Chapter 89

Li Che (already in glossary). The courtyard is not named.

The wife is not named; Xixi is in the glossary.

Li Che and Old Chen (Chen Lao) are in the glossary.

A gentle night breeze sways; a lone figure in blue robes sits quietly in the courtyard, reading a book.

Li Qingshan appears; he is not in the glossary and should be added.

"Has he/she come back?"

Li Qingshan closed the book and said lightly.

"Phew!"

Li Che exhaled a mouthful of strong alcohol fumes, expelled the alcohol from his body, his eyes clear, utterly sober.

Now he, his qi and blood martial arts have reached the peak of the meridians; ordinary liquor hardly makes him drunk.

From today onward, even if Xixi formally joins the Primordial Origin Divine Sect, the sect entrance examination held in the prefectural city around the spring equinox next February will merely be a formality.

Li Qingshan said with a smile.

In five days, I plan to leave Fēiléichéng; once I'm gone, without my deterrence and protection, the city may see some trouble.

So, pack up your family; when the time comes, you'll leave the city together with me.

In five days?

Li Che blinked slightly, "That urgent?"

I've stayed in Fēiléichéng long enough, and since I've revealed my identity as a Divine Sect emissary, I can't remain there any longer.

Under Jīnguāng Prefecture, there are many cities, each with spirit children awaiting my guidance.

Li Qingshan lightly tapped the Tangji Jianji Yaowu volume, having studied it these past days.

Senior, aren't you coming with us to the prefectural city? Li Che asked doubtfully.

Lü Chi will accompany you; I must go to other cities. I'll reach the prefectural city at the spring equinox next February to take the sect entrance exam… we'll meet then.

Xixi has great talent; I certainly intend to take her as my disciple, though I fear others envious may try to snatch her. Moreover, once in the prefectural city, the court might also set its sights on Xixi, a top-tier spirit child, which is still very tempting.

The court?

Yes, the Dàjǐng Temple Office; although the Dàjǐng court has relaxed restrictions, allowing great clans and noble houses to cultivate spirit children, … snatching the Divine Sect's geniuses, the Dàjǐng court will show no mercy.

Li Qingshan gave a cold chuckle.

Poaching walls is commonplace in prefectural and state cities; they may promise you great benefits, but once you enter the Temple Office, you'll find that while the benefits are real, the key is whether you can survive to reap them.

The Dàjǐng Temple Office is strong, not inferior to any Divine Sect, yet its casualty rate is also extremely high; they seize temples, reap benefits, and suppress temple gods—all built on human lives.

I can only tell you this much; once in the prefectural city, the decision will be up to you.

Li Qingshan glanced at the night sky.

Actually, my departure in five days is calculated; some wish I'd leave sooner, and only after I go will they dare reveal their claws...

The disappearance of so many spirit children in Fēiléichéng is related to the Lingying Sect, and the Lingying Sect...

Li Qingshan glanced at Li Che.

Li Che remained calm: "Is it related to the city lord?"

City Lord Cao Guang is precisely the leader of the Lingying Sect… you know, I know, actually many people are aware.

Honestly, I'd love to smash him with a hammer, but for now I can't.

Most of my divine nature remains in the mountain gate, to observe the temple god's divinity and gather a divine aspect; thus… relying solely on my master-level cultivation, I cannot kill Cao Guang, after all my strongest aspect is still my divine nature.

Li Che's heart jolted.

This Cao Guang… that strong? Also a divine foundation?

Divine foundations vary in strength, depending on the divine foundation method cultivated and one's martial physique; moreover, this Cao Guang… has serious issues, likely tied to the Corpse God Sect behind him—the 'Thousand Buddha Sculpture Feast' shows his appetite and ambition are enormous.

Li Qingshan's expression grew several degrees more solemn.

Upon hearing that, Li Che's heart sank involuntarily.

Corpse God Sect? Another deviant sect?

Senior, what is the Corpse God Sect?

The Corpse God Sect… is a major deviant sect sweeping Dàjǐng, venerating the cultivation of the 'Three Pure Corpse God Food Proper Law,' which can consume the divinity of corpses and transform it into one's own divinity, extremely evil; the Three Pure-level divine arts are naturally not passed down, but the Corpse God Sect's simplified 'Corpse-Eating Divine Technique' has become a means for it to corrode many cultivators…

Li Qingshan glanced at Li Che, hesitated a moment, then revealed some secrets.

Li Che's pupils narrowed slightly, a buzzing sound in his head.

This description…

The more I hear, the more familiar it sounds!!

The 'Three Pure Corpse God Food Proper Law,' can draw in and swallow a corpse's divinity, transforming it into one's own divinity?

