The Nine Bends Yellow River Array was like a thorn, stuck in the throat of the Ancestral Master of Longevity, making it difficult for him to rest or eat in peace.
Qingcheng Mountain was his territory, and the sudden appearance of an unknown array was quite unsettling.
As for the whereabouts of the revered ancestors, he had already raised his guard to avoid being ambushed.
Zhang Chen, upon hearing the instructions of the Ancestral Master of Longevity, did not leave but instead lowered his head and said, "Disciple has recently gained some insights from the scriptures and wishes to go into seclusion for a while to see if I can cultivate magical power. I humbly request the master's permission."
The Ancestral Master of Longevity nodded upon hearing this, "You may go! If you can cultivate magical power, it is your destiny."
Though he said this, in his heart, he did not believe Zhang Chen had the aptitude to cultivate magical power.
Zhang Chen glanced at the Ancestral Master of Longevity and then respectfully retreated. He wanted to cultivate the Blood Transformation Divine Saber, necessitating a period of seclusion.
Zhang Chen returned all the way to his courtyard, pondering over the matter of seclusion. While cultivating the Blood Transformation Divine Saber, he wondered if it would cause any fluctuations, which might get detected by the Ancestral Master of Longevity, and thereby cause unexpected changes. He needed a way to conceal it.
After pondering for a moment, Zhang Chen had already decided to practice the Blood Transformation Divine Saber within the Nine Bends Yellow River Array. With the array as concealment, he was not afraid of the aura being sensed by others outside.
He had the Water Drop Instant Teleportation Technique, so he could leave a drop beforehand in his room. If the master came to inspect, he could swiftly use the technique to return to the room.
Moreover, residing in the backyard, as long as he informed Xu Erniu in advance, no one would disturb him.
Who would care about a little disciple unable to cultivate even the slightest magical power?
His residence was less than eight hundred meters in a straight line from the Nine Bends Yellow River Array, which was perfectly situated.
Zhang Chen headed over to Xu Erniu's abode, and from a distance, he could smell the scent of herbs wafting from the room.
"Little sister, are you practicing alchemy?" Zhang Chen gently asked from outside the room.
As soon as he spoke, the door opened, and Xu Erniu walked out looking disheveled, "How come you have time to visit me today?"
"I want to go into seclusion for a while to see if I can cultivate magical power," Zhang Chen said.
Upon hearing this, Xu Erniu's eyes lit up, and she eagerly asked, "Have you gained insight?"
"A little bit, but I'm not sure if it will succeed," Zhang Chen replied.
"It will definitely succeed!" Xu Erniu confidently corrected Zhang Chen.
Zhang Chen smiled at her words, a gentle warmth in his gaze, and he patted Xu Erniu's head, "Take good care of yourself. I'm going into seclusion for a while and might not be able to look after you."
"Just go; I'm not a child. Cultivating magical power is more important," Xu Erniu nonchalantly urged, "Hurry up! Don't waste time and let the spiritual mechanism slip away."
Zhang Chen nodded with a smile. After parting with Xu Erniu, he returned to his room, closed the doors and windows, transformed into a stream of water, and snuck into the Nine Bends Yellow River Array. Inside, he carved out a refuge where he silently began to activate his divine techniques and explore the mysteries of the Blood Transformation Divine Saber.
As the master of the Blood Dao, the mysteries of the Blood Transformation Divine Saber were no challenge for Zhang Chen. With a single glance, he grasped all its intricacies. Then he poured out eighteen types of gleaming, variously colored blood in front of him. Zhang Chen's Blood Control Technique circulated within him, and wisps of Qi emerged from the eighteen clumps of blood, channeling into Zhang Chen through his mouth and nose, entering his Mystic Gate. Zhang Chen's power of the Blood Dao flowed, evolving countless runes that converged in his Mystic Gate and merged with the eighteen types of blood. Together, they formed a mysterious reaction, with the runes continuously melding into the blood, eventually forming a fist-sized blood sphere. Within the sphere, runes twisted and intertwined, forming chains of order, which in turn interwove according to some mysterious pattern.
Time passed day by day, and no one disturbed Zhang Chen. The master paid him no mind, besides Xu Erniu occasionally standing outside his door; no one else cared about his little transparency.
Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, forty-nine days had passed.
Inside the Nine Bends Yellow River Array, on this day, suddenly the sound of ghostly wails and wolf howls echoed, with a drizzle of blood-red rain falling amidst the boundless yellow sand, dyeing the whole sky of yellow sand into a blood-red hue.
In front of Zhang Chen, all blood was completely absorbed. At this moment, Zhang Chen was sitting cross-legged in the yellow sand, surrounded by a flow of red light. Within his Mystic Gate, there was a fist-sized clump of blood squirming and twisting, as if it could breathe, constantly breathing rhythmically and absorbing the mysterious Spiritual Mechanism from the void.
Inside that fist-sized clump of blood, there were hundreds of chains composed of hierarchical order of runes, continuously woven and linked together, forming an inexplicable rune array. This rune array was so mysterious that even Zhang Chen, as the Ancestor of Blood Dao, found it difficult to discern its profoundness. It felt as if the rune array was naturally formed, like an innate rune array.
