Zhang Chen fell silent upon hearing this, contemplating the intricacies within.
He only wished to find the Innate Eight Trigrams Furnace to refine a magical treasure, but never expected to construct it directly upon the Dragon Vein of Prince Pingbian’s Mansion.
The Innate Eight Trigrams Furnace is unparalleled in its mystery, containing infinite creation, and it is quite ordinary for it to seize the ancestral vein power of Prince Pingbian’s Mansion.
"However, Xie Lingyun’s words are incorrect. The rise of Prince Pingbian’s Mansion owes a large debt to that Empress. It was the shattering of the Empress Tomb that caused the True Dragon Qi to leak out, which the mountains and rivers of Prince Pingbian’s ancestors happened to absorb, facilitating growth and expansion. Back then, the Great Victory Dynasty held two Tier Twelve Divine Beings, yet did not suppress Prince Pingbian, perhaps due to the influence of Dragon Qi, avoiding the karmic consequences. Later, when Prince Pingbian Zhang Shicheng underwent Dragon Transformation, it was because of receiving the True Dragon Creation." Within Zhang Chen’s mind, countless thoughts swirled, as if the fog was lifted, and numerous clues emerged like strands of silk being unraveled.
Thus leading to today’s great battle, Prince Pingbian’s Mansion had received the blessings of the Empress, yet they did not think to guard the Empress Tomb, and instead sought the creation within it, an epitome of ingratitude. My current actions are merely Prince Pingbian’s Mansion’s karmic retribution.
It was thus fate that the jade box fell into my hands, and fate that led me to discover the location of the Eight Trigrams Furnace to extract the fate of Prince Pingbian’s Mansion.
Then Zhang Chen began to indoctrinate himself: "Every peck and drink is predestined, this is fate! I am the Empress’s uncle, which means I am Prince Pingbian’s Mansion’s great benefactor. Given their disrespect towards me, they deserve such retribution!"
Zhang Chen felt a sense of satisfaction in his heart: "What I am doing is in accordance with the heavens and fate. This is what the entire Prince Pingbian’s Mansion owes me."
Zhang Chen’s mind spun with countless thoughts, then he looked at Xie Lingyun: "This too is destiny, my presence here is part of Prince Pingbian’s Mansion’s destiny."
Xie Lingyun gave Zhang Chen a reproachful look upon hearing his words and then the Yin Spirit began to blur: "I will go deploy the Qi Blood Warriors for you, while you wait here."
After speaking, Xie Lingyun’s Yin Spirit disappeared, leaving Zhang Chen sitting in front of the Eight Trigrams Furnace, continuously forming seals.
Just as Zhang Chen was pondering the key steps of refining the treasure, suddenly the cyan lotus in his spiritual world flickered, and the originally cracked Golden Scissors flew out automatically, plunging into the Eight Trigrams Furnace.
"Hmm?" Zhang Chen was startled, as the Golden Scissors were significant, serving as his future means of protection, and no mishap could be tolerated. If they were melted in the Eight Trigrams Furnace, he would be devastated.
Zhang Chen hurriedly placed his hand on the Eight Trigrams Furnace, feeling everything inside, and saw the Golden Scissors fall into the flames, hovering in a corner of the furnace, absorbing the mysterious breath inside to repair its cracks.
"Hmm? There’s no harm, the Golden Scissors sensed an opportunity and are self-repairing." A hint of delight flashed in Zhang Chen’s eyes.
The divine power of the Golden Scissors was certainly something Zhang Chen anticipated, but the extent of its repair remained to be seen.
Zhang Chen sat silently in front of the Eight Trigrams Furnace, waiting patiently as neither the Taiyi Geng Metal nor the Tier Twelve Divine Beings’ original body were easy to refine.
"To refine the God-Beating Whip, one needs the Innate Earth Essence, Innate Geng Metal, Innate Netherworld Origin, Innate Soul Dao Fragment, Innate Yin Yang Qi, Innate Five Elements Qi, Innate Cyan Treasure Tree Seed, and Innate Five Greats Origin. The Innate Five Greats are the primordial gases of Taishi, Taichu, Taiyi, Taiji, and Taixu, as well as the World Tree World Seed." Zhang Chen calculated with his fingers:
"I now use the Tier Twelve Divine Being Houtu’s origin to replace the Innate Earth Essence. Its rank should surpass the Innate Earth Essence, qualifying as a material. Innate Yin Yang Qi and Innate Five Elements Qi count as two materials. I can venture into the Nine Bends Yellow River Array to seek the Innate Netherworld Origin, and along with the Taiyi Geng Metal... Taiyi Geng Metal falls short of Innate Geng Metal, so it’s marginally acceptable as one material. Thus, I’ve assembled five materials, but I’ve never heard of the remaining four." Zhang Chen scratched his head: "I wonder if the materials I currently have can withstand the reinforcement of several Innate Restrictions."
