"A great path conflict?"
Upon hearing this, Zhang Chen showed a contemplative expression. To be more accurate, it should be the conflict between the Enlightenment Dao and the Unity of Knowledge and Action Dao.
A nation cannot have two rulers, similarly, within Confucian Dao, there shouldn’t be two different paths appearing simultaneously. This is far more cruel than competing on the same path.
If it’s a conflict on the same path, everyone competes for the dominance of the ’Unity of Knowledge and Action’ Dao, or the dominance of the ’Enlightenment Dao’. Even if one fails in the future, they can still be considered a branch of the Dao, and there might still be a chance to prove the Dao in the future. However, such a conflict between different paths, once started, leaves no room for easing tensions; one side must completely fall, and the roots must be eradicated.
"To think it was all my doing, otherwise Mr. Wu wouldn’t have found the reason behind Unity of Knowledge and Action so quickly." Zhang Chen sighed faintly.
However, at that time, he and Chen Sanliang were adversaries, each relying on their own means. Since Han Suzhen’s death, Chen Sanliang began to show kindness to Zhang Chen, constantly helping him secretly, easing the tension between them, which Zhang Chen naturally appreciated.
Thus, Zhang Chen sighed deeply, his eyes full of emotion, "The world is unpredictable, truly impermanent."
Thinking of this, Zhang Chen suddenly felt something was amiss, as if he had missed something. After pondering for a while, he slapped his thigh fiercely, "Chen Sanliang, that crafty fiend, is truly insidious and vicious."
"Debating Dao is one purpose, but if during the debate, he could convert the other’s disciples to serve the Demon Race, it would save Chen Sanliang a lot of effort in constructing a demon nation." Zhang Chen secretly gasped.
Chen Sanliang’s scheme is undeniably ruthless! It’s practically a three-bird kill. With his Yang God’s cultivation level, isn’t it easy to sway those young Confucian scholars?
Calling one with Yang God cultivation in Confucian Dao a ’Great Scholar’ is not excessive, is it?
As for surpassing the ninth tier and entering the tenth tier, it should carry the prefix ’Saint’, like Sub-Saint.
Throughout the world, there are only three or five Great Scholars in Confucian Dao, and those who read to the point where Spiritual Power can interfere with Heaven and Earth Energy operations, whose wisdom surpasses even the Super Brain, can be considered enlightened.
Zhang Chen couldn’t help but worry about Chen Sanliang’s scheming methods. If Chen Sanliang proceeded with his ruthless tactics, closing all Academies in the Divine Land, Confucian teachings would suffer a severe blow, potentially allowing him to establish a new Confucian Dao under the Demon Race, demoting the Human Race’s Confucian Dao to a subsidiary.
Zhang Chen gasped once more, his eyes revealing a trace of shock, "That old fellow is truly calculating. My little schemes are far inferior, practically worlds apart and incomparable."
"These old fellows’ layout skills are too strong. In front of them, I am merely a mischievous child. And this is just to conceal his purpose of colluding with various Dukes. If it weren’t for Zhang Chen knowing Chen Sanliang’s scheme, which Chen Sanliang verbally told him, he would have had difficulty deciphering the inner workings." Zhang Chen muttered, filled with concern.
After selling all the meat, Zhang Chen purchased some daily necessities, and then his figure flashed and disappeared from the city.
The family continued on their journey. Zhang Chen’s days were busy, busy with the Sacrificial Refining of the Heaven and Earth Treasure Mirror, busy with the Sacrificial Refining of the Alchemy Furnace, busy nurturing the Heaven-Reaching Jianmu, and busy practicing Civil and Martial Fire.
As they traveled, the leaves gradually turned yellow, and the weather became cooler, autumn arrived.
The autumn wind rustled, to Zhang Chen, the cool autumn breeze was almost like winter, wrapping a tiger skin around himself, not daring to remove it.
Seeing Zhang Chen wrapped in tiger skin, Chengyu’s eyes were filled with concern, "Junior Brother, are you sick? Normally, the autumn breeze is pleasant, and an ordinary person would only add an extra layer of clothing; this situation shouldn’t arise for you..."
Faced with Chengyu’s concern, Zhang Chen shook his head, "It’s my body transforming, my senses awakening, my soul adapting to the Law’s essence of the world, preparing for the Primordial Spirit Emergence. You can understand my current state as the Soul Emergence of the Divine Soul Dao."
The first challenge for a cultivator in the Divine Soul Dao is Soul Emergence; a gentle breeze is a thousand cuts of pain to the soul. Moonlight is like extreme cold light, sunlight like blazing flames; any mishap could lead to a scattered soul. Zhang Chen’s Immortal Dao, however, allows the soul to transform within the body, turning all crises onto the flesh. It’s known that in cultivation, the soul is fundamental, and if something happens to the soul, it’s hard for an elixir to save it; if something happens to the flesh, it’s not as serious, as even limbs can regenerate. What’s the big deal?
