"Besides this matter, there’s one more thing."
Chen Shi pondered for a moment and decided to tell the truth, saying, "When I broke through to the Unification Realm, I felt that I was undergoing an Evil Transformation."
Li Tianqing’s heart was slightly shaken: "What’s going on?"
Chen Shi recounted his bet with Yang Bi, saying, "The cultivation path I’m on is the True King Era’s cultivation path, which does not include the realms of Divine Embryo, Divine Descent, and Refining Void, retaining only Tribulation Crossing and Ascension. Yang Bi said I couldn’t avoid the Evil Transformation, and indeed I noticed this when my Primordial Spirit and Physical Body merged."
Li Tianqing asked, "What does it feel like?"
Chen Shi hesitated a moment, then said, "The Unification Realm requires a triad: the Primordial Spirit merges with the Physical Body, the Physical Body merges with Heaven and Earth, and the Primordial Spirit merges with Heaven and Earth. This is what they call the Unity of Heaven and Man, using the power of Heaven and Earth for oneself. During my unification, I detected that the Righteous Qi in the world connected with me, but hidden within it was Evil Qi, which, following the Unity of Heaven and Man, entered my body. It’s quietly growing in my body, in my Primordial Spirit, and within my soul. It’s like a seed sprouting and taking root."
His tone was peculiar: "I can feel something in my soul winding and growing, penetrating deep into my soul. This sensation also appeared in my Primordial Spirit, and even within these very bones. It’s as if I sensed flesh buds wriggling within my skeletal frame..."
Li Tianqing stared at his ear.
Chen Shi’s heart stirred slightly, "What did you see?"
Li Tianqing said, "There’s something like a hair growing out of your ear canal, softer and finer than a normal strand of hair, as if it has a life of its own, exploring the air."
Chen Shi cupped his head in his hands, removed it, and fumbled around in his ear canal. Sure enough, he found that hair-like thing Li Tianqing had mentioned. When he pulled it lightly, a piercing pain surged through!
His Skull Body actually felt pain!
The pain wasn’t just from the Skull Body; it also came from the Primordial Spirit and the soul!
This hair seemed to be rooted simultaneously in his Primordial Spirit and soul!
Gritting his teeth, Chen Shi gave a hard pull, and the hair wasn’t broken off but instead pulled out a large section.
The pain nearly caused him to have spasms, making him want to fall to the ground and writhe!
He clenched his jaws and continued pulling, managing to pull out another section!
Chen Shi continued to pull outward, quickly resulting in a mess of hair on the ground, and it seemed he could continuously pull more hair from his ear canal, as if it were endless!
Li Tianqing raised his hand to stop him, solemnly saying, "The Evil Qi of Heaven and Earth is ever-present. As you cultivate to the Unification Realm, your being connects with the external world. When you pull out one section, the Evil Qi of Heaven and Earth provides you with another! You’ll never pull it all out!"
Chen Shi stopped his actions, and the hair-like line retracted into his ear, leaving only a thread peeking out, as if probing if there was danger outside.
It wasn’t hair; instead, it seemed to be a living entity, Evil Qi attached to Chen Shi, a bizarre life form born by depending on him.
It was gradually developing, growing along with Chen Shi’s cultivation, becoming a part of him, symbiotic with him.
Li Tianqing hadn’t seen such a situation before, and after a long ponder, said, "Unless you abolish the Unification Realm... but doing so would mean the abolition of the Three Corpse, Refining God, Returning Void, and Mahayana stages afterwards."
Steadying his heart, Chen Shi plucked the finger bone from his pinky, plugging it into his ear canal to block that hair, saying, "The True King abolished Tribulation Crossing and Ascension, adding four stages: Divine Shrine, Divine Embryo, Divine Descent, and Refining Void. There must be a method among these four to prevent or delay the Evil Transformation. Otherwise, all cultivators would face the same situation as me when breaking through to the Unification Realm."
Li Tianqing’s eyes lit up: "Indeed. If we can figure out the reason behind this, perhaps we can avoid the Evil Transformation. I’ll first return to the Mortal World and find you at the breakthrough; maybe we’ll find a method to stop the Evil Transformation!"
He left in high spirits.
Chen Shi attempted to use the First New Talisman, tempering his body with thunderbolts. Thunderbolts represent Pure Yang Qi, capable of refining all Evil Qi.
He discovered that this hair could indeed be refined, but after refinement, it would grow again.
He also used True Fire to burn it; the hair could be burned away, yet it would still grow back.
He tried various methods but could never truly eradicate it.
Chen Shi even found that the Evil Qi was quietly influencing his thoughts and consciousness, making him violent and irritable!
He couldn’t help but feel a chill: "If this continues, will my consciousness still be my consciousness? Are my thoughts truly my thoughts?"
He was despondent, yet the White-clothed Fairy remained as attached to him as always, not becoming distant due to him turning into a skeleton.
Chen Shi lay in her lap; the fairy lowered her head, her hair cascaded like a waterfall down her chest. From this angle, Chen Shi could see her stunning face, though since becoming a skeleton, his connection with the Lower Corpse God Peng Jue was severed.
Chen Shi now resembled a Buddha, detached from all desires.
The White-clothed Fairy motioned for him to turn sideways; Chen Shi complied, and the girl lowered her head to clean his ear canal.
Now that his ear canal was large, a finger could be directly inserted.
The White-clothed Fairy cleaned his ear twice, and Chen Shi suddenly felt as if she had grabbed onto that strange hair.
Chen Shi cried out in alarm, just as he was about to get up. The White-clothed Fairy tugged hard, and Chen Shi felt his soul shudder as if something had been forcibly torn from it!
He calmed himself, got up to look, and saw the White-clothed Fairy holding that strange hair, which was rapidly withering and turning to dust!