Although Zhong Xiang was verbally criticizing Zhang Chen, he still arranged for someone to escort Zhang Chen to a guest room in the back courtyard, repeatedly warning him, "You can quietly stay within the manor, but there is one thing I must tell you: you must not go to the front courtyard. If the Prince Pingbian's Mansion discovers your presence, don't blame me for taking action to protect myself."
"Don't worry, as long as no one comes to the back courtyard to find me, I definitely won't go to the front courtyard on my own," Zhang Chen quickly replied.
Zhong Xiang nodded in satisfaction at this, then asked Zhang Chen, "Did you find a way to break the curse in the tomb?"
"I have some clues," Zhang Chen said.
Hearing this, Zhong Xiang's eyes lit up, and even a flattering smile appeared on his face, "How do we break this curse?"
"Once you ignite the flame of the Eight Trigrams Furnace for me, I'll tell you then," Zhang Chen replied.
Upon hearing this, Zhong Xiang did not ask further questions. He knew Zhang Chen still didn't completely trust him, and he also didn't completely trust Zhang Chen. The two were currently mutually wary yet cooperating.
Zhang Chen lived leisurely and comfortably at the Zhong Family Manor, no one would have imagined that Zhang Chen was staying in Zhong Wubai's home.
It should be known that Zhang Chen once shattered Zhong Wubai's Dao heart, and by all accounts, the two should be like water and fire, mortal enemies, yet somehow Zhang Chen had quietly reversed it all?
The front courtyard of the Zhong Family Manor was bustling, with an endless stream of visitors, while Zhang Chen sat quietly in the back courtyard, cultivating and contemplating Divine Techniques and Skills.
At this moment, Zhang Chen looked at the nine Flying Swords suppressed by the Five-Colored Flash, with a thoughtful look in his eyes, pondering something.
Time passed by little by little, Zhang Chen's Qi Cultivation Technique had progressed as far as it could, and he was left pondering new uses for his skills and contemplating how to obtain the cultivation mantras for the next levels of the Qi Cultivation Technique.
"The Yellow Heaven Dao doesn't place much importance on the Qi Cultivation Technique mantras. If I climb to a higher position within the Yellow Heaven Dao, there's still a chance to obtain their mantras. Of course, the West Ascension Scripture is also a clue, but after searching the entire tomb, there is no trace of the West Ascension Scripture, as if it is just a fragment of a page."
Zhang Chen mused internally, "Now is not the time to leave the Yellow Heaven Dao, I still need to search within for more clues and whereabouts of the higher-level Qi Cultivation Technique."
Then Zhang Chen took out the little tiger from his clothes, "I wonder if I can nurture this little tiger into a Tiger Spirit, then I would have a mount."
"Tigers are objects of Supreme Yang in heaven and earth, naturally able to dominate Chong Ghosts. A tiger at the peak of Qi Blood, with a roar, even the Yin Spirit would retreat." Zhang Chen stroked the small tiger in his hand; Zhao Lie, now a juvenile, was in deep sleep, intensely needing rest.
"I still need to cultivate a method of Beast Control, relying solely on a Beast Taming Technique derived from Dragon Qi is inconvenient for controlling beasts," Zhang Chen continuously organized what he had learned.
Time slowly slipped by, and seven days later, Zhong Xiang brought news that the Prince Pingbian's Mansion had withdrawn troops from the mountains.
The major powers did not find treasures among the mountains, so naturally, they withdrew. Upon hearing this, Zhang Chen was revitalized, and he covertly traveled with Zhong Xiang to the location of the Eight Trigrams Furnace.
"Are you going to refine treasures here?" Zhong Xiang looked at the eight large mountains before them with a trace of amazement in his eyes, "This is just eight desolate mountains, how can you refine treasures here?"
"Come with me," Zhang Chen said, leading the way.
Zhang Chen constantly calculated their route based on inherited knowledge and led them to the center of the eight mountains, where there was a small mound resembling a furnace lid. Then Zhang Chen found the location of Xun Wind according to the directions of the trigrams, pointing at that mountain peak and saying, "Brother Dao, please smelt a passage here. That passage must be precisely eight and eighty-eight meters, no more, no less."
Upon hearing this, Zhong Xiang did not refute and directly transformed into a mass of flames, causing the rocks to continually melt into lava.
The lava churned incessantly. Strangely enough, as Zhong Xiang smelted the lava, a mysterious, weak wind inexplicably emerged from the rocks, causing the flames around Zhong Xiang to flicker.
One must know that Zhong Xiang's flame was an Exotic Fire of heaven and earth, ordinary mountain winds could not move it.
"How can there be wind here in the solid rocks that can even move my flames?" Zhong Xiang looked at the ever-changing flames around him, his eyes filled with surprise.
At this moment, cold air surged around Zhang Chen, isolating the scorching heat from his body, blocking the scorching power of the flames.
When Zhang Chen heard Zhong Xiang's words, a hint of emotion flashed in his eyes: "If it weren't for such a mystical place, refining Magical Treasures would be impossible."
"What Magical Treasures are you referring to?" Zhong Xiang asked, full of confusion in his voice.
Zhang Chen didn't respond to Zhong Xiang's question, simply gesturing for Zhong Xiang to continue smelting the cave.
"Fine, if you don't want to say, don't. You've got too many secrets, hiding everything," Zhong Xiang retorted irritably.
"Yes, yes, you're generous, you don't hide anything!" Zhang Chen retorted sarcastically.
Zhong Xiang chose to ignore him, thinking he had to endure this kid's presence for the sake of breaking the curse. Zhang Chen also stopped commenting, quietly following behind Zhong Xiang, continuously calculating the distance covered by their smelting.