Chapter 582: Immortals Handling the Aftermath, Part Fourteen

Wu Guanyun’s clear voice rang in everyone’s ears. Everyone present was stunned stiff.

Chen Shi was stunned as well.

Young Master?

Where had that come from?

The previous Young Master had already been beaten to death by him.

This was also his first time coming to the Earth Immortal Realm. His status was low, and he was merely a minor heavenly soldier. No matter how one looked at it, he could not possibly deserve the title of Young Master, could he?

“Could he be one of Empress of Earth’s people? But he is clearly an immortal who opposes the gods and stands irreconcilably against Empress of Earth. Even if he knows that my Godmother is Empress of Earth, he would probably not call me Young Master. He would curse me as a lackey and spit at me before leaving.”

Chen Shi blinked, then suddenly thought of another possibility. “Could it be the Great Wilderness Ming Dao Collection?”

Black Pot and Zhong Lin were equally baffled. Zhong Lin looked toward Black Pot with an expression of inquiry. Black Pot propped the Heaven-Measuring Iron Ruler against the ground with one hand and scratched his head with the other, looking even more bewildered than Zhong Lin.

Just a moment ago, Wu Guanyun had looked as though he intended to exterminate them down to the last root. Yet now he was kneeling on the ground and addressing Chen Shi as Young Master. The speed of this change was simply beyond comprehension.

Zhong Lin silently thought, “Isn’t Fellow Daoist Chen the Gold Immortal whom the Celestial Strategy determined to be far from benevolent? The Celestial Strategy’s judgment comes from the Celestial Way, so it absolutely cannot be wrong. But why has he become the Young Master mentioned by Wu Guanyun?”

Black Pot knew Chen Shi through and through. For the first time, it felt that Chen Shi, with whom it had once stolen chickens and committed petty mischief, had suddenly become a stranger.

Chen Shi had actually become a Young Master behind its back.

Chen Shi’s gaze fell upon Wu Guanyun, who was kneeling on one knee. He silently thought, “Wu Guanyun recognizes the Small Heavenly Cycle Tribulation Formation divine ability from the Great Wilderness Ming Dao Collection! He has mistaken me for a disciple of the master of the Great Wilderness Ming Dao Collection!”

The master of the Great Wilderness Ming Dao Collection had to be a major figure in the Earth Immortal Realm. Even now, Chen Shi had yet to find the slightest flaw in this cultivation technique.

Just now, when he circulated this technique to deal with the Azure Dragon Immortal, he had been surrounded by two opponents, yet he had still nearly killed the Azure Dragon Immortal with a single move!

The more powerful this cultivation technique was, the more it demonstrated how formidable its master was and how exalted that person’s status must be!

Wu Guanyun knelt on one knee with his head lowered, quietly waiting.

Cold sweat gradually appeared on his forehead because Chen Shi remained silent.

The pressure left his heart rising and falling uneasily. At times, he wanted to erupt and simply kill Chen Shi. At other times, he was terrified by the strength of that existence and did not dare to act rashly.

That existence stood high above all others. In the conflict between immortals and gods, he was one of the leaders who had planned it all. His reputation in the Earth Immortal Realm was extraordinarily high, and his status was likewise exceptional. Although Wu Guanyun was a Commander under King Li, he did not even possess the qualifications to meet that person.

The reason Wu Guanyun recognized Chen Shi’s cultivation technique as belonging to that person’s lineage was that he had once seen that person’s disciple use the same divine ability.

He knew all too well how dangerous it was to offend that existence’s disciple. That was why he had briefly considered killing Chen Shi to silence him. If he could not obtain Chen Shi’s forgiveness, he would rather risk killing him than face that existence’s retaliation.

Chen Shi exhaled a breath of stale air and said indifferently, “Commander Wu, rise. Remember, there is no Young Master here.”

Wu Guanyun inwardly let out a long sigh of relief. He slowly rose and said, “Guanyun understands. Within the Fire Battalion of the Chen Character Office, there is only Chen Shi, not Young Master Chen Shi.”

