Xie Xuan really likes Zhang Chen and has high hopes for his future. If he could have Zhang Chen join his ranks, it would definitely be like adding wings to a tiger.
Although Zhang Chen's cultivation isn't high, his methods are truly uncanny, making Xie Xuan both fearful and eager to recruit him.
Zhang Chen is genuinely useful, especially capable of resolving matters at critical moments, but his bizarre methods are indeed bizarre. He could hook the soul of an eleventh-level great cultivator just like that, and could even ensure his own safety.
Xie Xuan's words made Zhang Chen's heart skip a beat, but he immediately shook his head to refuse: "I just enjoy being free and unrestrained, and I don't want to be bound by anything!"
Zhang Chen didn't want to join any organization or force. If he were to join the Inspection and Supervision Department, what would happen if the department changed leaders and he was asked to do dangerous tasks then? Would he do it or not?
Would he kill innocent people if he was told to do so? Would he kill them or not?
Joining the Inspection and Supervision Department has many conveniences, but the trouble in the future would be greater. If he disobeyed the command of a superior, he would definitely face the department's punishment. With his character, he would certainly not be taken without a fight, choosing instead to defect, thus subjecting himself to the department's pursuit. Wouldn't that be courting trouble for himself?
So Zhang Chen hesitated for a brief moment and then directly refused Xie Xuan's kind offer.
Xie Xuan seemed a bit unwilling to give up: "If you become a Hundred Households in the Inspection and Supervision Department, you can have the power to control its authority. All intelligence and the mobilization of subordinate forces would be at your disposal. As the saying goes, 'A lone tree cannot become a forest.' Even if a tree is lush and towering, it cannot become a forest. By joining the Inspection and Supervision Department, everyone will support you, which is better than fighting alone."
Zhang Chen smiled and refused Xie Xuan's good intentions: "Commander Xie, there's no need to persuade me further. I have no such aspirations in my heart."
Hearing Zhang Chen's words, Xie Xuan's eyes were full of regret, but he couldn't continue speaking. At this time, the bonfire was silent, with only the sound of the fine rain outside echoing without end.
"By the way, there's one more thing. You can remove those experts from the Inspection and Supervision Department outside. The earth vein here will be affected by the upcoming Transformed Dragon and Walking Flood Dragon, and my treasure is due to emerge. There's no need to continue having people guard it," Zhang Chen mentioned.
Upon hearing Zhang Chen's words, Xie Xuan nodded: "I'll go give the order immediately."
Xie Xuan walked out of the rain curtain and soon returned, while the guards from the Inspection and Supervision Department hiding in the mountains silently disappeared without a trace.
That night, Zhang Chen and Xie Xuan talked for a long time, until the first ray of dawn broke through the clouds in the sky, dispersing the dark clouds and revealing a rare clear weather.
"It's rare to see a sunny day," Zhang Chen stepped out of the cave, feeling the brilliance of the morning sun, and his heart felt much clearer.
"This is the last calm before the storm," Xie Xuan said without a smile, his face instead full of seriousness.
Zhang Chen did not deny Xie Xuan's words because he knew Xie Xuan spoke the truth. This was indeed the final calm before the storm, merely preparing to accumulate greater power for the coming Walking Flood Dragon transformation.
"Pass through in seven days!" Zhang Chen muttered to himself.
Farther away was a massive lake, completely surrounded by mountains forming a Postnatal Lake much larger than the Three Gorges Dam of later generations, with a significantly higher water capacity.
Standing on the mountain peak, it looked as if there was a vast ocean between the mountains, the azure water reflecting the sky, appearing magnificently beautiful.
"If one of these big mountains were blown up, most of the Northern Land could be flooded, and who knows how many beings drowned," Zhang Chen said with a dangerous glint in his eyes as he looked at the water surrounded by mountains.
"Such an act would harm the heavens and is absolutely unacceptable," Xie Xuan was so frightened by Zhang Chen's words that the hairs on his back stood up, quickly persuading Zhang Chen to abandon the idea. If those mountains were blown up and the Northern Land flooded, it might puncture the heavens and cause them to collapse.
"Time to eat!" In the distance, Xie Lingyun approached with a food box, accompanied by a guard, and the aroma of wine and meat reached them before he arrived.
"Weren't you supposed to stay behind and oversee the situation? Why are you here?" Xie Xuan gave Xie Lingyun a glare.
"Don't underestimate me! I'm someone who has at least cultivated a Yin Spirit and is considered a master in the Northern Land," Xie Lingyun retorted indignantly.
The meal was three dishes and a soup, plus scallion pancakes, which Zhang Chen enjoyed to his heart's content. The flatbread with lamb was a worldly delicacy in his eyes. Xie Xuan took a bite of lamb and then addressed Xie Lingyun: "Girl, what do you think of this boy?"
Hearing Xie Xuan's words, Zhang Chen almost choked on a big mouthful of pancake, suppressing the urge to spit it out. He quickly glanced at Xie Lingyun, who rolled her eyes and replied crossly: "Dad!!! I just want to cultivate well in this life, to see the sights above the Yang God realm, without considering romance. Please don't randomly play matchmaker."
