Chapter 517: Sealing Off West Ox Continent
Chen Shi fell into deep thought.
As for what happened afterward, Qingyuan Daoist didn't know, but Chen Shi knew it all too clearly.
The True King had sensed the influence of the Demonic Energy in the world on cultivators and came to visit Despair Slope, where he comprehended the new method, obtained the Innate Dao Embryo, and aroused the Celestial Venerable's wariness.
Later, the Celestial True God fell into death, its eyes closed, the sun vanished, and the Yin and Yang realms merged. To save the world, the True King once again went to Despair Slope. The Celestial Venerable killed the True King, but the True King took the opportunity to sacrifice his own Primordial Spirit, reviving the Celestial True God and buying more time for the mortal world.
One could say that the True King had thwarted the Celestial Venerable.
"And the last time the Celestial True God fell into death, it was Grandpa and the others who thwarted the Celestial Venerable."
Chen Shi's expression turned strange as he arrived at this conclusion.
Back then, the Celestial Venerable was hunting down the Demon Emperor's whereabouts. As someone who had already died once, he was extremely worried about those who posed a threat to him, so the Demon Emperor was someone he had to eliminate. His departure from Despair Slope gave Chen Yindu and the others an opportunity instead.
Chen Yindu sacrificed the sun and moon of the Upper Realm, once again extending the Celestial True God's life, further delaying the Celestial Venerable's plan to corrupt the Western Ox New Continent.
"But if the Celestial Venerable had been at Despair Slope at that time..."
Chen Shi suddenly shivered, then thought again, "The Celestial Venerable went to hunt down the Demon Emperor's whereabouts. And the Demon Emperor of the Divine Capital... isn't that me?"
His expression turned strange. The Celestial Venerable was a bird startled by the mere twang of a bowstring, but Chen Shi himself was that very bow. If the Celestial Venerable knew that the Demon Emperor was him, he would probably laugh heartily and then come to kill him.
Before he knew it, the willow-leaf boat arrived at a place of brilliant light. A massive lotus platform emitted multicolored radiance in the darkness. The Empress of Earth gracefully rose and landed on the lotus platform, and everyone else flew ashore as well.
That willow leaf also floated up from the sea, growing smaller and smaller. Just as it was about to fly away, Chen Shi caught it between two fingers.
The willow leaf flew off again, trying to break free from his control.
Without changing expression, Chen Shi steadily held the leaf, then put it into the small temple behind his head, offering three sticks of incense to it.
"Don't always bully Little Willow," the Empress of Earth said, but she didn't make him return the willow leaf, probably thinking her godson was closer.
Chen Shi didn't mention it either, smiling as he asked, "Godmother, when will you set up the seal?"
The Empress of Earth laughed and said, "Once Your Majesty became the True King, you sure know how to order people around. This palace has traveled so far and hasn't even rested yet, and already you're sending me off to work."
She spoke with a smile, showing no sign of being angry.
Chen Shi smiled back and said, "Godmother, the sooner you recover your divine power, the sooner we'll have the ability to protect ourselves. Oh, by the way, Godmother, Wu Qi is still growing. Since you know all the treasures in the Mystic Yellow Sea, is there any treasure that can help Wu Qi grow up quickly?"
The Empress of Earth's eyes sparkled with laughter as she said, "There are treasures that can make a Gold Immortal grow, but I'm afraid it might offend someone."
Chen Shi's spirits lifted. "As long as it's done cleanly, your son isn't afraid of offending anyone!"
The Empress of Earth thought for a moment and said, "Wanting to do it cleanly isn't impossible... Your Majesty, you've almost led me astray, making me covet other people's treasures! Calm yourself for now. Let me first set up the coastal seal to protect the people of the Western Ox New Continent, then I'll find a few that can be done cleanly."
She took Can'er's hand and eagerly walked outside.
Chen Shi quickly followed, saying, "Godmother, if you want incense offerings, you'll have to manifest sanctity before the people, letting the world know that the seal protecting the world's coastline was your doing."
The Empress of Earth said, "I'm not used to manifesting before people. Besides, to seal the world's coastline, I only need to go to one seaside and cast the spell. You don't expect me to run all over the Western Ox New Continent's coastline, manifesting at every spot, do you?"
Chen Shi said, "In that case, I'll have Red Mountain Hall spread word of your deeds everywhere, gathering incense offerings for you."
The Empress of Earth took Can'er's hand and left, saying, "Then I'll leave that to Your Majesty."
Their figures vanished.
Chen Shi said to Qingyuan Daoist, "Now that I am the True King of this era, Daoist, why not come with me to the mortal world to rest for a while?"
Qingyuan Daoist put his wooden boat into the Realm of Emptiness, looking a bit nervous. "If the Celestial Venerable finds out I'm here, he'll definitely come looking for me. I'm only afraid of dragging Your Majesty down. Your Majesty, this hermit will rest here for a time, and once my cultivation has recovered, I'll sail away. What does Your Majesty think?"
Chen Shi turned to look him in the eye. "Back then, the Shang King treated you well, Daoist. Don't you want to avenge the Shang King, Ziyu, and the Shang people?"
Qingyuan Daoist hesitated for a moment. "I haven't achieved Dao Unification. My strength is far beneath the Celestial Venerable's. Even if I stay, I probably won't be of much help. If I stay and the Celestial Venerable catches me again, he'll definitely force me to reveal the locations of the other Divine Continent worlds!"
Chen Shi's gaze grew even sharper. "Shang Prince Ziyu used everything he had—himself and his dynasty's lifeblood—to seal the Celestial Venerable in Despair Slope. You were the one who released him."
Qingyuan Daoist looked away, unable to meet his eyes. "Even without me, he would have found a way out of Despair Slope..."
"But with you, it was faster."