Chen Shi nodded. “Commander Wu was never here today and never encountered us. I, Chen Shi, am merely a heavenly soldier who has just completed Ascension. I once made a mistake and was sent to the Heavenly Prison. In Commander Wu’s eyes, I am simply an unruly troublemaker.”

Wu Guanyun said in a deep voice, “Guanyun understands. The newly ascended immortal Chen Shi killed Regional Commander Yin Fenglou. He is a troublemaker with powerful backing.”

A smile appeared on Chen Shi’s face.

Seeing the smile at the corner of Chen Shi’s mouth, Wu Guanyun finally put his heart completely at ease. He turned back and glanced at the immortals of the Fire Battalion. After hesitating for a moment, he said, “Young Master, these people, could they…”

Chen Shi cast him a sidelong glance. “These are all righteous warriors who oppose the Celestial Court. Just now, Commander Wu spoke passionately about the Celestial Court’s evil deeds, and they were deeply moved, willing to follow you even at the cost of their lives. How could we kill them to silence them merely because of my identity? My master would never employ such faithless and treacherous people.”

Wu Guanyun’s expression became solemn. He bowed and said, “Young Master has taught me a valuable lesson.”

Chen Shi frowned slightly. “You called me Young Master again!”

Wu Guanyun hurriedly said, “Fellow Daoist Chen has taught me a valuable lesson. Then, how should this Tianji Scholar be dealt with?”

Chen Shi’s gaze settled on Zhong Lin. He said calmly, “I have my own arrangements for him. There is no need for you to concern yourself with it.”

Wu Guanyun acknowledged his command.

Chen Shi dispersed his Dao Realm. The Dao power from the West Heaven Expanse and Western Ox New Continent withdrew separately, and the sensation of controlling the power of heaven and earth immediately faded.

After a cultivator achieved Dao Unification, the direction of cultivation underwent a fundamental change.

During Qi Refining and Foundation Establishment, cultivators mainly cultivated their primordial qi. From the Golden Core stage through Spirit Refining, they mainly cultivated their spirit and soul. Upon entering Return to Emptiness, they primarily cultivated their Dao Field.

After a cultivator achieved Dao Unification and became an immortal, what they mainly cultivated was the Dao Realm formed after Dao Unification.

The Dao Realm was the Dao power of heaven and earth, the power of the Great Dao.

Only by mobilizing the power of his Dao Realm had Chen Shi been able to increase his cultivation so rapidly in such a short time.

Precisely because of this, cultivators had to keep their Dao Realms hidden and treasured, lest outsiders discover them and damage their Dao Realms, thereby ruining their cultivation. Very few people were like Chen Shi, achieving Dao Unification in the West Heaven Expanse under the watchful eyes of everyone present.

Of course, achieving Dao Unification in the Celestial Court had many advantages. First and foremost, the Dao power of heaven and earth was much denser there than elsewhere, greatly aiding the improvement of one’s cultivation.

“How strange. The Dao power of the West Heaven Expanse is understandable, but where did that other stream of Dao power come from? It is not the slightest bit weaker than the power of the West Heaven Expanse. In fact, it seems even stronger.”

Chen Shi’s heart stirred. “Could it be that Western Ox New Continent is still my Dao Field?”

He was somewhat unwilling to believe it. The Dao Realm was the place where one achieved Dao Unification, an immortal’s small world. It was common knowledge among cultivators that there could be only one place of Dao Unification. If Western Ox New Continent was also his place of Dao Unification, would that not mean that he had two such places?

“But if it is not Western Ox New Continent, where could this Dao power have come from? This proves that my other Dao Realm truly is Western Ox New Continent!”

Chen Shi’s eyes flickered. He was eager to return to Western Ox New Continent and see whether it had undergone any changes.

Zhong Lin stepped forward, bowed, and said, “Thank you, Fellow Daoist, for sparing my life.”

Chen Shi smiled. “There is no need to thank me, Fellow Daoist Zhong. You and I joined forces to deal with the crisis before us. You covered my retreat. You gave me a papaya, so naturally I must repay you with fine jade.”

