Ganyang Mountain Man

"We come from the Divine Continent, not the native aborigines?"

Hearing this, Chen Shi looked somewhat blankly at the petrified multi-story ship.

Back then, his ancestors had boarded such a multi-story ship, drifting in the Sea of Darkness for seventeen years before arriving here?

They hacked through brambles and thorns, reclaimed wasteland, dug ditches, built towns, drove away exotic beasts, established civilization, and lit the first fire on this dark continent.

However, why did the Western Ox Continent lose contact with the Great Ming?

When the soldiers of the Great Ming arrived here, were the true gods beyond the heavens also present?

"There is also a strange thing. My Three Lights Righteous Qi Art can absorb starlight, but it cannot absorb sunlight or moonlight. Only when reaching a place like the Mountain Lord Temple can it absorb sunlight and moonlight. Could it be that the two lights of the sun and moon in the Mountain Lord Temple come from the ancestral land Divine Continent? However, why are these temples lost and sunken underground?"

Chen Shi's head felt dizzy, unable to figure out the reason for this for a moment.

Li Tianqing still could not conceal his excitement, reaching out a hand in an attempt to touch the large ship.

Unexpectedly, the moment his fingertips were about to touch the large ship, the ground beneath his feet suddenly shook violently, the sound of rushing water came over, surging and churning, and the surrounding scenery changed abruptly. A roaring river rushed toward them, with giant waves towering to the skies and ferocious breakers shattering the banks!

The riverbed, which had just been dry and revealing fossilized fish bones, suddenly transformed into a magnificent river surface, the backs of the giant fish in the river resembling small green islands.

Those Great Gu that had already turned into withered bones seemed to have come back to life!

"Ghost and God Domain!"

Chen Shi's heart lurched, and without a word, he grabbed Li Tianqing and retreated rapidly.

The figures of the two stumbled, the ground beneath their feet shook violently, and the Dejiang River rippled. The pebble-strewn riverbank was now covered everywhere with reeds, and the gravel beneath their feet was also rapidly sprouting lush green grass!

Chen Shi turned around, exerting force with his feet, and pulled Li Tianqing forward.

His reaction speed was extremely fast. The moment Li Tianqing triggered the ghost and god domain of the stone boat, he strode forward to charge, and that rapidly forward-extending lush green grass actually failed to catch up with his pace!

Only then did Li Tianqing see how astonishing Chen Shi's true explosive power was. His legs darted out like the Hongyi Cannon igniting gunpowder to fire a projectile, gale force meeting his face, his clothing pressed flat against his body by the wind pressure. A single stride covered a distance of azhang and a half, his soles slamming down and causing the pebbles to burst!

Li Tianqing had only the sound of whistling wind left in his ears, feeling inwardly startled: This speed is too fast, much faster even than the Jia Ma Talisman!

And this was still with Chen Shi running wildly while carrying him; if he hadn't been carrying him, the speed would probably have been even faster!

In an instant, Chen Shi dashed a hundred zhang, far away from the stone boat.

Li Tianqing saw them rush past a dazed little roe deer. That roe deer had probably never seen a person and was still stupidly standing in place, turning its head to look at them. But the next moment, the lush green grass arrived at the roe deer's feet.

That roe deer rapidly petrified, actually turning into a stone sculpture while still maintaining the posture of looking at them.

The speed of the lush green grass was extremely fast, but just as it was about to catch up with them, it suddenly seemed to reach its limit. The speed at which the green color spread forward slowed down, and then gradually faded and disappeared.

Chen Shi put Li Tianqing down and looked back; the patches of reeds were nowhere to be found either.

A common gull was flying toward them, and just as it was about to crash into Li Tianqing, it suddenly disappeared like thin smoke.

"Do not approach things you don't understand in the mountains out of curiosity under any circumstances."

Chen Shi said earnestly to Li Tianqing, "Many people lose their lives simply because they are too curious."

Li Tianqing nodded repeatedly, then suddenly smiled: "But having discovered this stone boat, Grandpa and I can also return to Quanzhou to report back and fulfill our mission."

Chen Shi inquired: "Does the Quanzhou Li Family have a way to untie the ghost and god domain of the stone boat?"

Li Tianqing shook his head and said: "They might not, but whether they do or not, Grandpa, my mother, and I can live very well because of this."

