Zhang Chen’s escape speed was incredibly fast, seemingly tireless. The martial artist who had refined his qi blood chased him for dozens of miles before collapsing in exhaustion, unable to keep up, leaving Zhang Chen far behind.
Along the way, there was no cultivator who had refined the Divine Soul Dao to chase after him, otherwise, Zhang Chen would indeed have been in even more trouble.
But it would have been just a bit more trouble, as his True God Golden Light Heaven could ward off all ghost-related issues.
Zhang Chen ran swiftly, covering a hundred miles to the west, then stopped to catch his breath, turning to look at the Princess who he was carrying on his shoulder: "I say, niece, where are we running to?"
But the only response from the Princess was two mechanical words: "To the west."
Helpless, Zhang Chen could only continue carrying the Princess and running, his ultrasonic waves spreading out continuously, sensing humanoid creatures within a hundred miles, continuously avoiding those humanoid figures as he dashed through the mountains.
After running another hundred miles, Zhang Chen stopped again. This time, before he could ask, the Princess’s corpse spoke again: "Continue!"
With no choice, Zhang Chen had to keep running, carrying the body as he shuttled through the mountains.
While running, Zhang Chen noticed something: "The direction I’m running seems to be towards Huangli Temple."
"I probably know her plan now." The Great Freedom Celestial Demon emerged at the right time, looking towards the distant sky with a hint of strangeness in its eyes.
"What plan?" Zhang Chen turned his head to look at the Great Freedom Celestial Demon.
"She wants to ascend!" The Great Freedom Celestial Demon replied.
"Ascend? What do you mean?" Zhang Chen asked, puzzled.
"Recently, a Water God self-destructed, its power shaking space, causing the space laws of that area to become unstable and chaotic. Though the Water God self-destructed, its divine power lingers between heaven and earth, not completely dissipated. The place where the Princess is guiding you to is that explosion site. She wants to absorb the remaining divine power in the world, utilizing the unstable space and her own power to extremely ascend, tearing a space-time passage and entering the Spiritual World. Only in the Spiritual World does she have a sliver of life, a chance to survive." The Great Freedom Celestial Demon explained.
"Can a human body enter the Spiritual World?" Zhang Chen’s eyes lit up at the words.
"Of course it can! But the process is extremely difficult, requiring a huge price and extraordinary strength. For example, the temple you previously saw wasn’t it also ascending from the real world?" The Great Freedom Celestial Demon said, its eyes glowing as it looked at Zhang Chen: "For you, this is also an opportunity. Don’t you want to enter the Spiritual World to obtain the cornerstone of Buzhou Mountain? If you can enter the Spiritual World, you might get the cornerstone of Buzhou Mountain. Plus, with the Princess’s help, wouldn’t you be unstoppable in the first layer of space? That Big Black Dog wouldn’t be your match either; we could just flay it and melt it down for oil to light the heavenly lanterns."
Instead of joy, Zhang Chen’s face turned grim upon hearing this: "Is it very dangerous for a physical body to enter the Spiritual World?"
"Dangerous to the extreme. Since ancient times, those who can enter the Spiritual World physically are few and far between!" The Great Freedom Celestial Demon replied.
"What happens if it fails?" Zhang Chen asked, "Is there still room for redemption?"
"Failure means you’ll be directly pulverized by the impact of the laws of both realms, vanishing into the world." The Great Freedom Celemon sighed, "Back then, I wanted to descend from the Spiritual World to the Material World, which is why I suffered a calamity, resulting in my demise and the end of my dao."
"Demise and end of your dao? Aren’t you living well?" Zhang Chen looked at the Great Freedom Celestial Demon in surprise.
"You think I’m still alive? I’m just a fragment of memory." The Great Freedom Celestial Demon’s voice held a hint of loss.
Zhang Chen was shocked to hear this. Even someone as mysterious as the Great Freedom Celestial Demon was just a fragment of memory?
"Can you still resurrect?" Zhang Chen instinctively asked.
After asking, Zhang Chen felt that he had asked too much; this old guy was probably already on the path of resurrection.