How does that differ from his Thousand Analysis Hand drawing in divinity, turning it into the pieces of the Chess Sage's Dao fruit?

Li Che drew a deep breath, his teeth tingling faintly.

How evil.

Li Qingshan didn't doubt Li Che's reaction; ordinary people hearing the Corpse God proper law for the first time always respond thus: 'Indeed evil, after all it's a divine law from the Three Pure Deviant Temple… though it's said the cultivation difficulty is also extremely great, easy to lose one's will and become a neither-human-nor-ghost monster.'

Moreover, consuming divinity easily invites corpse qi, thereafter turning one into a walking corpse…

In short, Li Che, the Corpse God Sect's techniques and arts… must absolutely not be touched; once touched… your cultivation path is ruined!

When you taste the pleasure of rapidly boosting your cultivation by devouring others' divinity…

Then asking you to calm down and cultivate slowly would be hard; your mind… would utterly degenerate, the martial path cut off, the cultivation path cut off!

Li Qingshan's expression was extremely grave, his words very weighty.

He was guiding Li Che, and also because he placed high hopes on Li Che, wishing his path wouldn't go astray.

Practicing the Corpse God Sect's 'Corpse-Eating Divine Technique' shows no signs in the early and middle stages; only in the later stage does corpse qi erupt and the will become thoroughly contaminated, at which point it's exposed—but by then, there's no saving.

Li Qingshan worried that Li Che would go down the wrong path.

However, it's alright……

Li Qingshan knew Li Che was an Ox Demon, but the Ox Demon… seemed merely strong in martial arts, and rather ordinary in divinity.

If divinity also surged abruptly, then Li Qingshan would truly have to ponder whether Li Che had been bewitched by the Corpse God Sect and cultivated the Corpse-Eating Divine Technique.

Li Che kept nodding, like a chick pecking at millet.

But his heart couldn't help but flutter slightly.

Thousand Dissecting Hand… plus the Chess Saint Dao Fruit equals the Three Pure Corpse God Dietary Orthodoxy?

Fortunately, the divine chess pieces condensed from the Chess Saint Dao Fruit, when refined, have no side effects and do not affect the mind.

But Li Che always had a feeling…

The demon king is actually just my own illusion.

……

……

Time is like sand between the fingers, slipping away in an instant.

Three days passed quietly.

Perhaps because they learned that Li Qingshan was about to leave, the bustle of Fēiléichéng became visibly lively over these three days.

The City Lord's Manor also began to promote the Thousand Buddha Carving Banquet, inviting several troupes to perform extravagantly in the city.

Li Che, however, had no time to watch the plays; he made a trip to the black market, collected the pre-purchased blood of the three sacrificial animals and five beasts, left Fēiléichéng, and returned to the bamboo lodge.

What he obtained from Old Master Yang was the Nine Luminaries Heart-Shocking Strong God Foundation Method.

Although Li Che had extracted Old Master Yang's divinity and condensed it into a chess piece, refining it to elevate his nurturing nature to that of a river would still take about a month.

Therefore, the Heart-Shocking Strong God Foundation cannot be forged for the time being.

Li Che's Wrathful Amitabha divinity had already been cultivated to the peak of the river-like state, so attempting to forge a divine foundation was not impossible.

He picked up the carving knife, lifted the last piece of Spirit Flower Willow spiritual wood, and his internal qi surged through his meridians, flowing into the Spirit Flower Willow, causing steam to rise.

After a moment, faint light seemed to flicker on the Spirit Flower Willow; all the moisture was evaporated, and the wood's spirituality was thoroughly aroused.

This process still consumes a considerable amount of internal qi.

No wonder only a woodcarving master can carve spiritual wood, since most woodcarving masters are not weak in martial cultivation, and only after decades of tempering their qi and blood do they possess sufficient strong internal qi to evaporate the spiritual wood.

Sitting on the wooden chair, Li Che recalled in his mind the woodcarving diagram transmitted by the Temple God.

The next moment, the carving knife shot out; Li Che clenched his five fingers, and the knife darted like a swimming snake, flashing bright white blade light, wandering across the piece of Spirit Flower Willow spiritual wood.

Wood shavings rustled down, scattering across the bamboo lodge's courtyard.

Li Che was utterly focused, his mind highly concentrated; the carving knife tore through the spiritual wood's texture, sketching rough lines—just a few strokes, yet they revealed the overall outline.

The Immortal Artisan Dao Fruit granted Li Che superb craftsmanship; carving such wooden sculptures, a familiar task, was no longer a problem.

In about two hours, Li Che finished carving and polishing the final wooden statue.

