A Gentleman's Duel

Chen Shi followed his gaze and saw an ancient fir tree, its trunk straight, covered in scars and gnarled knots.

The mountain wind rustled the ancient tree's branches and leaves, and a pale green stream of incense and fire energy swirled around it, sometimes condensing into the shape of an old woman, sometimes dissipating.

This tree, which protected Chen Shi, was forming a new divine manifestation under the influence of extraordinary power.

"This mountain range is spiritual. These trees, rocks, and ruins, through the incense and fire of the mountain folk, will form new godmothers to protect generation after generation of mountain dwellers."

Li Jindou said with emotion, "When one godmother grows old and a village declines, a new godmother will replace it, and a new village will be built around the godmother, living on endlessly and surviving tenaciously."

The grandfather and grandson followed Chen Shi, gradually venturing deeper into the mysterious mountain range.

Chen Shi was very familiar with the area and didn't feel anything unusual, but Li Jindou was secretly alarmed. "The geography of this mountain is so complex, it's a pipe dream to find this place without a guide!"

The mountain forest ahead was no longer dense, the vegetation sparse, and kiln caves built of brick and stone came into view.

Li Jindou was inexplicably excited. "The kiln factory that refined porcelain for the True King's Tomb, we've finally arrived! Wait a moment... Ghost and God Domain!"

His expression turned solemn as he looked at the kiln factory ahead, reaching out to stop Chen Shi and Li Tianqing, who were about to enter.

"This is a Ghost and God Domain, do not enter it lightly."

Li Jindou said in a deep voice, "The True King's Tomb is indeed extraordinary, even the kiln factory has formed a Ghost and God Domain. If one accidentally steps into it, they will surely perish!"

Chen Shi was shocked. The many people he had brought with him had not noticed the strangeness of the kiln factory and had fallen into its Ghost and God Domain, turning into porcelain dolls.

He hadn't expected this unassuming old man from the Li family to recognize this place as a Ghost and God Domain!

Li Tianqing's grandfather is much stronger than I anticipated, he thought.

Li Tianqing glanced at him, saw his expression was normal, and said nothing.

Li Jindou slowly paced around the kiln factory. With each step he took, the ground around him sank, forming a deep pit. After walking around once, he marked the coverage area of the Ghost and God Domain. "I will mark the boundaries of this domain. Do not step into it. Remember, remember."

He faced the kiln factory and took a deep breath. This kiln factory actually made him feel fear, and he dared not enter it lightly.

Li Jindou composed himself and said in a deep voice, "Tianqing, Chen Shi, you wait here. I will go into the kiln factory to investigate! If I don't come out, Tianqing, you will go back with Chen Shi."

He paused and added, "When you return to the village, first thing tomorrow morning, Tianqing, you will return to Quanzhou and do not delay. Once in Quanzhou, say that you could not clarify the case of Uncle Seven's disappearance and that Old Jindou has failed the ancestors of the Li family and has run away. Remember, say he ran away, not that he died!"

He turned back, his expression stern. "Say I ran away, and the Li family can still look after you on my behalf, so that you and your mother will not starve. Say I died in the Ghost and God Domain, and you and your mother are doomed, you won't even be able to protect your Divine Embryo!"

Li Tianqing's face turned pale, and he whispered, "Grandpa, Tianqing understands."

"You child, you've always been sensible and put people at ease. Take care of your mother, she's had a hard time."

Li Jindou smiled and stepped into the kiln factory.

At the same time, light erupted from behind his head, a shrine appeared, with the Divine Embryo seated within it. Behind the shrine, a majestic Primordial Spirit emerged.

As he stepped into the kiln factory, his body began to rapidly turn into porcelain. His flesh and blood immediately transformed into ceramics. At the same time, his shrine and Divine Embryo also began to petrify!

Only the majestic Primordial Spirit remained motionless, unchanged.

Li Jindou stepped forward, his body petrifying and rapidly shrinking. In the blink of an eye, he transformed from a stooped old man into a porcelain doll less than a foot tall.

He walked through the kiln factory, the Primordial Spirit following behind him, surveying the layout.

Chen Shi and Li Tianqing stood outside the kiln factory, peering inside.

However, there were many kiln caves that blocked their view.

Li Tianqing suddenly said, "Little Ten, you killed my cousin Li Xiaoding, didn't you?"

Chen Shi, who was searching for Second Miss Zhao and the other porcelain dolls, was slightly taken aback and turned to look at him.

