Only Zhang Chen’s True God Golden Light flowed, standing atop the mountain peak, looking around without ever detecting the location of the Gate of Heaven and Earth, so he could only harness the Devouring Power to view through the perspective it provided, his eyes sweeping over Buzhou Mountain, the Law of Space manifesting in his vision, countless lines extending in the void.
"Not here! Is the Gate of Heaven and Earth not in Buzhou Mountain?" Zhang Chen furrowed his brows, relying on the uniqueness of his Eye of Devouring, if there were a Gate of Heaven and Earth, it would never escape his sight.
So Zhang Chen pulled out the Great Freedom Celestial Demon: "Go, see where the Gate of Heaven and Earth is!"
"You want to enter the Third Heaven through the Gate of Heaven and Earth?" The Great Freedom Celestial Demon looked Zhang Chen up and down, an expression of skepticism in his eyes.
"What’s that look for, am I not capable of breaking the Gate of Heaven and Earth?" Zhang Chen replied crossly.
"It’s not that I underestimate you, even the Princess has to rely on that Three-Pointed Double-Edged Blade to break through, what makes you think you can compare to her? You’d better persistently cultivate your Mental Realm, perhaps then you’ll have a chance to enter. Relying solely on your own power to break the Gate of Heaven and Earth, you might as well dream on." The Great Freedom Celestial Demon did not hide his mockery: "Don’t bother searching for the Gate of Heaven and Earth, you simply can’t open it."
"How about ninth-tier power?" Zhang Chen asked, a hint of pride in his voice.
"Unless you can manifest tenth-tier power, and also wield a Magical Treasure not inferior to the Three-Pointed Double-Edged Blade, only then is it possible to open the Gate of Heaven and Earth," the Great Freedom Celestial Demon responded.
Upon hearing this, Zhang Chen inhaled sharply: "Hey, old man, you’d better not try to fool me, is the Gate of Heaven and Earth really that difficult to open?"
The Great Freedom Celestial Demon pointed north: "I have mastered the Power of the Void and already sensed the Gate of Heaven and Earth lies to the north. At your current speed, it would take merely three days of flight to reach the Gate’s location. If you doubt my words, you can try going to the North Sea."
Taking in the Great Freedom Celestial Demon’s words, Zhang Chen no longer spoke but summoned the Golden Finger Interface. He had a feeling that what the demon said was true, for though he wielded ninth-tier power now, compared to the Princess’s methods, he was still leagues apart, akin to mortal and immortal.
[6 Skills (Extreme): Second Heaven (0/4000000)]
Four million experience points is but a drop in the bucket, Zhang Chen found it completely worth investing now, because entering the Third Heaven would be in a random location, and traveling to Buzhou Mountain would take another year or two, wasting time—advancing now would save time.
But for Zhang Chen, what’s most important is confidence; for he believed, he would never let mere lifespan trap him.
Nowadays, the Incense Dao flourishes; once he finds a suitable opportunity, he plans to take decisive actions, plundering the Power of Incense from the various Divine Spirits, to elevate all his skills, forging a path of survival.
As for now, traveling takes precedence; he has family to care for, and he doesn’t wish to attract too much attention.
He waits for the moment when the Sea of Blood fully descends from the void to the real world, for then the Blood Dao can interfere with the real world’s workings, and at that time, he’ll plunder Incense Faith without haste.
"Especially the bodies of Divine Spirits, which are great supplements for me," Zhang Chen muttered to himself: "It’s like raising pigs if I don’t act against them now. When the Demon Race crosses the borders, turmoil is inevitable, and amidst the chaos, fatalities abound—my points shall flow plentiful."
With a thought, Zhang Chen invested four million points, watching the Golden Finger Interface transform:
[6 Skills (Extreme): Third Heaven (0/8000000)]
Then a strange feeling arose in Zhang Chen’s heart, as if his previous view of the void in the Spiritual World’s Second Heaven shifted, gaining a vantage like seeing through surfaces, he glimpsed the vista outside the void atop the Second Heaven, where an eternally snowy world lay, seemingly encased in ice.
"That’s the Spiritual World Third Heaven!" Zhang Chen felt a profound guiding instinct, and then he stepped forward, a twist in the void before him revealing the path, leading him step by step toward the Third Heaven.
"This is impossible!!!" The Great Freedom Celestial Demon, watching Zhang Chen’s silhouette, showed an expression of shock: "How do you possess such a Mental Realm? This Mental Realm should belong to at least a tenth-tier cultivator!"
The Great Freedom Celestial Demon’s eyes were filled with disbelief, sensing an uncanny aura from Zhang Chen that was far from ordinary uncanny.
Zhang Chen ignored the Great Freedom Celestial Demon’s yelling and proceeded unhurriedly through the Spiritual World, approaching the Third Heaven. An intense cold seeped through the Endless Void, reaching him even before he arrived at the Third Heaven, allowing him to preemptively sense its chilling presence.
"Such a powerful chill, even stronger than that monster’s Ice Soul Divine Light!" Zhang Chen continued walking, grateful that it was only his mind that descended here; otherwise, he would have faced great trouble.
