Zhang Chen, who was hiding nearby in an invisible state, was stunned. He never expected to be caught in this drama himself.
"That scoundrel Mr. Wuliu is truly vicious, downright despicable! How dare he plot against me again?" Zhang Chen stood aside, listening to their conversation, his eyes showing a touch of malice.
Those old fogies from Prince Pingbian’s Mansion actually dared to target me. Such outrageous behavior!
On the other side, Prince Pingbian stroked his chin and after a moment said, "That kid is no simple character; cunning as a ghost and extremely sly. We must not let him detect any flaws."
"No matter how cunning he is, he’s just an ordinary mortal. What means could he possibly have to see through our schemes?" Mr. Wuliu chuckled smugly, "Leave this matter to our subordinates."
Then the two of them meticulously arranged their plans before leaving the Earth Vein and returning to Goulan County.
Watching the two of them fade into the distance, Zhang Chen’s eyes glowed coldly, "Fine, fine, let me see who has actually outmaneuvered whom. With so many tricks up my sleeve, could you really think of bullying me? You’ll end up losing more than you gain, and I’ll seize this opportunity to devour this Creation."
Zhang Chen retraced his steps all the way back to where Chen Xu stood, then dispelled the Invisibility Technique. Seeing Zhang Chen, Chen Xu hurried over and asked, "Young Master Zhang, how did it go?"
"In those mountains lies something mysterious that fell from the Immortal Realm, circulating with an incredible power. Prince Pingbian’s Mansion plans to dispatch an army to guard it; therefore, the excavation of their ancestral tombs is postponed to avoid any mishaps," Zhang Chen explained to Chen Xu.
"Prince Pingbian’s Mansion actually detected that mystery too?" Chen Xu muttered to himself, "What a nuisance."
"But I already have a plan. Just wait for my message," Zhang Chen patted Chen Xu’s shoulder. "You find a place to hide first. Once I’ve arranged everything, we’ll take action."
Chen Xu reluctantly complied, leaving with a heavy heart.
Watching Chen Xu leave, Zhang Chen transformed into mist and vanished among the mountains. When he reappeared, he had arrived at his secret base. There, Hunting Falcon stood in the cold wind, gazing at the distant mountains, deep in thought, while a swarm retreated into the beehives, falling into a deep sleep.
Noticing Zhang Chen’s arrival, the Hawk showed a delighted expression, rushed to Zhang Chen’s side, and rubbed its head against Zhang Chen, emitting joyful cries.
Even the Bee King of the hornets managed to crawl out of the hive against the cold wind, standing at the entrance of the hive without daring to fly out due to the chill.
Zhang Chen stepped forward and held out his hand, at which point the hornet crawled out of the hive and darted into Zhang Chen’s sleeve, clutching his arm with a joyful buzzing sound.
Looking at the Bee King and the Hawk, a thought arose in Zhang Chen’s mind: "Are these two beasts truly worth wasting my precious imprint slots on? The hornet is quite alright; if it grows into a swarm, it might accomplish something. But the Hunting Falcon... even if enlightened, who knows how far it can advance in the future. The most crucial thing is, the Hunting Falcon’s evolution speed definitely can’t keep up with my growth."
After a brief consideration, Zhang Chen still decided to give the two beasts a chance. As for whether they can succeed and how far they can go in the future, it depends on their luck.
At worst, he could simply kill the two Demon Beasts, and by then, the slots would naturally return to him.
Zhang Chen pointed to the two beasts with his fingers, bestowing them with Qi and imprints. Then, the two beasts suddenly fell into a slumber as if entering a state of hibernation.
A mysterious Qi mechanism from heaven and earth converged around, absorbed by the two beasts in slumber, and they underwent some inexplicable transformation.
Zhang Chen carefully tucked the Bee King back into the hive and dragged the Hunting Falcon into the depths of a cave to prevent it from being eaten by passing beasts. Then he once again turned into mist and glided at low altitude to the Eight Trigrams Furnace.
As soon as Zhang Chen arrived at the Eight Trigrams Furnace, he immediately detected its changes. The colorful flames within the Eight Trigrams Furnace had transformed; the flames, originally seven-colored, had become colorless. The temperature inside the furnace was scorching, causing even the surrounding rocks to show signs of melting into magma.
It must be noted that the Eight Trigrams Furnace was still containing the flame’s power, with only slight residual warmth escaping from the furnace. That indicates just how terrifying the temperature of those flames is, possibly amplified a thousand times over.
Possessing the Fire Extinguishing Pearl, Zhang Chen had complete knowledge of flames and swiftly identified the source of this fire: "Colored Realm Fire."
Color refers to substance.
The Colored Realm Fire is a flame that can ignite all material substances. No wonder the Eight Trigrams Furnace couldn’t contain its power.
"How did the flame’s power in the Eight Trigrams Furnace suddenly upgrade to the Colored Realm Fire?" Zhang Chen was filled with astonishment, and soon he had a guess: "Could it be due to the mysterious object that fell into Prince Pingbian’s Mansion?"
That mystery fell into the Ancestral Vein of Prince Pingbian’s Mansion, nourishing the Ancestral Vein with its power, while the Eight Trigrams Furnace extracts power from the Ancestral Vein. So, does that mean I’ve been utilizing the power of that treasure?
"Well! It seems it’s not the luck of Prince Pingbian’s Mansion that’s good, but mine!" Zhang Chen repeatedly praised, standing in front of the Eight Trigrams Furnace, carefully sensing the changes within. In a matter of days, the circular restriction inside the Eight Trigrams Furnace had crumbled three layers, a testament to the ferocity of this Colored Realm Fire.