The Kiln Factory is Terrifying, I Want to Return to the Village

Chen Shi erupted with all his might, charging at Li Tianqing. Only then did Li Tianqing realize that Chen Shi wasn't bluffing when he said he was faster than magic spells within ten feet!

Chen Shi's speed was indeed faster than his magic spells. In a single step, he was in front of him, his body stirring up gale-force winds. His aura was like a primordial beast lunging forward, pressing down so hard that it was impossible to breathe!

Even faster was Chen Shi's hand.

He threw a punch, and a muffled thunderclap echoed, striking the mind. The punch wind pressed down, creasing his facial skin, making him feel as if his brain was lacking blood.

Cultivators feared the sound of thunder the most, as heavenly tribulations were thunderous. Thunder could shatter souls.

Even those who had forged a Golden Core, Nascent Soul, or Primordial Spirit had to be cautious of the thunder from the nine heavens. Great families like the Li family had rules: never refine Golden Cores or let Nascent Souls or Primordial Spirits leave the body during thunderstorms.

Someone from the Li family had once let their Primordial Spirit leave their body during a thunderstorm and was consequently struck down by lightning, their Primordial Spirit turning to dust in the shockwave of the thunder.

Every year, many people in the Western Ox Continent suddenly encountered rolling thunder in the sky while refining their Golden Cores. It would be a perfectly clear sky, and then rolling thunder would suddenly appear from one side of the sky and slide to the other.

Faced with such strange thunder, cultivators could only consider themselves unlucky. Their Golden Cores would shatter amidst the rolling thunder, and they would perish.

The thunderclap from Chen Shi's punch naturally didn't reach the level of heavenly thunder, but it had a significant impact on Li Tianqing's mental will. For a Divine Embryo Realm cultivator with weak mental fortitude and unstable will, merely hearing the thunder would make them lose the courage to resist, let alone counterattack.

Li Tianqing could counterattack.

His shrine and Divine Embryo had already been prepared when he demonstrated the Six Yin Jade Wheel, skipping the step of activating them. Moreover, the most ingenious aspect of the Li family's Six Yin Jade Wheel was that it was both an offensive and defensive technique. The jade wheel formed by true qi could circle one's limbs, forming a defensive posture.

If an enemy attacked and collided with the jade wheel, they would be sliced apart by its incredibly sharp edge!

Most importantly, the jade wheel was formless, almost invisible to the naked eye, making it impossible to guard against.

A jade wheel had already activated on his shoulder. His Taiyin Spleen Meridian's true qi circulated, along with the Taiyin Earth Seal in his left hand, meeting Chen Shi's punch!

At the same time, his Taiyin Lung Meridian's true qi circulated, and the Taiyin Metal Seal in his right hand slashed towards Chen Shi's neck.

The two wheels formed by true qi, one encircling his arm and the other flying through the air, were so exquisite that Chen Shi had never seen anything like it.

However, just as his two jade wheels erupted, Chen Shi suddenly seemed to see the trajectory and direction of these two jade wheels.

The jade wheels were composed of true qi and were indistinguishable to the naked eye. Even if Chen Shi opened his eyes wide, it would be difficult to discern the origin of the sword qi. But he didn't look; he could sense the approach of two foreign objects solely through his body's senses.

Even the origin and speed of the two jade wheels were clearly reflected in his mind.

This sensation was incredibly wondrous, as if the true qi forming the jade wheels was compressing the air, causing his fine hairs to fluctuate slightly and triggering a reaction, or as if his spirit was emanating, sensing the intrusion of external true qi and reacting.

Mysterious and profound.

When he cultivated True Blood, the slightest fluctuation of his every hair could be reflected in his mind. Now that he had cultivated the Saint Embryo Body, this sensation had become even stronger, even extending beyond his body, sensing things two to three feet away!

But Chen Shi had no time to ponder these things. His body was faster than his mind. The moment he sensed the jade wheels' movement, he immediately changed his move. His punch, aimed at Li Tianqing's face, instantly became a palm strike, slapping down heavily!

The moment his palm heel touched the cutting edge of the jade wheel, his body flipped upwards. He stepped out with his right foot, as if stepping on the sky, head down and feet up, avoiding the other jade wheel that was slashing towards his waist.

On the sole of his foot, the Tian Quan Star Talisman exploded, and starlight flowed throughout his body.

The jade wheel, having missed its target, spun rapidly and returned, moving with Li Tianqing's arm and slashing towards Chen Shi in the air with extreme speed.

At the same time, Chen Shi's palm collided with the cutting edge of the jade wheel, producing a sound like metal clashing. The formless jade wheel exploded, unable to withstand Chen Shi's power.

Chen Shi had originally intended to shatter this jade wheel and, while upside down, strike Li Tianqing's head with his other palm, killing him in one blow.

Unexpectedly, Li Tianqing reacted too quickly. If he had struck with that palm, he would have been cut in half at the waist!

