On the Avenue.

Chapter 720 New Immortal Path: Yuan Fu
"Uncle Xiao Wu!" Chen Shi was overjoyed and hurriedly caught up with him.

The little rag doll weaved through the crowd, avoiding the footsteps of people on the street, and said quickly, "There are Heavenly Court spies everywhere in this city, and the Heavenly Listening and Heavenly Seeing under the command of the Heavenly Emperor Tianpeng are watching the city's movements and searching for our whereabouts. We must act with caution..."

Suddenly, he felt dizzy and was scooped up from behind by Chen Shi and held in his arms.

"Fifth Uncle, I miss you," Chen Shi said.

The doll, struggling to open his arms, asked in confusion, "Little Ten, have we met before? I don't remember, I was beaten up... You cried? How disgusting, you've dirtied me."

Chen Shi was stunned: "Uncle Xiao Wu, don't you remember me? You used to always try to kill my father, Chen Tang, and you wanted to be my father!"

The doll shook its head and said, "I don't remember. I died once. My father said that the Dao patterns and talismans that carried my memories were erased. I was able to be reborn this time, which is mostly due to luck. It's normal that I don't remember my previous memories."

He jumped down from Chen Shi's grasp, puzzled, and asked, "I wanted to kill Chen Tang before? My father said Chen Tang is my younger brother, my dearest friend and loved one, so why would I want to kill him?"

……

Chen Shi looked at the doll in disbelief. Was this still the creation, Xiao Wu?
Previously, Xiao Wu was cunning and cruel, especially hating Chen Tang to the core. Could it be that dying once has truly changed his nature?

Chen Shi felt a pang of sadness.

This doll is the creation of Xiao Wu, but it is not entirely the creation of Xiao Wu.

He is a new creation, possibly identical to Creator Xiao Wu, but lacking Xiao Wu's consciousness.

Cui Zhenzhen looked at the doll curiously, then at Chen Shi, feeling surprised.

The dignified King Chen actually called this puppet "uncle," and this puppet could actually talk, and its speech and behavior were exactly like a human's.

What's even more peculiar is that she sensed both immortal and divine auras emanating from this doll, auras that were unfathomable, leaving her astonished.

"Can a puppet cultivate?" she thought to herself.

Chen Shi asked, "Uncle Xiao Wu, how did you come back to life?"

Back then, the Creator Xiao Wu was killed by the Celestial Venerable and reverted to his original form, becoming a rag doll. The doll was tattered and broken, with all the talismans and Daoist patterns on it destroyed. Chen Yin tried every method, but he couldn't bring the Creator Xiao Wu back to life.

Therefore, reviving Xiao Wu became Chen Yindu's greatest obsession, and he didn't even go to meet him after hearing news of Chen Shi.

Creator Xiao Wu said, "My place of merging with the Dao is the Qiankun Rebirth Furnace. My father had a master who was the master of the Qiankun Rebirth Furnace, called Qianlong. My father comprehended the talisman seals and Dao patterns, traced back to the source, and clarified the relationship between Dao patterns and divine patterns. Only then did he use the Qiankun Rebirth Furnace to revive me."

Chen Shi felt a slight stirring in his heart. Back then, Creation Xiao Wu had sneaked into the Qiankun Rebirth Furnace, devoured countless copies of Creation Xiao Wu, and merged with the Dao within the furnace, becoming an immortal.

To achieve harmony with the Dao, one needs to verify one's own Dao with the Dao of Heaven and Earth. It was at that time that Xiao Wu, the Creator, preserved a portion of his own Dao in the Qiankun Rebirth Furnace.

This is also the reason why he was able to be resurrected.

Creation Master Wu led them through the streets and alleys, and soon they arrived at a black door in the city.

Yanzhou City is divided into East City and West City. East City is where wealthy merchants gather and where powerful immortals reside, while West City is where lower-level immortals live. It is a place where people from all walks of life, from the three religions to the nine schools, peddlers to laborers, and all kinds of professions can be found.

