Li Jindou was both surprised and delighted, "You know where the Heavenly Yang Hermit is?"
Prince Xiao ignored him and focused on healing his wounds. Seeing this, Li Jindou also hurriedly tried to suppress his own injuries.
They arrived at a mountain hollow, where they saw an old lady lying spread-eagle in the creek, not knowing if she was dead or alive, but still clutching the Ram-Horn Heaven Spirit Lamp tightly.
"If Granny is still alive, climb up, and I'll take you to see Master Chen," Prince Xiao said. The old lady in the water moved slightly, her voice weak, "Prince Xiao, aren't you going to help this old body? I'm injured. You climb yourself." Prince Xiao was not one for many words.
Granny Sha was very annoyed but managed to crawl up the bank, still unwilling to let go of the lamp. After taking a few steps, she fell again but still didn't let go of the lamp. She crawled with one hand and pushed with her feet until she finally reached the carriage.
Seeing her in such a pitiful state, Li Jindou felt relieved. At least he wasn't alone in his misery.
Granny Sha climbed into the carriage, using all her strength to pull the Ram-Horn Heaven Spirit Lamp onto the carriage, and sighed, "Where's Jin Hongying?"
Prince Xiao shook his head, "Don't worry about her, she runs faster than a rabbit."
Granny Sha didn't ask further questions.
The carriage set off again, and as Granny Sha looked at the mountain road, it seemed more and more familiar, and she was very surprised. This road leads to the Mountain Lord Temple!
Soon, the carriage arrived at Granny Zhuang's tree hollow, which was crowded with villagers from nearby. Although these villagers didn't look well, they hadn't turned into porcelain. Granny Zhuang, with her kind face, sat happily on her wooden bed, revealing two or three teeth when she smiled.
She was the second most powerful spirit in Heavenly Yang Mountain, a hundred times stronger than the godmothers of the villages, allowing these people to survive longer.
The carriage passed the tree hollow and continued on.
The mountain road became more rugged, but the driver's skills were so good that it felt like driving on flat ground.
They arrived at the Mysterious Mountain of the Great Serpent, where a giant black snake coiled on the mountain top, which was also full of people. Even on the back of the giant snake, there were many people. The snake was very thick and usually didn't move, so they weren't worried about falling off.
Mountain folks have their own wisdom.
The spirits of their villages might not be strong enough, but the Great Mysterious Mountain Serpent and Granny Zhuang were strong enough to delay their transformation into porcelain.
Granny Sha thought the carriage would continue to the Mountain Lord Temple, but it headed towards the peak of the Mysterious Mountain.
The carriage climbed the mountain and stopped.
Prince Xiao shakily got out of the carriage, and as soon as he moved, blood seeped out, staining his clothes red.
Seeing this, Li Jindou felt much better, "No wonder he didn't move, turns out moving would worsen his injuries. His injuries are about as serious as mine!"
He also wanted to get out but couldn't stand steadily and fell from the carriage, landing face down on the ground.
Granny Sha shakily got out of the carriage, leaving the lamp behind, and followed Prince Xiao with trembling legs.
Li Jindou gritted his teeth, trying hard to crawl, thinking, "How can I just stay in the carriage and wait for the Heavenly Yang Hermit to come see me? I'm not that important. I'll crawl over with my injured body to show my sincerity."
The three of them arrived under the head of the Great Mysterious Mountain Serpent, where there was a flat area with a stone table and two stone stools.
Chen Yin and a young man in black were playing chess.
The young man in black was the spirit of the Mysterious Mountain.
They obviously knew each other.
"Why doesn't Master Chen take action?" Prince Xiao asked.
Chen Yin held a black chess piece, looking at the board, pondering where to place it.
He studied the game, gently placed a piece, and said calmly, "I practice the Water and Fire Purging Technique to make my body immortal, but my lifespan is fixed and cannot be changed. By my calculation, I've been dead for seventy-three days."
The young man in black, the spirit of the Mysterious Mountain, placed a white piece and said, "Absorbing moonlight for seventy-three days, and still keeping your sanity without turning into an evil spirit is quite remarkable."
