Chapter 5 The Cyan Ghost Claw

Chen Shi also noticed his grandfather's abnormality, as he emitted a foul odor, similar to the scholar ghost at the village entrance who loved to smell the fragrance of incense. Moreover, he hadn't seen his grandfather eat anything for days, only catching him secretly nibbling on candles, one after another, as if they were radishes! He even suspected that the inexplicably dead chickens and ducks were likely drained of their blood by his grandfather in secret! But for Chen Shi, no matter how his grandfather changed, he remained his closest kin. "Hei Guo, take him to drink the medicine," his grandfather said淡淡道. Outside the Chen family's courtyard, a large black dog wagged its tail obediently, biting Chen Shi's sleeve and pulling him back home. Behind them, a giant human head floated over. The ancient tree in the center of the village moved without wind, and a branch whipped like a long whip, hitting the giant head with a loud crack, sending it flying. A pungent medicinal smell wafted over; Chen Shi sat in a medicinal vat, his belly bulging after drinking a basin of medicine. This basin of medicine served as his dinner. Beneath the vat was a fire pit, and the large black dog sat in front of it. Despite being a dog, it had a kind expression, and when the flames dwindled, it picked up a piece of wood and tossed it into the fire. The vat bubbled and steamed; Chen Shi grimaced from the heat, shouting, "Hei Guo, don't burn it! If you keep burning, it'll be cooked!" Hei Guo was the name of the large black dog. As the name suggests, the two often made mistakes, leading this dog to take the blame. Hei Guo was picked up by his grandfather, raised on leftover food from the household, and could understand human speech. It was very intelligent and kind-hearted, and upon hearing Chen Shi's words, it added a few more sticks of wood to the fire. The dog blinked its eyes, seemingly eager to see if it could cook Chen Shi. After a while of whining about the heat, Chen Shi gradually got used to it. He seemed to have acclimated to this temperature. The young man sat comfortably in the medicinal vat, leaning against its edge, and raised his hand to touch the long scar on the back of his head. He had little memory of the injury at the back of his head. He didn't remember much; he didn't recall his parents, whether he had ever attended school, nor did he remember being pried open. When he woke up years ago, he felt a splitting headache, surrounded by darkness and coldness, and strange, heavy, ancient voices echoed, as if guiding him from the outside world. Following the sound, he walked for an unknown period until he saw a sliver of light. Upon entering the light, the surrounding darkness retreated like a tide, and everything gradually became bright. Once he adapted to the brightness, he realized he was sitting inside a large vat of medicine, which bubbled with steam, filling the air with a pungent smell. Next to the vat stood a tall, burly old man with white hair, and at his feet was the black dog adding firewood. Seeing him awake, the white-haired old man excitedly hugged him tight. Later, Chen Shi learned that this elder was his grandfather, and he had been in a coma for a long time. It was his grandfather who remained by his side, using various spiritual medicines to treat him and prolong his life. Chen Shi had no memories prior to the age of nine; he only began to remember upon waking up, so strictly speaking, he was just a two-year-old child. "So, I was turned into this way because someone dug out my divine fetus," Chen Shi recalled overhearing the conversation between the woman in purple and others, silently thinking, "I am not inherently useless; I can cultivate, I can become the favored one of the gods and the pride of heaven! The son of Li Xiancheng from Water Buffalo County, Li Xiaoding... what grievances do I hold!" A surge of anger rose within him; for the past two years, he had been accompanied by the medicinal vat, having to endure boiling in it daily. The medicine inside was often changed, filled with all sorts of unnameable herbs, even including venomous snakes and scorpions! Chen Shi only knew he was unwell but had never understood what exactly was wrong with him! Now he finally understood that the suffering he had endured over the years stemmed from this noble Li Xiaoding! "But..." Chen Shi pondered, "My head is already healed, so why does grandfather still insist on making me soak in the vat every day?" At that moment, the temperature in the air dropped again, even the flames under the vat diminished significantly; they had originally been bright orange but now turned green. His grandfather had entered the room. Chen Shi peeked quietly and saw his grandfather standing in the shadows of the corner, his face obscured, unsure of what he was doing. However, Chen Shi always felt his grandfather was watching him; sometimes his gaze was gentle, other times filled with killing intent. This killing intent was something Chen Shi had seen before on an injured leopard. At that time, he intended to approach the leopard to bandage its wounds, but the look in the leopard's eyes brought a chill to him; it was the killing intent exuded by a beast facing the threat of death! After a while, his grandfather walked out again, and the flames flared up once more, causing the air temperature to gradually rise. Chen Shi secretly sighed in relief. The black dog also breathed a sigh of relief, thoughtfully adding a few sticks of wood to the fire, though it trembled slightly while doing so, clearly feeling the killing intent emanating from his grandfather. Both man and dog sensed that although grandfather was still grandfather, he was no longer the same as before. The former grandfather had a human touch. The current grandfather did not. The medicinal soup in the vat gradually became clear, and Chen Shi felt a peculiar flow of energy seeping from the soup into his skin, as if tiny bugs were drilling into him through his pores, burrowing beneath his skin, into his flesh, into his organs, and even into his bones, causing an indescribable discomfort. Even though he was soaking in water, he felt as though he was in a raging fire, being continuously burned and refined from the inside out! This pain, although Chen Shi had long grown accustomed to it, still made him tremble slightly. When the medicinal effect wore off and the soup became as clear as water, Chen Shi finally rose from the vat. He noticed a blue claw mark on the left side of his chest, five fingers spread apart, as if an invisible ghostly hand was gripping his