"Seven days? That's enough!" Zhang Chen muttered to himself. It was enough time for him to wrap up things in the Northern Land.
He needed to collect the Colored Realm Fire from the Eight Trigrams Furnace, and then return to Huangli Temple to see if there was any Creation left within.
"Just a mere Water Demon, nothing to fear!" Zhang Chen, having mastered the Beast Taming Technique, naturally didn't take the Water Demon seriously. "By the way, where's Chengyu?"
"Chengyu is in seclusion, nearly breaking through to the Exorcism state. This girl's talent is truly astonishing, even stronger than mine," said Xie Lingyun, her eyes filled with wonder.
Chengyu's aptitude indeed amazed her.
"I intend to take that girl as my disciple. What do you think?" Xie Xuan asked.
Zhang Chen met Xie Xuan's gaze and then shook his head. "Chengyu's path has already been paved by me. She doesn't need Leader Xie to worry for her. The affairs within the Inspection and Supervision Department are too chaotic, not conducive to her growth."
Zhang Chen did not wish to deal with the court, as the people there were too corrupt. If Shangguan asked you to do something against your principles, would you do it or not?
If you don't, the Inspection and Supervision Department's family rules will follow; if you do, you betray your conscience and become plagued with inner demons, hindering spiritual cultivation.
"Why must you fear the court like a tiger? Actually, the court is still decent," Xie Xuan's voice carried a hint of resignation.
"I'll go see Chengyu." Zhang Chen directed his gaze at Xie Lingyun.
"Follow me," Xie Lingyun replied.
The two of them rose and made their way to a secret cabin. Outside the cabin were several dozen Martial Artists who had cultivated their Qi Blood guarding it. Clearly, the Xie father and daughter knew about Zhang Chen's concern for Chengyu, hence fearing anyone might disturb her cultivation.
"Chengyu is cultivating inside the room; she has been in seclusion for six days," Xie Lingyun said.
In the realm of cultivation, one's spirit and energy are full. Even without eating or drinking for a month, it has no impact.
Zhang Chen, utilizing the Blood Control Technique, sensed Chengyu's Qi Mechanism within the room. Her Qi Blood was stable, her heartbeat extremely slow; evidently, she was at a critical junction, deeply in meditation.
Seeing that Chengyu was fine, Zhang Chen's heart was slightly at ease, turning to Xie Lingyun and saying, "I need to handle something. Five days later, I will definitely return to help the Inspection and Supervision Department's army through the catastrophe."
Upon hearing this, Xie Lingyun's expression became serious, "Be very careful. The Northern Land is fraught with chaos now; crises are lurking everywhere. Even those high-level masters in the Yang God realm dare not claim to keep themselves safe. Tenth Tier experts of the Demon Race have entered the Northern Land, and it's thrown the whole land into a panic. Human Race experts keep a low profile to avoid being targeted by those Demon Race masters."
"You know my methods, sister. When it comes to survival skills, few in this world can compare to me." After speaking, Zhang Chen leapt into the water, utilizing the Water Escape Technique, disappearing without a trace.
Zhang Chen continuously traveled underwater, venturing stealthily. But along his journey, Zhang Chen was utterly shocked. Do you know why?
Within the water, hundreds of citizens were screaming, struggling in the surging waves. This sudden flood swallowed countless lives, turning them into food for fish and shrimp.
Watching the people struggling in the water, Zhang Chen hesitated briefly before moving on. It wasn't that he didn't wish to help, but it was beyond his capacity to save them all. He could rescue ten people, a hundred, a thousand, ten thousand; but what if there were a hundred thousand, a million?
How could Zhang Chen possibly have the ability to save them all?
After walking for another hour, mysterious Qi Mechanism fluctuations suddenly appeared ahead. Zhang Chen stopped his Escape Light and, after hesitating, rushed towards the source of the mysterious fluctuation. Upon arrival, he saw a great tiger asleep in the water, surrounded by flowing purple light, undergoing a transformation.
Strangely enough, the large tiger while sleeping underwater wasn't drowned; doesn't that seem peculiar?
Zhang Chen manifested a human form in the water, observing the five-meter-long tiger, its body enveloped in purple light, his heart realizing: "This is just an ordinary tiger that has obtained a Dragon Pearl Fragment, allowing it to transform and evolve into a Demon Beast. And because the Dragon Pearl Fragment possesses Water Manipulation abilities, it gained the Water Repelling capability."
Seeing the transforming tiger, Zhang Chen conjured a swirling water technique, turning the great tiger into a puddle of flesh. A grain-sized purple Dragon Pearl Fragment flew out, caught by Zhang Chen's outstretched hand. He then transformed into Water Escape and continued his journey.
Such demon beasts, once established, because of acquiring True Dragon Creation, are incomparable to ordinary Demon Race beings. Once they emerge, they will naturally possess innate skills, becoming a significant threat to the Human Race.
Zhang Chen traveled along the waterway, though soon found himself unnerved. Because there were too many Dragon Pearl Fragments shattered initially, resulting in too many demon beasts transforming. Zhang Chen couldn't possibly kill them all.
