Zhang Chen held the emerald green strip of cloth in his hand, his eyes filled with disbelief: "The Princess battled with someone, and it seems she was injured?"
What kind of cultivation does the Princess have? Zhang Chen had never fully understood the depth of the Princess’s abilities, but her cultivation definitely surpasses the Twelfth Tier. Even the likes of the Great Virtuous Master, Hu Li the Immortal, who stepped into the Twelfth Tier, have not touched the mysterious Spiritual World. Yet, the Princess not only touched upon the Mysterious World but also tore it apart, ascending bodily into the Spiritual World. How incredible is that?
But now in the Fifth Heaven, the Princess had a sleeve cut off by someone, how could this be?
"There is an incredible power in the Fifth Heaven, capable of exchanging blows with the Princess, but what is the origin of this power, was it killed by the Princess?" Zhang Chen wondered, holding the torn cloth while gazing over the vast earth, which was filled with countless crystalline white bones shining with divine light as if the whole world was filled with them.
"Why are there so many white bones in the Fifth Heaven, and why have so many masters died or suffered injuries?" At this moment, Zhang Chen felt a chilling sense of foreboding, suspecting that great horror lay dormant within the Fifth Heaven.
The Great Freedom Celestial Demon emerged from the void, surveying the world before him silently for quite a while before speaking: "Look at those white bones; it seems as if Essence, Qi, and Spirit are being extracted from them and gathering toward the center of this world. It seems that there is an ancient terror secretly orchestrating the extraction of Essence Qi from white bones to nourish itself."
Upon hearing the words of the Great Freedom Celestial Demon, Zhang Chen suddenly thought of the Innate Water God, who extracted and adjusted the souls and bloodlines of the Shen Family to nourish himself.
"Could there be a Demon God hidden in the Fifth Heaven of the Spiritual World?" Zhang Chen asked tentatively, his voice tinged with caution.
"It is quite possible!" the Great Freedom Celestial Demon replied: "That old guy might be avoiding a great calamity by turning the entire world into a massive tomb to bury himself, prolonging his time before his demise. Perhaps, when the Princess arrived in the Fifth Heaven, she inadvertently disturbed that ancient existence, triggering a confrontation, and resulting in two possible outcomes: first, the Princess was unable to overcome and had to ascend; second, the Princess killed the other and then ascended."
After hearing the analysis of the Great Freedom Celestial Demon, Zhang Chen’s eyes revealed a hint of anticipation, as either result meant a great opportunity and Great Creation for him.
Do you wonder why?
If it’s the second scenario, with the Princess having killed the opponent, the opponent’s lair must be hiding a Great Creation along with a lot of experience, which would be a fat opportunity for him.
The first scenario, where the opponent’s strength is so formidable, means their body contains immeasurable Creation. If he can claim it, or perhaps use Soul Hooking and Soul Stealing to anchor it for himself, he would become prosperous if successful.
"Kid, I advise you not to entertain such thoughts; let’s run far away, really far away, and be sure not to get close, lest something goes wrong and we both eat dirt. The whole Fifth Heaven of the Spiritual World is already set up by the opponent, although the Princess is strong, to defeat the opponent in their lair seems unrealistic. I suspect the old guy in the tomb is still alive, so let’s hasten our departure," the Great Freedom Celestial Demon cautioned.
Upon hearing this, Zhang Chen furrowed his brow. While he acknowledged the reason in their advice, the danger also meant Great Creation for him.
The most crucial point was that the Sun True Flame provided him with the greatest backing.
What kind of power is the Sun True Flame? It’s the legendary flame of Eastern Emperor Taiyi, said to be as hot as the Sun itself.
Of course, Zhang Chen’s Sun True Flame is still very weak, unable to exhibit such world-burning and sea-cooking effects.
It’s akin to a piece of red-hot iron that is indeed very hot but, when plunged into seawater, doesn’t evaporate the sea.
The origin level of Sun True Flame is extremely high; Zhang Chen’s only flaw is that he has too little of the Sun True Flame.
However, using the Sun True Flame to protect himself is sufficient for Zhang Chen, who feels that he can take a walk in the Fifth Heaven of the Spiritual World and explore it.
After some deliberation, Zhang Chen decided to take a look as not doing so would leave him uncomfortable, feeling as if he missed a chance to gather treasures.
Never mind that old relic; if he manages to seize the chance, his Soul Mark isn’t something to be underestimated.
Thus, Zhang Chen deployed his Escape Technique, heading towards the direction of the tomb. However, it seems the location of the construction of this tomb was chosen to avoid being affected by the Divine Power of the Heaven-Supporting Pillar, hence it was built a great distance away from there. Even though Zhang Chen uses Escape Technique, reaching the place will take ten or fifteen days.
Morning
Zhang Chen awoke from meditation, hearing the sound of rain pattering against banana leaves outside, his black-and-white eyes scanning the raindrops falling past the eaves: "Is it raining lightly?"
Rain isn’t unusual, as the weather in Jiangnan often brings rain.
Zhang Chen got out of bed and opened his door, watching a servant walk through the rain, seemingly unconcerned by the tiny drops falling upon them.
