Above the Great Dao

"Imprinting two is useless."

Chen Shi remained unmoved and swiftly left, saying, "Taoist, let's go to other peaks!"

Yu Lingzi hurriedly followed him, curiously asking, "True King, what is the purpose of that imprint you made?"

Chen Shi quickly approached another mountain peak and said, "This is the West King Jade Seal, a tool used by the True King for disputes, with the power to confer land. I appoint the Phantom Concubine as the Mountain God of Xiu Yun Peak, which allows me to illuminate Xiu Yun Peak in the Mountain and River Map, and I can also harness the power of all mountain gods, mountain spirits, and divine beings within Xiu Yun Peak for my use."

Yu Lingzi suddenly understood, thinking to himself, "No wonder the codename for Master Uncle in the Heavenly Court is True King. Holding the West King Jade Seal and the Mountain and River Map, he embodies both kingly and divine authority, surely he is the True King of the West Bull New Continent?"

The two of them arrived at the mountain peak, searching for the most powerful mountain spirit among them.

This peak was named Demon Sweeping Peak, due to its proximity to the Eighty-Eight Demon Peaks. The mountain got tainted from the demon peaks' demon qi, and the mountain spirit guarding this mountain was an old turtle named Suishou.

Chen Shi invoked the West King Jade Seal, appointing Suishou as the Mountain God of Demon Sweeping Peak.

Demon Sweeping Peak was illuminated by Suishou's divine power on the Mountain and River Map, making everything in Demon Sweeping Peak clearly visible.

The two then went to Taihua Mountain's Tired Bird Peak, appointing the mountain spirit Rose as the mountain god, and then went to Green Bird Peak, appointing the mountain spirit Green Bird as the mountain god.

There are a total of twenty-four peaks in Taihua Mountain. By midnight, except for the main peak, the other peaks, including Wenxu Peak where the Demon Suppressing Cave is located, had all their mountain gods appointed.

Chen Shi frowned slightly. Now only the main peak where Taihua Qing Palace is located wasn't illuminated, and judging from the Mountain and River Map, the other twenty-four peaks did not exhibit anything unusual.

He looked toward the brilliantly lit main peak.

"Sect Leader Jing Hong likes eating spirits and apparitions, he secretly ate a lot."

Chen Shi suddenly said, "Then, who is the strongest spirit or apparition on Taihua Mountain?"

A flash of insight crossed Yu Lingzi's mind, and he quickly said, "Master Uncle, could Qing Yang Ancestor be an evil spirit?"

Chen Shi's expression turned grave: "He is an evil spirit, but he maintains his sanity using the Incense Fire Qi."

Yu Lingzi also appeared grave, gazing at the main peak, he said, "Then, Qing Yang Ancestor should indeed be the strongest spirit on Taihua Mountain. If I were Sect Leader Jing Hong, the one I would most want to devour now is probably Qing Yang Ancestor."

Chen Shi suddenly remembered that his grandfather also liked devouring evil spirits when he turned evil.

Grandfather cultivated his Corpse Resolving Immortal during an evil transformation, and Sect Leader Jing Hong is similar!

Qing Yang's primordial spirit stands a thousand feet tall, with divine light radiating in all directions, like the brightest torch under the moonlight. In Jing Hong's eyes, it must look exceptionally delicious!

"Yu Lingzi, let's head to the main peak! Black Pot, hide in the underworld and prepare to provide support!"

The two individuals and a dog stealthily approached the main peak, heading straight for Green Sheep Palace from the Yin Yang Two Realms.

At Taihua Qing Palace, joyous events were abound: one being the return of the True Martial Evil Extermination Sword to the mountain, and the other the return of Qing Yang Ancestor, which made the whole Taihua Qing Palace filled with festive cheer. Taoists were busy decorating with lanterns and it would soon hold a grand celebration. Chang Ying Daoist had already dispatched people to notify the court, the Thirteen Families, as well as other Holy Lands, widely inviting guests to celebrate.

After a busy day, by nightfall, the main peak finally quieted down.

Chen Shi and Yu Lingzi arrived on the mountain, seeing bright lights everywhere but hardly any people, only occasionally spotting a few night watch daoists who, upon seeing them, did not speak but merely stared.

Chen Shi controlled the flock of birds to fly overhead, surveying the surroundings and searching through the entire mountain.

Yu Lingzi's shadow darted and leaped, observing all around.

Suddenly, a bird froze in mid-air, as if entangled by a spider web, and fell to the ground with a plop.

Chen Shi frowned and approached, only to find that the bird was merely an empty shell with no flesh or blood inside!

The flesh and blood within the bird seemed to have vanished into thin air!

"This bird was transformed from a leaf, but the transformation charm involves the Creation Technique, so whatever it turns into possesses the characteristics of that thing..."

