On the Path to the Great Dao

Chen Shi had been cultivating in the Niu family’s small courtyard without any distractions. This session was a new experiment for him. His Dao field had already infiltrated the Primordial Palace within the Immortal Capital, and he had begun attempting to cultivate his Three Corpses Gods.

Since ancient times, the Three Corpses realm had always focused on severing the Three Corpses, treating them as something undesirable to be cut away.

After a cultivator severed the Three Corpses, they would lose most of their desires for sex, fine food, and lavish clothing. Their yin energy would gradually decrease, eventually transforming into a pure yang body.

After achieving a pure yang body, there were many benefits. First, without these desires, cultivation would become more focused, and their cultivation base would naturally advance more rapidly.

Second, their Primordial Spirit would become pure yang, making it far less likely for Heaven Thunder to strike them, sparing them from the torment of lightning strikes.

However, even after severing the Three Corpses, desires could still resurface. That was why many high-ranking officials and nobles still married multiple wives, still loved beautiful clothes, and still indulged in fine food and drink.

The Confucians said, "Examine oneself three times daily." The Buddhist Sect said, "Polish diligently every morning and evening, never letting dust settle." This was the same principle.

What Chen Shi thought was: pure yang is the Dao, but pure yin is also the Dao. In heaven and earth and nature, yin and yang are originally one. Why must one achieve pure yang to become an immortal?

If one sought Dao Unification, only unifying with pure yang, then that cultivation could not be perfect.

Since the Three Corpses Gods were born from yin energy and were inherently a part of him, there was no need to sever them. Instead, if he could refine them and transform them into part of his own Yin-Yang Variation, then the Three Corpses Gods could no longer interfere with his cultivation.

Better yet, they could even become a boost to his cultivation.

In the Immortal Capital, it was once again time to file complaints.

Countless Three Corpses Gods flew out from their respective Primordial Palaces, heading toward the underworld to file complaints against their masters.

In Chen Shi’s Primordial Palace, the Three Corpses Gods raged, but they still couldn’t break free from Chen Shi’s Yin-Yang Dao Field. Peng Zhi cursed, "Chen Shi! You don’t indulge in wine and women, you don’t wear silk and brocade, and you’re actually cultivating hard! You’re asking for death! When we get before the King of Hell, we’ll have your name stricken from the Book of Life and Death and send you to your doom!"

Peng Ju fumed, "You didn’t go enjoy yourself yesterday, and you won’t go enjoy yourself today! What good are you?!"

Peng Qiao said, "Don’t let us break out, or we’ll definitely drag you to a brothel for some fun and ruin your Dao Heart!"

"And we’ll stuff you with meat and fish every single meal!" Peng Zhi shouted.

They made a ruckus, but Chen Shi’s Dao field continuously shifted between yin and yang, attempting to transform the Three Corpses Gods from pure yin to pure yang.

Not long after, the weakest one, Peng Ju, had already begun sitting in meditation, circulating his energy, helping Chen Shi cultivate.

Seeing this, Peng Zhi and Peng Qiao were horrified. They rushed to the gates of the Primordial Palace, pounding desperately on the doors, wailing and crying, trying to escape this terrifying place.

"I don’t want to be an ox or a horse! Let me out!" they shouted.

A little while later, Peng Zhi suddenly acted as if he had attained great enlightenment. He too sat in the full-lotus position, guiding the yin and yang energies, and began to cultivate.

Peng Qiao was even more horrified. He shouted, "Chen Shi, I will never be controlled by you and work for you!"

Chen Shi activated his Dao field, causing yin and yang to transform, trying to subdue Peng Qiao. However, his Peng Qiao was terrifyingly strong, like a demon god standing tall between heaven and earth, steadfastly resisting his assault.

Finally, dawn arrived. The Three Corpses Gods returned to their three halls.

Unable to do anything about his Lower Corpses God Peng Qiao, Chen Shi had no choice but to stop cultivating. He thought, *My Dao field is still not strong enough. I need more cultivation, to raise my cultivation base, before I can refine Peng Qiao.*

He also knew that he couldn’t increase his cultivation to the point of refining Peng Qiao overnight, so he came out of his meditative trance.

His Dao field was still operating, but he didn’t see Little Duan Immortal. Chen Shi walked out of the courtyard and saw Little Duan Immortal on the streets of Niu Village, teaching some human children how to read. The characters she was teaching were ancient ones, different from the ones Chen Shi had learned. They were bird-seal and insect script characters.

