Zhang Chen patted Chen Xu on the shoulder: "Don’t take it so seriously. Don’t you know me by now? I’m known as the world’s most ’trustworthy and righteous’ little gentleman, how could I ask you to do something dangerous? Prince Pingbian’s Mansion has moved a Daoist Temple here with a spell. There’s a Feng Shui Grand Array inside, but I can’t see through it. I wanted to ask you to come and take a look."
Hearing Zhang Chen’s string of self-praise, Chen Xu almost retched. "You, the honest and reliable little gentleman? So why is my Secret Treasure still not returned?"
At the mention of Prince Pingbian’s Mansion, Chen Xu instinctively swallowed, a hint of horror in his eyes: "I say, sir, how did you end up at odds with Prince Pingbian’s Mansion? Now that Prince Pingbian continues his Divine Enthronement, his power grows stronger. If we keep opposing Prince Pingbian’s Mansion, we might not gain any advantage."
"You’re like a kid who hits the cook after eating his fill. Now you’re afraid? If I hadn’t gone against Prince Pingbian’s Mansion, could you have escaped from there? By now, you’d have been chopped up and fed to the dogs by Prince Pingbian," Zhang Chen said irritably.
Chen Xu, hearing this, dared not speak up, feeling trapped by Zhang Chen’s scheme and unable to refuse his requests.
Zhang Chen took out an Invisibility Rune and handed it to Chen Xu: "No strong practitioner below the Yang God can see through my Invisibility Talisman. Let’s set off quickly."
Chen Xu dared not resist and could only follow Zhang Chen to the outside of the Daoist Temple, looking from afar at the tightly guarded complex. After applying the talismans, Zhang Chen used the Mountain-moving Technique, carrying Chen Xu over the courtyard wall into the yard.
Zhang Chen’s body had gone through several transformations. A mere two-meter-high wall was no difficult leap for him.
"What did you do for Prince Pingbian to imprison you here, guarding you so heavily?" Chen Xu asked once they stood in the yard.
"Prince Pingbian’s Mansion wants my life." Zhang Chen removed his invisibility rune, keeping Chen Xu invisible, and said: "The entire Daoist Temple seems wrapped in a faint, elusive Qi Mechanism. I can’t figure it out. You take a look and see if you can see any mystery."
"Let me take a look." Chen Xu stood in the yard, scrutinizing the layout, moving in and out of the rooms repeatedly. After half a day, as the sun was setting, Chen Xu finally entered the ancestral hall in the backyard of Prince Pingbian’s Mansion, where the ancestral tablets were worshiped. His eyes moved over the tablets, finally settling on the large incense burner in front of them.
The incense burner was large, similar to a bronze tripod cauldron, engraved with mysterious symbols. Chen Xu leaped onto the tripod cauldron, ignoring the incense ash, and dug into it. In no time, he extracted a strange beast-shaped jade stone, about the size of a fist.
Zhang Chen looked over to see the beast had three leopard heads, a Qilin-like body, nine scorpion-like tails, and six legs under its body, making it very peculiar.
"Wow, Prince Pingbian’s Mansion is quite ruthless. They’re really after your life!" Chen Xu said, looking at the runes on the beast, then turned to Zhang Chen: "This is the Substitute Death Technique! The entire Daoist Temple is shrouded in two hidden Feng Shui Grand Arrays. I only understood the Substitute Death Technique; the other I can’t discern. As soon as you light the incense and insert it into the tripod cauldron, the array will activate, reversing fate and stealing your destiny."
"Now that I’ve dug it out, as long as it’s not in the tripod cauldron, the Feng Shui Grand Array won’t activate. As for the other array, it seems influenced by Divine Power, which I can’t comprehend at the moment." Chen Xu said to Zhang Chen: "Prince Pingbian’s Mansion harbors ill intentions. We should burn down this Daoist Temple and roam the Martial World. With your abilities, there’s no need to fear their pursuit, why stay in this cage, waiting to die?"
Zhang Chen laughed heartily, taking the jade beast from Chen Xu’s hands. He examined it and then re-buried it in the tripod cauldron: "I have my plans. Lighting the incense to activate the Feng Shui Grand Array? What a clever trick."
"I roughly understand the mystery of the other Feng Shui Grand Array." Zhang Chen said to Chen Xu: "I’ll send you out. Keep an eye on Prince Pingbian’s ancestral tomb."
"You really want to stay here? These two Feng Shui Grand Arrays are not simple; one wrong move could cost your life." Chen Xu’s voice was full of concern.
Zhang Chen patted Chen Xu on the shoulder: "Don’t worry about me. You just be careful out there."
Chen Xu didn’t press further, knowing Zhang Chen’s capabilities were no joke. His power was a mystery, especially after subduing Zhong Xiang and causing turmoil at Prince Pingbian’s Mansion. Even Zhong Xiang, now in the Mysterious Realm, found it unthinkable.
Zhang Chen was about to send Chen Xu out when Chen Xu waved it off: "No need, I’ve gained some Creation, learned a few tricks, and this Daoist Temple can’t hold me."
Chen Xu’s form twisted, turning into a small snake no thicker than a chopstick. The snake shimmered with a dark light, and Mysterious Power flowed over it, runes flickering on its scales. Zhang Chen, seeing the snake, blurted out: "Ba Snake!"
It really was a Ba Snake!
A very small Ba Snake, its body twisted, disappearing among the buildings without a trace.
"Transform into a Ba Snake? Chen Xu got the Ba Snake Essence Blood and gained such an incredible ability?" Zhang Chen’s eyes showed disbelief; this was something he had wanted but never achieved.