"Zhang Chen, we are of the same lineage, we both share the same ancestor, the same blood flows through our veins, you can’t just abandon me!" Zhang Xiaohua wailed in the passage, pleading for mercy, hoping to move Zhang Chen’s heart.
Zhang Chen glanced coldly at the struggling and wailing Zhang Xiaohua, his eyes showing a hint of cruelty. Hearing Hu Li the Immortal’s inquiry beside him, Zhang Chen didn’t answer directly but sighed, "It’s a pity I don’t have the means to control the Divine Soul, otherwise I could have subdued Zhang Xiaohua, and in the future I’d have one more helper."
His Six-Word Mantra can only control beings whose cultivation is lower than his realm, and once controlled, they remain under his control indefinitely, regardless of how much they improve their cultivation later.
As for Zhang Xiaohua, she’s already stepped into the Eleventh Tier, the gap in cultivation with Zhang Chen is too large; wanting to control her, the Six-Word True Mantra Seal loses its effect.
Hu Li the Immortal scrutinized Zhang Chen, recalling his own soul being controlled by him, and secretly cursed, "Damn it, I was so unlucky to encounter this scoundrel, and coincidentally ran into him when cast back into reincarnation, getting controlled by him."
Though Hu Li the Immortal cursed inwardly, his face showed no sign of it. "Wanting to control a Great Cultivator is almost as hard as ascending the heavens."
Hu Li the Immortal has no means to control a Great Cultivator either.
Locked inside the Crystal Stone, Zhang Xiaohua’s Divine Power grew increasingly sparse, starting to run into deficit, with blood-stained flesh bitten off, some parts of her body already exposing ghastly white bones.
"Zhang Xiaohua, you’d better obediently wait for your death! Back in the Northern Land, neither you nor your father ever thought of sparing my life!" Zhang Chen stood outside the passage, looking at Zhang Xiaohua with a face full of mockery, his eyes showing scorn.
"Zhang Chen! Are you truly unwilling to spare me? I have already apprenticed under the Great Virtuous Master, my father Prince Pingbian commands an army of millions, with countless experts under his lead. Once you kill me, Prince Pingbian’s Mansion will ensure you never find peace!" Zhang Xiaohua’s voice grew increasingly mournful and desperate upon hearing Zhang Chen’s cold and ruthless words.
"A fight to the death? I’ve long been engaged in a fight to the death with Prince Pingbian’s Mansion!" Zhang Chen looked at Zhang Xiaohua’s corpse, his eyes showing a hint of regret. If he could devour Zhang Xiaohua’s body, she’d be an Eleventh Tier expert’s body, it surely could bring him numerous points. Alas, Zhang Xiaohua’s cultivation was too powerful; Zhang Chen feared her deeply, he dared not leave himself a chance for cheap gain, in case she exploded or had means to resurrect.
If given a chance for Zhang Xiaohua to turn the tables, it’d be him who’d be doomed.
"If not for heaven’s timing, geographical convenience, and harmony among people, today it’s truly hard to kill him. An Eleventh Tier expert, if intent on escaping, even a Twelfth Tier expert can potentially fail." Hu Li the Immortal looked at the continuously swirling Zhang Xiaohua, his eyes showing a thoughtful expression.
An Eleventh Tier expert, invincible when roaming the heavens and earth, how difficult it is to capture? Zhang Chen nodded in agreement, acknowledging the viewpoint that if he hadn’t devised a plan to lure Zhang Xiaohua into despair, it’s truly hard to kill her.
Amid Zhang Xiaohua’s desperate roar and mournful curse, her voice gradually ceased, ultimately swallowed by the Water Bear, leaving not even a trace of bones.
"An Eleventh Tier expert, dead just like that..." Tushan Qing sighed vaguely.
"Don’t worry about him, let’s quickly find a way out! Now the entire grave is wrapped in an array, finding an exit won’t be easy." As Zhang Chen spoke, he reopened the passage and then, invoking the Ice Hell within his heart, all Water Bears froze in place before Zhang Chen encapsulated them with the Celestial Measuring Ruler, sending them into his Ice Hell.
"I say, Zhang Chen, this creature is immensely dangerous, you must diligently guard it, for if they escape, it will certainly bring about great trouble." Hu Li the Immortal said a bit nervously as he looked at the frozen Water Bears.
"I’m well aware of their significance!" Zhang Chen replied.
He knows the ferocity of the Water Bears too; if it weren’t for the Celestial Measuring Ruler and the Ice Hell, he’d also dare not tackle the Water Bears, using them to kill enemies.
The uncertainty of Water Bears is high; using them to slay enemies requires first devising a scheme to trap the opponent. Once the opponent is trapped, Zhang Chen confidently claimed even a Twelfth Tier expert could be slain.
"This sacrificial altar is a marvelous thing; pity it’s immovable. If it’s used to forge weapons or create Magical Treasures, it’s certainly a good material." Tushan Qing’s eyes revealed a hint of intensity as he looked at the altar.
"This thing is refined by the Innate Water God, naturally a good item no doubt, yet it’s as heavy as a mountain, wanting to transport it likely requires beyond the Twelfth Tier’s strength." Zhang Chen replied.
