Chapter 608: The Social Butterfly

"That little Dao attendant certainly doesn't fear offending the Great Southern Pole Longevity Emperor."

After seeing off Dao Attendant Jingshu, Chen Shi muttered inwardly, thinking, "But the Eastern Prince's lesson is well taken. I have indeed been a bit too reckless lately. How could I cultivate an external Dao right in the Celestial Court? I ought to be more cautious. If I must practice an external Dao, I should do so within my own Dao Realm, without disturbing the outside world."

He had previously understood something of the conflict between the immortal path and the divine path in the Earth Immortal Realm, but only now did he realize that, from the perspective of both the immortal path and the divine path, the external Dao was considered the gravest crime, the common enemy of both.

"In that case, how did the master of the Great Wilderness Ming Dao Collection come to cultivate an external Dao?"

Chen Shi sank deep into thought. The Great Wilderness Ming Dao Collection included the practice of both immortal and demonic paths, and the demonic path was itself an external Dao. And raising primordial insects, the primordial insect was clearly an external Dao as well.

Therefore, such matters could only be conducted in secret. Yet this also showed that some immortals, and even some deities, in the Earth Immortal Realm were not entirely opposed to the external Dao. Some had even begun to dabble in it, attempting to refine the external Dao for their own use.

And in the Celestial Court, some ancient existences harbored similar thoughts, which was why they turned a blind eye to his cultivation of the external Dao.

But if he caused too great a commotion, harmed too many people, and created an irreconcilable situation, only then would he cross the bottom line of these existences, and they would have him executed as a warning to others.

What Chen Shi had done previously was, to these ancient existences, a matter that could be judged as either serious or trivial. As long as he didn't go too far, they would treat it as an experiment. But for the Eastern Prince, the pressure was somewhat greater, and he had no choice but to warn him first.

"Fellow Daoist Chen, Fellow Daoist Chen."

Zhong Lin's voice roused him from his thoughts. Chen Shi had worked through the key issues and felt much lighter of heart. He smiled and said, "Fellow Daoist Zhong, what brings you here this time?"

Zhong Lin said, "During this invasion of the Celestial Court by the Dark Sea, I detected a Celestial Way aura similar to yours. The Tianji Camp was also alarmed, and everyone began investigating. That's why I stayed behind to ask you, Fellow Daoist, where does this Celestial Way aura come from?"

Chen Shi did not conceal it, saying, "It comes from my ancestral homeland that gave me life, the Western Ox New Continent. The Celestial Way aura you sensed from me before originates from there."

"The Western Ox New Continent is hidden within the Dark Sea. No wonder it triggered the dark invasion."

Zhong Lin suddenly understood, then said, "Fellow Daoist Chen must be careful not to attract unwanted attention."

Chen Shi didn't understand what he meant and asked for an explanation. Zhong Lin said, "That many worlds are hidden within the Dark Sea is common knowledge. Every time a world is discovered, it's an enormously sensational event for the Earth Immortal Realm. A new world means unclaimed territory. Whether immortal or cultivator, everyone wants to claim it for themselves. Therefore, once a new world appears, it draws countless powerful bullies to fight over it."

He explained at length, "This time, when the great Ni Li World appeared, the Celestial Court dispatched King Li to lead troops there. With the Celestial Court personally handling it, fewer immortals dared to snatch at it. But had the Celestial Court not intervened, the great Ni Li World would already be occupied by all manner of immortals by now, battling each other endlessly."

Chen Shi was stunned. He had never witnessed such a scene before.

However, the great Ni Li World was extremely dangerous. Even King Li, leading a hundred thousand heavenly soldiers, suffered a great loss there. How much worse would it be for those scattered immortals?

If the great Ni Li World were truly opened up, the scattered immortals would likely suffer even heavier casualties.

"The Earth Immortal Realm has too many monks and too little meat. Every year, over a hundred thousand immortals ascend. How are these immortals to be accommodated? After immortals ascend, they must also search for more suitable places to achieve Dao Unification, elevating themselves to True Immortal and Gold Immortal. And Gold Immortals must cultivate to the Tai Yi Golden Immortal realm. Where do they go to achieve Dao Unification?"

