On the Path to the Great Dao

Chen Shi stared at these three individuals, his murderous intent surging, yet a smile hung on his face as he watched them come and sit across from him. He thought to himself, "If they take even one bite of our food, one piece of meat, then they are heinous villains, and we will kill them."

Chen Shi's current state was extremely bizarre.

Back when he first grasped the Blood-Transforming Divine Blade, he was completely controlled by the demonic nature within the blade. At that time, his cultivation was still weak, and he had not yet comprehended the principles of yin and yang transformation. Now, having grasped the Yin-Yang Variation, although he still could not resist the demonic nature's invasion of the Blood-Transforming Divine Blade, he could at least maintain his own mode of thinking.

This resulted in him clearly walking the demonic path, yet stubbornly clinging to strange principles.

He could sense an unsettling aura emanating from these three individuals, an aura that ignited his killing intent.

After all, in these chaotic times, a single mouthful of food could save a life. To rob someone of what could save their life was to demand their life, so cutting them down was only logical.

The monk appeared to be only in his twenties, with broad shoulders, wearing a white kasaya. He had delicate features, a teardrop mole under his left eye, and a very kind smile on his face.

The Daoist looked to be only a teenager, still a youth with a baby face, his hair tied in a Daoist bun, a whisk draped over the crook of his elbow.

The Confucian scholar wore a blue long robe, not styled like those of the Ming Dynasty. The attire was simple, with few ornaments, only embroidered patterns of azure dragons and suns on the lapels, cuffs, and collar. The azure dragon's form was extremely simple, merely outlining a general shape, its body slender, with no details.

The sun was slightly more complex, surrounded by flames that resembled rotating saw teeth.

This kind of pattern was quite rare.

"Merchant sun patterns."

Little Duan Immortal's heart leaped, her gaze falling on the Confucian scholar. She thought to herself, "How could he have merchant sun patterns on him? And the azure dragon pattern, also from the merchants! Did he learn it from ruins, or..."

Her heart pounded wildly. Or, could it be that a group of merchants had survived?

In these days following Chen Shi, traveling north and south, she had long since discovered that this era bore no traces of the Black Bird Celestial Court. The merchants had vanished, leaving behind only some prehistoric relics. She had thought that, aside from herself, the merchants had gone extinct. She never expected to see merchant markings on this Confucian scholar.

However, whether or not this person was a merchant descendant was still hard to say.

It was also possible that he had seen these patterns, liked them, and had a tailor make him some clothes with Great Shang designs.

"If he is a merchant, then the oracle bones recording the laws and punishments of Great Shang would have a lead."

She struggled to contain her excitement, staring at the back of Chen Shi's head, a wry smile on her face. "If you forcibly marry a royal woman while the royal family is unconscious, how would the sentencing be?"

Just then, the Daoist interrupted her thoughts, smiling as he said, "Your Majesty has been playing outside for a long time now. When will you return to be crowned?"

Little Duan Immortal blinked, as if she hadn't heard clearly. She thought to herself, "Your Majesty? What Majesty?"

Chen Shi was confused, looking left and right. "Is he talking to us?"

The monk gave a plastic smile, as if there were a tendon hidden under his skin that pulled the corners of his mouth, but not the flesh. He said, "Back then, Your Majesty and the Empress Dowager were playing and slipped out of the Divine Capital. The King of Hell set a trap, and mother and son fell into the Immortal Capital. We rushed over upon hearing the news, trying to rescue you, but someone else had already beaten us to it and took His Majesty away. Your Majesty has been playing outside all these years, causing enough trouble. Shouldn't it be time to return and become the God Emperor?"

Little Duan Immortal was even more bewildered. "And the Empress Dowager? Who is the Empress Dowager? It couldn't be my mother-in-law, could it?"

Her mother-in-law was Chen Tang's wife, Wu Qingyu.

"And what is the Divine Capital?"

She was puzzled. It seemed her husband, whom she had married in a blurry wedding ceremony, had another identity, one she did not know.

Chen Shi was stunned, asking, "God Emperor? You mean to say, we are the God Emperor?"

He was a bit confused.—Currently, his right hand was holding the Blood-Transforming Divine Blade, so it was indeed hard to scratch his head.

