Chen Shi slowly awoke from his mortal body, opened his eyes, and sat up.
Granny Sha breathed a sigh of relief and quickly asked, "Little Ten, what happened? Were you captured by other ghost gods, or imprisoned? Your father was worried sick. Your mother, carefree as ever, kept saying you were fine..."
Chen Shi remained calm and collected, his expression unchanged, and said, "Aunt Qiu Tong, I'm fine, don't worry. There was just a little mishap."
Chen Tang hurried up to the altar, but feeling too eager, he slowed his pace and gave a slight nod. "It's good you're back safe and sound. Your mother was worried to death, always feeling like something had gone wrong for you in the underworld."
Granny Sha shot him a glance, sneering inwardly. It was actually Chen Tang who had been pressing her to recall Chen Shi's Primordial Spirit all along, afraid that something would happen to his son. Yet he conveniently pinned it all on Wu Qingyu.
Chen Shi stood up, getting reacquainted with his body, and said, "Dad, I'm fine."
Chen Tang looked at him and felt that his son had changed somewhat. That previous restlessness had faded a little, replaced by a hint of maturity.
But then Chen Tang also felt that Chen Shi didn't seem entirely familiar with this body. His gait wasn't as coordinated as before.
Fortunately, it wasn't long before Chen Shi got used to his flesh-and-blood form.
Having spent these past days as a skeleton, he'd grown accustomed to being able to disassemble himself at will, breaking apart into individual bones and reassembling somewhere else.
Unfortunately, flesh didn't work that way.
"Dad, Aunt Qiu Tong, have the demons inside me been completely eradicated?" Chen Shi stepped down from the altar and asked.
Black Pot wagged his tail and ran over, barking twice affectionately. Having been separated from Chen Shi for so many days, he missed him terribly.
Chen Shi crouched down and hugged the dog's head. Black Pot squirmed out of his embrace and licked his face all over.
Chen Tang stepped down from the altar, a little jealous of their closeness, but he kept a straight face and said, "Not yet. We've already pulled out a hundred and two demons, but the Spirit-Searching Bag wasn't enough, so we had to stop and search for materials to forge a new one."
Chen Shi chuckled. "I see. There's nothing else you're hiding from me, is there?"
Chen Tang replied calmly, "No. You should go home. Your mother is very worried about you."
Chen Shi agreed, letting go of Black Pot, and said, "Dad, let's go back together."
Chen Tang shook his head. "I need to help Aunt Qiu Tong tidy up. Black Pot, take him back to Huangpo Village."
Chen Shi gave a slight nod and left the underworld with Black Pot.
Chen Tang watched them leave. Granny Sha spoke behind him, "Are you still going to hide it from him?"
Chen Tang said flatly, "What else can I do? Am I supposed to tell him that when we got to the very end of demon extraction, a Cataclysm-level one came out?"
When Granny Sha heard him say that, she couldn't help but shudder, recalling the scene when they pulled out that demon.
The whole demon extraction process had gone smoothly. Chen Tang had prepared for everything, running through many drills. And as Chen Shi's mother Wu Qingyu had predicted, all sorts of unexpected situations arose. The demons got stronger, there were twin demons, triple demons, and other peculiar phenomena.
But this time, they were able to handle it.
The triple-demon incident was the most dangerous. "Chen Shi" had grown three heads on one body, able to fight in all directions at once with no openings to exploit, breaking through the blockade formed by Chen Tang, Du Yiran, and A Zhuo.
If Huo Dog hadn't shown up in time to block him, he would have escaped into the mortal world!
By then, the three demons would have scattered in all directions, making it nearly impossible to catch them.
Everything continued smoothly after that, until a different kind of "demon" appeared inside Chen Shi's body.
This "Chen Shi" wasn't like the other demons that wanted to devour heaven and earth upon awakening. On the contrary, he was very calm, courteous, chatting with everyone about everyday matters, small talk, and gossip. If you didn't know his origins, you'd think he was a learned scholar.
He revealed an illusionary celestial phenomenon: a sky full of stars, magnificent and extraordinary. This vision enveloped a thousand miles of land, causing everyone's expressions to change instantly.
When Huo Dog personally appeared and everyone prepared for a desperate fight to the death, that "Chen Shi" saw Huo Dog and, realizing he had little chance of victory against both the group and Huo Dog, voluntarily retreated without a fight.
When Granny Sha and the others checked Chen Shi's Sea of Consciousness, they found that the abyss had closed, and that "Cataclysm" was still deeply hidden inside Chen Shi's Sea of Consciousness.
With no way to deal with this Cataclysm, they had to abandon the demon extraction and let Granny Sha summon Chen Shi's soul to revive him.
"Little Ten's abyss of the Sea of Consciousness should be completely cleared of demons by now, but we don't know how many Cataclysms are still inside. Hopefully just one."
Granny Sha continued, "But the biggest shock that Cataclysm gave us was the starry sky it revealed."
A sky full of stars, brilliant beyond compare.
This sight left them profoundly shaken, especially the Five Great Villains!
