"We can’t make a move in the Mortal World!"
Granny Sha quickly stopped Qing Yang, saying, "It must be in the underworld! Acting in the Mortal World will cause big trouble, and besides, we must find the Black Pot first."
The five of them immediately headed towards Huangpo Village.
Du Yiran said, "Should we call Chen Tang? I’ve heard he’s also an expert."
Granny Sha shook her head and said, "No need. Little Tang does things too by-the-book; if we call him, he’ll surely insist on a foolproof plan, which takes all the fun out of it!"
Qing Yang, Azhuo, and the others nodded repeatedly after hearing this, agreeing in unison, "He’s too dull!"
Du Yiran said, "How can Old Chen, with such a lively nature, have such a wooden son? Who was he born with?"
Granny Sha shook her head and said, "I don’t know. Old Chen had so many women... Judging from the time Little Tang was born, it seemed he was very close with a woman from the Gao Family back then; they were often together. Later, that woman became the Sect Master of the Gao Family, and they parted ways."
Hu Xiaoliang hesitated and said, "Around that time, he seemed to have also gone to the Water Moon Sacred Realm; I’ve heard many Bodhisattvas were also enamored with him there."
Qing Yang said, "I heard it was a woman among the Independents; later, rumors spread that it was Sha Qiutong who gave birth to him..."
Granny Sha was furious and wanted to fight.
Azhuo and Hu Xiaoliang quickly restrained her, repeatedly saying, "Calm down, calm down!"
Du Yiran coughed and said, "I also heard a rumor that he seemed to have a child, Little Tang, with a woman from Despair Slope."
Everyone fell silent.
Granny Sha no longer wanted to fight with Qing Yang and quickly changed the subject.
Upon arriving at Huangpo Village, Chen Shi was not at home. Chen Shi’s mother said, "Little Ten should be cultivating on Yellow Earth Slope."
The five of them went to Yellow Earth Slope and saw Master Chen sitting under a willow tree from a distance, with a woman in white lying on his lap. Master Chen was lowering his head and clearing the woman’s ears.
The woman in white curled up, seemingly tickled by him, and giggled, covering her ears.
Chen Shi said, "Put your hands down, and I’ll clean it for you!"
The woman in white quickly got up, covered her ears, and avoided him.
Chen Shi chased after her, laughing, "Good sister, you’ve cleaned mine; I must clean yours for fairness!"
The two ran around the old willow tree, frolicking, until Du Yiran coughed. The woman in white was startled, flew up in a flash, and darted into Chen Shi’s small temple.
Chen Shi looked at the five of them in surprise, saying, "Aunt Qiutong, Uncle Du, how did you come here? Uncle Azhuo, you’re here too!"
Bee Man Azhuo slightly frowned, looking at Granny Sha, Du Yiran, and the others with confusion, thinking, "It’s fine for Little Ten to call me uncle, but shouldn’t he call them granny and grandpa?"
He was simple-minded, unaware of the determination of Granny Sha and others.
Granny Sha gestured for silence and said, "We came to borrow the Black Pot."
Chen Shi shouted, "Black Pot, Black Pot! Aunt Qiutong is looking for you!"
The Black Pot led Nannan by the hand to the slope, looking over in confusion.
Granny Sha, Du Yiran, and the others immediately surrounded the Black Pot, saying, "We have important matters to discuss."
The five people and a dog huddled together, discussing something unknownly, occasionally glancing at Chen Shi.
Nannan squeezed in among them, her face serious as she listened, nodding and shaking her head occasionally, then glancing at Chen Shi before continuing to nod or shake her head, uncertain if she understood.
Chen Shi grew anxious, thinking, "Could it be that Granny Sha and the others have also discovered that I’m about to become an Evil Spirit?"
He had been stuck in his cultivation for days, continuously pondering how to solve the problem of Evil Qi. He had discussed it with Chen Tang, Li Tianqing, and others, but since Chen Tang and Li Tianqing’s cultivation paths differed from his, they could not find a resolution.
He could only explore by himself.
However, he keenly realized that if he continued cultivating in this way, upon reaching the Unification Realm, where the Primordial Spirit and physical body merge, he would experience a surge of Evil Qi due to the connection between the Primordial Spirit and physical body with the external world!
In subsequent realms, whether it was Cutting Three Corpses, Refining God, or opening the Void Great Realm to accomplish Returning Void, Refining Void Realm entering the body achieving Mahayana, all would exacerbate the Evil Qi within!
Continuing down this path of cultivation, becoming an Evil Spirit seemed almost inevitable!
He even speculated that during the True King Era, there must have been a group of people like him who, after cultivating to extremely high realms, would undergo Evil Transformation, causing the physical body and Primordial Spirit to mutate!
Those who took a new path could avoid this.
As he was lost in thought, Granny Sha and the others finished their discussion with the Black Pot, smiling as they walked over.
Granny Sha motioned for him to keep quiet, and the Black Pot barked, "Woof woof woof!"
Chen Shi understood, feeling his heart race, thinking, "Granny Sha and they plan to deal with the demons inside me! They’re worried these demons are eavesdropping, and upon hearing they need to be dealt with, will cause trouble in advance!"
Granny Sha looked at the Black Pot, and in an instant, with the Black Pot’s feet stepping on a gust of sinister wind, Chen Shi, Granny Sha, and the six others, along with the Black Pot, descended into the underworld!
It was Chen Shi’s first time entering the underworld from Yellow Earth Slope, and he found himself in a landscape filled with rubbles—an ancient ruin where the collapsed palaces could still be seen.
The sky was overcast with mournful clouds, and in the distance, enormous roots extended everywhere, descending from the skies and rooting deep into the earth.
There must have been roots of a gigantic tree!
"Could these roots be from the crooked old willow tree?"
Chen Shi was deeply shook, looking as far as he could see; countless massive roots coiled around, entwining a giant stele, with the stele’s other end anchored on the highland!
The collapsed palaces seemed to have one end in the underworld and another in the Mortal World!
An enormous construction spanning the Yin Yang Two Realms!
This grand sight profoundly amazed him!