Then Xie Lingyun looked at Zhang Chen, her big, clear eyes full of apology: "Zhang Chen, don't listen to my dad's nonsense. He's gone crazy trying to marry me off! I see you as a brother, nothing else."
Zhang Chen swallowed the pancake he was eating and chuckled, "Sister, why say such things? I am quite self-aware; Commander Xie was merely joking. How could I take it to heart?"
Xie Xuan listened to their conversation and couldn't help but sigh helplessly, "What a pity! Such a fine young man; if you miss out, you'll never encounter another like him."
Zhang Chen lowered his head, eating his pancake silently, seemingly ignoring Xie Xuan's words. Xie Lingyun glared at Xie Xuan and turned around to walk down the mountain.
After finishing their meal, Zhang Chen and Xie Xuan sat on the mountain, discussing the situation in the Northern Land out of boredom. At around 9:10 in the morning, suddenly a hurricane arose, and the pitch-black clouds came, seemingly out of nowhere, like a tempestuous sea, overturning the sea and pouring toward the ground, as if it could shatter the mountains and everything in its path.
The black clouds hovered low, close to the peak of the mountain, as though one could reach up and touch the dark sky above.
"They're here!" Xie Xuan looked up at the surging black clouds, his breathing a bit rapid, revealing his inner turmoil beneath his calm exterior.
Time passed gradually; no one knew how long had elapsed when suddenly a sound of horse-drawn carriages came from below the mountain. Then, unnoticed, the convoy of Prince Pingbian appeared at the foot of the mountain.
The curtain of the carriage lifted, and Prince Pingbian cautiously cradled a porcelain basin in his arms, stepping out of the carriage, surrounded by guards, heading toward the distant 'Celestial Pool.'
Zhang Chen recognized the porcelain basin, which contained a large carp he had once polluted with impure blood.
"It's about to begin!" Zhang Chen remarked to Xie Xuan.
Xie Xuan remained silent, his face turning serious as he watched from a distance.
As Prince Pingbian reached the mountaintop, he gazed at the vast Celestial Pool and directly poured the carped from the basin, allowing it to fall into the boundless lake.
"You keep watch here; I have some matters to attend to, so I must take my leave," Zhang Chen said to Xie Xuan.
Xie Xuan cast a surprised glance at Zhang Chen but did not probe further into Zhang Chen's hidden intentions, merely gesturing for Zhang Chen to go.
Since Prince Pingbian was preparing for the Walking Flood Dragon transformation, I should also plot for the Ascension Pool.
Zhang Chen did not employ any escape technique; instead, he walked at an unhurried pace among the mountains. He didn't want to reveal too many of his skills in front of Xie Xuan; he wanted to keep a few ace cards for himself.
It wasn't until he left Xie Xuan's sight and reached an empty spot at the foot of the mountain that Zhang Chen used an escape technique, quietly making his way to the location of the Ascension Pool. There, the slaughter in the Ascension Pool was still ongoing, with only masters and the forces under Prince Pingbian remaining.
Watching as soldiers continually fell at the hands of mysterious strongmen, Zhang Chen couldn't help but sigh, "These are all real lives, after all. Could it be that the heart of this old fellow Prince Pingbian is made of iron? It's truly unyielding."
Zhang Chen hid silently in a large tree, observing the situation in the arena, waiting for the right moment to act.
Time trickled by, and a gentle drizzle began to fall from the black clouds above, drifting down from high altitudes. Before long, the drizzle turned into a torrential downpour, obscuring the view between the mountains.
By noon, a peculiar cry suddenly echoed through the mountains, resembling the bellow of an old ox, causing the grass and trees to tremble violently. Birds and beasts became limp upon hearing the sound, collapsing to the ground, unable to move.
In the vast Celestial Pool, a carp swam freely, and as the cry resonated, the entire mountain range quivered slightly. All the mountains and rivers of the Northern Land seemed to come to life. The Ancestral Vein quivered softly, and within the void, a unique magnetic field fluctuated, shaking the mountains as if in an earthquake, causing stones to tremble.
Then a dragon-shaped aura emerged from the Ancestral Vein of the Northern Land, directly locking onto the large carp, infusing it with its energy. The carp's body began to transform ceaselessly, its scales twisting and writhing, turning into a golden hue.
Not only were the scales of the carp transforming, but its entire body was undergoing a metamorphosis, shedding its scales like skin, with new ones emerging beneath, its body inflating and elongating like an inflated balloon. Its head began to mutate, its whiskers elongating as clouds gathered upon them.
Its mouth contorted, features trembling, the entire head morphing into a dragon's visage. Two bone spurs protruded from its head, with a pair of nascent horns emerging, as if gathering the essence of wind and thunder.
Most crucially, its body, like clay, had its abdomen's skin burst open with four holes, from which four dragon claws emerged.
As it transformed, the clouds and winds in the sky surged turbulently, bringing storm and rain. Water within the Celestial Pool churned and transformed into an intangible might, resonating with the mysterious energies of Heaven and Earth.
Thunder and lightning sliced through the black clouds, striking down at the large carp. Under the sculpting force of the lightning, the carp's body was constantly blasted into a bloody mess, only to have its bones and tendons reconstructed by the power of its aura.