Above the Great Dao
Chapter 361 - 180 Relying on My True Qi_2

Chapter 361: Chapter 180 Relying on My True Qi_2

They were also lotus pickers, likely abandoned on the back mountain when they fell ill, dying here.

Their bodies were too heavily tainted with yin energy to enter the cycle of rebirth.

On Mist Ridge, Chen Shi raised his hand and the cloudlark flew back, landing on his palm and transforming into a small knife.

He glanced at the uneaten meals of Li Tianqing, feeling a stirring in his heart, warmed the food again, wrapped it in yellow paper, and summoned a paper crane. The crane turned into an immortal crane, took the food in its beak, and flew off towards the back mountain of Phoenix Ridge, where the Taiping Sect was located.

Xiao Dingxiang was worrying about the cloudlark’s safety when she suddenly heard the sound of flapping wings. She saw an immortal crane, much taller than herself, descending and walking into the thatched cottage.

The immortal crane held a paper-wrapped package in its beak and placed it in front of her.

Xiao Dingxiang opened the package to find it contained a meal that was still warm!

She was both surprised and delighted, hurriedly calling over Little Tian and the other two listless children in the cottage to eat together.

The four had been hungry for so long that this meal felt like the best they had ever had.

Xiao Dingxiang suddenly remembered she hadn’t thanked the immortal crane, but by the time she looked up, the crane was already outside the cottage and flying away.

"First it was the cloudlark, and now an immortal crane? Are these the boy’s way of repaying us for the help?" she thought to herself.

When daylight came, the immortal crane returned, bringing even more food and leaving it outside the thatched cottage.

By noon, when the immortal crane arrived with food, their complexions had improved significantly. Chen Shi was a walking apothecary, carrying many herbs in his wooden cart, and he had added to their food some herbs that could drain pus, reduce inflammation, and speed up the healing of wounds.

By evening, the children in the thatched cottage were all able to get up and move around, albeit still somewhat unsteadily.

As darkness fell,

the singing of the cloudlark could be heard again. Xiao Dingxiang looked out to see a cloudlark landing outside the cottage with two Resurrection Lotuses in its beak. It put down the lotuses and flew away.

Xiao Dingxiang hurried to pick up the Resurrection Lotuses. After a while, the cloudlark returned, bringing even more of them.

The cultivators of Taiping Sect continued searching the entire mountain for the lotus-picking cloudlark. However, the bird eluded them time after time, entering the underworld to stealthily pick white lotuses before quickly flying off, leaving the Taiping Sect’s cultivators frustrated and unable to catch the elusive bird.

Chen Shi was controlling the cloudlark, plucking over a dozen Resurrection Lotuses to give to Xiao Dingxiang and the others.

The four children in the thatched cottage were looking much healthier, their spirits had stabilized, and they were no longer on the brink of death.

On the third day, the immortal crane brought a variety of foods again, causing the children to be overwhelmed with gratitude.

On the evening of the third day, the cloudlark returned, still stealing white lotuses, and fed them.

On Mist Ridge, Han Qian, the elder, had been hiding in his Void Great Realm for the past few days, teaching Yu Tiancheng how to cultivate. He hadn’t ventured out for three to four days, only occasionally meeting a few old friends.

For beings like them, attending or not attending the Independent Gatherings didn’t matter much. Showing up at such gatherings was merely to meet newcomers and maintain order, and to ensure that no external enemies attacked or someone like Chen Yindou didn’t cause trouble by killing a few independents on a whim.

Fortunately, this year’s gathering had been peaceful, with no one stirring up trouble.

"After the Five Lakes Wanderer passed away, the Independent Gatherings aren’t as lively as before," murmured the Cold Mountain Wanderer.

He was idle and thought to himself, "What has Chen Shi been up to these past few days? This young fellow doesn’t have the temperament of his grandfather, who was always causing trouble. Instead, he is an honest child."

He discreetly observed Chen Shi and saw him casting spells repeatedly, turning the paper cranes into immortal cranes to deliver food to several emaciated children on Phoenix Ridge.

"What a good child."

The Cold Mountain Wanderer was filled with emotion, twirling his mustache as he said to his fellow, "My friend, Chen Shi is truly a good child. His aptitude is extremely high, it has only been a few days, and he has already understood the skills I taught him and applied them proficiently!"

The wanderer, observing Chen Shi’s actions, was moved and said, "The child has a kind heart and has not been led astray by the Five Lakes Wanderer. It’s a blessing from the heavens. Otherwise, in a few more years, he could have become another Creation Little Five."

Mentioning Creation Little Five, the Cold Mountain Wanderer’s expression changed slightly as he remembered the slaughter at the Independent Gathering twenty years ago.

At that moment, he noticed Chen Shi leaving the mountain with a wooden cart and a black dog, steering the cart towards another destination, which surprised him, "What is he up to now?"

His consciousness followed Chen Shi along the way.

