On the Path to the Great Dao

When Elder Miaoyin found Saintess Xuan and her companions, they had already joined the Red Mountain Hall of Beimeng Province. The plague was raging fiercely, with dead bodies lining the roads everywhere, and demonic spirits dragging corpses into the mountains and forests to feast.

Saintess Xuan and her group used medical skills to treat the sick and save lives, used Buddhist Dharma to purify demonic energy and foul aura, and killed the evil ghosts and monsters spreading the plague.

Wherever they went, the people greeted them with food and drink. When they left, the people reluctantly saw them off with deep reluctance.

Seeing this, Elder Miaoyin hesitated for a moment. She went to look for the "dog man" Chen Shi but didn't find him. Hearing that Chen Shi had gone elsewhere, she said to the "dog woman," "Xuan'er, return to the mountain after you finish all this."

Saintess Xuan smiled and asked, "Master, do you mean to say, 'I will not become a Buddha until Hell is empty'?"

Hearing this, Elder Miaoyin's mind and body trembled. She looked at those people with tattered clothes and gaunt, malnourished faces—people filled with fear, unease, and no hope for the future. Their living environment was unbearably harsh. Wasn't this precisely Hell?

"Return to the mountain after you finish all this"—that phrase perfectly echoed the great vow of "I will not become a Buddha until Hell is empty."

"But how can this Hell ever become empty?" Elder Miaoyin murmured.

Saintess Xuan did not return to Bodhi Monastery for a long time.

Elder Miaoyin also stopped going to find her.

As long as the mortal world didn't improve, Saintess Xuan probably wouldn't return.

Elder Miaoyin thought to herself, "Xuanxuan has moved beyond her feelings for Chen Shi. It's no longer about romantic love between a man and a woman. She now holds great love for all people. This is far superior to how Huìyīn Bodhi was once obsessed with her feelings for Chen Yindu. I couldn't surpass Huìyīn Bodhi, but in the end, my disciple has surpassed her."

Time passed swiftly, and before anyone knew it, another year had gone by.

Chen Shi walked out of the Shuiwei Holy Mother Temple. Behind him, incense smoke curled up from the temple. Huang Fengnian led the members of Red Mountain Hall in offering incense to the Shuiwei Holy Mother before beginning repairs on the temple.

This temple was in Nanfeng Province, located in the southern frontier of the Western Ox New Continent. Monstrous demons often emerged from the sea along the coast, attacking towns along the shore. The Shuiwei Holy Mother Temple was built by the seaside to protect the coastal people.

The sea was pitch black, the wind howled fiercely, and the sound of waves roared like a giant beast. From time to time, strange noises came from the bottom of the sea, as if some enormous thing lurking beneath the surface was letting out loud, booming cries.

Chen Shi gazed at the sea. Not far away, talisman masters from Red Mountain Hall in Nanfeng Province were activating spells. Streaks of fire flew into the ocean, trying to dispel whatever was causing trouble in the wind. But as soon as the flames reached the sea surface, they extinguished. It was as if some strange power there directly erased their magical force.

Many talisman masters discussed the matter, not knowing what was happening.

Chen Shi raised the Western King's Jade Seal. The Mountains and Rivers Map within the seal reflected into the surrounding sky.

Xinxiang, Qingzhou, Juzhou, Binhai, Liuzhou, Lingzhou, Jinzhou, Xianzhou, Gongzhou, Bozhou—one after another, maps of the provinces lit up. The places that were illuminated were where he had enfeoffed gods. Over the past two years or so, he had been constantly running back and forth, searching for lost temples and awakening the deities of China.

Every time he enfeoffed a god in a place, the corresponding map would light up.

Now, of the fifty provinces in the Western Ox New Continent, over thirty had lit up.

The power of the Mountains and Rivers Map and the Western King's Jade Seal had also grown increasingly stronger, containing boundless divine might.

The Western King's Jade Seal rose higher and higher, and the fluctuations it emitted grew stronger and stronger. The roaring in the sea also intensified. Suddenly, a massive tentacle shot out from beneath the dark surface, coiling toward the jade seal in the sky.

