"It’s utterly shocking; if this news is true, a major event is bound to happen!" Zhang Chen’s voice was filled with horror.
Zhou Qiucheng is an Eleventh Tier expert. If possessed by the Great Freedom Celestial Demon, what kind of power could he wield? How many could he possess?
The entire world and countless experts would suffer, following him into bad luck!
The most crucial point is the many assumptions proposed by the Great Freedom Celestial Demon seem highly possible.
"This is terrifying!" Zhang Chen shuddered silently in his heart, then asked the Great Freedom Celestial Demon, "How likely do you think this situation is?"
"You should know how likely this is better than I do. From the disappearance of the poison of all beings to Zhou Qiucheng’s recent behavior, how likely do you think it is? With Zhou Qiucheng’s usual iron-faced impartiality, how could he act so contrary to his nature?" The Great Freedom Celestial Demon pointed out the flaw.
Zhang Chen fell silent upon hearing this, and after a long time, he said helplessly, "Is there any way to salvage this?"
"You can use the means to control me, to restrain that bastard, then I can devour him, and everything will return to normal." The Great Freedom Celestial Demon replied.
Upon hearing this, Zhang Chen shook his head, "This is difficult! Unless his true form appears and I see it with my own eyes, I fear I won’t be able to balance him."
That part of the Great Freedom Celestial Demon is sealed in the depths beneath the Exquisite Tower, and Zhang Chen cannot see its traces, so how can he activate skills to mark it?
"Unless Zhou Qiucheng actively releases the Great Freedom Celestial Demon or tears the seal of the Exquisite Tower, I cannot balance your remnant body." Zhang Chen replied.
"Things have come to this point; we can only wait silently for the opportunity." The Great Freedom Celestial Demon said helplessly.
Zhang Chen wanted to act, but he had no chance.
Days seemed to quiet down, and ever since that wedding day, Zhang Chen indeed never went to Chongzheng Academy again.
However, the matter of Chen Sanliang traveling to Jinling City for a discussion had to be continuously postponed. As for why it was delayed?
Because Chen Sanliang suffered an assassination attempt, reportedly requiring recuperation due to injuries.
When Zhang Chen heard this news, a month had already passed.
In Zhang Chen’s courtyard, his ears lightly trembled, listening to all useful information within ten miles, and shortly, news of Chen Sanliang being attacked was transmitted to Zhang Chen’s mind.
"Dukes and the Confucian Daoist Lineage across Jiangnan certainly won’t sit idly by; even with Chen Sanliang reaching the Eleventh Tier, he still suffered heavy blows, indicating the intense nature of the assassination at that time." Zhang Chen’s heart was somewhat shocked.
As Zhang Chen’s mind whirled with a thousand thoughts, a conversation reached his ears:
"I heard there were eighteen Ninth Tier Divine Spirits and seven Tenth Tier Divine Spirits involved in this siege of Chen Sanliang, and even mysterious forbidden artifacts appeared. Those Tenth Tier experts relied on forbidden artifacts to heavily wound Chen Sanliang."
"Unfortunately, even deploying forbidden artifacts couldn’t slay Chen Sanliang, only causing serious injury." Someone else said.
"Had Hu Li the Immortal not intervened timely, the fate of Chen Sanliang would have been uncertain. After entering the Twelfth Tier, Hu Li the Immortal’s entire body transformed into a Geng Metal Physique, making him utterly impenetrable by water and fire and impervious to disasters. Even those mysterious forbidden artifacts were smashed by Hu Li the Immortal with a single punch." Someone expressed admiration.
Seated in the courtyard, Zhang Chen’s face showed a puzzled expression upon hearing the words ’forbidden artifact’: "Forbidden artifact? What kind of thing is that?"
Despite his long exposure to the mysterious, he hadn’t heard of the term ’forbidden artifact.’
Unfortunately, those two did not continue discussing forbidden artifacts, turning instead to matters of transferring family assets ahead of time to the imperial capital.
"What is a forbidden artifact? It seems to be a remarkable thing? The depth of this world’s waters is vast." Zhang Chen secretly felt alarmed, believing that staying prudent after acquiring an Eleventh Tier skill was correct. If he rashly stood out, he might be backstabbed without even knowing how he died.
"I’d better continue refining the God-Beating Whip. Refining it gives me an additional measure of security. However, I also wonder how Chen Sanliang is doing now. It’s a pity I don’t know his whereabouts; even if I wanted to help, there’s no time." Zhang Chen sighed inwardly, continuing his journey in the Spiritual World.
After over a month of travel, Zhang Chen was infinitely close to the world’s center pillar.
Zhang Chen calmed his mind and continued to cultivate quietly, and three days later, Zhang Chen’s Primordial Spirit used an escape technique to arrive before the center pillar of the Spiritual World in the Fourth Heaven.
From afar, gazing at the Heaven-Supporting Pillar, Zhang Chen’s eyes revealed a sense of appreciation: "It’s not easy!"
