"Xia Tianjie has indeed improved a lot, far beyond what he was in the Upper Realm. Given time, it's not impossible that he might truly surpass the ancestors of the Xia Family."

Chen Shi gathered his thoughts, summoned back the Dark Spring Swimming Dragon Sword, and walked out of Fengyang Villa together with Little Duan Immortal.

Xia Tianjie had believed that the gap between himself and Chen Shi could be closed. That was why, even after witnessing Chen Shi slaughter the Xia Family's ghost gods in Fengyang Villa, he didn't flee. Instead, he stayed, attempting to kill Chen Shi to prove the results of his recent arduous cultivation.

Now, his corpse lay dozens of miles away. He had attacked relentlessly, but not a single spell or divine ability from the Eight Powers Dragon Summoning Art had landed on Chen Shi. This made him realize just how vast the gap between them truly was, and he died with his eyes wide open in resentment. But in Chen Shi's mind, the gap between the two wasn't that enormous.

What made Chen Shi stronger than Xia Tianjie was that his cultivation technique was slightly better, he knew slightly more spells and techniques, and his insights were slightly deeper.

He cultivated the Sixth New Talisman recorded on the Heaven-Measuring Iron Ruler, the techniques he knew came from the True King's treasury, and his insights were merely the sixty-four hexagram variations he had derived from the Taishang Eight Trigrams Protective Talisman, along with the sixty-four types of Ghost and God Domains spawned from those hexagram symbols.

If Xia Tianjie had been willing to learn a little more, to comprehend a little more, then who would have ended up as the deer to be hunted was still an open question.

However, at their level of cultivation, being slightly ahead in every area would result in a terrifyingly huge difference in actual combat performance.

For example, Creation Little Five had comprehended just three more variations than the ancestors of the Thirteen Great Clans — the Three Ghost and God Startling Variations. This allowed him to pin those old relics to the ground and beat them, and he didn't fear them even when they ganged up on him. Yet Creation Little Five's cultivation level hadn't actually surpassed those ancestors.

Of course, wanting to be slightly ahead of others at the same cultivation level was more difficult than ascending to heaven.

Even exhausting one's intelligence and spending a lifetime's energy on comprehension might not achieve even that slight edge.

"Fifth Uncle's Three Ghost and God Startling Variations — the Heaven-Earth Variation is just the crudest of them," Chen Shi mused to himself. "The more profound ones are the Yin-Yang Variation and the Cosmic Variation. Fifth Uncle is truly formidable."

Chen Shi had already begun to dabble in the realm of the Yin-Yang Variation, but he had only scratched the surface. As for the Cosmic Variation, because it involved the talisman script changes of the two thousand four hundred divine spirits of China, it was far too complex and utterly incomprehensible.

This alone demonstrated the immense power of Creation Little Five.

Creation Little Five was Chen Yindu in his perfect state, dedicating all his energy to delving into the advancement of the Dao, completely disregarding moral constraints.

In the distance, the Wooden Cart was still chasing after Herding Ghost and Zhong Beasts, gobbling them up with gusto. As for Black Pot, he was nowhere to be seen.

Now that the two realms of yin and yang had merged, Black Pot's strength was immense. Once he revealed his true form, even the Xia Family's ghost gods were no match for him, so Chen Shi wasn't worried.

His Huagai canopy was also outside, and under his control, it had already chased enemies over a thousand miles away.

"Before our era ended, a similar situation occurred. But that time, it was far more terrifying." Little Duan Immortal's voice reached him.

Chen Shi was slightly startled and turned to look at her.

Little Duan Immortal was always cold and aloof. In the past, she would always give him the cold shoulder because he got too close to Little Duan, rarely speaking to him voluntarily. This was the first time she had done so.

Little Duan Immortal looked up at the bright moon in the sky, her breath like orchid mist, and spoke softly: "That time, first the moon underwent a demonic transformation. The original moon disappeared, replaced by a gigantic eye. The righteous energy of heaven and earth also began to go wrong. Then, one day, the sun in the sky grew tentacles, and flesh and blood covered the sky."

