At this moment, the black and white True Dragons intertwined and twisted, transformed into a dull gray scissors after passing through the Eight Trigrams Furnace, landing in Zhang Chen’s palm.
It wasn’t a black pair of scissors, nor was it a white one, but a dull gray pair of scissors.
The scissors were petite, resembling a slightly smaller household scissors, and were covered in dense cracks, as if they could shatter at any moment, invoking a chilling fear.
However, as the owner of the scissors, Zhang Chen could feel an endless stream of power within, slowly repairing those damages.
But the repair was slow, taking an incredibly long time.
Zhang Chen caressed the gray scissors, "I wonder how much of the Golden Scissors’ power can be unleashed now?"
Zhang Chen glanced around but didn’t find anything suitable for experimenting.
As Zhang Chen pondered with the Golden Scissors in hand, suddenly the scissors gently vibrated, and within the gray mist of the golden twist, there seemed to be a gray world. In that world, there were objects shaped like brushes flickering, seemingly resisting the refinement of the Golden Scissors.
However, this world was different from Zhang Chen’s Soul Hooking and Soul Stealing black and white world. The current black and white world was filled with flowing Innate Yin Yang Qi.
As the master of the Golden Scissors, Zhang Chen felt as if he had united with the scissors’ will, and in an instant, the world changed, and he entered the black and white world.
Zhang Chen’s will manifested, standing in the world, holding the gray scissors. In the black and white world, two brushes transformed into black and white-colored fish, constantly intertwining and colliding, seemingly wanting to escape the black and white space.
In a distant time and space, there appeared two invisible threads, descending from the void, anchoring the two fish, serving as their fixed coordinates, causing them to continuously collide within the black and white world, trying to follow the threads to escape.
Looking at the threads, Zhang Chen suddenly had an epiphany: "That is the karma from Chen Xu."
The strings were taut, continually pulling the two fish. Zhang Chen instinctively cut the threads with the scissors, and the karma threads snapped, leaving the fish anchorless, swimming helplessly in the void with no resistance.
In the next moment, Zhang Chen’s consciousness returned to his body. He looked down at the gray scissors, his eyes filled with disbelief: "The Golden Scissors are unbelievably powerful! They can even cut off karma?"
Zhang Chen was secretly amazed at the power of the Golden Scissors. The next moment, they transformed into a stream of black and white light, flowing into his mouth, then returning to the green lotus treasure within his acupoints.
For some reason, with the Golden Scissors guarding him, Zhang Chen felt an inexplicable sense of security.
"Now, I just need to wait for the Golden Scissors to slowly erode those two brushes," Zhang Chen’s eyes revealed a hint of joy.
Of course, what made him happiest was solving the issue with the Princess. He felt relieved, thinking that she had no reason to bother him anymore.
Zhang Chen started shifting blame:
"Even if exposing the Empress Tomb is my fault, isn’t the Princess also responsible? Doesn’t the Emperor bear any responsibility? Wouldn’t it have been better to open the tomb for me earlier, saving me the effort of scheming for that pearl?"
At dawn, a familiar figure approached the mountain top; Zhong Xiang had arrived from below.
"Why are you here?" Zhang Chen was petting Zhao Lie as he saw Zhong Xiang approach, raising his guards silently.
Seeing Zhang Chen treating him with suspicion, Zhong Xiang couldn’t help but feel angry but restrained himself, considering his imminent departure from the Northern Land: "I’m about to leave the Northern Land. Grandpa wants to invite you to our manor for a feast tomorrow at noon; it’s up to you if you want to come."
After speaking, Zhong Xiang turned and left arrogantly as if he couldn’t bear to be around Zhang Chen for another moment.
Zhang Chen watched Zhong Xiang’s departing figure, pondering: "Leaving? Well, Chen Sanliang is crippled; why stay in this desolate Northern Land?"
Watching Zhong Xiang’s departure, Zhang Chen continued petting the cat, pausing his exploration of the Spiritual World for a few days, needing to conserve magical power for unforeseen circumstances.
Zhang Chen fed Demon King Zhao Lie honey, pondering: "Mr. Wu invited me; should I go or not?"
"I should go! After all, Mr. Wu is a valuable connection now, worth maintaining," Zhang Chen mumbled.
The next day, Zhang Chen left the Fox Immortal to guard the Eight Trigrams Furnace and descended the mountain alone, wearing a bamboo hat. As he passed the ruins of the Empress Tomb, he saw a figure.
At that moment, Chen Xu was busy moving rubble at the tomb’s ruins, seemingly searching for something.
"That kid actually escaped from Prince Pingbian’s Mansion?" Zhang Chen observed Zhong Xiang’s busy back with curiosity: "Could there be more treasure under the Empress Tomb?"
Zhang Chen hesitated, but ultimately didn’t approach Chen Xu, not wanting to seize Chen Xu’s opportunity, especially since he already took Chen Xu’s black and white brushes—it wasn’t right to bully him further.
He took a look at Chen Xu, recognizing that he owed him, but since he saved Chen Xu’s life before, it was even.
Zhang Chen arrived at the Zhong Family Manor, sticking an invisibility rune to enter the backyard, where he found Zhong Xiang practicing calligraphy.
"What are you studying?" Zhang Chen removed the invisibility rune and approached to ask.
"Grandpa has recently made some headway in Heart Learning, and I’m studying it," Zhong Xiang replied without hiding anything.
Zhang Chen secretly shook his head, thinking that Mr. Wu studying Heart Learning was a waste of time since he had already imparted all its essence to the Young Master.
Indeed, unless the Young Master perished or discovered new paths beyond Heart Learning, studying it was merely laying groundwork for the Young Master’s achievements.
"Follow me; Grandpa is waiting for you in the backyard," Zhong Xiang collected his books and spoke to Zhang Chen.
Zhang Chen followed Zhong Xiang, eyes lingering on Zhong Xiang’s long back before settling on his behind.
Zhong Xiang suddenly felt his behind prickle, stopping abruptly and glared at Zhang Chen: "Where are you looking?"
Ignoring Zhong Xiang’s anger, Zhang Chen moved in and slapped Zhong Xiang’s behind, giving it a squeeze: "I must say, your behind is quite perky."
This infuriated Zhong Xiang, who stomped on Zhang Chen’s foot, causing him to wince in pain, while Zhong Xiang remarked angrily: "If you dare touch again, I’ll chop off your paws!"
"We’re both men; why be so stingy? If you’re upset, touch mine. I’ll let you," Zhang Chen grumbled discontentedly.
Zhong Xiang, too angry to speak, realized arguing was futile, opting to stomp off to the backyard, unwilling to linger with Zhang Chen any longer.
Watching this, Zhang Chen chuckled, thinking Zhong Xiang too petty, yet refrained from further antics, following him.
Under a large banyan tree in the backyard, Mr. Wu, with a pale face, sat playing the zither. The melodious sound, like flowing water, echoed in the courtyard.
Zhong Xiang and Zhang Chen waited respectfully beside Mr. Wu as he played. Observing Mr. Wu’s pale countenance, Zhang Chen thought privately: "Mr. Wu seems injured, and not lightly. He’s in a hurry to return to Kyoto, leaving the investigation into the Divine Demon Tomb unfinished—it must relate to his injury. If Prince Pingbian’s Mansion truly rises, they might conspire against him! Given the complex state of the Northern Land, withdrawing early is the best option."
After a lengthy performance, Mr. Wu turned with a smile to Zhang Chen: "Why are you still standing there? Come sit. Treat this place as your home; no need for formality. If you’re too reserved, it’ll seem distant."