Bai Cang infiltrating Prince Pingbian’s Mansion was to absorb Prince Pingbian’s Dragon Qi. Now that Prince Pingbian’s Mansion’s Dragon Qi has been mostly absorbed by him, his cultivation has significantly progressed, with the emergence of the eighth tail. As he pondered how to further elevate his standing, he didn’t expect Prince Pingbian would willingly place the opportunity right before him.
If he were sent to Kyoto now, with the cultivation of eight tails, as long as he can collect the Great Victory Dynasty’s Dragon Qi, he could then break through to nine tails, and even evolve to Ancestor Level.
"Prince, are you truly so ruthless as to send me away?" Bai Cang shed tears upon hearing this, presenting the image of a weeping beauty.
"I cannot bear it, but the Northern Land lacks an heir, ruin is inevitable, and I am also seeking a path for your future. I have sensed that my body grows weaker each day, and you must make early plans." Prince Pingbian rose, enveloping Zhang Xiaolan in his embrace, his voice full of lament:
"I have decided to use the trump cards of the Northern Land to persuade the Zhang Family in Kyoto to send someone to inherit, and the price is to kill Zhang Chen to accompany my son into the grave. If the Zhang Family refuses, I can only turn to the Human King, and you are my grandest scheme."
"Pack your things, I’ll send you on your way tomorrow." Prince Pingbian’s words were domineering and incontestable.
Chongzheng Academy
Zhang Chen sat all night in his room, never expecting such a distressing encounter, but fortunately, he still had time to maneuver.
"From the Northern Land to Kyoto, at the usual pace, it’ll require at least three years. I still have time to develop; as long as I step into the Twelfth Tier, or break through to the ’fruit’ realm beyond the Twelfth Tier, who then could stand against me?" Zhang Chen gradually calmed his mind, what he lacked was development time, and the countless oddities sealed within the Exquisite Tower were his opportunity for growth.
"Brother, did you not sleep last night?" From his couch, Zhang Fei opened his eyes, looking at Zhang Chen practicing calligraphy at the desk, curiosity glimmering in his gaze.
"I simply woke up early." Zhang Chen patted Zhang Fei’s little head: "Hurry on to your studies. Remember, youth who neglect to study early, regret late diligence in old age."
Zhang Chen urged Zhang Fei a bit, then after breakfast, instead of heading to the Exquisite Tower, he went to the back mountain seeking a place for alchemy.
The Eight-Treasure Heart-lock Pill is an unparalleled Divine Medicine, and Zhang Chen naturally devised every means to refine it. Previously lacking True Flame, he’d resorted to ordinary mundane fire, failing countless times in crafting the Eight-Treasure Heart-lock Pill, but now mastering the Sun True Flame, he could indeed utilize it for alchemy.
Zhang Chen wandered throughout the back mountain, eventually arriving under a millennium-old pine tree; as his mind triggered the Authority of Wood Element, the tree branches immediately multiplied several tens of times, forming a massive canopy, shielding against all falling rain.
"The summit here offers an extraordinary view, perfect for refining elixirs." Zhang Chen brought out the Alchemy Furnace, transforming it into regular Alchemy Furnace size, and after scrutinizing the entire Alchemy Furnace, with a tinge of hesitation, he dropped a Sun True Flame inside.
The single Sun True Flame was indeed merely a small flame, akin to a candle’s flicker, yet in an instant, the innate restrictions within the Alchemy Furnace began swirling, drawing in the flame, causing the entire Alchemy Furnace to erupt in horrific heat, distorting the void.
"The Sun True Flame is too domineering." Zhang Chen felt even the smallest flame possessed excessive power and began controlling the flame to restrain its might.
Thankfully, the Alchemy Furnace’s self-imposed restrictions confined the Sun True Flame’s power within, preventing unimaginable events at the furnace’s presence.
Once the flame’s size adjusted suitably, Zhang Chen placed various Spirit Medicine he’d prepared, investing them into the Alchemy Furnace sequentially, commencing the crafting of different herbal materials.
Alchemy isn’t a hasty affair, but a meticulous work requiring continuous honing of Civil and Martial Fire.
One day
Two days
A full three days passed, and on the third day, a peculiar fragrance arose from within the Alchemy Furnace, seeping into Zhang Chen’s nose and awakening him from meditation; he quickly glanced at the Alchemy Furnace, promptly activating his Authority of Water Element to form an enclosed light shield, wrapping the Alchemy Furnace to prevent any fragrance from escaping and stirring trouble.
"Considering the elixir, it should require another two or three days to complete, today should also coincide with the Yellow Heaven Dao’s Divine Enthronement day within Jinling City, right?" Zhang Chen inferred internally.
As varied thoughts traversed his mind, suddenly distant thunder rumbled, a torrential Qi Mechanism approached from the south of Jinling City, cladding myriad thunder as it pressed towards Jinling City.
"That’s the aura of the Innate Water God!" Zhang Chen saw the thunderclouds traveling in the distant clouds, his eyes full of caution: "Judging by the Qi mechanism, it is already at the peak of the Eleventh Tier, just a step away from the Twelfth Tier. This being is probably just a Zhang Family’s direct lineage away from the Twelfth Tier. In other words, as long as another Shen Qiu dies, or another Shen Ling, the opponent might instantly make it past that critical threshold. I’m afraid that by then, not even a Great Virtuous Master descending could subdue it."
