[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-the-dao-dust-pearl":3,"chapter-the-dao-dust-pearl-the-dao-dust-pearl-chapter-977":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","The Dao Dust Pearl",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2360478,4614,"Chapter 977","the-dao-dust-pearl-chapter-977",977,"\u003Cp>\"Living beings are mystically connected to the Empress of Heaven, like an umbilical cord, drawing creative qi from the Cauldron Mother.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"With Du Xiaoling like this, returning to the primordial state hardly counts as a fetal form—doesn’t this desecrate the Cauldron Mother?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"He cannot return to the primordial state; the child born has already had its umbilical cord severed, cut off from the Cauldron Mother—can it be reconnected? Only by becoming a ghost, as if reborn anew, can the link to the Cauldron Mother be restored. The Immortal Sand Reanimating Talisman in the 'Secret Scripture of the Seven Chapters of the Xuan Jun' states...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The Cauldron Mother creates all things, loves countless beings without distinction, and will not care... Hurry up! There are still several Celestial Timers to attend to!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Xuanzhen Sect’s clerks chattered incessantly; Du Xiaoling’s clay elder brother’s navel was bound with a red thread, connecting to the ground and sinking into the roaring river, extending deep into the abyssal void.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One by one, the Celestial Timers’ 'blessings' were stacked upon Du Xiaoling.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As the Cauldron Mother’s umbilical cord connected, a blood-red umbilical cord also appeared on Du Xiaoling’s navel, sinking deep into the Netherworld.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wu Bonu held the 'Eighteen Nihil Hells: Path of Naihe,' observing the Netherworld; this talisman, like the Naihe Bridge, suppressing the two realms, amplified his gaze until it reached the deepest darkness of the Netherworld.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even as the master of the Netherworld using this talisman, Wu Bonu shuddered at the sight of the umbilical cord’s extension!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Transform the Kunlun Mirror’s Yin Secret Rite into the Nethermoon Yin Longevity Secret Rite; worship the Silkworm Mother as she spins silk into cocoons, turning the Hundred Poisons Golden Silkworm into the Fire Star Heavenly Demon Moth! Has the Altar of the Dragon-Tiger Hundred Beasts Ancestor been prepared? The nine-tiered altar must plunge entirely into the nine-layer abyss the instant the rite begins—invert the altar!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Create a vortex beneath the bridge, using the True Spirit’s Two-Realm Inversion Abyss Rite of the Return-to-Emptiness Vortex Lord to empower the Xuanbi Gate.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As the Xuanzhen Sect’s clerks frantically summoned the powers of the Celestial Timers and piled them onto the Asura.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Shaman Chief, accompanied by hundreds of immortals from beyond the pass, finally arrived aboard the willow-branch boat.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Far off, they saw a storm of resentment and malice rising from the Embroidered Uniform Guard’s bridge, engulfing thousands of li.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Du Xiaoling once again activated the Ding character glyph, freezing the states bestowed by the eleven Celestial Timers; his entire body transformed into a golden statue, as eight clerks recited from the 'Secret Mirror of the Seven Chapters of the Xuan Jun.'\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"One who knows time cannot bind can make one day last a hundred years, or a hundred years last one day; one who knows space cannot obstruct can make one li equal a hundred li, or a hundred li equal one li; one who knows qi without form governs qi with form can summon wind and rain; one who knows formless can transform form can change birds and beasts...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Yin Corpse Liberation and Transformation Talisman!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Within Du Xiaoling, the primordial flesh entity known as Black Tai Sui finally began to gestate under the 'Ten Thousand Ghosts, Moon Demon Embroidered Skin Secret Talisman.'\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His soul became an Asura!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His skin was the 'Ten Thousand Ghosts, Moon Demon Embroidered Skin Secret Talisman,' one of the Eight Marvelous Talismans.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His flesh had already withered, died—but was reborn under the power of the Xuan Jun; within his chest and abdomen, the ribs formed a cage enclosing a fox, which had been tortured beyond endurance by the transformations of the flesh surrounding it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When Du Xiaoling inscribed the 'Eighteen Nihil Hells: Path of Naihe,' it too fell into a vengeful ghost, becoming a fox ghost.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But now, this fox ghost emitted a scream more wretched than any living being—so piercing, even a ghost’s dull senses were horrified.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On the willow-branch boat, the Huang family’s old matriarch trembled, gazing toward the Embroidered Uniform Guard’s bridge; she felt a bone-deep chill, a sense of intimacy yet as if falling into the deepest hell.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even the divine soul granting her immortality trembled with fear...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wu Bonu stared numbly at Du Xiaoling’s figure on the bridge, hesitantly asking his companion: \"What has he become now?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The crow, who had just cried out 'Asura,' stared at the shadow resembling a heavenly demon—she could not even define Du Xiaoling’s current state!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After the third transformation of the Yin Corpse Liberation and Transformation Talisman, Du Xiaoling had entered a state they could not comprehend at all.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The rite’s empowerment continued; now, the robe summoning the Ten Thousand Ghostly Lords was draped over him, the sword forged from the bones of all beings was offered, the meridians of ten thousand demons became his belt—though all were simplified versions, under the Demon Shadow’s augmentation, they radiated twelvefold the power of the originals.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Du Xiaoling stood at the bridge’s edge, gazing down at the approaching willow-branch boat.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His face had fully returned to its original form; aided by the twelfth Celestial Timer—Corpse—he now stood on the bridge like a corpse itself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Xuanzhen Sect had already sealed the bridge!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Shaman Chief stood at the bridgehead; the mist between them had long cleared. The old Huang matriarch instantly recognized Du Xiaoling, her eyes flickering as she smiled: \"Isn’t this the boy I killed earlier?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Isn’t it him? Didn’t Auntie have Xiao Liu wear his skin to pay respects to the Xuanzhen Sect Master?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Did the Xuanzhen Sect Master harm Xiao Liu?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"How bold of him!