Granny Sha, Du Yiran, Hu Xiaoliang, Blue Goat, and Qiao Zhuo had all explored ancient mysteries with Chen Yindu back in the day, searching for relics of the True King's Era and trying to find the two realms of Tribulation Crossing and Ascension. They had indeed discovered many things about cultivation systems different from the present era. Especially the star charts needed for opening the Realm of Emptiness during the Return to Emptiness realm.
The star charts were divided into categories: Star Pattern Chart, River of Stars Chart, Four Mansions Chart, Celestial Center Chart, and Heavenly Cycle Chart.
They had found many diagrams and records on this subject, studied them in detail, and gradually filled in the star charts. As a result, the star charts used by Du Yiran and Qiao Zhuo when they opened their Realms of Emptiness were different from those of other cultivators.
Chen Yindu and Chen Tang were the same.
But the starry sky shown by the Cataclysm "Chen Shi" was also different from the sky they had reconstructed based on their star charts!
The arrangement of the stars, their positions, the forms of the Four Mansions, the shapes of the River of Stars, even the Heavenly Cycle Chart—all of it was different.
That's why they were so deeply shaken.
Du Yiran and the others each went off to contemplate the star chart the Cataclysm "Chen Shi" had revealed, leaving only Chen Tang and Granny Sha to summon Chen Shi's soul.
And Granny Sha and Chen Tang immediately judged that the star chart revealed by the Cataclysm "Chen Shi" was very likely the starry sky blocked by the Celestial True God!
Because when they visualized and meditated on this star chart, they could sense different starlight from beyond the heavens.
Those stars flickered in their minds, gradually pinpointing their positions!
Chen Tang muttered, "The question is, why did this Cataclysm show us that starry sky? He didn't seem to be showing off. Rather, it was as if he deliberately revealed it to us."
Granny Sha couldn't guess the reason either.
A gust of yin wind blew past, and Chen Shi and Black Pot appeared on the yellow earth slope. Chen Shi greeted Scholar Zhu, offered a few sticks of incense to him and Godmother, then returned home to report his safety to his mother, Wu Qingyu.
Everything seemed to have returned to normal.
Chen Shi lay under the crooked willow tree, staring up at the sky, a dog's tail grass between his teeth.
Black Pot sat beside him, neck stretched out, chin resting on his front paws.
"You, my dad, and Aunt Granny all have something you're hiding from me." Chen Shi bit down on the grass and suddenly broke the silence.
Black Pot's ears, which had been lying flat, immediately perked up, but he still stayed lying down, his eyes rolling around. After the Cataclysm "Chen Shi" incident, Chen Tang had indeed instructed him not to tell Chen Shi, for fear of worrying him.
Chen Shi continued, "Black Pot, I thought we were brothers. We grew up together, ate, drank, slept, and did everything together. I never expected you to treat me like an outsider."
Black Pot lifted his neck, a troubled look on his face, hesitating to speak.
"Forget it. In the end, we've grown apart." Chen Shi said dejectedly.
Black Pot stood up, walked around the willow tree with his front paws clasped behind his back, sighing deeply, looking deeply conflicted.
Chen Shi said sorrowfully, "So you and Chen Tang are the real buddies. I guess I was the one who was wrong all along..."
Black Pot finally made up his mind. He put a front paw on Chen Shi's shoulder, let out a long sigh, and barked, "Woof! Woof woof! Woof woof woof woof!"
Chen Shi listened, utterly stunned. He nodded occasionally, furrowed his brow, showed a look of shock, then became extremely nervous, and finally looked up at the sky with a puzzled expression.
"You mean to say, you suspect that Chen Tang and the others suspect that the star chart shown by the Cataclysm is the very starry sky hidden by the True God?"
Black Pot nodded solemnly. "Woof! Woof woof?"
Chen Shi laughed. "I'm not worried about whether I have a Cataclysm inside me or not. There were demons before, and life went on as usual, didn't it? What I'm more interested in is: is the Cataclysm's star chart really the true starry sky that was concealed by the True God? If so, why did the True God cover up the real starry sky? How does the Cataclysm know what the real starry sky looks like? And most importantly, why did he show it to Chen Tang and the others?"
Black Pot rested one paw on his elbow and the other under his chin, deep in thought.
Chen Shi perked up and said with a smile, "Good brother, your experiences these past few days were indeed strange, but mine were no less amazing, even more thrilling! You know, I became the ruler of the Heavenly Pool Kingdom in the underworld."
He pulled Black Pot to sit down and slowly told him about his encounter in the underworld mountains, about searching for the leader of the Heaven's Listeners, Wen Wuyu, his battle with her, about investigating the truth of the immortals, entering the immortal hall and discovering Daoist Tianzhen, and Daoist Tianzhen's entrustment. Then he told him about that strange celestial fire...
"Woof!"
Black Pot sat up straight, his expression serious as he barked, "Woof! Woof!"