Zhong Lin said, "The Celestial Court does control quite a few vacant territories, but deciding who gets them and who doesn't is an art in itself. The various sacred grounds also have their own vacant territories, used to win over disciples and followers, strengthening their own power. Many other factions likewise possess their own vacant territories to secure loyalty. Aside from all this, the Earth Immortal Realm has no remaining open land where immortals can achieve Dao Unification."

Only now did Chen Shi realize just how egregiously he had defied the world by achieving Dao Unification in the West Heaven Expanse!

Had he not been recognized by the Celestial Strategy, and had the Celestial Strategy not hidden itself deep within his thoughts, his Dao Unification in the West Heaven Expanse would absolutely have been stopped by someone!

He might even have been saddled with some fabricated crime and dragged straight to the Immortal Execution Platform!

Zhong Lin continued, "Besides places for Dao Unification, there are also the immortal qi and spiritual fluids needed for daily cultivation, immortal pills, the immortal herbs and medicines needed to refine those pills, immortal furnaces and cauldrons, and the pill rooms, formulas, and incantations for alchemy. There are the materials needed to forge furnaces and magic treasures, the mines that produce these materials, the smelting plants, the miners, and the treasure seekers needed to locate mineral veins. And the cultivation techniques and sacred grounds needed to break through to higher realms, and the earthly treasures and spiritual roots needed to survive Opening the Calamity, and so on and so forth. All of these in the Earth Immortal Realm are typically already claimed. For an immortal to establish a foothold in the Earth Immortal Realm and advance further is exceedingly difficult. That is why worlds newly discovered in the Dark Sea are ground they must fight over!"

His expression grew grave as he said, "That you possess a world in the Dark Sea is absolutely a source of envy and jealousy for countless immortals. The moment this gets out, it will inevitably draw covetous eyes!"

Chen Shi made a deep bow and said, "Thank you for your guidance, Fellow Daoist!"

Zhong Lin returned the bow and said, "Never flaunt your wealth. If you do, you'll only invite unnecessary trouble. This is an iron rule. Oh, by the way, I've moved. I live right next door to you now."

Chen Shi blinked. What did he mean by living next door to him?

Could Zhong Lin possibly be treating him as the Celestial Strategy?

The Tianji Scholar observed the Celestial Strategy to spy on the workings of heaven and divine its intentions.

The Celestial Strategy was imprinted deep within Chen Shi's mind. For Zhong Lin, every move Chen Shi made was like Dao patterns automatically generated on the Celestial Strategy. Interpreting Celestial Way Dao patterns was extremely troublesome, but interpreting Chen Shi's actions was much simpler.

"My conscience is clear, and I walk the straight and narrow. Let him do as he pleases." Chen Shi thought to himself.

After Zhong Lin departed, Chen Shi immediately went to another Dao Unification site, the world within the well.

Inside the demonic well, the blood tree was in bloom, like an island unto itself in the world, sheltering the land beneath it.

This place was originally a point of the great Dao anomaly, still in the process of growing. After he had refined it, it continued to expand, and Chen Shi could feel his demonic path cultivation rising day by day. He was quite pleased about this.

This was the benefit of a good Dao Unification site.

Take his senior martial brother Jiang Guo, for instance. Though his strength was formidable and far surpassed Chen Shi's, his Dao Unification site was a poverty-stricken place. The spiritual qi it produced daily couldn't even cover his daily cultivation needs. Jiang Guo could only wander around leaching spiritual qi from others to cultivate.

Chen Shi's three great Dao Realms, whether the Dao Ruins, the demonic world within the well, or the Western Ox New Continent, were all extraordinary. He never had to worry about spiritual qi.

Chen Shi arrived beneath the blood tree and sensed the demonic Dao contained within it, growing and thriving.

He took out the Tianluo Blood-Transforming Divine Blade and placed it as an offering beneath the tree.

The Blood-Transforming Divine Blade slowly absorbed the Dao power of the demonic world within the well. The blade trembled slightly, letting out a tinkling chime.

"The divine blade has a spirit. For a celestial treasure like yourself, advancing further by continuing to consume the blood of immortals and demons will no longer suffice."

Chen Shi lit a stick of incense and planted it before the Blood-Transforming Divine Blade, saying, "Only by elevating your Dao cultivation can you walk the path of enlightenment. Divine blade, oh divine blade, only by supporting each other can we grow stronger!"

