Rapidnovel #263 - Return to the underworld
#263 - Return to the underworld
Chapter 262: Re-entering the Underworld
Zhang Xiaohua's emotions instantly surged upon hearing the guard's words, a flush of shame rising as he was rebuffed. A hint of angry embarrassment flickered in his eyes as he said in disbelief, "How can this be? How could this happen? Are you, sir, perhaps blind to merit, merely going through the motions to fool me, and in reality, you didn't even bother to announce my presence?"
Liu Feng had already said that he and Zhang Chen had made prior arrangements. How could Zhang Chen refuse to see him?
He suspected that the guard was secretly deceiving him and hadn't even gone to report.
Facing the furious Zhang Xiaohua, the guard wasn't afraid in the slightest. He was a guard of the Inspection Department, directly under the jurisdiction of the imperial family, and not subject to local control.
Therefore, hearing Zhang Xiaohua's reprimand and questioning, a chilling glint appeared in his eyes, and he mercilessly launched into mockery: "There are too many people in this world who don't know the immensity of the heavens and earth, who don't know their own worth. One by one, hearing news of Commander Xie, they all think of running over here to curry favor, wanting to gain Commander Xie's appreciation. Boy, if you want to come over and curry favor, why don't you take a piss and look at your own face? With your ugly mug, Commander Xie would probably lose his appetite after seeing you, unable to sleep, and have nightmares every night."
"You… you're simply going too far!" Zhang Xiaohua was so angry that he jumped up and down. The other party's constant calling him an ugly freak was like a series of knives, directly stabbing into his chest, piercing him full of holes.
The guard proudly raised his head, nostrils turned towards Zhang Xiaohua, making Zhang Xiaohua stomp his feet in anger, ultimately choosing to leave helplessly.
He still wanted to befriend Xie Lingyun and couldn't cause trouble here, lest he offend Xie Lingyun and lower his image in Xie Lingyun's mind.
Zhang Chen and Xie Lingyun talked for a long time in the Taoist temple, and then Xie Lingyun got up to say goodbye and leave, leaving Zhang Chen standing in the courtyard watching Xie Lingyun's back in silence.
Not long after Xie Lingyun left, Abbot Liu Feng walked in from outside with a gloomy expression, his eyes fixed on Zhang Chen.
"Greetings, Abbot," Zhang Chen said, offering a salute.
"Didn't I instruct you before? I told you to cooperate with the Prince to get close to Xie Lingyun. When the Prince took the opportunity to visit, why didn't you cooperate to create an opportunity for them to meet?" Liu Feng's voice was very calm, but within the calmness, there was a kind of aggressive questioning.
Zhang Chen glanced at Liu Feng, sweeping over that face that resembled an old farmer, a face that was deceptive. He couldn't help but sigh inwardly, 'Truly a face that is deceptive.' Zhang Chen sighed softly, pondering in his heart: 'If he were really so honest and kind-looking, how could he manage the entire Taoist temple? How could he restrain those three thousand warriors?'
So, at this moment, Zhang Chen warned himself that he must not underestimate Liu Feng in the slightest. This fellow was definitely not as simple as he appeared on the surface. This guy was a typical example of a wolf in sheep's clothing. This face was too deceptive. Whoever was deceived by him would probably die without even knowing how.
"Old Master, don't blame me. With Commander Xie here, how could I have a say? If Commander Xie didn't want to see someone, he directly dismissed them," Zhang Chen spread his hands helplessly. "You're really wronging me!"
Speaking of this, Zhang Chen stretched out his finger and pointed to the little dumpling beside him: "Senior Sister can testify that I didn't say a word. It was all Commander Xie who took the initiative to turn people away."
Hearing this, the little dumpling nodded vigorously beside him, echoing: "Master, I can testify. Junior Brother didn't say anything, he didn't even have a chance to speak before Commander Xie preemptively turned them away."
Hearing their words, Liu Feng's expression softened, and his tone began to become gentle again: "In that case, I have wronged you."
"If it were me, I'm afraid I would also have misunderstood," Zhang Chen said very reasonably.
"Try your best to create opportunities for the Prince. If things are successful, the Prince will definitely not stint on your rewards," Liu Feng's voice was full of temptation: "The Yellow Sky Dao is about to hold the Grand Rite of the Luo Heavens. At that time, the Water God will be conferred. If you can accomplish this, I can decide to let you receive the Water God's blessing."
For the Yellow Sky Dao, whether or not they could win over Xie Lingyun was simply too important. Xie Xuan's Inspection Department's 50,000 elite troops could match ordinary armies of 300,000 to 500,000 soldiers. They were simply vicious dogs that could restrain the throat of the Northern Territory. If they couldn't pacify the Inspection Department's 50,000 elite troops, there would definitely be great chaos.
