A Gentleman's Duel

Li Tianqing looked along his gaze and saw an incomparably ancient Chinese fir tree. Its trunk was straight, covered in scars, and gnarled and rugged.

The mountain wind blew, rustling the branches and leaves of the ancient tree. A blue-and-white aura of incense coiled around the tree, at times condensing into the likeness of an old woman, at times dissipating.

This large tree that protected Chen Shi was forming a new divine aspect under the influence of extraordinary power.

"This great mountain possesses spirituality. These trees, rocks, and ruins—amidst the incense of the mountain folk, they will form a new Godmother, sheltering generation after generation of mountain people."

Li Jindou was quite moved, and said, "When an old Godmother ages and a village declines, a new Godmother will replace her, and new mountain stockades will be established around the Godmother, living on endlessly and stubbornly surviving."

The grandfather and grandson followed Chen Shi all the way forward, gradually plunging deep into this mysterious great mountain.

Chen Shi could be said to be thoroughly familiar with the place, so he didn't feel anything of it, but Li Jindou was secretly startled: With the geography in the mountains so complex, wanting to find this place without someone leading the way is simply a dream!

The mountain forest ahead grew less dense, the vegetation sparse, and one cave dwelling after another, 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 has finally been reached! Wait a moment... a ghost and god domain!"

His expression was grave as he looked toward 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; one cannot easily set foot within it."

Li Jindou said in a deep voice, "The True King's Tomb is truly extraordinary, even forming a ghost and god domain around the kiln factory. If one were to inadvertently step inside, I'm afraid escape would be impossible!"

A shock stirred in Chen Shi's heart. He had brought many people here, and none of them had noticed the oddity of the kiln factory, subsequently stumbling into its ghost and god domain and turning into porcelain dolls.

He hadn't expected that this unremarkable old man of the Li Family would actually be able to recognize that this was a ghost and god domain!

Tianqing's grandpa is much stronger than I anticipated, he thought to himself.

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

Li Jindou paced slowly around the kiln factory. With every step he took, the surrounding earth plummeted, forming a deep pit. Having walked a full circle in this manner, he marked out the shroud of the ghost and god domain, and said, "I have marked out the boundaries of this domain; do not set foot inside. Remember this, remember it well."

He faced the kiln factory and took a long breath. This kiln factory actually made his heart breed fear, and he dared not easily step foot inside.

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

He paused, then said, "Return to the village. Tomorrow morning, Tianqing, you will head back to Quanzhou without delay. When you reach Quanzhou, you will say that you failed to investigate Seventh Uncle's disappearance case clearly, and that Old Jindou has let down the ancestors of the Li Family and run off. Remember, say he ran off, not that he died!"

He turned his head, his expression stern. "If you say I ran off, the Li Family can still look at my face to watch over you, keeping you mother and son from starving to death. If you say I died in the ghost and god domain, the two of you are dead for sure, and you won't even be able to keep your Divine Embryo!"

Li Tianqing's face turned pale as he said in a low voice, "Grandpa, Tianqing understands."

"You child have always been sensible and give people peace of mind. Take good care of your mother; it hasn't been easy for her."

Li Jindou revealed a smile, lifted his feet, and stepped into the kiln factory.

At the same time, a light soared into the heavens from the back of his head, a divine shrine emerged, and a divine embryo sat within the shrine, while a towering Primordial Spirit emerged from behind the shrine.

The moment he stepped into the kiln factory, his body began to rapidly porcelainify, his flesh-and-blood body immediately transforming into porcelain. At the same time, his divine shrine rapidly porcelainified as well, and the divine embryo did too!

Only that towering Primordial Spirit remained unmoving, undergoing no change.

Li Jindou stepped forward, his body porcelainifying while also rapidly shrinking. In the blink of an eye, he went from a stooped old man to a porcelain doll less than a foot tall.

He walked within the kiln factory, his Primordial Spirit following behind him to investigate the layout here.

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

However, there were many kiln caves there, blocking their line of sight.

Li Tianqing suddenly said, "Little Shi, was it you who killed my cousin Li Xiaoding?"

Chen Shi, who was searching for porcelain dolls like Second Miss Zhao, gave a slight start, turned his head, and looked at him.

