She hummed twice, intending to return the book to Chen Shi, but then retracted it halfway, hesitating.
Chen Shi said with a smile, "Granny, even without this book, if I’m in danger, wouldn’t you save me?"
Granny Sha replied without hesitation, "Of course, I’ll save you. You risked your life to steal the Sheep Horn Heavenly Spirit Lamp from the River of Oblivion, even if it costs me my life, I wouldn’t hesitate!"
Chen Shi said with a smile, "Then why does Granny hesitate? Just accept the book."
"Accepting it means that I’ve fallen for Old Chen’s tricks... Well, I’ll take it, what’s there to fuss over with a deceased?"
Granny Sha calmly accepted the Water and Fire Refining Technique and said with a smile, "You’ve been looking well recently, not as thin as a few days ago. You should eat more, you’re at the age of growing. If you don’t have enough money at home, come to me. Although I’m not very capable, I can still feed you and fatten you up."
Chen Shi replied, "I’m preparing for the Scholar exam, I’ve been studying for it these days..."
Granny Sha was about to speak when suddenly the Black Pot started barking loudly in the yard, its barks growing louder and louder.
Chen Shi felt something inside him stir and said, "Black Pot says something’s happened! It’s so scared it’s stuttering, this must be no small matter!"
He hurried out, followed by Granny Sha, who exclaimed in surprise, "You can even understand the stutter in a dog’s bark? Teach me that skill!"
When they got to the yard, they saw Black Pot barking non-stop at the sky.
They looked up and saw two suns in the sky, but in front of the suns, a small crescent moon had somehow appeared.
The moon was out in the daylight!
Chen Shi and Granny Sha were stunned.
Since ancient times, the sun and moon had always had their defined roles: the sun appears during the day, and the moon at night.
When the bright moon rises, it’s time for evil spirits to be active.
And now, the moon had appeared during the day!
Moonlight was feeble, especially with the sun out, it was barely felt.
But the moonlight was real, invisibly mingled with the sunshine, affecting the world.
"Grandpa always said that evil spirits are influenced by the moon, so now that the moon has come out, where are the evil spirits?"
Chen Shi’s heart was pounding, "Will evil spirits appear during the day?"
Granny Sha’s face changed dramatically, and she stamped her foot, "Something big has happened, something really big! The moon appearing during the day, has the Outer Heaven True God also gone mad?"
High up on the mountains, Great Snake Xuan Shan coiled around the peaks, its gaze profound and far-reaching, watching the changing events of the world around Qianyang Mountain.
The Outer Heaven True God is the deity of the West Bull New Continent, unchanging and steadfast.
Great Snake Xuan Shan was like a god to Qianyang Mountain.
He aspired to the state of mind of the Outer Heaven True God, and once his path was established, like the Outer Heaven True God, he watched over the mortal realm near Qianyang Mountain, experiencing the changes of the world, understanding the joys and sorrows of humanity, and his path was further elevated through such trials.
Today, he was somewhat distracted.
He originally learned from the Outer Heaven True God, forging an unchanging state of mind, observing the changing world dispassionately, but two months ago, the night fell a quarter hour early.
He thought it was just a minor error by the True God, or that the changes of the True God were extremely slow, happening once every few million or even tens of millions of years, so he didn’t take it to heart.
The fluctuation in his path from that change led him to eat a grilled Feng Xi leg that Chen Shi had offered.
And unexpectedly, in the clear daylight, the moon also opened its eyes early!
One time could be overlooked, he could still say the True God’s changes were exceedingly slow, but to change twice in just over a month!
Great Snake Xuan Shan’s eyes twitched, and his usually steady state of mind rippled.
Even demon transformations that killed so many, putting hundreds of miles around, even Qianyang Mountain, at risk of destruction, couldn’t disturb his state of mind.
Now, his inner tranquility was like being blown by a growing wind, becoming more and more agitated.
It made him restless, anxious.
"Could it be that something has happened to the True God?" he thought.
The appearance of a crescent moon during the day may be a minor slip for the unchanging Outer Heaven True God, but for the countless beings of the West Bull New Continent, it was a major anomaly!
This anomaly would sweep over everyone, affect everyone, leaving no one unaffected!
At the onset of the anomaly, there was peace and harmony, and for the majority of people, life continued as usual. Only the burning incense in front of village hags grew more prosperous.
Wisps of incense rose everywhere, as people prayed for safety and good weather.
Taking advantage of the Moon Festival, Chen Shi set out like his grandfather had, driving a wooden cart to sell Peach Talismans and Exorcism Talismans in various villages.
Now, at the beginning of the anomaly, even common folk felt something was amiss, so Chen Shi’s talismans sold well. As soon as he set up his stall, the finished talismans were snatched up.
Chen Shi bought a lot of Spiritual Beast Meat for Black Pot to enjoy, then let Black Pot bleed to draw more talismans.
"It’s a good thing it’s only a crescent; the moon hasn’t fully opened its eyes. If it had, I fear evil spirits would roam in the daylight," he thought to himself.
These days, he had heard some rumors of daytime disturbances by evil spirits, quite strange indeed. So when he went out, even during the day, he would hang Peach Talismans and Exorcism Talismans on the cart.
Fortunately, he hadn’t encountered any evil spirits.
"Talisman Master Chen, Talisman Master Chen!"
Someone rushed to his talisman stall, a woman about forty years old, with a sturdy figure dressed in coarse clothes suitable for farm work, an apron tied around her front stained with some flour as if she had been kneading dough, she pleaded desperately, "Talisman Master Chen, my man was working in the fields and suddenly became possessed! Talisman Master Chen, save him!"