"Is something wrong? It's all because of that ugly monster! Let's find an opportunity to kill that ugly monster, and everything will be fine." Xiaodouding's voice was soft and cute, but the murderous intent was chilling.

"Senior sister." Zhang Chen softly called from the side.

"What?" Chengyu responded.

"I'd like to test you with a question." Zhang Chen said with a smile, sounding like he was joking:

"If one day the Daoist Temple wants to kill me, and the Observatory Master also wants to kill me, who would you help?"

Without thinking, Xiaodouding said straight away, "I'd help you."

Zhang Chen looked surprised, "Why?"

"Because they all have help, and you're alone." Xiaodouding said with a smile, "So of course, I choose to help you. Besides, you're the best to me, if I don't help you, who will I help?"

"But the Observatory Master is your master, and you'd help me against your master?" Zhang Chen said with a laugh.

Hearing this, Xiaodouding fell silent, looking down at her toes, and then after a moment, she looked up, her voice clear and firm: "I'd still help you."

"Why?" Zhang Chen asked curiously.

"You can't possibly deal with Master. With Master's skills, killing you would only take three punches and two kicks. If I don't help you, you're doomed. If I help you, you still can't kill Master, so isn't it more appropriate for me to help you?" Xiaodouding said with a smile.

Touched by her words, Zhang Chen picked up Xiaodouding, "Come on, let's go eat some meat."

The two walked into the house to eat meat, and then continued their daily routine of reading and practicing the True Dragon Form.

Zhang Chen, however, was preoccupied and practiced half-heartedly. By evening, the Observatory Master Liu Feng arrived.

The Observatory Master always dressed like an old farmer, and as he walked into the courtyard, he kindly watched Zhang Chen and Xiaodouding, seeing the two practicing martial arts, the Observatory Master smiled and said, "You two being together is quite harmonious."

Zhang Chen smiled and replied, "I'm very good at entertaining children."

Upon hearing this, Xiaodouding was immediately displeased, giving Zhang Chen a hard kick to express her dissatisfaction.

"Please come in, Master." Zhang Chen invited Liu Feng into the house, then poured tea for him: "Thank you for negotiating today on my behalf. I owe you my gratitude, Master."

"Since it happened in the Daoist Temple, and I'm the Observatory Master, I naturally have to strive to maintain harmony here. It's my duty after all." Liu Feng said modestly.

Hearing Liu Feng's words, Zhang Chen smiled and poured more tea for him. After some casual conversation, Liu Feng got to the point and tentatively asked:

"I've heard you caused quite a commotion at the scholars' discussion conference with some strange object that resulted in a massive explosion, killing many guards at the Prince Pingbian's Mansion. What method did you use?"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Chen's eyes flickered, meeting Liu Feng's intense gaze, he thought to himself, "So they have their eyes on my explosive device."

"That object is called an explosive device. As for how it's made, I don't know. I found it by chance, unfortunately, it was all used up in the last battle." Zhang Chen replied slowly, without a hint of hesitation, showing no signs of lying.

He initially thought of pinning the explosive device matter on Xie Lingyun, but considered that if word got out and the court demanded the explosive device from Xie Lingyun, she would then be in danger?

If he took responsibility for it himself, the only downside was that he couldn't use the explosive device freely anymore, unless one day he was completely at odds with Huangli Temple and Yellow Heaven Dao, otherwise, he couldn't bring out the explosive device again.

Of course, there was another way for Zhang Chen, which was to find another excuse, saying he'd found more explosive devices, but that was a last resort. Once used, it would inevitably arouse Yellow Heaven Dao's suspicion, bringing all sorts of troubles in succession.

Seeing no useful information could be obtained, Liu Feng continued drinking tea and after a while, took his leave.

Watching Liu Feng leave, Zhang Chen thought to himself, "Yellow Heaven Dao has grand ambitions. If they obtain the method for the explosive device, they could rise to power directly. So, the explosive device is crucial to Yellow Heaven Dao. I wonder how much of my previous words he believed."