He suddenly remembered the scene he had witnessed back when he went to rescue his mother, Wu Qingyu, in the main hall of the Primordial Palace. Among countless memory houses, there was one where Wu Qingyu was tightly holding him, surrounded by countless powerful demon gods and demonic flames.

Could it have been from that time?

However, his mind was not as sharp as before, influenced by the demonic nature of the Blood-Transforming Divine Blade. He thought of this point but did not delve deeper.

The Confucian scholar was also a bit confused, wondering why he added the word "we" after the word "I". He smiled and said, "Why does Your Majesty pretend to be ignorant? In the past, you made all sorts of excuses, using your youth as a reason to refuse. Now that Your Majesty has come of age, the True God is about to die, and the world is in chaos. This is the perfect time to be crowned. Moreover, the Grand Supreme Emperor is also waiting for Your Majesty."

"Grand Supreme Emperor? Our grandfather?"

Chen Shi's mind sobered a bit, and he said happily, "Our grandfather is also in the Divine Capital?"

The Confucian scholar said, "He is with old friends, happier than ever."

"Granny Sha and Uncle Hu are there." Chen Shi was even more delighted, his murderous intent gradually fading.

The Confucian scholar smiled and said, "We have resolved our misunderstanding with the Grand Supreme Emperor. That handprint on Your Majesty's chest should have disappeared as well."

Chen Shi pulled open his clothes and sure enough, saw that the Cyan Ghost Hand mark over his heart had vanished without a trace.

The Confucian scholar said, "This handprint was the hand of the Great Sacrificial Officer. He was worried that Your Majesty might get lost, so he used his own hand as a bridge to build a direct channel into Your Majesty's body."

Good news cheers the heart. Chen Shi felt relieved and said with a smile, "Let us finish our meal, and then we'll go to the Divine Capital together."

All three of them breathed a quiet sigh of relief. The Confucian scholar picked up a pair of chopsticks from the table. Chen Shi's hand holding the blade moved slightly. The Confucian scholar, as if sensing the danger, put the chopsticks back down.

Chen Shi did not swing the Blood-Transforming Divine Blade.

The three exchanged glances, all showing confusion.

Suddenly, the monk said, "Your Majesty, do you still remember who we are?"

Chen Shi shook his head. "I don't remember."

The Confucian scholar and the Daoist each furrowed their brows.

The monk said, "Does Your Majesty also not remember how you convinced us and unified the divine clans back then?"

Chen Shi smiled. "We have lost our memory. We don't remember anything before waking up."

The monk, Daoist, and Confucian scholar exchanged glances. The Confucian scholar said, "So it seems that the Grand Supreme Emperor sealed your memories! He didn't mention this before we set out."

The Daoist said warily, "The Grand Supreme Emperor tricked us!"

Chen Shi slowly put down his chopsticks, smiling as he said, "So, our grandfather didn't want you to find us, which is why he didn't tell you about the seal?"

All three felt an unparalleled killing intent wash over them, enveloping their entire bodies, even penetrating deep into their greater realms and into their very souls!

The monk laughed and said, "Your Majesty, we have no ill intentions. We were all men of misfortune, forced to descend into the underworld. It was Your Majesty, emerging in your youth, who dazzled us, convinced us, and made us willingly honor you as God Emperor."

The Confucian scholar smiled. "That's right. The Grand Supreme Emperor surely doesn't know about this, which is why he sealed Your Majesty's memories. Once we return and explain the situation, the misunderstanding can be resolved."

The Daoist smiled. "But to be safe, I suggest that Your Majesty relax your mind and let us undo the seal on your memories."

The three of them exuded a fierce evil aura, yet they wore smiles on their faces, which made them seem extremely bizarre, causing the people around them to involuntarily shudder.

A child's voice rang out: "When they smile, they look like man-faced wangs putting on human skin. My dad said that kui and liang, when they wear human skin, only the skin moves when they smile. In fact, there's no flesh under their skin, just the human skin left."

"Well said."

