Zhang Chen was a clever man, understanding the principle of not putting all eggs in one basket. Although the Tree of Life Coffin could extend life, there was an old eunuch holding a Twelfth Tier Mysterious Power guarding it. A slight carelessness could lead to failure, so he needed to prepare in advance.
The energy provided by the Ascension Pool wasn't much. It could offer ten million points a day, which amounted to thirty-six million a year—not a small amount.
"Moreover, once I leave, I can rely on my current skills to see if there's an opportunity to steal the Power of Faith from the Northern Land's divine spirits," a gleam appeared in Zhang Chen's eyes. With his Invisibility Rune technique, the divine spirits below the Yang God couldn't stop him from stealing Incense Faith. He could reap a great harvest from the incense power in the Northern Land.
After setting his plan, Zhang Chen focused on the Alchemy Furnace, relentlessly engaging in sacrificial refining day and night, aiming to refine the furnace as soon as possible to leave the underground space.
Time flew by quickly. Half a month later, as he exhausted his Magical Power once again, Zhang Chen opened his eyes and looked at the Alchemy Furnace: "Still lacking some heat. Even with the Innate Restriction actively cooperating, my Magical Power is too limited. After so long, I've only managed to refine two Innate Restrictions. Plus, the subsequent restrictions are increasingly difficult to refine. To fully refine them, it would take at least ten or eight years."
Standing in front of the Eight Trigrams Furnace, Zhang Chen's eyes revealed a hint of seriousness. He couldn't afford to waste so much time here.
"The key issue is my weak Magical Power. With five hundred years of Magical Power, refining Innate Spiritual Treasures is challenging. The reason I managed the Heaven and Earth Treasure Mirror smoothly was due to mastering its sacrificial refining formula. Relying solely on Magical Power now is indeed tough," Zhang Chen muttered before thinking of a solution, pulling out a glass bottle from his bosom and hesitating at the sight of four Golden Cores inside.
Undoubtedly, the four Golden Cores were extremely precious, but the Alchemy Furnace before him was no ordinary item. Using one Golden Core to augment Magical Power for refining the Eight Trigrams Furnace was entirely worth it.
If he left the Eight Trigrams Furnace here and departed, who knew what might happen? If someone took the furnace away, he'd suffer a significant loss.
Zhang Chen poured out a Golden Core and swallowed it. Instantly, a vast vitality erupted, transforming into a massive influx of Magical Power rampaging within him.
"The primary function of this Golden Core is healing injuries. This vitality is incredibly rare, to the extent it could bring the dead back to life," Zhang Chen felt the overwhelming power, his body swelling with Magical Power as if he were a balloon filled with air, on the verge of bursting.
Hurriedly placing his palms on the Alchemy Furnace, Zhang Chen directed the surging Magical Power into the furnace. Under the immense influx, the furnace began to emit a mysterious luster, with countless runes and lines reviving, and a mysterious glow started to flicker.
A full thirty days passed before the Golden Core's strength was exhausted within Zhang Chen's body, prompting him to withdraw his hands and gaze upon the furnace: "Only managed to refine twenty-four Innate Restrictions? Barely enough to control the furnace. But using the furnace proficiently is still far from achievable."
After caressing the furnace, Zhang Chen contemplated briefly before retrieving another Golden Core and swallowed it again.
Due to the furnace's immense weight, even refining twenty-four Innate Restrictions might allow him to control it, but taking it away permanently was a near-impossible task.
Golden Core, though valuable, Zhang Chen believed that with his grasp of the Authority of Wood Element, nurturing Spirit Medicine and refining with the furnace would be the true application of the Wood Element Dao.
With mastery of the Authority of Wood Element, how could he lack Spirit Medicine?
With an endless supply of Spirit Medicine, would alchemy be challenging?
Zhang Chen continued applying Magical Power in sacrificial refining, and after another month, he paused: "Indeed, the later restrictions grow harder to refine. This time, after swallowing a Golden Core, I only managed to refine twelve Innate Restrictions. Now I've mastered thirty-six Innate Restrictions; twelve unrefined Innate Restrictions remain."
Only two Golden Cores remained, and Zhang Chen estimated that even consuming another Golden Core might not suffice to refine the remaining twelve Innate Restrictions. He couldn't bear to use both.
Considering the Golden Core's power of resurrection, using them entirely for refining the furnace was somewhat wasteful.
"Enough, controlling thirty-six Innate Restrictions will suffice." Zhang Chen lightly waved at the furnace, watching it shrink to the size of a teapot and drift into his palm, where he seized it.
Inspecting the furnace before him, Zhang Chen noticed its delicate design and the arrangement according to the Circulation Law, revealing a profound rhythmic charm.
