Xu Erniu was captured by the Innate Peacock?
Zhang Chen looked at the diary in front of him, his breath momentarily disordered, then quickly restored his calm. That short line of text revealed a lot of information.
First: The Innate Peacock also survived the Thunder Punishment.
Second: Xu Erniu could still write in the diary, which means she is still alive.
Zhang Chen quickly flipped to the next page, then his pupils contracted again:
"The Innate Peacock captured me but did not harm me. Seeing me dazed, refusing to eat or drink, he was afraid I'd starve myself to death and be accounted for by my big brother. But my big brother is already dead, how can he be accounted for?"
"Ten days later, when I was starving to the brink of death, the Innate Peacock got anxious. He told me a piece of news, which is that my big brother is likely not dead because the imprint he left in the Spiritual World still maintains completeness, radiating brilliance."
"Later, the Innate Peacock told me that perhaps my big brother's physical body had been destroyed, but his soul may have survived, gone to a mysterious world called the Underworld."
"I want to refine an elixir that can reverse life and death, break the Law of Life and Death, and touch the rules of life and death, to summon forth the legendary Underworld. I want to ask him personally, why!"
Then below are various records of Xu Erniu's process of refining elixirs and collecting pill formulas, and then it abruptly stops. The later part of the journal seems to have been turned into powder by a Mysterious Power, leaving no record.
There's no account of Xu Erniu's later deeds, nor is there a record of what exactly happened back then.
"What happened next?" Zhang Chen looked at the diary in his hand, half of the diary had vanished without a trace. It's unclear whether it was torn away or never existed at all, but Zhang Chen inferred from the notes that the later content was probably torn away.
"Could it be that Xu Erniu really refined an elixir capable of reversing life and death, ascending the heavens and descending to the Yellow Springs, and thus feared the pill formula in the diary would be exposed, so he tore away the latter part?" Zhang Chen speculated in his heart.
At the same time, Zhang Chen also breathed a sigh of relief because with his existence, the Innate Peacock didn't trouble Xu Erniu, which was incredibly good news for him. And it seems Xu Erniu and the Innate Peacock were mixed together, otherwise when Xu Erniu was refining elixirs later, there would not be a sudden message from the Innate Peacock and both hurriedly departed, leading to the later event where Xu Erniu practiced for eight hundred years and suppressed the remnant souls of the Five Villages Temple.
"But where exactly did Xu Erniu go? Did her Grass Returning Pill reverse successfully into a Ginseng Fruit Tree?" Zhang Chen's heart was full of confusion.
He learned part of the truth of the past, but more truth rolled in like fog, making it impossible for Zhang Chen to see clearly.
"No, if Xu Erniu successfully refined the elixir, why cultivate the branches of the Heaven-Reaching Jianmu?" Zhang Chen's mind sparked another thought, turning his head to look at the Alchemy Furnace: "So what kind of elixir is being refined in the Alchemy Furnace?"
Just as Zhang Chen's mind was filled with various flashing thoughts, Xie Lingyun beside him saw Zhang Chen standing there flipping through books, his face changing with uncertainty and instability, so she asked, "What is recorded in this book that causes your emotions to fluctuate so, even your aura is disturbed?"
Zhang Chen closed the notes upon hearing the question: "It is the diary of this Pill Master. In my memory, the owner of that memory and this Pill Master were old friends, so there's some sentiment in my heart."
Zhang Chen carefully tucked the notes into his arms, turning his head to look at the Alchemy Furnace, deep in thought: "If I'm guessing correctly, the elixir being refined in this furnace is probably the kind that can ascend the heavens and descend to the Yellow Springs. Taking this elixir might allow the deceased to be resurrected, enabling one to reverse the time-space passage and open a path to the legendary Underworld."
"What?" Xie Lingyun heard, her pupils rippling with waves: "Is this true?"
"Whether it's true or not, we'll find out by opening it." Zhang Chen moved lightly to the Alchemy Furnace, his eyes scrutinizing the furnace up and down, seeing a flow of Mysterious Power enveloping the furnace, sealing its internal mechanism, preventing the elixir inside from exchanging Qi with the outside. Hence its preservation probability is very high.
"Can sister open this Alchemy Furnace?" Zhang Chen asked.
Upon hearing Zhang Chen, Xie Lingyun's Yin Spirit stepped forward, placing her hands on the furnace, seeing Mysterious Power flowing on the furnace, then Xie Lingyun's Yin Spirit retrieved her hands: "The rank of this furnace probably exceeds my imagination. Let alone opening the furnace, I don't even have the qualification to trigger the reaction of its Mysterious Power."
Hearing that, Zhang Chen leapt atop the furnace, gripping the lid, attempting to forcibly open it using the Mountain-moving Technique, but to his surprise, the lid remained steady as Mount Tai, not even slightly shaking, nor did the Mysterious Energy activate.
"The weight of a lid alone is beyond my imagination, what level of treasure is this Alchemy Furnace?! From where did Xu Erniu find it?" Zhang Chen curiously examined the furnace, seeing the patterns and designs on the barrier walls smoothed out, flames and ashes flowing across the furnace, revealing no clues of its origin.
"Old man, do you know the origin of this Alchemy Furnace?" Zhang Chen asked the Great Freedom Celestial Demon.
