Chapter 656: The Flesh Is a Shell, the Soul Has No Home

Within Siyuan Mountain Pass, Chen Shi felt that his cultivation was becoming difficult to sustain.

He had to activate the Star-Gathering Platform to keep the Small Heavenly Cycle Tribulation Formation divine ability running at all times. On top of that, he had to continually replenish the slain deities. Even with the Purple Heaven Vine, which could transform the spiritual energy of heaven and earth into Great Clarity spiritual energy, he still could not keep up.

With a thought, he took out some water from the Jade Clarity Dao Spring that Jiao the Cripple had given him, tilted his head back, and drank a mouthful. At once, his flesh and Primordial Spirit felt as though they had been immersed in spiritual energy. It was even more astonishing than eating the immortal fruit from Fulong Village.

Chen Shi's aura surged, and his depleted magic power swiftly recovered. He let out a small sigh of relief and thought, “The water from the Jade Clarity Spring is far superior to Great Clarity spiritual energy. Luckily, Uncle Jiao had me bring some along. Otherwise, I would surely have been doomed this time!”

He had underestimated Great Clarity spiritual energy.

He was using water from the Jade Clarity Dao Spring, spring water from a sacred ground that was exceedingly rare in the world. If it were not so precious, Jade Purity of the Three Purities would not have made western Penglai the center of his religious sect back then.

As for his Great Clarity spiritual energy, it had been transformed by the Purple Heaven Vine. If he had used water from the Great Clarity Dao Spring for comparison with the Jade Clarity Dao Spring, there would still have been a difference, but it would not have been so great.

Just then, many more demon soldiers stormed into the pass, heading straight for the star platforms.

There were clever ones among the demons who could tell that these star platforms were the key to the seemingly endless god-demons appearing. So the first thing they did upon charging into the pass was attack the platforms.

Niu Jingjing, Longyuan Ling, and the others split up to meet the demons, and the two sides immediately broke into a fierce battle in the cramped space.

As immortals, they possessed vast divine abilities, whose power could often reach a thousand miles away. But Siyuan Pass was simply too small. They had to do everything they could to restrain the power of their immortal techniques and avoid destroying the layout within the pass.

As long as the Star-Gathering Platform remained, they still had a chance of surviving.

If the Star-Gathering Platform fell, they would die too!

These demon soldiers were not particularly powerful. The real threat was the external Dao, which was simply too bizarre: those struck by it turned into clay figures and lost the ability to resist. Fortunately, Chen Shi's Dao Field suppressed it, keeping their external Dao from manifesting.

With no risk of being corrupted by the external Dao, Niu Jingjing, Xiahou Feng, and the others immediately realized upon clashing with the demon soldiers that the strongest were only comparable to Celestial Immortals, while the weakest were no stronger than cultivators at the Tribulation Crossing and Ascension stage.

The immortal techniques practiced by Niu Jingjing and the others had all been passed down by the Celestial Court. They were not especially powerful, but they balanced offense and defense. When they fought the demon soldiers, the outcome, life or death, was often decided in one or two exchanges.

However, the demons kept pouring in, and soon the five of them were overwhelmed and found themselves in peril.

They were struggling just to protect themselves, let alone Chen Shi. Several demon soldiers reached the Star-Gathering Platform, leaped up, and charged straight at Chen Shi. Xiahou Feng and the others saw it, but were already too late to stop them.

At that moment, light suddenly flickered beside Chen Shi, and three more versions of him emerged from it: one tall, one fat, and one handsome. They looked just like Chen Shi, but each seemed driven by a different desire. The tall Chen Shi craved lust, the fat Chen Shi craved food, and the handsome Chen Shi craved luxurious clothing.

The three Chen Shis rushed to meet the demon soldiers and blocked them.

Seeing this, Xiahou Feng and the others each breathed a sigh of relief. Suddenly, vines whirled through the air as the enormous bones of a great demon, wrapped in vines, came crashing down from the sky. It sped across the ground, smashing and killing countless demon soldiers along the way, before charging onto the Star-Gathering Platform.

Peng Qiao and Peng Zhi stepped forward to stop it. One activated the Blood-Transforming Divine Blade, while the other wielded the sword-nurturing gourd. But after a single exchange with the great demon's bones, Peng Qiao and Peng Zhi exploded one after the other.

Peng Ju charged in. Before he could get close, the great demon's bones reached out to seize him. Vines lashed between its five fingers, binding him and crushing him on the spot.

Wrapped in vines, the great demon's bones leaped onto the Star-Gathering Platform and lunged at Chen Shi.

At last, Chen Shi's Dao Heart began to panic. If he fought back, the Star-Gathering Platform would certainly fall. The other twenty-seven star platforms and the deities of the twenty-seven Heavenly Palaces would inevitably run amok, and would soon be wiped out!

Then all six of them would surely die!

If he did not fight back and was killed by the great demon's bones, he would die all the same. After his death, the Star-Gathering Platform would certainly fall too!

No matter what he chose, the outcome was death!

“Abandon everyone and return to the demonic domain in the well!”

