The Innate Peacock looked at Zhang Chen's disappearing figure in the yellow sand and shook its head secretly: "This kid is stubborn, afraid he won't listen to advice. Just hope he doesn't cause trouble and disrupt my recovery."
Zhang Chen held the 'Immortal Relics' in his hand, arriving at a corner of the yellow sand. He looked down at the object in his hand, then took out the Spiritual Relic left by Monk Hai Chan. After examining it for a moment, the mouthparts of the Innate Mosquito were summoned, and its eyes focused on the Spiritual Relic left by Monk Hai Chan, piercing straight in with the mosquito's mouthparts.
"No!"
The Great Freedom Celestial Demon saw Zhang Chen's actions and was shocked, hurriedly shouting.
Unfortunately, it was too late. A thunderous sound was heard, and a terrifying force emanated from the crystal ball. Zhang Chen's arm exploded in an instant, turning into a mist of blood, then that force quickly invaded his body. At this moment, the Crystal Core within Zhang Chen's body flashed with mystical light, its internal Sea of Blood rose like massive waves, actively drawing that terrifying force into the Sea of Blood, being devoured and dissolved by the Infinite Blood Sea.
Then, after three breaths, a cracking sound was heard. A crack shot forth from the Crystal Core inside Zhang Chen's body, but fortunately, that terrifying force was eventually dissolved by the Infinite Blood Sea.
At this moment, a sound like beans popping erupted, and a burst of bone-cracking sounds resonated from Zhang Chen's body. Terrifying, hideous cracks appeared on his flesh, making him resemble a broken porcelain doll, threatening to shatter at any moment, fragmenting into countless pieces.
Meanwhile, within Zhang Chen's Crystal Core, the Sea of Blood surged with waves, rolling with blood-red ripples, resisting the force that was tearing apart Zhang Chen's body.
"You fool! This so-called relic is connected to a mysterious 'Fruit Position'. Fruit Position is the power of Heavenly Dao. By directly stealing the Fruit Position's power, you are seizing the power of the Heavenly Dao. If it weren't for the blood-red Crystal Core in your body bursting forth with a force countering the Heavenly Dao's backlash, you might have vanished in an instant." The Great Freedom Celestial Demon emerged, looking at Zhang Chen who resembled shattered glass, his heart palpitating.
At this moment, Zhang Chen's wounds were terrifying, similar to Yin Zhong, severely injured by the Spirit Mirror. Those wounds resembled wriggling worms.
Zhang Chen did not respond to the Great Freedom Celestial Demon's words, instead, his eyes shut tightly, desperately exerting Divine Techniques. His skin wriggled continuously, the terrifying wounds began repairing, but the process was extremely slow, as if a force was entrenched within the wounds, constantly hindering the restoration of injuries on his body.
Although the recovery was slow, it was recovery nonetheless. The power of the Sea of Blood within the Crystal Core flowed endlessly, continuously pouring into Zhang Chen's body, repairing his wounds.
How much time passed, Zhang Chen's muscles and bones automatically corrected and restored, the terrifying, hideous wounds gradually mended, the severed arm started to regrow.
"Phew~"
Zhang Chen exhaled deeply, a hint of lingering fear in his eyes, this was the closest he'd come to death. If not for the Crystal Core's protection, the backlash of Heavenly Dao might have killed him.
"Now you know fear, right? Let's see if you dare to recklessly devour again." The Great Freedom Celestial Demon grumbled.
Zhang Chen did not answer, but carefully examined his body. Though his flesh had healed, the wounds on the Crystal Core remained, showing no signs of repair.
The Crystal Core now looked like a crystal riddled with cracks, seemingly ready to explode into ashes.
"Fortunately, I devoured the Sea of Blood earlier; otherwise, I'd be facing calamity today." Zhang Chen cast his 'gaze' toward the Infinite Blood Sea within the Crystal Core, realizing that the Infinite Blood Sea had shrunk by half, evaporated under the backlash of that terrifying force.
"What kind of force is it?" Zhang Chen inquired, having missed the Great Freedom Celestial Demon's scolding as he was busy surviving, having no time to listen.
Upon hearing this, the Great Freedom Celestial Demon replied: "This Shariputra is a relic, containing the power of Fruit Position, which is connected to Heavenly Dao. Seizing the power of Heavenly Dao and suffering backlash is only natural."
Upon hearing these words, Zhang Chen remained silent for a long time before saying: "Truly terrifying!"
The Great Freedom Celestial Demon did not respond. If the Heavenly Dao were not terrifying, how could the gods face twilight?
"Seems like these things can't remain on me." Zhang Chen looked at those relics, casually dug a hole within the Nine Bends Yellow River Array, burying them inside.
These relics were already indestructible; not even the power of the Yellow River could affect them.
"I should go out and see the situation outside, show my face as well, so the Ancestral Master doesn't become suspicious. With all the old masters disappearing, the Ancestral Master of Longevity must have noticed something amiss, may have begun to watch for any abnormalities within the Daoist Temple. I need to conceal and hide, leaving no trace." Zhang Chen gazed at his restored body, transforming into a drop of water and disappearing into the array, emerging inside his room.
