Rescuing

Chen Shi desperately wanted to jump down, hoist a Hongyi Cannon on his shoulder, and place it at the village entrance. It would surely look magnificent, and wouldn't the children in the village kneel and kowtow to King Chen upon seeing it?

Return to the village and I can ascend the throne!

Unfortunately, the carriage did not stop.

Chen Shi's gaze swept over the corpses on the ground. They were also dressed in the attire of the Divine Machine Battalion, but each of these men had a small hole in their forehead. The opening was not large, merely a finger's width and very slender.

The carriage pulled him along at a gallop.

Not far away, another Hongyi Cannon came into view. Its barrel had also been severed, and there were multiple corpses lying around it, all of them soldiers of the Divine Machine Battalion.

At the exact same spot on their glabellaes, they also bore a wound, resembling the trace left by pinching back and forth with fingernails.

Except that fingernails could not pierce a human skull.

The further forward they went, the more corpses there were, and the more Hongyi cannons as well.

Chen Shi's heart leapt with fright. Last night, he had only seen a figure standing tall atop the mountain peak and a cold flash of light winding around the summit—he had seen nothing at all flying down the mountain to kill people!

What on earth is this weapon that caused such wounds?

Walking all the way, Chen Shi saw two to three hundred corpses and dozens of Hongyi cannons with damaged barrels.

Sun Simiao of the Daoist sect was revered as the Medicine King and Saint of Medicine, and he had invented gunpowder, within which the utmost-yang and utmost-firm thunderous power was contained.

Cultivators and gods and devils feared thunder most of all, with heavenly tribulations taking heavenly lightning as supreme.

From then on, mortals possessed the power to slaughter gods and slay immortals.

Developing down to the present day, based on gunpowder, firearms such as matchlocks, arquebuses, thunder-clap bombs, and cannons were formed, which, coupled with the talismanic engravings of cultivators, possessed terrifying might.

The Divine Machine Battalion was the emperor's direct imperial guard, and whenever there were new-style firearms, they could all be seen in the Divine Machine Battalion.

Yet the weapons the Divine Machine Battalion used most were still arquebuses and Hongyi cannons; when they encountered any experts who did not respect imperial orders, they executed them with cannon fire.

Even those who had cultivated a Nascent Soul and forged a Primordial Spirit, if blasted by a cannon with the five thunders erupting, would have their souls scattered and forms destroyed!

This time, the Divine Machine Battalion had dispatched so many Hongyi cannons and soldiers, which could be called a sure-victory endeavor, yet unexpectedly the casualties were disastrously heavy.

The carriage sped forward, passing all the way without encountering a single living person!

Ahead, the peak bombarded by artillery fire last night appeared. On that mountain head were still smoke and fire, as well as unsolidified magma.

That was the terrifying destructive power caused by the Hongyi cannons matched with the imprinting of Great Five Thunder Talismans!

However, by now the sound of thunder could no longer be heard, and the artillery fire had also ceased.

Chen Shi raised his head to look, only to see that this mountain peak had been more than half blasted away, with only a stone pillar over a dozen zhang thick remaining intact in the center.

The stone pillar stood over twenty zhang high, covered everywhere with traces left by artillery and thunder strikes, while below was molten magma, bubbling with surging heat.

The coachman cracked his whip, urging the four fine horses to pull the carriage, heading straight for that stone pillar.

Ringing sounds came from the stone pillar, the clashing of metal and stone.

At this time, the sky was not yet fully bright. The bright moon in the sky had just closed, and the sun had just barely opened its eyelids. The sky was a dark red, and if one raised their eyes to gaze into the distance, things afar were not very clear.

Suddenly, strange sounds came from above the stone pillar, abstruse and hard to understand, resembling the whispering of gods and Buddhas. To gods and Buddhas it was a whisper, but to Chen Shi it was like a great roaring of celestial sounds, deafening, even drilling into his brain and buzzing!

Brilliant divine light rose from the ground, soaring into the clouds!

At the cloud layer sat a supreme goddess, surrounded by golden light, unimaginably colossal. It was unknown whose Primordial Spirit it was, as the brilliant divine light behind its head formed a ring. She leaned down and extended her hand, slapping toward the stone pillar!

Suddenly, a cold beam of light soared to the heavens, flashing past with a xiu sound. Light seeped out from the neck of that supreme goddess, and her head slowly slid off.

A miserable shriek came from the stone pillar, followed by a corpse tumbling down and falling before the carriage.

The headless goddess in the sky collapsed, disintegrated, and transformed into spiritual qi, forming clusters of auspicious clouds that refreshed one's spirit, while the vegetation on the other mountain peaks also grew much more verdant.

"Prince Xiao is truly extraordinary, I have learned much!"

