When Grandpa returned, Chen Shi was already asleep. Heiguo, having been scared by Chen Shi earlier, was now unusually alert, wagging its tail to greet him.
"Asleep?" Grandpa asked as he sat by the campfire, adding a few sticks to the flames. He glanced at the sleeping Chen Shi and relaxed a bit.
"Chen Yindu, you're indeed old, but you can still hold on!" he muttered to himself, staring at the flickering flames, feeling no warmth from them.
"You can hold on until he grows up!" Grandpa exhaled a cold breath, which made the flames shrink significantly.
"If there ever comes a day when you can't hold on, then you'll have to kill him yourself and take him with you to the underworld. You must not leave him to harm the world!" With these thoughts, he soon fell asleep too.
In the morning, Chen Shi's surprised exclamations came from outside the temple. Overnight, the small hill where they had stayed had grown into a mountain over a hundred meters high!
And the dilapidated temple was right at the top!
"Strange things are as common as cattle on the Western New Bull Continent, why be surprised?" Grandpa said disdainfully as he cooked breakfast in the temple, unimpressed by the boy's reaction.
Chen Shi praised him insincerely, "Grandpa, you know so much. Why is this temple here? Why were the temple and mountain buried underground? Who built and buried this temple? Where are those people now? Why did this temple and mountain emerge from the ground now? Is this related to the appearance of spirits? Is it connected to the sun setting early?"
Grandpa thought for a moment and said, "Double the medicine tonight."
Chen Shi wisely kept quiet and returned to the temple to start his morning practice.
He began practicing the Three Lights True Qi Technique and suddenly felt two unfamiliar forces surging towards him, turning into golden and silver light spots in the air, flowing into his body!
Chen Shi was astonished. The golden force was like fierce fire, bringing intense heat into his body, igniting his energy and making his physical training more efficient!
The silver force was like flowing water, calm and cool, perfectly countering the burning fire, preventing it from harming his body.
These two forces were more powerful than starlight, and together, they made his body training much faster than using starlight alone!
"Could this be the Sunlight True Qi and Moonlight True Qi from the Three Lights True Qi?" Chen Shi wondered. He had never felt the Sunlight and Moonlight True Qi before, so why could he absorb them today?
Moreover, it was daytime, and with the Heavenly True God closing its third eye, there was no moon. Where was the moonlight coming from?
With a slight movement in his heart, he stepped outside the temple, and the sun and moon energies disappeared immediately.
Chen Shi returned to the temple, and the golden and silver light spots floated in like snowflakes. The Three Lights True Qi Technique operated at full power.
"Why can I only absorb the essence of the sun and moon inside this broken temple?" Chen Shi was even more puzzled. He glanced at Grandpa, who was still cooking, remembered the doubled medicine, and decided not to ask.
Even if he asked, Grandpa probably wouldn't know.
"I used to guess that the sun and moon from the True King era were not the same as the current sun and moon. Back then, the sun and moon could be used to cultivate the Three Lights True Qi. If my guess is correct..."
Chen Shi's expression turned strange as he steadied himself and whispered, "If my guess is correct, the world inside the temple and the world outside are not the same!"
He took a deep breath and looked up at the sky outside the temple.
The sky was clear and blue, with white clouds floating.
He stepped outside and looked at the sky. The blue sky was deep, space was visible, and white clouds floated freely.
The sky seen from inside the temple and outside the temple was no different.
"Did I guess wrong?" Chen Shi scratched his head, decided not to think about it, and continued his practice in the temple.
Practicing the Three Lights True Qi together made his training much faster than before. His bones, muscles, and tendons grew stronger, his energy and blood became more vigorous, and his internal organs fortified.
When Grandpa called him for breakfast, Chen Shi reluctantly stopped his practice.
"After the Moon Festival, I must come to this desolate mountain temple to train regularly!" he thought to himself.
After breakfast, the grandfather and grandson did not return to Yellow Slope Village but headed to the next village to sell more talismans during the Moon Festival and earn some money.
The Moon Festival lasted three days. On the afternoon of the third day, they arrived at Rock Cliff Village. The village's godmother was a stone statue over ten meters tall, with eyes on its hands and hands on its eyes, looking very strange.