Li Tianqing pressed his thin lips together and said, "Without using a Strength Talisman, you were still able to shoulder a Hongyi Cannon. A cannon barrel weighing two or three thousand catties is light as nothing to you, so your strength must be immense. I investigated Seventh Uncle's case; the reason Seventh Uncle went down to the countryside was because of the death of my cousin Li Xiaoding. Li Xiaoding's case was taken up by a bailiff named Zhuge Jian. This person is extremely astute and found out that the perpetrator possessed a robust physique, could move like lightning within a zhang, struck with heavy fists that could crack skulls and shatter brains, and possessed a physical body comparable to cultivators in the Golden Core Realm."

Zhuge Jian had burned the documents recording the backgrounds of Chen Shi and Chen Yindu, but the written records left at the crime scene were still there. In order to ascertain the case of Li Kefu's disappearance, Li Tianqing would naturally read through these records.

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

Li Tianqing nodded lightly. "Zhuge Jian also said that the criminal was no more than five chi tall, with a body like a child, and was a talisman master who led a large black-haired dog."

Chen Shi sighed. "All these traits completely match me."

Li Tianqing continued, "You brought me and Grandpa to this kiln factory with ill intent. You long knew this place was a ghost and god domain, so you planned to lure us into the kiln factory and trap us here, utilizing the ghost and god domain to deal with us. This sort of thing is not your first offense; you must be thoroughly familiar with it."

Without waiting for Chen Shi to reply, he said, "I've checked the disappearance cases around Ganyang Mountain over the past few years, especially in the last two years. Those occurring near Huangpo Village alone number as many as fifteen, involving over two hundred people. The disappearance of these two hundred people is likely related to you two grandfather and grandson! Chen Shi, others might say you are bloodthirsty by nature, but I happen to know that you are actually protecting the people of Huangpo Village."

He paused, then said, "You tied red cloth strips to every spirit along the way and offered incense, showing that you want to protect the villagers and keep them from harm. When these outsiders searching for the True King's Tomb arrive at the village and find out the True King's Tomb is nearby, they inevitably harbor thoughts of silencing witnesses. Those villagers still don't know that without you, Huangpo Village would have been wiped out fifteen times over!"

He understood these treasure seekers far too well.

They originated from powerful noble families and regarded human lives as grass. Wiping out a village to guard the secret of the True King's Tomb was something they were capable of, and they would definitely do it!

Chen Shi was silent for a moment, then praised, "Tianqing, you truly are a clever person, smarter than I thought. Why are you exposing me at a time like this?"

Li Tianqing's expression was desolate. "Knowing you makes me very happy, but I care about my grandpa, I care about my mother, and I need to survive within the Li Family! Back at the divine descent ceremony, I was favored by a true god and obtained a Purple Jade Divine Embryo. Although it isn't the best, it is still extraordinary. People in the clan said they wanted to dig out my divine embryo to give to the clan leader's eldest son. I am of a collateral branch and born of a concubine, so I could do nothing when encountering such a matter. My grandpa beat the person who made the proposal to another place to hide, and we only went back after hiding for more than a year."

His expression was somewhat pale as he said, "This time counts as us grandfather and grandson achieving merit to atone for our sins. As long as we crack Seventh Uncle's case or find the True King's Tomb, we can return to the Li Family. Only then can my mother avoid bullying, and only then can I survive! Chen Shi, this credit—I must obtain it!"

He circulated his cultivation technique, and the divine shrine leapt out from the back of his head, the divine embryo sitting within it.

His divine embryo emitted purple qi, wreathed in purple divine light. It was sacred and extraordinary, imparting a sense of divine majesty and oppression.

The true god descends, bestowing the divine embryo.

Divine embryos were divided into nine grades. The ninth grade was unranked grades, such as the illusory embryo of Chen Shi's grandpa Chen Yindu, where the divine embryo was extremely faint, transparent or semi-transparent, and could be seen through with the naked eye; a gust of wind would almost blow it apart.

The eighth-grade mysterious embryo, also known as the profound ice embryo, was also semi-transparent and not much better than the ninth grade.

Every grade raised thereafter would double the quality of the divine embryo.

The first grade was the best: the Purple Jade Divine Embryo. Prince Xiao's divine embryo belonged to this category.

Li Tianqing was the same.

The divine power contained within his divine embryo was two hundred and fifty-six times that of the ninth grade!