A thought suddenly flashed through his mind. The demonic domain in the well had been formed from a great Dao anomaly point. There was nothing living inside except a Demonic Blood Treasure Tree, so even if the external Dao invaded it, he need not worry about causing much damage.

As long as he sealed the well, he could ensure the pollution would not spread.

Besides, the external Dao in the demonic domain in the well was still growing. It might not be inferior to the external Dao of the great Ni Li World. It was anyone's guess which one would corrupt the other.

He was just about to abandon Niu Jingjing and the others when a halo of reincarnation swept over the great demon's bones. It rose involuntarily into the air, its hulking body rapidly weakening.

Strange patterns of the external Dao lit up across its bones, seemingly resisting the invasion of reincarnation. Yet the vines wrapped around it were rapidly withering and yellowing.

Two sword lights, one light and one heavy, swept over and struck the bones, shattering them to pieces!

The turn of events came so quickly that before Chen Shi could even summon the demonic domain in the well, the great demon's bones and the vines controlling them had been swept into dust by the two swords, Xuan and Huang!

Chen Shi followed the sword lights with his gaze. The halo of reincarnation spun rapidly, sweeping up demon soldiers one after another and drawing them into the cycle. They swiftly aged from young adults to the elderly. The Empress of Earth danced with her swords, their blades crossing and sweeping through the halo of reincarnation as she slew the demon soldiers within!

The great demon's bones that charged at her were also cut free of their vines in a single exchange and sent on to rebirth.

“The Empress's Dao techniques seem much more fluid than before!”

Chen Shi had only just thought this when he saw Doumu Yuanjun smash two great demon skeletons in succession on another star platform. She stepped down from it with graceful dignity, without so much as glancing at the one who had summoned her, and led the deities of the Dipper Ministry out of Siyuan Pass!

Chen Shi hurriedly formed hand seals. These were the divine-control arts his grandfather, Chen Yindu, had taught him. Some deities obeyed orders but not summons. Once summoned, they would refuse to be controlled by a talisman master, who would then need to use incantations to command them.

But for some unknown reason, the hand seals that had always worked before were completely ineffective!

Doumu Yuanjun paused for only a moment, glanced back at him, then continued out of the pass.

“Why did Grandpa's hand seals stop working? That makes no sense.”

Chen Shi had only just thought this when he saw the Great Southern Pole Longevity Emperor defeat his opponent and step down from the star platform too, leading the deities of the Southern Pole Heavenly Palace out of Siyuan Pass.

Chen Shi formed the hand seals toward the Great Southern Pole Longevity Emperor, but the emperor was unmoved.

Elsewhere, the Gouchen Heaven Emperor, the northern pole Ziwei Emperor, the Green Emperor, the Great Emperor of Supreme Unity, the Puhua Celestial Venerable, the Thunder Ancestor Emperor, the True Lord of Inspection, and other giants of the Celestial Court each led their subordinate deities down from the star platforms and out of Siyuan Pass.

Seeing this, Chen Shi did not dare form any more hand seals. He was still reeling when a tall, burly deity behind him strode past.

It was the avatar of the Jade Emperor, the Great Celestial Venerable. It too had broken free of his control and was stepping out of Siyuan Pass.

Chen Shi narrowed his eyes. The fighting styles of these emperors, Celestial Venerables, True Lords, and Imperial Lords were completely different from before. Their cultivation levels were unchanged, but their combat awareness, methods, and sheer presence were beyond comparison with what they had shown earlier!

The Empress of Earth also walked out. When she reached the pass, she looked back at him and smiled. Chen Shi was momentarily dazed, and could not help forming a daring conjecture.

“Could these emperors and Celestial Venerables themselves be controlling their avatars now?”

He immediately rejected the idea.

It made no sense.

Niu Jingjing, Longyuan Ling, and the others had also narrowly escaped death. They were still shaken and uncertain as they looked outside the pass.

They saw the avatars of the Celestial Court's twenty-eight giants leading countless deities out of Siyuan Pass, slaughtering every demon soldier that came their way. It was a complete rout!

Not only that, they even saw Doumu Yuanjun lead the charge. The female emperor beheaded her enemies as she cut a path through their ranks, heading straight for the vines in the sky. She meant to eradicate them down to the roots!

She led the deities of the Dipper Ministry all the way forward. The next moment, divine light surged and thundered through the sky. A vine was cut down, and the giant corpse of the great demon it was rooted in was slain along with it!

Xiahou Feng stood frozen and murmured, “Is Fellow Daoist Chen's cultivation really that terrifying?”

Before he had even finished speaking, the Empress of Earth, the Great Southern Pole Longevity Emperor, and the other giants charged outward, sweeping away every demon and climbing into the sky to destroy the vines.

For a time, divine light surged everywhere in the sky like colored clouds, sweeping the vines all around them flat!

The skies near Siyuan Mountain were clear and spotless, a deep, empty blue. They could even see the starry heavens beyond.

The Jade Emperor, the Great Celestial Venerable, did not slow his steps. Twenty-seven emperors and Celestial Venerables surrounded him as they charged toward the distant forest of vines. Everything in their path, every trace of the external Dao and every creature of the external Dao, was refined into ashes!