"The third statue of the Three-Eyed Wrathful True Lord Spirit Infant…"

Li Che opened his mouth and exhaled like thunder; in an instant, all the wood shavings were swept away from the carving, revealing that vividly lifelike wooden statue.

Three-eyed, glaring angrily, seated upon a lotus pedestal, robes flowing, hair tied in a braided bun.

The other two statues are also glaring angrily, but each has a different pose.

Li Che stood up, stretched his limbs, and was also restoring his qi and blood, strengthening his physique.

Qi and blood circulated, roaring and surging through his meridians; his entire being exuded mighty vigor as he slowly performed the White Tiger Turbulent Wind Fist, the Transformation Realm Fist Technique slowly tempering his physique.

Even without having activated the Vajra Transformation, his muscle lines were already extremely strong; beneath his tight black attire, his muscles brimmed with explosive power, each move and posture extending, the circulating internal qi bulging beneath his skin like a frantic little mouse.

He slowly gathered his stance, his qi and blood boiling to the peak, yet further tempering of his physique had become exceedingly difficult to improve.

"The qi-blood martial arts have already reached the pinnacle of the meridians; there's nowhere left to advance…"

Li Che exhaled a breath, like a typhoon sweeping wildly through the courtyard.

This further solidified Li Che's intention to forge a divine foundation.

Moreover, as he was about to head to the prefecture city, where many experts gather and potential dangers increase, after breaking through to the divine foundation, his confidence in facing danger would also increase somewhat.

"Tomorrow, the day before leaving the city, I will come here to forge the divine foundation."

Put all the prepared items in place.

He flicked his finger, and a white divine chess piece leapt onto the bamboo lodge.

The next moment, he clenched his five fingers.

The Fēiléichéng Chess Saint returned to the city.

……

……

Night deep, people silent.

Cold wind rustled.

The temperature suddenly dropped, causing faint snowflakes to drift between heaven and earth, cloaking the land in silver, blanketing the city in white.

The cart axle crushed the snow that had fallen on the blue stone, kicking up a puff of snow granules.

Lifting the curtain, Xu You, wearing white clothes and looking fatigued, exhaled a puff of white vapor and stepped out of the carriage.

"Alright, you can stop the carriage here; head back early, and I will return home tomorrow…"

Xu You gave a command to the carriage driver of Xu Ji.

"Third Boss, you should also rest; you've been working hard lately." The carriage driver still respected Xu You, and after expressing concern, he whipped the horse and drove the cart away.

Xu You, wearing a sword at his waist, his black hair dusted with white snow, glanced at the now unfamiliar Fēiléichéng and shook his head slightly.

On his way back, the carriage driver also told him about the recent changes that had occurred within Fēiléichéng.

The Yang family was exterminated by the Ox Demon, even the God Foundation Elder was killed to death; the An family, frightened, moved out of the city overnight; the Si family fell into decline, and the Xu family became the leading clan of Fēiléichéng.

Dreamlike, too dreamlike……

Xu You never expected that during his time away from the city, so many major events would occur.

Moreover, the Divine Sect's Reception Envoy arrived; Xixi was a top-grade spiritual child, shocking many, while the Woodcarving Master Li Che was actually a twenty-two-year-old spiritual child, further shocking the whole city.

Xu You thus learned that Li Che's family would be moving to the Prefecture City to participate in the Divine Sect's entrance examination next spring equinox in February.

"Will seeing each other again just be a parting?"

Xu You exhaled a breath, amidst the sky-filling snow, and returned to the Xu Family Manor.

No one came to greet him, and no one cared whether he returned or not.

He returned to his own courtyard, pushed the door open, and thick snow piled up; just as it was when he left, so it remains now.

Utterly devoid of worldly warmth.

Seated in a chair, he picked up the teapot—empty as can be.

Xu You stared blankly, recalling when his mother was still alive—each time he returned from training at the Divine Cultivation Academy, there was hot tea to drink and hot food to eat.

He sat emptily in his own room for about half an hour.

He was waiting for his father to summon him.

However, no one came; it seemed his return went utterly unnoticed.

Xu You gave a bitter smile—what was he waiting for?

He shook his head, rose, locked the door, slung his sword, and left.

He walked straight out of the Xu Family Manor toward Li Che's courtyard.

Upon reaching the gate, he could already hear Xixi's frenzied screams from within the courtyard.

He tapped his fingers on the door.

Li Che sensed it the moment Xu You stepped into the lane.

Thus, as soon as Xu You knocked, the door opened.

Li Che, dressed in black martial attire, looked at the weary Xu You and smiled: "Welcome back?"

"Uncle Xu You!"

From the courtyard came a shriek; Xixi came dashing over, uttering 'nie nie nie', stopping before Xu You, head raised, eyes blinking.