Chen Shi looked at these human children, stunned for a moment. Then he looked around and saw that the ox-headed ghosts had disappeared, replaced by human clansmen.

He began to dispel his Dao field, but Little Duan Immortal quickly said, "Husband, don’t dispel the Dao field!"

Chen Shi was startled. *She called me 'husband'! Is she Little Duan?*

He stabilized the Dao field and studied her carefully, unable to tell for a moment whether the immortal before him was Little Duan or Little Duan Immortal.

Little Duan Immortal’s expression didn’t change, but a blush slowly crept onto her cheeks. She thought, *If I call him 'husband,' he’ll find it hard to refuse. To spend more time with my clansmen, I had to resort to this.*

Still, sensing Chen Shi’s eyes fixed on her, her face grew even redder. She thought, *He might have figured it out!*

Chen Shi walked over to her, acting as if he hadn’t noticed her identity. He smiled and said, "Wife, were they those ox-headed lesser ghosts?"

Little Duan Immortal felt a little relieved. She said, "They are also Shang people. After the cataclysm, they were transformed by the demonic energy in the world, turning into ox-headed ghosts. Now, your Dao field has turned them from ox-headed ghosts into human form. I was afraid that if you withdrew your Dao field, they would turn back into ox-headed ghosts."

Chen Shi crouched down and studied one of the children.

The texture on this child’s skin was exactly the unique racial marking of the ghost clan.

"Great Shang originally had real sun and moon, and this place was peaceful and harmonious, until the pollution came."

Little Duan Immortal said softly, "They might have lived in the dark underworld for many years, eventually becoming the ox-headed ghost clan."

Chen Shi mused, "So, there were no Celestial True Gods during Great Shang. The Celestial True God only appeared after the cataclysm."

Little Duan Immortal said, "That’s right. The Celestial True God definitely appeared only after the cataclysm."

She looked up at the sky. The moon in the sky was enormous, and the face beyond the sky was hidden behind the moon. But she always felt that this face looked somewhat familiar.

Chen Shi grinned. "Wife, you called me 'husband.' Does your younger sister know?"

Little Duan Immortal’s face flushed bright red. She raised her hand, and the Blood-Transforming Divine Blade flew out, swooshing as it landed against Chen Shi’s neck. She stammered, "Try saying that again!"

Chen Shi quickly said, "I won’t say it, I won’t say it! Put the knife down first! I won’t tell your sister our little secret."

Little Duan Immortal’s face turned even redder, and she wished she could find a hole to crawl into.

Chen Shi carefully took the Blood-Transforming Divine Blade from her hand and sent it back into the small temple behind his head, finally letting out a sigh of relief. *That was a close one.*

Still, Little Duan Immortal quickly recovered her composure. Her Dao Heart was so strong that Chen Shi couldn’t help but admire her.

They stayed in this small mountain village for a few days before Little Duan Immortal reluctantly took her leave.

Chen Shi withdrew his Dao field. The children, adults, and elderly in the village gradually changed form, turning from human shape back into ox-headed human-bodied figures, growing horns and tails.

They returned to their former appearance and went back to living their former lives.

Only those ox-headed lesser ghosts were left drawing and writing on the ground, struggling to recognize the characters their ancestors had used long ago.

"Don’t look anymore. They’ll come back someday," Chen Shi said to Little Duan Immortal.

Little Duan Immortal pulled her gaze away and met Chen Shi’s eyes. She asked, "Do you have the confidence to turn them from ghosts back into humans?"

Chen Shi’s gaze fell on her. A strong gust of wind blew, pressing her dress against her body, accentuating her curves and giving the wind a shape.

Little Duan Immortal snorted.

Chen Shi laughed. "Of course. I am the True King of the Western Ox New Continent. There’s nothing I can’t do!"

Little Duan Immortal transformed into a wisp of breeze and flew into the small temple behind his head. She said, "I’m going into meditation."

She climbed onto the miniature shrine, but suddenly a thought popped into her head: *Does he... like me a little more, or does he like Little Duan a little more? If the person he likes more is his younger sister, Little Duan...*

She was lost in thought for a while, unable to enter her meditative state.

Chen Shi was quite curious. *Why hasn’t Little Duan’s wife come out yet?*

A long time passed before Little Duan flew out of the small temple. In front of her, Chen Shi was no longer so proper. The two of them laughed and joked together all the way, playfully bickering.

But sometimes, Chen Shi still felt a little dazed, wondering if the Little Duan in front of him was actually Little Duan Immortal in disguise.