Chen Shi said, "I know, that celestial fire is definitely suspicious. A celestial fire wouldn't just appear out of nowhere on the mountain where Daoist Tianzhen sealed himself, let alone land on the key talisman that unlocked his seal. Someone must have known that Daoist Tianzhen died there, deliberately left the celestial fire behind, and broke his seal."
Black Pot looked solemn and let out a bark.
"You're right! He wanted to make Daoist Tianzhen's corpse turn evil and transform into a Cataclysm!"
Chen Shi's expression turned grave. "We're thinking the same thing. But there's one thing that's strange. When the True King ordered Daoist Tianzhen's execution back then, he used the True Martial Exorcising Sword from Tai Hua Qing Palace. Daoist Tianzhen was struck by the sword, died on Yin Mountain, and because he was kind-hearted and feared he would turn evil after death and harm the underworld, he sealed himself. Anyone who knew about this should have died out long ago..."
From the True King's Era to the present, at least six thousand years had passed.
The True King's Era had collapsed, the True King had fallen, and from then on, even the most powerful cultivators only had a lifespan of a little over a hundred years. Even by exhausting every means to extend life, they could only reach two or three hundred. It was impossible for anyone who knew this secret to still be alive today.
And that person was able to use a celestial fire, which showed that their background was even more astonishing!
Knowing this secret and also wielding a celestial fire—could it be that a witness from that era was still alive?
The True King had sealed away the immortals, but had he truly sealed every last one of them?
"Whoever this person is, they will strike again soon."
Chen Shi's eyes flickered as he said, "This person never expected that Daoist Tianzhen had created yin-yang purgation, which could suppress the evil transformation even after death. Their plan is doomed to fail, so they will definitely trigger a second calamity! The first strike, no one noticed them. The second strike, they will show their hand..."
He steadied himself and then told Black Pot about the Fog Moon phenomenon, the resurrection of the dead, Daoist Tianzhen's evil transformation, and the story of their chase. He talked about escorting everyone back to the Heavenly Pool capital, only to be forcibly recalled by Granny Sha, leaving behind a single thought to protect the group...
Black Pot listened nervously, his expression serious as he barked, "Woof!"
Chen Shi flipped over and sat up, laughing. "I'd love to go rescue them, but I can't die again. If I died, my dad and the others would definitely not be able to suppress the Cataclysm inside me."
"Woof woof!"
Chen Shi smiled. "Good brother, it's settled! Let's go to Yin Mountain together to find them! I have to take you to sit on my throne, put the crown on your head, and have the maids bathe you in a lava pool, so no more worms will crawl on your bones... Oh, right, I have a crown prince... Definitely not my biological son, I was a skeleton, how could I have..."
Chen Shi went home to say goodbye to his mother, Wu Qingyu, and immediately returned to the yellow earth slope with Black Pot. Man and dog sank into the underworld.
Black Pot revealed his true form, transforming into a colossal Huo Dog, his feet treading Hellish Demon Fire, standing like a silent black mountain on the high ridge.
Chen Shi stood on his head, gazing into the distance, and raised his hand to point at the towering mountains in the distance. "It should be over there!"
Black Pot leaped into the air, walking through the sky on demon fire, heading straight into the mountain range.
They delved deep into the underworld projection of Qianyang Mountain. Amid the colossal and mysterious mountain peaks, they passed the bone-chillingly cold Yin Spring Sea, upside-down trees that touched the sky, rows of giant coffins, and the hidden Tongue-Pulling Hell and Wuwang City.
A giant serpent's eyes, like two ghostly torches hanging between heaven and earth, watched them.
Blue Goat, massive as a mountain, cast his gaze through the darkness, sweeping over them with a glimmer of surprise.
And Madam Zhuang's nearly infinite, massive root tendrils, as thick as flood dragons, wound down from the sky, her tiny old woman's form in the tree hollow becoming majestic beyond measure...
But none of these were the Yin Mountain that Chen Shi was looking for.
They searched, they traveled, for over ten consecutive days, but they still couldn't find where Yin Mountain was.
"I wonder if they're safe..." Chen Shi thought to himself.
That day, as Black Pot was racing through the mountains, the landscape suddenly became unfamiliar. Chen Shi was startled, looking around.
Black Pot kept running on his own, and massive locust trees came into view.
"Black Pot! Over there!"
Chen Shi grew excited and pointed toward Boundless Cliff. "There!"
Black Pot sprinted through the mountains, faster and faster, until he finally reached Boundless Cliff. Stepping on demon fire, he climbed up the cliff, and the endless expanse of the Heavenly Pool came into view.
Black Pot rushed toward the capital of the Heavenly Pool Kingdom.
In the capital, Xiang Kun, the Right Consort, and the others were still guarding the shattered bones of Skeleton Chen Shi, protecting their ruler.
Suddenly, the bone fragments began to stir.
Overjoyed and surprised, they then heard the clamor of the crowd. Following the sound, they saw a massive Huo Dog, treading demon fire, entering the Heavenly Pool capital, heading their way.
On top of the Huo Dog stood a young human boy, facing them with a bright, sunny smile, his robes fluttering in the wind.