Chen Shi recalled the Fog Moon that had appeared in the Ten Thousand Great Mountains and asked: "Did the Fog Moon appear before that great upheaval?"

Little Duan Immortal nodded. "In that era, cultivating to become an immortal was still quite normal. But after the Fog Moon appeared, the sun was polluted, the righteous energy of heaven and earth turned into demonic energy, and even immortals couldn't resist the pollution of that demonic energy. Many seniors went mad under the sun."

A look of fear appeared on her face. Clearly, the tragic scenes from back then were still vivid in her memory.

Chen Shi sought her guidance: "How did the sun in your era return to normal?"

Little Duan Immortal shook her head. "I was terrified and sealed myself away. I didn't see how the sun returned to normal. When I woke up, it was already in what you call the True King's Era."

Chen Shi asked further: "Did the True King's Era experience a similar situation? And how did the sun of the True King's Era recover?"

Little Duan Immortal said decisively, "Although I only caught a fleeting glimpse, I could tell that the sun of our era and the sun of the True King's Era were not the same sun."

Chen Shi's heart was greatly shaken. Not the same sun?

I see!

That polluted sun outside the heavens should be the sun from the prehistoric era!

In other words, the Celestial True God hadn't existed yet during the era Little Duan Immortal lived in!

The Celestial True God only appeared afterward!

He organized his thoughts a little.

The first era was the prehistoric era. During the Shang and Yin dynasties, the Shang people were defeated, driven out by the Zhou people, and crossed the Sea of Darkness to arrive at the Western Ox New Continent.

At that time, the sun and moon were real. Later, the Fog Moon appeared, replacing the original moon, and then the sun was polluted, turning into a blood-red sun. The catastrophe erupted, countless prehistoric gods and spirits died, becoming the ghost race of today.

The second era was the True King's Era. The Three Treasures Eunuch led the Ming Dynasty's warriors to the Western Ox New Continent, discovering that the Celestial True God's two eyes had become two suns, his vertical brow eye had become a bright moon, evil spirits covered the ground, and demonic monsters ran rampant. Thus, the True King's Era began. But by this time, the sun and moon were no longer the true ones.

At the end of the True King's Era, a situation similar to the prehistoric era occurred. The sun went out, and the catastrophe erupted again.

The third era is the current era, which can be called the Thirteen Great Clans Era. After the sun went out, it lit up again. How many years passed in between is unknown. But at this time, the Dao had greatly regressed, new methods were prevalent, the Great Ascension Realm became the supreme realm, and lifespans were only a hundred years.

The Thirteen Great Clans Era developed for over six thousand years, and then the sun went out again, and the catastrophe erupted once more.

"Clearly, there's something wrong here! What happened to turn the true sun and moon into the eyes of the Celestial True God?"

Chen Shi asked Little Duan Immortal, but she didn't know either.

"Could it be related to Despair Slope?"

Chen Shi pondered. The appearance of Despair Slope was also extremely ancient. According to the information he had gathered so far, when the Ming Dynasty's warriors first set foot on this new continent, they discovered the Heaven's Listeners roaming about. Later, through the Heaven's Listeners, they found Despair Slope. The True King entered Despair Slope for the first time. What happened during that time is unknown.

After the True King came out, his personality underwent a great change, and he promoted new methods to replace the old ones. The subsequent sealing of immortals, the massive hunting and killing of semi-immortals, and the death of Daoist Tianzhen were all related to the True King's entry into Despair Slope.

The True King entered Despair Slope a second time after the sun went out. The True King died on Despair Slope, and his corpse was sent back to the Western Capital. What happened during that time is also unknown.

But after that, a series of bizarre events should have occurred, including the severing of the connection between the Western Ox New Continent and the Divine Continent of China, the destruction of temples dedicated to the gods from the Divine Continent, the gods going into hiding, evil spirits running rampant in the countryside, and the history of the True King's Era being erased, leaving only fragmentary records and legends.

"Now, something similar to the True King's Era has happened again. I wonder how long the sun was out back then before it lit up again."