The houses in the western part of the city are very small and are called "beehives" because the houses are densely packed together, with one door next to another, like a beehive.

Creation Xiao Wu pushed open the door, and Chen Shi and Cui Zhenzhen followed him in.

Cui Zhenzhen turned back to look at the cramped black doorway, then turned to look at the opposite side and froze.

Before her lay a courtyard that resembled a fairy palace, with pavilions, terraces, towers, dozens of palaces, halls, buildings, and even a spiritual spring and waterfall in the air.

This place is filled with spiritual energy; it is actually a miniature holy site, hidden within a small gate!

She strained her eyes to look out of the courtyard, and saw nine suns in the sky, each different in size and distance.

The Nine Suns exudes pure and unparalleled yang energy, fierce and domineering, but when it shines on this courtyard, it doesn't seem so scorching, as if it has been refined through layers of purification, leaving only yang energy.

This is clearly not Yanzhou!

The skies over Yanzhou are not like that at all!
She felt a little dizzy; she had never heard of such spatial techniques before.

"What level of cultivation technique is this?" she murmured.

She followed Chen Shi and Zaowu Xiaowu, her steps uneven, looking around. She saw that the artificial mountains and water features were exquisitely designed, with steep, continuous hills and winding streams. Upon closer inspection, she was filled with astonishment.

That artificial mountain was not an artificial mountain, but was made from a real immortal mountain. It was refined from a large mountain to a small one, turning the towering mountain into a two or three zhang high and a ten or more zhang long!
The water in the courtyard was also made from the Long River, which must be a real river in the real world, probably thousands of miles long, but shrunk countless times and hidden in the courtyard!

Every stone, every piece of wood, every flower, and every blade of grass here is a treasure!

Even the dragons in the water, the dragons coiled on the pillars, and the phoenixes on the roof ridges are real dragons, real dragons, and real phoenixes!
Chen Shi was also looking around, and couldn't help but exclaim in admiration, "Uncle Du's Taoist magic is even more powerful now. Fifth Uncle, is Uncle Du here too?"

Creation Master Xiao Wu shook his head and said, "He's not here. This time, to assassinate the Northern Yin Emperor in the underworld, we need a true master, and his strength is not enough."

Chen Shi's heart skipped a beat: "It was indeed my grandfather who severely injured the Northern Yin Emperor!"

He had some doubts in his heart. Was his grandfather's cultivation level really enough to contend with the Northern Yin Emperor?
Back when he fought the Heavenly Venerable, Xiao Wu, the Creator, became a True Immortal because of the Furnace of Merging with Heaven and Earth, and his strength was extremely high. With Chen Yin by his side all these years, his progress must have been rapid.

Especially when they joined forces with Chen Yindu, their strength doubled.

Even so, they could never be a match for the Great Emperor of the Northern Yin!

At that moment, Chen Yindu's voice came: "Xiao Shi".

Chen Shi looked in the direction of the sound and saw Chen Yin standing under the spiritual spring. The air around them was filled with all sorts of strange talisman patterns. These talismans were not written on paper, but hung in the air in the form of rays of light, and there were a great many of them.

Chen Shi walked over and carefully passed through the talismans. He saw that each talisman had Daoist and divine patterns next to it, which varied in size and structure.

"Xiao Shi, what are the meanings of 'Fu,' 'Lu,' and 'Zhuan'?" Chen Yindu's voice came from ahead.

Without hesitation, Chen Shi replied, "The talisman depicts the form of gods and demons, the register depicts their names, and the seal script represents their words."

His grandfather had taught him these things since he could remember.

Chen Yindu said, "Observe your surroundings, and then think about what talismans and inscriptions are?"

Chen Shi was slightly taken aback. He carefully examined the talismans in the air and realized that they were completely different from the talismans he had learned before.

The talismans in the air are more like a state between Dao patterns and divine patterns, encompassing the strengths of both while having none of their weaknesses!

"This is……"

Chen Shi was deeply shaken. After achieving success in his cultivation, he had also carefully pondered the reasons why talismans possessed power.