Chen Shi's words cut like knives. "After all, you helped the previous Shang King create Despair Slope. You know many secrets."
Qingyuan Daoist's face shifted between overcast and clear.
Chen Shi continued, "Two generations of Shang Kings showed you kindness, and I saved your life as well."
Qingyuan Daoist struggled internally. "My cultivation is low. I'm afraid of death..."
Chen Shi didn't press further. "In that case, rest in the Imperial Capital for now. You may leave whenever you wish. I won't stop you."
Qingyuan Daoist mumbled, "Thank you, True King, for your understanding..."
Chen Shi led him out of the Empress Temple. Daoist Willow stared at them and said, "Your Majesty, that little willow leaf of mine..."
Chen Shi smiled and said, "Her Ladyship gave it to me."
Daoist Willow also smiled. "Just now, Her Ladyship said for you not to bully me. Clearly, she meant for you to return my willow leaf to me."
Chen Shi shook his head. "Her Ladyship only said not to bully you. She didn't say to return your willow leaf. Besides, it's just one willow leaf. You have plenty more. Why be so stingy with this one?"
Daoist Willow cried out in grievance, "This leaf is different from the others! It's a treasure I've tempered a thousand times over. I don't have many myself—only three. These three form a set, which can set up the Celestial Immortal Three Ultimates Formation. If you embezzle one, I'll need several hundred years of refining to make another!"
Chen Shi hesitated for a moment, then said apologetically, "Daoist Willow, I was wrong to blame you. I thought you were just being stingy and unwilling to lend it to me. So there was another reason after all. I'll return the willow leaf to you."
He took out the willow leaf and was about to return it when he said, "Daoist, since this leaf can form a formation, why not lend me the other two as well? To be honest, I'll probably need to go out to sea a few more times in the near future. With the Celestial Immortal Three Ultimates Formation protecting me, it would certainly be much safer."
Daoist Willow stared at the willow leaf in his hand, hesitated for a moment, then gritted his teeth. "Fine. I'll lend them to you."
Chen Shi was overjoyed. He returned the willow leaf and thanked him again.
Daoist Willow quickly returned the courtesy, thinking to himself, "If I lend him one willow leaf, he'll embezzle it because I have two more. But if I lend him all three, he won't embezzle them."
Chen Shi took Qingyuan Daoist back to the Imperial Capital in the mortal world, arranged for him to stay, and said, "Daoist, if you want to leave, you don't need to say goodbye. Just go directly."
Qingyuan Daoist nodded silently.
Chen Shi looked up at the Western King's Jade Seal in the sky. Floating around the seal were the Mountains and Rivers Maps of the fifty provinces. These two treasures could gather the divine power of all the Earth Spirits between the mountains and rivers, concentrating it in the Western King's Jade Seal to unleash a devastating strike!
These were divine artifacts, but their power surpassed any immortal artifact Chen Shi possessed!
"But even with these treasures, I can't defeat the Celestial Venerable. If I could, the previous True King would have done it long ago."
Chen Shi's gaze fell on one of the Mountains and Rivers Maps. In the map, he could see that the Empress of Earth had already taken Can'er's hand and arrived at the seashore.
The Empress of Earth raised Can'er into the air. The white-haired little girl transformed into a white silkworm in the sky, about ten feet from head to tail, spitting out a faint silk thread.
A stream of energy of incense offerings flowed from behind the Empress of Earth's head, connecting to this silk thread. Within the energy of incense offerings, various strange talisman imprints swirled. As the two merged, those talisman imprints were stamped onto the delicate silk thread.
The Empress of Earth made an orchid finger gesture and flicked it. The silk thread floated forward along the coastline.
From the Heavenly Silkworm's mouth, an infinitely fine silk thread continuously flowed out. The energy of incense offerings from behind the Empress of Earth's head also kept flying out, connecting to the silk thread, forming talisman imprints, merging together, and extending endlessly.
The silk thread that flew out grew fainter and fainter, gradually seeming to blend into the air, becoming invisible and formless.
Soon, the plump, round Heavenly Silkworm began to shrink.
By the time the silk thread had gone around the world along the coastline, the once white and plump Heavenly Silkworm had become withered and skeletal, dry and shriveled, as if on the verge of death.
The Heavenly Silkworm quickly struggled to twist its body, transforming into the little Can'er. She touched the mulberry leaf around her neck, found it was still there, took a big bite, and then sighed with satisfaction.
The Empress of Earth laughed and said, "A spring silkworm's silk doesn't end until death. Your silk is still there, so you won't die."
She took Can'er and returned.
Chen Shi's gaze remained fixed on the coastline. He observed carefully and finally spotted a few demonic beasts trying to land at a place covered with dark clouds.
Those demonic beasts had just reached the shore and were about to climb up the city wall. The moment their claws touched the shore, it was as if an invisible string in the air vibrated violently.
The next instant, those demonic beasts froze in place, not moving.
Suddenly, with a crash, the few demonic beasts were sliced into countless pieces and died gruesomely.
Chen Shi let out a long sigh of relief and muttered softly, "Now, there's no need to worry about the sea monsters."
At that moment, on the Despair Slope altar, one of the immortals was also observing this scene, while the other immortals watched the battle between the Imperial Capital and the Twelve Great Clans through the Bronze Mirror.
"Back then, Immortal Kou instructed us to inspect the world. But if the bandit leader and the Empress of Earth were to commit crimes, we were to descend the mountain and eliminate them," said one immortal.
"Now, the bandit leader Chen Shi has gathered a group of experts and annihilated eight of the great clans in succession. Only four of the Thirteen Great Clans remain. The clan disciples have suffered countless casualties. The bandit leader Chen Shi has ascended the throne in Xinxiang City as the True King. Is this considered committing crimes? Should we of Despair Slope intervene?"