Zhang Chen’s thoughts transformed him into a stream of water, lurking underground, and then he entered the depths of a cave where he prepared the Nine Bends Yellow River Array, his figure flashed, directly appearing within it.
There, in the deepest part of the Nine Bends Yellow River Array, several springs gushed yellow spring water, continuously absorbed by the array, enhancing its divine power.
"In the past, my spiritual world only had one Yellow Spring, but through the sacrificial refining of the Nine Bends Yellow River Talisman Array, I used that one Yellow Spring as a coordinate to successively capture a few Yellow Spring Eyes from the void. To obtain the Netherworld’s origin, I must explore deep into the Yellow Spring."
Zhang Chen walked slowly to the Yellow Spring Eye, his gaze revealing seriousness.
Delving from the highest heavens to the deepest abyss is no joke; the Yellow Spring harbors great dangers, and a slight mistake could lead to the soul’s dispersal.
However, Zhang Chen wasn’t overly concerned. He possessed the Divine Water Transformation, enabling him to become Yellow Spring Water, making the Yellow Spring feel like returning home despite its perils.
"The God-Beating Whip is crucial, my first life-sustaining magical treasure. How could I not take a risk? Besides, I’m curious about the legendary Yellow Spring, wondering if the rumored Netherworld exists." Gazing at the Yellow Spring Water, Zhang Chen’s form twisted, transforming into Yellow Spring Water, flowing toward the Spring Eye.
Yet soon, Zhang Chen encountered his first obstacle. As the Yellow Spring Water flowed downward, attempting to ascend against it proved exceptionally difficult.
Fortunately, it was only challenging, not impossible. The Yellow Spring Water he manifested was still different from true Yellow Spring Water. The Spring Eye, about fist-sized, with only half the space flowing water, allowed Zhang Chen’s manifested Yellow Spring Water to extend limbs, bracing against the sidewalls of the passage, and climb deeper into the Yellow Spring.
Initially, the passage from the Yellow Spring Eye was smooth, but soon it turned steeply downward, leading into an endless abyss and darkness, yet some mysterious force propelled the Yellow Spring Water uphill.
That force was tremendous, but luckily Zhang Chen’s current form was also Innate Divine Water. He used water to create limbs, resisting the force, and after progressing a hundred zhang, the space ahead suddenly twisted, and he saw the space ahead tumbling and blurring, like the air constantly twisting from the sun’s scorching heat.
However, compared to the sun-baking-air effect, the space ahead twisted more severely, seeming to have a mysterious world revolving beyond the distortion.
After a moment’s hesitation, Zhang Chen flowed upstream along the river, diving into the twisted space.
The next moment, Zhang Chen felt a dizzying whirl, and his water-formed body suddenly appeared within a lake entirely of Yellow Spring Water.
He floated on the Yellow Spring Water, examining the lake carefully. It was a lake wholly composed of Yellow Spring Water, stretching beyond the horizon in every direction he looked.
The lake’s waves swelled and surged, with endless undercurrents and vortices constantly emerging.
Zhang Chen looked up to the sky, seeing it was shrouded in a gloomy, dark mist, within which fleeting shadows could be glimpsed.
The entire world was in darkness, like a night under a streetlamp, with only the vast lake emitting a faint yellow glow into the endless distance.
"Where is this?" Zhang Chen’s Yellow Spring Water form hovered over the surface, observing for a while before exploring within the spring water. Although the undercurrents in the water surged, they posed no threat to him.
"This seems to be another world, and there’s spiritual energy here! The heaven and earth spiritual energy needed by Qi Cultivators." After sensing for a while, a trace of surprise appeared in Zhang Chen’s eyes.
"What a bizarre place, could there really be an Underworld here?" Zhang Chen muttered to himself, unsure of what to do when suddenly a mournful cry echoed from afar, and on the distant water surface, a green firelight began to flicker in the darkness.
That crying was strange, sounding like an animal, yet somewhat human; its tone was both male and female, like an old man and a child all at once.
The cry pierced directly into the soul, and in this dim, dark space, accompanied by the eerie green firelight, it took on an even more sinister and terrifying aspect.