Above the Great Dao
Chapter 402 - 198: Living Sacrifice

Chapter 402: Chapter 198: Living Sacrifice

Chen Shi changed into his newly made clothes: underneath, he wore a white garment for protection, and on the outside, a shallow green round-collared shirt with a purple lapel. On his feet, he donned a pair of black boots with white soles and upturned toes, and on his head, he wore a delicate golden crown.

In addition to these, he had several other sets of clothes, including two sets of Flying Fish Suits, one red and one black, both embroidered with flying fish and paired with different colored Yishan Crowns. There was also one set each of light red and light green Daoist robes, as well as several straight-cut trousers and five hair bands, all stored in the wooden cart.

The dog was clothed in red trousers embroidered with golden threads, featuring peach blossoms and green leaves, and its upper body was covered by a red vest with the Armored Horse Talisman stitched on the back, a bit loose but looking quite human-like when standing.

Chen Shi also bought the dog a pair of spectacles, with tortoiseshell frames and two deep-blue glass lenses tied behind the dog’s ears with a ribbon.

This way, staring directly at the sunlight would not be too glaring.

"Right, someone also sent me a colorful cloud carriage. Riding in a wooden cart is not as imposing as traveling in a carriage. Why not travel to Yudou in the colorful cloud carriage?"

Chen Shi planned to switch carriages, but suddenly the wooden cart opened its large maw and swallowed the colorful cloud carriage whole, leaving him no choice but to continue his journey in the wooden cart.

The wooden cart moved its wheels, exiting the tall threshold of the Chen estate, crossed the steps, and reached the outside.

Qing’er said, "Master, let me accompany you; I can also take care of your diet and daily life."

Chen Shi shook his head, "You won’t be of any use if you go. Just stay home and be safe."

Qing’er said, "Master, don’t stay long in Yudou. The examination for Advanced Scholar is next April, and the journey to Western Capital is long, so make sure not to delay."

Chen Shi nodded, "Before going to Western Capital, I will return here once."

He boarded the cart, and the wooden cart rumbled away.

Chen Shi said to Black Pot, "Living in a large estate is truly a hassle, with a woman in charge of you; it’s more comfortable in Huangpo Village."

Yudou lies to the southwest of Xinxiang, with Gongzhou straight south. The journey was long.

They traveled along the provincial post road, and by evening of the first day, they had left Xin Xiang Province and arrived at the coastal military post station. They saw gigantic city walls standing tall along the coastline. Every li or so, there would be a military watch post, a tower built upon the wall.

On top of the tower, there were giant copper mirrors guarded by six or seven soldiers, keeping the sea demons at bay.

Chen Shi stayed one night at the military post station. At night, he heard the roar of sea demons, like thunder rolling on the other side of the wall; it was terrifying, and he always worried whether the demons would crawl onto the land.

But thankfully, the night was peaceful.

The next day, Chen Shi drove his cart along the interstate post road and saw military posts that had been overrun by the demons; the posts were destroyed, and the copper mirrors shattered. It was unknown whether the soldiers had died in battle or retreated.

Darkness came early, indicating that the demons’ power had grown stronger than before, breaking through the defenses of the posts.

Further on, a section of the city wall had collapsed, and on the ruins, there were sticky traces left by climbing demons. Not far away were the enormous remains of a demon, with a section of the skeleton covering the road.

The wooden cart passed under the skeleton, where several Cultivators were sawing at the bones. Chen Shi stopped to inquire, and one of the Cultivators said, "We’re sawing bones to refine treasures."

"How did this demon die?" Chen Shi asked.

"I don’t know. I heard that when the demons breached the walls, a red light flew along the sea, and then the demons died."

Chen Shi thanked them and urged the wooden cart to depart.

"It was killed by the Stone Rock Lady using the Blood Ganoderma," he said to Black Pot.

Suddenly, the demon bones collapsed, and the Cultivators who were sawing the bones fell down, landing on the ground and yelping in pain.

The demon bones were enormous, and the essence within them was rapidly escaping. After their essence was lost, they crumbled into dust and fell to the ground. Soon, the entire skeleton turned into powder and gathered in a heap.

The Cultivators, ignoring their pain, approached to inspect and exclaimed in shock, "The essence has been drained by something!"

"There is an Evil Spirit nearby!"

A thought struck Chen Shi: "It must be the doing of the Stone Rock Lady!"

In the small temple, the Stone Rock Lady let out a satisfied sigh.

During these days, as Chen Shi devoted himself to cultivation, she helped regulate his Qi-Blood and refine his Golden Core, benefiting greatly herself.

However, she was, after all, a demon god, and absorbing the stony essence from bones was her specialty. Seeing the demon bones, she couldn’t help but be delighted and decided to absorb the entire demonic skeleton.

"When I was a demon lord on Skull Mountain, with a single breath, the stony essence in the bones of all living beings within several li was sucked away by me."

The Stone Rock Lady, still not fully satisfied, continued, "People and animals wouldn’t die but would just lie there, unable to move except to wriggle. Later I was killed by that master-disciple pair, became a deity, and stopped absorbing the stony essence from bones."

Chen Shi cautiously said, "Lady, don’t you think you were killed because you did something wrong?"

The Stone Rock Lady replied, "I am a spirit born from rocks who managed to cultivate. I do not possess your human concepts of right and wrong. All I knew was that bone refinement accelerated my cultivation. Later, when I was defeated by that master-disciple duo, I was simply outmatched."

After pondering for a moment, Chen Shi said, "As my disciple, you mustn’t harm people at will."

The Stone Rock Lady smiled, "After I was killed, I became aware of the consequences and dared not harm people anymore. I have also been honored as Yue You Star Lord, a righteous deity after all."

Chen Shi thought to himself, "A disabled righteous deity."

They stopped in Fei County for the night and continued their journey the next day.

Within the territory of Gongzhou, because Stone Rock Lady guarded it, even if sea demons broke through the military’s blockade, they would die under the Blood Ganoderma, leaving huge skeletons behind. The Stone Rock Lady was thrilled, absorbing the bones along the way to strengthen herself.

Nevertheless, after absorbing the bones of dozens of demons, all she managed to achieve was thicker hair; she was far from growing a body, let alone a neck!