But before it could even get close to the seal, the tentacle shattered inch by inch.

Chen Shi formed a sword finger with his hand and pointed at the sea. The Western King's Jade Seal trembled slightly in the air, and a blast of power shot out along his finger strike, crashing into the sea. With a thunderous crack, the sea surface suddenly sank, leaving a huge indentation dozens of miles in circumference.

After a moment, a gigantic corpse floated up from beneath the sea. It was neither demon nor god—it had a deity-like head, showed signs of demonic transformation, and its neck was covered with fish gills.

The sea grew calm, no longer as terrifying as before.

Chen Shi raised his hand, and the Western King's Jade Seal fell into his palm.

"The Instructor is so amazing!"

The talisman masters cheered and rushed to the seaside, trying to haul up the corpse of the sea monster from the water.

Food was scarce these days, but this sea monster could feed them for a long time.

Chen Shi placed the Western King's Jade Seal on the Wooden Cart. Without joining the salvage effort, he called Black Pot and left Nanfeng Province, heading toward his next destination.

"That demonic creature earlier probably didn't want the Shuiwei Holy Mother to revive, so it took the opportunity to destroy the temple," said Scholar Zhu, looking back at the vast sea. "The ocean is an even wider territory. The land is essentially a breeding ground for these sea monsters. They can come ashore anytime to grab some free-range livestock. But with the various deity temples, it's hard for them to land, so they have to destroy these temples."

Chen Shi asked, "Since sea monsters also have intelligence, why must they come ashore to eat people?"

Scholar Zhu replied, "The secrets of the Sea of Darkness are greater than those of the land. Some say that when the Three Treasures Eunuch led the fleet of Ming treasure ships into the Sea of Darkness, they unknowingly drifted away from their original time and space while traveling through the darkness, crossing over into another unfamiliar world. The fleet wasn't sailing on the Sea of Darkness but through dark void. Those monsters trying to board the ships were powerful beings from the void."

He paused, then said, "I've also read another interesting theory in an ancient text. The author was a Daoist who claimed to come from another continent beyond the Sea of Darkness, called Eastern Divine Continent. After leaving the Eastern Divine Continent, he traveled across the Sea of Darkness and visited many places—like Southern Continent, Northern Continent, Western Continent, and here. In his book, he said the Sea of Darkness truly exists. It's not void, but a vast ocean floating within the void, occupying only a small part of it. The Divine Continent of China, the Western Ox New Continent, Southern Continent, Northern Continent, Eastern Divine Continent, Western Continent, and other places are all connected by the Sea of Darkness, so one can travel to other continents through this sea."

Chen Shi listened with rapt attention. "This Daoist came from another unfamiliar continent?"

Scholar Zhu said, "In his book, he said he came from the Eastern Divine Continent. The book was called 'Miscellaneous Travel Notes of the East,' and it was quite interesting. But I burned all the books before I hanged myself. I don't know if that Daoist from the Eastern Divine Continent has already left."

Chen Shi regretted missing out. Then he suddenly remembered something. Last time, when the Celestial Court ascended beyond the heavens and he was about to check on the True God's condition, he had inadvertently saved a Daoist.

That Daoist had been invaded by demonic energy, tied to a ship, and cast out beyond the heavens.

He had an extremely heavy demonic aura but possessed profound cultivation. When Chen Shi's yin-yang purgation covered him for just a moment, he immediately seized the opportunity to suppress the demonic transformation and escape from beyond the heavens into the Western Ox New Continent.

Could this Daoist be the author of "Miscellaneous Travel Notes of the East"?

Why was he tied up and cast out beyond the heavens?

Who tied him up and cast him out?

If he really was the author of that book, could Chen Shi find him, leave this disaster-ridden Western Ox New Continent, travel to other continents, or even find the Ancestral Land?

Chen Shi withdrew his scattered thoughts and once again activated the Sixth New Talisman, mobilizing the Yin-Yang Dao Field to continue his cultivation.

