After petting Zhao Lie for a while, Zhang Chen transformed into mist and entered the cave where the retained Giant Bees resided. He saw the Hunting Falcon resting within the cave, while the group of Giant Bees were also seeking respite from the heat.
Zhang Chen beckoned with his hand, and the Hunting Falcon flew to him. Then, he activated the Six-Word Mantra, which transformed into a stream of light and entered the Hunting Falcon’s mind: "I hope you find enlightenment and can open your spiritual wisdom, then absorb the mysterious qi mechanisms of Heaven and Earth to become a Demon Beast."
He was merely giving the Hunting Falcon a sliver of hope; becoming a Demon Beast wasn’t easy. It required the legendary fortune, and even though Zhang Chen had practiced up to this point, he still didn’t comprehend what fortune truly was.
Having dealt with the Hunting Falcon, Zhang Chen turned his attention to the Giant Bees’ colony: "I wonder if I can cultivate a Giant Bee King; that way, I can have it shepherd the Giant Bee colony for me."
Zhang Chen activated the Beast Control Technique to sense the Giant Bee colony. As his thoughts moved, the condition of countless Giant Bees’ bodies appeared in his mind. In just a moment, Zhang Chen selected the strongest Giant Bee, applied the Six-Word Mantra Buddha Mantra to it, and let the Giant Bee return to its colony.
The opportunity to awaken spiritual wisdom was given to them. Whether they could transform into astonishing Demon Beasts depended on their luck.
Then Zhang Chen returned to the Eight Trigrams Furnace, quietly waiting for the furnace fire to burn the sphere. That sphere was of the Twelfth Tier in mystery, and its sturdiness was beyond Zhang Chen’s imagination. It wouldn’t be melted and refined in a short time, so he needed to wait patiently.
That night, Zhang Chen didn’t continue exploring the Spirit Secret Realm but chose to sleep. He also needed to retain magical power to adjust the Alchemy Furnace at critical moments since anything could happen outside.
As Zhang Chen fell asleep, suddenly his vision changed, and he found himself in a vast, empty hall.
"Strange, I clearly remember falling asleep, so why am I here? Dreaming? Doesn’t seem like it. How could I be so conscious if I’m dreaming? Could it be that the Great Freedom Celestial Demon has some trick left and is scheming against me again? It shouldn’t be! I already swept out all its powers left in my Spiritual World!"
Zhang Chen’s consciousness stood in the hall with cautious eyes, feeling extremely clear-headed. Such clarity wasn’t typical for a dream.
"I’m dreaming! My Six-Word Mantra tells me this is a dream!" Zhang Chen stood in the hall, a certain intuition inexplicably surfacing in his heart.
This dream was quite peculiar. Why was he so clear-minded? Could it be that after mastering the Six-Word Mantra, he also mastered a Buddhist Divine Technique, the Dreaming Enlightenment Technique?
While he pondered why he was dreaming so clearly, familiar voices suddenly came from the rear court.
"Quick, look, how do we open this Divine Demon’s body?"
"The Divine Demon has a Protective Golden Light. To open it, we need to break through this Protective Golden Light. This Golden Light is quite peculiar, incredibly sturdy, yet filled with an inexplicable sharpness. Its light can pierce anything, but it is invincible—truly worthy of being an Ancient Divine Demon’s method."
"Sir, do you have a way to break this Protective Golden Light?" As Zhang Chen tried to pinpoint where he’d heard these familiar voices, another familiar young voice arrived.
"If I still had my Flying Sword, I might have hope of breaking this defense. But now my Flying Sword is lost, and facing this Golden Light, I am powerless."
...
Listening to the discussions coming from the courtyard, Zhang Chen’s pupils suddenly contracted as he recalled the source of the voices. One was from Zhang Xiaohua, another from Mr. Wuliu, and as for the third voice, he couldn’t identify its origin.
"Strange, truly strange, why would I dream of Prince Pingbian’s Mansion? Could it be that daytime thoughts lead to night dreams?" Zhang Chen found it odd, feeling the dream was strange and his current state was peculiar.
Thus, he stealthily moved towards the rear court. After passing through halls and corridors, he reached the rear court, and following the sounds, he located a side hall. The side hall’s door was open, and inside the main hall was a corpse enveloped in flowing Golden Light. The golden lustrous glow wrapped around the entire body.
Beside the corpse stood five people: Prince Pingbian, Mr. Wuliu, Zhang Xiaohua, Gu Mingyue, and a man in white, whom Chen Sanliang had once stood beside.
The five were circling the corpse, constantly examining it.
Zhang Chen cautiously observed everything within the main hall from outside, his eyes revealing a trace of caution, his mind racing with thoughts. He was puzzled why he appeared in such a bizarre dream and, most importantly, why he would dream of Prince Pingbian’s Mansion and the dissection of the Princess.
Logically, he should have reached the Forget Form realm by now, and he shouldn’t be dreaming—especially not such strange dreams.
At this moment, Prince Pingbian looked frustrated, circling the corpse anxiously: "What now? If we can’t break the Divine Demon’s body’s protection, we can’t seize the inherited power. If we can’t obtain its Creation, how can we resist the court’s oppression? If we can’t swiftly convert the Ancient Divine Demon body to power, it will bring us misfortune."