Zhang Chen was startled upon hearing this: "Does my Osmanthus have such efficacy?"
Immediately, he thought about the Osmanthus he had acquired from the old Osmanthus tree on the Taiyin Star during the era of the creation of the Heaven and Earth. It contains infinite mysteries, and even until now, Zhang Chen has not comprehended the wonders within the old Osmanthus.
Upon hearing the other’s words, Zhang Chen felt a slight stirring in his heart. He extended his finger and pointed at the beehive, infusing it with a thread of the Qi Mechanism of the Taiyin Star through his Magical Power. He saw that with the nourishment of the Taiyin Star’s breath, the beehive mysteriously gained momentum, starting to absorb the Sun and Moon Essence from Heaven and Earth.
Different from Qi Cultivators, once the Demon Race awakens their intelligence, they naturally understand how to absorb the Sun and Moon Essence from Heaven and Earth—this is an innate ability gifted by Heaven that many human cultivators envy.
"Feed it with a drop of Emperor’s Liquid next, that should be enough," the Great Freedom Celestial Demon observed from the sidelines. As he said this, he looked at Zhang Chen, his voice full of curiosity: "Kid, you can actually condense the Great Sun Essence into Sun Liquid. I really underestimated you before; when did you acquire such a technique? You should know that even strong figures at the Fruit Realm do not possess such an ability."
Zhang Chen did not respond to the Great Freedom Celestial Demon’s words. Instead, he sacrificed a drop of Sun Liquid, letting it drip onto the beehive. In the next moment, Zhang Chen saw the Qi Mechanism of the beehive grow stronger, and an inexplicable consciousness was born. Although this consciousness was still bewildered and only instinctual, it understood how to be close to Zhang Chen. With Zhang Chen’s thoughts conveyed, the beehive miraculously began to shrink quickly, transforming into the size of a fist.
Though the beehive transformed into fist size, its interior contained another Heaven and Earth. The internal space did not shrink; rather, it expanded considerably.
"A spatial type of Magical Artifact? But it only accommodates the large wasps and not any external objects." Zhang Chen looked at the fist-sized beehive, holding it in his hand to examine it, a thoughtfulness flickering in his eyes.
Moreover, due to the Mysterious Power it holds, this beehive can automatically absorb the Power of Heaven and Earth, nourishing the large wasps within, helping them transform into Demon Beasts. Once the wasps transform into Demon Beasts, they can absorb the Sun and Moon Essence to feedback to the beehive, assisting in its transformation.
"This type of mysterious cultivation is indeed different from the mainstream," Zhang Chen observed the fist-sized beehive, resembling a small wasp nest forged in gold. Its material was as hard as steel, difficult to destroy.
Zhang Chen twisted a hemp rope, hanging the beehive on his clothes. Now, aside from the Earth’s Primordial Magnetism Iron and some gold and jewels, his donkey cart carried no other excess items.
"That Earth’s Primordial Magnetism Iron is not a mysterious object, and collecting it is rather troublesome. As for gold and jewels, wrapping them up and carrying them disguises them quite well," Zhang Chen thought secretly to himself.
He mastered the Mountain-moving Divine Techniques, possessing ten-thousand-pound strength, so a few hundred pounds of gold and jewels didn’t count for much. The troublesome point was that the Earth’s Primordial Magnetism Iron was too conspicuous, making Zhang Chen find it a bit difficult.
The Earth’s Primordial Magnetism Iron resembles a magnet; if someone with iron equipment comes within twenty meters, they will inevitably be drawn by its force.
Zhang Chen originally wanted to use the Earth’s Primordial Magnetism Iron to forge a Treasure Sword, but the item drew far too much attention on the south-bound journey.
After thinking for a long time, Zhang Chen decided to break down the Earth’s Primordial Magnetism Iron into small slabs, imprinting Blood God Scripture and Blood Sea Technique on them. Particularly with the Blood Sea Array, Zhang Chen engraved it on each slab, dividing them into hundreds, preparing to scatter them along the way.
Once Zhang Chen completed everything, Mrs. Zhang had already cooked the lamb, and after the family finished eating, they continued on their journey.
"Brother, why has your beehive disappeared?" Zhang Tuowei looked curiously at the empty cart, asking the question.
Zhang Chen replied, "I’ve already stored it away."
With the cart wheels creaking, Zhang Chen continued to toss the slabs along the road. These slabs contain the Power of Primordial Magnetism, capable of storing Essence, Qi, and Spirit. Zhang Chen directly stored his spiritual imprint in the slabs, so anyone who picks up a slab doesn’t need to be literate. They simply need to keep the slab close while sleeping, at which time their protective magnetic field will naturally be breached by the slab’s magnetism, allowing Zhang Chen’s spiritual information to pour into their brains and enabling them to grasp the Blood God Scripture.
Currently, the Northern Land is suffering, with the people being ravaged by Demon Beasts. If given a chance to resist and change their fate, Zhang Chen believes these people would not pass up the opportunity. No matter how painful or difficult, they would still try.
"Let the Blood Dao flourish in the Northern Land, using the blood of those Demon Beasts to strengthen the momentum of my Blood Dao. Who knows how long it will take to summon the Blood River of the Human World, allowing the sea of blood to flow into the human realm," Zhang Chen thought with a gleam of anticipation in his eyes.
The Wild Donkey moved quickly, stirring up dust clouds as it rushed toward its predetermined direction.
