Moreover, only by conveying this information to Xie Lingyun, and having Xie Lingyun relay it to the court, that the court will understand the severity of the matter and use all their might to battle the Prince Pingbian’s Mansion, allowing me the opportunity to fish in troubled waters.
Indeed, after listening to Zhang Chen’s words, Xie Lingyun’s eyes showed a hint of caution: "Is this truly the case?"
Zhang Chen nodded affirmatively, seeing Xie Lingyun anxiously say, "Wouldn’t that mean something major is going to happen? If the Prince Pingbian’s Mansion got hold of the Divine Demon’s body, it won’t be long before they break through its defenses, and by then, the underlying aspects will surely be discovered."
Xie Lingyun became a bit anxious. If the Prince Pingbian’s Mansion were to cultivate a large mass of divine beings, how would the court then have any way out?
Divine beings, indeed! They’re not the same as deities who have integrated with mystery and hereditary bloodlines.
Note: Here, the distinction is made between deities and divine beings. The body of mystery, powered by the Power of Faith, gives birth to divine entities with amazing flesh, preventing confusion. Deities in the real world refer to all mysterious entities.
Zhang Chen looked at Xie Lingyun and nodded: "Nowadays, many fuse the Bloodline Power and the mysterious body with their flesh to become deities, but there are those born as divine beings. A divine being, by offering Incense Faith to the mysterious, can form a fleshly body, mastering the great dao from birth, and their flesh is truly miraculous."
Zhang Chen was not afraid to inform Xie Lingyun, because in this world without Spiritual Qi, even if one uses the Power of Faith to worship, no mysterious entity would manifest as a deity.
"Can Incense Worship of the mysterious transform into divine beings? The information you possess is incredibly shocking. Is this information reliable?" Xie Lingyun solemnly asked once more.
"Of course, but not all mysterious entities can become divine beings after being worshipped with incense." Zhang Chen nodded and added another sentence.
Hearing this, Xie Lingyun couldn’t sit still and left in a hurry.
However, just a dozen steps away, he turned back: "Oh, I forgot to tell you. Yellow Heaven Dao seems to have defected to the Prince Pingbian’s Mansion. During the Divine Tomb Creation contest, there were Yellow Heaven Dao experts secretly aiding the Prince Pingbian’s Mansion. It’s best not to return to the Huangli Temple, to avoid putting your family in danger."
Upon hearing this, a figure flashed through Zhang Chen’s mind; he remembered Xiaodouding. How could he leave Xiaodouding alone at Huangli Temple? Moreover, he still needed to seek Qi Cultivation techniques from the Yellow Heaven Dao, how could he bear to leave?
So Zhang Chen shook his head: "I have my own plans for this matter."
Seeing that he couldn’t persuade Zhang Chen, Xie Lingyun could only leave helplessly.
But no one knew that the little tiger in Zhang Chen’s arms quietly opened its eyes at this moment, pondering: "Can refining the flesh with the blood of the divine ignite Qi Blood to evolve one’s body into a deity? This is an earth-shattering secret! What’s the background of this boy? He seems to know quite a few secrets."
"I recall there seems to be a grand tomb in the Great Wilderness, holding the divine body this boy mentioned. However, that grand tomb is incredibly perilous, not safer than the one we’re dealing with now. I’m afraid I lack the means to excavate it." Zhao Lie’s gaze became distant, thoughts wandering to the Zuwa Country.
Watching Xie Lingyun’s figure disappear, Zhang Chen finally sat in front of the Eight Trigrams Furnace and began his cultivation. Since he couldn’t cultivate Divine Techniques, he might as well explore the Spiritual World, as it held great secrets worth Zhang Chen’s arduous efforts.
As Zhang Chen entered meditation, his soul flashed into the mysterious Spiritual World. In the First Heaven of the Spiritual World, it was still filled with black winds and countless black sands swirling between Heaven and Earth.
A Cyan Lotus flickered, releasing streams of Qi of Chaos, shielding Zhang Chen’s soul.
Looking at the endless black sands, a thought suddenly flashed through Zhang Chen’s mind: "I wonder if upgrading my Wind Stabilizing Rune could stabilize these endless black sands?"
