The golden mountain pressing down on Chen Shi's head was not a real golden mountain, but rather transformed from a talisman.
The person struck by this talisman had to endure a weight of over a thousand catties on their body; anyone with slightly less strength would have been crushed to death directly. Chen Shi not only resisted the heavy pressure of the Mountain Moving Talisman, but his speed remained extremely fast, actually managing to catch up to Fu Shank who had activated the Jia Ma Talisman, killing him with a single blow.
Pity that Fu Shank possessed immense skill and an extremely high attainment in talismans, being hailed alongside Iron Brush Old Man as the twin masters of talismans in Xuan Ying Mansion, yet he was cut down without even being able to display ten percent of his abilities!
If it were the Chen Shi who had fought the decisive battle against Iron Brush Old Man, Fu Shank could definitely have kept him completely under control, and Chen Shi certainly would not have been able to shatter his Spirit Snake Talisman. But now Chen Shi had refined true blood, his internal organs growing stronger and stronger, allowing him to shatter the Spirit Snake Talisman and catch him off guard.
Just as Chen Shi crashed backward, the Imperial Guard standing beneath the tree was urging the divine shrine, and the divine embryo within the shrine was also emerging.
The speed at which this person circulated his cultivation technique was the fastest Chen Shi had ever seen, and his reaction speed was also the fastest Chen Shi had ever seen. Seeing Chen Shi crash toward him, he retreated while simultaneously channeling the divine embryo.
In front of his divine embryo, a sword qi visible only to the naked eye was forming!
The spell from the Heavenly Heart Righteous Qi Art, the Zi Wu Zhan Xie Sword!
Before the sword qi had even formed, Chen Shi's back had already slammed into his body.
The Imperial Guard's internal organs suffered a massive shock, blood spilling from the corners of his mouth as he flew backward uncontrollably.
"Bang!"
His form collided with the large tree where the cicada catcher stood, and a mouthful of fresh blood gushed from his mouth.
The Imperial Guard's mouth was full of blood, his teeth clenched and his expression somewhat ferocious as he urged the sword qi in front of the divine shrine.
He knew that with such a crash from Chen Shi, his internal organs were utterly shattered, cutting off all his vitality, but after all, he was a veteran of many battles and bloody combat—even if he died, he would drag Chen Shi down with him!
Chen Shi rushed forward like a gale, yet right before him, he saw the divine embryo in the divine shrine behind the Imperial Guard's head point a finger.
He instantly felt a surge of vigilance, howling and retreating without a single moment of thought. Even carrying the thousand-plus-catty golden mountain, his speed remained extremely fast, rushing like an elephant and causing the ground to crack beneath his feet.
Yet the sense of danger grew even more intense. Chen Shi could not see the sword qi of the Zi Wu Zhan Xie Sword, only the space ahead vibrating so rapidly that his vision blurred along with it.
"Bang!" "Bang!" "Bang!"
Chen Shi's footsteps fell in rapid succession, retreating dozens of steps—over twenty feet away—and the sense of danger had already escalated to a fatal level.
He fell backward, a sharp sound whistling past his ear as an intangible streak of sword qi brushed right past the tip of his nose.
Before Chen Shi's shock could settle, a muffled, buzzing sound suddenly came from behind him. Glancing sideways, he saw a large tree by the roadside that required two or three people to embrace leaning and slowly toppling over.
Although the Imperial Guard's Zi Wu Zhan Xie Sword had failed to hit him, it had still flown three or four feet, slicing that large tree clean through.
Such power...
Chen Shi felt a secret jolt in his heart. This person had not even had time to unleash the full might of the spell, yet when the sword qi flew out, its power was still this tyrannical; had it struck him, he undoubtedly would have been separated from his head and neck, with no chance of survival.
The Imperial Guards sent by the Zhao family to capture me are far stronger than the Li family's Imperial Guards!
He flipped up from the ground.
The cicada catcher in the tree and the angler by the ditch had also reached the road by now. Their reactions were extremely swift, and they were already fully prepared, both shrine and divine embryo activated.
The two stamped heavily down with their feet, immediately triggering the Jia Ma Talisman bound to their legs. Treading on a pure breeze, they strode forward in pursuit at blistering speed!
Charging forward, the two kept their hands forming sword mudras, the divine embryos within their shrines mirroring the hand seals and executing the exact same movements.
From afar, Chen Shi saw the air distorting and his vision blurring again. Knowing something was wrong, he immediately sprinted diagonally toward the river ditch.
With a whoosh, he leaped into the air, cleared the ditch, and landed on the opposite bank, though his legs sank deeply into the soft soil.