Chen Shi looked at the massive silver moon in the sky and said in a low voice: "This time the sun has gone out. How many years will it take before it lights up again? Little Duan Immortal..."

"Husband!"

Little Duan grabbed his arm, acting very affectionate. As for Little Duan Immortal, she should have gone into a meditative trance to heal.

Chen Shi blinked. "Wife, call your sister out. I have something to ask her."

Little Duan looked dazed and confused. "What sister? Do I have a sister?"

Chen Shi sighed inwardly and took her hand.

The Wooden Cart ran over and let out a burp.

Chen Shi and Little Duan boarded the cart. Not long after, Black Pot came running back, shrunk his body, and trotted ahead of the cart.

The carriage soon arrived beside a lotus field. That ghost god hiding in the clouds stealthily peeked out, shuddered, and hid back in the clouds again.

Black Pot revealed his true form, stuck his head into the clouds, bit down on the ghost god, and dragged him down.

The ghost god quickly pleaded: "Great One, I was just in charge of watching the Spirit Fields for Lord Fengyang! I have never committed any evil!"

"A child in a boat, quietly rows. Steals a white lotus, and homeward goes. He dares not speak, lest he be known. Afraid to startle, the heavenly one."

Chen Shi spread out Granny Sha's underworld Topographic Map on the shore, studying it as he spoke. "You are that 'heavenly one.' In the years since Young Master rose to power, he bought hundreds of children from the Tianmu Society. These children came to the lotus fields to steal white lotuses. How many of them did you eat?"

The ghost god's expression changed drastically, and he immediately summoned a gale of yin wind to flee.

He had indeed eaten quite a few children who had come to steal lotuses.

The Soul-Returning Lotus was of little use to him, but those children who came to pick the lotuses were exceptionally delicious to him. Therefore, he would pretend to sleep while secretly observing them.

He wouldn't eat too many children at once. If he ate too many, the Taiping Sect wouldn't dare to send children down anymore. So, every time the Taiping Sect came to steal the lotuses, he would only eat two or three children. Moreover, he would deliberately pretend to be asleep, allowing the children to successfully pick the lotuses.

This way, the Taiping Sect would reap the benefits and continuously send children down to pick lotuses, and he could continuously eat them.

Chen Shi snorted coldly. "You cannot be spared! Black Pot!"

Black Pot pounced forward, quickly catching up to the ghost god, and swatted him to the ground with a single claw!

The ghost god quickly cried out: "Spare my life! I am willing to serve you like a dog or a horse!"

Before he could finish, Black Pot opened his mouth and spewed a stream of demonic flames. The blazing inferno ignited the ghost god, burning him to ashes in a short time.

Chen Shi surveyed the surrounding geography while comparing it with the Topographic Map. Then, he took the Western King's Jade Seal from the Wooden Cart and activated it. A topographic map of the mountains and rivers was projected from the jade seal.

He compared them repeatedly, then looked towards a mountain peak on the opposite bank of the swamp. "It's indeed not right. There's an extra mountain here. It should be a mountain that newly grew! Let's go!"

He rolled up the Topographic Map. Black Pot took the lead, stepping into the swamp and charging straight towards that mountain peak. The Wooden Cart generated wind beneath its wheels and flew up directly to chase after Black Pot.

At that moment, a golden eagle flapped its wings and flew over from the distance, catching up to the cart. It folded its wings, descended, and transformed into the Huagai canopy, inserting itself onto the cart.

While flying with the wind, the cart grew an arm, opened the Huagai, and held it up.

It then offered itself a few sticks of incense, sped up, and caught up with Black Pot.

After they left, some underworld officers arrived here on a wooden boat, patrolled around for a while, and then departed.

Another two or three hours later, streaks of light pierced the night sky, and one by one, dugout canoes carrying Children's Heavenly Aperture Lamps sailed to this place. The underworld officers on the boats all wore solemn expressions. These officers often came from ghost races like Yaksha, Ox-Head, and Horse-Face. A few of the officers were human, manifesting their Primordial Spirit form, clearly without a true physical body.

They roamed around, raising their lamps to illuminate every corner of Fengyang Villa, grabbing ghosts and monsters one by one to interrogate them about the case.