For a cultivator in the Body Unification realm, the main cultivation focused on the unity of the physical body, Primordial Spirit, Dao Field, and Divine Embryo. As cultivation improved, all four grew stronger. Since Chen Shi didn't have a true Divine Embryo, he used Scholar Zhu and Little Duan Immortal as his Divine Embryo. Sometimes, he would even bring Black Pot into the small temple to temporarily serve as a Divine Embryo.

Therefore, when he cultivated, Scholar Zhu, Little Duan Immortal, and the others would also sense their own cultivation advancing. It was a win-win situation.

Scholar Zhu, Little Duan Immortal, and the others had extremely powerful cultivation themselves. By using them as a spiritual embryo for cultivation, Chen Shi's cultivation progress was astonishingly fast, no less than that of an Innate Dao Embryo.

This time, he submerged his Primordial Spirit and, along with the Dao Field, descended once more into the Primordial Palace of the Immortal Capital to continue cultivation. After all this time, he had become increasingly proficient at refining Peng Zhi and Peng Ju into Yin Spirits. The two Yin Spirits, Peng Zhi and Peng Ju, had grown stronger, already possessing about twenty to thirty percent of his own cultivation strength.

Only Peng Qiao was truly formidable—he had held out until now without being refined by Chen Shi.

Chen Shi's attainment in Yin-Yang Variation had reached the level where he could condense the essence of sun and moon, radiating the light of the three luminaries. Yin and yang transformed, capable of evolving all things. Yet Peng Qiao could still withstand his refinement.

"My Peng Qiao is just too strong," Chen Shi had to admit even now.

Suddenly, Chen Shi sensed a massive surge in his own cultivation—a huge leap in a very short time. He was startled. He saw that the Lower Corpses God, Peng Qiao, was now bathed in a brilliant divine light, merging with his Dao Field and transforming into a deity within the Dao Field!

Peng Qiao had finally been refined by his persistent effort, joining Peng Zhi and Peng Ju as the three Yin Spirits of the Dao Field!

Chen Shi laughed heartily, his laughter booming loudly.

Before, although his Peng Qiao was strong, this yin-type cultivation was not under his command; instead, it had become an obstacle to his own cultivation. The Three Corpses Gods would interfere with his cultivation, tempt him to fall, and even go to the King of Hell to file complaints against him, cutting down his lifespan.

But now, this yin-type cultivation had become a part of him!

This also led to a surge in his own cultivation!

Peng Qiao was almost comparable to forty to fifty percent of his own strength, as powerful as a demon god. Now that he had become part of Chen Shi's own cultivation, it was as if Chen Shi's strength had suddenly increased by forty to fifty percent!

"After thousands of siftings and washings, though hard the way, the blowing away of all sand finally reveals the gold!"

Chen Shi's heart surged with emotion. He had been stuck before the Three Corpses realm for a very long time. Now, he had finally taken the most important step and entered the Three Corpses realm!

However, his Three Corpses realm was vastly different from others'—one could even say it was like heaven and earth apart. Others cultivated the Three Corpses realm with severing the Three Corpses as their top priority, cutting them off to maintain a pure yang body and pure yang spirit.

Doing this did not increase cultivation; it only made cultivation purer and more refined.

But he had refined the Three Corpses Gods into the three Yin Spirits of his Dao Field, equivalent to external manifestations. Not only was he no longer troubled by the Three Corpses Gods, but he could also turn their cultivation strength into his own!

From now on, as he continued cultivating, the Three Corpses Gods would also improve with his cultivation progress. His strength would inevitably far surpass others!

Even if someone cultivated the same techniques, the same divine abilities, and had the same Divine Embryo in the same Three Corpses realm, they would still be far inferior to him in strength!

"I didn't sever the Three Corpses, and I still reached the Three Corpses realm. Little Duan Immortal lost our bet!"

Chen Shi laughed, withdrew his Primordial Spirit, and came out of his meditative trance. He invited Scholar Zhu out of the small temple and said to Black Pot, "You and Teacher guard the Wooden Cart. I need to go to the minor heaven for something important. Be careful—don't let anyone trick us out of the jade seal and the Huagai."

