Chapter 464: The Four Freeholders
Chen Shi had visited Mirror Lake Villa more than once. The number of coffins there was limited, and each coffin had its owner.
Aside from the coffins of Granny Sha, Chen Yindu, Chen Shi, Xiao Wangsun, and Madam Hua Li, the owners of the other few coffins had never shown themselves.
However, in the underworld, above the Yin Spring Sea, people often saw a massive upside-down tree and a giant coffin standing inverted on the sea's surface. Monsters resembling demon gods would fly out of the coffin, seemingly hunting other living beings.
Chen Shi had heard similar stories and had even seen strange figures fly out of the giant coffin himself.
He had also felt the dangerous aura emanating from the people inside those coffins.
"Grandpa once said the people in these coffins are extremely dangerous. They're too old—old enough to be on the verge of death—so they have no choice but to hide in their coffins to extend their lives."
Chen Shi blinked and thought to himself, "But why wake them up now, at this moment?"
Just then, a voice came from one of the coffins: "Chen Yindu, we agreed back then that you would wake us when you found a solution. So now, have you found the solution?"
Chen Yindu smiled. "I haven't found it myself, but my grandson has. Little Ten, show them your Dao Field."
Chen Shi focused his mind, and the Dao Field spread out, enveloping the entire Mirror Lake Villa.
Movement came from the other coffins. A voice from another coffin said, "Strange. The noise that's been buzzing in my ears suddenly disappeared."
"Haha, the Demonic Energy is no longer clinging to me!"
"I was always in a daze, covered in strange fur. I was worried I'd turn evil, so I hid in here. Now the fur is gone!"
...
Voices came from each coffin, chattering with delight.
Chen Shi whispered, "Grandpa, who are they?"
"Freeholders."
Chen Yindu replied, "Freeholders who were on the verge of Dao Unification. They cultivated to a profound level, very close to achieving Dao Unification, but their demonic corruption was severe. When they were young and vigorous, they could suppress it, but as they aged and their qi and blood declined, they could no longer hold back the corruption. After I became a freeholder, I grew close to them and received a lot of guidance from them. Later, when they got too old to suppress the Demonic Energy, we built this Mirror Lake Villa, using the pure-yang energy generated from extreme yin producing yang to sustain them."
Chen Shi's heart trembled.
Freeholders on the verge of Dao Unification?
The Dao Unification Chen Yindu mentioned was Dao Unification under the new method. But the new method could only cultivate to the Great Ascension Realm, lacking the Tribulation Crossing and Ascension stages. Even though it added the Divine Embryo, without Tribulation Crossing and Ascension, how could there be Dao Unification?
The True King had changed the old method and created the new method, but since then, no one had heard of anyone achieving Dao Unification and becoming an immortal through the new method!
Even the Calamity in the Divine Capital was only a demigod, and some were even in a state of demonic corruption.
"The new method has been passed down for ten thousand years since the True King's Era. Even a cockroach would have figured out a way to become an immortal by now."
One of the coffins suddenly split open, and from inside stepped a scholar dressed in light blue clothes, holding a folding fan. He looked quite refined and elegant, and he smiled as he said, "We freeholders already created a method to become immortals long ago. But the problem is, achieving Dao Unification leads to demonic corruption. When we reached the final step, we dared not go further."
He bowed to Chen Shi and Chen Yindu. "Wandering Dragon Freeholder greets you, fellow Daoists."
Chen Shi returned the bow.
Chen Yindu said, "Don't be fooled by how polite he looks now. When he was being put into the coffin back then, he struggled like crazy. His whole body grew bloody flesh, and he screamed in the coffin for three days and three nights without dying. I had to drive golden needles this long into the coffin to seal his Primordial Spirit and body before he stopped struggling and yelling."
He gestured with his hands, indicating a needle about four or five feet long.
"Chen Yindu, I've long since refined those golden needles!" Wandering Dragon Freeholder said.
