"Unless the princess’s physical body is placed back into the coffin of the tree, only then can it be isolated from the heavens and the earth, ensuring that the physical power of the princess no longer dissipates." Zhang Chen’s mind was exceptionally clear in the dream realm at this moment.
As Zhang Chen pondered the intricacies in his heart, suddenly his neck itched, and he saw strands of jet-black hair fall from the rafters, slipping into Zhang Chen’s collar, and then strangling his neck.
"Here we go again!"
Zhang Chen felt his neck being strangled, immediately sensed something was wrong, and hastily looked up to see the princess’s eyes full of resentment glaring at him.
Zhang Chen met the princess’s gaze and hurriedly said, "I was just going to say..."
"Bang!"
Before Zhang Chen could finish speaking, the princess already punched down, hitting Zhang Chen in the face, swallowing all his words.
"Don’t hit! After all, we’re somewhat related..."
"Bang~"
"I know your father well, we’re friends. In terms of hierarchy, you should call me uncle!"
"Bang bang bang~"
Zhang Chen shouldn’t have spoken; the moment he did, the princess hit even harder. Her fists were like a raging storm, pounding on Zhang Chen’s face.
The princess hit only the face, not the body, forcing Zhang Chen to scramble away with his head in his arms, only to be entangled by countless strands of hair, leaving him with no choice but to hold his head and dodge.
Who knows how long the beating lasted, suddenly the dream realm shattered, bells rang in his ears, and Zhang Chen abruptly turned over and sat up, shivering at the Daoist temple bell sounds: "I actually got beaten by that girl all night long?"
"How can you treat your uncle like this?" Zhang Chen cursed angrily, but as soon as he cursed, he felt a sharp pain at the corner of his mouth, and his whole face hurt terribly.
He reached out to touch it, and then Zhang Chen sweated coldly in pain, his entire face swollen like a pig’s head.
"The damage from the dream actually reflects in reality?" Upon seeing this, Zhang Chen was shocked, his eyes full of disbelief and astonishment.
A water mirror floated in front of him, and Zhang Chen looked at the face in the water mirror, indeed swollen like a pig’s head.
Fortunately, Zhang Chen mastered the Blood Control Technique; with just three breaths, all the swelling vanished completely, his face restored to normal.
Zhang Chen dispelled the water mirror, sat on the bed with a frown: "The Prince Pingbian’s Mansion has numerous experts. Trying to take the princess’s body out of there is not an ordinary difficulty. Besides, the area around the princess’s body is always guarded by experts from the Prince Pingbian’s Mansion, I have no chance to make a move."
Zhang Chen thought of his Sand Merging Skill. If the Sand Merging Skill was successfully cultivated, could he stir up a sandstorm at that time, and sneak into the Prince Pingbian’s Mansion amidst the chaos to steal the princess’s corpse?
"Lack of experience points. If I had a large number of experience points to upgrade all my skills, who could discover my whereabouts with a max-level twelfth tier Invisibility Rune?" Zhang Chen secretly calculated in his heart.
The princess can still hold on for a while. Since I can’t save her now, I should find the coffin of the tree and prepare adequately.
"Zhang Chen, get up for morning practice." Xiaodouding’s shouting echoed upstairs.
Hearing what Chengyu said, Zhang Chen hurriedly dressed, and then followed Xiaodouding to do morning practice. When the sun just rose in the morning, Xie Lingyun arrived.
The Daoist temple was abuzz with chaos as Xie Lingyun ordered someone to bring a food box to Zhang Chen’s small courtyard. After the three of them finished the exquisite breakfast, Xie Lingyun looked at Zhang Chen: "Don’t delay any longer, let’s start quickly."
Zhang Chen nodded in response, led Xiaodouding and Xie Lingyun into the house. Zhang Chen instructed Xiaodouding to practice Soul Emergence, and Xiaodouding obediently complied. Under Xie Lingyun’s astonished gaze, a small girl at Xiaodouding’s Baihui appeared, struggling to support a vast palace from her Baihui Acupoint, but was instantly pressed back by the immense palace, causing two streams of blood to spray from Xiaodouding’s nose. Seeing this, Zhang Chen hurriedly went to wipe it away.
"Brother, don’t worry, I’m fine." Xiaodouding, being sensible, comforted Zhang Chen in return.
