Zhang Chen was a man of poise, and he naturally wouldn’t trouble a mere laborer!
The group bid farewell and left, the three young ones taking a carriage away, while Zhang Chen employed an escape technique to vanish from the spot; he was headed for Jinling City to keep watch, preparing to find someone from the Salt Gang to turn into a puppet.
"Perhaps just use Lai San as a puppet? But the Shen Family’s influence is too overwhelming, and Lai San is the nephew of Steward Lai Changrong. If Lai San disappears, it will undoubtedly cause quite a stir." Zhang Chen thought about it and eventually dismissed the idea.
However, once someone is possessed by the Blood God Child, after the entity departs, the person will turn into a mere human skin, completely disappearing forever from Heaven and Earth.
Zhang Chen arrived outside Liu Ji’s house, gazing at the front door. He used his Invisibility Technique to sit boldly across from it: "Staking out like this is too time-consuming, I must stir the pot and alert the enemy."
Accompanying the thought in Zhang Chen’s mind, the Blood God Child from Lai San had already been withdrawn.
Shen Family
At the main gate, Lai San was greeting and sending off guests, engaging in conversation with them. Suddenly, a red gleam flashed in Lai San’s eyes, and he collapsed to the ground as a human skin, causing chaos to erupt within the Shen Family.
Although Lai San was a servant, he was still a member of the Shen Family. Now, without reason, dying at the Shen Family’s gate was naturally a provocation. Killing Lai San at the Shen Family’s doorstep was indeed a challenge to them.
The Shen Family swiftly put the entire city on alert, searching for the hidden perpetrator. For a time, Jinling City was on edge. Various factions, including the Yellow Heaven Dao, became restless, pulling back their extensions and quietly seeking news.
It wasn’t long before Zhang Chen saw a middle-aged man of unremarkable appearance hastily approaching. He knocked on the door in a particular pattern, and Liu Ji opened the door to let him in.
Not long after, the figure left, and Zhang Chen, invoking his Invisibility Technique, followed him. Before long, he discovered the stronghold of the Yellow Heaven Dao and then identified the Salt Gang’s hideout. A drop of the Blood God Child flew out, and by the next day, there was an old servant wearing a mask in Zhang Chen’s residence.
Though there were three days left before Chongzheng Academy started, the three young ones were already heading there daily to study and learn the classical culture with Zhou Qiucheng.
Meanwhile, Zhang Chen wandered within Chongzheng Academy, sensing the location of the Six Paths of Reincarnation.
With the Six Paths Reincarnation Art in hand and the Human Reincarnation within him, Zhang Chen naturally felt a connection to the components of reincarnation shrouded in mystery.
Zhang Chen roamed through the academy. At this time, classes had not yet begun, and only the teachers were preparing for the start of the term. Zhang Chen walked to the back mountain of the academy, where he saw a waterfall cascading down into a chilly pool a hundred feet across, beside which stood a nine-story tower.
The tower was large, no smaller than the Leifeng Tower of later generations.
It was not an ordinary edifice; the entire tower exuded an enigmatic aura. The entire structure was crafted from mysterious materials.
"The materials of that tower are peculiar, as if carved from jade? Yet a closer look reveals it’s not quite that, almost as if it was forged from flesh and blood." Zhang Chen gazed at the tower from afar, a hint of curiosity in his eyes.
He could sense that the material of the tower was bizarre, akin to the flesh and blood of living beings.
Most crucially, the tower was absorbing the Great Sun Essence from the sky.
The Beast Dao, which he sensed a connection to, was inside that tower.
While Zhang Chen was contemplating whether to use an escape technique to sneak inside, he was halted by the Great Freedom Celestial Demon: "The material of that tower is unusual, not of the Five Elements, your escape technique cannot enter it. If you inadvertently trigger the ancient tower’s restrictions, it may attract the academy’s attention."
"Hm?" Zhang Chen’s expression shifted in surprise: "Material not of the Five Elements?"
"The aura circulating in the tower is at least of the Eleventh Tier, containing a formidable suppressive force. Even a Tenth Tier powerhouse would be suppressed if they accidentally triggered the restrictions. I advise you not to take the risk," the Great Freedom Celestial Demon advised, "Moreover, this ancient tower is strange, seemingly an incomplete relic. My instincts tell me to dread it, wishing to keep away."
Zhang Chen’s pupils contracted upon hearing this; it was rare to find something the Great Freedom Celestial Demon feared.
Concentrating on the tower, Zhang Chen watched as the immense Great Sun Essence was absorbed by it, yet the tower exhibited no anomalies, resembling an ordinary treasure, intriguing him immensely.
Unfortunately, Zhang Chen was too far from the tower to discern its Qi mechanism or probe its secrets.