Scholar Zhu and Black Pot were quite surprised. Chen Shi had never cared so much about the jade seal and Huagai before.

Chen Shi left them behind, raised the Celestial Court token, and entered the minor heaven. He invited Little Duan Immortal out.

But it was Little Duan who came out, yawning and bleary-eyed. "Husband, what's the matter?"

"Wife, I want to call your sister out. Tell her to come out," Chen Shi said with a smile.

Little Duan asked suspiciously, "Why call her out? Do I really have a sister? How do I call her out?"

Chen Shi grabbed her shoulders and, without further explanation, pressed his lips against hers. Little Duan Immortal's heart pounded wildly. A drunken feeling washed over her, and her heart beat faster and faster, as if she might faint.

Chen Shi was also daring for the first time. He felt that this kiss was different from the last. There was a slippery, moist sensation, a sweetness in her mouth, making him want to take a gentle sip.

His heart pounded wildly. Just as he was about to make a further move, his lips were suddenly bitten tightly, and it grew more and more painful.

"Ouch, ouch!"

Chen Shi quickly opened his eyes and saw Little Duan Immortal looking at him with her eyes open, coldly staring at him while still biting his lower lip.

Chen Shi said, "I've reached the Three Corpses realm!"

Little Duan Immortal was shocked and released his lower lip.

Chen Shi's lower lip was nearly bitten bloody and slightly swollen, but he was still very excited. Without further ado, he activated his Dao Field. Peng Qiao, Peng Zhi, and Peng Ju—the three corpse bodies—appeared in the Dao Field, each taking human form.

Peng Qiao was strong, like an ancient god. Peng Zhi was fat with a big belly. Peng Ju was handsome and elegant.

"Greetings, Immortal!" the three Corpses Gods saluted Little Duan Immortal.

Little Duan Immortal's heart shook violently, and she blurted out, "You actually managed to refine them!"

Chen Shi smugly dispersed the Dao Field, and the three Corpses Gods disappeared along with it. He said with a smile, "Immortal, I've refined the Three Corpses. Shouldn't you fulfill your promise now?"

Little Duan Immortal's face flushed slightly, and she had a feeling of frustration that iron couldn't be forged into steel. She scolded, "Do you know what an extraordinary achievement it is to refine the Three Corpses into three Yin Spirits? This is an achievement that changes the path of cultivation! It doesn't just change the old cultivation system—it changes the new one too! You are the Patriarch of both new and old Dao, yet all you think about is looking at, looking at, looking at my chest!"

Chen Shi nodded seriously, staring at her neckline. "Let me look!"

Little Duan Immortal ground her teeth heavily, the sound grating. "Do you know that if your three Yin Spirit method were spread, countless people would call you an ancestor? Even if you died, you could use the energy of incense offerings to instantly possess divine power comparable to ancient gods?"

Chen Shi still stared at her neckline, very stubborn.

Little Duan Immortal was so angry that her teeth itched, but she was, after all, someone who had once reached the Dao Unification realm. She kept her promises. So she closed her eyes and was about to undo her clothes. But for some reason, her heart was pounding.

Seeing that she hesitated, Chen Shi felt an unbearable itch. "If you're embarrassed, I'll do it..."

As he said this, his voice trembled.

Little Duan Immortal nodded lightly, her heart beating even faster.

Chen Shi reached out, his hands trembling. He slowly undid her clothes, feeling his mouth go dry, his heartbeat thundering in his ears.

These silk robes were hard to unfasten. Shivering, he undid one layer after another.

Little Duan Immortal couldn't help it and said, "Is it undone yet? If not, I'll do it myself..."

Before she could finish her words, a chill brushed against her chest.

Chen Shi stared in a trance.

It was as the old saying went: The faintly visible orchid-like breasts, just beginning to bloom like bean sprouts, with fat congealing like hidden fragrance. Like verdant leaves newly drooping with tung fruits; like delicate purple buds, just splitting open lotus chambers. A hollow nest containing a spring, flowers turning to reveal their dewdrops—two twin peaks of Wu that break the heart the most.