If he could stabilize these endless sands, then exploring the Spiritual World would be much easier for Zhang Chen. Once the sandstorm disperses, he could see the full view of the Spiritual World clearly.
With this thought, Zhang Chen’s eyes turned to the Wind Stabilizing Rune:
[13th Skill (First Tier): Wind Stabilizing Rune (0/4000)]
[Note: Can stabilize First Tier winds]
[Points: 512000]
"Why keep these points? Now I can try an upgrade. If I can stabilize the winds, I’ll gain greatly; if not, I still get to upgrade my skill with no loss."
With this thought, Zhang Chen directly invested points:
[13th Skill (Second Tier): Wind Stabilizing Rune (0/8000)]
[13th Skill (Third Tier): Wind Stabilizing Rune (0/16000)]
...
[13th Skill (Fifth Tier): Wind Stabilizing Rune (0/64000)]
...
[13th Skill (Seventh Tier): Wind Stabilizing Rune (0/256000)]
[13th Skill (Eighth Tier): Wind Stabilizing Rune (0/512000)]
[Note: Can stabilize Eighth Tier divine winds.]
[Points: 204000]
Zhang Chen’s Wind Stabilizing Rune upgraded to the Eighth Tier, reaching a total of 512000 points, leaving him with only 204,000 points remaining and unable to upgrade further.
Thus, the Wind Stabilizing Rune became the highest-level rune Zhang Chen possessed.
With the Wind Stabilizing Rune upgraded to the Eighth Tier, Zhang Chen infused his Magical Power into it. Next, a mysterious force emanated from Zhang Chen and spread out, causing the surrounding wind and sand to halt suddenly.
Centered on Zhang Chen, all hurricanes within eight hundred meters quickly dissipated, leaving an area devoid of any wind movement.
In the sky, the black sands fell noisily, accumulating thickly on the ground.
Within a radius of eight hundred meters around Zhang Chen and beyond, it was like two different worlds.
Eight hundred meters away, hurricanes roared angrily; within, it was peaceful and quiet.
Looking at the external black wind, Zhang Chen unknowingly gained some insight into its origin:
[Twelfth-Tier Black Wind (Peripheral Area—Residual Power).]
[Note: The sky is obscure, the earth dark, heaven and earth without sun, toppling Mount Sumeru.]
"Any black wind below the level of my Wind Stabilizing Rune is within my control, enabling me to gather information about it." Zhang Chen carefully sensed the profound mysteries of the Wind Stabilizing Rune, his eyes revealing delight.
At this time, his Wind Stabilizing Rune had multiplied to eight.
With a thought, Zhang Chen activated all eight Wind Stabilizing Runes, watching as they dispersed in various directions. With Zhang Chen at their center, the whirlwind stopped within a six thousand four hundred meter radius, revealing the scene to Zhang Chen.
Underneath those palace ruins lay winding steps, with numerous palace ruins layered below, imprinted with massive peculiar claw marks as if those palaces had been shattered by the claws.
The broken palaces were positioned at the heart of the claw prints, embedded within.
The claw prints pierced deep into the rocks, with eerie blue-green gases emanating from them.
Zhang Chen carefully scanned those claw prints and the sinister green luminescent gases, his eyes full of caution.
Raising his head, he noticed a palace still well preserved atop the mountain, which aroused a bit of excitement in him.
Seeing this, Zhang Chen wasted no time, abandoning the ruins, and ascended the mountain. Once at the summit, he stood before the palace and was momentarily stunned.
What did he see?
While the whole palace was intact, the jade bricks on the ground showed marks of pits and fragments, with horrifying claw prints and traces of blood.
"This palace looks like a Buddhist temple." Zhang Chen examined it for a moment, noting the distinct Buddhist style of the structure.
Then, Zhang Chen cautiously avoided the pits and blood, approaching the main hall of the palace. Upon observing the plaque, he noticed it was distorted, as if twisted by terrifying claws.
Only the first character was recognizable to Zhang Chen; an ancient script from the Ancient Divine Demon period: "Xiao" (Little).
The remaining words had completely warped, their original form illegible.
"What has this palace experienced? Aren’t they saying that there’s no life in the Spiritual World?" Questions arose in Zhang Chen’s mind.