Above the Great Dao
Chapter 359 - 179: Presenting Me with White Lotus_2

Chapter 359: Chapter 179: Presenting Me with White Lotus_2

His heart pounded wildly, and suddenly he thought of the third spell that the Cold Mountain Wanderer hadn’t taught them. He figured it must be the secret to reversing transformations, restoring True Qi, and killing someone from thousands of miles away!

Once he realized this, even more thoughts popped into his head.

"That breath of True Qi could not only transform into Sword Qi but also into fire, water, thunder, even the Taotie Devouring Heaven Technique!"

"I could stand hundreds of miles away, or even farther, in a nearly peak state, ready to duel or assassinate my adversary!"

"The spell the Cold Mountain Wanderer didn’t teach me is the key! No, not a spell, it’s a Divine Skill!"

Spells and Divine Skills are different. Spells require the use of talismans and inscriptions to cast, often borrowing power from elsewhere, such as the various demons’ and ghosts’ patterns and names inscribed on the talismans. Different spells borrow power from different gods.

Divine Skills are the Cultivator’s own power!

If Chen Shi really could master such a spell, it could also be called a Divine Skill.

Half-spell, half Divine Skill.

"But what if, instead of paper cranes, it were flying swords?"

Chen Shi suddenly thought, if paper cranes could become immortal cranes and fly through the spell that enables transformation, then couldn’t flying swords also turn into birds, flapping wings in the air to save True Qi?

After arriving thousands of miles away, the bird could transform back into a sword and slay the opponent!

How terrifying would that technique be?

"No wonder the Cold Mountain Wanderer said that the people in Western Capital, upon seeing his letter, would definitely agree to his request! This isn’t a request but a display of skill, announcing, ’I can take your head from thousands of miles away with ease! If your cultivation is not as good as mine, you can only wait for death!’"

Chen Shi secretly admired him, "Cold Mountain Wanderer is truly bold!"

Yet unbeknownst to him, although the Cold Mountain Wanderer harbored such thoughts, the moment his immortal crane entered the Western Capital, it was caught by the throat by Creation Little Five, and his show-off attitude vanished.

Chen Shi was brimming with excitement. Lacking a flying sword, he simply took out the knife he typically used to bleed the Black Pot and cast the transformation spell on it.

This knife was just an ordinary seven-inch knife found everywhere, with a four-inch handle and a three-inch blade. The blade was curved, with a sharp and pointed tip, resembling the claw of a fierce tiger with a backward hook.

Chen Shi exhaled a breath of True Qi, pointed with a Sword technique, and suddenly the knife clattered, transforming into a lark that sprang from his palm, flapping its wings and flying agilely.

The lark flapped swiftly, zooming back and forth. Though it couldn’t match the speed of Xiao Wangsun’s Bolao Sword, its agility was indeed superior.

Chen Shi controlled the lark as it weaved through the clouds and descended into the mountains below.

In the distance, several Heaven Listeners either squatted on treetops, hung upside down from branches, or sat on boulders, all with ears tilted to listen while swiftly recording something.

As Chen Shi guided the lark past them and perched it on a branch, the Heaven Listeners all turned their ears to listen. After a moment, they turned their ears away and paid him no more attention.

"Cold Mountain Wanderer is impressive!"

Chen Shi couldn’t help but be moved; these Heaven Listeners hadn’t realized the lark was not a real one!

They thought it was just an ordinary lark, so they ignored it!

"If I were to strike now, I fear I could slay all these Heaven Listeners in one blow!"

Such a thought crossed Chen Shi’s mind.

However, there seemed to be a mysterious balance between Heaven Listeners and Independents. Heaven Listeners monitored the goings-on of Independents, while Independents turned a blind eye to their surveillance, which was quite odd.

Chen Shi also chose not to disturb this subtle balance and directed the lark to fly away.

He flitted through the rounded peaks of the Henggong Mountain range and stumbled upon a marvelous discovery. Nestled among the mountains were villages worshipping village protection deities in various forms, sheltering the villagers.

At night, the deities would come to life; some stood atop trees, others sat among pagodas, and some wandered through the villages.

Should an Evil Spirit draw near, the deities would rise to drive it away.

He flew on, always careful to control the distance to avoid losing the knife his grandfather had left him.

Then, a mountain range came into his view.

There were lights above the mountain. Lanterns hung beneath palace after palace, glowing brightly within them. Chen Shi was puzzled when suddenly, a Nascent Soul the size of a soybean flew past him.