Fifty thousand elite soldiers might not seem like much, but it was definitely not a small number. On the battlefield, it's definitely not just about having a large number of people; otherwise, what would be the point of having generals?
Although 50,000 troops was a small number, if they were commanded as one, operating at will, even facing a million-strong army, it was not impossible to fight and win.
Although a million-strong army was large, the command and mobilization were extremely troublesome, and it was not easy to operate, easily disrupting the formation.
As the saying goes, a defeated army collapses like a mountain. If 50,000 troops were combined into one, forming a momentum of charge, it would not be difficult to rout the opponent's army.
For example, the Three Crossings of the Chishui River, which was a battle that could be called art in history, under the command of Chairman Mao, completed an incredible feat. That battle was an art in itself.
Liu Feng gave some more instructions before leaving in a hurry, leaving Zhang Chen standing in the courtyard in a daze, pondering the future situation.
"It seems that if I want to stay in the Yellow Sky Dao honestly, quietly staying put, I'm afraid it will be difficult. The internal affairs of the Yellow Sky Dao are not very harmonious. I must seize the time to master more supernatural powers in order to cope with the future situation. The God-Slaying Whip is temporarily being refined, and the length of time is beyond my control. The only thing I can put effort into now is cultivating the Three-Combination Sand Art. If I can cultivate the Combination Sand Art, perhaps I can increase my ability to protect myself. Using the Combination Sand Art to stir up wind and sand to cover the Nine-Bend Yellow River Grand Array, perhaps I can assassinate many old guys at that time," thoughts flickered in Zhang Chen's mind, constantly planning for his future.
"Combination Sand Art?" Zhang Chen muttered, turning and walking into the house. At this time, the little dumpling followed behind Zhang Chen, lowering her voice and saying: "Junior Brother, we're in trouble this time. I see that the Abbot is completely biased towards that ugly freak. I always feel that his making you and the ugly freak reconcile is to use us to be matchmakers, so that the ugly freak has a chance to get close to Commander Xie."
Hearing the little dumpling's words, Zhang Chen smiled, touching the little dumpling's head: "Children shouldn't think so much. These are not things you should care about. Your main goal is to live happily and joyfully."
Hearing this, the little dumpling slapped Zhang Chen's hand away: "Bastard, I'm your Senior Sister! How dare you talk to Senior Sister like that?"
"Who was it who was crying before, saying that as long as I took her away, she would call me Senior Brother?" Zhang Chen teased.
Hearing this, the little dumpling was immediately unhappy, stomping her feet angrily and stepping hard on Zhang Chen's instep: "Bastard Zhang Chen, all you know how to do is tease me all day long. I'm your Senior Sister, how dare you treat me like this!"
After saying that, she turned and left in a huff, returning to the second floor of her house and slamming the door shut, looking very embarrassed.
Zhang Chen listened to the loud 'bang' of the door closing upstairs, cracked a smile, then went inside the house to continue studying. Now that the Taoist temple was about to hold a divine investiture ceremony, the entire temple was protected by a mysterious power, and he didn't dare to use his methods casually.
Zhang Chen constantly practiced his calligraphy, because he knew that his calligraphy would eventually be useful, and of great use, so he couldn't let his calligraphy be too ugly.
After finally enduring from day to night, Zhang Chen looked outside the Taoist temple. The bright moon had not yet risen, and the world was dim. Taking advantage of the darkness of the night, Zhang Chen transformed into a mist and quietly floated out, wandering in the shadows of the eaves and cracks in the walls of the Taoist temple. Then, he quietly left the temple, and in the next moment, transformed into a vampire bat, soaring into the night sky, heading straight towards the Yellow River.
His own karst cave lair was too close to the Eight Trigrams Furnace. If he set up the Nine Bends Yellow River Formation, the phenomenon would be too astonishing. He didn't want to cause even the slightest accident to his Eight Trigrams Furnace's treasure refining.
As for a place to conceal the aura of the Nine Bends Yellow River Formation, he thought of a location: the incomplete Dragon Palace where Zhang Shicheng transformed into a dragon in the past. There seemed to be a feng shui formation there that could conceal his Nine Bends Yellow River Formation.
Most importantly, he wondered if he would have a chance to get a share of the dragon meat, and he didn't know to what extent the dragon's blood had evolved, whether it was enough for him to have a good meal.
However, when Zhang Chen flew all the way to the Yellow River labor camp, he found that there was not a single person on the riverbed. Not to mention the defending yamen runners and army, not even the serving farmers were there. The entire riverbed was deathly silent, with only a mess left behind.
Zhang Chen's expression changed when he saw this, his eyes filled with astonishment. He cautiously circled around the surrounding dozens of miles, and indeed did not see any large army or yamen runners from the government.