The Hunting Falcon soared high in the sky, continually correcting Zhang Chen’s course.
The Wild Donkey’s journey drew numerous gazes, tempting many with greed. It was known that the Wild Donkey’s flesh was top-quality food, vital now with so many refugees in the Northern Land suffering from food scarcity.
"Chen’Er, traveling with our family in a donkey cart draws too much attention. We should sell the cart and travel on foot," Mrs. Zhang suggested, her eyes showing unease as she noticed the glances from afar.
"I understand! Once I find a caravan, I’ll handle the Wild Donkey, and we’ll blend in with the refugee crowd to travel discreetly," Zhang Chen replied.
Mrs. Zhang nodded upon hearing this and did not try to persuade further.
Zhang Chen used ultrasound detection along the way to avoid passersby as much as possible. If he couldn’t avoid those with ill intentions, he would have to strike decisively, taking the opportunity to toughen up the three little ones.
As for sending the Hunting Falcon to hunt, it was now merely a second-tier demon beast. Apart from its awakened intelligence and its ability to shrink and enlarge at will, it had not yet awakened other divine techniques. Three to five strong men could join forces to hunt it down, so Zhang Chen didn’t dare let the Hunting Falcon take risks.
"Using our legs to travel isn’t bad, it’s a good opportunity for them to practice the Dragon Form in the True Dragon Form. If they can walk from the Northern Land to Jiangnan, covering ten thousand miles, their Dragon Form will undoubtedly achieve great success." On the side, Xiaodouding smiled as she echoed Mrs. Zhang’s words.
Upon hearing Chengyu’s words, the two little ones immediately pulled long faces, for how could walking compare to riding a donkey cart?
Yet, they dared not voice any opposition, knowing well that the chance to learn skills was rare and the opportunity to change their fate was right before them.
The donkey cart sped along, and Zhang Chen sat on the carriage, continuously absorbing the Great Sun Essence from the sky, rapidly accumulating the Emperor’s Liquid within his body.
After three full days of pursuit, Zhang Chen finally saw the large troop in the distance. Tightening the reins, he said to Mrs. Zhang, "Let’s get off the cart. From now on, we’ll have to rely entirely on ourselves to walk."
Mrs. Zhang’s eyes showed a trace of determination: "To avoid trouble, we have no choice but to do this."
If it were just Zhang Chen, he wouldn’t mind swaggering around driving a donkey cart. Even if a powerful adversary targeted him, he could just flee. But now, with his entire family escaping with him, Zhang Chen dared not be reckless. Any mistake could cost the lives of his family.
One must know, there are countless strange methods in this world, and Zhang Chen cannot care for everyone completely.
Zhang Chen grabbed the bridle of the Wild Donkey, slapped its head, sending a trace of Sun Liquid into it: "Go, you foolish donkey, hopefully you’ll stay away from humans in the future, lest you end up as roasted donkey meat."
Zhang Chen sent the Wild Donkey away and carried a bag of gold, silver, and jewels on his back. These treasures were invaluable, indispensable anywhere they went.
As for Han Suzhen’s stone sculpture, Zhang Chen wrapped it with cloth and carried it on his back, as if it weighed nothing. Over there, Chengyu carried a large pot on his back like a giant turtle. Mrs. Zhang carried the clothing and blankets for changing, and the two little ones each carried pots and pans. The family looked like refugees fleeing disaster as they hurried toward the distant caravan, covered in dust and dirt.
Next to them, Chengyu, who had reached the stage of Exorcism, carried the large pot and other items weighing dozens of pounds without any effort. He still had the time to teach Zhang Tuowei and Zhang Fei the cultivation methods of the True Dragon Form:
"Dragon Form is one of the foundations of the True Dragon Form. If you can master this form, the foundation will be planted. Especially you, Zhang Fei, all that fat can be reduced."
"To cultivate the Dragon Form, the key lies in the friction of the acupoints on the soles, as well as the control of foot tendons, leg muscles, and the big muscles. Constantly use walking to impact the acupoints at the soles, refining the big muscles through the contraction of toes." Chengyu did not hold back any experience, teaching the two little ones everything.
Zhang Chen was generous to Chengyu, and Chengyu naturally wouldn’t withhold anything from the two little ones.
Moreover, the two little ones had consumed dragon flesh and their bodies contained immense potential. Cultivating the True Dragon Form was as easy as adding wings to a tiger, and now was a perfect time to develop their physical potential.
Following behind the two little ones, Zhang Chen quietly watched their strange steps plodding across the ground, pondering: "If only we had a spatial magical artifact now, we could stash everything inside and wouldn’t have to drag the whole family along."
The group wasn’t slow; even Mrs. Zhang, who had also consumed dragon remains, had a body transformed, possessing at least several hundred pounds of strength, making it not difficult to catch up with the large troop.
As Zhang Chen got closer to the large troop, he realized the scale was even grander than what he had previously seen.
In front were three thousand armored warriors, and Zhang Chen sensed that among them were strong individuals who had refined their martial dao Qi blood.
"Three thousand armored warriors, plus martial dao Qi blood experts protecting them—no small force, even in the Northern Land. Armors are rare treasures, after all. Forging a set of armor is incredibly challenging." Zhang Chen mused to himself.
In the center of the three thousand armored warriors, there were hundreds of indistinct figures, either on horseback or sitting inside carriages, clearly of noble status.
Behind them were hundreds of unarmored guards, each wielding swords, forming another protective squad of experts.