Rock Cliff Village was built in circles around this statue.
Rock Cliff Village was near Water Buffalo County, only about twenty miles away, but it was over two hundred miles from New Township County. Therefore, people from Rock Cliff Village often went to Water Buffalo County for markets, and the county's nobility often came to the village for outings and hunting.
There wasn't much business in the afternoon. Grandpa went to buy herbs, and Chen Shi sat idly at the stall when he heard someone ask, "Do you have Peachwood Talismans?"
Chen Shi perked up and smiled, "Yes, we do!"
The visitor was a young Imperial Guard in a red horse-face skirt, about twenty years old, sharp and capable, but with dark circles, likely from overindulgence.
"How many do you have?" the person asked.
Chen Shi counted, "Three left."
Peachwood Talismans were the best-selling talismans. Young men and women often bought them to attract the opposite sex, and they did indeed increase the success rate of interactions, so there weren't many left.
"I'll take them all," the guard said. "But it's not enough. Are you a talisman master?"
Chen Shi hesitated for a moment and nodded. Although he didn't have a Divine Fetus and couldn't store power, he could still draw talismans by using the Three Lights True Qi Technique.
The guard said, "Come with me, draw more Peachwood Talismans on the spot!"
Chen Shi was still hesitant when the guard tossed him a large silver ingot, a horse hoof silver, weighing about fifty taels.
It was the first time Chen Shi had seen such a large amount of silver. He immediately gathered his brush, ink, paper, and inkstone, packed them in a book box, and called Heiguo, "Where do we draw?"
The guard glanced at Heiguo, a bit surprised, and said, "Follow me."
Chen Shi slung the book box over his shoulder and followed him. They walked out of the village, taking a path leading into the mountains. Chen Shi asked curiously, "Sir, where are we going?"
The guard chuckled, "Don't call me sir. My name is Li Guang, and I work for my young master. We're going into the mountains. My young master is hunting there and has set up camp. He needs Peachwood Talismans to win the favor of some young ladies."
"I see," Chen Shi nodded, understanding. "May I ask your young master's name so I won't be disrespectful when we meet?"
Li Guang replied, "My young master's surname is Li, from a prominent family in Water Buffalo County."
Chen Shi's heart skipped a beat, and his voice trembled, "Li from Water Buffalo County? Could this young master be Li Xiaoding, the scholar?"
His voice shook slightly.
Fortunately, Li Guang didn't notice and asked, "Have you heard of my young master's reputation?"
Chen Shi quickly steadied his mind and lowered his head, "Who hasn't heard of Young Master Li, the top scholar in the provincial exam?"
Li Guang laughed heartily, "Although my young master did well in the exams, his real skill... well, it's mostly due to his good background."
Chen Shi's heart pounded, and his blood rushed to his head.
Li Xiaoding from Water Buffalo County was the very Li who, according to the purple-clad girl Zhao Erni, had stolen his Divine Fetus, leaving him a cripple!
He had once been the top candidate in the county exam, with a bright future, but was ambushed by Li family's experts, who cracked open his skull and took his Divine Fetus!
Since then, Young Master Li had soared to success, while he became a cripple, constantly drinking medicine and soaking in medicinal baths, enduring the pain of ghost hands squeezing his heart, and even his father, Chen Tang, no longer recognized him as his son!
He had forgotten all his previous memories, not even knowing who his mother was!
He had thought of revenge countless times, imagined tearing Li apart, and now the opportunity for revenge had finally come! "But I'm still a cripple, without True Qi, unable to use spells... But Grandpa said my body is strong enough to defeat a Divine Fetus Stage officer, as long as I don't give them a chance to use spells, I might be able to kill Young Master Li!"
A fierce intent surged within Chen Shi, but he was still uneasy, "Can I really kill a Divine Fetus Stage cultivator?"
He had been practicing the Three Lights True Qi Technique for some time but didn't know how far he had progressed or if he could kill Li Xiaoding.
Unknowingly, he followed Li Guang into the mountains.
