Although Xu Erniu was young, she was definitely not a fool, otherwise, she couldn't have survived by begging alone.
She felt something was off with Zhang Chen. In the town below, he had mysterious techniques, but why did they all vanish upon reaching the mountain? He even seemed to have become a cripple?
The two of them passed through numerous houses along the way and finally arrived at the backyard. Passing by a grand hall with the words "Heaven and Earth" inscribed on it, Xu Erniu pointed at the hall and said, "This hall is a forbidden area. No one except the Ancestral Master is allowed to enter it."
Zhang Chen turned his head to look, only to see the large doors tightly shut, appearing very mysterious, so he nodded in agreement.
Next, Xu Erniu led Zhang Chen to familiarize himself with all the courtyards before arranging his accommodations: "You will live next to me from now on, so we can look out for each other."
Zhang Chen nodded at her words: "That works!"
Thus, Zhang Chen settled down in the backyard and began his daily chores of cleaning and other errands.
While working, Zhang Chen absentmindedly strolled through all the courtyards. The Great Freedom Celestial Demon, perched on Zhang Jiao's shoulder, transformed into a thumb-sized tiny person: "Kid, that mirror is inside the Heaven and Earth Hall. If you want to obtain the technique for regulating Yin and Yang and mastering the transformation of the Five Qis, you need to enter that hall."
"Are you sure it's in that hall?" Zhang Chen gazed distantly towards the hall.
The Great Freedom Celestial Demon nodded confidently: "That mirror is enshrined inside the hall."
"But that is the hall that the Ancestral Master of Longevity explicitly forbade anyone from entering. If I sneak in and get discovered by the Ancestral Master, things could end terribly." Zhang Chen felt some trepidation: "Moreover, with the hall being so crucial, who knows if there's a tenth or even twelfth-tier presence guarding it. If I rashly barge in, wouldn't I be walking into a trap?"
"The Ancestral Master of Longevity doesn't trust anyone but himself; how could he allow his disciples to guard the hall?" the Great Freedom Celestial Demon explained.
Holding a rag in his hand, Zhang Chen constantly wiped down the palace's doors and windows, cleaning all the way to the Heaven and Earth Hall, feeling a bit surprised: "The Heaven and Earth Hall's door surprisingly doesn't have any prohibitions on it."
"Have you read too many Mortal World novels, kid? Apart from formations, what other prohibitions could be placed on a door? This is just an ordinary door." The Great Freedom Celestial Demon mocked Zhang Chen, noting his heavy exposure to mundane fiction, where such remarkable abilities don't exist.
"I don't know anything about these strong ones; how would I know what techniques they have?" Zhang Chen retorted irritably.
"If you drag me into danger, who am I going to argue with?" Zhang Chen grumbled.
The Great Freedom Celestial Demon, resigned to Zhang Chen's distrust, could only explain: "Cultivators aren't as miraculous as you imagine; they are merely people in possession of extraordinary power."
"I think the safest plan is to lure the tiger away from the mountain, come up with a way to draw that old geezer away, then I can sneak in unnoticed." Zhang Chen, cautious by nature, sought to avoid any risk.
Upon hearing this, the Great Freedom Celestial Demon frowned and pondered: "It's not easy to draw him out. This old guy has countless masters under his command, ordinary matters usually won't need him to come out."
"Come up with something." Zhang Chen urged the Great Freedom Celestial Demon.
After thinking for a moment, the Great Freedom Celestial Demon finally said: "I actually thought of a plan."
Zhang Chen was surprised, as he hadn't expected the old devil to really have a plan, so he inquired in his mind: "What plan do you have?"
"The Nine Bends Yellow River Talisman Array." The Great Freedom Celestial Demon said: "Qingcheng Mountain is the Ancestral Master of Longevity's blessed land, the foundation of the Ancestral Master. If you lay down the Nine Bends Yellow River Talisman Array, it will inevitably attract the Ancestral Master of Longevity to investigate. He won't be able to execute the Earthquake and Mountain Collapse technique to break it. His energy will be diverted there..."
Upon hearing this, Zhang Chen's heart stirred. The Nine Bends Yellow River Talisman Array was his Lifebound Talisman, something he could call back to his Divine Soul at a moment's thought, impossible for anyone else to suppress.
Even if the Ancestral Master of Longevity truly broke the Nine Bends Yellow River Talisman Array and seized his talisman, he could still retrieve it in an instant.
"You're really something," Zhang Chen's eyes gleamed: "There's just one issue. I can't leave the Daoist Temple, so I can't lay the array outside."
To set up the Nine Bends Yellow River Talisman Array, one must find a deserted place, since the array laying process, if interrupted, could lead to trouble.
There would definitely be fluctuations in Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi when setting up the array. If he acted, it would surely draw attention from within the temple, making escape difficult in his current state.
"That Little Fatty Zou Wenlong seems a good candidate," the Great Freedom Celestial Demon suggested: "If that kid sets up the array, all the trouble can be pinned on him, and someone else will take the blame for you."
"But how to get him to set the array at the foot of the mountain?" Zhang Chen began to ponder.
"There's no need to set it down the mountain. With that kid's status, even if he sets the array on the mountain, what of it? If he stirs up trouble, it has nothing to do with us, even if Daoist Changsheng punishes him. Moreover, once the Nine Bends Yellow River Talisman Array is set, it might envelop the core disciples of the Five Villages Temple within, then Daoist Changsheng would have to worry. If he rashly charges in, it could be his end! The Nine Bends Yellow River Array is something even that bald chicken can't counter, let alone him?" The Great Freedom Celemon's voice was full of chaotic glee, wishing for nothing less than total disorder.
"Moreover, that Changsheng junior Daoist's calamity has arrived. Blinded by greed under the calamity, they always do foolish things. He might even rush into the Nine Bends Yellow River Talisman Array to face his fate," the Great Freedom Celestial Demon added.