After a long while, they finished surveying the battlefield.

Four bone dragons pulled a carriage that arrived leisurely. A horn-shaped Underworld Lamp was hung at the front of the carriage.

Immediately, a human underworld officer stepped forward, approached the window, and reported their findings to the person inside the carriage.

The person in the carriage was a middle-aged man, also in a Primordial Spirit state. However, he had long used the energy of incense offerings to gather extraordinary power, forging himself a new Golden Body. This golden body was formed from extraordinary power, but it was definitely no less than a physical body!

The only thing this ghost god's Golden Body couldn't compare to a physical body was that it couldn't taste food, nor could it smell any fragrance. Any delicacy tasted like chewing wax.

"The future Sect Leader of my Xia Family... is dead!"

The middle-aged man cried out in grief and anguish, looking up to the sky. "Who killed the future Sect Leader of my Xia Family? Who killed Lord Fengyang of my Xia Family? This hatred is endless, boundless! Search! Find Tianjie's soul!"

"Underworld Marshal, we didn't find his soul," an underworld officer reported.

This man was precisely the underworld marshal in charge of this area for the Underworld Primeval Palace, named Xia Xiude. Upon hearing this, his expression grew even darker.

"Soul destroyed, spirit scattered? For what grievance or enmity?"

He was furious and sneered: "Even if I have to go to heaven or into the earth, I will find this person!"

Not long after, a few underworld officers escorted a Herding Ghost before Underworld Marshal Xia Xiude. The Herding Ghost was trembling with fear and said tearfully: "Great One, please forgive me for not being able to pay proper respects."

An underworld officer said: "Underworld Marshal, this Herding Ghost was punished and locked in a cage for losing a few Zhong Beasts. He just happened to survive the massacre. He knows who the killer is."

The Herding Ghost said: "That person is a young scholar, it seems like the current top scholar. He's accompanied by a black dog, a wooden cart, and a woman."

Xia Xiude said in a deep voice: "Send word to all nearby underworld officers, from the big and small branches of the Wangchuan River, to keep an eye out for a wooden cart, a black dog, a woman, and a young scholar! If there's any discovery, report to me immediately!"

"As you command!"

Many underworld officers boarded their boats, riding on a gust of yin wind as they departed.

The four bone dragons pulled the carriage and left Fengyang Villa as well.

The Wooden Cart chased after Black Pot, crossing the vast, boundless great swamp and arriving at the opposite shore. They saw a mountain peak standing beside the lake. At the foot of the mountain, there was even a village. The villagers in the town were actually still alive.

When Chen Shi arrived here, he saw that the town's Godmother was a Daoist priest who had absorbed incense offerings for over a thousand years. He wore a feathered robe and looked ethereal like an immortal.

His divine power was extremely strong. Many corpses of monsters and ghosts were hung around the village, presumably killed by him.

There were a few cultivators in the town, all of them Xiucai scholars. They blocked Chen Shi from entering the town, looking at him warily.

"You are scholars. You should have heard of me. I am Chen Shi, the current top scholar," Chen Shi said with a kind expression and a smile.

The scholars each shook their heads. A woman said: "We haven't heard of you. It's not that we won't let you in, but in this day and age, humans are more dangerous than ghosts!"

Scholar Zhu couldn't help but float out from the Small Temple and said: "You don't even know the current top scholar, and you call yourselves scholars!"

"A ghost!"

Those scholars tensed up, each preparing their spells.

Chen Shi released a wisp of his aura. To him, it was just a wisp, but to these scholars, it was overwhelmingly powerful and invincible!

At that moment, the feathered-robed Daoist priest walked over, his body radiating brilliant divine light. He said: "Do not be rude, everyone. I, a hermit of the mountains, greet you, fellow Daoist."

Chen Shi returned the greeting. "I have no ill intentions. I am only here to inquire if there is a temple on this mountain."

The feathered-robed Daoist priest said: "This mountain rose abruptly from the ground six days ago. There is indeed a temple on it, named the Temple of the Jade Pivot King Lingguan of the Fire Bureau."