Chen Shi hurriedly pulled his legs free. Two heavy thuds came from the road behind as the two men's Zi Wu Zhan Xie Swords missed their mark, the sword qi carving a scar a full foot deep into the rock-hard road and kicking up a spray of stubborn mud.
"Whoosh! Whoosh!"
Two more invisible strands of sword qi flew across. Chen Shi bore the thousand-catty heavy pressure of the Mountain Moving Talisman with sheer force, plunging straight into the crop field.
Corn was planted in the field, a unique crop of the Western Ox Continent that grew as tall as one or two people, standing like a forest.
Disregarding everything, Chen Shi barreled into the cornfield, running at a full sprint. Behind him, large swaths of corn collapsed in patches, felled by the sword qi of the two Imperial Guards.
The two Imperial Guards also rushed to the edge of the ditch, continuously brandishing sword mudras forward as they ran. The divine embryos in their shrines also waved their hands forward in succession, spinning, invisible streaks of sword qi flying into the crop field and cutting down everything in their path!
Without breaking their stride, the two also leaped across the river. However, not jumping as far as Chen Shi, just as they were about to plunge into the water, a pure breeze generated beneath their feet, ruffling the river's surface into gentle ripples.
Taking another step forward without touching the water, they arrived safely on the opposite bank.
Ahead of them, the crop field collapsed in massive swaths. Following the falling crops, the two charged forward relentlessly, their hands never stopping as the Zi Wu Zhan Xie Swords slashed out.
The front wave of sword qi had yet to dissipate when the rear wave arrived.
The sword qi crisscrossed chaotically, even colliding with one another and shattering into countless smaller shards of sword qi that shot off in all directions!
They were both experts among the Imperial Guards brought by Zhao Yue, possessing tyrannical strength far surpassing ordinary guards, alongside exceptionally rich combat experience.
The two swept everything before them, chasing after the golden mountain hovering above Chen Shi's head. Having charged several miles in this manner, this cornfield still showed no sign of ending.
Suddenly, the guiding golden mountain ahead grew dim and then vanished entirely.
Both men's hearts sank—the effect of the Mountain Moving Talisman had worn off.
The Mountain Moving Talisman could only last for two quarters of an hour; once the time was up, it would disperse!
Now, they had lost Chen Shi's trail.
"Rustle, rustle, rustle!"
The sound of rapid running came from within the cornfield, the noise produced by a human body crashing against corn leaves.
The two immediately pressed their backs against each other, watchfully scanning their surroundings.
The rustling sound continued to echo, circling around them at breakneck speed.
Leaning against one another, the two shifted their feet, continually rotating to follow the sound. Hand seals forming, they slashed forward repeatedly; streaks of sword qi pursued the sound, but aside from cutting down large swaths of corn, there was no other result.
"Pull back out of the crop field!" one barked.
Before the shout had even faded, a figure suddenly flashed forward like lightning. Small in stature and moving with extreme speed, it slammed straight into his embrace the next instant. The Imperial Guard felt as though he had been struck by a wild bull, flying backward involuntarily as a mouthful of fresh blood sprayed from his mouth.
Seeing this, the other Imperial Guard swung his sword without a second thought. However, that diminutive figure sprang upward, dodging the sword qi, while the sent-flying Imperial Guard lacked the time to evade and was sliced clean at the waist, blood staining the crop field.
"Lin He!"
The other Imperial Guard let out a piercing cry, his heart aching as if torn apart. At that moment, the rustling sound of running came from the cornfield once more, spinning rapidly in circles around him.
Knowing the situation was dire, the Imperial Guard took off at a full sprint, following the ruined cornfield back the way they came.
In this tall crop field, his opponent was just a child of short stature, holding the terrain advantage. Moreover, the sound of the corn collapsing also exposed the direction of his magical movement, making it easy for the opponent to evade.
Yet once they reached the road, the criminal Chen Shi would possess no such advantage.
The power of the Jia Ma Talisman on his legs was still active, allowing him to travel as fast as if flying. At the same time, he readied his sword qi, guarding in secret—no matter where Chen Shi lunged from, he would meet a fatal blow.
Before long, the surrounding rustling vanished, and the crop field grew utterly silent, leaving only the sound of his own running and his ragged breathing.
Ahead lay the river ditch, and across it was the post road. Unable to spare any thought, the Imperial Guard sprinted to the edge of the ditch and leaped. Midway through the jump, just as he was about to drop toward the water, he tapped his foot against the surface; a pure breeze arose, pressing down on the rippling water.
Just as he was about to leap to the opposite bank, a sudden splash erupted from the water behind him as the river exploded outward. Chen Shi leaped straight up from the current, reaching a height level with him.