He was extremely happy. In this way, he wouldn't need to betray Chen Shi, and he could still survive in the Li Family, gain a firm foothold, and protect the family members he cared about.

Chen Shi was also very happy for him.

Outside Xinxiang Province, the post road.

The post road here belonged to the provincial highway, wide and smooth, paved with bluestone slabs in the center with grooves specifically for wheels to travel in. The two sides were paved with bluestone bricks, orderly for both pedestrians and vehicles.

On both sides of the post road were river channels, their banks also paved with stone materials. The river connected to the ocean, and during tides the river level rose, prompting the soldiers responsible for guarding the floodgates to drop the iron gates and close the river mouth to prevent seawater from flooding the riverbanks.

At this moment, among the wild weeds on the left riverbank, a Xinxiang rat was foraging.

This kind of rat was a unique breed of the Western Ox Continent, capable of growing to a weight of one or two hundred catties. Extremely gluttonous, during the corn ripening season, these rats could be seen drilling into the cornfields in groups, their cheeks bulging on both sides when they came out.

If beaten to death, more than twenty catties of corn kernels could be scooped out from their mouths.

The Xinxiang rat was a notoriously harmful beast, but in famine years, this exotic beast was extremely precious, and beating one to death could provide food for many days.

This Xinxiang rat in the grass was not yet adult and was digging up plant roots when it suddenly heard rustling sounds in the grass, and saw three little dolls shorter than a chi crawl out from the weeds.

The eyes of the Xinxiang rat immediately lit up, and it pounced toward these little dolls.

Those few little dolls were exhausted, covered in scratches everywhere, with some places even damaged and revealing cracks.

Seeing the rat pounce, the several individuals unceremoniously shot all kinds of miniature weapons at it, and one of them even sacrificed a Golden Core. But the Golden Core had just been sacrificed when it was swallowed in one gulp by the Xinxiang rat.

The Xinxiang rat grabbed one person and began gnawing, a crunching sound breaking the head of the little doll, but it almost chipped its back teeth, only then noticing that the doll was actually made of porcelain and not flesh and blood.

However, that porcelain doll had its head chewed open by it and died on the spot.

And that porcelain doll whose Golden Core had been eaten also lost its life right then and there, its corpse lying across the ground.

Only a single porcelain doll seized the opportunity to escape with its life.

This porcelain doll escaped onto the post road, braving the risk of being trampled to death by people or crushed to death by carts. Through painstaking efforts, it finally reached the center of the post road, caught a glimpse of a carriage galloping over, leaped up, grabbed the axle of the carriage, and amid violent jolting, the carriage drove toward the provincial capital.

Upon arriving at the provincial capital, before the carriage even stopped, the porcelain doll let go and dropped to the ground, hearing a crisp ding sound coming from the soles of its feet. Its expression changed drastically, and it hurriedly raised its foot to look, only to see a crack splitting open across the sole of its left foot.

The porcelain doll limped and slipped into the shadows of a nearby alley.

After a long while, it crawled to the window of a shop, holding up a small wooden plaque in its hand.

There were words on the wooden plaque.

"I am the Second Young Miss of the Zhao Family's Xuan Ying Mansion. Notify my dad, Zhao Yanlong, and there is a heavy reward!"

Soon someone discovered this scene, and the onlookers grew increasingly numerous.

The eyes of that porcelain doll were brimming with tears; she was none other than Second Miss Zhao, whom Chen Shi had tricked into the kiln.

Ever since these days, she had been living like a year in a day inside the kiln, avoiding the pursuit of the kiln workers while hoping the Zhao Family would send people to rescue her, yet waiting in vain for rescue. The companions around her were also dwindling, either caught by the kiln workers to be shoved into the kiln ovens for cremation, or captured by fierce beasts and birds of prey when going outside.

Second Miss Zhao was also a resolute person, feeling that she could not sit and wait for death, so she persuaded the other porcelain dolls to follow her toward the provincial capital and proactively seek out the Zhao Family.

The other porcelain dolls were persuaded by her, and together they left the kiln.

That departure was nothing short of an epic and magnificent saga.

They crossed high mountains, traversed great rivers, fought decisive battles against fierce beasts, avoided giants, and their surrounding companions gradually withered away, dying on the road toward the provincial capital.

