Shi's head suddenly become unstable, like smoke in the wind, ready to dissipate at any moment. She quickly stepped forward to look at the Divine Altar behind his head.
She saw that the Divine Altar was empty, with no Divine Fetus!
The woman in purple looked puzzled.
At that moment, the Divine Altar behind Chen Shi's head dissipated, and his True Qi vanished, turning him back into an ordinary person.
The other men in Flying Fish uniforms saw this and looked surprised.
"With his Divine Altar skills, he should have formed a Divine Fetus! Why is his Divine Altar empty? And why did his cultivation suddenly disappear?" the woman in purple murmured.
Chen Shi's Divine Altar was extremely stable, even surpassing some Spirit Transformation experts. He must have reached the Divine Fetus Stage. Yet, his Divine Altar was empty, and it was always on the verge of collapsing, which was indeed strange.
Fang He already understood and whispered with a smile, "Sir, you come from a noble family and may not know the dangers of the world. Finding a cultivation genius in the countryside isn't necessarily a good thing; it could be a source of trouble.
If the children of powerful families lack talent and can't achieve the Divine Fetus and become scholars, they will have family experts find a talented genius with no background, strip them of their Divine Fetus, and transplant it to their own children.
This boy named Honest must have been discovered by someone powerful, and his Divine Fetus was taken and given to their child."
The woman in purple looked at Chen Shi's back in surprise and asked, "Can someone survive after having their Divine Fetus taken?"
Fang He was also puzzled and said, "Normally, taking the Divine Fetus requires opening the skull, and the cultivator would surely die. But why is this boy still alive after his Divine Fetus was taken?"
Every year, many people die because their Divine Fetus is taken, which is common in the Great Ming Dynasty. Chen Shi's survival after losing his Divine Fetus is indeed a strange occurrence.
Fang He stepped forward and felt the back of Chen Shi's head, finding a scar that had long healed.
The scar was three to four inches long, with a raised bone underneath.
"Honest, don't move."
Fang He said this and parted Chen Shi's hair, revealing the scar, which was a reddish color, like a thick red centipede lying on the back of Chen Shi's head.
Chen Shi continued eating the dried meat, unconcerned.
The woman in purple also saw the scar and was shocked. This boy's skull had been opened!
"Surviving such an injury is truly a miracle!" she exhaled deeply.
Without a Divine Fetus, any True Qi is like a tree without roots or water without a source, ready to vanish at any moment. Chen Shi had his Divine Fetus taken, becoming a cripple. Therefore, after eating the spirit-infused meat, the energy turned into True Qi, causing his Divine Altar to reappear. But without a Divine Fetus, both the Divine Altar and his cultivation were illusions.
Fang He fell back a few steps and whispered, "Sir, last year, Li Xiaoding, the son of the Li County Magistrate in Water Buffalo County, made a name for himself in the provincial examination and became the top scholar. But I heard that this Li Gongzi is uneducated, his cultivation is not advanced, and he's quite foolish, not favored by the True God. Some say Li Gongzi must have taken the Divine Fetus of a poor child..."
The woman in purple coughed and said meaningfully, "The Li County Magistrate may not hold a high position, but the Li family is a powerful clan. How Li Gongzi became a scholar is none of our business. This child is quite pitiful."
She looked at Chen Shi and whispered, "Later, give him a quick end, don't let him suffer."
She turned back to look at Yellow Slope Village, her expression gentle, and said softly, "And this village, eliminate it too, to keep the secret and prevent anyone from saying our Zhao family is untrustworthy for not informing them about the True King's Tomb. Once we find the tomb, you handle the silencing, make sure it's clean."
Fang He bowed in agreement.
Chen Shi remained calm, but his ears twitched.
Even without a Divine Fetus, his hearing was exceptional, and he heard their conversation clearly.
"These people have ill intentions towards me and my village. It seems they are the instigators, as the Master said, they want to cut the grass and remove the roots, leaving no descendants," Chen Shi thought. "I definitely can't beat them. The Master said, 'Do not speak of strange forces and spirits,' and my current strength isn't enough to be considered strange force, so I'll use their own strength against them. The Master's words are truly full of wisdom!"
His admiration for the Master grew.
Chen Shi slowed his pace, signaling the others to follow.
The woman in purple and her group followed him, and they saw a dozen little figures about a foot tall playing by the stream.
These little figures had distinct features, complete hands and feet, wearing green clothes, with white skin, resembling living people.
When they touched each other, they made the sound of porcelain clinking, indicating they weren't human.
The porcelain dolls played by the mountain stream, splashing water and catching fish, having a great time.
Their speech was strange, not human language, just babbling, but the porcelain dolls understood each other, communicating and occasionally bursting into laughter, very joyful.
The woman in purple and her group approached Chen Shi from behind, seeing this scene, they were extremely excited and whispered, "These must be the porcelain burial items from the True King's Tomb that have gained life. We just need to follow them to find the tomb!"
Chen Shi took a step forward and snapped a dry branch on the ground. One of the porcelain dolls noticed, looked around, and upon seeing Chen Shi, let out a sharp cry like a yellow oriole.
The other porcelain dolls saw Chen Shi and immediately put on fierce expressions, rolled up their sleeves, and charged at him aggressively, for reasons unknown.
At this point, the porcelain dolls noticed the strangers, the woman in purple and her group, and were startled, quickly diving into the grass by the stream.
From the grass came the sound of chattering curses, likely the porcelain dolls angrily scolding Chen Shi for calling for help when he couldn't beat them.
Fang He and the others rushed forward, parting the grass and quickly chasing after them, but the mountains were lush and the trees tall, the forest dense and shadowy, making it hard to find direction.
The porcelain dolls moved swiftly through the forest and grass, giving the pursuers a hard time, and they soon lost track of them.
The woman in purple suddenly brightened and whispered, "Follow Honest!"
The group then noticed that Chen Shi was moving swiftly through the forest, familiar with the terrain, chasing the porcelain dolls.
It was hard to catch up with the porcelain dolls, but Chen Shi was a bigger target and easier to track, so they followed him, gradually going deeper into the forest.
The trees grew denser, and only a few patches of dappled sunlight reached the ground.
They pursued for an unknown distance when Chen Shi suddenly vanished without a trace.
They rushed forward, only to see the surrounding trees growing rapidly, becoming towering giants, lush and green, reaching the sky!
Even the wild grass became as thick as trees, the rocks like hills, and the stream turned into a mighty river, vast and majestic!
They were amazed, then someone shouted, "It's not the plants growing bigger, it's us getting smaller!"
The woman in purple and her group were shocked, looking at each other, realizing they had shrunk from adult size to less than a foot tall in just moments!
The woman in purple looked at her skin, trembling slightly.
After a moment, she gathered her courage, gently tapping her arm, producing a crisp porcelain clinking sound.
She nearly fainted.
She had turned into a porcelain doll!
She looked at the others, and the Imperial Guards following her had also turned into porcelain dolls!
"Spirit Realm! We've entered a Spirit Realm! Wait! Honest!"
The woman in purple clung to the hope, "Honest has been here before, he must know what's going on... wait a minute!"
Her face turned pale, "If Little Honest knew coming here would turn us into porcelain dolls, why did he bring us here? Is Honest... really as honest as he seems?"
There will be another chapter update tonight, around six o'clock. Chapter length: 3000-4000 words.