Though tiny, the Nascent Soul contained incredibly formidable power and moved with extraordinary speed. It abruptly stopped, turned its head, and looked toward Chen Shi.

Although only the size of a bean, roughly an inch, Chen Shi could clearly see the features of a middle-aged man with a clean-shaven, pale face.

"He can actually see through me?" Chen Shi was taken aback.

"Little sparrow!"

The middle-aged man’s Nascent Soul roared in pursuit, reaching for the skylark.

"So, he didn’t see through me after all."

Chen Shi relaxed, his mind controlling the skylark to flutter up and down, dodging the pursuit of the Nascent Soul. Suddenly, it darted into the forest and vanished from sight.

The middle-aged man’s Nascent Soul had thought to catch a small bird for amusement but was caught off guard when his attempt failed. With a dumbstruck expression, he shook his head and exclaimed in disbelief, "I actually missed!"

He flew toward the palace on the mountain.

Chen Shi waited until he was far away before flapping his wings and flying out of the forest, following the Nascent Soul into a mountain gate.

At the gate stood two cauldrons with incense smoke rising from them. Behind the smoke were two Divine Beasts, each with a single antler on their heads, resembling lions about two or three zhang in height, and exuding immense majesty.

These were the Divine Beasts guarding the mountain gate. Originally stone statues, they had gained exceptional power from the abundant offerings of incense, forming divine images. At night, they would manifest to protect the mountain gate.

The mountain gate bore the inscription: Taiping Sect.

"The Taiping Sect? Is it an organization similar to the Red Mountain Hall or the Tianlao Society?"

Chen Shi flew past the mountain gate. The two Divine Beasts did not stop him, glancing sideways and mistaking him for an ordinary skylark.

When he arrived at the palaces on the mountain top, he was surprised to find that the disciples of the Taiping Sect were still awake in the middle of the night, dragging white wooden boats from somewhere. Many boys and girls carried buckets mixed with Black Dog Blood and cinnabar ink.

They were almost lying on these small boats, carefully tracing the patterns of talismans on them.

Chen Shi flew overhead, passing white banners hanging in the air and various patterns drawn on the ground. More than ten middle-aged men and women sat solemnly on altars and shrines around the area, resembling deities.

After the children finished painting the talismans on the boats, they retreated with their buckets.

Another group of boys and girls approached, each taking a position beside a boat.

With a single finger, the middle-aged men and women caused clouds of mist to swirl in the air, each no more than a zhang in diameter.

With another pointing gesture, ropes tied to the small boats were swiftly hoisted, threading through those spinning clouds.

"You only have a quarter of an hour to pick the Resurrection Lotus."

A woman opened her eyes, her gaze devoid of any emotion, and said, "After you’ve picked the Resurrection Lotus, return immediately, and do not linger. Remember, make no noise. If you alarm the spirits in the heavens, none of you will make it back alive!"

The boys and girls, dressed in tattered clothes, appeared to be from poor families. Without a word, they grabbed the ropes and began to climb, stopping just beneath the white clouds.

"They are going to the underworld to stealthily pick the lotus!"

Chen Shi suddenly realized and perked up, thinking, "That young lady who brought me the white lotus must also be here, right? Is she a disciple of the Taiping Sect too?"

He scanned the faces of the young men and women, but could not find the girl who had brought him the white lotus.

Chen Shi spread his wings to fly around in search, but still could not find the girl.

The girl who had brought him the white lotus could be considered his life-saving benefactor. Without that lotus, Chen Shi might not have lasted until Black Pot came to rescue him.

Suddenly, the sky split open, revealing round portal-like openings, and on the other side of these openings was the underworld!

The boys and girls vigorously pulled on the ropes, hoisting their boats onto the clouds, and then carefully slipped the boats through the circular openings into the underworld. freēNovelFire.com

Chen Shi peered through an opening and, indeed, saw a marsh on the other side, filled with white lotuses.

The boys and girls cautiously peeked into the portals, looking around for danger before silently sliding down the ropes.

"So, this is how they enter the underworld."

Chen Shi felt enlightened and thought, "The cultivators of the Taiping Sect must be sending these young men and women to the lotus fields to stealthily pick white lotuses, and the ghostly creature above must be the cultivator of these fields. But where could that young lady who brought me the lotus have gone?"

He flew back and forth within the Taiping Sect, until finally, at the rear mountain of the sect, he found the girl with her hair tied in bunches.

She was gravely ill and close to death.

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