Second Miss Zhao was lucky enough to survive until now, finally arriving at the provincial capital.

At the Zhao Family's Xuan Ying Mansion, Zhao Yanlong and his wife sat on Grand Tutor chairs. The wife raised her handkerchief, wiped away the tears at the corners of her eyes, and wept to Second Miss Zhao: "It has been hard on you, my heart's darling! Husband, you must get justice for Minrou!"

Second Miss Zhao was the address used by outsiders; her name was Zhao Minrou.

Zhao Yanlong's expression remained as usual. Ever since recovering this daughter, he had invited masters from the mansion to try and break Zhao Minrou's porcelain-ization, but it was a pity her porcelain-ization was already deep and could not be reversed.

Although Zhao Yanlong doted on this daughter, he could only accept it.

"Minrou, you said that little Chen Shi lured you into the kiln in the mountains, and that's how you ended up like this?"

Zhao Yanlong's gaze flickered as he said, "Describe that kiln in detail."

Zhao Minrou held a tiny brush and wrote and drew on paper. After a moment, Zhao Yanlong took the paper, looked at it carefully, and a trace of a smile gradually appeared on his face.

"Wife, Minrou has rendered a great service."

He held Zhao Minrou in the palm of his hand and smiled, "The kiln Minrou spoke of must be the place where funerary porcelain was fired for the True King's Tomb. As long as we find that place, we can find the clues to the True King's Tomb! Minrou, did you see a porcelain statue with eight arms and four heads in this kiln? Those kiln workers melted you down to repair the body of this porcelain statue?"

Zhao Minrou nodded.

Zhao Yanlong laughed heartily: "This porcelain statue with four heads and eight arms should be the origin of the ghost and god domain. Judging from the repair of the porcelain statue, the origin has already been damaged. This is a heaven-sent opportunity for my Zhao Family! The True King's Tomb is already within my grasp! Minrou, don't worry, Dad will definitely help you get revenge!"

Not long after, a servant delivered a document and said, "Master, the information on everyone in Huangpo Village is all right here."

Zhao Yanlong roughly flipped through it once, and brought Zhao Minrou to the back courtyard, only to see a white-haired old man writing furiously in a pavilion. Hanging under the eaves of the pavilion were talisman after talisman, talisman seals.

Talismans in the countryside often had simple structures, but the talismans drawn by this old man were extremely complex.

The so-called fu referred to the pictographs of spells, mostly dominated by patterns with few words.

The so-called lu referred to the titles of powerful existences such as gods and devils, mostly dominated by mysterious text with few patterns.

The so-called zhuan referred to the recorded language of gods and devils, often possessing powerful and unimaginable power.

To master any one of these three could make one quite famous among talisman masters; some people studied them for a lifetime and might not even manage to master a single one.

The content written by this white-haired old man actually included all three: fu, lu, and zhuan, and all of them were incomparably exquisite, containing boundless power!

"Second Uncle, I would like to ask you to make a move and go to the countryside to kill a pair of grandfather and grandson."

The white-haired old man raised his head, his momentum suddenly turning incomparably terrifying: "What people?"

"Huangpo Village, Chen Shi, Chen Yindu!"

"I'll go and be right back; save me some dinner tonight."

Zhao Yanlong watched the white-haired old man leave. He knew that this Second Uncle was the person with the highest realm and strongest strength in the Xuan Ying Mansion. If not for his attachment to home, the position of Head of Xuan Ying Mansion might not have fallen to his father, and it would have been impossible for him to inherit the position of Head of Xuan Ying Mansion either.

"With Second Uncle going this time, he will surely capture them effortlessly, which can also be considered avenging Minrou! I should also prepare to search for the True King's Tomb." A wave of eagerness burned in his heart.

The white-haired old man's surname was Zhao, and his given name was Cunyi. His pace was extremely fast, and by evening he had arrived at Huangpo Village. Although he was hurrying along, his steps remained calm, his demeanor leisurely and untrammeled. Along the way, he asked villagers for the direction of Chen Shi's home with great courtesy.

Although his hair was completely white, his body was robust and his steps were steady. Even after walking more than three hundred li from the provincial capital to the countryside, he showed not the slightest bit of fatigue.

