Monk Hai Chan, upon hearing this, clutched the five feathers in his hand and turned to look down at Zhang Chen: "Apart from you, does anyone else know about this matter?"
Zhang Chen was taken aback by the question. Even if he was foolish, he should have realized by now that this Hai Chan wanted to kill him to silence him after obtaining the treasure!
Hai Chan's heart was already filled with greed. Zhang Chen needed to buy time until the Great Freedom Celestial Demon acted, so he replied calmly, "Ancestral Master, besides me, there is a junior sister who knows about this."
"Anyone else knows?" Hai Chan raised an eyebrow, pondering. If he killed this Daoist child now, it would not effectively silence the matter.
"It might be better to come up with a plan to have him bring that junior sister here. I can then eliminate both of them at once," Hai Chan thought, his mind filled with a murderous intent.
In the exchange between the two, Monk Hai Chan had already formulated a strategy. He glared angrily at Zhang Chen: "Boy, today I'll break one of your arms as a small punishment. Go get your junior sister and have her tend to me. If she can do so satisfactorily, I might reattach your arm. Also, you must not tell a third person about this treasure, or I'll ensure you suffer soul extraction and refining, leaving you with no place to die in peace."
Zhang Chen quickly replied respectfully, "Disciple will comply!"
The Ancestral Master nodded in satisfaction, then pointed a finger, and Zhang Chen's wound stopped bleeding: "Quickly summon your junior sister. If there's a delay, don't blame me for not reattaching your arm."
Zhang Chen hurriedly set down the teapot and quickly ran out of the pavilion. Once he was far away, the flesh at his severed arm started to move. The blood splatters on his clothes flowed back like water, directly reattaching his severed arm.
Except for the torn sleeve and the glaring white of his arm, there was no sign of injury.
"That Ancestor Hai Chan is actually a demon beast in disguise, and he's so violent, truly deserving of death," Zhang Chen's voice seethed with murder:
"Old man, can you really do this?"
"Do you think it's easy to seize control of someone's body by awakening greed?" retorted the Great Freedom Celestial Demon. "If I were at my peak, controlling him would be easy, but my current power is less than one-billionth of my prime, making it quite difficult to manipulate this old man."
The Great Freedom Celestial Demon continued, "Give me thirty more breaths, and I will be able to control that old man."
Zhang Chen laughed upon hearing this:
"I'll head to the Nine Bends Yellow River Array and wait. The array requires my oversight to unleash its true power. That damn Monk Hai Chan dared to lay hands on me—I'll make sure he suffers retribution within the array!"
After speaking, Zhang Chen looked around, and seeing no one paying attention, he transformed into water droplets and seeped into the ground, reemerging inside the Nine Bends Yellow River Array.
Standing within the array, Zhang Chen gazed at the sprawling sea of yellow sand, a touch of sentiment in his eyes: "My Nine Bends Yellow River Array's power has grown! Together with my Golden Scissors, Monk Hai Chan won't have a chance to escape. I'll shred his true spirit here."
Zhang Chen took out the Golden Scissors, casually tossing them into the array where they disappeared, ready to deliver a sneak attack if Ancestor Hai Chan tried to escape like the Innate Peacock.
"Hai Chan is a special species with primordial blood flowing in his veins, which is perfect for supplementing the blood needed to refine the Blood Transformation Divine Saber," commented the Great Freedom Celestial Demon.
Hearing this, Zhang Chen was overjoyed. He never expected such a harvest!
"Not only Hai Chan, but the other few guys also transformed from special species, like that Xuanji Ancestor, who was originally an old turtle. They are all innate creatures of the second generation. Obtaining their blood will be enough to cultivate the Blood Transformation Divine Saber." The Great Freedom Celestial Demon spoke, his voice filled with temptation.
Hearing these words, Zhang Chen was thrilled, his eyes gleaming: "Who would have thought I'd have such an opportunity! What a chance! If I can gather the materials for refining the Blood Transformation Divine Saber in the Spiritual World, that would be a great fortune."
Unbeknownst to Zhang Chen, the Great Freedom Celestial Demon secretly chuckled: "This foolish boy thinks this is the Spiritual World! Absurd!"
Yet, he chose not to expose the truth, fearing that doing so might cause unpredictable changes in the timeline, which could be problematic!
Zhang Chen waited within the Nine Bends Yellow River Array, but meanwhile, after obtaining five feathers, Monk Hai Chan couldn't conceal his joy, his emotions fluctuating incessantly: "The Innate Peacock's Five-Colored Divine Light is overwhelmingly powerful; the upper realm Immortals fell to it in the past. If I can refine this divine light, even if an Immortal True Spirit revives, I'll be able to destroy it. Even if the Peacock True Spirit resurrects, now that the Five-Colored Divine Light is in my possession, who knows who'll win?"
As greed consumed him and his mind wandered, a black lotus bloomed within his heart. Monk Hai Chan sensed something amiss and hurried to employ a Buddhist technique to suppress it, but he was too late.
The next moment, after a brief struggle on his face, a strange smile appeared on Monk Hai Chan's countenance. He glanced at his own arm, then slowly, leisurely took small steps, observing the scenery of the Five Villages Temple, making his way to the Ancestral Master's backyard.
Without hesitation, he arrived at the place where the Heaven and Earth Treasure Mirror was stored. Following the incantation Zhang Chen had taught him, he reached out and took the mirror into his hand.
Why did the Ancestral Master dare to enshrine the Heaven and Earth Treasure Mirror here without fear of theft? Because without the incantation, taking away the mirror was impossible—it would draw the thief in and imprison them.
Just like before when Zhang Chen placed his hand on the mirror. It opened its gates and pulled Zhang Chen inside.
If outsiders were unaware of the intricacies, the Heaven and Earth Treasure Mirror would merely contain another prisoner within.
But after acquiring the mirror, Monk Hai Chan didn't leave quietly. Instead, he deliberately released a pulse of magical power, alerting the Ancestral Master to changes in the area. Then he fled towards the Nine Bends Yellow River Array.
After causing such a commotion, how could the Ancestral Master not know?
The disturbance indeed alerted the Ancestral Master, who quickly pursued him, arriving at the place where the Heaven and Earth Treasure Mirror was stored. Seeing the empty altar, his mind went blank: "The Heaven and Earth Treasure Mirror is gone? How did he take it? Why didn't the mirror retaliate? I knew they came prepared!"
Due to the Qi mechanism left by Hai Chan, the Ancestral Master wasted no time, transforming into a stream of light and chasing after him. Both arrived at the Nine Bends Yellow River Talisman Array almost simultaneously.
"Monk Hai Chan, why do you do this?" The Ancestral Master's face was grim as he glared at Monk Hai Chan: "Return the Heaven and Earth Treasure Mirror, and I might let this go. We're still friends unless someone has to stay here today."
'Monk Hai Chan' snorted upon hearing this: "You hypocrite! At death's door and you still dare to boast before me? If you want the Heaven and Earth Treasure Mirror, come and take it! Now that this treasure is in my hands, there's no way I'm giving it back to you."