The Qi of Innate Geng Metal on the Buzhou Mountain pillar was more intense than at the foot, but fortunately, Zhang Chen had the Sun True Flame for protection and was not afraid of the chaotic Qi of Innate Geng Metal.
Zhang Chen traveled all the way to the Heaven-Supporting Pillar, feeling the divine power flowing upon it.
[Discovered a piece of Divine Power, do you want to pick it up?]
The Golden Finger interface popped up with guidance information.
Zhang Chen didn’t act rashly. He wasn’t a fool; the divine power on the Sky-piercing Pillar suppressed the source of the Qi of Geng Metal. If he recklessly took the divine power away, the world pillar might suffer damage from the Qi of Geng Metal, or even be severed completely, causing the entire Fourth Heaven to collapse.
"Where did you say the source of the Qi of Geng Metal is?" Zhang Chen asked.
The Great Freedom Celestial Demon pointed to the distant ocean of Geng Metal storms: "It’s deep within that world."
Hearing this, Zhang Chen nodded and then flickered, using the escape technique to continue toward the peak of the Heaven-Supporting Pillar. But he hadn’t flown more than a hundred miles when Zhang Chen suddenly fell out of the state of the Gold Escape Technique.
"How strange! In theory, my mastery of the Gold Escape Technique allows me to fly through anything related to the gold attribute, but it seems that the Qi of Geng Metal here is endowed with some unique quality that forces my escape technique out," Zhang Chen’s eyes revealed disbelief.
"Does the Qi of Geng Metal actually have its own consciousness? Could it be a Divine Technique cast by a cultivator?" Zhang Chen’s eyes showed a hint of curiosity.
However, Zhang Chen was already quite close to the source of the Qi of Geng Metal, so even without using the escape technique, he moved swiftly on foot.
After all, he was now in the Primordial Spirit state, his cultivation was elusive, and with the protection of the Sun True Flame, he encountered no obstacles in his path.
The Qi of Geng Metal in the air, although powerful, was merely average for Zhang Chen. His Sun True Flame was too strong; even the sharp Qi of Geng Metal couldn’t pierce the firewall formed by the Sun True Flame.
"How can the Qi of Geng Metal here have a consciousness of its own?" Zhang Chen asked aloud, looking puzzled.
"You’ll know the truth when you reach the source of the Qi of Geng Metal," replied the Great Freedom Celestial Demon with a mysterious tone.
Zhang Chen glanced at the Great Freedom Celestial Demon and continued on his way without further words.
Finally, after seven more days, Zhang Chen stopped in his tracks as he saw the source of the Qi of Geng Metal from a distance.
"Is that...?" Zhang Chen’s eyes expressed disbelief when he saw the source of the Qi of Geng Metal.
It was a giant chasm, ten miles long and about a mile wide.
The overwhelming Qi of Geng Metal emerged from the chasm, sweeping across the sky, spreading throughout the entire Fourth Heaven.
Full of curiosity, Zhang Chen quickly approached the chasm, and with just one glance, he saw the bottom of the Qi of Geng Metal—the chasm was only about two hundred meters deep.
The Qi of Geng Metal wasn’t emanating from the bottom of the chasm, but rather from the walls of the chasm.
"With the Qi of Geng Metal emerging here, could there be some treasure related to the Innate Geng Metal hidden below?" Zhang Chen pondered curiously, thinking such a possibility was quite likely.
But after surveying the entire shape of the chasm, he was stunned because the unique form of the chasm was astonishing.
"Why does this chasm look like it was scratched by a fingernail?" Zhang Chen muttered to himself after standing in front of the chasm for a moment.
"Good eye! You’re right, this chasm was inadvertently scratched by a Divine Spirit wielding the Innate Geng Metal laws in a battle with a powerful existence," explained the Great Freedom Celestial Demon. "That existence was so great that even the scratches it left behind inadvertently were imbued with the Innate Geng Metal laws, continuously emitting the Qi of Geng Metal, destroying all vitality within the Fourth Heaven."
"What???" Upon hearing this, Zhang Chen was stunned, his eyes filled with disbelief.
Just a scratch left on the ground by the other party could imprint the laws of heaven and earth, and for countless millennia thereafter, Innate Geng Metal Qi continuously erupted, destroying the entire world?
Was the destruction of all vitality in the Fourth Heaven of the Spiritual World caused by just a scratch?
Zhang Chen found it hard to believe—how powerful must the other party be to possess such incredible strength and methods?
"Incredible!" Zhang Chen replied, then came back to his senses and said, "Didn’t you say there were great benefits here? Some grand treasures? And this is it?"
"This is a trace left by a supreme existence, and it contains powerful laws of heaven and earth. If you can comprehend anything from it, it could benefit you for life—isn’t that a great benefit?" The Great Freedom Celestial Demon retorted to Zhang Chen.
This question dumbfounded Zhang Chen as he stared blankly at the massive pit, momentarily lost in thought.
He tried to mobilize the power of his Primordial Spirit to sense the law aura within the pit, but after a while, he couldn’t grasp even a single wisp.