Above the Great Dao

Chen Shi hid behind the broken temple window and witnessed the scene unfold before his eyes.

In just an instant, dozens of cultivators at the Divine Embryo Realm had died completely, which truly shocked him.

Under the moonlight, the little girl met his gaze with an indifferent expression, devoid of any human emotion. She took a bite of an apple, then turned and left.

Behind Chen Shi, his grandfather's voice rang out, "Don't be envious. With your current body, you could also defeat those government officials."

Chen Shi was slightly startled and said with a mix of shock and joy, "Am I now as powerful as the godmother in Fangdian Village?"

His grandfather, tending the fire and patiently simmering medicine without looking up, replied, "Godmother could kill you with a single twig. Those government officials might seem weak, but even a simple spell could kill you."

Chen Shi was confused.

"Did you notice? Once those Divine Embryo Realm cultivators were approached by a twig, they were certain to die without any chance to retaliate. Their Divine Embryos are indeed strong, but their physical bodies are too weak. If you approach them before they can cast a spell, you can kill them."

His grandfather stirred the medicine and spoke indifferently, "Cultivators who practice the Heavenly Heart Righteous Qi Technique often focus only on cultivating their spirit and neglect their physique. Your physique is already strong and getting stronger. Of course, if they attack first, even the simplest spell could easily kill you. You currently have no True Qi to resist their spells. Against such enemies, you must seize the initiative and not give them any chance to strike!"

Chen Shi nodded.

The government officials outside all came from Scholar backgrounds and practiced the Heavenly Heart Righteous Qi Technique, a Qi cultivation technique focusing on foundation establishment which doesn't strongly enhance the physique.

But the technique Chen Shi practiced was different. The Three Light Righteous Qi Technique aimed to cultivate the Holy Embryo Dharma Body. The so-called Divine Embryo refers to cultivating a body like the Divine Embryo, while Dharma Body refers to Mana and True Qi, meaning one's mana is powerful, equivalent to the body itself.

Chen Shi didn't possess a Divine Embryo, and even if he cultivated mana, it would dissipate. But if he focused all his energy on forging his body, his cultivation speed could be twice that of normal!

With the addition of the medicine and strange "meals" his grandfather prepared, Chen Shi's progress was even faster!

Soon, the medicine was ready. Chen Shi took it and continued to practice the Three Light Righteous Qi Technique, unknowingly entering a meditative state, oblivious to everything around him.

Moonlight spilled through the door, falling on the ground through the window lattice, casting a quiet and mysterious glow.

His grandfather avoided the moonlight and sat trembling in a corner.

"Hungry, so hungry… So delicious, the scent of human flesh…"

Underneath the hat, a pair of blood-red eyes fixed on Chen Shi, the campfire suddenly turned green, and the air temperature dropped sharply, almost to the point of snowing.

The black dog couldn't help shivering and crouched down, not daring to move.

In the dark corner, his grandfather stood up at some unknown time, staring directly at Chen Shi, who was cultivating.

"I'm really so hungry, I want to eat a person!"

Suddenly, a window opened, and his grandfather had disappeared from the temple, appearing outside.

He walked past the bodies on the ground, ignoring them, and vanished into the night under the moonlight.

Black Pot saw the window open and hurriedly raised his head, barking twice.

Chen Shi was woken up by the noise, quickly approached, and closed the window.

"Grandfather went out again?"

Chen Shi was slightly startled. Not finding his grandfather in the temple, he hurriedly looked outside, only to see the moonlight shining brightly on dozens of corpses belonging to government officials and white horses.

Suddenly, one of the bodies trembled a few times.

Chen Shi rubbed his eyes and looked carefully, indeed seeing one of the bodies slowly rising under the moonlight.

Chen Shi's heart skipped a beat, "Are they coming back to life?"

As he was thinking this, he saw the bodies on the ground one by one shakily rise.

Even the eight horse corpses stood up, supporting themselves on their hooves!

Though their bodies were riddled with bloody holes and should have been dead beyond doubt, they were now moving as if they had come back to life!

Chen Shi's heart thumped wildly, and at this moment, Black Pot also approached, resting its forelegs on the window ledge to peer outside.

Under the moonlight, faint music could be heard, making the bodies sway unsteadily as if they were drunk.

Both the man and the dog were extremely nervous, straining their eyes to find the source of the music. After a while, the sound of trumpets and suonas became clearer and clearer, and out from the woods emerged two rows of performers dancing and waving their arms!

Chen Shi had seen his share of wedding celebrations, all bustling with excitement, where the host would hire a band to play music to celebrate.

But the scene outside was like a bridal procession in welcoming the bride, except the band was composed of foxes standing on their hind legs, cheeks puffed up, vigorously blowing into horns and suonas.

Other foxes clutched cymbals in their paws, clashing them loudly, and a few others tied drums around their waists, beating them vigorously with thunderous rhythms.

They swayed and staggered as if dancing under the moonlight.

Following them was a large red sedan chair, carried by no one, just floating in the air, swaying along with the music.

The dozens of corpses in front of the temple also danced to the rhythm of the music, creating an eerie scene under the moonlight.

"It's not evil; it's a calamity!"

Chen Shi inhaled a breath of cold air. He had heard from his grandfather that calamities were even more formidable than evils, to the extent that even the godmother of the village couldn't guard against them!

By the time a calamity occurred, several villages would be wiped out, and the villagers, including the godmother, would die overnight, completely eradicated!

"The Peach Talisman left by grandfather might not be able to stop this calamity!"

Chen Shi looked at the bridal procession. The curtained red sedan swayed, and he could vaguely see a figure inside, dressed in bright red wedding attire with pale, clean hands, her face covered by a red bridal veil.