He called Chen Yin "Little Chen," indicating that Chen Yin often came here to play when he was young, and the Mysterious Mountain was quite familiar with him.
Chen Yin frowned slightly, apparently troubled by the Mysterious Mountain's move.
"The Evil Bodhisattva is a demon. Its domain covers a hundred miles around, greatly affecting ordinary people and even more so the evil."
He hesitated, not placing a piece, and said, "The reason I hide here with the Mysterious Mountain spirit is that I need its protection to avoid the demon's influence. If I go out, the demon's domain will affect my mind, like being exposed to moonlight, or even worse. I don't want to turn into an evil spirit. In a fight with the Evil Bodhisattva, I could kill it, but I would lose control. I might become something more terrifying than the Evil Bodhisattva."
Granny Sha struggled to support her weary body, "Old Chen, we've already been defeated, we're no match for the Evil Bodhisattva. Only you can fight it now. If you don't act, everyone within a hundred miles will die!"
"What does that have to do with me?"
Chen Yin smiled, "Why should I care about them?"
Granny Sha was so angry she wanted to smash him with the lamp.
Li Jindou felt his admiration crumble, stammering, "S-Senior, what you're saying is not right."
"If all the people die, you and Chen Shi can't escape either. Won't you die too?"
Chen Yin placed a piece, seemingly confident of victory, and smiled, "I'm already a dead man, so what if I die again? My grandson has a ghost hand mark on his chest, constantly clutching his heart. After I die, he won't survive. We'll both die in this demon change, our souls going to the underworld, crossing the River of Forgetfulness, and having each other's company there. Isn't that a beautiful thing?"
He laughed, seemingly very pleased, "And having a million people buried with us is more grand than an emperor's funeral. Just thinking about it is delightful. It must be my Chen family's ancestors' graves emitting smoke."
Li Jindou was speechless.
He wasn't really concerned about the people within a hundred miles; it was more for his grandson Li Tianqing and his own life that he fought at the kiln factory.
Now, using these people's lives to pressure Chen Yin seemed a bit lacking in integrity.
Granny Sha angrily said, "You two might not even make it to the underworld! On the hundredth day of the demon change, when the True God watches, everything will turn to dust, including your souls! You dream of going to the underworld to enjoy yourself, but it's just a pipe dream!"
Chen Yin laughed, "Then my grandson and I will die a day early and enjoy ourselves in the underworld first. Granny, don't try to bind me with morality; I don't have any."
Granny Sha was furious and turned to grab the Ram-Horn Heaven Spirit Lamp to smash him.
But as soon as she picked up the lamp, she lost her strength and was pinned down by the three-hundred-pound lamp, unable to move.
Prince Xiao coldly looked at Chen Yin and, after a moment, said, "Master Chen, if you have any conditions, feel free to say them."
Chen Yin's face turned serious, and he slowly put down the chess piece, "In my life, I have one unfulfilled wish, which is not being able to see Little Shi grow up safely. Little Shi needs a strong enough protector to prevent his old illness from recurring. This protector can suppress the Green Ghost Hand when he falls ill."
Upon hearing this, Prince Xiao's face turned pale, and he slowly shook his head.
Granny Sha, who had been struggling under the lamp, stopped trying to crawl out.
Only Li Jindou was confused, not understanding the meaning behind his words, and quickly said, "Senior, my Li family is big and powerful, with many experts. If Chen Shi comes to my family, we can definitely cure his illness!"
Chen Yin ignored him, still looking at Prince Xiao.
Li Jindou wanted to say more, but Prince Xiao said, "Brother Jindou, can you make decisions in the Li family?"
"I..."
Li Jindou opened his mouth but swallowed his words.
He was not the decision-maker in the Li family.
"Master Chen, I really want to agree with you. Whether from a moral standpoint or because of your teaching, I have a responsibility. But I can't."
Prince Xiao shook his head, "Because I can't do it. Even if I recover from my injuries and return to my peak strength, I can fight the Evil Bodhisattva, but defeating it is extremely difficult. I still need help from others."
He had once slain a demon in Sanfan County, where a Demon Lotus bloomed, giving birth to a Heavenly Demon.