Chen Shi traveled along the mountain road for over a hundred miles, crossed several peaks, and finally arrived at the Taiping Sect, leaving the Black Pot and the wooden cart outside to wait, calming his breath before approaching the gate.

The disciple guarding the gate challenged him, "Who goes there?"

Chen Shi smiled and said, "I am Chen Shi from the Li Family in Quanzhou, accompanying Young Master Li Tianqing to this vicinity. Young Master Tianqing heard that your prestigious sect possesses the magical Resurrection Lotus, so he sent me to purchase a few to present to our elders upon our return home."

The Taiping Sect disciple laughed and said, "Even the Li Family from Quanzhou has come to know about our sect’s treasure? Follow me."

He led Chen Shi up the mountain to meet the housekeeper.

The housekeeper, a rather shrewd middle-aged man, smiled and said, "Our esteemed guest may not be aware, but these Resurrection Lotuses are the private property of a certain master from Yudou. While we do sell a few occasionally, the price is rather steep."

Chen Shi smiled and asked, "May I inquire as to the price?"

"Three hundred silver per flower."

Chen Shi hesitated and said, "The price is indeed steep. I’m afraid our young master may not afford many. I cannot make this decision on my own and will go back to inform Young master Tianqing."

The housekeeper knew that sons of great clans, although they have illustrious reputations, are also subjected to extremely strict financial control within their families; they received only a set amount of silver each month. The ones who could afford such purchases were usually those who had gone out to be officials, reaping more profits.

But even if Chen Shi didn’t have much money, the housekeeper wouldn’t offend him and smiled, "If that’s the case, we can discuss it further after you’ve consulted with Young Master Tianqing."

Chen Shi noticed that there weren’t many disciples in the Taiping Sect, but there were quite a few children. He smiled and said, "May I inquire, housekeeper, if you have any attendant students for sale? Our young master is traveling and wishes to purchase a few to serve him."

The housekeeper shook his head and said, "Our servant boys and girls are all purchased, and we cannot possibly sell them."

Chen Shi said, "Are there any who are sick and unwanted? If cheaper, our Young Master Tianqing is indeed in need."

The housekeeper laughed and said, "You don’t know, my brother, but the servant children that our Taiping Sect discards usually don’t survive more than a few days. If I were to sell them to you, it would be swindling you. We value honesty in our business and cannot deceive customers."

Seeing that he was not relenting, Chen Shi had no choice but to give up.

The housekeeper saw him out, saying, "On normal days, if we have extras, we could sell some to you for attendant students. However, we also purchase them from the Tianlao Society, and for some reason, they haven’t brought anyone over these days, leaving us with very few. Please understand, brother."

"Tianlao Society?"

Chen Shi’s eyelid twitched, his eyes flashing with a dangerous light.

At that moment, a plump woman approached, yelling from afar, "Old Xu, the servant girls and boys we left at the back mountain didn’t die! I just went there, and they were jumping around lively. I’ve brought them here, and tonight we can arrange for them to pick lotuses!"

Chen Shi looked towards the source of the voice and saw several frail young boys and girls following the plump woman, with little Dingxiang leading them.

"I take my leave," Chen Shi bowed.

The housekeeper, too, was surprised that Dingxiang and the others could actually survive; he was so preoccupied with checking on them that he didn’t see Chen Shi off.

Chen Shi walked down the mountain, his expression gradually becoming grim.

"The Tianlao Society, huh... Black Pot, let’s go!"

He took Black Pot and the wooden cart and headed to the nearby village.

"What is this kid up to?" Cold Mountain Wanderer kept his watchful eyes on him and felt puzzled at this scene.

At that time, there was still a little more than an hour before nightfall.

Chen Shi arrived in town and found a blacksmith’s shop. He said, "Shopkeeper, do you have any short knives or swords, or something like iron spikes? I’ll take them all!"

He paid and bought all the short knives, swords, and a pointed iron spike from the blacksmith’s shop, a large crate worth, dozens in total, and placed them on the wooden cart.

Chen Shi then took some of Black Pot’s blood and started painting talismans, working on over twenty until the sky turned increasingly red, and the sun closed its eyes.

Chen Shi had dinner in town and bought a few pounds of Exotic Beast Meat for Black Pot before they set out back towards the Taiping Sect.

When they arrived at the foot of the Taiping Sect’s mountain, about a mile from the gate, Chen Shi stopped, took the crate filled with iron swords, knives, and spikes out, and lined up the twenty-odd talismans in a row.

He took a deep breath and activated his spell.

Cold Mountain Wanderer, seeing the preparations, felt his expression change, "This kid wants to use the spell I taught him to kill! But I never taught him the third form; where did he learn it from?"

Just as that thought crossed his mind, Chen Shi exhaled, and a burst of True Qi sprayed out!

"With a single breath of my True Qi, I decree your entire gate be wiped out!"

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