"Great fortune! Real great fortune! Kid, you’ve struck it rich this time." The Great Freedom Celestial Demon stood in the crevice between the Second and Third Heavens of the Spiritual World, peering into the Third Heaven’s scenery with an enigmatic look in his eyes. He turned to Zhang Chen, offering his congratulations.
"How did I strike it rich?" Zhang Chen asked.
"The entire Third Heaven of the Spiritual World is ice-sealed. Think about what kind of treasure it must be to freeze a whole world?" the Great Freedom Celestial Demon said.
"Why a treasure and not some ancient being’s Divine Techniques?" Zhang Chen recalled the tears in the Second Heaven: "Isn’t the Second Heaven’s power the force of some incredibly ancient being?"
"What do you know, kid; with the great transformation of Heaven and Earth, all Extraordinary Powers are in decline. You see, the sea of the Second Heaven is only of the first or second tier, yet you don’t understand that when it fell, it was at the eighth or ninth tier. Even the Yang God masters, if they fell into it, would only have drowned. But now, with the shifting of Heaven and Earth, even the Spiritual World is affected, its power beginning to wane. The Second Heaven’s tears are those of the Water Spirit, one of the Four Spirits of Heaven Opening. Even the force of her tears is waning, but the force from the other side, the Third Heaven, can still seep out from inside. Now, what kind of fearsome power is that? Merely relying on Divine Techniques won’t withstand the ravages of time; only true treasures can maintain such power." The Great Freedom Celestial Demon said, his eyes burning intensely.
Upon hearing this, Zhang Chen’s eyes brightened, staring fixedly at the Third Heaven opposite him, wordless against the endless white world. After a long time, Zhang Chen asked, "If my Power of the Mind steps into the Third Heaven, will it get frozen by that force?"
Zhang Chen felt a bit worried. If his mind were sealed by ice in the Spiritual World, the force would reflect onto his physical body, subjecting it to the same damage.
In other words, if his mind were frozen in the Third Heaven, his physical body would likely perish too.
"It certainly would!" The Great Freedom Celestial Demon replied seriously, without joking.
"I have an alchemy furnace with charcoal fire inside. With the power of that charcoal fire, I should be able to resist the ice and snow world before me." Zhang Chen mused.
"Don’t even think about it; your alchemy furnace can’t be brought into the Third Heaven of the Spiritual World." The Great Freedom Celestial Demon said.
"Why not?" Zhang Chen looked at the Great Freedom Celestial Demon, astonished. "My Golden Scissors can enter; why can’t the alchemy furnace?"
"The Golden Scissors are the Golden Scissors; although they’re in the form of a Magical Treasure, they manifest through Innate Yin Yang Qi, similar to Innate Yin Yang Divine Techniques, on par with your Five-Colored Divine Light, and can follow your mind into the Spiritual World. Meanwhile, your Eight Trigrams Furnace isn’t a treasure birthed from this Law Origin of Heaven and Earth and therefore lacks such capability." The Great Freedom Celestial Demon explained.
Zhang Chen seemed to understand yet also seemed not to.
Seeing this, the Great Freedom Celestial Demon sighed deeply: "I know it’s hard to explain clearly to you. If we follow descriptions from that Mysterious Era, there are grades among Innate Spiritual Treasures. Although your Golden Scissors are heavily damaged, at its core, it’s still an Innate Supreme Treasure engraved with the Law of Yin Yang, possessing Yin Yang Origin. Whereas your alchemy furnace, although good, falls just short of the Golden Scissors. In the realm of such existences, being slightly short is the difference between Perfection and Imperfection, just a line separates Heaven and Earth."
"Innate Supreme Treasure?" Zhang Chen was taken aback. Was it the Innate Supreme Treasure he understood from reading novels in his previous life?
But after hearing the Great Freedom Celestial Demon’s explanation, he understood the difference. While the Great Freedom Celestial Demon thought he didn’t comprehend, he indeed didn’t at first, but when discussing the gap between Innate Spiritual Treasures and Innate Supreme Treasures, he suddenly realized and truly understood.
"So, my treasure cannot protect me then."
Zhang Chen’s face turned serious, his steps slowing, hesitating whether to enter the Third Heaven. While he could move the sun embers, he clearly understood the difference between a piece of sun embers and a furnace full of them.
"However..." The Great Freedom Celestial Demon, seeing Zhang Chen’s hesitation, quickly extended his tone, grabbing Zhang Chen’s attention.
"However, what?" Zhang Chen asked irritably, looking at the other, his tone impatient but his heart secretly delighted. He knew the Great Freedom Celestial Demon wouldn’t speak without a solution.
"Body and mind are one; any attack on your mind reflects its injuries onto your body. But if some power protects your body, then your body’s power can conversely protect your mind. Although your alchemy furnace can’t manifest from the real world into the Spiritual World, it can still safeguard your physical body externally, resisting the invading force of that ice." The Great Freedom Celestial Demon smiled.