novelraw Chapter 787 421: Missing Heavenly Timing
Chapter 787 421: Missing Heavenly Timing
The grass grows and orioles fly in the February sky, willow branches brush the embankment intoxicated by the spring smoke.
It's a pity that this scene depicts the gentle Jiangnan Water Village, while in the cold Northern Land, February is just the beginning of spring's return to earth.
However, as February arrives, the weather indeed changes; a light fog begins to linger in the sky, and strands of rain slide from the clouds, striking the ground and releasing a fresh scent of earth.
At this time, the bone-chilling north wind has dissipated. Although the air remains cool, it is already warm enough to shed one's cotton coat.
Outside, the rain patters; since the first day of February, the entire Northern Land has been shrouded in a misty drizzle.
Zhang Chen stands inside the house, posing in a certain stance, and a gentle stream of purple smoke wafts from the incense burner before him, filling the room with a faint sandalwood aroma.
After a long time, Zhang Chen picks up a knife and carefully practices the martial arts acquired from Five Villages Temple, pondering the techniques of Killing Technique. Naturally, Five Villages Temple is not lacking in martial arts; what Zhang Chen contemplates is a knife style called "Eighteen Wind-Chasing Sabers." Though its name is ordinary and the style itself seems mundane, it incorporates all fundamental knife techniques and stances from across the world, making it an excellent foundational entry-level knife technique.
After a while, Zhang Chen withdraws the stance and sheathes his long knife, his eyes turning to the spring rain outside the door, a hint of contemplation in his gaze: "The day for Prince Pingbian to perform the Transformed Dragon and Walking Flood Dragon ritual needs to be postponed. Despite the Northern Land's earth energy reviving in February, suitable for the Transformed Dragon and Walking Flood Dragon, the weather doesn't quite meet the requirement for heavy rain; something more is needed."
To perform the Walking Flood Dragon and Dragon Transformation, a sufficient amount of water is necessary. Currently, the Northern Land's environment remains cold, which doesn't favor the flow of water.
"For the Walking Flood Dragon and Dragon Transformation, the synergy of favorable weather conditions, auspicious geography, and human cooperation is indispensable! Now, the Earth Vein's Dragon Qi is awakening, thus geography is favorable; human cooperation can be considered adequate. Unfortunately, the time is wrong as the Northern Land is too bitterly cold. If heavy rain falls, while it's rain during the day, it'll freeze into ice by night. The water vapor between heaven and earth isn't active, making it unsuitable for the Walking Flood Dragon and Dragon Transformation. Attempting the ritual now will yield poor results!" Zhang Chen has a clear understanding of the situation. He is currently studying the Five Elements of Heaven and Earth and has gained some insights into the cycle of the Five Elements, and has developed a personal interpretation of the natural changes between heaven and earth.
"However, the sudden rainfall in the long-drought Northern Land is a blessing for those living in drought-stricken areas. The chances of survival for the people enduring the drought have increased slightly!" Zhang Chen muses to himself.
Zhang Chen continues to live freely, unafraid of Prince Pingbian or Zhang Shicheng's delay, as for him, delaying time is beneficial. He hasn't yet figured out how to cause discord between Prince Pingbian and Yellow Heaven Dao, nor how to profit from the ensuing chaos.
After seven days of light rain, on February Seventh, Chen Xu once again visits Zhang Chen's courtyard.
At this time, Zhang Chen is sitting by the window reading, and upon seeing Chen Xu arrive, a hint of surprise appears in his eyes, "Why have you come?"
Shaking off the fine rain clinging to his clothes, Chen Xu enters the room, lowering his voice as he speaks to Zhang Chen: "There's a major discovery!"
"What discovery?" Zhang Chen puts down his book, suddenly becoming interested.
"Recently, the feng shui of Prince Pingbian's ancestral tomb has been on a mysterious, noticeable fluctuation. I've finally uncovered some of its secrets; the aura in Prince Pingbian's Mansion's ancestral tomb is somewhat similar to that in this courtyard of yours." Chen Xu says with a smile.
Zhang Chen understands what Chen Xu means by the similar aura in the courtyard, referring to the Ascension Pool's aura.
"An imperfection has appeared in the Feng Shui Grand Array of Prince Pingbian's Mansion's ancestral tomb, which I've noticed and captured. I've discovered a passage where auspicious light flows; I initially wanted to explore it, but was stopped by a formidable danger." Chen Xu points out meaningfully to Zhang Chen: "Years ago, something fell from the Immortal Realm, and at that time the phenomenon hadn't been obscured. I personally witnessed that phenomenon — identical to what appears within Prince Pingbian's Mansion's ancestral tomb."
Upon hearing this, Zhang Chen's pupils contract; he knows all too well what Chen Xu means by "identical phenomenon." The auspicious light must refer to the glow emitted by the Ascension Pool.
"Shall we make a big move?" Chen Xu looks at Zhang Chen with a playful smile, although the question tone implies, he is quite sure based on his understanding of Zhang Chen, that this young man won't pass up such an opportunity.
Zhang Chen doesn't immediately answer Chen Xu but stands at the window watching the misty drizzle in the sky, quickly weighing the pros and cons. His current purpose for staying at Helv Temple is to absorb the energy from the Ascension Pool. However, with Prince Pingbian Zhang Shicheng about to perform the Walking Flood Dragon and Dragon Transformation, remaining at the Daoist Temple is no longer significant. Rather, it might be more beneficial to seize an opportunity to approach the Ascension Pool and make the first move.