As he traveled, Zhang Chen encountered at least a hundred demon beasts in the midst of transformation. The most crucial point was that some had already digested their Dragon Pearl Fragments, integrating them into their blood. When Zhang Chen slew them, their blood spilled, carrying the essence of the Dragon Pearl, polluting countless other ordinary aquatic races, allowing them to transform and evolve.
"The Northern Land no longer suits human habitation; it has become a Human World Demon Country." Zhang Chen lightly sighed, his voice filled with resignation, choosing to stop and waste no more time, but journeyed directly to the mountains where the Eight Trigrams Furnace was hidden.
The mountain hiding the Eight Trigrams Furnace was not submerged by the massive flood. Upon reaching the mountain where the furnace lay, Zhang Chen saw that the area by the furnace was cold and lifeless, with the furnace's heat long gone.
Zhang Chen stepped into the stone cave, his eyes revealing disappointment as he looked at the Eight Trigrams Furnace: "Could the Colored Realm Fire within have extinguished?"
"How could the Colored Realm Fire have gone out?" Zhang Chen's eyes were filled with disbelief.
Zhang Chen placed his hand on the Eight Trigrams Furnace, sensing its condition, and after a long while, he sighed: "Prince Pingbian deserves to die!"
Prince Pingbian flooded the Northern Land, causing the citizens to be displaced. The Dragon Qi weakened to its limits, unable to fuel the Eight Trigrams Furnace as kindling, and thus unable to sustain the Colored Realm Fire's burn. Without kindling, the fire naturally extinguished—Zhang Chen had arrived too late.
"It's a pity for this Creation Land of the Eight Trigrams Furnace, not knowing if there'll be another chance to restart in the future." Zhang Chen was very disappointed, wishing to dismember Prince Pingbian into a thousand pieces. But regretting now was futile; he could only return empty-handed.
Yet fortunately, he did have other options—a newly acquired skill: Sun Embers.
He wondered if he could cultivate this skill into the Sun True Flame, one of the most domineering flames in the world, and if so, whether it could replace the Colored Realm Fire.
"Just the right opportunity to experiment with this Sun Embers skill!" Zhang Chen looked at the massive flood at the foot of the mountain and, with a stretch of his hand, a dark red charcoal fire the size of a grain of rice appeared in his palm.
When the dark red charcoal fire appeared, Zhang Chen did not sense anything unusual. He examined it for a while but never noticed any peculiar features.
"Just this?" Zhang Chen felt disappointed with the dark red charcoal fire in his hand; this skill was too lackluster. With a casual flick, the charcoal fire streaked through the void, landing in the river at the foot of the mountain.
"Boom~"
The next moment, an explosion struck like someone pouring cold water onto a scorching stove—water boiling instantly upon contact.
After Zhang Chen's Sun Ember fell into the water, ten miles of river water boiled instantaneously, unleashing horrifying hot waves, steam rising and spreading across the world. A pervasive scorching temperature dispersed into the heavens, shocking Zhang Chen, mouth agape: "Cooked! Everything cooked! All the fish and shrimp in the water are done!"
Zhang Chen's eyes were filled with horror.
In just a split second, all the water for ten miles boiled—what an incredible amount of heat!
Watching the boiling river, Zhang Chen had to admit he had underestimated the power of the Sun Embers.
Such terrifying temperature, if it fell on a person, even a Yang God master would be melted, wouldn't they?
"These are embers, and the temperature might not be worse than the true Sun Flame! I misjudged!" Zhang Chen scratched his head, eyes thoughtful.
Which burns hotter—the flaming coal fire, or the cinder from that fire?
Cinder's temperature isn't low either!
Though embers are flames on the verge of extinction, their temperature, compared to cinder, is only a notch lower, yet they aim to match the true Sun Flame.
These are embers, not mere ashes!
"I've struck gold! I've really struck gold this time. It seems I've gained a means to threaten a Yang God True Man. However, Yang God True Man harnesses Heaven and Earth Energy, appearing and scattering formless—it's really hard to hit them with embers since they're not just wooden stakes." Zhang Chen was overjoyed.
But can you say these embers are weak? They're practically a means of area attack!
Especially considering he also possesses the Sand Merging Skill; if this skill pairs with the Sun Embers, what terrifying means would it yield?
"Wind could fuel the fire—wonder if my Sand Merging Skill could blow these embers into the Sun True Flame, making it fully ignite." Zhang Chen had a stunning idea.
"Interesting!" Zhang Chen secretly muttered to himself, his eyes scanning the boiling river in front of him. The Sun Embers in the river gradually cooled, eventually turning to dust and vanishing, but the mysterious energy wave they caused continued to spread through the world.
"Someone's coming, likely sensing my Sun Embers' fluctuation. My Sun Embers contain Pure Yang Qi, a great supplement for Yin Spirit cultivators, aiding their transformation into Yin Spirit. Even if its might can't compare to the Sun Fragment collected by Xie Lingyun, it remains a top-notch Pure Yang Treasure." Zhang Chen thought, and the next moment, his Water Escape Technique activated, disappearing without a trace.
Zhang Chen, for now, didn't want any trouble—he just wanted to lay low and develop.