heart. After enduring the baptism of fire and water in the medicinal vat, the blue ghostly hand mark appeared much fainter. Since Chen Shi could remember, this blue ghostly hand mark had always been there and had yet to fade. The blue ghostly hand mark was peculiar; it would fade after soaking in the medicinal bath, but after a while, it would become clear again. Chen Shi changed into clothes and stepped into the courtyard. From the adjacent room, his grandfather's voice could be heard: "...A Tang, when will you return... I know you are busy, but you should come home no matter what... I am old and won't live much longer. Xiao Shi is still young and needs looking after; you should take him to the city... I know life in the city is tough, but after all, he is your son, even if you don't acknowledge him, he is still your son..." Chen Shi stood silently in the courtyard, motionless. His grandfather was also a cultivator. Chen Shi didn't know his grandfather's cultivation level; he only knew that he had followed him into the mountains and had never encountered danger. At this moment, his grandfather was likely in the room, using the Thousand Miles Message Talisman to contact Chen Shi's father, Chen Tang. Chen Shi had never met his father, Chen Tang. Not once. Perhaps he had seen him before his divine fetus was taken, but after he woke up, his father had never returned. He had never seen his mother either. Not once. Chen Shi cast aside distracting thoughts and silently operated the Three Light Righteous Qi Technique. Stars twinkled in the sky, continuously falling, nourishing his body and enhancing his true qi. However, not long after, the true qi dissipated again, leaving nothing behind. He persevered, practicing diligently. By midnight, after completing his training, he returned to his room and lay down. Not long after, his grandfather, as if in a trance, silently approached Chen Shi's bedside and stood there without moving, his shadow casting over Chen Shi's face. His figure leaned forward at times and leaned back at others, yet he remained silent. The chilling killing intent once again permeated this small room. No sound. But oppressive. After an unknown period, suddenly, the window in Chen Shi's room opened by itself, creaking as it did. His grandfather flew straight out of the window. "Looks like he's hungry..." he muttered in a voice resembling a dream, his figure suddenly taking off, disappearing from the courtyard. Hei Guo raised its head alertly, glanced around, then buried its head back down to continue sleeping. In the room, Chen Shi on the bed also quietly opened his eyes, secretly relieved. "Grandfather must be sick; he doesn't want to kill me," he thought silently. At that moment, he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his chest, the intense agony causing him to curl up, like a cooked shrimp, his skin reddening and veins bulging! He bit down hard on the blanket, his body trembling, unable to make a sound or breathe, soon covered in beads of sweat! Chen Shi's body shook uncontrollably; he looked down and saw the blue ghostly claw was now gripping his heart tighter and tighter! Chen Shi's heart sank; this situation was not the first time it had occurred. Every few days, he would experience similar agonizing pain, fainting multiple times, and in those moments of unconsciousness, he dreamed of countless colossal, terrifying shadows in the darkness, encircling him, extending hands covered in black scales toward him. Previously, every time the ghostly claw acted up, his grandfather would rescue him, pulling him back from the brink of death. But now, grandfather was not here! Chen Shi forced himself to struggle, his legs going weak, causing him to roll off the bed, leaving him powerless with pain. He gritted his teeth, struggling to rise, stepping into a stance akin to the Big Dipper, his thumbs and pinkies pinching together, his right hand inserted into his left, performing the stance in the cramped room while reciting the Three Light Righteous Qi Technique. "Heaven was born, only the divine is revered. Evil chaos abounds, the true divine unseen, only demons disturb man! Observe the way of heaven, hold to the actions of heaven, cultivate righteous qi, and forge the Holy Fetal Dharma Body!" He activated the technique, and starry lights, like fireflies in the night, flew in from the open window, landing on his skin, penetrating into his flesh and blood. As the Three Light Righteous Qi Technique operated, he felt the pain gradually lessen, becoming more bearable. Chen Shi continued to activate the Three Light Righteous Qi Technique, the pain diminishing further, the ghostly hand gripping his heart loosening its hold, its blue fingers stretching out. "What exactly is this ghost claw on my chest? Why do I have this ghostly hand on me?" After a long time, the severe pain vanished, and Chen Shi, still shaken, gazed out of the window. The moonlight was silvery, illuminating the courtyard with mottled shadows. "The Three Light Righteous Qi Technique can suppress the pain; if this technique could draw the moonlight and sunlight, refining the righteous qi of the sun and moon, perhaps the ghost claw gripping my heart would not appear. Unfortunately, every time I try to summon it, I cannot attract the sunlight or moonlight." Suddenly, a thought surged in the young man's mind, bringing with it many new questions: "The sun is clearly the only true eyes of the divine beyond the heavens, and the moon is clearly its vertical eye. Why are there sayings about the sun rising and setting, and the moon waxing and waning? How strange. Could it be that..." A bold idea suddenly popped into his head: "Could there be other suns and moons? The Three Light Righteous Qi actually draws from other moonlight and sunlight?" He leaned out of the window, curiously looking at the moon beyond the heavens, bright and mysterious. That was the vertical eye of the true divine beyond the heavens. "But if such suns and moons really exist, why can't they be seen in the sky?" Chen Shi, filled with curiosity, lay back on the bed, his mind swirling with thoughts. Above the sky, the divine eye like the moon watched over all beings. Above the mountains and forests, the inflated human head was struck by a cold light, crashing heavily into the mountain. Soon, a tall figure arrived nearby, feasting on flesh and blood. "So delicious, so delicious, even better than humans!" ———— Thanks to the great master Zhai Cai for the golden reward! Thanks to Alliance A and Zhuo Yao, the two silver alliances supporting the new book! The update will be tomorrow around 11 am!