That night, Zhang Chen lay in bed quietly calculating the time, and after Xiaodouding fell asleep, he transformed into mist and blended into the night, moving along the shadows outside the temple to find Fox Fairy Nannan guarding the explosive device at a mountain hollow.

"You're here." Fox Fairy Nannan's eyes lit up at Zhang Chen's arrival, full of excitement, "When do we act?"

"The plan's postponed. Dig another cavern in the deepest part of the grotto and make sure all explosive devices are sent there and hidden." Zhang Chen carefully instructed.

"Has the situation changed?" Smart as she was, Fox Fairy Nannan immediately asked upon hearing this.

Zhang Chen neither confirmed nor denied, seeing this, Fox Fairy Nannan asked no more and was about to leave.

"Wait, I've got another question for you. If I ask you to kill Zhang Xiaohua, would you do it?" Zhang Chen scrutinized Fox Fairy Nannan.

"Of course, I'd do it, but if I 'misstep' at a critical moment, you won't blame me, right?" Fox Fairy Nannan blinked large eyes at Zhang Chen.

Hearing this, Zhang Chen smiled bitterly. He knew he couldn't place too much hope on Fox Fairy Nannan. Though unreliable and carefree, she was kindhearted.

At least she had more conscience than people, repaying kindness, while some others weren't even as good as animals.

"Zhang Xiaohua saved my life, I'd rather die than harm him in the slightest." Fox Fairy Nannan looked at Zhang Chen seriously, "So don't blame me."

Zhang Chen hesitated to mention Zhang Xiaohua anymore, fearing a strong reaction from this fox spirit.

Zhang Chen motioned for Fox Fairy Nannan to proceed, while he stood in the mountain hollow, looking at the bright moon in the sky. As all moonlight approached, Zhang Chen absorbed it entirely, forming a dark domain within ten meters around him.

"Zhang Xiaohua is a scholar of the Prince Pingbian's Mansion. There must be guards stationed around the temple to protect him. To prevent Zhang Xiaohua from focusing all attention on me, I still need to give him something to do, to buy time for me to obtain a higher-level Qi Cultivation method." Zhang Chen murmured.

Most importantly, Zhang Xiaohua has a guard unit that might attack me at any time. In broad daylight, I'm no match for Zhang Xiaohua.

The next moment, Zhang Chen's body transformed into thirty-six vampire bats, dispersing across the mountains, flying to and fro between the mountains until he detected a large camp at the foot of the mountain.

The vampire bats that Zhang Chen had transformed into perched on a branch not far away, with sharp eyes observing the camp, watching the patrolling figures, and deducing after half an hour: "This camp has about a thousand people. Zhang Xiaohua, as the sole core descendant of the Prince Pingbian's Mansion, travels with an army. With a thousand people's qi blood gathered, even a Yin Spirit Cultivator wouldn't dare soul emergence. As for Yang God Cultivators, capable of collapsing heaven and earth, there's no difference between an army of ten thousand and one thousand."

"Moreover, there must be experts stationed within this camp, but it's unknown what the ratio of experts is." Zhang Chen thought silently, then transformed into vampire bats again, flying across the night sky and landing on each tent, listening carefully to the sounds inside each tent.

Zhang Chen lay in wait atop the tents for a long time until it was after midnight, and everyone had gone to bed except for two hundred patrolling soldiers. Zhang Chen then transformed into mist, stealthily infiltrating a large tent.

Inside a large tent with thirty people, just like a big communal bed, everyone squeezed together, snoring in deep sleep.

At this point, Zhang Chen stopped his heartbeat, and his breathing, standing in the darkness, gazing at the sleeping soldiers without making a move, instead, closing his eyes and silently sensing the water vapor between Heaven and Earth, soon forming a large water ball around him.

Then Zhang Chen controlled the water ball to the far left of the communal bed, and with a thought, one person was immediately ice-sealed in half of their body, leaving only their scalp exposed, their mouth, nose, and arms frozen.

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