As Zhang Chen's mind flickered, that clump of blood flew up, traveled through his meridians, and fell into the Crystal Core, sinking into the Infinite Blood Sea. After absorbing the blood from the Sea of Blood, that clump of blood began to pull and shape itself, transforming into a slender saber, thin as a cicada's wing, flashing with blood-red light.
The long saber somewhat resembled a Mo Saber. The entire blade was thin like a cicada's wing, engraved with patterns of blood-red lotuses. The hilt exhibited a silver sheen, like a piece of calcified bone, resembling creamy white jade, already beginning to form a patina. At one end of the hilt, a small skeleton served as decoration, the size of an egg, with its eyes flickering with green ghostly flames, drawing attention with its blinking.
The entire saber was one and a half meters long, elegantly beautiful, without a hint of evil appearance; no one would suspect this saber represents the manifestation of great killing power in Blood Dao. Once the long saber pierced a body, it would surely cause endless bleeding, then the saber would seize the essence of the blood from the body, becoming nourishment for the saber.
"Next is continually slaughtering living beings, using the blood of living beings for nurturing; the more living beings slaughtered, the more types of blood gathered, and the more formidable the power of the Blood Transformation Divine Saber becomes." Zhang Chen stroked the Blood Transformation Divine Saber, a gleam of joy appearing in his eyes.
The emergence of the Blood Transformation Divine Saber can be said to have made up for one of his shortcomings. He can cultivate martial arts and hone his Martial Dao, removing one of his greatest shortcomings.
Following Zhang Chen as he put away the Blood Transformation Divine Saber, the anomalies marking the saber's birth vanished. Zhang Chen stood up, passing through the yellow sand to reach Monk Hai Chan's place of cultivation, seeing Monk Hai Chan enveloped in Five-Colored Divine Light, deeply immersed in a state of Nirvana and refining.
"At least ten years!" Zhang Chen sighed lightly. How many ten years can be delayed in one's life?
Zhang Chen decided to leave seclusion, having cultivated for such a long time; it was time to come out of seclusion. For him, constantly monitoring the movements of the Longevity Ancestor was the most important. He wondered if stealing the Heaven and Earth Treasure Mirror would greatly affect Xu Erniu.
He hoped that the loss of the Heaven and Earth Treasure Mirror would make the Ancestral Master of Longevity abandon scheming against Xu Erniu, even if, in the future, Xu Erniu is no longer valued and treated as an ordinary disciple; it would be fine!
Just then, Zhang Chen performed an Escape Technique to return to his house, looking at the room covered in dust, then pushed open the door to go outside. He saw Xu Erniu sitting under a banana tree outside the courtyard, staring blankly. Upon hearing the sound of the door opening, Xu Erniu opened her eyes, suddenly turned to look, her eyes full of hope: "Zhang Chen, have you come out of seclusion? Have you cultivated Qi Sensing?"
She dared not ask Zhang Chen if he had cultivated Magical Power, only inquiring if Zhang Chen had developed Qi Sensing. She knew Zhang Chen's talent was truly poor, and being able to cultivate Qi Sensing was already a big step forward, opening up the opportunity to cultivate Magical Power.
Facing the care in the young girl's eyes, Zhang Chen felt warmth in his heart; it wasn't in vain to plan so much for her, this girl had a conscience.
"I've certainly cultivated Qi Sensing, after all, such a long period of seclusion wasn't spent in vain." Zhang Chen replied nonchalantly, meeting the young girl's anxious gaze.
Hearing this, Xu Erniu cheered and leaped, "Zhang Chen, you're quite something! I knew you could do it! You should celebrate cultivating Magical Power today; let's have a grand feast."
Zhang Chen didn't want to draw attention, feeling it best to stay low-key under the Longevity Ancestor's watchful eyes, so he patted the girl's head, pressing down the bouncy girl: "Low-key! Low-key! Let's quietly eat something nice ourselves, why alarm all the senior brothers?"
The girl was very receptive to advice, agreed with Zhang Chen's words, so the two brothers began to excitedly prepare a meal, sipping a drink under the moonlight.
Looking at Xu Erniu, Zhang Chen asked, "Have you made any progress in cultivation lately?"
"How could it be so easy? But I've recently mastered a new technique." Xu Erniu set down the wine cup, casually breaking off a nearby blade of wild grass. Holding the grass in her palm, green light swirled, then the wild grass shimmered with a soft glow, soon rooting and sprouting, turning into a lively, full plant.
Zhang Chen was astonished upon seeing this and praised, "What a great technique! Truly remarkable!"
"What's this?" Xu Erniu placed the plant on the ground. Her tender white hands pointed at the plant, and the plant rapidly grew, then blossomed and bore fruit, eventually forming a seed that fell to the ground.
The plant completed its entire life cycle in merely three breaths, leaving only a seed.
"Zhang Chen, we will never lack fruit to eat! From now on, tell me whenever you want any fruit. Even if we don't achieve much in cultivating immortality, going home to sell fruit wouldn't be too bad," Xu Erniu said proudly.