lerbook #316 - Huangquan Road
#316 - Huangquan Road
Underground, in the soil, the water flow transformed from Zhang Chen swept through, washing away the blood that had seeped into the earth.
Looking at the faint blue soil, a hint of surprise appeared in Zhang Chen's eyes.
"The blood flowing from Liu Feng's divine body is actually light blue? That's quite interesting. His blood can completely satisfy my cultivation of the Blood Transformation Divine Saber."
After secretly collecting over a dozen drops of blood underground, Zhang Chen quickly moved away from the battlefield, fleeing towards the Taoist temple.
At this time, various Jianghu figures were also shuttling through the mountains, collecting flesh and blood from the soil, and after obtaining benefits, they immediately fled, disappearing into the mountains and forests.
After Zhang Chen escaped from the soil, he transformed into mist and fled ten miles through the air. Suddenly, a sound of fighting came from afar, and mysterious fluctuations permeated the void.
Sensing the mysterious fluctuations, Zhang Chen quietly approached in the form of mist, and from afar, he saw two figures fighting.
One person was surrounded by ghostly shadows, as if in a human ghost realm, with countless evil ghosts roaring, guarding him. This person was Zhang Gaqi.
Zhang Gaqi suffered heavy damage in the previous battle where Liu Feng self-detonated his divine body, and his strength was greatly reduced. After seizing some flesh and blood, he immediately fled into the mountains, but who knew he would be targeted by someone.
Opposite Zhang Gaqi was a man surrounded by white light, holding a light saber in his hand, blocking Zhang Gaqi. The light saber in his hand kept flashing, bursting out with sword energy, slashing towards the ghost realm. Zhang Gaqi's ghost realm was constantly thinning and weakening in the face of the light saber.
"Zhang Gaqi, hand over the divine flesh and blood, and I will spare you!" The man was shrouded in white light, completely unable to see his face.
Zhang Gaqi stood in the ghost realm and sneered upon hearing this: "Qian Xueche, do you really think you have me cornered?"
"Do you think you can still run?" Qian Xueche's voice was full of mockery.
"Hehe, if I had fallen into this situation before coming to the Northern Territory, I might have been at your mercy, but now..." Zhang Gaqi smiled faintly, and in the next moment, a drop of yellow liquid appeared in his hand.
"Water of the Yellow Springs!"
The moment he saw the liquid, Qian Xueche immediately recognized its origin.
"Good eye!" Zhang Gaqi praised.
"You can't possibly think that you can turn the tables with just a drop of the Water of the Yellow Springs, right?" Qian Xueche mocked.
"How can you know what the Water of the Yellow Springs represents to the people of my Zhang family?" Zhang Gaqi's eyes were full of mockery. In the next moment, the hand seals in his hand changed, and the Water of the Yellow Springs actually evolved into a virtual river, flowing meanderingly in his ghost realm, disappearing into the void.
The virtual river did not know where it originated, nor where it ended, leading to an unknown and mysterious place.
"With a drop of the Water of the Yellow Springs, I can open the road of life and death, build a bridge between Yin and Yang, and summon the power of the real Underworld to descend upon the world," Zhang Gaqi's voice became more and more ethereal in the ghost realm.
In the next moment, a crack suddenly appeared in the space within the ghost realm, and a magnificent, vast, dark world appeared. A vast amount of Yin energy rushed out, propping up and expanding Zhang Gaqi's ghost realm.
"The Yin-Yang Road opens, the bridge of life and death appears, shouldn't the hellish heavenly ghosts descend quickly?" Zhang Gaqi shouted, and in the next moment, a shadow walked out of the crack. Then, as the shadow descended, the ghost realm expanded infinitely, directly enveloping Qian Xueche opposite him.
Qian Xueche wanted to escape, but he saw the surrounding space twisting, and the spatial distance was stretched and transformed. Qian Xueche simply did not have time to escape, and was already enveloped by the ghost realm.
The ghost realm was shrouded in dark clouds, and Zhang Chen could not see the situation inside from the outside. At this time, he only heard Qian Xueche's screams: "Brother Zhang, let me go! I dare not anymore!"
Then the words stopped abruptly, followed by a creepy chewing sound, coming from the darkness.
After about a few breaths, the ghost realm dissipated, and only Zhang Gaqi stood in place with a ruddy complexion. Where was there any trace of injury?
"The Water of the Yellow Springs is really too important. My Zhang family uses the Water of the Yellow Springs as a medium to summon the bridge of life and death, open the Yin-Yang Road, summon the Underworld world to the real world, and use the powerful evil ghosts of the Underworld world to destroy the enemy. As long as there is the Water of the Yellow Springs, even if I face a Yang God True Person, I am not afraid! Many of my Zhang family's supernatural powers require the Water of the Yellow Springs as a medium to be realized. It's just a pity that this thing is really too precious. If there is enough Water of the Yellow Springs, my Zhang family may not be able to compete with the Dasheng royal family... It's a pity, the Water of the Yellow Springs is really too rare."