His speed is faster than mine—he got ahead of me and lay in ambush in the river, waiting for me!
Stunned with terror, the Imperial Guard turned his head. Chen Shi channeled his vital energy, his palms swelling instantly to the thickness of bear paws, growing a size larger as he slammed them heavily against the man's ears.
"Bang!"
The Imperial Guard's brains were rattled into mush, his corpse dropping onto the opposite bank.
Chen Shi plunged into the water with a splash, lying face up on the river's surface as he panted heavily, his violently pounding heart refusing to calm down for a long time.
Tonight, I'm afraid my illness will flare up again.
At his chest, the violently beating heart caused the river's surface to ripple slightly.
After a moment, Chen Shi flipped over and swam ashore. His new clothes were soaked through, and crisscrossed with scratches, riddled with countless holes torn by corn leaves.
The new clothes Grandpa bought me...
Chen Shi felt a piercing ache in his heart. Catching his breath, he walked over to the side of the talisman master Fu Shank, searching carefully to pull out seventy or eighty talismans of all different types. Chen Shi picked out his own two Jia Ma Talismans from among them, slipping them into his sleeve pocket.
He stripped off Fu Shank's outer garment, folded the remaining talismans neatly, and fished a few taels of silver from the pocket.
Hesitating for a moment, Chen Shi returned those few taels of silver to Fu Shank.
—Grandpa taught him that one must never casually take money from a dead person, or the dead would come looking for you at night to demand their money back.
Chen Shi sought out the other two corpses, searching all around to find a few more talismans and some silver. He only kept the talismans, leaving the silver on the deceased.
Let Grandpa sell these talismans to compensate for the damaged crops. After all, they are all fellow villagers; since we ruined someone's cornfield, we can't leave them without a harvest, Chen Shi thought to himself.
As for the Imperial Guard who had been cut into two halves, he did not go looking for him—that man had died too miserably, and he was afraid of having nightmares at night.
Sanwang appeared in my dream last night, saying someone was coming to kill me and telling me to flee quickly. Could that dream have been real? How did Sanwang enter my dream?
Chen Shi straightened up, thinking of the long tongue wrapped around Sanwang's neck, a sense of puzzlement stirring in his heart. And that long tongue in the dream—what was that all about? Where did it drag Sanwang?
A faint unease lingered within him.
He had heard his grandfather speak of the dead paying visits through dreams.
It was said that when a person died, if they held an obsession in their heart that they could not let go of, they would go to see those close to them, entering the dreams of their loved ones to convey their lingering attachments, or to say a final farewell and impart their last wishes.
Sanwang is from Huangyang Village. Could something have happened in Huangyang Village?
Chen Shi went to the riverside to wash his face, facing the river surface to straighten his clothes, only to find that the power of the sealing talisman behind his head had also vanished. Yet his clothes were truly too tattered to be seen in public, leaving him no choice but to head back to the village.
Heishuo raised its head, staring in surprise as its little master returned looking murderous, his clothes tattered to shreds.
This was clearly the little master's most beloved set of clothes, bought by Grandpa just yesterday; how had he turned into a beggar the moment he stepped out the door?
Chen Shi entered the house, changed into an old set of clothes, and asked, "Heishuo, did Grandpa go out?"
Heishuo nodded.
Walking outward, Chen Shi said, "I'm going to kill someone. Lie down properly, you don't need to get up."
Heishuo lay on the ground, turning its head to watch its little master walk out the door.
Before long, Chen Shi arrived outside Huangyang Village. Looking from afar at the peaceful settlement, he drew in a long breath and exhaled slowly. Once his breath was completely steady, he set off toward Huangyang Village.
The talisman master named Fu Shank said just now that I killed Iron Brush Old Man, and they came under orders from the Third Young Master to capture me. This Third Young Master should be the Third Young Master of the Zhao family.
With a calm expression, Chen Shi muttered inwardly, If Fu Shank had assassinated me, I would have died long ago, but capturing me alive—they must have wanted to haul me before this Third Young Master Zhao.
He circulated the Three Lights Righteous Qi Art, his blood and Qi flowing to nourish his internal organs and strengthen his physique.
In that case, Third Young Master Zhao should still be in Huangyang Village. "He who initiates the evil deed leaves no descendants." I didn't clean things up properly and failed to root out the evil by its source; I must remedy this!
Outside Huangyang Village, not a single person was in sight, and an absolute stillness hung in the air.
Instead of entering directly through the village entrance, Chen Shi came to the southwest corner of the village and vaulted over the wall.
I will resolve the trouble I caused myself. I cannot drag Grandpa and the villagers down with me!
Before you continue