The battle beneath the mountain had raged for several years. Although Zhang Chen had not witnessed it with his own eyes, the dwindling number of figures within the mountain indicated to him that the situation below was likely dire.
The Blood Spring within the Crystal Core surged, causing waves to ripple, while a gloomy and obscure aura filled the air between heaven and earth. Even though Zhang Chen stood deep in the mountains, he seemed to be able to smell the scent of blood.
However, none of this concerned Zhang Chen. Due to his low level of cultivation, he could not even catch the Ancestral Master's Dharma Eye. Instead, he quietly hid in the mountains, escaping the catastrophe, avoiding a walk through the mortal world.
"In recent years, I have studied the Five Elements Escape Technique day and night, and it seems I am making some progress with the Water Escape Technique. The Five Elements Escape Technique is a whole. If I can reach an entry level in the Water Escape Technique, relying on adding Skill Points to reach entry level in the other escape techniques should be feasible." Zhang Chen pondered over the escape techniques.
For him, the escape techniques were crucial means. No matter the perilous situation, if one were equipped with an escape technique, the chance of escaping would certainly be greater than for ordinary people.
With his hands tucked in his sleeves, Zhang Chen looked into the distance, his gaze showing a hint of caution. He turned back to his own house, where he found a small table with a basin on it, filled to the brim with clear water.
Staring at the basin of water, the next moment Zhang Chen transformed directly into a droplet, merging completely into the basin of water.
The droplet which Zhang Chen had transformed into became one with the entire stream of water, showing no difference. At this moment, Zhang Chen's soul transformed into a small droplet, merging with the basin, continuously sensing the changes in the Water Qi, feeling the rhythm of the water flow.
After years of pondering the Five Elements Escape Technique and feeling the rhythm of water, Zhang Chen felt he had mastered the laws of water thoroughly and attempted to operate the Water Escape Technique formally today to see if he could cultivate it successfully.
With Magical Power flowing within him, he silently recited a spell, quietly urging his Magical Power. The drop of Water Qi began to change, sending out waves that caused layer upon layer of ripples in the basin. Then in the next moment, the drop of water Zhang Chen transformed into vanished into thin air, merging into the basin in a very unique way.
"I did it!"
It was at this moment that a thought flashed in Zhang Chen's mind: he had mastered the Water Escape Technique.
Zhang Chen felt as if he had transformed into an unknown energy, able to swiftly traverse and wander in the water, reaching any corner of the water flow.
However, the Water Escape Technique had great limitations; it only allowed wandering where there was water; once away from water, it became a useless Divine Technique.
Then in the next moment, Zhang Chen transformed back into mist, drifting for a while in the void, before landing back on the ground, manifesting into his own body.
Zhang Chen's eyes turned to the Golden Finger Interface, and sure enough, the Golden Finger Interface had recorded the Five Elements Escape Technique:
[Skill 17: Water Escape Technique (0\\10000000)]
[Note 1: You can move rapidly through water currents, but if the water flow is attacked, your escape technique will be interrupted and your original form will show.]
"Ten million experience points? Are you kidding me!!! What the hell is this unreasonable demand?" Zhang Chen looked at the numbers on the Golden Finger Interface, his eyes full of disbelief.
"Wait a minute, something's wrong! Very wrong! The Water Escape Technique has no level?" Zhang Chen stared closely at the Golden Finger Interface, his eyes revealing a hint of curiosity. This was the first time he'd seen an escapist technique without a level that could be upgraded.
Fortunately, he had previously picked up ten million experience points in the fall location of the Heaven and Earth Treasure Mirror. After a moment of hesitation, he chose to add the points directly, wanting to see what changes there would be after adding points to the Water Escape Technique. With a light touch of thought from Zhang Chen's mind, the ten million experience points directly evaporated, and then the Golden Finger Interface shifted again:
[Skill 17: Water, Wood Escape Technique (0\\10000000)]
Then a warm current flowed out from the Golden Finger Interface, infusing into Zhang Chen's soul. At this moment, Zhang Chen inexplicably mastered the Wood Escape Technique. As he silently recited the incantation in his mind, the next moment he disappeared directly from the house.
The house Zhang Chen was in was built from wood, making it, of course, possible to use the Wood Escape Technique.
Zhang Chen could sense that he seemed to have abandoned the constraints of his physical body, transforming into an energy wandering through the wood, roaming within the house. Wherever there was wood, he could freely wander.
Note that the entire Five Villages Temple was a vast palace built entirely of wood, with rooms interlocking intricately and connecting with each other, leaving few places inaccessible.
"I understand now, as long as I keep leveling up, I can successfully master all the escape techniques. Currently, I've only mastered the Water Escape and Wood Escape Techniques, and there's also the Gold Escape, Fire Escape, and Earth Escape Techniques. I still need about thirty million experience points to fully master the Five Elements Escape Technique," Zhang Chen thought with private joy.
