Above the Great Dao

"He had turned into a skeleton, yet he was still alive?"

Chen Shi felt a shock in his heart and forcefully pried the skinny, tall skeleton's fingers off the copper lamp, then carried the lamp and headed upstream.

The copper lamp, seemingly not large in the boney hands, appeared nearly as tall as Chen Shi and frighteningly large, equally heavy too.

He looked back and saw that the skinny, tall skeleton had fully awakened, appearing extremely angry. Its leg bones, solely consisting of bones, crouched on the riverbed and with a leap, it tried to jump up to chase after Chen Shi!

With a crisp "crack," one of the skeleton's thigh bones broke, causing its jump to skew and it tumbled to the side.

Chen Shi was both shocked and amused.

The bones of the tall, skinny skeleton were covered with scars from sharp and blunt weapons and traces of burns from spells.

It couldn't exert force, for if it did, these damaged bones would break.

Not only that, Chen Shi also saw that several of its ribs were broken, whereabouts unknown.

Now with one leg broken, it moved like a three-legged toad, ridiculously awkward in its motion.

Still, no matter how ridiculous, its swimming speed was still much faster than Chen Shi's!

Chen Shi dared not delay and mustered all his strength to swim towards the river's surface, various thoughts flooding his mind as he swam.

"The skinny, tall skeleton is still alive because, like me, it traveled from the world of the living to the underworld, hence its flesh and blood dissolved and turned into bones.

"This copper lamp is likely not a treasure of Granny Sha, but his treasure!

"Granny Sha coveted this copper lamp; this thing must be extraordinary. But why was Granny Sha so sure the lamp would end up in the River of Oblivion? Ah, that's right, he must have been fatally wounded when he fell into the River of Oblivion with the lamp!

"Granny Sha wasn't sure whether he was dead, so she waited for nine years. Nine years surely meant his injuries became fatal, leading to his death, so she had me search the river for the lamp.

"However, Granny Sha did not anticipate that once he entered the River of Oblivion, his flesh would be gone, leaving only bones, thereby neutralizing the fatal wounds. But he could not leave the river, so he could only sleep at the bottom of it."

He had just thought of this when suddenly he saw boats bustling across the river surface from all directions.

Strong and imposing figures stood on the boats—they were none other than the tall, skinny freaks!

Chen Shi was startled; going up now meant they might catch and devour him on the spot!

He was about to turn around when he saw the skinny, tall skeleton had already caught up below.

Chen Shi held the copper lamp with both hands, his legs forcefully kicking the water, trying to escape the skinny, tall skeleton, but the distance between them kept shrinking!

On the river surface above, a blue stone path stretched from the world of the living directly to the River of Oblivion. At the end of the bluestone, Granny Sha's small stature stood majestic on an altar.

As she saw the boats enter her sight, her heart tightened.

"Damn it. These old rivals have come so quickly!"

Knowing that if these ghosts took over the passage, Chen Shi would hardly be able to get in, most likely caught by the ghosts before he even appeared, she resolutely stepped forward onto the blue stone path.

"Heavenly Emperor gave birth to me, the Emperor nurtures me, the sun and moon illuminate me, the Big Dipper supports me, the mountains and rivers guide me, the hundred deities attend me, yin and yang connect me, Marquis of Wind sends me, the divine chef serves me, the purple clouds cover me, the Divine Medicine cures me!"

Her clothes fluttered violently, a grand voice resounding around her.

"Traveling endlessly, entering the sea emerges through Heaven's gate, entering the river comes out through Earth's door! The fates lift me, what cannot be sought, what cannot be predicted!"

Her body radiated divine light, presenting the spectacle of the Big Dipper circling her, the sun and moon hanging splendidly, yin and yang connected, purple clouds forming a canopy, divine light condensing into Divine Medicine behind her, and runes interwoven, forming the shape of the Furnace of Eight Trigrams outside her body.

The so-called Supreme Eight Trigrams Protection Talisman was actually a simplified version of her Supreme Trigram Protection Technique!

Granny Sha confronted those boats.

"Follow the sound of my drum and return!"

Thunder boomed, suddenly intense lightning from the surface illuminated the bottom of the River of Oblivion brilliantly.

Chen Shi frantically dodged the skinny, tall skeleton's pursuit in the water, glancing up in a hurry, he saw on the river surface what seemed_like a goddess encased in bright golden light, her physique majestic, stirring the river like reversing the seas, battling those grotesque boat dwellers!

The sound of the drum reverberated, accompanied by a rustling noise, the beats growing denser!

The drumbeat originated from the world of the living, guiding Chen Shi, urging him to hurry to the world of the living.

"Hum—"

A massive Eight Trigrams Rune trembled, long and two shorts, sweeping across the River of Oblivion, stirring the water, causing Chen Shi and the skinny, tall skeleton to lose their balance.

The Eight Trigrams Rune suddenly transformed into a mountainous range, bursting from the water, bearing down on one of the boat dwellers.

Granny Sha's voice came from the river surface: "Come on! Nine years ago, I ventured alone into the underworld and snatched that child's soul, I wasn't afraid of you then, and I'm certainly not afraid now!"

"Whoosh—"

Suddenly, another rune from the Eight Trigrams entered the water and, when it leapt out, turned into thunder, thick bolts of lightning striking the river surface, lightning flashing, clusters of thunderfire scampering across the river!

Further transformation occurred as the Li Trigram turned into flames, the Xun Trigram into a roaring black wind, the Kun Trigram into heavy yellow earth, and the Qian Trigram into clear skies, rendering the scene on the River of Oblivion utterly chaotic!

The River of Oblivion's water was swept up in this terrifying turmoil, further causing Chen Shi and the skinny, tall skeleton to be unsteady.

Their bodies, devoid of flesh and relying on bones to swim in the river, were already at a disadvantage; with the added assault of the water currents, their stability was even less.