A female figure in the sky rapidly sped away, and judging by the voice, it should be Jin Hongying whom Chen Shi had seen last night.

The stone pillar was almost sheer, and the carriage could not climb it. Seeing this, Chen Shi jumped down from the vehicle.

The coachman said, "I must trouble Young Master Chen."

Chen Shi listened intently, hearing only the sound of magma solidifying and cracking from the cold, with no other noises.

Steeling himself, he climbed upward using hands and feet, quickly scaling to the top of the stone pillar, leaving only a few steps before reaching the summit.

"Whoosh—"

Some rocks were kicked down by him, plunging into the magma below.

Chen Shi nearly missed his footing, fortunately managing to hook his palm into a stone crevice. Looking down, he saw the carriage looked no larger than a palm, though the patch of magma beside it was quite substantial, measuring about half a mu.

If I were to fall down, Grandpa's Water-Fire Tempering probably wouldn't save me either.

Steeling himself, Chen Shi continued climbing upward, finally reaching the stone pillar.

On this stone pillar, several corpses were unexpectedly sprawled in a crisscross fashion. The presence retained by each person after death was immensely majestic, their imposing aura pressing down so heavily that Chen Shi found it hard to breathe.

"Ha! Ha! Ha!"

Chen Shi shouted a few times to bolster his courage, walked forward, and searched all around, discovering Prince Xiao behind a mountain rock.

Prince Xiao lay on his back, a pool of blood flowing beneath him.

Stuck in the rock before him was a brilliantly gleaming thin sword. The sword had eight faces, a fine waist in the middle, and a hilt inlaid with hawksbill turtle shell, turquoise, and other treasures.

A gentleman among swords, modest and gentle.

This was the feeling the sword gave Chen Shi.

Just as Chen Shi walked close, a piercing ying-ying sound suddenly came from beside his ear, and a cold beam of light grazed past his eyes.

Chen Shi hurriedly stopped.

A few strands of hair drifted softly down.

A crack came from behind him, followed by the sound of stone rubbing against stone. That boulder was actually sliced open by an invisible sword qi and slowly slid apart.

Chen Shi did not dare to move even a fraction, shouting aloud, "Senior Xiao! I am Chen Shi! Can you hear me?"

Prince Xiao gave no response for a long time.

Chen Shi tentatively lifted his foot; no sword qi came to attack.

He let out a breath of relief and was about to set his foot down when his movement suddenly froze mid-air, unfallen.

A minuscule sword had appeared on his glabella, only three or four cun in length, yet its hilt and guard were distinct and clear, and the blade even had eight faces forged onto it.

This exquisitely small sword floated in the air, pointing right at his glabella, making Chen Shi not dare to make any rash moves.

Now he finally knew how those Divine Machine Battalion soldiers at the foot of the mountain had died.

Prince Xiao possessed two swords, one long and one short.

The long sword cleaved apart the incoming cannonballs one by one, while the small sword flew down the mountain to slaughter enemies and sever the Hongyi cannons!

The close coordination of the long and short swords was what allowed him to defeat his opponents!

"Senior Xiao, I am Chen Shi!"

Chen Shi called out loudly, but Prince Xiao still showed no movement.

Cold sweat covered Chen Shi's forehead in increasing amounts, and his raised foot did not dare to descend. These two swords clearly possessed sentience, autonomously protecting their master.

The long sword radiated sword qi, while the small sword flew up to kill.

If he made the slightest rash move, he would likely be executed on the spot by these two swords!

Chen Shi stared fixedly at the small sword before his glabella, slowly moving his palm at an incomparably sluggish speed, cautiously reaching into his bosom.

After a moment, he finally drew his hand out from his bosom.

What he held in his hand turned out to be a few sticks of incense!

Chen Shi's other hand moved sluggishly to retrieve a flint.

After a long while, he finally lit those sticks of incense.

"Two seniors, I am Senior Xiao's friend Chen Shi. I have come specially to rescue Senior Xiao; if I am late, I'm afraid I might delay Senior Xiao's life."

The smoke from those sticks of incense drifted toward the two swords. The long sword suddenly flew up, inserting itself into the scabbard at the side with a ding sound, while that small sword showed some hesitation, swaying uncertainly.

Holding the incense aloft, Chen Shi said, "If you don't save him now, there might be no saving him left."

The small sword hesitated for a moment, then flew to Chen Shi's ear. As Chen Shi moved, it moved right along with him, as if as long as Chen Shi dared to harbor any ill intentions toward Prince Xiao, it would immediately slice off Chen Shi's head.

Chen Shi let out a breath of relief; he had guessed that the long and short swords possessed spirits, which was why he had thought of the method of offering incense to communicate.

"Granny Sha is right: preserve reverence and all roads are open; harbor disrespect, and even a living path may turn into a dead end."