Zhong Lin’s expression shifted between uncertainty and resolve. He was inwardly torn, unsure whether he should report that Chen Shi was a Gold Immortal.

“He saved my life, but how can I show favoritism? Would that not betray the Celestial Way’s nurturing? Then again, Fellow Daoist Chen does not seem to be a complete Gold Immortal. He possesses the realm of a Gold Immortal, but lacks the magic power of one.”

Zhong Lin thought, “Furthermore, there are other strange aspects to him. The aura of the Celestial Way around him is growing increasingly dense, and whenever he uses the Primordial Chaos Sword Scripture, every move and every stance carries insights resembling those of the Celestial Way. I will observe him for a while longer. Once I unravel the mysteries surrounding him, I will make my decision!”

After reaching his decision, he suddenly felt completely at ease.

Black Pot walked over and patted him on the shoulder. Zhong Lin met Black Pot’s gaze and, this time, did not resist Black Pot’s consciousness.

After a moment, Zhong Lin once again blocked Black Pot’s consciousness and thought, “It talks too much.”

After Wu Guanyun resolved the “misunderstanding” with Chen Shi, he immediately reorganized the Fire Battalion, treated the wounded, and warned everyone not to spread what had happened today.

He repeatedly urged them that everything concerning Chen Shi should remain as usual. Under no circumstances could they reveal Chen Shi’s identity. He also made them swear a poisonous oath upon the calamity’s fate.

This poisonous oath was a vow made to the calamity’s fate. If the oath was violated, the person would suffer calamity when Opening the Calamity arrived, with a very high chance of perishing within the calamity’s fate.

The immortals of the Fire Battalion became solemn and each swore the poisonous oath.

The immortals had only just finished swearing their oaths when several strange people appeared outside. These people wore dark-black clothing, black shoes, black belts, and black sashes. Their faces were also covered beneath black headscarves, leaving only two pitch-black eyes exposed.

Each of them carried a wooden chest in one hand. They passed by the crowd and arrived beside the enormous three-legged cauldrons.

Chen Shi looked over and saw the black-clad people open their chests. A group of large-headed, small-bodied people leaped out from within. They wore yellow clothing, with outfits that were nearly identical. Their hair was disheveled, and they chattered in incomprehensible gibberish. Each held tools such as Measuring Rulers and began measuring the three-legged cauldrons.

There were an enormous number of them. They continued pouring out of the chests, quickly covering the surfaces of the cauldrons. Some even ran onto the chains to measure and map their dimensions.

Some fearless ones took out huge iron hammers and struck the cauldrons with all their strength, causing the hidden Dao patterns inside the cauldrons to emerge from the vibrations. Countless large-headed little people were sent flying in all directions with loud snapping and clattering sounds, and quite a few were shaken to death. Several companions immediately ran over, knelt beside the corpses, and wailed bitterly. Other large-headed little people swiftly brought coffins, wiped away the blood, arranged the bodies’ appearances, and placed the dead into the coffins.

More large-headed little people carried the coffins and leaped into the chests, apparently to bury the dead.

The remaining little people took advantage of the opportunity to copy down the Dao patterns on the three-legged cauldrons.

Chen Shi and the others stared in astonishment. Tens of thousands of unkempt, large-headed little people crawled out of those wooden chests, bustling about and working everywhere. Before long, they had measured and mapped the dimensions, proportions, and surface Dao patterns of the Demon-Refining Cauldron.

The large-headed little people formed orderly lines and queued up to jump back into the wooden chests, disappearing from sight.

Then the sounds of blacksmithing rang out from within the chests, accompanied by the whooshing noises of bellows.

Chen Shi became even more curious about the wooden chests. He quietly approached them and craned his neck to look inside.

A cold glint flashed through the eyes of the black-clad immortals, and strands of killing intent radiated from them. Wu Guanyun hurriedly stepped forward and pulled Chen Shi back, whispering, “Young Master… Fellow Daoist Chen, they are not on our side. They are immortals sent by those above to handle the aftermath. If you try to investigate their secrets, they will handle our aftermath as well.”