After Zhang Gaqi muttered, a cyan-black baby's head appeared on his back. The baby's eye sockets were black holes, with no pupils inside, only countless pale palms.
The baby was pitch black, scanning the air with its eyes, appearing extremely strange.
"By using the opened Yin-Yang Road, I finally have a heavenly ghost of my own." Zhang Gaqi reached out and touched the baby's head on his shoulder. In the next moment, the baby's palm stretched out from his back, actually tearing the void directly, and disappeared with Zhang Gaqi in place.
Zhang Chen, who had transformed into a wisp of mist in the distance, watched the scene in front of him dumbfounded, his eyes full of shock: "That is the real Underworld world, I felt the aura of the Underworld world. I didn't expect the Water of the Yellow Springs to be so important to the Zhang family..."
Thoughts flashed through Zhang Chen's mind, and he raised his guard: "I just don't know if Zhang Gaqi will have other thoughts he shouldn't have."
If Zhang Gaqi is safe and self-disciplined, that's all. If he is not safe and self-disciplined, his righteous god golden light just happens to perfectly restrain the other party.
The most important thing is that his righteous god's light has already made tenth-order evil spirits retreat, and although that heavenly ghost is strong, it definitely cannot reach the power of the tenth order.
"If he wants to play some tricks, then I'll give him a little surprise." Zhang Chen muttered to himself.
He didn't believe in so-called kinship at all.
"The Zhang family's innate talent seems to be related to the Underworld world, which is a bit interesting."
In the next moment, Zhang Chen turned into mist and slipped away, returning to the Taoist temple. From afar, he saw the entire Taoist temple ablaze with fire, and shouts of killing were constantly coming from inside the Taoist temple.
The army of the Pingbian Royal Mansion was fighting with a group of men in black outside the Taoist temple, and the Taoist temple was already filled with fire. Countless men in black had already broken in, and the disciples in the Taoist temple were now rising up to resist.
Because the army of the Pingbian Royal Mansion was here, the Yin God powerhouses could not leave their bodies, and there were also Qi and blood martial artists traversing in the darkness, which made the Yin God existences tremble with fear. Therefore, the battle of Huangli Taoist Temple was maintained at the realm of ordinary martial artists.
"Good fellow, where did so many experts come from, actually wreaking havoc in Huangtiandao?" Zhang Chen transformed into a stream of water and潜伏into the soil, returning to his own small residence all the way. He saw that his small residence was very quiet, after all, it was just the residence of ordinary disciples, and it was not the target of the group of men in black.
Zhang Chen stood on the rooftop, taking in the entire Taoist temple. The sounds of fighting and killing filled the air. The main forces were engaged in combat at the main temple of Huangli Temple and the main hall leading to the secret chamber in the backyard. It seemed these black-clad individuals had a clear objective: the temple's secret chamber. They had been misled by the rumors surrounding Zhang Chen's Evergreen Tree Coffin.
Those who came to attack were not simple individuals. There were over a hundred experts who had condensed their Qi and blood, hundreds more who had entered the realm of Jing, and thousands of other Jianghu figures, all rampaging and looting within the Taoist temple.
Although the Pingbian Royal Mansion had sent tens of thousands of soldiers to encircle and suppress them, they were helpless against the Jianghu experts and those martial artists who had cultivated Qi and blood.
Firstly, the terrain of the Taoist temple was treacherous, making it impossible to deploy formations. Secondly, the army's killing aura had no effect on martial artists who had cultivated Qi and blood; it offered no suppression whatsoever.
Seeing this scene, a hint of surprise appeared in Zhang Chen's eyes: "Good heavens, no wonder so many people go to great lengths to walk the path of a martial artist. Qi and blood martial artists truly have no natural enemies. Yin spirit experts cannot leave their bodies when facing Qi and blood martial artists, and armies offer no suppression. The path of Qi and blood martial artists is simply a perfect cultivation path, powerful to the point of having no flaws."
Just as Zhang Chen was inwardly marveling, footsteps suddenly sounded. Five men dressed in black broke away from the battlefield, each holding a torch, and began setting fires throughout the Taoist temple, further escalating the chaos.
In an instant, flames erupted throughout the Taoist temple. Accompanied by the sounds of fighting and killing, the entire temple was transformed into a living hell.
Zhang Chen watched for a moment, then chose to hide and play the coward. He had no desire to go outside and fight those black-clad individuals.
Sensing Little Bean's aura and finding it stable, still fast asleep in the room, Zhang Chen felt relieved. He sat by the window, quietly waiting for the battle to end.
He knew the battle would inevitably conclude before dawn. Once day broke, the Pingbian Royal Mansion's large-scale military weapons would be transported up the mountain. At that point, the Pingbian Royal Mansion's army would gain an absolute advantage. The black-clad individuals were only temporarily gaining the upper hand due to the geographical advantage, but once the Pingbian Royal Mansion's army arrived from all directions with the support of war machines, the black-clad individuals would ultimately be defeated and retreat.
Hiding quietly at this moment was the best choice.
Zhang Chen sat in the courtyard, pondering where he should go in the future.