Chen Shi's eyes could barely contain his killing intent. He smiled and said, "But they are not kui or liang. They are evil-tainted cultivators. When they were alive, they cultivated to near-immortal levels. The moment they achieved Dao Unification and were about to become immortals, demonic energy invaded them. Their flesh and blood have all been corrupted, leaving only this layer of human skin to maintain their appearance from when they were alive."

The Daoist smiled. "Your Majesty, there's no need to rush the seal removal. Once we arrive at the Divine Capital..."

Before he could finish, a flash of blade light like a bolt of silk streaked across.

Chen Shi sheathed his blade, still sitting steadily in his chair, as if he had never moved.

The skin along the center line of the Daoist's face slowly split open, but no blood flowed out.

Here and there on his cheeks and forehead, lumps bulged and depressions sank. His head suddenly became bumpy and jagged, as if something were squirming under the skin.

"Boom!"

The Daoist's head split open, and a boundless mass of flesh and blood shot into the sky, blasting the tavern apart. A huge fleshy blood cloud instantly covered Bozhou City, spanning tens of miles in size.

From the Daoist's head, flesh and blood kept flying upward, as if there were no end to it, causing the blood cloud to grow larger and larger!

The Confucian scholar and the monk seemed to have seen this many times before. They still sat beside the Daoist, their gazes fixed on Chen Shi, still wearing that plastic smile on their faces.

One after another, bloody fleshy tendrils shot out from the sea of flesh and blood, like giant pythons or flood dragons that had been skinned, weaving and crisscrossing through the air.

"Ha ha ha ha!"

A deafening voice came from the sky, precisely the voice of the Daoist, rumbling like thunder. "Your Majesty is even more formidable than in the past! Even with your memories sealed, you are still a hero among men, a champion among ghosts! Admirable, admirable!"

All around Chen Shi, with a crash, the people of Bozhou City fled without a trace. A toddler in open-crotch pants sat on the ground playing with mud and urine, thoroughly enjoying himself, when his mother dashed over with a single stride, scooped him up, and ran off.

Soon, there was not a soul in sight, and an eerie silence fell.

The Daoist's body slowly rose, standing in midair, with the ocean of flesh and blood above his neck.

Little Duan Immortal looked up, staring blankly at the strange sight in the sky, murmuring, "What terrifying organization did my husband join? It's too strange..."

That boundless sea of flesh and blood slowly formed facial features, growing eyes, a nose, and a mouth. It spoke, "Your Majesty, you are truly disappointing. You are as stubborn as a rock, just like the Grand Supreme Emperor. You don't remember what happened back then, nor your own ideals! The current you has betrayed the you of the past!"

His voice echoed across the sky: "But fortunately, as long as we break the seal, you will once again be that unparalleled young God Emperor!"

The Daoist's body, dangling below the sea of flesh and blood, raised its hand. The boundless demonic energy of heaven and earth converged, forming a lingzhi-shaped jade ruyi scepter, smashing down toward Chen Shi in Bozhou City!

The corrupted celestial Dao radiated like colorful clouds of sunset, drifting down as the jade ruyi fell—beautiful, and dangerous!

"Tai Zhen Jade Art of Tai Hua Qingyang Palace."

Chen Shi still sat motionless, swinging his blade toward the sky. In an instant, the blade light surged upward like a waterfall of blood flowing in reverse, rushing toward the jade ruyi in the sky. He said with confusion, "Are you Guangxian, or Daocheng, or Jingxu? You certainly aren't Dancheng—Dancheng is inside our body! Ah, yes, when we have time, we'll go kill Danchengzi!"

When he had dug up the sect masters' graves on Tai Hua Mountain, there were four empty tombs: those of the fourth generation sect master Guangxian, the seventh generation sect master Daocheng, the sixteenth generation sect master Jingxu, and the seventy-eighth generation sect master Dancheng.

The Daoist laughed. "Daocheng pays his respects to the God Emperor! Your Majesty, break the seal, and you will understand everything!"

The power of heaven and earth contained in that jade ruyi was overwhelmingly strong, actually suppressing the blood waterfall!

The Tai Zhen Jade Art was one of The Ten Books of Cultivation, but it had been abridged and could only be cultivated to the Great Ascension Realm. This Daoist, however, had turned decay into magic, displaying the power of an immortal technique from this cultivation method!