While Zhang Chen pondered why a mysterious tower would appear in Chongzheng Academy’s backyard, Zhou Zhen appeared from afar, his voice reaching Zhang Chen before he arrived:
"That pavilion is extremely mysterious. It suddenly appeared here sixty years after the founding of the Great Victory Dynasty. The Great Zhou sent countless experts to explore it, but all returned in defeat. Later, the court rebuilt Chongzheng Academy to protect this pavilion, intending to use the Vast Righteous Qi of scholars to temper it and prevent it from erupting into disaster, endangering the people. Through generations of exploration, Chongzheng Academy has grasped some patterns regarding the pavilion and can use certain methods to make it their own. The pavilion has a suppressive effect, so the Great Zhou Dynasty sends unkillable malevolent spirits and anomalies into the pavilion for suppression. However, as more and more evil spirits are sent in, the pavilion’s power also grows stronger. Chongzheng Academy being chosen as one of the academy’s branches is greatly related to this pavilion, as it is one of the mysteries that the Great Zhou cannot unravel. The Great Zhou Dynasty opened the Inner Courtyard at Chongzheng Academy to study the pavilion and some extremely troublesome mysteries."
Zhang Chen was taken aback by these words and turned to look at Zhou Zhen. Zhou Zhen said, "That pavilion has an incredibly powerful suppressive force. No matter how unparalleled your cultivation is, once inside the pavilion, you would be suppressed. My father’s great path is ’Impartial and Just,’ and his principles resonate with the pavilion, making him the only one in the entire Confucian school who can face the pavilion with a steady heart and even borrow some of the pavilion’s power."
"Before my father, this pavilion was merely a prison of the Great Victory Dynasty, holding all the difficult-to-extinguish malevolent spirits. It’s only in recent years, as my father’s connection with the pavilion deepened, gaining some understanding of it, that the pavilion gradually came into use by our Great Zhou." Zhou Zhen explained to Zhang Chen:
"And my father became the head of Jinling’s Chongzheng Academy because he can influence this pavilion."
Zhang Chen nodded thoughtfully, "I see."
"You want to join the Inner Courtyard and comprehend the Mysterious Power, and this happens inside the pavilion. The pavilion is the classroom of the Mysterious Inner Courtyard. The Emperor of Zhou established the Inner Courtyard of Jinling Academy and invited elites who have mastered the mysterious to interpret the ancient inheritances, hoping to decipher more of this pavilion’s rules," Zhou Zhen said.
Zhang Chen pondered, "Is there any danger inside the pavilion?"
"The greatest danger is that all mysteries entering it will turn into ordinary people, and all divine powers will be suppressed by the pavilion," Zhou Zhen said.
Zhang Chen looked at the pavilion in front of him, silent, pondering whether he could cultivate a skill from it.
If he could develop a skill with the same origin as this pavilion, would he be able to master it?
"I previously suffered severe damage to my Essence, Qi, and Spirit because while exploring the pavilion’s rules, I was countered by them and lost a lot of Essence, Qi, and Spirit. If not for the ginseng saving me, I might have died with my soul dissipating," Zhou Zhen said to Zhang Chen.
"Can I get closer to take a look?" Zhang Chen asked.
Zhou Zhen shook his head at these words, "The pavilion has a capturing force. Without my father holding the line, approaching within a hundred feet of the Treasure Tower will result in being captured and sealed within."
"Is there really such a saying?" Zhang Chen looked curious.
"Once the school term begins and the Inner Courtyard selection concludes, you’ll naturally have the chance to enter the Treasure Tower, so there’s no need to rush," Zhou Zhen said with a smile.
Zhang Chen nodded. Faced with the unknown depths of the Treasure Tower, he dared not test it lightly.
As for why Zhou Qiucheng came into contact with the Treasure Tower and mastered some of its power, Zhang Chen didn’t ask, for it was a secret of the Zhou family father and son. How could Zhang Chen dare to probe?
The two chatted about the Treasure Tower for a while, then Zhou Zhen accompanied Zhang Chen for a leisurely stroll around the academy.
Upon returning home, Zhang Chen sat in his study and summoned the Great Freedom Celestial Demon, asking, "How much do you know about that Treasure Tower?"
"I don’t remember. I only vaguely recall in my memory that the Treasure Tower is incredibly terrifying, but as for the rest, I’m not sure," the Great Freedom Celestial Demon said.
Zhang Chen glanced at the Great Freedom Celestial Demon upon hearing this, and began to plan secretly: "I have the Heaven and Earth Treasure Mirror, a Mysterious Pill Furnace, an Ascension Pool, and the protection of the Five-Colored Divine Light. The pavilion is an eleventh-tier artifact, but it may not be able to suppress me."
But he did not take risks, for it is indeed an eleventh-tier mystery, and anything could happen.
It might be better to wait for the Inner Courtyard to open and follow Zhou Qiucheng in, gain a general understanding, and then take action.
"That pavilion is indeed not simple," Zhang Chen thought, unwilling to act rashly.
Time flew by, and three days passed in the blink of an eye. On the third day, when Chongzheng Academy opened, the three little ones took a carriage toward the academy, while Zhang Chen used the Escape Technique, appearing directly at the academy’s gate.
Although he was appointed by the principal, he still had to register for entry today, followed by class allocation and an array of procedures.
As Zhang Chen arrived at the gate, he saw it was already crowded with about five to six hundred people milling about in front of it.
"Does Chongzheng Academy admit so many students?" Zhang Chen looked at the five to six hundred richly dressed young people, a hint of surprise in his eyes.