For a moment, he couldn’t figure it out. He truly couldn’t figure it out.

They returned along the same path, finding the temple where Scholar Zhu and Black Pot were located. Once the group had reunited, they set off again, searching for the next temple.

Sometimes, Chen Shi walked in front of the cart while Little Duan sat inside. Sometimes, Little Duan would play around with him in front of the cart, while Black Pot sat inside studying the Topographic Map. Sometimes, it was Little Duan Immortal sitting in the cart, discussing Great Shang’s shamanic ritual markings with Chen Shi.

What puzzled Black Pot was that, in the past, Little Duan Immortal rarely came out on her own, except when Chen Shi couldn’t suppress Peng Qiao and was about to assault Little Duan. But now, Little Duan Immortal frequently appeared, almost as often as Little Duan did.

*There must be a reason for this,* Black Pot thought.

Days passed one after another. They found more and more temples, and the area lit up on the Mountains and Rivers Map grew larger and larger.

Every night, Chen Shi cultivated as usual, using yin-yang purgation to refine the Three Corpses. His Peng Qiao was indeed terrifyingly powerful. He had resisted Chen Shi’s refinement time and time again for months.

But Peng Qiao could also sense that Chen Shi’s cultivation was growing more and more profound, and the power of the Yin-Yang Variation was getting stronger. He was starting to feel like he couldn’t hold on much longer.

It was only a matter of time before he was refined!

"The Beimeng Province! It looks like Bodhi Monastery is in Beimeng."

Chen Shi studied the Topographic Map, comparing it with the surrounding geography. He chuckled. "Saintess Xuan is also at Bodhi Monastery. I wonder if she’s doing well."

He summoned the Celestial Court token, stepped into the minor heaven, and arrived before the painted wall, taking a look. A few Red Mountain Hall hall masters were also in the Beimeng Province. They had discovered several suddenly appearing ancient temples and left notes on the painted wall, recording their locations.

Chen Shi’s spirits lifted. Sending the Red Mountain Hall and Celestial Court members back to their hometowns had truly been a wise decision.

The Wooden Cart headed toward the nearest ancient temple. As they passed through Tianyu County in the Beimeng Province, a group of refugees were pulling an ox cart along the road. Some elderly people, women, and children were sitting in the cart.

Little Duan jumped off the cart and shared some food with them. They were deeply grateful.

Little Duan climbed back onto the cart, and Chen Shi was about to move on when he noticed a sickly beggar covered in sores lying on the ox cart. He was momentarily stunned and blurted out, "Yang Bi! You’re Yang Bi! You’re still alive!"

The beggar’s body trembled. He struggled to shift his body, trying to turn away to avoid facing Chen Shi, but he was too badly injured to move.

It seemed he was terrified of being recognized by Chen Shi. His face twisted, and he clenched his eyes tightly shut, tears streaming down from the corners of his eyes.

An old man laughed and said, "Does this young master recognize him? We found him. He fell from the sky! He was nearly half-dead from the fall and went crazy. He laughs and cries all day. A scholar said he might have lost his soul, but even after trying to call it back, he didn’t get better."

A woman beside him chimed in, "He’s probably just gone mad."

Chen Shi’s gaze lingered on Yang Bi’s face. After a moment, he said slowly, "I might have mistaken him for someone else. This gentleman looks a bit like an old friend of mine. But my old friend had unparalleled talent and boundless wisdom, and I deeply admired him. This gentleman just happens to look a little like him."

His Primordial Spirit fetched a Ginseng Grass Fruit from the small temple and tossed it into Yang Bi’s lap. He said, "Meeting is fate. Why don’t you take this Ginseng Grass Fruit, sir? It might save your life. These are troubled times. Take care of yourself."

Yang Bi’s lips twitched, and he said hoarsely, "Thank you."

Chen Shi averted his gaze. "I would very much like to see that old friend again, to compete with him one more time. But I’m afraid I’ll never see him again."

The wooden cart rumbled on, passing the ox cart, growing farther and farther away.

Yang Bi gripped the Ginseng Grass Fruit, dazed and confused, thinking back to Chen Shi’s words.

All power must come from within oneself.

"Haha!"

He laughed as he cried. The Upper Realm, the machinations of six thousand years, the ancestors, and the thirteen ancestral masters—all of it, gone!

Against the ancient immortals of Despair Slope, was personal power really useful?

"Chen Shi, you haven’t tasted despair. But I have. The despair of Despair Slope isn’t that they themselves are in despair. It’s that they make their enemies despair!"