Wandering Dragon Freeholder looked around Chen Shi's Yin-Yang Dao Field, clicking his tongue in wonder. "To have cultivated to this point, influencing the external world around you. If you achieve Dao Unification, your Dao Field alone would likely keep all evil at bay!"
"Wandering Dragon, stop blowing smoke. Let me take a look!"
Another coffin opened, and a stunningly beautiful woman stepped out. She examined Chen Shi's Dao Field, watching the sun and moon rotate, and stood dumbfounded. After a long moment, she snapped out of it and exclaimed, "If you achieve Dao Unification, you'll be a True God!"
A third coffin opened, and a short, elderly man stepped out, sneering, "Lady Shao always makes a fuss over nothing... Whoa! Kid, no, Senior, you've defied your fate, haven't you? You're not just going to become a True God; you're going to be more powerful than a True God!"
"Let me see!"
Another voice came from a coffin. The coffin hopped a few times, and then a helpless voice said, "Who tied me up with the Immortal-Binding Rope? Could someone please loosen it?"
Chen Yindu hesitated for a moment. "Daoist Mu, are you sure you're lucid?"
"I'm lucid, lucid!" said the person inside the coffin.
Chen Yindu shot a look at Wandering Dragon Freeholder, Lady Shao, and the others. Silently, they surrounded the coffin, each summoning their Primordial Spirits and readying their techniques and divine abilities, prepared to destroy both the coffin and its occupant at the first sign of trouble.
Chen Yindu lit an incense stick and planted it in the ground. The energy of incense offerings drifted toward the coffin.
Suddenly, a golden dragon flew out of the coffin, circled around Chen Yindu, and then transformed into a golden rope tied around his waist.
The coffin lid flew off, and a man stepped out, yawning. He laughed and said, "I've never felt so refreshed in all these years! Don't worry. Sure, I went demonic once before, but that was only that one time. Didn't I recover using my powerful Dao Heart and willpower?"
Chen Shi was horrified. This Daoist Mu had actually been able to stop his demonic corruption mid-transformation! What a legendary figure!
Most of the people Chen Shi had seen were killed while still in the process of corrupting.
Lady Shao sneered. "You had another demonic corruption when you entered the coffin back then."
Daoist Mu's face changed. "My second corruption? I don't remember that!"
Lady Shao said, "After you turned demonic, we joined forces to suppress you. In the end, Young Friend Chen tied you up with the Immortal-Binding Rope, which allowed us to seal you and lock you in the coffin."
Daoist Mu clicked his tongue. "How dangerous! I had no idea about the second corruption! It seems my cultivation is still not deep enough; I can't truly achieve Dao Unification!"
He looked around, checking Chen Shi's sun and moon rotation. A strange expression crossed his face as he leaned in close to Chen Shi. "You figured this out yourself? How old are you?"
"Seventeen, or maybe twenty-five." Chen Shi answered honestly.
"You're lying!"
Daoist Mu said indignantly, "You've got to be a thousand-year-old monster to have comprehended principles that we couldn't figure out! Stand still. Let me kowtow a few times and become your disciple. Teach me this technique of yours."
He was about to kneel when three hands grabbed him simultaneously. Lady Shao sneered, "Daoist Mu, you want to be the senior disciple? Dream on! That position should be mine!"
Wandering Dragon Freeholder laughed, "I was the first one out of the coffin, so I'm the senior disciple! Master, please accept your disciple's bow!"
He tried to kneel, but the others held him back too.
The short, elderly man, named Freeholder Pei, laughed, "I'm the oldest, so I'm the senior disciple!"
"I want to be his godson! Who dares to compete with me?" Daoist Mu shouted.
Chen Shi was flustered by the commotion. He urged, "Everyone, we are all freeholders, all seekers of the Dao. Why fight over rank? If you want to learn, I'll teach you."
Wandering Dragon Freeholder shook his head. "You are Chen Yindu's grandson, and Chen Yindu is our junior. We can't accept your kindness for nothing. We may be freeholders, but we keep our debts and favors straight."