The killing intent from the black-clad immortals made Chen Shi’s body hair stand on end. He realized that their cultivation and strength were extraordinary, and that he was absolutely no match for them. Thus, he did not dare act recklessly.

In his hurried glance just now, he had only seen that the not-so-large chest contained the sun, the moon, and the universe, along with mountain after mountain of volcanoes spewing lava. It was like a complete world.

Countless large-headed little people were setting up furnaces beside those volcanoes and smelting ore. Many more little people pushed small mining carts to transport the ore. Other enormous bellows were being worked by thousands upon thousands of little people, while still more little people raised huge hammers and vigorously forged something.

“The world inside these chests should be the Dao Realms of these immortals handling the aftermath!”

Chen Shi suddenly understood. “And these large-headed little people are living beings raised by those immortals handling the aftermath. They are skilled at cleaning, surveying, forging, and other tasks. The immortals handling the aftermath rely on them to clean up corpses and erase traces.”

Each chest was a small world. Every living being within the entire small world worked for the immortal handling the aftermath. Their efficiency was astonishing and truly eye-opening.

Chen Shi was marveling at the sight when a chain suddenly emerged from one of the chests. Then many yellow-clad little people crawled out and strained to drag the chain, pulling a long length of it out from the chest.

Soon afterward, chains were dragged out of the other wooden chests as well.

After another moment, a three-legged cauldron flew out of a chest and landed on the ground with a clang. It was practically identical to the three-legged cauldrons in the Three Purities’ Demon-Refining Well!

“Clang, clang, clang!”

One three-legged cauldron after another flew out of the chests. The yellow-clad little people also crawled out, severed the chains of the Three Purities’ Demon-Refining Well, and replaced them with chains they had forged themselves, fastening them to the newly completed three-legged cauldrons.

They lifted the three-legged cauldrons that had suppressed the great demons and successively placed them into the wooden chests, leaving behind the chains and cauldrons they had forged.

Thousands upon thousands of yellow-clad little people also cleaned the traces of battle from the walls of the Demon-Refining Well. They rapidly tidied the place and arranged various fallen rocks, making it appear as though no battle had ever taken place there.

After finishing everything, they each leaped back into the chests. The last yellow-clad little person raised its hand and closed the chest. With a click, the wooden chest snapped shut.

The black-clad, masked immortals handling the aftermath remained silent. Each picked up a wooden chest, turned around, and left.

From the moment they entered the Three Purities’ Demon-Refining Well until they departed, less than half an hour had passed.

These immortals handling the aftermath had cleaned everything so thoroughly that the place looked as though no battle had ever occurred. Even the traces left behind by Wu Guanyun and Chen Shi when they severed the chains had been cleaned away and replaced with traces that appeared to have been left by other spells.

The Demon-Refining Cauldrons they had imitated were also virtually identical. Unless someone opened them to inspect the inside, no flaw could be detected.

Chen Shi watched the immortals handling the aftermath leave and silently thought, “They took away the Demon-Refining Cauldrons suppressing the great demons. They must harbor ill intentions. What if they release the great demons inside these cauldrons within the Celestial Court…”

He could not help shivering. A single great demon had been capable of attacking the Celestial Court and shattering the Celestial Way magic treasure, the Celestial Strategy. If several hundred great demons were released at once, what a terrifying sight would that be?

The mysterious immortal organization behind Wu Guanyun was so vast and powerful that it made Chen Shi tremble.

The master of the Celestial Venerable, the master of the Great Wilderness Ming Dao Collection, was the leader of this organization.

They were hidden in the darkness, controlling an enormous force and waiting for an opportunity to overthrow the current Hao Tian Celestial Court!

“Fellow Daoist Chen, we should return to the Celestial Court and report our mission.”

Wu Guanyun interrupted his drifting thoughts. He raised a hand in invitation and smiled. “This way, please.”