It's just that his cultivation is too shallow to discern its specific mysteries; he only feels that the alchemy furnace is extraordinary, with a clever internal structure and a certain natural rhythm.
Zhang Chen swallowed the alchemy furnace into the Ba Snake Space, his eyes fixed on the ruins of the palace before him: "I wonder if Xu Erniu has left me any clues."
He feels that Xu Erniu must hate him intensely, even to the point of wishing to hack him to pieces; otherwise, why write so much 'why'?
"Perhaps if I find the Innate Peacock, the Innate Peacock might have Xu Erniu's whereabouts and clues. But where should I look for the Innate Peacock? According to Xie Lingyun, there's a paramount ancestor of the demon race, skilled in wielding five-colored lights, holding off two divine artifacts in Kyoto, allowing the demon race to cross over the White Bone Great Wall. I wonder if that demon ancestor has any relation to the Innate Peacock." Zhang Chen hesitated to use the Soul Mark for verification but feared the other party might indeed be the Innate Peacock, which would then pinpoint his location, spelling his doom.
This place is not the Ancient Timespace; he has family and friends here. If the Innate Peacock targets him, it can easily threaten him through his loved ones. Then, would he yield or resist?
Zhang Chen harbors no doubts that the old fellow is ruthless and cruel.
"I must investigate personally and refrain from using the mark to sense." Zhang Chen muttered, beginning to wander among the ruined buildings, his eyes scanning the debris for any overlooked treasures.
Previously, he simply used the Authority of Earth Element to clear the ruins. Now, he intends to employ the Authority of Wood Element to see if there are any peculiar pieces of wood within these ruins, for in this era, anything imbued with Mysterious Power is extremely precious.
Walking through the ruins, Zhang Chen finds most of the wood rotted, until he reaches the ruins of the Ancestral Master's abode where he pauses, staring at the collapsed structure with its scattered debris: "No wonder it's part of the Fruit Realm; back then, I was truly blind not to notice the anomaly in the Ancestral Master's house."
Zhang Chen picks up a broken beam from the Ancestral Master's abode, examining it in his hand, finding it as heavy as steel, heavier by far, enduring countless ages without decay, a testament to its peculiarity.
Though he does not recognize the origin of this material, his mastery of the Authority of Wood Element allows him to discern its effects.
"This wood possesses Soul Nourishing Power! When ignited, it can invigorate the Divine Soul, nurture Essence, Qi, and Spirit, dispel external demons, cleanse the mind, making it the best auxiliary material for cultivation." Zhang Chen taps the wooden block, and it surprisingly emits a robust steel sound. He gazes at the sprawling debris, reflecting: "The Ancestral Master truly had a grand gesture."
As a thought occurs, Zhang Chen witnesses the wood on the ground twisting like mud, morphing into crafts resembling warm fragrance, then stored within his Ba Snake Space.
This material is beneficial for Zhang Chen's cultivation of Magical Power and vital for the Divine Soul Dao practice by younger disciples.
Until the last piece of dead wood, resembling a stool leg, remains unchanged as Zhang Chen holds it.
Zhang Chen caresses the stool leg, using the Authority of Wood Element to sense it, seeing mysterious veins flowing inside but devoid of any vitality.
"This is a completely dead piece of wood, unlike the previous Heaven-Reaching Jianmu branch. That branch contained astonishing vitality, whereas this dead wood branch has none." Zhang Chen mutters: "I wonder if my Authority of Wood Element can revive it."
Reviving a lively branch differs greatly from reviving a completely dead branch.
"I master the Wood Element Dao, should be possible, right?" Zhang Chen ponders uncertainly, holding the stool leg, commanding: "Decree, resurrect!"
"What the hell, are you dreaming? Though you possess the Authority of Wood Element, you haven't mastered the Life Dao! This piece of dead wood has perished, and you still wish to resurrect it? Why not aim for the heavens?" The Great Freedom Celestial Demon scoffs at Zhang Chen's action, laughing uproariously, his voice brimming with ridicule.
"Can't I?" Zhang Chen ignores the Celestial Demon's mockery, holding the branch in disappointment. Just as he's about to relinquish, suddenly a subtle intuition arises within him, as his inner Authority of Wood Element diversifies into green streams, flowing into the stool leg.
Next moment, the stool leg gleams with divine light, sprouting tender twigs and sprouting young buds—the stool leg has come to life.
"Impossible! Absolutely impossible!" The Great Freedom Celestial Demon, witnessing this scene, is thunderstruck, as if caught in a dream, murmuring in disbelief: "I must be dreaming! Even with the Authority of Wood Element, is this attainable?"