Chen Shi woke up to see Granny Sha by his side, and couldn’t help but have tears brimming in his eyes. He hugged the little old lady, and tears slid down his face.
"Granny, I was killed!" he choked out.
"There there, it’s alright now," Granny Sha patted his back, comforting him.
Once he expressed the grievances in his heart, Granny Sha asked, "Do you remember who killed you?"
Chen Shi wiped away his tears, "It was an old beggar."
Granny Sha became furious and scoffed, "That old beggar has become audacious, daring to touch Little Ten! Where is that old bastard now?"
A man with a curly beard came over and whispered to her, "He’s dead. I found his corpse, his neck was broken, and his Primordial Spirit was pulled out and eaten."
Hearing this, Granny Sha had nothing to say, "The dead deserve respect, may he rest in peace. I fear he won’t have a next life."
With two demons being taken into the Soul-searching Bag, the Demon Domain naturally dissipated, and Chen Shi’s emotions gradually stabilized.
Everyone returned to the Red Mountain Hall. Cold Mountain Wanderer and Han Qian Wanderer were resting in the Red Mountain Hall, but their main purpose was to observe Chen Shi, their gaze not leaving his side.
Chen Shi was a sensible child. After coming back to life, he warmed himself by the stove. Once he felt warm, he immediately joined Red Mountain Lady in performing a ritual at Stone Ji’s Head to lift the petrification of Gongzhou City.
Stone Ji’s Head emanated a strange power. Everywhere it went, life flourished. The petrified flowers and plants were the first to revive, followed by insects, fish, trees, beasts, and finally humans.
The city was filled with astonishment, people inquiring about what had happened, and others searching for their families amid the noise.
Due to this Demon Transformation, Chen Shi and Red Mountain Lady, due to insufficient cultivation, could only petrify commoners, while cultivators were not petrified, resulting in many deaths among the cultivators. However, most commoners survived.
Of course, during the period of the Demon Transformation, battles occurred frequently in the city, and some petrified people were affected, suffering broken arms and legs, and some people even died because of it.
But, this was a stroke of luck amidst misfortune.
Otherwise, on the first three days of the Demon Transformation, all commoners would have died.
Yet now, most commoners had survived!
Red Mountain Lady had again exhausted her mana and became listless, retreating into her physical body to rest.
"Petrifying Gongzhou City, was it their doing?"
Han Qian and his companion were surprised, glancing at each other.
After they entered Gongzhou City, they discovered that everything had been turned to stone, including the birds, animals, insects, fish, flowers, and trees!
But what was strange was that these petrified beings, including humans, had not died but had become petrified life!
They initially thought it was a consequence of the Demon Transformation, but it turned out that Chen Shi had used this method to preserve the lives of millions of people in and around the city!
"He’s an impressive child."
Han Qian Wanderer remarked emotionally, "Ten years ago, if he had not died, he would have shone brilliantly at this year’s gathering of Independents."
Cold Mountain Wanderer said, "Chen Shi of that time was indeed extraordinary, but he was too clever, almost demonically so, following Chen Yindu might not have been a good thing."
Han Qian Wanderer nodded slightly.
Among the Independents, there were many extremists, and Chen Yindu was one of the most extreme, acting recklessly without considering the consequences, always causing a lot of trouble. If that Chen Shi had followed Chen Yindu back then, he would probably have been a second Chen Yindu, or even more dangerous!
The current Chen Shi was much better behaved, a well-mannered child.
However, recalling the demons sealed inside Chen Shi’s head, the two old Independents couldn’t help but shudder.
If something went wrong with this well-behaved child, it would definitely be more dangerous than a frenzied Chen Yindu!
"Lady sacrificing her cultivation to save people is a noble deed; we should rightly pay her respects."
When Han Qian and his companion felt slightly better, they went in front of Red Mountain Lady’s divine position and offered her a stick of incense.
Their cultivation was no small matter. When they placed the incense in the incense burner, Red Mountain Lady felt an extraordinary force surging crazily. Halfway through the stick, her cultivation had already fully recovered!
However, the extraordinary power continued to pour in, making her both surprised and delighted. She hastily continued to absorb and refine this extraordinary power.
"During this Demon Transformation, Hall Master Yu selflessly saved the common people, fighting alone in a corrupt official environment, which is admirable."
Cold Mountain Wanderer, whose injuries were lighter, circulated his Primordial Spirit, with both hands of the Primordial Spirit clasped inside, slowly extracting the evil energy from Yu Tiancheng’s body bit by bit. Yu Tiancheng gradually returned to his original appearance, both astonished and delighted, quickly bowing deeply in gratitude.
Cold Mountain Wanderer raised his hands, preventing him from bowing down, and laughed, "You have a pure heart and almost wasted your talents. The cultivation technique you practice is good, but also dangerous. Follow my cultivation for a few years, and your achievements might not be inferior to mine."
Yu Tiancheng had cultivated his whole life by himself, stumbling along, managing to reach the Divinity Transformation Realm, but had also suffered countless hardships. Hearing this, tears welled up in his eyes, and he was unable to speak.
Cold Mountain Wanderer said, "We Independents rarely take disciples, only passing on the mantle. Taking disciples would breed sectarianism, and sectarianism is like creating a barrier that traps oneself, called a cognitive barrier, making it difficult to perceive the true nature of the path. Therefore, you are not my disciple, do you understand?"
Yu Tiancheng acknowledged.
"Gongzhou has suffered many disasters, but experiencing this Demon Transformation is actually a good thing."
Han Qian Wanderer said, "Now that the city has no high officials, there is much less exploitation. When the court dispatches new officials, they will be somewhat cautious. The lives of Gongzhou’s common people will be much better than before."