If he mastered the Five Elements Escape Technique, he could go to most places in the world.
"I need Skill Points now, I need a lot, a lot of Skill Points," Zhang Chen manifested his form inside the room, pondering where to gather thirty million Points. The most crucial is to grind out the Earth Escape Technique because land is everywhere, and the Earth Escape Technique can be performed without restrictions.
"Where should I go to collect Points?" Zhang Chen began to ponder internally.
To collect Points, one needs to find the mysterious, like the Heaven and Earth Treasure Mirror. Originally, the Heaven and Earth Treasure Mirror could continuously drop Points, but ever since Zhang Chen refined the Heaven and Earth Treasure Mirror, it no longer dropped Points.
"According to common sense, after the ten Ancestral Masters perished and their Dao dissipated, there should be Skills or Points dropped. But why is there nothing, not even a hair?" Zhang Chen recalled his first battle with the Fox Spirit; whenever he hit the Fox Spirit, Points would drop. But why did nothing drop with the old Ancestral Masters this time?
"The only difference, perhaps, is that I used the Light of the True God then, and now I'm using an Array. The difference between the two is that one is my power, and the other is borrowed external power." Zhang Chen scratched his head, finding this explanation unconvincing. The Nine Bends Yellow River Array was also his power, so there must be a crucial factor he's overlooked.
After pondering for a long time, Zhang Chen came to a fairly reasonable conclusion, "That the several Ancestral Masters, although successful in cultivation, did not grasp the mysterious. The Fox Spirit, on the other hand, had acquired the mysterious, like the Void Transformation mystery."
The explanation that seemed plausible was probably this one.
"But the death of the Ba Snake wasn't by my hand either, yet Skills did drop. Does this mean because the Ba Snake was a pure-blood Innate Spirit, while the Ancestral Masters were only Postnatal Spirits with Innate Divine Spirit bloodlines?" Zhang Chen's mind was flashing with various thoughts, a hint of contemplation in his eyes.
"Forget it, I won't think too much about it for now. I still need to find a way to find new sources of Skill Points and strive to grind out all the Five Elements Escape Techniques as soon as possible. I wonder if there are any Heavenly and Earthly Treasures in the temple that I can devour!" With this thought, a flash of inspiration struck Zhang Chen, and he 'looked' into his Devouring Space, where a large amount of mysterious energy was accumulated. He only needed to retain a small portion to preserve the Golden Wind Flower, and the rest could be devoured without issue.
"I'm such a clever little devil!"
Zhang Chen praised himself quietly. Although his Devouring Space couldn't digest the massive energy, his Devouring Skill could.
With this thought, Zhang Chen wasted no time, throwing the mouthpart of the Innate Mosquito into the Devouring Space. Then a continuous conversion of a large number of Points began.
Even with the mouthpart of the Innate Mosquito, Zhang Chen's devouring and conversion required time, so he wasn't in a hurry but waited patiently.
Having cultivated the escape technique, Zhang Chen was happy. He pushed open the door and stepped out into the courtyard, only to see Xu Erniu sitting in the courtyard, eating grapes.
"You seem to be having quite a leisurely day," Zhang Chen remarked, slowly approaching, picking up a grape and taking a bite.
"Zhang Chen, we have a big problem at the Five Villages Temple. I heard that a large part of the territory has fallen, and dozens of fellow brothers have died down the mountain. More than twenty countries under our Five Villages Temple have been annihilated," Xu Erniu said, lowering her voice, "I fear that our Five Villages Temple can't hold up, and we need to plan ahead."
Zhang Chen was surprised and asked, "Where did you hear this news?"
"The trees and plants told me!" Xu Erniu replied, "Every piece of grass and tree in the world will pass news from afar to me. But the spirituality of grass and wood is limited, and the conveyed messages are vague, all broken fragments, and I have to deduce and organize them myself. It's really troublesome."
Zhang Chen was astonished and looked at Xu Erniu, never imagining this girl had such means.
"Your method is truly unbelievable. Isn't the battlefield thousands of miles away from here? You can actually receive messages through the forest, it's quite shocking," Zhang Chen's voice was filled with shock, genuinely frightened.
"You don't understand. Recently, my cultivation has grown significantly. I can communicate with plants, and even see some blurry images of the frontline through their connections," Xu Erniu said proudly, "I heard that those Great Demons of the Demon Race have all come out in full force, seemingly about to have a decisive battle with our Five Villages Temple to determine the winner and loser, life and death. We should prepare in advance, in case the Five Villages Temple is occupied by those beasts, we might not escape disaster either."
With that, Xu Erniu's eyes darted cunningly for a few turns, she leaned closer and whispered, "Since we've already learned real skills, why not leave the mountain early to avoid calamity. With our abilities, where can't we survive? At worst, we'll sell fruits down the mountain for a living."
Zhang Chen looked at Xu Erniu in surprise, "You don't want to see your father?"