Above the Great Dao

Chen Shi has been cultivating in the small courtyard of the Niu family, without any distractions. This cultivation is a new attempt for him; his Daoist field has already infiltrated the Yuan Chen Palace of the Immortal City, and he has begun to cultivate his Three Corpse Gods.

Since ancient times, the Three Corpses Realm has mainly focused on cutting the Three Corpses, treating the Three Corpse Gods as things that need to be cut away.

After cultivators cut away the Three Corpse Gods, they lose significant desires towards sex, food, and clothing, and their yin energy decreases gradually, transforming into a Pure Yang Body.

After transforming into a Pure Yang Body, there are many benefits. First, without these desires, cultivation becomes more focused, and naturally, cultivation advances rapidly, progressing faster.

Secondly, the Primordial Spirit becomes pure yang, so Heavenly Thunder is less likely to strike them, reducing the suffering from thunder strikes.

However, even if the Three Corpses are cut, desires still resurge; thus, many wealthy and powerful people still marry wives and take concubines, continue to love luxurious clothing, and still enjoy the pleasures of fine dining.

The Confucians say "examine oneself thrice a day." Buddhism says to "diligently sweep every morning, so as not to let dust settle." This is precisely the reasoning.

Chen Shi considers that Pure Yang is the way, and Pure Yin is also the way. Heaven and earth are natural; yin and yang are originally one. Why must one become immortal only with Pure Yang?

If seeking Harmonization, only aligning with Pure Yang's way means cultivation is not perfect.

Since the Three Corpse Gods are transformed from yin energy and are inherently a part of oneself, there is no need to cut them off; instead, refine them, and transform them into a part of the Yin Yang Change within, so the Three Corpse Gods cannot interfere with his cultivation.

In fact, they can even become aids in his cultivation.

The Immortal City has once again reached a time for complaints.

Numerous Three Corpse Gods fly out from their respective Yuan Chen Palaces, heading toward the underworld to file complaints against their masters.

Within Chen Shi's Yuan Chen Palace, the Three Corpse Gods rage, unable to leave Chen Shi's Yin Yang Dojo. Peng Zhi curses: "Chen Shi, you don't indulge in pleasures or wear fine clothes; instead, you focus on cultivation—you're seeking death! Once we reach King Yan, he'll draft your Book of Life and Death and make you meet your end!"

Peng Ju angrily says: "You don't seek enjoyment yesterday, nor today; what's the point of having you?"

Peng Jue says: "Don't let us out, or we'll definitely drag you to the brothels to ruin your Dao Heart!"

"We'll also make sure you're served rich feasts at every meal!" Peng Zhi shouts.

They argue noisily, yet Chen Shi's Daoist field keeps undergoing Yin Yang changes, attempting to transform the Three Corpse Gods from pure yin to pure yang.

After a while, the weakest, Peng Ju, begins meditative refining, aiding Chen Shi's cultivation.

Seeing this, Peng Zhi and Peng Jue are horrified; they rush to the door of the Yuan Chen Palace, frantically knocking, crying out in desperation to escape this terrifying place.

"I don't want to be a beast; let me out!" they shout.

Soon after, Peng Zhi suddenly gains great insight and also sits in the lotus position, guiding the Yin Yang Qi to begin cultivation.

Peng Jue is even more shocked and shouts: "Chen Shi, I will never be controlled by you or serve you!"

Chen Shi urges the Daoist field, with Yin Yang transformations attempting to control Peng Jue. However, his Peng Jue is frighteningly strong, standing solidly like a Demon God against his offensive.

Finally, dawn arrives, and the Three Corpse Gods return to the three halls.

Chen Shi is unable to do anything about the Lower Corpse God Peng Jue and must halt his cultivation, thinking: "My Daoist field is still not strong enough; I need to cultivate more to improve my cultivation enough to refine Peng Jue."

He knows that in a short time, his cultivation cannot reach the level to refine Peng Jue, so he awakens from meditation.

His Daoist field remains operational, yet he doesn't see Little Dun Fairy. Chen Shi steps out of the courtyard and sees Little Dun Fairy on the street of Niu Village, teaching some human children literacy. The characters she's teaching are ancient script, different from those Chen Shi learned; it's bird script and insect characters.

Chen Shi gazes at these human children, slightly startled, then looks around, only to find that the bull-headed ghosts have disappeared, replaced by human clan members.

