The two brushes I possess are formed from Yin Yang Qi; if they were so easily deprived or stolen, how could such treasures have fallen into my hands?
"You can help me? If you can, I will be immensely grateful! How exactly do you intend to help me?" Chen Xu gazed at Zhang Chen with eyes full of sincerity and excitement: "Were it not for these two brushes, I could have long grasped greater mysteries and become a deity."
Zhang Chen smiled upon hearing this: "Please, sir, summon those two brushes."
Since Zhang Chen obtained the method to refine the God-Beating Whip, he naturally also acquired the means to gather Innate Yin Yang Qi, Qi of the Five Elements, and various other techniques.
From the legacy of the God-Beating Whip, Zhang Chen learned a Forbidden Technique known as the Qi Ban Technique.
This Forbidden Technique was specifically created to collect Yin Yang Qi.
Having imbibed that legacy, Zhang Chen naturally mastered all its secrets.
Upon hearing this, Chen Xu summoned the two brushes, allowing them to hover in front of him. Years ago, even a Yang God True Man had attempted to attack his brushes, yet to no avail. So what of it?
Seeing how compliant Chen Xu was, Zhang Chen mused internally: "Chen Xu is too overconfident. Does he truly believe that no one in this world can handle these two brushes?"
Watching the constantly rotating black and white brushes, Zhang Chen spread his left hand, and with the magical power of his right hand, quickly drew mysterious runes in his left palm.
Zhang Chen painted symbols swiftly; within thirty breaths, hundreds of runes interlinked in his palm. Then the runes flickered, forming a symbol resembling a porcelain bottle. Zhang Chen turned his palm outward towards the black and white brushes, and uttered a true word: "Come!"
In an instant, Zhang Chen's Twelfth Heaven-level magical power was utterly exhausted, drained away, and the symbol in his palm absorbed a stream from each black and white brush. The brushes seemed to dim in luster.
The next moment, the two brushes, like startled rabbits, metamorphosed into streams of black and white light and slipped into Chen Xu's nostrils.
"What is this?" Chen Xu exclaimed, stunned, eyes full of disbelief. Since obtaining the brushes, nothing like this had ever occurred.
No matter how mighty a Yang God Power you possess, you are powerless before the brushes; yet, who would have thought this devilish Zhang Chen could seize something from them?
Zhang Chen's Qi Cultivation Mantra automatically resumed, rapidly restoring his depleted magical power. Within the symbol in his palm, a wisp of Innate Yin Yang Qi flowed.
"Dao brother, please summon those brushes once more so that I can proceed with my methods. Today, we must fulfill your wish and have those brushes leave your body." Zhang Chen said cheerfully to Chen Xu.
Upon hearing this, Chen Xu's face changed. Suddenly, his body twisted, transforming into black and white light, and vanished from the tent.
Zhang Chen, surprised by this spectacle, pondered aloud: "These brushes are quite intriguing. I planned to gain more benefits, but who knew the brushes would turn into Yin Yang Qi and escape? However, this one wisp of Yin Yang Qi is sufficient."
"Next is to seek the Spiritual Fire, and then find an Eight Trigrams Furnace to begin sacrificial refining of the Artifact Embryo," Zhang Chen thought clearly, then slipped away, concealed by the Invisibility Rune.
The so-called Eight Trigrams Furnace is not a literal furnace but a Feng Shui arrangement of Heaven and Earth, where the Qi of the Trigrams converges, burying Creation, capable of harnessing the Power of Heaven and Earth to achieve miraculous effects.
"Spiritual Fire is elusive. The only hope is Zhong Xiang's Qilin Flame, enough to refine my God-Beating Whip. However, persuading Zhong Xiang is a difficult task. Moreover, the Feng Shui Grand Array for the Eight Trigrams Furnace is a rare treasure, requiring time to locate such a natural arrangement. The most crucial task is finding Xie Lingyun to inform him of the tree coffin, then employing the Inspection and Supervision Department's influence to seek such a Land of Creation." Zhang Chen looked up at the flames soaring into the night sky, sighing:
"Prince Pingbian's Mansion must be mad! Setting the mountain aflame, once the fire spreads, it will be uncontrollable."
But this is none of Zhang Chen's concern. Burn his people, burn his land, what does it matter to him?
"And that old loach, whose soul hides in the depths of the grand tomb..." Treading the earth, Zhang Chen recalled the Old Dragon King's affair, thought churning: "Could this old creature be up to mischief again? But he is dead; does he hope to come back to life?"
Zhang Chen's mind spun with numerous thoughts, yet he found no definite clue, so he turned away, transforming into a Vampire Bat heading towards Goulan County.
Zhang Chen returned to the inn, washed up, and did not disturb Xie Lingyun as night deepened. He sat in meditation, cultivating his magical power.
At dawn, a knock resounded, and Xie Lingyun appeared at Zhang Chen's door.
"You've arrived quite timely," Zhang Chen exclaimed, opening the door and marveling at the Inspection and Supervision Department's powerful influence.