This is the difference between Immortal Dao and Divine Soul Dao. At this time, Zhang Chen’s body becomes a Tripod Cauldron, his soul an Elixir, using the world’s Law to forge and cultivate the Primordial Spirit.
"You mustn’t lie to me. If your cultivation really has problems, tell me, we will surely find a way to save you." Xu Erniu’s voice was full of seriousness.
"Of course, don’t worry. It won’t take long for me to recover." Zhang Chen replied, wrapping himself in the tiger skin coat.
As autumn arrived, Zhang Chen’s giant wasps entered hibernation; Zhang Chen sent a few drops of Sun Liquid into the hive for the wasps to absorb, lest all his wasps die.
In this way, even in winter, his giant wasps could evolve while in a state of dormancy.
The carriage rumbled along, the demon horse still sleek and shiny, but its spirits were not so high.
Do you know why?
It’s because the speed of the demon horse was too fast, causing the carriage to bump around—how could one’s family endure such bumps?
Especially given these ancient bumpy roads, the jolts were practically life-threatening, so they couldn’t let it run wild.
The demon horse, which could originally travel a thousand miles a day, was now limited by Zhang Chen to only about a hundred miles daily, similar to a car that could go a hundred miles on the highway but was now running at a walking pace; how could it be happy?
Thus, the demon horse’s entire demeanor was listless, its head drooping, looking pitifully at Zhang Chen, who was too lazy to bother with it, driving the carriage leisurely.
Zhang Chen looked at the sky and mumbled to himself, "I’m afraid winter will set in before we reach the southern territories, and when the biting cold winds start, my days will be even harder."
"I need to think of some way to prepare winter supplies in advance." Sitting in the carriage, Zhang Chen pondered, recalling a certain item from later times: "A hand warmer."
A regular hand warmer wouldn’t do, as it couldn’t warm the whole body. After some contemplation, Zhang Chen decided to use his alchemy furnace.
The alchemy furnace was an innate spiritual treasure, imbued with forty-eight innate restrictions, impervious to the burning of the sun’s true flame. If he placed solar charcoal inside and controlled the temperature using the innate restrictions, wouldn’t it become a portable hand warmer?
Zhang Chen had never seen the power of solar charcoal personally, but he knew it was not to be underestimated. If he could stockpile a furnace full of charcoal, it would catch any enemy off guard in an encounter.
A single solar charcoal could burn for an impressively long time, at least exceedingly long compared to an ordinary human’s lifespan, with no problem burning for three to five months.
Thinking of this, Zhang Chen retrieved the alchemy furnace from the Ba Snake Space, transforming it to the size of a regular hand warmer, holding it in his palm. It was peculiar, for its weight changed with its size; now it weighed just three to five pounds in hand, not heavy at all.
Zhang Chen opened the lid of the furnace, peering into the empty furnace chamber. The next moment, a pea-sized crimson charcoal appeared in his palm, its power contained and not leaking a trace.
He placed the charcoal into the furnace and observed for a moment. "It should hold twenty or so pieces of charcoal," he said.
Zhang Chen carefully closed the lid; if the solar charcoal were to leak out, it would definitely cause a terrifying natural disaster, sparking untold chaos.
A person’s bloodline power also needed recovery, and he’d need roughly half a day to summon twenty pieces of charcoal to fill the furnace.
But how long the charcoal would burn in the furnace remained something he would need to estimate in his daily life.
Fingers stroking the alchemy furnace, Zhang Chen infused it with magical power, activating the innate restrictions to regulate the furnace’s temperature, ensuring it was neither too hot nor too cold, not igniting his clothes while keeping him warm.
Zhang Chen attentively sensed the changes in the furnace, and after an hour, he had a clearer understanding. He discovered that as the solar charcoal was placed inside, the furnace began absorbing the charcoal’s power, converting it into kinetic energy to fuel its innate restrictions.
Zhang Chen’s magical power mended the furnace’s innate restrictions, while the power from the sun’s true flame provided operational strength.
"The alchemy furnace originally relies on flame for operation, used for alchemy; sun’s true flame is just a type of fire. But for the furnace to automatically absorb the flame to maintain the restrictions was unexpected," Zhang Chen mused, adding more solar charcoal to the furnace, stacking a newly created piece inside.
And due to the innate restrictions, the heat within the furnace was completely sealed, with no terrifying heat escaping at all.
The carriage rolled on gently; Zhang Chen held the furnace, a satisfied smile on his face as he sat happily at the front, every chill wind that came within three feet was melted away by the heat inside the furnace.
"Why is it so warm around you?" Chengyu turned to Zhang Chen, surprise evident in his eyes.
Zhang Chen patted his alchemy furnace, "This is my little stove."
After a day’s journey, the furnace now contained over a dozen pieces of charcoal, the crimson coals piled together without a sign of extinguishing, while terrifyingly hot waves roamed within, enough to make one tremble in fear.