He felt an atmosphere utterly different from the empty, cold courtyard of his own home.

Xu You's lips involuntarily curled into a smile.

"Haven't eaten yet? Perfect—Old Chen is here too; let's drink together."

"Sure." Xu You laughed.

He brushed off the snow on his body and stepped into the clean, tidy courtyard.

Under the eaves of the courtyard.

The charcoal brazier radiated warmth, gurgling as it boiled water.

Old Chen Chen Dabao lifted a jar of cherished fine wine, walked out from the house, and waved at Xu You.

……

……

Xu Family Manor.

The Xu family grandfather sat upright in the grand preceptor's chair, his aged face flushed with a hint of sickness, coughing from time to time.

A rotten smell emanated from his body.

Below.

Xu Nanming stood respectfully, with Xu Helì standing beside him, head lowered.

"Has Xu You returned?"

The Xu family grandfather asked softly.

Xu Nanming nodded: "The evil spirits that seeped from the temple god's divine nature, sent to purge the Guiyi Miao, have just returned."

"Then as his father, won't you go console him?" the Xu family grandfather glanced at him: "After all, he's your son."

Xu Nanming's face showed little change in expression.

"He's just a discarded child; what's there to console? His fate was already sealed……"

"Just as you never consoled the elder brother back then……"

Xu Nanming's tone remained calm.

Xu Helì stood aside, not daring to utter a sound, saying nothing at all.

This secret…… was the first time he had heard it.

"Your elder brother…… I have failed him……"

The Xu family grandfather's eyes were clouded, and he let out a soft sigh.

Xu Nanming shook his head: "No, I have failed the elder brother; I was unable to break through the God Foundation— the fault is mine, all mistakes lie with me."

Xu Helì's body trembled involuntarily beside him.

Xu Nanming turned his head to look at Xu Helì.

"Helì, don't follow my example; you must live up to your younger brother and definitely break through the God Foundation……"

"Only then will you not let him down."

"Do you understand?"

The clear words echoed within the room.

Xu Helì lifted his head and exhaled a turbid breath.

His body also stopped trembling, and he nodded.

"Father, I understand."

……

……

The next day.

The mountain range on the horizon was entwined with white mist and smoke.

Fine rain drizzled, mixed with flakes of winter snow.

After Li Che woke up from a full sleep, he went straight into the study, firmly grasped the chess piece anchor, and arrived at the bamboo pavilion outside the city.

The bamboo pavilion was tranquil; a breeze carrying winter rain swayed, brushing the bamboo leaves to make a rustling sound, like endless waves.

After a night of rest, Li Che's essence, energy, and spirit were all adjusted to their peak.

First, braving the drizzling rain and snow, he rechecked all the previously set mechanisms and hidden weapons around the bamboo pavilion, then returned inside.

He took a censer, lit the incense stick, and the faint smoke twisted and merged into the air.

Then he took the prepared blood of the three livestock and five beasts, dissolved it with his inner qi, and placed it in a white bowl.

Li Che brought three carved statues of the Three-eyed Fury True Lord's spirit infant.

They were respectively placed in three directions, forming a triangular formation.

After arranging all this, Li Che sat cross-legged in the center.

As soon as he sat down, Li Che felt a great difference; the divinity between heaven and earth, as if boiling, was pulled by an invisible force, thread by thread gathering toward his position.

"Is this... a formation?"

Li Che couldn't help but feel curious.

It was somewhat like a sacrificial ritual formation; once the formation was completed, it would draw in divinity.

With a stir of his mind and spirit,

He projected the Heaven and Earth Chessboard of the Chess Saint's Dao Fruit outward, staying alert to the surroundings, ready to react instantly if anyone intruded.

Having done all this, Li Che slowly exhaled a breath.

Sitting cross-legged on the mat, numerous details of the Three-eyed Fury True Lord's Divine Foundation Method flowed through his mind.

The next moment, Li Che snapped his eyes open.

Qi and blood surged and intertwined; his fleshly body suddenly tensed, muscles bulged, and his whole person swelled up a notch.

His formidable fleshly body was shrouded in a hazy blood-colored mist.

Li Che's eyes flashed like lightning, his black hair bristling and flying, displaying a posture of fury!

He raised his hand, pointing a finger at his brow.

The inner vision of his niwan palace burst forth with a boom!

Torrenting divinity surged forth like a river, accompanied by the sound of rushing water colliding!

The blood of the three livestock and five beasts in the bowl began to vanish at a visible speed, as if drunk dry by an invisible presence.

And those spirit infant wooden carvings placed in the three directions,

actually all turned blood-red!

Suddenly they let out a furious, sky-shaking roar!

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