The Blood-Transforming Divine Blade absorbed his incense offerings, connecting with his mind. It felt as though a whole new world had opened up before it, and the speed at which it absorbed the demonic Dao power of heaven and earth increased dramatically!

Chen Shi then took out the Purple-Gold Crown gifted by Lady Niangpo and attempted to imprint his own Dao techniques upon it.

This time, he primarily imprinted the first Dao principle of the external Dao from the Western Ox New Continent, marking it on the inside of the Purple-Gold Crown.

Then, on the five phoenix feathers, he imprinted the Dao principles of the Five Elements, and on the outside, he imprinted the Dao principles of yin and yang. As for the red embroidered ball, he imprinted the Dao principles of the Blood Lake Sutra upon it.

There were also thirteen pearl hairpins, on which he imprinted the third move of the Primordial Chaos Sword Scripture, the Drifting Azure Flames. All thirteen pearl hairpins received the same treatment.

The material of the Purple-Gold Crown was remarkably fine. Imprinting Dao principles upon it required no effort at all. Chen Shi quickly completed the imprints. What remained now was the patient, painstaking work of deepening the imprints over and over again.

"If I encounter danger, my hairpins can fly out to kill. When an enemy's palm descends upon my head, the hairpins will pierce through their hand, unleashing Drifting Azure Flames to burn the hand to ash. The drifting tribulation ash will cover my escape."

"If an enemy blocks that strike, the red embroidered ball will transform into the Blood Sea Hell to defend against their attack. At the same time, the Yin-Yang Dao Field will trigger, forming a second layer of defense."

"If I am defeated and the Purple-Gold Crown falls, and an enemy picks it up and places it upon their head, the first Dao principle will erupt, shattering the opponent beyond all recognition!"

Chen Shi was very satisfied with his newly refined crown. He went to the Dao Realm within the Dao Ruins, offered the Purple-Gold Crown up in the air, and let it absorb the yin and yang energies of the Dao Realm to enhance its power.

This place was his Dao Realm. Apart from deities like Houtu Huangdiqi who could enter and exit his Dao Realm, other deities, even if they saw treasures within, could not enter to take them.

"But this still isn't completely secure. It's hard to guarantee that no deity possesses such power. No wonder great figures all have Dao attendants at their sides. Perhaps it's to guard against existences like the Empress of Earth."

Chen Shi pondered for a moment. His Dao Realm also needed someone to guard it, but he simply hadn't found the right candidate.

He sat down beneath the Purple-Gold Crown, his Primordial Spirit floating aloft as he began to ritual-refine the crown.

After six or seven days, the yin and yang energies around the Purple-Gold Crown gradually thickened. For several li in every direction, they revolved around the crown, with Dao principles of yin and yang continuously interweaving, forming strange patterns that imprinted themselves upon the outside of the crown.

Below, the Dao power of the external Dao interlaced, forming threads of thunder in the air that flew into the inside of the Purple-Gold Crown, imprinted upon it.

There were also thirteen immortal swords darting back and forth. Each time their sword light paused, skies filled with Li Fire and azure flames would appear, or waves of tribulation ash would spread, blotting out the sun and sky.

Amidst all these various phenomena, a red embroidered ball rolled about like a crimson sun. Sometimes the ball would expand, transforming into a Blood Sea Hell, and sometimes it would contract back down to the size of a fist.

And those five phoenix feathers were also remarkably powerful.

Chen Shi refined the crown over and over again. The Purple-Gold Crown's power had already far surpassed that of an ordinary Celestial Immortal's magic treasure. Only then did he rise and leave the Dao Realm, returning to the Celestial Way Residence.

Refining magic treasures was meticulous work. In the Western Ox New Continent, magic treasures were refined through the divine path rather than the immortal path, relying mainly on ritual offerings. But upon arriving in the Earth Immortal Realm, Chen Shi could see the difference. Immortal artisans refined their treasures primarily through forging.

This time, he had taken the forging approach as his primary method.

By repeatedly refining the treasure, the power within it grew stronger and stronger, until it could even store strength surpassing that of the treasure's own master!

Only such a treasure could be considered a success.