Chen Shi's mind hadn't even formulated a plan before his body reacted. Using the force of shattering the jade wheel, he flipped backward and landed ten feet away.

The moment he landed, he immediately sensed five jade wheels formed by true qi flying towards him from the front and back. These five jade wheels had different speeds, sometimes in front, sometimes behind, sometimes to the left, sometimes to the right, some swift, some slow, incredibly mysterious.

Then the missed jade wheel also flew over, making a total of six jade wheels.

Li Tianqing stepped on the Jade Ring Steps, advancing rapidly. His hands and feet moved in sync, his footwork peculiar, and the six hand seals he used simultaneously changed with incredible speed!

He seemed to be stepping on circles of various sizes, with each circle tangent to the next, making his movements unpredictable. Simultaneously controlling six jade wheels made his attacks incredibly dangerous!

Chen Shi stepped on the Big Dipper Seven Stars, constantly switching between the Tian Xuan Steps, Tian Ji Steps, Yu Heng Steps, and other footwork techniques. His movements were like a ghost, coming and going like lightning, dodging the jade wheels one after another.

With every step he took, a star talisman would explode, and starlight would circle his body, tempering his entire being, keeping him at his peak condition at all times!

The ground was repeatedly sliced by sharp objects, making hissing sounds. Rocks would split silently, with perfectly flat cuts!

The power of magic spells was evident!

But even with the exquisite Six Yin Jade Wheel, it failed to injure Chen Shi in the slightest.

In just this brief moment, Chen Shi was forced back to a distance of sixteen feet!

At a distance of sixteen feet, the Six Yin Jade Wheel moved like the wind, invincible. All the trees and rocks in its path, upon contact with the jade wheel, either exploded or were cut in half!

Chen Shi's footsteps were unpredictable as he charged forward rapidly. He saw Li Tianqing's figure suddenly blur. This was an anomaly caused by the Six Yin Jade Wheel enveloping his body and vibrating at high speed.

Chen Shi attacked Li Tianqing, but he couldn't break through the jade wheel's defense for a moment. If he was even slightly careless, his limbs would be severed by the jade wheel, making him feel restricted and unable to unleash his full potential.

Suddenly, he sensed three jade wheels heading directly for his upper, middle, and lower body. He dodged them swiftly. With three sharp sounds, a tree as thick as a bucket behind him was struck by three jade wheels, nearly being cut into four pieces at the waist.

The Six Yin Jade Wheel was the most exquisite magic spell he had ever seen, but in terms of power, it was far inferior to the Zi Wu Zhan Xie Sword.

With the Zi Wu Zhan Xie Sword, a single sword qi would have cut that tree in half, without needing three strikes.

Chen Shi swept his leg, and the tree fell with a crash. He grabbed the tree and charged straight at Li Tianqing!

The tree, weighing over a thousand pounds, felt as light as nothing in his hands, and his charging speed was no less than before!

Hiss, hiss, hiss!

Countless invisible jade rings flew up and down, and broken wood fluttered. Chen Shi threw out the tree crown, and in an instant, the large tree was cut into pieces by the six jade wheels, with shattered wood chips and leaves flying everywhere.

Amidst the flying debris, Chen Shi could clearly see the trajectory of the six jade wheels.

Previously, he could only rely on his "senses" to see. While senses were profound, they weren't as real or clear as sight.

Eyes could react faster.

As soon as he saw the trajectory of the six jade wheels, he burst with power from his feet and charged towards Li Tianqing!

His movement technique was unpredictable. With a few leaps, he dodged the jade rings and unleashed a punch. The air stirred with his fist, and when his fist touched the scattered wood chips in the air, the chips immediately whistled and shot towards Li Tianqing like arrows.

Li Tianqing had no time to dodge. His body, face, hands, and legs were scratched and pierced by the rapidly shooting wood chips.

These wood chips weren't dangerous; they couldn't kill him. The real danger was Chen Shi's punch!

If this punch landed, it would surely shatter his head!

Just as Chen Shi's punch was about to hit him, he suddenly saw Li Tianqing's figure blur. This was a sign that the Six Yin Jade Wheels were rotating around his body!

At the same moment, Chen Shi sensed something foreign rapidly approaching from his left.

Without hesitation, he took a step to the right. As he took this step, he saw the footprints left by Li Jindou on the ground.

Li Jindou had marked the Ghost and God Domain, leaving some footprints. The outside of the footprints was a safe area, while the inside was the Ghost and God Domain.

"He's so smart!"

Chen Shi immediately understood Li Tianqing's intention. As long as he could force Chen Shi into the Ghost and God Domain, Li Tianqing would win this battle.

In Li Tianqing's understanding, entering the Ghost and God Domain meant certain death.

Therefore, as long as he could force Chen Shi into the Ghost and God Domain, Chen Shi would die.