Li Xiaoding and his group had chosen a campsite nestled between three mountains, with a stream flowing from the mountains, larger than a creek but not quite a river.
The first thing Chen Shi saw were four yurts, three white and one yellow, and four fine horses.
Three Imperial Guards had taken off their outer garments, leaving only their undershirts, and were digging trenches and setting up barriers, clearly planning to set up a small camp and spend the night in the mountains.
They used spells to fell trees and trim branches. Chen Shi saw faint arcs of light in the air, almost invisible, and only the subtle vibrations in the air hinted at their presence before tree trunks as thick as a basin fell, making him uneasy.
"Grandpa was right, facing spells, I'd die in one hit," he thought.
Spells were invisible and unavoidable.
Two other guards were setting up a barbecue stand and arranging some fruits.
Another guard was arranging weapons on a rack, which included short knives, long spears, and crossbows.
In front of the yellow yurt were several lounge chairs, with parasols hanging above to block the sun.
In the middle chair was a young man with an open shirt, chubby, weighing over two hundred pounds, wearing a blue robe with one side open, revealing a white undershirt, also open, exposing his white fat.
"He must be Li Xiaoding, Young Master Li!" Chen Shi's eye twitched. The camp wasn't large, with the three guards at the barriers only about three meters from Li Xiaoding, the two at the barbecue stand about one and a half meters away, and the one by the weapon rack even closer, less than a meter away.
Six Imperial Guards, plus the one who led him, made seven.
Seven people capable of killing him in one blow!
If these seven used spells, he would surely die!
"Young Master, the talisman master is here," Li Guang bowed and smiled. "There aren't many Peachwood Talismans, so I took the liberty to bring him to the camp to draw more."
Chen Shi's heart raced, and he kept his head down, afraid Li Xiaoding would recognize him.
After all, Li Xiaoding had taken his Divine Fetus.
The plump Li Xiaoding lifted his head, surprised to see the talisman master was just a boy of about ten, then his eyes fell on Heiguo behind Chen Shi, and he exclaimed, "There's a dog too! Come here, come here!"
Heiguo wagged its tail, lowered its head, and trotted over to Li Xiaoding, who tossed it a piece of meat. Heiguo pressed its head to the ground, grinning and wagging its tail, trying to please him.
"This dog is great!" Li Xiaoding laughed, ignoring Chen Shi.
Chen Shi relaxed a bit but felt a surge of anger. Li Xiaoding didn't recognize him, clearly having never seen him.
Such a noble family scion didn't need to know the poor soul whose Divine Fetus he had taken. He just enjoyed the benefits of the Divine Fetus, leaving the dirty work to others.
Li Guang led Chen Shi to a table about two meters from Li Xiaoding and said, "Draw twenty. Young Master, will twenty be enough?"
Li Xiaoding chuckled, "The more, the better! The young ladies from the neighboring counties' Ding and Zhao families are camping nearby. If I win their favor, my status in the Li family will rise significantly. Besides, those Ding and Zhao girls are quite charming. I must have them all."
He sat up, petting Heiguo's head, and laughed, "And you all will get a share. Any extra Peachwood Talismans will be yours. If you can win over the Zhao and Ding maids, go for it!"
The guards laughed and worked even harder.
Chen Shi set down his book box, took out his brush, ink, paper, and inkstone, and felt much calmer.
These seven guards had unsteady steps and weak energy, drained by indulgence. Despite their ability to kill Chen Shi in one strike, they had lost the alertness of a true guard!
Chen Shi, having spent years in the mountains with Grandpa, had seen many fierce beasts, which were calm, poised, and always ready to deliver a deadly strike!
But these seven guards were too relaxed, lacking the alertness of fierce beasts.
Chen Shi even felt he could take down any one of them at any moment!
"At this short distance, I could reach Li Xiaoding in two steps and kill him in one strike!"
Chen Shi glanced around and dismissed the thought.
After killing Li Xiaoding, he wouldn't have time to escape before being blasted by the seven guards' spells.
Suddenly, a bold idea popped into his head: "If killing Li Xiaoding would lead to being killed by the other seven, then what if I take out all seven guards first?"