Above the Great Dao
Chapter 65 - 41: Clear Dreams Overwhelm the Star River_2

Chapter 65: Chapter 41: Clear Dreams Overwhelm the Star River_2

Chen Shi picked a stick from the ground, approached the woman, and gave her two lashes, then threw the stick aside and chuckled, "One who is ungrateful deserves to be punished, and now I have administered that punishment. Wife of Guang Hao, let the past go unpunished, and do not make the same mistake in the future."

The woman bowed her head and thanked him.

Chen Shi repeated his earlier words, and only then did the elders understand; they let out a sigh of relief, but some worry remained, "Wouldn’t that bring trouble to you, our benefactor?"

Chen Shi laughed, "This matter no longer concerns your village but me alone. I’ll handle my own affairs! If the Zhao family sends someone, I’ll kill them one at a time, two by two. When enough have died, the Zhao family will naturally be willing to let bygones be bygones."

He gave some orders and then took the carriage straight into the mountain.

The coachman, carrying him and Black Pot, did so without any complaints.

Along the way, Chen Shi offered incense to the mountain spirits like Grandma Zhuang, the serpentine spirits of Great Snake Xuan Shan, and the stream maidens, gifting them various delightful trinkets for saving Xiao Wangsun.

These spirits were overjoyed, playing merrily with the toys.

Chen Shi, with Black Pot by his side, entered the Mountain Lord Temple. It had been days since his last visit, and the temple was now devoid of sunlight, becoming dim and cold.

Even the extraordinary power there wasn’t as lively as before.

Chen Shi set down his bookcase, inserted three sticks of incense into the temple’s burner, and then began to circulate the Three Light Righteous Qi Technique, stepping through the Beidou seven stars and walking calmly through the hall.

Unbeknownst to him, the temple’s extraordinary power gradually became lively again and the place started brightening up, but from the rooftop shone not the sunlight but a hazy moonlight.

Black Pot lay on the ground, looking up at the temple’s celestial display. A crescent moon hung in the sky, surrounded by twinkling stars, resplendent like a river of stars.

The crescent moon there was not like the one seen in the earthly night sky.

The crescent of the earthly moon was the vertical eye of the True God, which had two eyelids that closed together, hence the crescent’s willow leaf shape.

But the crescent seen in the temple was like the curved eyebrow of a young girl, resembling the eyes of a smiling maiden, captivating and peaceful.

This scene left the dog transfixed.

Behind Chen Shi, his shrine manifested, with divine light billowing and lingering for a long time.

His shrine was becoming more stable, and even though he lacked a Divine Embryo, true qi was now flowing within him, accompanied by the continuous burst of starlight from the Beidou, fusing into his body.

The Beidou Seven Refinements rapidly tempered his body, advancing him continuously towards the Five Organs Truth and Bone Refining and Marrow Stripping!

At this rate, in just a few days, he would be able to cultivate both the Five Organs Truth and Bone Refining and Marrow Stripping!

By that time, he would have a Holy Embryo Body!

With the Holy Embryo Body, his physique would be comparable to that of the Divine Embryo!

Tired from cultivating, Chen Shi stopped and lay down in the temple, hands behind his head, gazing at the otherworldly star-filled sky in the temple, momentarily lost in thought.

"Drunk, I knew not that the sky lay upon the waters; a boat full of clear dreams pressed upon the Star River. Another realm, where exactly is it? When shall I be able to personally visit that place?" he mused inwardly.

Just outside Mirror Lake Villa, a thin and tall ghoul strolled in, holding a lantern. Its light cast a round patch on the ground, and a figure in red walked through it.

Jin Hongying from the Divine Mechanism Camp had at last found Xiao Wangsun’s whereabouts.

"Who would have thought, in these deep mountains, there lies such a tranquil villa. Xiao Wangsun, do you really think I couldn’t find you hiding here?"

Jin Hongying said smilingly, "You slew the Governor of the Divine Machine Camp with a single stroke of your sword, truly a senior of the Divine Machine Camp. Yet that same stroke also revealed your inner weakness."

Inside the villa stood only coffins, big and small, nestled beneath old trees, perfectly serene, with no one to answer her.

