As she spoke, the princess stepped forward and grasped the hunting spear. The steel spear flashed with a cold light as if to resist, but the princess’s divine power circulated around her, directly suppressing it. The steel spear buzzed lightly and stayed quietly in the princess’s hand, held firmly.
"With this divine weapon, I can surely blast open the Celestial Sect and enter the higher realms of the Spiritual World," the princess said, her voice full of excitement.
In contrast to the princess’s excitement, the Big Black Dog seemed gloomy, with a look as if life was worse than death, feeling it had let down its master’s trust.
Meanwhile, Zhang Chen approached the table, gazing at the slingshot and elixir pills placed upon it, a look of greed in his eyes. Anything left by the master of the Big Black Dog must not be ordinary.
Zhang Chen reached out again to pick up the slingshot, but it was still too heavy for him to lift; he didn’t have the strength to budge it.
The Big Black Dog noticed Zhang Chen’s actions and showed a hint of disdain in its eyes: ’A puny ant dares to covet the divine artifact of my master, utterly delusional. How could such a weak ant possibly move that slingshot?’
Faced with the contempt of the Big Black Dog, Zhang Chen was filled with anger, how could he be scorned by a mere dog, it was utterly maddening.
"One day, I will show you my might. Fortune’s wheel keeps turning, we shall see," Zhang Chen thought, gritting his teeth in hatred.
The princess, hearing the commotion, turned around and glanced at the slingshot on the table, then addressed the Big Black Dog: "Heizi, your path is narrowing! The First Heaven is about to collapse, all items will fall into the Mortal World, you can’t use this slingshot either, what harm is there in letting him have a look?"
Upon hearing this, the Big Black Dog drooped its head, feeling speechless, as if someone had come to rob its home: anyway, you have too much money to spend, what’s the harm in letting me use some?
’You’re a witch! You’re stronger than me, so you must be right!’ the Big Black Dog thought, grumbling inwardly, while forcing a smile on its face that made Zhang Chen picture a meme.
"Heizi, you mustn’t walk a narrow path!" the princess kicked the Big Black Dog aside and approached the table, looking at the slingshot and pearl, saying to Zhang Chen: "The origin of this slingshot and pearl is not simple. The slingshot is fashioned from the Heaven and Earth Spirit Root, the Laurel Tree, while the pearl is crafted from Dragon Pearls left by a True Dragon in seven ’fruit’ realms, refined by a certain great power with a Secret Technique. As for the slingshot’s rubber band, it seems to come from some mysterious creature, the specifics I do not know. Given your current strength, pulling the slingshot is out of the question; it’s even hard for you to lift it. Not until you achieve Perfection in the Second Realm of Mountain-moving Technique will you be able to wield this divine weapon freely. However, Mountain-moving Technique’s First Realm will barely allow you to exert some of its power."
"Has he mastered the Mountain-moving Technique?" The Big Black Dog was shocked upon hearing the princess and quickly interjected.
"Not only has he mastered the Mountain-moving Technique, but he has also established his foundation using the Pangu Stone," the princess remarked with deeper meaning.
Upon hearing this, Zhang Chen was startled internally; the princess had discerned his background, surely she had realized that it was he who moved the Pangu Stone and caused the collapse of the First Heaven of the Spiritual World?
Zhang Chen looked towards the princess with some guilt, only to see her reveal a mysterious smile at him, then reached out and patted Zhang Chen’s head: "You need not fear, I will not blame you."
With the princess patting him on the head, Zhang Chen felt strange but, thinking of his guilty actions, could only tolerate the rebellious niece’s rudeness.
Hearing this, the Big Black Dog stared straight at Zhang Chen, indignantly saying: "That is the mantra left by my master, and he secretly practiced it without permission; he is a thief! Why should he be allowed to practice it? Miss, you must stand up for me! He stole my master’s technique without leave, he ought to be stripped of his Divine Techniques and struck down to a mortal."
"I think you just want to become dog meat! If you wish to save your master, you must let him achieve Great Success in the Mountain-moving Technique to move aside Two Realms Mountain. In the future, you will still need to ask him for help, I’d advise you to treat him courteously," the princess said with a smile to the Big Black Dog.