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Huang family chattered; beside them, Hu Daguh felt something was wrong—beneath her skirt, a fluffy, large tail had emerged, bristling. She told the Shaman Chief: \"Chief! The Xuanzhen Sect may be here for revenge!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Huang matriarch sneered: \"What’s to fear? He killed my Huang family’s descendants—I haven’t spoken yet! How dare the Xuanzhen Sect seek revenge?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"If anything happens, the Huang family will bear full responsibility!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As she spoke, she glanced at the Shaman Chief; though she said so, she knew the Shaman Chief wanted the immortals beyond the pass to lend strength to suppress the capital’s anomalies—he could not remain aloof.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Shaman Chief sighed, raising the King Wen Drum in his hand.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As he began his gesture, Du Xiaoling, long poised, suddenly erupted—darkness instantly engulfed the entire willow-branch boat; every willow branch, plucked from the sacred willows in every household and village beyond the pass, each imbued with a shaman’s power.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Their spiritual essence, their magic to command immortals, had been poured into the willow branches.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Filled with vibrant life, immense shamanic power, and the blessings of all spirits of heaven and earth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That vibrant life, in boundless darkness, resembled a sprouting bud...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But in an instant—only an instant—the willow-branch boat beneath the immortals and the Shaman Chief turned into countless tentacles, lashing upward to entangle the humans and spirits; darkness flooded the boat, transforming it into a terrifying entity—neither alive, nor dead, neither heavenly nor demonic.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Shaman Chief’s face changed drastically; he swiftly swung his King Wen Drum, bells ringing as the drumstick struck the surface.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A sound that calmed souls and stole spirits spread outward.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But in an instant, an arm pierced the drumhead, grasping the Shaman Chief’s mask, nails like claws gripping the mask—and the Shaman Chief’s skull. He groaned, unable to lower his head.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet he felt his chest tear open—Du Xiaoling’s other arm had pierced through the Shaman Chief’s chest.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It passed through his chest and into the old Huang matriarch’s.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sharp nails tore open her chest; index and middle fingers ripped out her heart.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In that instant, the old Huang matriarch’s entire demonic body exploded into a mist of blood, her demonic soul merged into the heart by that hand.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Du Xiaoling withdrew his right hand, slashed open his own chest; a white-furred yellow weasel curled within his chest. He placed the heart upon the weasel’s paw, then raised the Shaman Chief, his right arm burning with black flame.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With a casual strike...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hundreds of demonic souls on the willow-branch boat struggled to flee in all directions.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But the willow branches became arms; the darkness became a curtain, pulling them, wrapping them...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As Du Xiaoling opened his right hand, all spirits on the willow-branch boat fell—only the remaining four immortals barely struggled free; all other demons plunged into the black flame burning in his palm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The Chief sends his greetings to you all!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Du Xiaoling stared at the demonic souls, grinning: \"He told me to tell you all—our human kind holds deep grudges. Don’t like it? Suffer through it. Oh! You no longer have the chance to resist!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Du Xiaoling opened his mouth, full of fangs and teeth; his left hand gripped the Shaman Chief’s head, his right hand seized the remaining four immortals.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The four immortals revealed their true forms; a giant white-scaled serpent was seized, stuffed into his mouth, torn apart—its gallbladder and kidneys ripped out and swallowed by Du Xiaoling, held by the other paw of the white-furred weasel.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then the Willow Immortal’s body was torn apart by fangs.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Its skull was crushed into red-and-white pulp between Du Xiaoling’s teeth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Fox Immortal wailed in Du Xiaoling’s palm: \"Merciful Lord! Have pity on this humble immortal, who has endured so much hardship in cultivation! Have pity on this humble immortal...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The wailing white-furred fox was crushed in Du Xiaoling’s grip, its internal organs squeezed out like jelly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Du Xiaoling lifted her liver with his fingertip and placed it inside himself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Hedgehog Gray Immortal was nearly driven mad!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He could no longer speak human words, only squeaked frantically; his spines had no effect—when they pierced Du Xiaoling’s arm, they were slowly absorbed, merging into his flesh.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As Du Xiaoling devoured the five immortals, consuming all the immortals beyond the pass, the Shaman Chief gripped in his left hand transformed into a gray shadow.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He burst from beneath the mask, leaping dozens of zhang away, long limbs like a giant monkey.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No... the face beneath the mask was revealed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thick gray fur covered his face—the Shaman Chief was half-man, half-ape, like a giant monkey.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Without looking back, he leapt, crossing space and time; even Du Xiaoling’s outstretched hand, dragging the entire world into darkness, could not stop him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Shaman Chief abandoned the King Wen Drum and the King Wu Whip, discarded his ritual robe and the immortals beside him, and fled!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He left behind the immortals who had entered the pass lured by promises of wealth and glory from the court, left them screaming in the demon’s grasp, falling from immortals into demons in an instant, sinking into ruin.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Du Xiaoling watched the Shaman Chief’s fleeing form, not pursuing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The nuclear stream technique had only one strike; the next could never match this peak strike—he had lost his chance; all blessings and empowerments were rapidly fading.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Du Xiaoling opened his mouth and swallowed the remaining two immortals, returning to the Embroidered Uniform Guard’s bridge.\u003C\u002Fp>",1842,"2026-06-21T05:40:02.617Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","131abb920981cca40ed8a5078cb2e80cd7c771cc394ae9f471a2682c710de6c6","the-dao-dust-pearl-chapter-978","the-dao-dust-pearl-chapter-976",1000,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-dao-dust-pearl-cover.jpg"]