The room was unchanged; Zhang Chen emerged from a crack in the floor, revealed his form, changed his clothes, hid the worn attire, then picked up a bucket and cloth, stepping out of the house.
At this time, the sunset on the horizon was about to set in the west. Zhang Chen held a wooden bucket and wiped slowly and calmly. As he passed the Heaven and Earth Hall, he saw the Ancestral Master of Longevity standing inside with his hands behind his back, looking at the empty offering table, pondering something unknown.
A slanting ray of the setting sun shone through the gaps, casting into the hall, illuminating a dim area within. In that darkness, the figure of the Ancestral Master of Longevity appeared particularly lonely.
Zhang Chen saluted the Ancestral Master of Longevity quietly, then left the entrance of the hall and continued with his work.
It proved that the Ancestral Master of Longevity had not noticed the disappearance of the ancestors, which indeed gave Zhang Chen a lot of time. Until the next day, when Zhang Chen pretended not to know and went to brew tea as usual, he saw that there was still no reaction within the Daoist Temple. He secretly thought: "Could it be that no one in the Daoist Temple has noticed that all the ancestors have disappeared?"
Zhang Chen pondered slightly and decided to report to the Ancestral Master of Longevity. As someone serving various ancestors, if he found the situation but did not report it, he might arouse the master's suspicion.
He had too many secrets on him to endure scrutiny.
Zhang Chen walked all the way to the master's residence. Today, the master was not preaching but was sitting in the courtyard wiping his treasure sword.
"Master, the disciple has something to report." Zhang Chen respectfully walked forward.
"What is it?" The master, seeing Zhang Chen, put down the sword, a hint of a smile appearing in his eyes.
This servant disciple was reliable, and if not for his reminder, how could he have discovered the secret scheming of those old figures?
So he had a good impression of the servant disciple in front of him.
"Master, today when I went to serve tea, I found that all the ancestors had disappeared..." Zhang Chen spoke while cautiously looking up at the Ancestral Master of Longevity.
Sure enough, hearing Zhang Chen's words, the master's expression changed: "All disappeared?"
Zhang Chen nodded, then saw the master form a hand seal, swipe his forehead, from which a golden light burst forth, and an eyeball rotated in the golden light, scanning in all directions.
After a moment, the eyes closed, and the master's expression was puzzled and uncertain: "Strange, how have everyone's auras completely disappeared? Not even a trace left?"
"This is not good news." The master's mind was filled with doubt and uncertainty.
It's known that placing the enemy under one's eyes is different from letting the enemy escape directly.
If these old figures were up to mischief in the dark, it would indeed be troublesome for him to deal with, as open spears are easy to dodge, but hidden arrows are difficult to avoid.
"Come, follow me," the master ordered Zhang Chen, getting up and walking toward the door, Zhang Chen following closely behind. Thoughts of the divine technique the master just used flashed through his mind. After a moment, he recalled seeing records of this technique in the Library Pavilion; it could see through, probe beyond thousands of miles, and observe qi, and it could capture souls.
After just a few steps, he heard the voice of the Ancestral Master of Longevity, pulling Zhang Chen back from his contemplation of the pupil technique: "During your service, have you ever heard where the various ancestors planned to go?"
Zhang Chen shook his head at the query: "Disciple does not know."
The master sighed helplessly, then, along with Zhang Chen, led him to the small dwelling, where the master once again opened the Celestial Eye, repeatedly scanning the rooms where the ancestors had resided, searching for traces of their existence, capturing their trails in the air, eventually leading to the exterior of the Nine Bends Yellow River Array. Observing its operation, the master's expression turned serious.
"All traces point to the Nine Bends Yellow River Array, and all the elders' auras were cut off before the Array. Either they all entered it preparing some conspiracy out of the sight of my Celestial Eye, or they obscured their qi, hiding in the dark, and the so-called cut-off was merely a blinding technique to deceive me." The master, wise as ever, quickly deduced various possibilities.
"According to common sense, preemptive action is advantageous, while reactive action spells disaster. However, the situation here is full of riddles, resembling someone's incitement of discord." The Ancestral Master of Longevity pondered, considering these people were his allies. If he truly killed them all, he too would be in danger, observed by others.
"Forget it, I'll respond to changes with calmness. I must first find out who is secretly stirring up these conflicts. I always feel there's a large hand in the shadows manipulating the situation." Thinking this, the Ancestral Master of Longevity said to Zhang Chen: "You may leave now; in the future, you no longer have to come to serve."
After speaking, the Ancestral Master of Longevity fixed his gaze on the Nine Bends Yellow River Array, falling into contemplation once more. At this moment, he could only lament in his heart: "If only the Heaven and Earth Treasure Mirror were still here, I could see if they were up to tricks within the Nine Bends Yellow River Array."