Chen Shi stepped forward and tested Prince Xiao's breath, finding that breath still remained. Examining his injuries, he saw that Prince Xiao's wounds were extremely severe; his body was covered not only in scars left by thunder and artillery strikes, but also in wounds inflicted by various spells and weapons, his breathing as faint as a gossamer thread.

If it were me, I'd probably be dead long ago.

Chen Shi scooped him up in his arms and came to the edge of the stone pillar. By this time, the sky had grown completely bright, and the sun was gradually changing from flat to round.

Chen Shi hesitated. Even by himself, he wouldn't dare to jump down from such a great height, let alone while holding a heavily wounded, unconscious Prince Xiao.

Yet figuring out how to get down was quite a difficult problem.

At this moment, Prince Xiao dazedly opened his eyes. Seeing it was him, he said in a low, hoarse voice, "Hurry and go... Jin Hongying will return..."

"We can't get down the mountain! We can't leave!" Cold sweat broke out on Chen Shi's forehead.

Prince Xiao's hand drooped down, a single finger pointing toward the long sword, moving slightly.

That long sword flew up with its scabbard, appearing in the air right before Chen Shi's feet, remaining motionless.

Chen Shi's heart stirred slightly. He tentatively stepped out and placed his foot on the scabbard. The scabbard sank slightly downward, bearing him as it slowly descended.

A short while later, Chen Shi's feet touched solid ground, and he rejoiced, "Senior Xiao, we've come down! Senior Xiao?"

Prince Xiao uttered not a sound and had fainted away once more.

Chen Shi immediately carried Prince Xiao and loaded him onto the carriage, saying rapidly, "Quick! Go see Granny Zhuang!"

The coachman was puzzled, not knowing where Granny Zhuang was located.

"Follow me!"

Chen Shi leaped down from the carriage and sped away at a run.

Seeing this, the coachman cracked his whip, and the four horses pulled the carriage in a mad dash following Chen Shi.

Chen Shi ran for several dozen li, arriving outside Gangzi Village, and entered the great mountains. Traveling another ten-odd li of mountain paths, he finally reached the place where Granny Zhuang resided.

"Wait for me here! I must trouble Granny Zhuang to first extend this person's life!"

Chen Shi had no time to say more. He laid Prince Xiao down and immediately broke into a non-stop run, hurtling toward the mountain stream and forest.

Half an hour later, Granny Zhuang's tree hollow was packed full of "people." Several chubby, block-headed toddlers wore mournful expressions as they clutched their heads, their Ginseng Grass Fruits having been plucked of a few more pieces to be given to this fellow lying on the bed to take.

"He has taken the Ginseng Grass Fruit and is already out of mortal danger, but his other injuries are too severe for the Ginseng Grass Fruit to treat," Granny Zhuang said apologetically.

Prince Xiao still remained unconscious. Although his external wounds had healed, the most severe injuries were conversely those caused by the thunder strikes and the spells of the Divine Machine Battalion powerhouses.

These wounds could not be cured by ordinary medicines or stones.

"Many thanks, Granny! Many thanks, little fruits!"

Chen Shi hurriedly expressed his gratitude to them. The chubby toddlers trotted up to him, tilting their heads up while their two plump little hands gestured unceasingly, clearly demanding more toys.

Chen Shi promised to deliver them, picked up Prince Xiao once more, and sent him into the carriage, saying, "We are going to Mirror Lake Villa."

The coachman set off once again, and the carriage sped away.

The Mirror Lake Villa at the hour of noon remained as gloomy and quiet as before, devoid of any sound of cicadas or birds.

The pool water was bone-chillingly cold, and the towering trees blotted out all sunlight. With a rumble of wheels, the carriage slowly halted outside the villa.

Chen Shi picked up Prince Xiao, walked into the villa, pried open the layers of Prince Xiao's coffin one by one, and placed him inside.

Just as Chen Shi was about to close the layers of the coffin lid, the long sword suddenly flew over, also dropping into the casket.

That small sword leisurely and unhurriedly orbited the coffin, presumably keeping watch on the outside.

Chen Shi closed the fivefold coffin, let out a breath of relief, and murmured softly, "Mirror Lake Villa can naturally save lives; when Senior Xiao was injured last time, he came to Mirror Lake Villa to recuperate. Moreover, outsiders cannot enter this villa; even if Jin Hongying tracks us here, she won't be able to enter the villa."

Mirror Lake Villa had been built by Grandpa, Prince Xiao, and others, and several coffins already housed people whose abilities were definitely not inferior to Prince Xiao's.

If Jin Hongying could track them here, she would have to face several powerhouses on par with Prince Xiao!

"Senior Xiao's safety is of no major concern, so as for the Hongyi cannons and the matter of ascending the throne..." Chen Shi's heart burned with fervor as he looked toward the carriage outside the villa.