Although he had left the Dao Realm, he left his Primordial Spirit behind, still continuously refining the Purple-Gold Crown to enhance its power.

Black Pot had woken from his drunken stupor at some point and was sitting upright in the courtyard, breathing and circulating his qi.

This Black Immortal was a pure demonic path cultivator, primarily practicing the Great Wilderness Ming Dao Collection, but with a stronger emphasis on the demonic path, forging his skin, flesh, and bones to be more ferocious. Back in the Western Ox New Continent, he had consumed too many immortal pills, and their power had accumulated in his body without being fully dissolved. With every bout of cultivation, he would refine a portion of those immortal pills, causing his strength to rise steadily.

"Black Pot has extraordinary talent. His cultivation is truly formidable."

Chen Shi praised him, observing for a moment. He saw lightning patterns flowing beneath Black Pot's skin, which should be him mobilizing the power of the Seventh New Talisman on the Heaven-Measuring Iron Ruler.

The Heaven-Measuring Iron Ruler was engraved with one of the most powerful techniques of the Great Shang Era, called the Heavenly Cycle Thunder-Fire Golden Body. However, Chen Shi had never devoted energy to it, never organizing this technique into an immortal technique.

But judging by the look of things, Black Pot had successfully converted the Heavenly Cycle Thunder-Fire Golden Body into an immortal technique and had been cultivating it all along.

"Black Pot seems to have fused the Heavenly Cycle Thunder-Fire Golden Body with the Great Wilderness Ming Dao Collection into a single technique."

Chen Shi was greatly astonished. Fusing different techniques was an extremely dangerous endeavor. One slight misstep could lead to qi deviation. But judging from Black Pot's performance during cultivation, not only had he avoided qi deviation, his cultivation was advancing at lightning speed!

"Could it be that when he took the Fulou Village medicinal pills last time, he managed to fuse the two techniques?" Chen Shi wondered.

He felt quite gratified. This old brother of his had walked his own unique path.

When Black Pot finally woke from his cultivation session, he saw Chen Shi bustling about in the kitchen of the Celestial Way Residence. When Black Pot looked, Chen Shi had already stir-fried several dishes and cooked a pot of rice.

"Woof?" Black Pot asked.

"I brought these from Qianyang Mountain and stir-fried them on a whim. The Celestial Court's dragon liver and phoenix gall may be fine delicacies, but they're bland and tasteless. I can't get used to them."

Chen Shi poked his head out and laughed, "You don't need to help. You've always been the one doing the cooking. This time, I'll do it myself."

Black Pot went to wash his hands, set the table, and brought the dishes over.

Chen Shi took off his apron, washed his own hands as well, and the man and dog sat down to eat together.

This was how they had been as children.

Although Chen Shi hadn't cooked in many years, the dishes he made still carried the flavor of home, making their mouths water and whetting their appetites.

Chen Shi recounted his trip back home, then spoke of Old Lady Wuzhu. Black Pot felt a twinge of melancholy, but when he heard that Wuzhu and Jiang Tong had reunited in the Immortal Capital, that the old couple had finally come together again, he was somewhat moved.

"Godmother has been telling me to go pay respects to Houtu Huangdiqi. Our Fire Battalion hasn't had any missions in a long time. Why don't we take this opportunity to make a trip to the mysterious yellow sea?"

Chen Shi said, "Only, I don't know where the Radiant Virtue Grand Celestial Palace is or how to get there."

"Woof woof!"

"You have a friend who's been there? That's wonderful!"

After they finished eating and cleaned up the dishes together, Black Pot left the Celestial Way Residence to find his friend.

Before long, he brought back an immortal, a fairy maiden who chatted and laughed with Black Pot, clearly on excellent terms with him.

"I once went to the Radiant Virtue Grand Celestial Palace to pray for my mother's safety, so I know the way."

The fairy maiden smiled and said, "I'll draw you a Topographic Map. You can make your own way there. But our heavenly soldier camps don't grant leave. If you're gone for months on end, you might find yourself on the Immortal Execution Platform when you return."

Chen Shi bowed in thanks, saying, "Thank you for your guidance, fairy maiden!"

The fairy maiden smiled and said, "I share a bond of life and death with the Black Immortal. A trifling matter like this is hardly worth mentioning."