"If we want to escape the Demon Race’s entrapment, we’ll have to rely on this kid to take action!" Gu Mingyue shouted at Zhang Chen’s back after speaking:
"Be careful, there’s Weak Water below, it can engulf everything, I’ll lend you a helping hand..."
As Gu Mingyue said this, she remembered the authority suppressed by Zhang Chen, even her own Yangtze River Water God authority could be suppressed by him. Could he still fear the Innate Divine Water?
Thinking of this, Gu Mingyue halted her steps, standing silently at the entrance of the tomb, looking at the dark passage.
In the otherworldly underground palace, it wasn’t Zhang Chen’s first visit; in an instant, the Authority of Water Element expanded, infinite Weak Water appeared in Zhang Chen’s perception, controlled by him.
In a flash, Zhang Chen detected Chen Sanliang’s corpse, quietly lying dormant at the bottom of the Weak Water, devoid of any vitality.
Zhang Chen stepped on the surface of the Weak Water, watching as it churned up waves, then saw Chen Sanliang’s body emerge from the depths before him.
Chen Sanliang was dead, a person without a place to rest, without a trace of vitality.
"Chen Sanliang, so strong, yet died here so indignantly, without even stirring a ripple, it’s truly terrifying," Zhang Chen sighed melancholically.
Chen Sanliang was a top-tier Eleventh Tier powerhouse, yet he capsized in this ditch. It shows just how fierce and bizarre the powers in this world are; even the strongest must be cautious, or they might falter.
Looking at Chen Sanliang’s body, Zhang Chen’s gaze was complex. He couldn’t quite understand Chen Sanliang, but there was no doubt that he was a lovestruck fool.
"To die over a woman, such a pitiful end," Zhang Chen meticulously sensed Chen Sanliang’s condition; his physical body was dead, and his soul trapped within, blocked by the power of Weak Water. Even if one had the means to resurrect, they must first eliminate the Weak Water power from his body.
"The Weak Water power has blended with his Essence, Qi, and Spirit, merging with his flesh, and it’s beyond my control through the Authority of Water Element. The only thing I can do now is use the Sea Calming Pearl to suppress the rampant Weak Water power, slowly erode away its Divine Power, transforming it into ordinary water. Then, I can use Divine Techniques to revive him." Zhang Chen glanced at Chen Sanliang’s body, pondered for a moment, then used the Celestial Measuring Ruler to shrink it, placing it into his sleeve.
Although using the Celestial Measuring Ruler would continuously deplete Innate Qi, Zhang Chen had to accept it, given Chen Sanliang’s significant favor to him.
After safely storing Chen Sanliang’s corpse, Zhang Chen glanced at the vast Weak Water, which was merely Third Tier but could drown a Fourth Tier powerhouse, illustrating its terror.
With his form rising, Zhang Chen headed toward the array’s exit, seeing that Yellow Heaven Dao had not taken the opportunity to stir trouble, he nodded in satisfaction, noting that the cultivators of Yellow Heaven Dao were sensible.
In a flash, Zhang Chen appeared outside the Innate Water God Tomb, his eyes sweeping over everyone present, with an inexplicable look in his gaze.
"What about Chen Sanliang?" Gu Mingyue stepped forward to inquire.
"His body couldn’t be found!" Zhang Chen replied, "Perhaps he has already escaped from the tomb."
Zhang Chen didn’t want to admit that he had taken Chen Sanliang’s body because if he revived him later, causing turmoil among the Human Race, wouldn’t he become the target of everyone?
Upon hearing that Zhang Chen hadn’t found Chen Sanliang’s body, Gu Mingyue wasn’t surprised, she replied, "The tomb is exceedingly treacherous, perhaps Chen Sanliang escaped, or maybe his body has already disintegrated."
"I wanted to rescue Chen Sanliang, hoping we could utilize him to negotiate with the Demon Race for a chance to escape. But it seems that plan has fallen through. Now, to escape, we must devise another strategy; I wonder what Yellow Heaven Dao has planned?" Zhang Chen asked Gu Mingyue.
"Our only reliance now is the Blood Sea Array, but the Twelve Primordial Stars Array encapsulates it, I fear the Blood Sea Array will be suppressed and might not be effective," Gu Mingyue said, her tone serious. "My idea is to use the Blood Sea Array to hold the Demon Race in check, forcing their powerhouses to show up to break the array. We might have a chance to capture or kill one or two of their strong ones, then leverage the Demon Race to escape."
To capture Demon Race powerhouses, one must act swiftly, or if the Demon Race reacts and gets backup, it would be disastrous. Gu Mingyue alone isn’t enough; Zhang Chen’s help is needed for a slim chance of success.
"I’ll follow your arrangements. If you need my intervention, just say the word," Zhang Chen replied, then turned and headed toward Chongzheng Academy.