"At my level, neither heaven nor earth can destroy me, how difficult it is to kill me? Even as a fragment of memory, I can climb out of the river of time and stand proudly above the sky again." The Great Freedom Celestial Demon said boastfully.
Zhang Chen believed the Great Freedom Celestial Demon could do it, but looking at the other’s smug appearance, he couldn’t help but dampen its spirit: "Aren’t you still dead? Aren’t you still a prisoner of mine?"
The Great Freedom Celestial Demon’s presence vanished from the world in a flash, consumed with rage.
Zhang Chen ignored the Great Freedom Celestial Demon and turned to look at the Princess:
"Niece, you have the Tree of Life Coffin; you don’t need to take risks. Give me one or two more years to develop myself, and I’ll get the Tree Coffin back for you."
Seemingly sensing Zhang Chen’s goodwill and genuine concern, the Princess fell silent for a moment before speaking intermittently: "Feng Shui...broken, can’t...live! Longevity...losing...blocking...not..."
Listening to the Princess’s fragmented words, Zhang Chen pondered briefly and realized the truth as the Princess seemed to suggest that the Feng Shui Grand Array had been broken, and even with the Tree of Life Coffin, it could not prevent death. Without the small fortunate realm formed by the Feng Shui Grand Array, the life force of the Tree of Life Coffin would continue to deplete, eventually becoming useless, turning into an ordinary tree stump.
Taking a deep breath, Zhang Chen knew he had inadvertently caused a disaster, terribly harming his niece, yet found no way to remedy it.
He thought of the resurrected Divine Lady, who used the Sea Calming Divine Pearl to hide in the Daoist Temple, likely trying to buy time to delay her end too.
"I’ve cultivated magical power; can my magical power slow down the loss of essence, qi, and spirit in your body?" Zhang Chen suddenly remembered something and quickly asked his niece.
The Princess’s eyes showed a faint ripple at his words, which enlightened Zhang Chen. He quickly infused his magical power into the Golden Light, hoping it would be absorbed by the Princess. However, soon the Princess’s voice resounded in Zhang Chen’s ear: "Too weak! A drop in the ocean!"
At this, Zhang Chen was speechless, silently retracting his magical power, only to quicken his pace, constantly fleeing through the mountains.
"These old fellows end too tragically." Zhang Chen thought to himself, casting his gaze into the distance, determined to deliver the Princess, no matter what.
Zhang Chen ran while carrying the Princess, continuously using ultrasonic detection to avoid the martial artists in the mountains, quickly fleeing through the woodland, only for Zhang Chen to unexpectedly encounter an acquaintance: Zhang Gaqi.
Zhang Gaqi was hiding in a cave, unexpectedly evading Zhang Chen’s ultrasonic detection. Zhang Gaqi was drawn from the cave by the mysterious waves emanating from the Princess’s body, and upon exiting, saw Zhang Chen carrying the Princess’s body from afar.
When Zhang Gaqi saw Zhang Chen, Zhang Chen, of course, also saw Zhang Gaqi.
"Is it you!" Zhang Gaqi exclaimed upon seeing Zhang Chen, then his gaze scanned and fell upon the mysterious wave-emitting body of the Princess on Zhang Chen’s shoulder.
"It’s me!" Zhang Chen slowed his pace, his heart on guard, but he did not stop moving.
"What is that? A corpse emitting an ancient and mysterious aura?" Zhang Gaqi’s eyes burned with intensity: "I can feel its soul wave."
It was a body of an Ancient God; most importantly, the body of that Ancient God still had a living soul wave.
If Zhang Gaqi could gain its soul, his strength would soar, allowing him to contend with all the old hermits.
"This is mine!" Zhang Chen stated.
Zhang Gaqi moved his eyes from the body to Zhang Chen, his gaze intense: "I can make a deal with you."
"For this ancient corpse?" Zhang Chen asked.
"Indeed, as long as you give me this ancient corpse, I will do my utmost, by all means, to assist you in returning to the Zhang Family." Zhang Gaqi’s voice brimmed with uncontrollable excitement.
His words were full of confidence, believing no one could refuse the temptation of returning to their family.