He disperses his Daoist field, and Little Dun Fairy promptly says: "Husband, don't disperse the Daoist field!"

Chen Shi is taken aback: "She calls me husband! Could she be Little Dun?"

He stabilizes the Daoist field, continuously observing, unable to discern whether the fairy before him is Little Dun or Little Dun Fairy.

Little Dun Fairy remains composed, but her cheeks gradually blush a bit, thinking: "By calling him husband, he will find it hard to refuse. To mingle with the clan members for a bit longer, I have no choice but to resort to this trick."

However, she senses Chen Shi's gaze still upon her, and her face reddens further, thinking: "Perhaps I've been discovered!"

Chen Shi comes to her side, as if unaware of her identity, and smiles: "Wife, are they those bull-headed little ghosts?"

Little Dun Fairy feels slightly relieved and says: "They are merchants; after drastic changes, the evil qi between heaven and earth altered their forms, turning them into bull ghosts. Now, transformed from bull ghosts to human form by your Daoist field. I'm afraid if you withdraw the Daoist field, they'll revert to bull ghosts."

Chen Shi crouches down to examine a child.

The pattern on the child's skin surface is precisely the unique racial gifted pattern of the Ghost Clan.

"The Great Shang originally had genuine sun and moon; this was a peaceful and harmonious land until pollution arrived."

Little Dun Fairy softly says, "They might have lived in the dark underworld for many years, leading to their transformation into the bull ghost clan."

Chen Shi ponders: "So, during the Great Shang, there wasn't an Outer Heaven True God yet; only after the dramatic changes did an Outer Heaven True God appear."

Little Dun Fairy says: "Correct. The Outer Heaven True God definitely appeared after the drastic changes."

She looks up at the sky. The moon in the sky is incredibly huge, hidden behind it is the appearance beyond the heavens, yet she always has a feeling that this appearance seems somewhat familiar.

Chen Shi laughs: "Wife, you call me husband; does your sister know?"

Little Dun Fairy's face suddenly turns completely red, and with a wave of her hand, the Blood Transformation Divine Saber flies out, swiftly placing it against Chen Shi's neck, stammering: "You, you try saying that again!"

Chen Shi quickly says: "I won't say it, I won't say it. You put the saber down first! Our secret, I won't tell your sister."

Little Dun Fairy's face blushes even more, wishing to find a hole to hide in.

Chen Shi cautiously takes the Blood Transformation Divine Saber from her hands, returns the saber to the small shrine, and finally relaxes, thinking: "Almost caused a fatal incident."

However, Little Dun Fairy quickly returned to her original state. The strength of her Dao Heart left him in awe.

They lingered in this small mountain village for several days before Little Dun Fairy reluctantly departed.

Chen Shi retracted his dojo, and the children, adults, and elders of the village gradually transformed in appearance, changing from human form back to having bull heads and human bodies, growing bull horns and tails.

They returned to their former appearances, continuing to live the lives they had before.

Only those little bull-headed ghosts were scribbling on the ground, struggling to recognize the writings once used by their ancestors.

"Don't look anymore. In the future, they will return." Chen Shi said to Little Dun Fairy.

Little Dun Fairy withdrew her gaze, met Chen Shi's eyes, and asked, "Are you confident that you can turn them from ghosts back into humans?"

Chen Shi's eyes fell on her. A strong wind blew, pressing her dress against her body, outlining her curvaceous figure, giving shape to the wind.

Little Dun Fairy snorted.

Chen Shi laughed, "Of course. I am the True King of the West Bull New Continent. There is nothing I cannot accomplish!"

Little Dun Fairy turned into a wisp of breeze and flew into the small temple behind him, saying, "I am going to meditate now."

She ascended the divine shrine, and suddenly a thought appeared in her mind: "Does he like me more, or does he like Little Dun more? What if the person he likes more is my sister Little Dun?"

For a moment, she was lost in thought, unable to meditate.

Chen Shi was curious, thinking, "Why hasn't Lady Little Dun come out yet?"

After a long time, Little Dun flew out of the small temple. In her presence, Chen Shi was not as serious, and the two of them giggled and played together.

Sometimes, however, Chen Shi found himself in a daze, wondering if the Little Dun before him was actually Little Dun Fairy in disguise.

For a moment, he couldn't figure it out, really couldn't.

