Even though the blood on Xie Lingyun's body was thoroughly cleansed, to Zhang Chen, who mastered the Blood Dao, the scent was still overwhelmingly foul, even from dozens of yards away, the smell directly assaulted his senses.
"Resolved?" Zhang Chen asked, while pouring a cup of tea for Xie Lingyun.
Through the Blood Puppet, he naturally knew the matter was settled, but he had to act unaware.
"The top experts of the Demon Race have fled, but I've managed to keep the entire army of a hundred thousand behind," Xie Lingyun said as she drank a cup of hot tea, her aura fierce.
Zhang Chen nodded at her words: "Well, it's at least one major threat removed for our Human Race."
"The most crucial thing is the corpses of those hundred thousand beasts, enough to help the people of the Northern Land endure this disastrous year," Xie Lingyun said.
Upon hearing Xie Lingyun's words, Zhang Chen was taken aback; he hadn't anticipated that the corpses of those beasts could be so useful.
Zhang Chen and Xie Lingyun chatted for a while longer, and Xie Lingyun said: "The Northern Land will likely be in chaos; with the fall of the True Dragon, and its Dragon Pearl and blood spread in rivers and lakes, countless creatures have gained fate; the Northern Land is bound for turmoil."
"What does it matter? The invasion of the Demon Race is already inevitable, and this place will become their territory; the chaos will be their headache," Zhang Chen said.
"You can't say that. Precisely because countless beasts in the Northern Land have received Creation, ready to transform, we can't leave it to the Demon Race. Those who have become formidable beasts are deeply rooted, once absorbed by the Demon Race, they will become a major threat to our Human Race's inner sanctum," Xie Lingyun said, her face serious.
"But the Demon Race has already occupied the White Bone Great Wall; millions of their army's invasion is inevitable, the fall of the Northern Land can't be prevented, and no one can change this fate," Zhang Chen refuted Xie Lingyun's words.
"I have secretly dispatched fifty thousand troops to the White Bone Great Wall, to see if there's a chance to retake it," Xie Lingyun said quietly.
Zhang Chen felt Xie Lingyun was naive; the Demon Race having occupied the White Bone Great Wall, how would they give the Human Race a chance to reclaim it?
He thought this was the best time to escape the Northern Land; otherwise, Xie Lingyun's fifty thousand troops would be buried there.
"I came to find you this time to invite you to explore the Spring Court Lake's Dragon Palace with me," Xie Lingyun changed the subject, finding the previous topic too heavy and not light to discuss.
"Now?" Zhang Chen asked.
"In seven days! Because I'm not ready yet." Xie Lingyun put down her teacup and stood up to leave: "I'll come to find you in seven days."
Xie Lingyun's figure disappeared into the misty rain, leaving Zhang Chen staring silently at her departing back; just as Zhang Chen was lost in thought, a figure emerged from the street, tearing through the rain screen to sit opposite Zhang Chen.
Zhang Chen looked at the Great Han across, who rudely picked up the tea, drinking it in one gulp: "I just recalled, if I escape, due to the Gong Family's traits, it will inevitably implicate you, so I hurriedly broke away from Gong Hei and returned. What about Gong Bai? Why isn't Gong Bai here?"
"Gong Bai is mine now; you mustn't fight him in the future," Zhang Chen instructed the man.
Zhou Chuan was stunned at the words, looking at Zhang Chen in disbelief, not understanding what he meant; how did he become yours? After all, Gong Bai was one of the Gong Family's Black and White elders.
He wished to ask but moved his lips, eventually swallowing his words and spitting out a piece of tea leaf: "You're ruthless."
"I'm leaving; do you want to come with me? I always feel something's off in the Northern Land, like something terrifying is secretly watching, making my skin crawl," Zhou Chuan said to Zhang Chen.
Zhang Chen knew Zhou Chuan referred to the Demon Race powerhouses; their influence had begun secretly infiltrating, and the ten thousand Demon Race troops killed by Xie Lingyun were merely a drop in the ocean.
"I have matters to finish, then I'll leave immediately," Zhang Chen replied.
He still needed to find the Tree of Life Coffin, discover the Creation within the Spring Court Lake's Dragon Palace; the Northern Land's value wasn't yet fully extracted.
"Take care," Zhou Chuan could only say.
"Do you know any masters who can forge weapons? I want to forge that piece of Dragon Horn into a weapon," Zhang Chen asked.
Zhou Chuan thought briefly before speaking: "In this world, only three Noble Families can forge Divine Weapons; with our status, it's impossible to get them to act. You should manage for now, just use the Dragon Horn to smash people, it's not bad."
Zhang Chen heard this and smiled bitterly. Weapons are crucial in battles, how can they be so crudely made? If you fool around with your weapon, at a critical moment, the weapon will fool you, costing you your life.
Knowing Zhou Chuan had no better solution, he could only abandon the inquiry for now, leaving it for future consideration.