Upon arriving at the Chen residence, seeing that the main gate was open, Zhao Yanlong walked into the courtyard and praised: "Mountain and water, a pastoral setting, leisurely and elegant—quite pleasant."

There was only him in the courtyard, with no one responding.

Zhao Yanlong didn't mind, looking around to see that this family's courtyard wasn't large, yet it was still an mu in size, divided into a front hall, east wing, west wing, and main hall.

The main hall consisted of three rooms: two for living, one for receiving guests.

The bizarre thing was that at this moment, the main hall was actually arranged like a mourning hall, with spirit tablets set up and candles lit.

There was also a tall old man wearing a burial shroud, standing with his back to him in front of the mourning hall, his body radiating very heavy Yin energy.

Zhao Yanlong smiled slightly and said leisurely: "I studied cultivation at age eight, took the county examination at twelve, passed as a xiucai to become a child scholar, and ranked third in the entire county. At sixteen, I participated in the provincial examination and passed as a juren; although I didn't take top honors in the provincial test, I still ranked in the top ten. At nineteen, I intensively read the twelve volumes of Compendium of Talismans authored by the talisman grandmaster Ganyang Mountain Person. All the talismans recorded in the book I knew thoroughly by heart. My attainments in talismans, while not daring to claim number one in Xinxiang Province, I suppose that apart from myself, there is no one else."

The tall old man stood with his back to him, his shoulders heaving as if he were swallowing something.

"Chen Yindu, your grandson offended the mansion master, and the mansion master asked me to personally come and deal with you grandfather and grandson."

Zhao Yanlong raised his hands, looked at his own white palms, and smiled: "Turn around; I don't like killing people from behind. You and I are both talisman masters, and I look forward to conducting a peak showdown between talisman masters with you."

At this time, the tall old man swallowing things paused, raised his head, as if in a daze.

"Compendium of Talismans? The imperial court is still using it as a textbook?"

The tall old man turned around and asked doubtfully, "When I compiled this set of books, I was still in my forties. The things on it should have gone out of style long ago."

Zhao Yanlong's heart shook violently, a look of disbelief appearing on his face.

"You are Ganyang Mountain Person? You're still alive?"

He stared with wide eyes, suddenly waking up to the realization, "You couldn't possibly have such a young grandson! Old thing, you're borrowing Ganyang Mountain Person's name to scare me!"

Without a second thought, dao after dao of talismans slipped out from his sleeve!

The next moment, dozens of talismans floated in the air, divine light circulating and brilliantly bright!

The talismans he employed were all top-grade ones recorded in Compendium of Talismans, among which the most formidable belonged to the North Star Spirit Dispatching Inscription, North Star Five Thunders Talisman, and South Star Life and Death Talisman!

These talismans contained mysterious powers—the Spirit Dispatching Inscription could mobilize divine spirits, the Five Thunder Talisman could summon heavenly lightning, and the Life and Death Talisman borrowed the power of the netherworld, none of which ordinary cultivators could withstand!

The battle prowess erupted by a powerful talisman master could completely surpass experts who had cultivated Nascent Soul and reach the level of Primordial Spirit!

"Without achieving a talisman in a single thought, how do you dare call yourself number one?"

A thought flickered in the tall old man's heart, and talisman patterns instantly appeared all around Zhao Yanlong.

Those talismans were not complicated; they were the simplest fire talismans, one of the most foundational talismans.

Yet this fire talisman had no one drawing it, nor did it use black dog blood or cinnabar, directly drawing the talisman with the mind's intent!

Zhao Yanlong was terrified as raging flames began to burn from within his body, swallowing him up in an instant.

"You are Ganyang Mountain Person!"

A piercing scream came from within the raging fire, and then his entire person turned to ash within the flames. Soon the fire dissipated, leaving only the ashes fluttering and scattering onto the ground.

"Ganyang Mountain Person is not a moniker, but a place of origin; I didn't leave my real name. Idiot."

Grandpa shook his head, took out a winnowing basket, and swept the ashes on the ground into the basket.

"In our line of work, leaving a real name only makes you die very quickly."

In the west wing, Li Jindou, who was struggling hard to resist porcelain-ization, was dumbstruck.

"He is Ganyang Mountain Person, the Ganyang Mountain Person who compiled the Compendium of Talismans for the imperial court and created the Heavenly Heart Righteous Qi Art?"