They retraced their steps, finding the temple where Scholar Zhu and the Black Pot were located. The group regrouped and set off again to find the next temple.

Sometimes, Chen Shi walked in front of the carriage, while Little Dun sat inside. Sometimes, Little Dun would play with him in front of the carriage. Black Pot would sit inside examining the geographical map, and sometimes Little Dun Fairy would be in the carriage, discussing the Witch Sacrificial Dao Patterns of the Great Shang with Chen Shi.

What puzzled Black Pot was that previously, Little Dun Fairy rarely came out voluntarily. Except when Chen Shi could not suppress Peng Jue and was about to molest Little Dun, she would appear. But now, Little Dun Fairy appeared frequently, almost as often as Little Dun.

"There must be a reason for this," Black Pot thought.

Days passed, and the number of temples they found increased, and the areas on the Mountain and River Map that were illuminated grew more extensive.

Every evening, Chen Shi would practice as usual, using Yin Yang Refining to refine the Three Corpses. His Peng Jue was indeed terrifyingly strong, enduring his refining day after day for months.

But Peng Jue also sensed that Chen Shi's cultivation was becoming more profound, and the power of Yin Yang Change was growing stronger, giving him the feeling of being unable to continue holding out.

It was only a matter of time before he was refined!

"Northern Alliance Province! It seems the Bodhi Dojo is in the Northern Alliance."

Chen Shi examined the geographical map, comparing the surrounding mountains and rivers, smiling, "The Holy Daughter Xuanyuan is also at the Bodhi Dojo. I wonder if she is well."

He invoked the Heavenly Court Token, entered the Little Heavenly Realms, and came to the mural, examining it. Several Hall Masters of the Red Mountain Hall were also in the Northern Alliance Province. They had discovered some ancient temples that had suddenly appeared, leaving words on the mural to record their locations.

Chen Shi's spirit was lifted, as it had indeed been a wise decision to have the Red Mountain Hall and Heavenly Court members return to their hometowns.

The wooden cart headed towards the nearest ancient temple. As they passed through Tianyu County in the Northern Alliance Province, a group of refugees was driving ox carts along the road, with old, weak, women, and children sitting on the carts.

Little Dun jumped off the cart to distribute some food to them, earning their gratitude.

Little Dun got back on the cart, and as Chen Shi was about to continue on his way, he saw a beggar lying on the ox cart, sickly and covered in sores, and was slightly stunned, blurting out, "Yang Bi! You are Yang Bi! You are still alive!"

The beggar's body shivered, struggling to move his body, trying to turn away to avoid facing him, but due to his severe injuries, he couldn't move.

He seemed too terrified to acknowledge Chen Shi, his face twisted, eyes tightly shut, with tears rolling down his cheeks.

An old man laughed, "Does this young master recognize him? We picked him up after he fell from the sky! He was half dead and foolish, crying and laughing every day. A scholar said he might have lost his soul in the fall, but even after a soul-calling ritual, he didn't recover."

A woman next to him laughed, "He must be silly."

Chen Shi's eyes fell on Yang Bi's face. After a moment, he slowly said, "I might have mistaken him for someone else. This brother looks somewhat similar to an old friend of mine, but my friend had talents surpassing the world and boundless wisdom. I admired him greatly. This brother just happens to resemble him a little."

He drew a ginseng grass fruit from the small temple with his Primordial Spirit and tossed it into Yang Bi's arms, saying, "Since we have met by chance, brother, you might as well take this ginseng grass fruit. It might preserve your life. These are troubled times; take care."

Yang Bi's mouth moved slightly, his voice hoarse, "Thank you."

Chen Shi shifted his gaze away from him, saying, "I have always wanted to see that old friend again and compete with him once more. Unfortunately, I fear I will never see him again."

The wooden cart rumbled away, getting farther and farther from the ox cart.

Yang Bi held the ginseng grass fruit, muddled, while recalling Chen Shi's words.

All great power returns to oneself.

"Haha!"

He laughed and cried out, thinking of the Upper Realm, a layout of over six thousand years, the ancestors and thirteen patriarchs—everything was gone!

Personal power—does it really matter against the Ancient Immortals of Despair Slope?

"Chen Shi, you haven't experienced despair. I have. The despair of Despair Slope is not that they despair, but that they make their enemies despair!"