The Great Freedom Celestial Demon emerged from Zhang Chen's body, circling the furnace, contemplating: "Seems somewhat familiar, but... I can't recall! The memory is too chaotic, all fragments, can't sort it out, can't remember!"
The Great Freedom Celestial Demon first nodded and then shook his head to deny.
Zhang Chen looked at the Great Freedom Celestial Demon, uncertain of how much truth or falsehood lay in his words, and thus asked, "Is there a way to open the Alchemy Furnace?"
"Unless you possess exceptionally strong Divine Power, otherwise you'll need the incantation to manage this Alchemy Furnace; perhaps then it can be opened. This Alchemy Furnace is of extremely high quality and could be quite useful in the future for alchemy or sacrificial refining of weapons," said the Great Freedom Celestial Demon as he circled the Alchemy Furnace, examining it zealously, perceiving it as no ordinary object.
And a treasure that could stir the heart of the Great Freedom Celestial Demon is certainly no common artifact.
Unfortunately, Zhang Chen couldn't move it; he didn't have the incantation to control the treasure.
"I wonder if attacking this object might cause a controlling incantation to appear." A thought flickered in Zhang Chen's mind, yet he suppressed it temporarily and instead took out the Heaven and Earth Treasure Mirror, opening it toward the Alchemy Furnace in hopes of reflecting its origin, tracing its past.
Know this: the Heaven and Earth Treasure Mirror can reflect the origin of all things, and the Alchemy Furnace, being one of all things, is naturally within its reflective range.
But as Zhang Chen's Heaven and Earth Treasure Mirror shone, a Golden Light appeared on the Alchemy Furnace. Within the Golden Light, countless unclear and indistinct symbols flickered, unexpectedly pushing back the light of the Heaven and Earth Treasure Mirror. Then Zhang Chen's Heaven and Earth Treasure Mirror became chaotic and blurred, automatically closing and flying back into Zhang Chen's hand.
"The Heaven and Earth Treasure Mirror can't reflect the origin of this Alchemy Furnace. Is my power too low, or have I not refined the Heaven and Earth Treasure Mirror enough?" Zhang Chen questioned his life, uncertain where the issue lay.
"This treasure can actually resist the Heaven and Earth Treasure Mirror; indeed, it's no ordinary object." The Great Freedom Celestial Demon, witnessing this, wasn't disappointed but rather grew increasingly interested.
Zhang Chen scrutinized the Alchemy Furnace further, sensing its extraordinary nature and becoming intrigued.
"Is there a way to open this Alchemy Furnace?" Xie Lingyun asked.
"Don't rush; let me think." Zhang Chen responded to Xie Lingyun.
"I wonder if my power can cause the Eight Trigrams Furnace to voluntarily recognize me as its master. In this era, mysterious energy between heaven and earth is depleted, and various mysteries must rely on consuming human life force to sustain their origin. My power is the greatest nourishment in heaven and earth; I don't believe this Alchemy Furnace won't be tempted." Zhang Chen circled the Alchemy Furnace once, his mind already forming a plan.
Moreover, he had a backup plan. The Alchemy Furnace seemed to be made of metal; his Five-Colored Divine Light should be able to capture it, as it should be within his range of control.
Zhang Chen approached, channeling a sliver of power into the Alchemy Furnace. As Zhang Chen infused his power, the Alchemy Furnace's divine light circulated, and a sliver of divine prestige revived, with a sense of intimacy flooding Zhang Chen's heart. He unexpectedly established a mysterious connection with the Alchemy Furnace, adding a sliver of inexplicable contact.
"This 'child' is truly hungry!" Zhang Chen stroked the Alchemy Furnace, feeling a touch of sentiment rising within.
"Really damn lucky!" The Great Freedom Celestial Demon saw Zhang Chen merely activate his power, causing the Alchemy Furnace to automatically recognize its master, and secretly cursed.
Simply unbelievable!
This era is perfectly suited for Zhang Chen; no mystery could resist the allure of power.
Know this: heaven and earth have changed, Xuanji is severed; although these treasures may endure longer than divine beings, they will ultimately lose their mystery and become common objects. With power to nourish them, perhaps the laws of heaven and earth can be reversed, ushering in a new era of change.
Sensing the connection with the Alchemy Furnace, Zhang Chen increased the output of his power within, the True God Golden Light continuously circulating, forming endless power, and infusing it into the Alchemy Furnace before him.
With the infusion of power, Zhang Chen finally perceived the essence within the Alchemy Furnace: divine prohibitions appeared inside, like hungry babes awaiting Zhang Chen's nourishment of power.
As Zhang Chen infused power into the divine prohibitions, they actively guided his power to occupy the divine prohibitions.
After a cup of tea's time, Zhang Chen mastered three divine prohibitions, but his body's power was already depleted.
Zhang Chen withdrew his palm, beginning to recover his power, inhaling and exhaling the True God Golden Light within his body.
The Great Freedom Celestial Demon circled the Alchemy Furnace back and forth, his gaze somewhat peculiar, occasionally glancing at Zhang Chen, then side-eyeing the Alchemy Furnace. His eyes constantly spun, filled with a cunning light, pondering unknown thoughts.