Jin Hongying, undaunted, stepped across the threshold and onto the villa grounds. Her expression changed slightly as she cautiously regarded each coffin.

The villa had few coffins, equal in number to the trees.

Apart from Chen Shi’s thin shroud, the others could all be called coffins, exceedingly thick and luxurious.

With each step she took into the villa, she could feel a daunting pressure emanating from these coffins!

"Playing ghost tricks!"

Jin Hongying snorted coldly and took another step forward.

The pressure spiked as she took the second step!

The coffins before her eyes grew larger and larger, and the whole world twisted and spun in her view!

Jin Hongying’s face gradually reddened as she took yet another step.

After this step, her delicate body trembled violently; the tall, thin ghost holding the lantern behind her suddenly burst with a pop, turning into green smoke and vanishing, meeting an unfortunate end!

Warm blood trickled from Jin Hongying’s nostrils, two streams flowing down and streaking across her pale bosom, trailing down the center.

"Wah—"

Finally, she couldn’t hold back and spewed out a mouthful of blood, daring not to stay any longer, she turned and ran.

No sooner had she left the villa than a red garment billowed and transformed into a streak of red, whooshing away.

After a moment, the sound of clothing tearing through the sky was heard again; the red garment had returned, and from outside the villa came Jin Hongying’s laughter, "Xiao Wangsun, I suddenly remembered, if living people can’t enter the villa, what if what enters isn’t a living person?"

Under the moonlight, two little white paper figures walked towards the villa from outside.

They were paper figures cut from paper, with limbs and heads and only the height of a palm, walking awkwardly with arms and legs in unison.

They crossed the threshold and entered the villa, muttering incomprehensible words as they walked.

The two little paper figures pulled out two paper swords from behind and chanted an incantation, indiscernible in content.

Suddenly, the paper figures quickened their pace and charged towards Xiao Wangsun’s coffin. They leapt up, thrusting their paper swords towards the coffin.

The tiny swords spinning around the coffin immediately flew out and collided with one of the paper swords, resulting in a cascade of sparks!

The force coming from the paper swords was surprisingly strong, pushing back the tiny swords repeatedly.

This sword was one of Xiao Wangsun’s pair, named the Bolao Sword.

The Bolao Sword protected the coffin and went to fend off the other paper figure’s sword. As soon as it made contact, the first paper figure lightly touched down, then sprung up swiftly, sword in hand, attacking.

The two tiny paper figures zigzagged left and right, front and back, swords whirling, pressuring the Bolao Sword into a helpless defense.

Suddenly, the Bolao Sword moved faster and struck the second paper figure in the back, piercing through it!

The other paper figure leaped, with a ding, parried the Bolao Sword, rescuing its companion.

The Bolao Sword thrust out repeatedly, like an invisible master of swordsmanship engaging in an onslaught; the two paper figures felt a surge of pressure. The impaled paper figure couldn’t guard in time and was struck again, severed by the Bolao Sword into two, falling to the ground.

As the Bolao Sword was about to attack the other paper figure, it saw the figure kneel down, making a great show of crying over its companion’s body.

The upper half of the small paper figure trembled, reaching out a hand to grasp its companion’s hand, tilting its head as if trying to speak, but the head drooped, and it breathed its last.

The remaining paper figure put on a display of wailing and beating its chest incessantly before turning its head with a fierce gaze fixed on the Bolao Sword.

The paper figure sprang up and pounced with increased speed, yet the Bolao Sword was faster, never missing a strike to the front and back of the paper figure.

After parrying a few strikes, the paper figure couldn’t keep up, and its chest was pierced three times in quick succession, falling to the ground.

Knowing its life was endangered, the paper figure crawled on the ground towards its companion, struggling to stretch out its hand to grab the palm of its partner.

The Bolao Sword flew up and split it in half. The paper figure tilted up its head, trying to stretch out its right hand, but it collapsed and eventually expired.

The Bolao Sword heaved a sigh of relief, only to see a dozen more paper figures clambering over the threshold of the villa. These paper figures walked clumsily and adorably just like the previous ones.

Some paper figures behind the threshold pulled up paper muskets and cannons, while other figures shouted commands, looking as though they were preparing to lay siege to the villa.