By now, King Li had returned to the central military camp. He suddenly sensed something and turned to see streaks of divine radiance blazing across the sky near Siyuan Pass.

“It's over. Their Majesties have noticed this place.”

His face turned ashen. He racked his brains, trying to figure out how to answer Their Majesties' questions, when the external Dao surged and roiled in the distance, colliding with the divine radiance. The two sides clashed, neither giving ground.

King Li watched from afar, his expression grave.

“It has appeared again.”

Within Siyuan Pass, Xiahou Feng and the others looked at Chen Shi with admiration. Chen Shi was still standing on the Star-Gathering Platform, bewildered by everything unfolding before him. He had no idea that he had already become an unfathomable figure in the eyes of the other five.

“Was it because the Empress of Earth and the others died so many times that they finally flew into a rage?”

He felt uneasy. After all, he was the one who had summoned these ancient deities' avatars. It would be disastrous if those beings held a grudge against him.

Just then, a voice came from behind him. “Fellow Daoist Chen, follow me.”

Chen Shi turned around and saw King Li and Chu Xiangxiu approaching. He hurriedly jumped down from the Star-Gathering Platform and walked alongside King Li.

King Li glanced sideways at him. Chen Shi took half a step back, placing himself on one side of Chu Xiangxiu.

Xiahou Feng, Niu Jingjing, and the others followed too, several paces behind Chen Shi and Chu Xiangxiu.

King Li looked toward the distant, surging external Dao and radiant light, and asked, “Commander Chu, could your assessment be wrong?”

Chu Xiangxiu was also gazing at the tumultuous external Dao and radiant light. His eyes flickered. “It can't be wrong.”

Chen Shi asked, “Heavenly King, Xiangxiu, what have you discovered?”

King Li regarded him with a faint smile. “Fellow Daoist Chen, you certainly have a way with things. Siyuan Pass has become quite lively in your hands.”

Chen Shi smiled. “You're no slouch yourself, Heavenly King. You sent thirty-three of us to guard Siyuan Mountain Pass, all to kill two birds with one stone, using the demons to take our lives. I imagine the other twenty-seven fellow Daoists have already become deities of the Celestial Court by now. The Celestial Court certainly spared no effort to gain complete control of the Celestial Way magic treasure.”

Xiahou Feng and the others were startled. Cold sweat poured down their foreheads and backs.

They had obtained imprints from a Celestial Way magic treasure and believed themselves to be Bearers of the Heavenly Dao, destined for greatness.

Now, hearing Chen Shi's words, they realized they had been doomed from the start. Only after dying and becoming deities could they put the Celestial Court's giants at ease.

King Li smiled. “Fellow Daoist Chen, even if you have figured that out, what use is it? You will only die with a clearer understanding. After death, you will be enshrined as deities of the Celestial Court. You wield the Celestial Way magic treasure, and in the future you will become Celestial Way Divine Beings, powerful figures ruling over their own domains in the Celestial Court! Wouldn't that be a hundred times better than being immortals?”

Chen Shi shook his head. “I'm quite content being an immortal. Why should I die, be enshrined as a deity, and go to the Celestial Court to take orders from others?”

King Li smiled. “You don't get to choose, Fellow Daoist.”

He dropped the subject and changed the topic. “Back then, when I led a hundred thousand heavenly soldiers and generals across the ocean and deep into the Dark Sea, arriving in the great Ni Li World, I immediately sensed that this major world was unusual. The demons here are powerful, but they gave me the impression that their flesh was merely a shell, with no souls to call their own.”

Chen Shi was taken aback. He murmured, “Their flesh is a shell, with no souls to call their own? What does that mean?”

Chu Xiangxiu said, “Heavenly King Li means that all the demons here are just shells, devoid of souls and controlled by someone else.”

Chen Shi was puzzled. “I saw the bones of great demons hanging in the sky, giving birth to vines. Some of those great demons are so powerful that I'm no match for them. These demons know how to cultivate. How can they have no souls of their own?”

King Li said, “I couldn't be sure of this guess at first either. But after fighting the monsters and demons here for a long time, I became more and more certain. The demons here have no true souls. They are all being controlled. A tremendously powerful being is concealed somewhere in the great Ni Li World, ruling over the external Dao here.”

He looked ahead. “This world seems incredibly lively, full of forests in the sky and demons, teeming with life. But the only one truly alive is him.”

Chu Xiangxiu added, “Everyone else here is his puppet.”

Chen Shi gazed at the boundless great Ni Li World ahead and murmured, “All the demons in the world are him?”

“Every one of them.”

King Li smiled. “He has hidden himself well, always fighting us through the bones of great demons, so I couldn't find his true form. Now the Great Celestial Venerable and the others have forced him to come out. The moment he makes a move, I will have the chance to flush him out!”

As he spoke, his eyes lit up. He shot forward, and the exquisite golden pagoda in his hand rose into the air, growing ever taller and larger. It was like a colossal object containing thirty-three Dao Realms. It passed over the Jade Emperor, the Great Celestial Venerable, and the others, then came crashing down at an angle!

“I've found you!”