Then Zhang Chen transformed the Weak Water into an Ice Ship, and the three wandered on the Weak Water, inspecting the entire array, seeking a path to exit.
"Ancestor, do you have a solution?" Zhang Chen turned to Hu Li the Immortal; he himself didn’t understand arrays and couldn’t find a way out.
This array is of extremely high level; Zhang Chen couldn’t perceive the array’s flaws, thus the Celestial Measuring Ruler cannot be utilized.
Hu Li the Immortal shrugged his shoulders: "Although I can’t see a way out of this grand formation, I am still an Eleventh Tier powerhouse now, and I can choose to forcibly strike and shake the array."
Then Hu Li the Immortal said to Zhang Chen: "You need to create a vast continent on the Weak Water for me, giving me the chance to strike! There is no land in sight at all directions here, and I cannot deploy my Dharma Image Divine Techniques."
Upon hearing this, Zhang Chen activated his Authority of Water Element and the Origin Cold Qi he had obtained from the Ice Hell. He pointed at the vast Weak Water, and in the next moment, the Weak Water within a kilometer radius was instantaneously frozen, turning into a gigantic ice block, completely frozen from top to bottom.
"Is this kilometer of ice enough?" Zhang Chen asked.
"Barely satisfactory!" Hu Li the Immortal stepped out, crossing from the Ice Ship onto the ice block. In the next moment, he walked toward the center of the ice block, and with each step, his form rapidly expanded to three meters tall. By the time he reached the center, he had transformed into a giant towering ten thousand meters in height.
His eyes were the size of trucks, his breath turned into wind and his exhalation like rain, his breathing sounded like rolling thunder, echoing through the space within the array.
His skin displayed a platinum hue, and his entire being seemed sculpted from metal.
Compared to his towering form, the kilometer of icy land indeed seemed small; the giant had to keep his legs tightly closed to barely stand.
Suddenly, the giant punched with his white-gold shimmering fist toward the barrier at the top of the array.
’Boom~’
With his punch, the entire underground space lightly trembled, and countless clouds rapidly emerged within the energy barrier above the array. The clouds descended toward the ground, freezing everything visible in their path.
Rapidly, ice formed on Hu Li the Immortal’s head, spreading toward his body, threatening to seal him. Alarmed, Hu Li the Immortal quickly shrank back into a child-like form, his eyes turned to Zhang Chen to speak, but the frost residue on his head spread and instantly froze him into a statue.
"What kind of cold Qi is this? It froze the ancestor in an instant?" Tushan Qing looked at the frozen Hu Li the Immortal, disbelief filling his eyes.
"Such powerful cold Qi, simply outrageous." Zhang Chen looked at the ice-sealed Hu Li the Immortal. Though this cold Qi wasn’t as strong as the huge hand he encountered in the Spiritual World, it was still unprecedentedly powerful, exceeding even the Twelfth Tier, so Hu Li the Immortal was instantly frozen upon contact with this cold Qi.
"The level of this formation is extremely high, at least beyond the Twelfth Tier, leaving Hu Li the Immortal completely defenseless." Zhang Chen extended his hand, placing it on Hu Li the Immortal. The cold Qi rushed into Zhang Chen’s body like tidewater, absorbed by the ’snowflake’ in his soul.
Hu Li the Immortal shivered awake from the ice seal, countless water droplets cascaded off him, dampening the icy ground.
"Such terrifying power, I nearly got into trouble! Zhang Chen, that fog is coming down, let’s hurry and escape!" Hu Li the Immortal looked up at the beautiful, pure cloud descending from the sky, which nonetheless contained a power that freezes everything.
"No need to flee; I naturally have a way to restrain this cold Qi," Zhang Chen replied.
"Where is this cold Qi coming from?" Tushan Qing asked.
"Hu Li the Immortal attacked the formation, triggering its self-defense mechanism, and this cold Qi is part of the formation’s protective force." Zhang Chen gazed at the descending clouds, now within the control range of his Authority of Water Element. Zhang Chen directly manipulated the Authority of Water Element, wielding the Weak Water Power, and the fog could not withstand the Weak Water’s power, sinking into it without causing any ripples.
Zhang Chen was able to freeze the Weak Water not through his Authority of Water Element, as it lacked such ability, but relying instead on the Power of Extreme Cold he picked up in the Spiritual World.
"Forcefully breaking the formation would trigger its deadly power to descend." Zhang Chen stood on the ice, observing the relentless cold Qi pouring down from the void, turning the entire formation world into one filled with pervasive cold Qi.
"Without attacking from inside the formation, how can we escape?" Hu Li the Immortal asked.
"We just need to find the array’s eye and suppress it, then the operation rules of the array will show a flaw, giving us a chance to break through and escape," Zhang Chen replied.
"But do you know formations? How can we find the array’s eye?" Hu Li the Immortal asked.
Zhang Chen remained silent at this, as he indeed didn’t know formations, but he was prepared.
Don’t forget, he has the Water Drop Technique, allowing him to leave a drop of water at a location and instantly teleport there if it’s within a kilometer range.