The Big Black Dog turned its head to glance at Zhang Chen, and its spirit deflated instantly, lying down in a state of lifelessness.
The princess ignored the Big Black Dog and instead picked up the slingshot from the table, playing with it for a while before looking towards Zhang Chen: "The jade casket is on you, right?"
She was referring to the jade casket sealing the God-Beating Whip’s Sacrificial Refining Wonderful Technique.
Zhang Chen hurriedly took out the jade casket, the princess looked at it and sighed softly as she received it: "Years ago, my father battled with someone and eventually obtained this jade casket, but it is impervious to weapons and fire, unable to open it at all. However, my father believed it sealed remarkable items, so he buried it with me, hoping one day its secrets could be unlocked. Unbeknownst to me, with the loss of spiritual resonance in the world, the wonders of the jade casket also gradually faded, eventually opening in your hands."
"What’s stored in the jade casket?" the princess asked curiously, looking at Zhang Chen.
"A blueprint!" Zhang Chen replied.
"Blueprint?" the princess was surprised, wondering what kind of blueprint required the jade box for containment.
Upon hearing the princess, Zhang Chen said: "A blueprint of a magical treasure, this treasure is called: ’God-Beating Whip’. I am preparing for its sacrificial refining, and I already have its initial form."
The princess smiled: "When you manage to complete it, you must show it to me."
Then the princess placed the slingshot and pearls into the jade casket, closed it, and handed it back to Zhang Chen: "This jade casket is very mysterious; if you only take the slingshot, you’ll never move it. But if you place the slingshot within the jade casket, it will become as light as a feather for you to carry away."
Zhang Chen was momentarily stunned, having initially thought the princess intended to keep the slingshot for herself, only to be surprised that she gave it to him.
Zhang Chen took the jade casket and indeed found it light as a feather.
Holding the jade casket, Zhang Chen looked toward the princess, revealing a hint of hesitation in his eyes: "Aren’t you going to use the slingshot yourself?"
"At my level of cultivation, the slingshot is merely a useless effort; even a stone thrown casually holds more power than the slingshot’s might," the princess smiled confidently, then stood up and looked toward the distant sky, denying Zhang Chen the chance for further inquiry, and waved her steel spear, "We should depart!"
With that, the princess looked at the Big Black Dog: "The First Heaven is about to collapse, will you follow me into the Second Heaven of the Spiritual World, or what do you plan to do?"
"Miss, you go ahead! I still have some matters to handle in the First Heaven, anyway you will open the door to the Second Heaven of the Spiritual World, I can follow along then," the Big Black Dog’s face carried a flattering smile.
The princess nodded upon hearing this, then with a warning in her eyes: "You may stay on the First Heaven, but you must not trouble Zhang Chen."
The princess remained a bit unconvinced and addressed Zhang Chen: "You should quickly depart. Otherwise, once I step into the Second Heaven of the Spiritual World, this Heizi might bite you."
Zhang Chen’s expression was helpless upon hearing this; he still wished to explore what Creation lay within the First Heaven of the Spiritual World.
"In this First Heaven besides some unique mystical essence, there are no standout treasures worth wandering for. Of course, within this First Heaven World are some old traps left behind; given your strength to explore, you’d likely turn into dust. For instance, the body of the Ba Snake couldn’t be something you could handle. The Ba Snake is merely the weakest little reptile in the First Heaven," the princess explained for Zhang Chen.
Zhang Chen heard this and felt confused; why would those old figures bury themselves in the First Heaven rather than higher realms?
"It’s crowded up there!" the princess lightly sighed, her tone filled with sentiment: "And then some unfortunate ones tried to break through the Spiritual World into the Material Realm to establish their plans but suffered a backlash and fell in the First Heaven. Such beings, even in the Thirty-Three Heavens, were top-notch figures."
As the princess spoke, a figure surfaced in Zhang Chen’s mind: the Great Freedom Celestial Demon.
Could this old figure be exactly the unlucky one the princess mentioned?
It’s highly probable!
Though the Great Freedom Celestial Demon ultimately came into the Material Realm in a form of residual soul, did he succeed, or was he considered to have failed?