Previously, Zhang Chen refrained from making a move on the Ascension Pool because the Northern Land's Dragon Vein prohibited Ten Thousand Techniques, and Zhang Shicheng's Dragon Soul was hidden within. If he dared to sneak into the Earth Vein, it would surely alert Zhang Shicheng. Without employing Escape Technique, sneaking in was impossible.
But now that Chen Xu has unearthed a passage leading to the Ascension Pool, how could Zhang Chen refuse such a heaven-sent opportunity?
However, there's still the problem of leaving Helv Temple abruptly, which would surely provoke Yellow Heaven Dao and Prince Pingbian's Mansion to investigate. But at this moment, everyone is ready to overturn the table, who would still care about that?
"Let's go and have a look!" Zhang Chen decisively makes the decision.
He is a resolute person, and having already decided to tear off the mask with Yellow Heaven Dao and Prince Pingbian's Mansion, why should he hesitate?
"How do you plan to leave? There's a large army of Prince Pingbian's Mansion guarding outside, and also Divine Spirit watching," Chen Xu asked.
"Just a bunch of ants, do they think they can keep an eye on me?" Zhang Chen's voice carried a hint of a smug smile, then he chanted an incantation in his heart, sealed a technique with his lips, and transformed into a stream of Qi Mechanism, disappearing into the soil without a trace.
"Good technique!" Chen Xu watched Zhang Chen's Escape Technique and couldn't help but shrink his pupils, praising him out loud, then transformed into a chopstick-thick little snake, quietly slipping away.
No one knew, the Helv Temple was now completely deserted.
Three days later, a confused Mr. Wuliu returned to inspect the Feng Shui Grand Array at Helv Temple. He stood outside the main gate and knocked for a long time but received no response, a sense of foreboding rising in his heart: "Go, jump in and open the door."
The guards obeyed, leaping over the wall and opening the gate, as Mr. Wuliu quickly made his way to the Daoist Temple's backyard.
As soon as he entered the temple, Mr. Wuliu sensed something was wrong. The Feng Shui Grand Array had stopped, its Qi Mechanism cut off.
"How did this happen?" Mr. Wuliu grew more anxious, rushing straight towards the temple's backyard, calling out urgently, "Zhang Chen! Where are you, kid?"
Mr. Wuliu passed Zhang Chen's study, kitchen, and all the rooms, looking at the deserted temple, he was immediately flustered, quickly summoning his subordinates and asking them, "Where's Zhang Chen? Why is Zhang Chen missing?"
The soldiers replied with a confused expression, "Reporting to sir, Zhang Chen has always been inside the temple and hasn't left."
"Are you sure he hasn't gone out?" Mr. Wuliu asked again.
"Not even a mosquito could fly out from under our watch," the leader's voice was full of confidence.
"But where is Zhang Chen now? If he's not inside the temple, then where has he gone?" Mr. Wuliu took a deep breath and instructed everyone to search for him. After a round of search, Zhang Chen was still nowhere to be found. At this point, Mr. Wuliu was certain that Zhang Chen had indeed disappeared within Helv Temple.
So he quickly sent a message to Huangli Temple, asking them for information.
Zhang Chen's disappearance left Mr. Wuliu feeling anxious. He knew full well that the boy was no pushover, and now that he slipped away from under his nose, he couldn't predict how much trouble he might cause once he's out of supervision.
Zhang Chen wasn't aware of Mr. Wuliu's panic, instead, he leisurely appeared at Prince Pingbian's ancestral tomb. He revealed himself under an ancient tree outside the tomb, quietly observing the atmosphere of the tomb. The Qi Mechanism of Prince Pingbian's Mansion's ancestral tomb was tinged with traces of purple amid the red, beginning to shift towards an unknown direction.
Not far from Prince Pingbian's ancestral tomb, there was a thatched hut with smoke rising inside, evidently the Tomb Guardian was cooking.
The air was filled with gentle drizzling rain, falling on Zhang Chen's shoulders, yet his Qi Mechanism flowed around him, causing all water streams within three feet to slide off automatically.
Zhang Chen waited patiently for an hour and finally saw Chen Xu sneaking through the misty rain, gesturing to Zhang Chen: "Follow me, I've found a flaw in the Feng Shui Grand Array. We just need to slip through this flaw, and there won't be any commotion."
Zhang Chen followed Chen Xu through the wind and rain and ended up at a seemingly inconspicuous mouse hole.
"Why did you bring me to a mouse hole? You don't mean for me to crawl through it, do you?" Zhang Chen said with a hint of irritation.
"The deepest part of the tomb can only be accessed through this mouse hole," Chen Xu said to Zhang Chen, without any hint of joking, his voice full of seriousness: "I can transform into a snake and crawl through this mouse hole, what about you?"
He had seen Zhang Chen's Escape Technique before and thought it should not be difficult for Zhang Chen.
"You just lead the way, I'll have no problem getting in," Zhang Chen said.
Without further ado, Chen Xu twisted his form and directly transformed into a chopstick-thick Ba Snake, slithering into the mouse hole. Zhang Chen transformed into a drop of water, rolling along, not far behind.
Chen Xu glanced back at Zhang Chen's transformed water flow, his eyes revealing a hint of surprise. He had underestimated Zhang Chen; Zhang Chen's techniques once again exceeded his expectations.
The two crawled in the mouse hole for half an hour, then arrived at the deepest part of the tomb. The tomb was illuminated by dazzling pearls, lighting up the entire tomb, which was not dim. The walls of the tomb were adorned with various murals, seemingly recording the achievements of the past generations of Prince Pingbian.