"I still need to stay in Huangli Temple. After all, it has a continuous source of incense and faith, which is equivalent to a stable supply of points for me. Once I've stayed here for a year or two and maxed out all my skills, it won't be too late to go down the mountain to find the Evergreen Tree Coffin. I'm not strong enough now. Even if I go down the mountain to find the Evergreen Tree Coffin, I won't be able to snatch it from that Dugu Qiu's hands." Zhang Chen set a general direction in his mind, continuing to lay low in the mountains.
However, he still needed to secretly inquire about the Evergreen Tree Coffin and quietly search for clues behind the scenes.
Just as Zhang Chen was pondering how he should act next, the sound of footsteps came from the darkness. Zhang Chen, possessing the Ultrasonic Wave skill, could hear the footsteps as loud as thunder in his ears, even amidst the deafening sounds of fighting and killing within the Taoist temple.
Hearing the footsteps, Zhang Chen immediately became vigilant, his eyes fixed on the gate. The footsteps stopped outside the gate, and then someone spoke from outside: "Zhang Chen, are you there?"
Hearing the voice, Zhang Chen was inwardly surprised: 'Is that Zhang Gaqi?'
However, he was bold due to his skill, especially since the Righteous God Golden Light was a natural counter to Zhang Gaqi, so he wasn't afraid at all. Instead, he calmly said, "I'm here!"
Hearing this, Zhang Gaqi breathed a sigh of relief: "It's good that you're here. I heard the sounds of fighting and killing outside and knew the Taoist temple was suffering a calamity, so I came to protect you."
As he spoke, the gate was pushed open, and Zhang Gaqi walked into the courtyard, seeing Zhang Chen sitting under the eaves.
Although it was night, Zhang Gaqi had night vision. His eyes looked in surprise at Zhang Chen, whose expression was calm and without panic. He couldn't help but feel inwardly surprised. This nephew of his was truly unusual. Now that the Taoist temple was suffering a calamity, the other party was still calm and composed. He was indeed not an ordinary person.
Zhang Chen also turned his gaze to Zhang Gaqi, slowly standing up and offering a salute: "Thank you, benefactor."
"Don't call me benefactor. In private, when there's no one else around, you can call me Uncle. Although your father was expelled from the family tree, that was due to circumstances. The family tree is just a formality. The blood in your body can't be faked. We are blood relatives, with bones connected to tendons," Zhang Gaqi said.
As he spoke, he sat down on a stool nearby without any politeness. Seeing this, Zhang Chen also sat down.
"Xie Lingyun was there that day, and there were many things I wanted to ask you, but it wasn't convenient to speak. Tell me in detail about the grievances between the Pingbian Royal Mansion and you," Zhang Gaqi asked.
Hearing this, Zhang Chen didn't hesitate and recounted the grievances between himself and Zhang Xiaohua, as well as the Pingbian Royal Mansion's plan of replacing the heir.
Although it was night, Zhang Chen, possessing the Ultrasonic Wave, could detect that as he narrated, Zhang Gaqi's face gradually turned ashen, his fists clenched tightly in his sleeves, and the blood flow in his body accelerated.
"What a bunch of bastards! The Pingbian Royal Mansion actually uses such underhanded tricks. It's truly hateful! The Pingbian King actually dares to meddle in the direct line. They deserve to have their souls extracted and refined, and be cut into a thousand pieces," Zhang Gaqi's voice was filled with icy coldness.
Hearing this, Zhang Chen remained silent, his eyes fixed on Zhang Gaqi. Under the moonlight, his eyes were clear and bright, with a captivating coldness.
After a long time, Zhang Gaqi sighed helplessly, releasing the fists in his sleeves: "I am powerless to avenge you. Since you have formed a grudge with the Pingbian Royal Mansion, you should leave the Northern Lands as soon as possible. Don't try to confront the Pingbian Royal Mansion head-on. Continuing to persist will do you no good. You will surely die."
Hearing this, Zhang Chen remained silent. How could he agree to leave the Northern Lands in such a miserable state?
Moreover, Zhang Chen didn't think the Pingbian Royal Mansion was unbeatable. As long as he continued to collect points and strengthen his skills, he could one day overthrow the Pingbian Royal Mansion and seek justice for himself.
Zhang Gaqi looked at Zhang Chen's stubborn face, hesitated slightly, and then said:
"Now that things have come to this, I won't hide it from you anymore. Behind the Pingbian Royal Mansion stands the Eight Great Families of the capital. The main one is my Zhang family. As you know, since the founding of the country, my Zhang family has gradually declined. Later, we had no choice but to support the Pingbian King's line in the borderlands. The Pingbian Royal Mansion and my Zhang family in the capital are interdependent. If the Pingbian Royal Mansion exists, my Zhang family will not completely decline. The Eight Great Families behind us will also stand firm in the capital. If the Pingbian Royal Mansion declines, our Eight Great Families will also lose our last trump card and face the exclusion of other major families, falling from a first-class family in an instant. Of course, there are many deeper causes and effects that I can't explain to you in detail. In short, you should know that you shouldn't continue to provoke the Pingbian Royal Mansion."