Upon entering the academy, Zhou Qiucheng sat on a green stone, surrounded by Literary Qi as he meditated on the Dao.
Zhang Chen didn’t disturb Zhou Qiucheng but sat beside him, guarding him.
As time slowly passed by, the atmosphere in Jinling City grew tense. Countless armies were mobilized, young men were driven from their homes to join the forces, and weapons were distributed as training intensified.
Zhang Chen stood in place, his eyes fixed on the distant sky, while sounds within a thousand-mile radius constantly reached his ears. He heard the demon race’s stampede and the beasts’ roars.
The sunset descended, and the sun rose.
Amidst the sound of horns, the ground of Jinling started to tremble.
"The demon army has arrived!" Zhang Chen uttered slowly in the light of the morning sun.
In the next moment, an overwhelming tide of beasts surged forth from the distance, as endless as the horizon, with birds covering the sky and beasts stirring the dust on the ground.
Wherever the eye looked, it was all wild beasts.
Demon beasts were ultimately a minority; the main force of the demon army was wild beasts.
Zhang Chen stood atop the mountain at Chongzheng Academy, gazing into the distance at the overwhelming beast army, a curious look in his eyes: "Strange, the demon beasts have already set up an array, why don’t they use it directly to obliterate the human Jinling City, but instead dispatch the demon army to attack the city?"
"That’s because once the array is activated, under Celestial Thunder and Earth Fire, humans would be reduced to ashes. For the demon race, dispatching the demon army to attack the city allows wild beasts to eat human flesh, and if they consume enough, they awaken their bloodlines and evolve into demon beasts. Demon beasts use human blood to cultivate, and their bloodlines regress, surging to a higher level. With millions of people in Jinling City, once they become demon blood food, who knows how many great demons they could nurture, how many tenth-tier powerhouses. How could they bear for humans to turn to ashes directly? An empty human city is useless to them," Zhou Qiucheng perceived the Qi Mechanism between Heaven and Earth and spoke seriously.
Upon hearing this, Zhang Chen’s heart was enlightened; so there was such reasoning behind it.
As the overwhelming demon beast tide came ever closer, suddenly, a blood light soared into the sky above Jinling City, forming a protective light canopy that covered the entire city in an instant, countless blood clouds began to spread, enveloping the city, obscuring its situation from outside view.
At this moment, the demon beasts that had rushed ahead turned into blood water within the blood clouds, becoming pools of blood, further enhancing the power of Zhang Chen’s array, causing numerous demon army troops outside the array to pause in shock.
"Demon beasts, we have the Blood Sea Array, and how can you beasts do anything against us? If you wish to swallow Jinling City, aren’t you afraid of breaking your teeth?" Gu Mingyue stood atop the clouds, angrily rebuking the countless demon army.
"Gu Mingyue, you are too arrogant! We demons also possess the Blood Sea Array, and have naturally studied it. We know the weaknesses of your Blood Sea Array clearly." At this moment, Bear Great Saint appeared high in the sky, standing outside the Twelve Primordial Stars Array, mocking the Blood Sea Array from above:
"We have long known that you deployed the Blood Sea Array within Jinling City, and we’ve prepared for it. Watch our methods."
In the next moment, twelve blurry figures emerged outside the array. These figures acted collectively, controlling the Twelve Primordial Stars Array, forming a vortex that suspended towards the Blood Sea Array.
With the clash of the two arrays, Celestial Thunder and Earth Fire erupted instantly, numerous terrifying thunderbolts rolled over like a sea, unleashing earth-shattering power.
The vortex formed by the Twelve Primordial Stars Array swept with unrivaled force, impacting directly into the Blood Sea Array, continuously attacking. The thunder light suppressed part of the Blood Sea Array’s power.
Then, the vortex transformed into a drill, piercing through the blood clouds, charging into the array, drilling through the Blood Sea Array, then spreading and expanding, forming a thirty-li-wide passage.
"Kill!"
At this moment, a demon army commander issued the order, and the overwhelming demon army surged through the passage, charging towards the humans.
"This Twelve Primordial Stars Array is truly formidable. Although it cannot break the Blood Sea Array, it can drill a hole through it," Zhang Chen remarked in amazement at this sight.
Of course, this doesn’t mean the Blood Sea Array isn’t strong enough, but it has yet to unleash its full power. The Blood Sea Array controlled by Gu Mingyue now is just a preliminary version, composed of twelve hundred array banners. Once it progresses further, it could use twelve thousand array banners, and by that time, its power will advance even more.
If someday twelve thousand nine hundred sixty array banners are manufactured, its power would be developed to the extreme, truly capable of bearing the Blood Sea Dao, summoning the complete form of the Blood Sea Asura.
A truly successful Blood Sea Array could inundate an entire world.