At that time, many people mistook the Demon Lotus for a treasure, attracting many experts to fight for it.
When the demon domain unfolded, they realized it was an evil demon emerging.
These experts were trapped inside, and they joined forces to attack the Demon Lotus. Most of the experts died, but Prince Xiao survived and killed the demon born from the Demon Lotus.
The Evil Bodhisattva was no weaker than the Demon Lotus back then and was chosen by the True King to guard the kiln factory, having grown for three days.
In a one-on-one duel, Prince Xiao had no confidence in winning.
He sighed, "As for dealing with something a hundred times stronger than a demon, a disaster-level threat, I can't do it."
Under the lamp, Granny Sha sighed in frustration.
What Prince Xiao said was also what she wanted to say.
Inside Chen Shi, there was at least a disaster-level evil.
It might even be a calamity!
Li Jindou, hearing the word "disaster-level," also fell silent, no longer speaking.
Chen Yin, holding a chess piece, seemed very relaxed, his chess skills improving greatly, making the Mysterious Mountain spirit sweat.
Prince Xiao said nothing more and turned to leave.
Li Jindou hesitated and struggled to climb onto the carriage.
Granny Sha escaped the lamp's weight and returned to the carriage.
The carriage left.
They looked back from a distance, seeing Chen Yin and the Mysterious Mountain spirit chatting and laughing, while the Mysterious Mountain spirit seemed annoyed, wanting to undo a move.
"That old guy is really calm!" Granny Sha said angrily...
Day four of the demon change.
On the mountain path, Chen Shi and Li Tianqing had empty hands, with Heiguo running ahead. This time, they found nothing.
The New Township Rat had turned into porcelain, and other exotic beasts either hid or also turned into porcelain. There wasn't much left to find.
"Strange, why hasn't Heiguo turned into porcelain?"
Li Tianqing was more curious than Chen Shi. This black dog seemed unaffected by the Evil Bodhisattva, moving lightly and even more easily than them.
"Little Shi, where did your grandpa find Heiguo? Can you find one for me too?" Li Tianqing asked.
Chen Shi shook his head, "Grandpa never said. But if you want one, it's simple. Find a female dog to mate with, and you'll have a litter of puppies."
Li Tianqing's eyes lit up, nodding repeatedly, "We can have more and sell them."
Hearing the words "sell them," Chen Shi's eyes brightened, and he looked at Heiguo with a much softer gaze, as if seeing a god of wealth.
The dog in front shivered, turning back to look at them with a resentful gaze.
At this moment, voices came from ahead, full of laughter and chatter.
Chen Shi and Li Tianqing tensed up, each activating their spirit, and Heiguo ran back to hide behind them.
Chen Shi's activation of the divine altar was just for show; his altar had no divine fetus, so it wasn't useful. But if others didn't look closely, they might be intimidated, wary of his magic, but only to be met with a direct attack.
Recently, they had come across the bodies of some cultivators, likely killed fighting over food. Food had become everyone's biggest problem.
For food, people would risk their lives, whether their own or others'.
The two of them and the dog stood against the mountain wall on a wider mountain road.
Ahead, more than ten people approached, mostly maids, with a young man dressed as a scholar, chatting and laughing with the women.
Among them, four maids each activated their divine altars, and the divine fetuses shone brightly like four lamps, illuminating the group and the surroundings.
These four were positioned at the front, back, and middle of the group, ensuring the light from the altars covered the group.
This was a technique to prevent sneak attacks from evil spirits.
Chen Shi glanced over and saw that this was a three-shift system.
A group of twelve, divided into groups of four, took turns activating the divine altars to protect the group. When one group was tired, the next took over. This rotation ensured that eight people in the group maintained peak combat power at all times.
Nowadays, the people still alive in the mountains were all cultivators, out searching for spirit beasts. Chen Shi had encountered several groups of cultivators, but this was the first time he'd seen such an orderly division of labor.
The maids saw Chen Shi and Li Tianqing and whispered to the young man, "Young master, it's two kids and a dog!"
There's another update at 11 PM!!
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