"Strange, there should be the remains of Zhang Shicheng's dragon transformation here, why is there no one?" Zhang Chen transformed into a vampire bat and entered the karst cave to investigate. After searching for a circle, he found that Zhang Shicheng's dragon body had disappeared.
The disappearance of Zhang Shicheng's dragon body naturally meant that this place had lost its attraction to the major forces, and it was not worth sending troops to guard it.
"Where is Zhang Shicheng's body? Could it have been dragged away by the army?" After thinking about it, this was probably the only explanation.
Zhang Chen transformed into a human and passed through the river water, entering the Crystal Palace. He saw that the Crystal Palace had already collapsed, shattered beyond recognition by the battle of Yang God experts, looking like a pile of broken glass.
Zhang Chen didn't feel any regret, but carefully checked the cave. After finding nothing unusual, he directly set up the Nine Bends Yellow River Formation.
As the Nine Bends Yellow River Talisman Formation was summoned, the black-robed man on the boat of Forget River suddenly brightened his eyes, his pupils filled with戏谑: "Little mouse, I knew you couldn't resist. This time I've finally caught you."
The black-robed man smiled lightly, and in the next moment, jumped directly into the Forget River, transforming into a wisp of black smoke and drilling into the spring water.
The aura of the Nine Bends Yellow River Talisman Formation was earth-shattering. Zhang Chen stood within the formation, his eyes looking at the spring of the Nine Bends Yellow River. He was about to use his magical power to transform into divine water and drill into it, but who knew that in the next moment, he heard a strange, chattering laugh from the spring of the Yellow Springs: "Little bug, I've found the world you're in, this time you can't escape."
Zhang Chen was startled by the voice. This was his Nine Bends Yellow River Talisman Formation, how could there be a second person's voice?
Then, before he could think clearly, he saw that the flow of water from one of the springs suddenly accelerated. The opening of the spring continued to expand, as if some huge monster was forcibly squeezing in from the world behind the spring.
"This spring is the one I潜伏ed into Forget River last time. This voice… is the ferryman on the Forget River." Zhang Chen quickly came back to his senses and immediately realized the source of the voice.
"That monster has such powerful strength, actually locking onto my location through the Yellow Springs. But…" Zhang Chen looked at the Nine Bends Yellow River Formation in front of him, and suddenly a strange smile appeared on the corner of his mouth.
Wasn't the other party throwing himself into a trap?
If he were in the Forget River, he might not be able to do anything to him, but where was this? This was the Nine Bends Yellow River Formation, his territory!
Looking at the constantly expanding Yellow Springs spring, Zhang Chen felt a touch of anticipation in his heart. If he were to kill this old guy in the Nine Bends Yellow River Formation, wouldn't that mean that it would be safe for him to enter the Forget River again?
"Come on, you damned old guy, let's settle the old and new scores together." Zhang Chen secretly gritted his teeth in his heart, standing coldly in the Nine Bends Yellow River Talisman Formation, staring at the spring.
"Hehehe~, I'm going to eat your brain, refine your soul, seize your body, and replace your fate, to avenge you for playing me last time." The black-robed man's strange laugh came from the spring water.
"You bastard, get out of here! How did you chase me here?" Zhang Chen rolled his eyes. In order to prevent the black-robed man from noticing anything strange, he quickly cooperated and made a flustered expression, pinching his nose and cursing at the Yellow Springs spring, his voice full of panic.
"Don't you dare come over, I'll收 the spring, and see how you can摸 over." Zhang Chen shouted anxiously.
"Hehe, I've already anchored the coordinates and locked onto this Yellow Springs spring, how can you收 it?" The black-robed怪's cold laugh came from the Yellow Springs.
Zhang Chen's heart stirred when he heard this, and he wanted to收 the Nine Bends Yellow River Talisman Formation, but he didn't expect that the Nine Bends Yellow River Talisman Formation could not be收ed. It seemed that there was a force in the dark that fixed the void and suppressed Zhang Chen's action of收ing the Nine Bends Yellow River Talisman Formation.
"Damn monster, what have you done? This is my magic weapon, how did I lose control? Let go of my magic weapon and get back!" Zhang Chen anxiously cursed in front of the Yellow Springs.
Hearing Zhang Chen's words, the monster laughed strangely, its voice full of得意: "Boy, you're just a Qi Refining realm蝼蚁, how would you know my great power? In the past, you蝼蚁 didn't even have the qualification to die in my hands. But now the times have changed, I'll be merciful and let you die in my hands, this is your supreme glory."
Zhang Chen couldn't help but grind his teeth when he heard the other party's shouting, a cold look in his eyes. This guy was really insulting!
"Hurry up and come out! After you come out, I'll use the Nine Bends Yellow River Talisman Formation to炼 die you! My Soul Hooking skill's cooldown period has also arrived, and you won't be able to run away then." Zhang Chen secretly cursed fiercely in his heart.