Zhang Chen patted Xiaodouding’s head and turned to Xie Lingyun: "Sister, can you see the problem?"
"This is definitely not the power of the bloodline!" Xie Lingyun’s expression became serious, appearing very cautious: "But I cannot discern what technique it is precisely."
"This technique is preventing Xiaodouding from cultivating, it’s such a wicked method." Xie Lingyun cursed angrily, her voice filled with rage: "She is just a child, who could be so cruel to her?"
"You’re a cultivator, don’t you have a way to break the opponent’s technique?" Xie Lingyun asked Zhang Chen.
"With my petty cultivation, if I had a way to break it, would I still ask you to help?" Zhang Chen replied.
Xie Lingyun frowned at his words: "I’m also powerless, we need to ask the great leader for help, maybe he can see some clues."
"How do we ask the great leader for help?" Zhang Chen inquired.
Xie Lingyun said: "Leave it to me, as long as we bring Chengyu down the mountain, I can ask for the great leader’s help after we return to the Inspection and Supervision Department."
"It’s just..." At this point, Xie Lingyun hesitated, making a gesture to Zhang Chen, understanding her intention, he coaxed Xiaodouding to fetch water. Only then did Xie Lingyun say: "I fear it’s the Yellow Heaven Dao’s method, which could cause trouble. This power is the power of incense, and Yellow Heaven Dao is collecting the power of incense now. If it’s really Yellow Heaven Dao’s method, it would be as difficult as ascending to heaven to take Xiaodouding down the mountain, for Huangli Temple would never agree."
"If it’s Yellow Heaven Dao’s method, wouldn’t sister know by testing it?" Zhang Chen suggested to Xie Lingyun meaningfully.
Xie Lingyun nodded gravely, then ordered someone to call Liu Feng over. Before long, Liu Feng hurriedly arrived, accompanied by Prince Pingbian Zhang Xiaohua.
To get closer to Xie Lingyun, Zhang Xiaohua used all means, leaving no opportunity unused.
"What orders does Commander Xie have for me?" Liu Feng bowed and asked Xie Lingyun.
Xie Lingyun said with a smile: "I find Xiaodouding to be quite adorable, and I want to take her down the mountain to play for a few days, accompany me for a few days, what do you think?"
Upon hearing this, Liu Feng’s face changed, showing a difficult expression: "Commander Xie asking is reasonable. By rights, our Huangli Temple shouldn’t refuse, but... but..."
"But what?" Xie Lingyun’s face turned grim seeing Liu Feng’s hesitation, pressing him: "I’m merely taking a child down the mountain, can’t Huangli Temple even give me this face?"
Zhang Chen watching from the side felt a chill, as the worst-case scenario was indeed happening.
"The Great Virtuous Master ordered that Xiaodouding is not to leave the mountain. If you wish to take this child down the mountain, it places me in a difficult position. You might as well take action and remove my head, avoiding the trouble when the Great Virtuous Master finds out I didn’t follow orders and slaps me dead." Liu Feng mentioned the Grand Celestial Master directly.
Upon hearing this, Xie Lingyun’s eyebrows twitched slightly. The Grand Celestial Master was not someone even she could afford to offend, even Xie Xuan wouldn’t dare offend easily.
"Then forget it; I didn’t expect Huangli Temple to value her so much." Xie Lingyun continued to probe without revealing any emotion.
"Chengyu is favored by the Great Virtuous Master, rumored to become a Closed-door Disciple of the Grand Celestial Master in the future. So it’s only natural to watch closely. If anything happens to her, we can’t explain to the Great Virtuous Master. If you want to see the child, you could often visit the temple and spend time with her." Liu Feng flattered.
Xie Lingyun did not give any indication in response.
Hearing this, Zhang Xiaohua, who had been standing by, stepped forward like a big follower and cheerfully said, "Miss Xie, we’ve finally met. I’ve been wanting to meet you so much, it was quite difficult."
"So it’s Young Prince," Xie Lingyun responded, acknowledging Zhang Xiaohua’s presence without much enthusiasm.
Zhang Xiaohua, undeterred by Xie Lingyun’s aloof attitude, approached to engage in small talk. Maintaining a polite demeanor, Xie Lingyun cast a meaningful glance at Zhang Chen, and then took her leave. Zhang Xiaohua was like a little tail, eagerly following after her.