But this immortal technique also carried a dense, evil aura. Colliding with the demonic nature and demonic energy of the Blood-Transforming Divine Blade, it seemed the two would contaminate each other!

Chen Shi snorted. "I don't trust you, but I trust my grandfather! If my grandfather sealed my memory, he must have had his reasons!"

The Blood Sea behind his head roared and spun. In an instant, the blade light surged, cutting through the jade ruyi and the colorful Dao clouds alike!

Seeing the Daoist in danger, the Confucian scholar and the monk attacked from left and right. Chen Shi stepped back, swinging his long blade around his neck. Instantly, stars burst forth like fire, numbering in the tens of thousands, shooting toward the two!

The monk shed his kasaya, and with a flick of it in the wind, he collected all the star fire into the kasaya. Then, quickly wrapping it up, he sealed the star fire inside. Tens of thousands of blade energies flew about within but could not break through the kasaya.

The Confucian scholar took the opportunity to close in. Strange patterns emerged on his arms, somewhat resembling the innate divine abilities of the ghost race, but more complex and dense. He met the Blood-Transforming Divine Blade head-on.

"Clang!"

The Blood-Transforming Divine Blade struck his arm, but those strange patterns deflected the force, not even breaking the skin.

The monk stepped forward, and suddenly, a boundless and immense Bodhisattva materialized behind him, raising its hand to suppress Chen Shi!

At the same time, Daochengzi in the sky manipulated the jade ruyi, pressing down toward the Blood Sea Hell behind Chen Shi's head!

The three worked together, and managed to suppress the demonic aura of this fierce god, Chen Shi!

Chen Shi's eyes gleamed with a ferocious light. He pushed the power of the Blood Lake Sutra to its limits. The Blood Sea Hell spun at full speed, about to break through the suppression of the three!

Once he unleashed the most exquisite blade techniques of the Tianluo Blood-Transforming Divine Blade, he could take the lives of these three!

"What a perfect opportunity!" Little Duan Immortal's eyes lit up. Without a second thought, she flew out of the small temple and pointed a finger, striking the Blood Sea Hell behind Chen Shi's head precisely.

Under the combined assault of four great masters, the Blood Sea Hell stopped spinning. With a howl, it flowed backward, streaming into the Blood-Transforming Divine Blade.

Chen Shi froze. He turned his head with difficulty, looking at Little Duan Immortal with tearful eyes. "Wife, why have you betrayed us? We are husband and wife..."

Little Duan Immortal was moved by his pitiful appearance, and for a moment, her heart softened slightly.

"We'll kill you, and then marry another!" Chen Shi said with a smile.

Little Duan Immortal channeled her magical power, forcing the Blood Sea Hell to flow back into the Blood-Transforming Divine Blade at an even faster rate.

The monk stretched his body, suddenly becoming long, slender, and flat, like a shadow. He was about to drill into Chen Shi's brow, entering his Sea of Consciousness to find the seal. Little Duan Immortal waved her sleeve with her other hand. The monk involuntarily canceled his shadow state and immediately activated his Golden Body, raising his hand to meet her sweeping force.

"Clang!"

Little Duan Immortal's sleeve seemed to strike a bronze bell. The monk flew backward, tumbling for several miles before crashing heavily to the ground.

"He's so strong! I couldn't even crush him to death!"

Little Duan Immortal was shocked. "This monk is not far from being an immortal or Buddha! But even if he achieves Dao Unification, he would be a demonic Buddha!"

The Confucian scholar charged at her, shouting, "Take her out first!"

Behind Little Duan Immortal, a black bird shot up into the sky, looking down at the Confucian scholar from above. Little Duan Immortal shouted coldly, "How dare you! Look up and see who this palace is!"

When the Confucian scholar saw the black bird, his expression changed drastically. He hastily knelt and kowtowed: "Confucian Emperor's Son pays his respects to the Heavenly Maiden!"

The moment he knelt down, Little Duan Immortal completely suppressed the Blood Sea Hell into the Blood-Transforming Divine Blade. With one hand, she snatched the blade, and with the other, she grabbed Chen Shi, tearing through the air and vanishing!