Li Tianqing pursed his thin lips. "Without using a Strength Talisman, you could shoulder a Hongyi Cannon. A cannon weighing two to three thousand catties was as light as nothing to you. Your strength must be immense. I investigated Uncle Seven's case. Uncle Seven was sent to the countryside because of the death of my cousin Li Xiaoding. Li Xiaoding's case was handled by a Recorder named Zhuge Jian. This person is extremely intelligent and discovered that the perpetrator had a strong physique, capable of moving like lightning within ten feet, with fists and kicks that could crack skulls and brains, possessing a physical body comparable to a cultivator in the Golden Core Realm."

Zhuge Jian burned the documents detailing Chen Shi and Chen Yindu's origins, but the written records left at the crime scene were still there. Li Tianqing, in order to investigate Li Kefu's disappearance, naturally reviewed these records.

Chen Shi scratched his head. "Zhuge Jian left these things behind?"

Li Tianqing nodded slightly. "Zhuge Jian also said that the murderer was no more than five feet tall, with a child-like physique, a Talisman Master, and was accompanied by a black-haired dog."

Chen Shi sighed. "These characteristics all match me perfectly."

Li Tianqing continued, "You brought me and my grandfather to this kiln factory with malicious intent. You knew long ago that this place was a Ghost and God Domain, so you intended to lure us into the kiln factory, trap us there, and use the Ghost and God Domain to deal with us. This is not your first offense; you must be very familiar with this kind of thing."

Without waiting for Chen Shi's reply, he said, "I have reviewed the disappearance cases in the Ganyang Mountain area over the years, especially in the last two years. There have been as many as fifteen cases near Huangpo Village, involving over two hundred people. The disappearance of these two hundred people is mostly related to you grandfather and grandson! Chen Shi, others may call you bloodthirsty, but I know that you are actually protecting the people of Huangpo Village."

He paused. "You tied red cloth strips to every spirit along the way and offered incense, showing your desire to protect the villagers and keep them safe. When these outsiders looking for the True King's Tomb arrived at the village, knowing that the True King's Tomb was nearby, they would inevitably consider silencing them. Those villagers don't know it yet, but without you, Huangpo Village would have been wiped out fifteen times over!"

He knew these treasure hunters too well.

They came from noble families and treated human lives as worthless. They would not hesitate to destroy a village to protect the secret of the True King's Tomb, and they would definitely do it!

Chen Shi was silent for a moment, then praised, "Tianqing, you are indeed a smart person, smarter than I thought. Why are you revealing this to me now?"

Li Tianqing's expression turned somber. "I was happy to know you, but I care about my grandfather and my mother. I want to live in the Li family! During the divine descent ceremony, I was favored by the True God and obtained the Purple Jade Divine Embryo. Although it's not the best, it's still remarkable. Some people in the clan said they wanted to dig out my Divine Embryo and give it to the clan leader's eldest son. I am from a collateral branch and born of a concubine, so I was helpless in such matters. My grandfather beat up the person who made the suggestion and took me away to hide elsewhere. We hid for over a year before returning."

His face was a little pale. "This time is our chance to atone for our mistakes. As long as we solve Uncle Seven's case or find the True King's Tomb, we can return to the Li family, and my mother will not be bullied, and I can survive! Chen Shi, I must achieve this merit!"

He activated his cultivation technique, and the shrine behind his head leaped out, with the Divine Embryo seated within it.

His Divine Embryo emitted purple energy, with purple divine light swirling around it, sacred and extraordinary, exuding a divine pressure.

The True God descended and bestowed the Divine Embryo.

Divine Embryos were divided into nine grades. The ninth grade was considered trash, like Chen Shi's grandfather Chen Yindu's Illusory Embryo, which was extremely faint, transparent or semi-transparent, visible through the naked eye, and almost fell apart with a gust of wind.

The eighth-grade Mysterious Embryo, also known as the Mysterious Ice Embryo, was semi-transparent, not much better than the ninth grade.

With each grade increase, the quality of the Divine Embryo would double.

The first grade was the best, the Purple Jade Divine Embryo, which was what Prince Xiao possessed.

Li Tianqing's was the same.

The divine power contained within their Divine Embryos was a staggering 256 times that of the ninth grade!

In other words, their starting point was 256 times higher than Grandpa Chen Shi's!

Since ancient times, wealth had moved people's hearts, let alone a Divine Embryo?