As soon as he thought of this, suddenly the sound of plopping was incessant, as birds fell like rain around him, and soon, all the birds in the air plummeted, landing everywhere!

Chen Shi crouched down to check, each bird was devoid of flesh and blood!

Chen Shi felt a tingling sensation on his scalp; his spell was not broken!

These birds transformed from leaves were still birds, but the flesh and blood that formed from the transformation had been consumed by some invisible force!

This power resembled the ability of a primordial spirit to pluck brains from a distance!

But a primordial spirit would not escape his eyes, whereas this power was invisible and unknowable!

Under the distant lights, the night watchman looked at them, still silent, as if it was not surprising that a flock of birds would fall en masse.

Chen Shi's heart pounded fiercely, and he quietly threw a glance at Yu Lingzi.

Yu Lingzi understood, immediately controlling his shadow to approach the night watchman.

After a moment, Yu Lingzi's expression turned strange, and he whispered, "No danger."

Chen Shi and he stepped forward, coming in front of the night watchman, who still stared at them. A gentle breeze blew, and the watchman's body swayed slightly.

Chen Shi's face changed slightly, and he reached out to grab the watchman's wrist.

At this moment, a sinister wind howled, and Black Pot appeared beside Chen Shi, scaring both of them so much that their hair stood on end and their faces turned pale.

"Black Pot, you scared me to death!" Chen Shi complained.

He grabbed the watchman's wrist, but caught only air. The watchman's wrist was left with just the skin, devoid of flesh and blood inside!

"Woof, woof." Black Pot barked from behind the watchman.

Chen Shi moved to the back of the watchman, only to see two bloody footprints appearing on the ground, leading from the watchman's back towards the direction of the Green Sheep Palace.

His heart skipped a beat as he saw a large split open on the watchman's back, from Tian Ling down the back of the head, neck, spine, all the way to the buttocks cleft.

The watchman seemed to have transformed from a golden cicada larva into a cicada, leaving his human skin here, crawling on all fours towards the Green Sheep Palace.

"Is this an evil transformation?" Yu Lingzi murmured.

Chen Shi steadied himself and said, "It's an evil transformation. Could this watchman be Sect Leader Jing Hong?"

Yu Lingzi approached the front of the watchman, carefully examining his face, and shook his head, saying, "Doesn't look like him. It's Uncle Wen..."

Black Pot whooshed into the underworld, almost making Yu Lingzi jump, who complained, "Black Pot, can you make less noise!"

Chen Shi whispered, "The Qiongyang Ancestor is still guarding us from above, we won't be in danger. Let's follow his footsteps forward!"

Yu Lingzi was slightly reassured, and smiled, "The Qiongyang Ancestor is the strongest existence in Taihua Qing Palace cultivation, with her here, nothing will happen."

The two of them bolstered their courage and followed the footprints forward, only to see that the footprints ahead were becoming fainter.

"Could the blood have run dry?" Chen Shi wondered.

Just then, they saw a Taoist walking on all fours under the large red lantern hanging in front of the courtyard gate, frozen there without moving.

This Taoist was the very Uncle Wen who had shed his skin earlier, facing away from them, making a rustling sound and a popping noise.

He had already grown new human skin, thus no longer bleeding.

"Why hasn't the Qiongyang Ancestor taken action to eliminate Sect Leader Jing Hong?" the two muttered anxiously.

Uncle Wen remained motionless, the popping noise becoming more and more rapid.

Chen Shi quietly circled around, slowly approaching him from the front, and saw Uncle Wen tilting his head back, looking forward, his eyes glaring angrily, mouth agape, tongue touching the roof of his mouth.

His eyes had turned deathly white, without pupils.

Suddenly, the rustling sound came again, followed by the popping noise, and Uncle Wen's back suddenly split open, from the crown of the head all the way to the buttocks cleft!

Then his bloody back slowly bulged from the split back skin, like a cicada undergoing metamorphosis, slowly pulling his head out of the old skin, followed by the upper body.

He wriggled within his skin, slowly emerging his upper body, pulling out bloody arms, then slowly withdrawing his legs, landing on the ground on all fours, crawling forward slowly.

He seemed not to see Chen Shi and Yu Lingzi, continuing to crawl toward the Green Sheep Palace of his own accord.

"Hoo—"

Black Pot spun into a whirlwind, poking its dog head out, almost making Chen Shi jump, who glared at it fiercely.

"Black Pot, could you not come out and scare people?" Yu Lingzi's heart pounded, he trembled as he spoke.

Black Pot surveyed the scene, then retracted into the underworld and disappeared.

Chen Shi was about to follow Uncle Wen when suddenly the courtyard door behind them creaked open with a long sound.