Above the Great Dao

Granny Sha said, "Xiaoshi, you go home with Dogzi first, come over tomorrow, and I'll take you to find the ancient temple."

Chen Shi hurriedly expressed his gratitude.

Granny Sha watched the man and the dog leave, feeling a myriad of emotions in her heart.

"Just like Tianyu when he was young. Equally smart, equally spirited, equally stubborn. Once he promised something, he made sure to do it."

She returned to her residence and placed the Sheep Horn Heavenly Spirit Lamp on the table, causing the table to creak under its weight.

The bronze lamp seemed not heavy when Chen Shi carried it, but it weighed over three hundred jin.

Granny Sha took out a silver hairpin to lengthen the wick slightly.

The wick was inserted in the Heavenly Spirit cover at the back of a bronze figure filled internally with lamp oil. Despite many years having passed, the oil was still plentiful.

When she pulled out part of the wick, the bronze figure's expression turned grotesque, and it uttered a piercing scream that was harsh to the ears.

Once the flame stabilized, the figure seemed to get used to the pain, and it no longer cried out. Its face even showed a smile.

Granny Sha activated the Sheep Horn Heavenly Spirit Lamp, and suddenly the light from the flame surged. In an instant, her house, the street, Gangzi Village—even Qianyang Mountain—appeared to vanish!

The penetrating light of the lamp illuminated through the house, the street, the village, the mountains, directly reaching the dark underworld!

Granny Sha strained her eyes, searching endlessly within the darkness through the light, crossing through mist and wasteland, death and silence, sweeping past countless spirits, in search of that small silhouette.

"Tianyu, where are you? Are you lost? Granny is coming to find you..."

Chen Shi returned home, and his grandfather was already waiting with cooked meals. Chen Shi hurriedly washed his hands and face before sitting down.

"You went to see Granny Sha, she didn't ask you to do anything dangerous, did she?" the grandfather asked casually.

Chen Shi shook his head, laughing, "No. Grandfather, Granny Sha is a very good person, very kind to me."

"That is good."

The grandfather, with his back to him, ate his meal slowly and said, "Although Granny Sha is a good person, she is deeply obsessed and prone to doing something extreme. If she asks you to go to the underworld, do not agree."

Chen Shi was alarmed and thought to himself, "It's too late, I've already been there."

He did not reveal this to his grandfather, to avoid his opposition to visiting Granny Sha.

The night passed without incident.

In the morning, after eating his meal and paying respect to his godmother, he informed his grandfather and then excitedly headed out towards Gangzi Village.

"Bark!"

At the village entrance, Black Pot sat under a tree and barked once at the back of the departing Chen Shi.

"I know; he lied."

The grandfather stood behind Black Pot, his expression grim, "Yesterday, when he came back, he was drenched and carried yin energy, obviously Granny Sha had sent him to the underworld. He is still covering for that old woman."

Black Pot turned its head towards the grandfather, "Bark, bark!"

The grandfather, with a dark expression, replied, "You are right; the rascal deserves a lesson for learning to lie. And Granny Sha as well, she needs to be taught a lesson, lest she puts my grandson in danger! What's even more infuriating is that she is trying to take away my grandson!"

Black Pot looked up skeptically, that wasn't what it meant.

If the grandfather wanted to reprimand Chen Shi, he should simply do it himself, why claim it was what Black Pot said?

But, this pot, it must carry.

When Chen Shi arrived at Gangzi Village, Granny Sha had already prepared the meal early but hadn't eaten as she was waiting for him.

"Chen Yindou's cooking, even a dog wouldn't eat it! It's a wonder you've endured it for so many years."

Granny Sha took a few bites of the food, then put down her chopsticks and watched with a smile as Chen Shi wolfed down his meal.

There was no choice, the medicinal meals Grandfather made were indeed too unpleasant.

"Eat slowly, eat slowly, don't choke."

Granny Sha laughed, "There's more in the pot, I'll serve you some more."

Chen Shi ate until his belly was round. It was the first time in two years that he had eaten his fill. He hurriedly stood up to help Granny Sha wash and clean the dishes.

Granny Sha quickly said, "Leave them, I'll take care of it myself! This child..."

After tidying up, Chen Shi also helped sweep the yard, then eagerly watched Granny Sha.

Dressed neatly and carrying a small basket covered with a flower cloth, Granny Sha grinned and said, "I know you're anxious, let's set off now."

An old lady and a young boy left the house for the mountain.

The path to Qianyang Mountain from their village was different from the path leading from Huangpo Village. The path from Huangpo Village was gentler, while this one was steeper.

The mountain path, carved out of the cliffside, was a narrow strip of road that could barely accommodate a big man. If someone approached from the opposite direction, it would be very dangerous; a slight misstep could result in falling off the cliff.

Granny Sha appeared old, but moved with stable steps. Facing the cliff, she showed no fear; instead, it was Chen Shi who felt nervous.

"Old sister, Little Shi and I are passing through, and we would borrow your path," Granny Sha stopped and smiled at a large tree tangled with gnarly roots.

She approached the tree, took out some incense from her basket, lit them, and placed them under the tree.

Chen Shi curiously examined the ancient tree, which must have been alive for thousands of years, its roots tangled and sprawling across the cliff; the visible roots alone covered about half an acre!

However, the main trunk of the tree seemed to have been struck by lightning, leaving marks of scorching on the stump. What they were seeing now was a new trunk that had grown alongside the old one.

Despite being newly grown, it looked to be thousands of years old.

The spirit of this old tree was an elderly woman who lived in a tree hollow. She was very short, even shorter than Chen Shi, with grey hair tied up and leaning on a cane, her face kind and smiling warmly at Chen Shi and Granny Sha.

Her mouth was puckered, almost toothless, but when she smiled, you could just make out two or three teeth.

"Little Shi, come and pay your respects to Granny Zhuang!" Granny Sha stuffed a few sticks of incense into his hands.

Chen Shi quickly stepped forward, offered the incense, and bowed, "Chen Shi pays his respects to Granny Zhuang!"

"Good boy, good boy," Granny Zhuang chuckled warmly at him.

They passed through the tree hollow.

"The mountains, so awe-inspiring. One must revere the mountains as one reveres the gods. Many spirits reside in Qianyang Mountain, spirits in the plants, the rocks, even in the crawling creatures and the beasts; even the mountain streams and the waters harbor spirits."

As they walked, Granny Sha instructed Chen Shi, "Keep a reverent heart, and every path will open to you. Disrespect, and even a living path can turn deadly."

They reached an even steeper spot where the mountain path suddenly ended, blocked by a pile of black rocks.

Granny Sha stepped forward, offered incense, and said, "Elder brother of the path, Little Shi and I are passing through, please grant us convenience."

Chen Shi's eyes widened as he saw the black rocks begin to move rhythmically, climbing up the steep cliff and gradually disappearing into the distance.

Once the black rocks had moved far away, Chen Shi got a clear look at their true nature—it was the scales of an enormously large black snake; they just appeared like piled black stones because of its immense size!

Chen Shi continued along the mountain path with Granny Sha, and after walking about two miles, they finally saw the giant black snake.

The black snake was coiled on the summit they were on, its lonely form lifting its head, exhaling clouds, inhaling winds—each breath transforming the wind and clouds in the valley, creating a mesmerizing scene.

The giant black snake was a beast spirit of the mountain, long past the age of eating blood meals. It subsisted on wind and dew, resting in colos, lying in clouds, like a hermit of the great mountains, at peace with the world.