Even within the family, such Divine Embryos stirred desire. Li Tianqing was from a collateral branch, holding a low status in the Li family. If he hadn't had Li Jindou, he definitely wouldn't have been able to keep the Divine Embryo, nor even his own life, after receiving the divinely bestowed Purple Jade Divine Embryo.

Chen Shi was greatly puzzled and asked, "Since you know I killed Li Xiaoding, why didn't you tell your Grandpa?"

Li Tianqing pursed his lips. "My Grandpa is no match for your Grandpa. If I told Grandpa, he would have attacked you on the way, and your Grandpa, hidden in the shadows, would have seized the opportunity to kill him."

Chen Shi glanced around, unable to find where Grandpa was hiding. He inwardly chuckled at his grandfather's excessive caution and said, "So you've been enduring this until now?"

Li Tianqing's expression turned solemn. "Now that my Grandpa has entered the kiln factory and his fate is unknown, I've reached the end of my rope and have to take a gamble."

He had no retreat left. If he couldn't bring Chen Shi back, his mother and he would likely lose their lives.

"Chen Shi, I cultivate the Li family's ultimate technique, the Six Yin Jade Wheel Art, which is different from the Heavenly Heart Righteous Qi Art that other scholars study. The so-called Six Yin refers to the Taiyin Spleen Meridian, Taiyin Lung Meridian, Shaoyin Heart Meridian, Shaoyin Kidney Meridian, Jueyin Liver Meridian, and Jueyin Pericardium Meridian. The true qi condensed from these six qi meridians forms a wheel shape."

Li Tianqing activated his Jade Wheel, forming hand seals. The seals were peculiar, with six variations.

As each seal changed, the Purple Jade Divine Embryo sitting in the shrine simultaneously formed corresponding hand seals.

Chen Shi sensed an invisible true qi forming around Li Tianqing.

He focused his vision and could only see Li Tianqing's body gradually blurring. This was caused by the rapid vibration of the spinning Jade Wheel, which distorted the air.

"My Six Yin Jade Wheel is invisible to the naked eye. My arms can be inserted into it for close-quarters combat. If an opponent gets close, they will be sliced by the Jade Wheel."

Li Tianqing took a step forward, his footwork employing the techniques of the Six Yin Jade Wheel Art. It resembled martial arts moves, with the footwork called the Jade Ring Steps, walking in circles, shifting and evading with great variety.

However, unlike martial arts moves, each of his techniques was combined with different hand seals and the Jade Ring Steps, making his movements unpredictable.

"The Six Yin Jade Wheel can also be used for ranged attacks. With my cultivation in the Divine Embryo Realm, any area within sixteen zhang is within my attack range."

Li Tianqing stopped his movements and stood upright. Despite his young age, he exuded the demeanor of a master. "Outsiders who don't understand my Li family's Six Yin Jade Wheel Art are often killed in the first encounter when they fight us. You are my friend, and I don't want you to die without understanding why."

Chen Shi activated the Three Lights Righteous Qi Art, condensing the Big Dipper Seven Stars into talismans, forming a group of starlight that revolved around him at an unhurried pace.

He suddenly took a step forward. As his foot landed, his body impacted the air, a muffled thunderclap resounding in his ears. In a single step, he was in front of Li Tianqing, a surge of qi washing over him, blowing Chen Shi's clothes backward and making his red sash flutter!

"I've made further breakthroughs since killing Li Xiaoding."

Chen Shi stepped on the Tian Shu star, his movements like a phantom, darting in front of and behind Li Tianqing, to his left and right, his body breaking through the air with a resounding noise.

"I have cultivated the Saint Embryo body and can now traverse fifteen zhang in an instant. Within fifteen zhang, my speed surpasses that of spells!"

"The power of my punches and kicks is no less than that of spells!"

"Pay attention to my footwork; this is the Big Dipper Tian Shu Steps!"

As Chen Shi's foot landed, bursts of starlight exploded. While the star power tempered his body, his footwork also became erratic.

"Besides this, I am also proficient in six other footwork techniques: Tian Xuan, Tian Ji, Yao Guang, Kai Yang, Tian Quan, and Yu Heng!"

Chen Shi demonstrated these six footwork techniques one by one, then suddenly stopped, standing as steady as a mountain, the surging qi and blood gradually calming.

"Tianqing, please!"

Outside the kiln factory, the two youths moved their feet in unison!