All of this originated from the Shang Dynasty and even earlier times. Starting with the Taoist ritual patterns, people used sacrifices, and the extraordinary power of these sacrifices condensed to create deities.

People used talismans to record the forms, names, and language of these deities, and discovered that talismans could carry the power of the deities and even bring down the gods.

As talismans and seal script developed, they gave rise to a system of shamanistic and ritual patterns, which took shape in the Xia Dynasty and reached its peak in the Shang Dynasty.

After reaching its peak, the shamanic ritual Dao pattern system developed into the immortal Dao pattern based on the shamanic ritual Dao pattern.

As a medium for describing the forms of gods, talismans and inscriptions became the foundation of the immortal path, used to depict the various deities in the heavenly court and to borrow the power of the gods.

After entering the path of cultivation, cultivators need to comprehend these talismans and incantations in order to harness the power of the gods in battle.

However, after merging with the Dao of Heaven and Earth and mastering the power of the Dao, one becomes an immortal and can abandon talismans and seals to focus on cultivating Dao patterns without needing to borrow the power of gods.

This means that after becoming an immortal, all the knowledge of talismans and incantations learned before must be discarded!
The talismans that Chen Yindu is now drawing in the air seem to be solving the problem of talismans becoming useless after one becomes an immortal, at the source.

"Gods are spirits formed from people's reverence and awe of nature, and their worship of the power of heaven and earth. It is only after the death of outstanding figures that people place their hopes on them, hoping that the leader will still control the power of nature and continue to protect people after death. Talismans and inscriptions are descriptions of the great way of heaven and earth, only with an extra step."

Standing amidst thousands of talismans and inscriptions, Chen Shi felt his heart surge with emotion.

If there are old and new laws, then Chen Yin's laws before him can be divided into such evolutionary steps.

Reverence for the power of Heaven and Earth gave rise to deities through incense offerings, which in turn created talismans and inscriptions. These talismans and inscriptions then evolved into ritual patterns, which in turn gave rise to immortal patterns.

This is a progressive, cascading evolutionary sequence.

The evolution of the divine path is the deities' own understanding of the great Dao of Heaven and Earth. It lacks the two steps of talismans and shamanistic ritual patterns compared to the immortal path. Therefore, the immortal and divine paths are not interconnected. Immortals find it difficult to understand the divine path patterns, and deities find it difficult to comprehend the immortal path patterns.

Because of the many transformations, the descriptions of the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth by the Dao patterns of the Immortal Dao have become less accurate. This is why many immortals, when they reach a bottleneck in their cultivation and cannot break through despite their arduous efforts, turn to the Dao patterns of the Witchcraft and Sacrifice, hoping to find a way to break through from them.

For example, Erlang Shen broke through his Eight-Nine Arcane Arts by learning the Immortal Immortal Technique.

As the saying goes, a small mistake can lead to a huge error. Even the slightest error at the source can accumulate and result in vastly different outcomes at a higher level. To correct a mistake, one must trace it back to its origin.

"These talismans drawn by Grandpa are a new method. This new method changes the very structure of the immortal path from its very source!"

Chen Xing walked among these strange talismans, the immortal and divine patterns beside them serving as explanations for them.

“These talismans do not depict deities, but directly describe the great Dao of Heaven and Earth. They draw nourishment from the Dao of Gods, the Dao of Immortals, and the Dao patterns of shamanic rituals to evolve talismans.”

Chen Shi murmured as he walked among the talismans, becoming more and more excited as he looked at them.

By eliminating intermediate steps and minimizing errors and omissions, the description of the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth will become incredibly accurate!

This is something a mature civilization should do!
"Xiao Shi, did you figure it out?" Chen Yindu's voice came.

Chen Shi exclaimed excitedly, "I can see it! Grandpa, you're doing something incredible—reconstructing the path to immortality!"

He was extremely excited. Chen Yin had always loved to do great things. Back when the Taoist arts in Xiniu Xinzhou were in decline, he tried to restore the Taoist arts to their peak and attempted to complete the talisman system.

