Zhang Chen knew in his heart that as long as he could control the situation and prevent the water bear bug from devouring the ancient god and devil corpse, everything would be fine. Watching the battle between the water bear and the corpse beetle, Zhang Chen realized that neither side could win in a short time, so his Primordial Spirit returned to his physical body.
In the secret chamber
Zhang Chen opened his eyes, stretched his limbs, and was about to get up and leave the chamber when suddenly the alchemy furnace at his waist slightly trembled. A remarkable qi mechanism flowed, capturing Zhang Chen’s attention.
He quickly unfastened the alchemy furnace from his waist and held it in his hand, pouring in magical power. He then saw a mysterious qi mechanism circulate within the furnace, swiftly sealing the qi inside. As Zhang Chen carefully sensed the changes within, he found that a mass filled with all the phenomena of heaven and earth - wind, rain, thunder, and lightning - now gave birth to a world embryonic membrane, evolving into the Heaven and Earth Primordial Embryo.
"The Heaven and Earth Primordial Embryo is complete!" Zhang Chen looked at the embryonic form within the Eight Trigrams Furnace, a hint of joy in his eyes, as the last Heavenly and Earthly Treasure for refining the God-Beating Whip was done.
Zhang Chen beckoned with his hand, and a egg-sized embryonic egg appeared on his smooth, white palm.
The egg stood upright, and within it, the intangible qi evolved into sun, moon, mountains, rivers, moving creatures navigating within. When the egg was inverted, everything instantly felt like an ethereal return to the void, where all of creation perished and transformed into the Qi of Chaos, destroying all landscapes.
Inside, there were boundless chaos and immeasurable time and space, truly indescribable.
"What a treasure!" Zhang Chen marveled for a while before pushing the Mountain and River Primordial Embryo back into the alchemy furnace, then performed a wonderful technique to invoke the Sun True Flame for sacrificial refining.
Now that it had reached the final step, there was no need to search the Land of Creation. He only needed to refine the Mountain and River Primordial Embryo into the God-Beating Whip, and it would be done. The chaos within the Mountain and River Primordial Embryo was a small chaos, sufficient for the final transformation of the God-Beating Whip.
In the Eight Trigrams Furnace, there was a golden long whip. The God-Beating Whip was a magical treasure in Chinese classical myths, measuring three feet, six inches, and five tenths long, with twenty-one sections and eighty-four talismanic imprints distributed across four per section.
As Zhang Chen introduced the Mountain and River Primordial Embryo into the furnace, the God-Beating Whip turned into a stream of light, plunging directly into the embryo, undergoing its nourishment and tempering.
Zhang Chen realized at this moment that the final step of refining the God-Beating Whip was indeed to plunge the whip into the Mountain and River Primordial Embryo for sacrificial refining, absorbing the primordial qi of all things within it for the last transformation.
"It’s like nurturing new life, granting it the final touch of spiritual mechanism," Zhang Chen mused to himself.
With countless thoughts swirling in his mind, Zhang Chen withdrew the Sun True Flame, realizing the final step was the nurturing of the embryo, not needing flame for refining.
"The Mountain and River Primordial Embryo, possessing chaos properties, defies time within. It would take roughly forty-nine days in the external world to fully refine the God-Beating Whip," Zhang Chen quietly calculated in his heart.
Zhang Chen carefully stored the alchemy furnace in a cloth pouch and attentively strapped it to his waist.
"Now comes the waiting period," Zhang Chen mused to himself.
The final step of refining the God-Beating Whip couldn’t be done in the Spiritual World, because once the treasure was finished and judged by the Law of Heaven and Earth as a secret treasure of the Spiritual World, bringing it into the Material Realm would incur a huge price.
Once, when Zhang Chen brought back a grain of sand from the Spiritual World, it nearly drained him, a lesson he learned well.
Currently, Zhang Chen could enter the Spiritual World frequently, bringing innate spiritual treasures freely in and out because these treasures were already refined by his Primordial Spirit, integrated with him on a ’lifebound’ basis, making them inseparable and able to be used without incantations, thus not considered ’foreign objects’.
The newly refined God-Beating Whip, however, was different. Despite being refined by Zhang Chen and naturally connected to him, it still required some time for refining until it was fully a lifebound treasure before it could freely accompany him in and out of the Spiritual World.
"The Spiritual World is truly special," Zhang Chen mused, slowly stepping outside the house, basking lazily in the sun on a reclining chair, eyes closed.
The servants and steward in the residence were used to Zhang Chen’s laziness and dared not disturb him.
By evening, a bird flew into Zhang Chen’s courtyard and then transformed into Huang Chao in a flutter of wings.
Seeing the leisurely Zhang Chen, Huang Chao was full of envy. "You’re living the life."
"You could have this ease too if you gave up power," Zhang Chen squinted his eyes halfway.
"I’m too afraid of poverty; I’d rather lose my life than give up my hard-earned wealth and glory," Huang Chao replied, voice firm with resolve.
Hearing this, Zhang Chen smiled but said nothing, while Huang Chao sat beside him and continued, "I’ve gathered some information."