The two sipped tea for a while longer before Zhou Chuan took his leave. The inn became quiet again, leaving only Zhang Chen sitting at the table, staring dazedly at the steaming teapot.
"I must return to Huangli Temple and see what's there. I wonder if there is any secret left for me to explore. I always felt Huangli Temple isn't that simple. Also, the struggle was so fierce this time, yet Wu Changming didn't show up at all, which puzzles me. How could that old guy resist the benefits of a True Dragon's fall?" Zhang Chen was puzzled.
Zhang Chen suddenly wanted to meet Wu Changming, feeling that the old guy wasn't that simple.
"Let's see how my Hornet and Hunting Falcon are doing." Zhang Chen thought as he prepared his departure from the Northern Land. Hornet and Hunting Falcon must be brought along, though they are of little use to him now, they might serve well in guarding the home in the future.
With this in mind, Zhang Chen promptly used the Escape Technique to vanish from the inn, reappearing at the cave. As soon as he arrived, he sensed something unusual; there were two additional mysterious auras in the cave.
Perceiving Zhang Chen's aura, those two mysterious auras flickered and rushed toward him, landing on his shoulders from either side, exuding an aura of intimacy.
"The Hornet and Hunting Falcon have mutated and finally become demon beasts?" Zhang Chen watched the two small creatures before him, his eyes lighting up with delight.
The biggest change was in the Hornet, which, originally fist-sized, had shrunk to the size of an ordinary hornet. However, unlike ordinary hornets, this one was entirely golden, exuding a metallic cold texture as if it were a mechanical creation.
Holding the Hornet in his hand and feeling the heavy texture, Zhang Chen finally confirmed its transformation; the Hornet had indeed changed into a gold material.
The entire body of the Hornet had transformed completely into gold, with mysterious auras flowing around it, all indicating the extraordinary nature of this Hornet.
"Good! Good! Good! Since you have transformed into demon beasts, I can seek fortunes for you in the future to aid your transformation." Zhang Chen played with the Hornet while looking at the Hunting Falcon. Unlike the Hornet, the Hunting Falcon grew larger, doubling in size, appearing as though an adult were standing there, its feathers shimmering brightly, majestic and splendid.
"Excellent!" Zhang Chen clapped his hands in praise, feeling the Hunting Falcon was surrounded by a layer of mysterious aura, but its potential seemed not as great as the Hornet, showing no distinctive features.
"It doesn't matter if your bloodline is ordinary; I can find mysterious items to aid its transformation." Zhang Chen patted the Hunting Falcon's head, which stretched its head comfortably towards him, enjoying the caress.
At this moment, the Hornet seemed to be jealous, freeing itself from Zhang Chen's hand, flapping its wings and landing atop Zhang Chen's head as if demonstrating to the Hunting Falcon.
The two then squared off, neither willing to yield.
Zhang Chen lifted the Hornet from his head, transmitting a thought with annoyance, "Soon, we will leave this place, prepare your team, and don't cause trouble then."
The two beasts had just transformed into something mysterious; although intelligent, they weren't highly so and needed continuous training from Zhang Chen.
Seeing his pets were fine, Zhang Chen used the Earth Escape Technique to leave; he still needed to investigate Prince Pingbian's ancestral tomb to see if he could disrupt the Feng Shui there.
Zhang Chen arrived at the Ascension Pool's fall site, hearing shouts and the sound of fighting from afar, seeing a ten-meter-long Great Snake shrouded in black mist battling with several Martial World figures.
"Chen Xu?" Zhang Chen recognized the black serpent at a glance; wasn't it Chen Xu transformed into a Ba Snake?
However, Chen Xu seemed in trouble, surrounded by a group of Martial Dao experts skilled in refining Qi Blood, constantly attacking it, causing bloody cuts on the Ba Snake's body.
"This beast is almost finished; once we kill it and drink its blood, we can evolve again, wielding Mysterious Power," someone shouted from afar, their words filled with fervor.
How could the Martial World figures of the Northern Land not recognize the Ba Snake?
This Ba Snake before them was the greatest fortune for them.
As martial arts masters, they could not aspire to the Creation of the True Dragon, but dealing with this young Ba Snake was not too difficult.
Chen Xu was indeed unfortunate. Initially, by utilizing the Feng Shui Grand Array, he took a portion of the Dragon Horn and Dragon Pearl, intending to find a quiet place to evolve. After all, True Dragon Flesh is a great nourishment for Ba Snakes, but who knew the commotion from his shedding would attract Martial World figures seeking the Dragon Pearl.
The Ba Snake, being a part of the dragon and snake lineage, attracted Dragon Pearl Fragments towards Chen Xu, drawing the pursuing Martial World figures. Chen Xu's shedding was interrupted mid-way, forcing him to crawl out and suffer severe injuries, an unexpected disaster that left him in misery.