Freeholder Pei nodded. "Exactly. If we kowtow to you and become your disciples, then learning your skills isn't taking something for nothing. As your disciples, it's only natural for us to inherit your abilities."
"Or being a godfather works too. A son inheriting his father's skills isn't taking something for nothing."
Chen Shi smiled. "Everyone, you are my grandfather's seniors. How could I accept you as disciples? But if you really feel you can't accept my teachings without reciprocating, then let's go with the apprenticeship."
The four of them looked at each other, then suddenly knelt down together in unison.
Chen Shi accepted the bow calmly, then raised his hand to signal them to rise. He smiled and said, "My path follows the approach of defying and proving against heaven and earth. Since the grand Dao of heaven and earth has become corrupted, I do not seek to prove myself through heaven and earth, but rather let heaven and earth prove themselves through me. I do not seek to merge with the Dao; I let the Dao merge with me. Thus, I influence nature and alter the Heavenly Dao."
Freeholder Pei, Daoist Mu, and the others were deeply shaken by his words.
Lady Shao murmured, "Let the Dao merge with me? How does one make the Dao merge with oneself?"
Chen Shi looked for a place to sit but found the villa spotless with nowhere to settle. So he simply climbed onto his small coffin, sat cross-legged, and smiled. "Making the Dao merge with me is essentially about influencing the grand Dao of heaven and earth and purifying the Demonic Energy within the world. I use the Yin-Yang Variation as my foundation, with the righteous energy of heaven and earth as my base, to evolve the myriad things of the universe: mountains, rivers, flowers, trees, sun, moon, and stars."
His Dao Field unfolded, and the scenery around them gradually transformed. The yin and yang energies formed mountains and rivers, flowers and trees, the sun, the moon, and the stars.
The sun and moon revolved, separating yin and yang. Within it was both the righteous path of the mortal world and the guiding principles of the underworld, all operating without any sign of hindrance.
Everyone sensed their surroundings and found not a trace of Demonic Energy. Their hearts were filled with admiration.
Chen Shi began by teaching the yin-yang purgation. After explaining it once, he moved on to the Yin-Yang Variation, and then finally spoke of the method to make the grand Dao of heaven and earth merge with oneself.
The expressions of the four grew increasingly serious. Lady Shao hesitantly raised her hand. "Little Master, could you please stop for a moment and go back over the yin-yang purgation?"
The other three blushed and nodded in agreement.
Chen Shi could only go back and explain the yin-yang purgation again. The four of them asked about the parts they didn't understand, and Chen Shi answered them one by one. Only after each of them had some understanding did he continue.
By the time he finished explaining the Yin-Yang Variation, two days had passed.
Wandering Dragon Freeholder and the others were still deep in thought. Chen Shi's throat was a little dry from talking. He climbed down from his small coffin and said to Chen Yindu, "Grandpa, these four are all incredibly talented—rare geniuses the world seldom sees. I've only taught them for two days, and they've already found their way in. Within the Celestial Court, there aren't many with this level of talent."
Chen Yindu snorted. "You've got some nerve, taking them as disciples. They're my seniors. Now that they've become your disciples, what am I supposed to call you?"
Chen Shi grinned. "Let's just keep our family relationship separate from this."
Chen Yindu shot him a look. "Are you really going to become the True King?"
Chen Shi's smile faded. "It doesn't matter whether I become the True King or not. But this world needs to change! The powerful clans have become evil spirits, clinging to the common people and sucking their blood dry. They must be cast down, to give the people a chance to breathe and live! As talisman masters, our duty is to purge evil and eliminate spirits. That's what you taught me, Grandpa!"
Chen Yindu asked, "And how do you plan to do it?"
"First, go into the underworld and uproot the Thirteen Great Clans' power there! The first step is to awaken the Little King of Hell and reclaim the Immortal Capital! The second step is to crush the Yan Family!"