"Oh? How so?" Zhang Chen inquired.
"The situation with the Dragon Tiger Escort Agency is quite serious. The young master is in a more difficult position. Unless his father wakes up or he regains his strength by healing his severed arm, the elders and juniors of the Chen family won’t support his claim to the head position. If Chen Ping’s position as the escort agency heir is stripped away, the whereabouts of the Tree of Life Coffin will likely fall under the Gong Family’s control," Huang Chao turned to Zhang Chen. "We can’t sit still. Let’s seize the opportunity to storm the agency, slaughter them, and force Chen Ping to reveal the coffin’s location."
"Bad idea!" Zhang Chen glared at Huang Chao. "Stirring up such a big commotion, do you think Zhou Qiucheng wouldn’t notice? If Zhou Qiucheng intervenes, we’d end up with nothing!"
"Now there is no way out. What are you going to do? If we don’t make a move soon, I’m afraid the Gong Family will succeed." Huang Chao was somewhat anxious. The Tree of Life Coffin concerned immortality; how could he not be preoccupied with it?
"I’ll write an invitation, and you will send someone to deliver it to Chen Ping, inviting him to a banquet at our mansion." Zhang Chen stood up, returned to the room, wrote an invitation, and handed it to Huang Chao:
"Leave the rest to me. You just watch from the sidelines and don’t interfere."
Zhang Chen knew that Huang Chao’s humble background limited his vision and knowledge, making him too rough in handling matters. Therefore, he didn’t intend for Huang Chao to manage this meticulous task.
Huang Chao had no objections and, taking the invitation from Zhang Chen, said, "I will go and deliver it now."
Dragon Tiger Escort Agency
Outside the main gate
Huang Chao transformed into the appearance of an ordinary servant and arrived at the entrance of the Dragon Tiger Escort Agency.
"Little brother, are you here to escort a shipment with our agency?" A guard at the gate, seeing someone approaching, hurriedly stepped forward to greet him.
"I am here to deliver an invitation to your young master, Chen Ping. Please kindly pass it to him." Huang Chao handed over the invitation.
The guard’s expression changed upon hearing this, but he said nothing more. He simply took the invitation and said, "I understand, it will be delivered to our young master."
Huang Chao nodded in satisfaction and then departed.
The guard, holding the invitation, hesitated briefly before turning and quickly walking toward the inner courtyard, arriving outside Chen An’s room. Speaking to a steward, he said a few words, and the steward entered the room to find Chen An flirting with a beautiful woman.
Seeing the steward enter, Chen An raised an eyebrow, released the woman from his embrace, and inquired, "Is there a matter?"
He knew that unless it was important, the steward wouldn’t disturb him casually.
Upon hearing Chen An’s words, the steward presented the invitation. Chen An, upon opening it, was startled; it did not have Zhang Chen’s name, only a reference to being invited by an acquaintance with the surname Zhang.
"What kind of Zhang friend does he have in Jinling City who would invite him at this time?" Chen An wondered.
The steward shook his head, "I don’t know, sir."
"Invite Mr. Gong Si over," Chen An said after considering it briefly.
The steward left to carry out the order, and shortly afterward, a middle-aged man from the Gong family came to Chen An’s room.
"You called me over. Was there something you needed?" Mr. Gong Si, a robust man in his forties with a slicked-back hairstyle, stepped lightly like a breezy wind without making a sound.
Chen An handed over the confidential letter to Mr. Gong Si: "Someone has contacted Chen Ping."
Knowing that as a concubine’s son, achieving prominence and seizing family assets wasn’t easy. His only hope lay in the Gong family. Although he didn’t know why the Gong family took an interest in him, nothing else mattered to him as he had nothing of value for anyone to scheme against.
No matter what plans the Gong family had, he didn’t care, willing even to risk his life.
Without concern for his life, what more was there to care about?
For a concubine’s son to rise was exceedingly difficult. In the entire family, nothing belonged to him. Though he lacked nothing in food or drink, upon reaching adulthood, he’d be cast out to fend for himself. How could he accept that?
Mr. Gong Si glanced at the letter after taking it: "Is this addressed to Chen Ping?"
"It is for Chen Ping!" Chen An confirmed. "The crucial point is that I’ve already secretly monitored everyone related to Chen Ping in Jinling City. This sender seemed to emerge suddenly, without any prior indications or information. Last time you instructed me to watch Chen Ping’s movements, especially if anyone from outside contacts him, I was to report immediately."
Mr. Gong Si, upon hearing this, lowered his head to examine the letter, studying it intently before thoughtfully saying, "Seal the invitation again and send it to Chen Ping. I want to see who is covertly contacting him and if we can find some clues."
In a closed secret chamber, Chen Ping, missing an arm, watched a middle-aged man lying on the bed, his eyes filled with worry.
"Father, oh father, what’s wrong with you? Why did you suddenly fall unconscious? And all my brothers, how did they all encounter misfortune?" Chen Ping’s voice was hoarse with despair.