Above the Great Dao
Chapter 135 - 80 Chen Shi Cuts Down the Mountain

Chapter 135: Chapter 80 Chen Shi Cuts Down the Mountain

It was now midday, and Chen Shi had casually found a restaurant, filled his stomach with Black Pot, then went to the marketplace to buy two iron helmets, one to wear on his head and the other on Black Pot’s head, so he didn’t have to worry about being targeted by a rat’s tail.

The helmets sold in the county were worn by military cultivators, incredibly sturdy, and even had the Six Ding and Six Jia inscribed within them to protect against ordinary spell attacks.

Chen Shi inquired about the direction of Black Mountain Grandma Temple, which turned out to be located in the suburbs of the county town, just over twenty miles away, separated by the Dejiang River—not too far of a distance.

"Black Mountain Grandma’s mana is formidable, far outstripping a junior Taoist, and a junior Taoist’s mana far outstrips mine, I must think of a method to break her mana!"

He did not hurry to the Grandma Temple but rather bought several bundles of incense and two jin of Exotic Beast Meat, and with Black Pot, made a trip back to Qianyang Mountain, arriving at the Mountain Lord Temple.

Black Mountain Grandma was also a godmother of the Black Mountain area, with the prosperity of worship. The nearby commoners offered incense and sacrificial offerings, even eating boys and girls during the New Year. Her powers of worship took the form of extraordinary powers, which were incredibly formidable.

The best way to break magic formed by such extraordinary powers was to use treasures with similarly extraordinary forces.

Chen Shi could think of no better place than the Mountain Lord Temple.

The Mountain Lord Temple was the place with the most robust accumulation of extraordinary power he had seen.

The first thing Chen Shi thought of was the incense burner in the temple.

There were two copper furnaces in the Mountain Lord Temple, one a long rectangular cauldron measuring one zhang in length, five chi in height, and three chi in width, and the other a cauldron-shaped circular furnace sitting on a six-footed bronze base, above which was a bronze turtle, the turtle’s back carrying a round cauldron-shaped incense burner, surmounted by a bronze three-tiered round pavilion, with an overall height exceeding one zhang.

When Chen Shi cleaned these two copper incense burners, he found that both had accumulated a thick layer of incense ash, suggesting that in its heyday, many people must have come here to offer incense and worship.

Both copper furnaces had been soaked in the Incense Fire Qi, storing a considerable amount of extraordinary power.

Even now, extraordinary power was emanating from the incense burners.

After contemplating for a moment, Chen Shi did not reach for the copper furnaces but approached the main hall instead.

In front of the main hall, there were four pillars, each wrapped with stone dragons, polished to a glossy shine by the touch of worshippers.

The extraordinary power contained within these four pillars was astonishing. It seemed that in the past, the stone dragons at this site were just a step away from transformation.

If he disassembled one of these pillars, he could also break Black Mountain Grandma’s mana.

"But neither the incense burners nor the pillars should be the most formidable treasures of extraordinary power. The strongest treasures, they should still be inside the hall!"

Chen Shi pushed open the doors of the hall and entered the main sanctuary.

The most concentrated extraordinary power in the main sanctuary had already formed into a rosy light, gathering within the shrine, as if it was in the midst of forming something.

Chen Shi looked around, his gaze falling on the empty shrine.

At this moment, the most potent place of extraordinary power in the hall was the shrine.

"But the most accumulation of extraordinary power isn’t in the shrine."

Chen Shi’s gaze shifted, looking up and saying in a low voice, "Incense Fire Qi drifts upwards, so the thing that should absorb the most extraordinary power would be..."

His gaze settled on the Eight Diagrams design on the caisson ceiling of the main hall.

This caisson was likely the spot where the extraordinary power was most abundant.

"The Eight Diagrams ceiling is not suitable for combat, and it’s inconvenient to dismantle the ceiling of this main hall. If dismantled, the whole main hall would collapse."

Chen Shi turned and went to the front hall, where a large red-gold, dragon-painted crossbeam stretched over two zhang in length.

The incense power of the front hall was not inferior to that of the main hall, and the extraordinary power emanating from the red-gold dragon-painted crossbeam was as rich as that of the shrine!

"It is this item!"

Chen Shi returned to the main sanctuary, took the several bundles of incense he had bought from the book box, lit them all, and placed them in front of the shrine, silently saying, "Mountain Lord above, your humble servant Chen Shi needs to borrow the great beam of the temple’s front hall for use. Once I have slain the demon, I will surely return this treasure and won’t covet to take it for myself. Mountain Lord, bear witness!"

He went to the front hall, leaped up, and jumped onto the crossbeam, lifting it with all his might. With a thunderous crash, half of the front hall collapsed.

This temple had withstood the elements, hidden underground for over six thousand years, yet today, the front hall could not escape this calamity.

Chen Shi took down the gold-painted dragon crossbeam, which was a golden nanmu wood pillar, thick as a water bucket, smoothed to a fine finish by craftsmen, and covered in red lacquer.

In West Bull New Continent, there was no golden nanmu, and this wooden pillar must have been brought by the fleet of the eunuch Zheng He from Central Continent, showing how much effort was put into constructing the Mountain Lord Temple.

Chen Shi took a cloth, wiped the dust off the pillar, called Black Pot over, took Black Dog Blood, ground cinnabar, and mixed gold powder to make the strokes dazzling golden.

His brushwork was swift as he drew talismans on the pillar—Five Thunder Talisman, Great Five Thunder Talisman, Hand Palm Thunder Talisman, Thunder God Ten Generals Talisman, Five Yang Heavenly Thunder Talisman, Nine Yang Thunderbolt Talisman, Heavenly Thunder Introduction Talisman, and so on, numbering dozens of types.

These talismans were refined by his True Qi and infused into the wood, not easily wearing off.

When the bowl of cinnabar ink was exhausted, Chen Shi stopped writing, neatly packed everything away, picked up the great beam, and strode out the door. fгeewёbnoѵel_cσm

Black Pot, having eaten two jin of Exotic Beast Meat, followed behind him.

Man and dog, they made a beeline for Black Mountain.

On the outskirts of the county, by the Dejiang River, Black Mountain stood tall, halfway up its slopes incense smoke rose, gathering into clouds in the sky.

In front of the Grandma Temple.

Five old rats with white whiskers, dressed in Taoist robes, holding aloft a lit incense, looked solemn as they devoutly bowed to Black Mountain Grandma Temple, murmuring words.

And behind them, there was a dense crowd of large gray-clad rats, standing on two legs like humans. Some were even taller than an adult, with the shorter ones around two or three chi in height, all holding incense, bowing to Black Mountain Grandma Temple in a synchronized manner!