But the Eleventh Tier is still the Eleventh Tier, even if it is only a step away from the Twelfth Tier, it remains the Eleventh Tier.
As long as the opponent’s cultivation hasn’t reached the Twelfth Tier, Jinling City has ways to cope, and the opponent cannot break through the suppressive power of the Exquisite Tower.
As the Thunder Dragon roamed in the void, continually stirring up the power of thunder, in an instant, the cloud layers a hundred miles south of Jinling City were dyed into a world of electric light, transforming into an overturning sea of thunder, pouring down toward Jinling City with ferocious momentum.
Imagine, as you look at the black clouds in the rainy sky, that all the black clouds turn into flowing thunder slurry, as if a celestial river is reversing to pour down upon the human world, what a terrifying scene is that?
"Even a Twelfth Tier god surely couldn’t withstand this!" Zhang Chen looked at the sea of lightning in the sky, with a hint of horror in his eyes.
At this moment, even though he had refined the Eleventh Tier Sun True Flame and had Innate Spiritual Treasure for protection, he couldn’t help but feel fear rising in his heart.
The Sun True Flame excels in offense but is not adept in defense; if he were caught in it, death would be the only outcome.
"What means does the Yellow Heaven Dao have to deal with the Innate Water God?" Zhang Chen sat on the mountain peak, swallowing hard at the extinction scene in the distance, "The Innate Water God wields the Innate Authority, and cannot be measured by normal realms. Whose Eleventh Tier bears such might?"
Though Zhang Chen masters the Eleventh Tier Sun True Flame, he was sure he could never produce such a grand scene.
"The Innate Water God is an Eleventh Tier cultivator, but combined with its Innate Authority, it probably possesses the power of the Twelfth Tier, worthy of being called a quasi-Twelfth Tier. It’s like a top expert of the Five Great Families at the Tenth Tier without having forged a Divine Body..." Zhang Chen thought with consternation.
Amid his awe-struck heart, suddenly Chongzheng Academy shook violently, and the Exquisite Tower split in two, with one part transforming into light and shadow, rising into the sky, dropping outside Jinling City, standing in the way of the approaching sea of lightning.
The Exquisite Tower landed on the ground, immediately rooting itself deep into the earth, then the entire tower grew with the wind, reaching into the clouds, becoming a monumental presence.
Nameless Dao rhythm flowed from within the Exquisite Tower, permeating Heaven and Earth, a majestic suppressive force collided with the surging sea of thunder, this suppressive force turned into a dam, blocking the overwhelming sea of thunder from afar.
"Damn human ants, how dare you block my way?" The thunder in Heaven and Earth twisted, forming Shen Liang’s face, looking down on Zhou Qiucheng atop the Exquisite Tower.
Zhou Qiucheng, clad in white, stood quietly atop the Exquisite Tower, his gaze calm: "Every injustice has its perpetrator. I won’t stop you from seeking revenge, but your intention to destroy the entire Jinling City, I cannot agree! You are an Innate Spirit, born with the Authority of Heaven and Earth, possessing unparalleled strength among all beings; you should comply with destiny rather than committing such acts of chaos and hurting the innocent!"
"You ant, dare to speak of destiny with me? You plot to seize my Authority of Water Element, and the ants of Jinling City aid you in your wickedness, providing Power of Faith, where is there any innocence? I hold the Authority of Heaven and Earth, master the great trend of the world, I am the will of Heaven!" The giant face opened its mouth, and in the next moment, an overwhelming barrage of thunder spears rained towards the Exquisite Tower.
Inside Jinling City, countless citizens huddled in their homes, trembling with fear, continuously kneeling in prayer.
At the center of Jinling City, on a prepared altar by the Yellow Heaven Dao, Gu Mingyue ascended with a fervent gaze: ’Zhang Xiaohua’s Authority of the Water Virtue Star Monarch has not yet dissipated. I now conduct the God Sealing Ceremony, not only hoping to become a Natural Water God but also aspire to achieve the Fruit Position of Water Virtue Star Monarch; by then, I may not be inferior to the Innate Water God.’
As they ascended the altar, they looked at the thousands of practitioners below, speaking solemnly: "Zhou Qiucheng, that old man, has already intercepted the Innate Water God, but he will not hold out for long; let’s hurry with the God Sealing Ceremony."
"Now I declare, the God Sealing Ceremony begins, please present the Great Virtuous Master’s Talisman Decree," Gu Mingyue proclaimed loudly.
Atop the Chongzheng Academy
Zhang Chen sat beneath a millennium-old tree, looking at the distant confrontation between the Innate Water God and Zhou Qiucheng, and the stirring Qi mechanism below in Jinling City, feeling a restless impulse: "If I act now, destroying the God Sealing Ceremony..."
"By then, the entire Jinling City will be slaughtered by the Innate Water God; in weighing the two evils, it is better to choose the lesser one, so this matter should be left alone." Zhang Chen gazed at the distant sea of thunder, its might far surpassing the Eleventh Tier. Zhou Qiucheng fears he cannot hold out for much longer; the only way to save Jinling City now is to seize the Innate Water God’s Authority, hence reining it back to the power an ordinary Eleventh Tier should have.
"The Yellow Heaven Dao seizing the Innate Water God’s Authority will certainly draw the Innate Water God’s attention, acting as a shield for me," Zhang Chen silently mused.