In other words, their starting point was two hundred and fifty-six times higher than Chen Shi's grandpa's!

Since ancient times, wealth and status stirred people's hearts, let alone a divine embryo?

Even within the lineage, people coveted this kind of divine embryo. Li Tianqing was from a collateral branch and born of a concubine, holding a lowly position in the Li Family. If not for Li Jindou, he would definitely have been unable to keep his divine embryo, and might even have lost his life!

Chen Shi was greatly puzzled. "Since you knew I was the one who killed Li Xiaoding, why didn't you tell your grandpa?"

Li Tianqing pressed his lips together. "My grandpa is no match for your grandpa. If I had told Grandpa, he would have taken the opportunity on the road to make a move against you, and your grandpa, hiding in the dark, would have seized the chance to kill him."

Chen Shi looked around, finding no sign of where Grandpa was hiding, and secretly chuckled at his excessive caution. "So you bottled it up until now?"

Li Tianqing's expression was stern. "Now that my grandpa has entered the kiln factory, his life or death unknown, I have reached the end of my rope and have no choice but to fight for it."

He no longer had any retreat. If he couldn't take Chen Shi back, both his mother and he would likely forfeit their lives.

"Chen Shi, what I practice is the Li Family's ultimate art, the Six Yin Jade Wheel Art, which is different from the Heavenly Heart Righteous Qi Art studied by other scholars. 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 of the six meridians condenses, transforming into the shape of a wheel."

Li Tianqing activated the jade wheel, his hands forming hand seals. The seal techniques were peculiar, numbering six in total.

As each seal technique shifted, the Purple Jade Divine Embryo sitting within the divine shrine simultaneously formed the corresponding hand seal.

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

He concentrated his vision to look, only to see Li Tianqing's body gradually blurring; that was the jade wheel spinning and vibrating rapidly, causing the air to vibrate.

"My Six Yin Jade Wheel is invisible to the naked eye. My arms can be sleeved within it to engage enemies in close combat. Anyone who is approached by me will be sliced apart by the jade wheel."

Li Tianqing took a step forward, his footwork shifting as he executed the moves of the Six Yin Jade Wheel Art with his hands, somewhat resembling martial arts stances. His footwork was called the Jade Ring Steps, walking in circular lines, dodging and shifting, with innumerable variations.

Yet unlike martial arts stances, every single move of his was coordinated with different seal techniques, supplemented further by the Jade Ring Steps, making it endlessly unpredictable.

"The Six Yin Jade Wheel can also attack from a distance. With my cultivation at the Divine Embryo Realm, a range of sixteen zhang is entirely within my attacking sphere."

Li Tianqing reined in his stance and stood upright. Despite his young age, he already possessed the bearing of a grandmaster as he said, "Outsiders do not understand the Li Family's Six Yin Jade Wheel Art, and when fighting us, they are often slain in a single exchange. You are my friend, so I don't want you to die without knowing why."

Chen Shi circulated the Three Lights Righteous Qi Art, the Big Dipper Seven Stars condensing into talismans to form a cluster of starlight that revolved around him unhurriedly.

He suddenly took a step out. As his stride landed, his body slammed into the air, a muffled thunderous roar striking the mind. Within a single step, he had already arrived before Li Tianqing, a surging wave of air rushing over his face and blowing Li Tianqing's clothes backward, his red sash fluttering!

"I have made another breakthrough since I killed Li Xiaoding."

Stepping on the Tianxue star, Chen Shi's figure moved like a ghost, revolving around Li Tianqing—now in front, now behind, now left, now right. His figure broke the air, his voice deafening.

"I have forged the Saint Embryo Body, and now I can cross a distance of a zhang and a half in an instant. Within a zhang and a half, my speed is faster than spells!"

"The power of my fists and feet is in no way inferior to spells!"

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

As Chen Shi's steps landed, clusters of starlight exploded. While the stellar power tempered his physical body, his footwork also grew eerie.

"In addition to this, I am also well-versed in six other footwork styles: Tianxuan, Tianji, Yaogang, Kaiyang, Tianquan, and Yuheng!"

Chen Shi demonstrated these six types of footwork one by one, then suddenly stopped, standing firmly like an abyss, the churning qi and blood within him gradually calming down.

"Tianqing, please!"

Outside the kiln factory, the footsteps of the two youths moved in unison!