He remained unknown throughout his ascension to the Immortal Realm, but unexpectedly, he made further progress based on his research from back then!
Chen Yindu said, "The path of immortality has reached its zenith, and we must not be complacent. We must return to the source and rebuild the foundation. The foundation of the path of immortality is not solid to begin with, so when one's cultivation reaches a certain level, one will inevitably find that even if there is a path ahead, one cannot walk it because one has already gone astray."

Chen Shi walked among the rows of talismans and said, "To correct the deviation, we must rebuild the foundation and try to reduce redundant steps in order to encompass more."

Chen Yin showed an approving look and said, "You haven't become a warrior who only knows how to fight and kill, that's good. There are also many people in the Earthly Immortal Realm who have noticed this and are trying to change the Immortal Path from the source. They have already begun various attempts, but they are often just patching up the Immortal Path. Some even plan to restore the witch ritual Dao patterns, which is actually foolish."

Chen Shi examined the talismans and agreed, saying, "They are indeed foolish."

"But there are also clever people."

Chen Yindu changed the subject, saying, "When I heard about you, it just so happened that the Right Celestial Master Qianlong of the Celestial Court was looking for me. He had a group of people under his command who were similar to me, and they were targeting talismans, preparing to start with talismans to reconstruct the path of immortality. They would form the smallest structure of the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth, which they called the Primordial Talisman. Little Shi, it was then that I realized that there was actually a group of people in this world who were as smart as my father and me."

Chen Shi asked, "How many people are there?"

Chen Yindu replied, "Sixteen people."

Chen Shi exclaimed in surprise, "There are so many?"

Chen Yindu was quite pleased with his surprise and said, "Therefore, one should not underestimate the heroes of the world."

Chen Shi nodded solemnly.

When the grandfather and grandson met, Chen Yin looked Chen Shi up and down and praised him, "You've matured, grown taller, and your complexion is better than before."

Chen Shi was very proud and said, "Moreover, I don't have my grandfather's problem of being a womanizer. I am the strongest man in the Chen family!"

"I'm proud of you."

Chen Yindu said, "I also stopped being interested in women. That's why I was able to surpass others in my achievements in Yuanfu and become the number one talisman master under the Right Celestial Master Qianlong."

Chen Shi said with a serious expression, "But Grandpa, your Yuanfu still has many shortcomings. This is because you haven't accumulated enough knowledge in the divine path, the immortal path, and the external path."

Chen Yin turned his head and said, "If you can't give me a proper answer today, I'll beat you the same way I beat Chen Tang."

Chen Shi laughed and said, "You can't beat me at all. I have comprehended the Azure Palace underground and fully grasped the mysteries of the Dark Sea Heavenly Dao. Guiding you is more than enough for me!"

He used his fingers as a pen and his true essence as ink to alter Chen Yindu's Yuanfu.

Chen Yin observed these Yuanfu symbols, his expression growing increasingly solemn, and he nodded repeatedly.

"The Great Celestial Venerable appointed you as the Grand Marshal of the Armed Forces of the World. You are not without merit; you are far superior to Li Tianwang." He had high expectations for Chen Shi.

Standing to the side, Cui Zhenzhen was completely confused and asked the Creator Little Five beside her, "Do they always talk like this?"

Creation Little Five honestly replied, "I don't know either. I just came into being, and I have amnesia. I don't remember what they looked like before."

Suddenly, he transformed from a puppet into a human, becoming a young and handsome man.

Cui Zhenzhen was stunned. The creation Xiao Wu transformed into a human, and his appearance was seven-tenths similar to Chen Shi and Chen Yin, but he was younger than Chen Yin and more handsome than Chen Shi, with a touch of femininity. He was simply a perfect person!

The fifth creation said with distress, "Father always likes to put his humanity in me, while he maintains absolute rationality. Right now, he is in his divine state, untroubled by any emotions. Don't get close. In his divine state, he likes smart people like the tenth, not you."

(End of this chapter)