He didn't know that Chen Shi had already traversed this Ghost and God Domain countless times, more familiar with it than his own home. The Ghost and God Domain couldn't kill Chen Shi.

However, if Chen Shi were to turn into a porcelain doll less than a foot tall, completely stripped of his strength, Li Tianqing could still easily kill him.

But before that, Chen Shi's punch could definitely smash his skull!

Chen Shi's punch had already reached Li Tianqing's face when it suddenly stopped, the force not unleashed.

At the same time, a hand grabbed his left arm, pulling him back from the brink of falling into the Ghost and God Domain.

The Six Yin Jade Wheels stopped, hovering at Chen Shi's waist.

Chen Shi steadied himself and retracted his fist.

Li Tianqing also dispersed his jade wheels.

After a moment, they sat on the ground. Chen Shi leaned back on his hands, while Li Tianqing listlessly tossed a blade of grass.

"I can't bring myself to kill a friend I just met."

"Me neither. I don't have any friends. For now, you're the only one."

"I don't have friends either."

The two looked at each other and smiled.

"I killed Li Xiaoding because my Divine Embryo was taken. I heard that Li Xiaoding transplanted someone else's Divine Embryo to become a recommended scholar, so I thought it was mine."

Chen Shi explained the cause and effect of killing Li Xiaoding and said, "Later, I realized I had killed the wrong person."

"My cousin was a scoundrel. He committed heinous crimes in Shuinui County. Killing him was justified. In the county yamen, his confession documents were this high, but they were suppressed and not acted upon. The documents were written by Zhuge Jian, and since he couldn't bring my cousin to justice, I suppose he was quite resentful."

Li Tianqing empathized with Chen Shi's experience, as he himself had almost had his Divine Embryo dug out by his clansmen. He said, "Li Xiaoding's case was committed by you, so my seventh uncle Li Kefu's case must have been committed by your Grandpa. But don't worry, I won't say anything. I won't betray a friend for a scoundrel."

Chen Shi's spirits lifted, and he chuckled, "If I have time tomorrow, I'll take you to catch Ma Liu. Ma Liu is very interesting. Although this exotic beast has 'Ma' (horse) in its name, it's not a horse. It's an exotic beast that looks like a horse and a monkey, lives in trees, and leaps as fast as it flies. When we see a Ma Liu, we must remain still, quietly approach the tree, and then unleash a sword qi to cut off the branch the Ma Liu is on. The Ma Liu will fall, stunned, and we can then use a rope noose to capture and bind it, and we'll be done."

Li Tianqing blinked and asked, "And after catching the Ma Liu?"

"Then we'll take it to the market to sell for money. Ma Lius are very obedient after being caught. During the busy farming season, villagers from miles around will buy them. With a little training, these exotic beasts can help villagers harvest crops. All they need is some food to not starve."

Chen Shi said, "Well-trained Ma Lius will even find their own food. After they've eaten their fill, they'll come back to work for the villagers. Even outside of the busy farming season, Ma Lius can be used for heavy labor. Ma Lius eat little and work a lot, so they are very popular in the market."

Li Tianqing's eyes sparkled with anticipation.

Chen Shi smiled, "I used to catch Ma Lius to sell for money to pay for my tuition to attend a private school. However, I don't know the Zi Wu Zhan Xie Sword. The Ma Lius are very agile in the trees; they can leap from one tree to another and disappear in the blink of an eye. But your Six Yin Jade Wheels are incredible. If we team up, we'll definitely catch a lot of Ma Lius!"

Li Tianqing nodded repeatedly.

They had fought, but their friendship had only deepened.

Suddenly, a brilliant divine light shone out from the kiln factory.

The porcelain doll that Li Jindou had transformed into rushed out of the kiln factory, looking quite disheveled. Three kiln workers, each over ten feet tall, were chasing after him.

The porcelain doll shouted something towards Chen Shi and Li Tianqing outside as he fled, but his voice was like chirping birds, unintelligible.

As the porcelain doll landed just outside the kiln factory, Li Jindou's Primordial Spirit channeled immense magic power, enveloping the porcelain doll. Under the radiance of the Primordial Spirit's divine light, his petrified body began to recover, and his shrine and Divine Embryo also slowly receded from the petrification.

Chen Shi was full of admiration.

Li Jindou, even after turning into a porcelain doll, had managed to survive a fight with the kiln workers, which showed his considerable skill.

"His cultivation is too profound; he can recover from petrification. It's truly admirable," Chen Shi praised inwardly.

"Not good!"

Li Jindou cried out in alarm. The parts of his body that had just receded from petrification were now gradually petrifying again!

Cold sweat broke out on the forehead of the porcelain doll he had become. He shouted, "This Ghost and God Domain is too terrifying. I'm injured, and my Primordial Spirit alone cannot resist the domain's corruption! Tianqing, Chen Shi, quickly take me back to the village!"

However, neither of them understood what he was saying.