"Doesn’t Huang Chao wonder what that guy is up to?" Zhang Chen focused his Primordial Spirit sensing the location of the Six-Word True Mantra Seal, then his face showed surprise: "How odd is that Huang Chao hanging around Chongzheng Academy? He’s not even a student there!"
"Could he be using a Transformation Technique?" Quickly, Zhang Chen speculated: "Is Huang Heaven Dao seeking revenge against Zhou Qiucheng? Zhou Qiucheng now holds all the incense of Jinling City, beating Zhou Qiucheng is easy, but Zhou Qiucheng has the Exquisite Treasure Tower to lean on, making killing him quite difficult."
Zhang Chen’s mind was awash with countless thoughts, feeling that the situation in Jinling City was becoming increasingly bizarre. Zhou Qiucheng was desperately spreading the doctrine, gathering incense for Jinling City. Now, within Jinling City, all major dignitaries followed the principle of survival by compliance and perished by defiance. All those in league with the Yellow Heaven Dao had been driven out, leaving only those who obeyed Zhou Qiucheng’s orders.
Zhou Qiucheng was a master sent by the court to suppress Jinling City. His command over Jinling City was legitimate, occupying the moral high ground, and no one dared to disobey from any quarter.
"The struggle between Zhou Qiucheng and the Yellow Heaven Dao has only just begun. There must be a fight to the death between the two," Zhang Chen thought of the unfathomable Great Virtuous Master and Chen Sanliang, and couldn’t help but worry for Zhou Qiucheng.
"Chen Sanliang has now stepped into the Eleventh Tier, and Zhou Qiucheng has also stepped into the Tenth Tier with a Divine Spirit body. Coupled with the Eleventh Tier Exquisite Tower, he isn’t completely without chance against Chen Sanliang."
"I’m just afraid that when Zhou Qiucheng and Chen Sanliang are bitterly fighting, the Yellow Heaven Dao will seize the chance to stir up trouble and secretly plot against them," Zhang Chen felt in his heart. If the Yellow Heaven Dao wanted to plot, the best point of entry would be when Chen Sanliang and Zhou Qiucheng were locked in a duel to the death.
"A bit tricky," Zhang Chen muttered to himself.
At this time, a robust servant stepped forward and respectfully saluted Zhang Chen, "Master, shall we serve breakfast?" "Serve breakfast," Zhang Chen replied.
He had already cultivated his Primordial Spirit, but he still needed to eat and drink to live, unable to go without.
As for the food residue in his stomach, it was refined into nothingness by the True Flame, and his body was now pure, no longer needing to relieve himself like a mortal.
Soon, a delicate four-dish meal and soup, accompanied by crystal shrimp dumplings, were placed in front of Zhang Chen, who ate with great relish.
Time slowly passed, and after Zhang Chen finished breakfast, he proceeded with his meditation and cultivation, as cultivation was his daily work.
A month drifted by leisurely. On this day, within the Spiritual World, Zhang Chen’s Primordial Spirit manifested amidst the overwhelming Qi of Geng Metal. His eyes turned towards a stele in the distance, a trace of solemnity in his gaze.
The stele was covered with cracks, and in the center of the cracks was a somewhat refined fist seal.
The top left corner of the stele was shattered, with traces of lightning strikes and fire burns, looking as if it had weathered countless storms.
"This is a tombstone," said the Great Freedom Celestial Demon Dao.
Zhang Chen, not being blind, could certainly see that the stele was a tombstone.
The tombstone stood ten meters high, inscribed with four large characters: Tomb of the Corpse Ancestor.
The words were written in Innate Bird Seal, containing Innate Profound Meaning, yet Zhang Chen could understand them.
The most crucial point was that Zhang Chen saw the massive amount of experience points scattered around the tombstone, piled up like small glowing mountains.
"Not long ago, there was a great battle here. The fluctuation of the Power of Law in the air has yet to dissipate," said the Great Freedom Celestial Demon Dao.
Upon hearing the Great Freedom Celestial Demon’s words, Zhang Chen said, "It must be the traces left by the battle between the Princess and the Corpse Ancestor."
As he spoke, Zhang Chen cautiously approached the tombstone, cautiously inquiring, "I say, old man, have you ever heard of the Corpse Ancestor?"
"I’ve never heard of it. My memory is incomplete, and there are many things I don’t remember," the Great Freedom Celestial Demon shook its head.
"Is the Corpse Ancestor to be attributed to the Death Camp? If the other side belongs to the Death Camp, must it be under the jurisdiction of my Yama Authority?" Zhang Chen pondered silently.
"I also wonder if my Soul Hooking and Soul Stealing Skill can successfully hook and steal the other party’s soul," Zhang Chen thought with a hint of anticipation.
Very soon, Zhang Chen arrived at the tombstone, causing no disturbances, and no old fellows suddenly jumped out to kill him.
Seeing the large heap of experience points, the Golden Finger Interface before Zhang Chen flickered:
[Experience points detected, would you like to collect them?]
"Collect!"
With Zhang Chen’s command, the mountain-like experience points poured towards him like a waterfall and disappeared before him.