Chapter 1246 - 875: A Carefully Laid Plan

Zhang Chen heard Xie Lingyun’s words, and fury flickered in his eyes.

He hopes that the human race can find strength through renewal after upheaval, but he absolutely cannot tolerate his kind colluding both internally and externally.

If the human race had betrayed the Zhang Family, and the Zhang Family joined the rebellion with the Eight Great Clans, Zhang Chen wouldn’t have a word to say. But now, the opposition, for their own selfish desires, colludes with the demon race to massacre the human race. How could Zhang Chen tolerate this?

"You are now bound on this warship as a pawn in the game between the Imperial Palace and the Eight Great Clans. The Great Victory Royal Court hopes to use you to tear apart the relationship between the Eight Great Clans and Prince Pingbian, while some within the Eight Great Clans want to eliminate you quickly to appease Prince Pingbian’s anger," Xie Lingyun said, looking at Zhang Chen.

Zhang Chen fell silent at these words, standing quietly in the secret room, before finally saying, "In the end, everyone just wants me dead."

"No matter whether you choose to side with the Imperial Palace or the Eight Great Clans, or even withdraw completely, it would all be a futile effort. If you were to side with the Imperial Palace, with Prince Pingbian allied with the Chai Family, the royal court will eliminate Prince Pingbian’s hidden threat and certainly settle accounts with the Eight Great Clans. As for the Eight Great Clans, being of their blood, with your father nearly replacing the Great Victory Royal Court’s dynasty, they will surely settle accounts with you as well. If you side with the Eight Great Clans, they will only push you out to calm Prince Pingbian’s wrath. As for standing by and watching, that’s not possible either. If the Great Victory Royal Court wins, you will face reckoning; if the Eight Great Clans win, the Zhang Family’s Patriarch will not spare you, given they betrayed your father." Xie Lingyun found this situation rather headache-inducing, as it was indeed an unsolvable dilemma. No matter the choice, Zhang Chen’s future seems bleak.

"There’s one thing you haven’t mentioned: If I truly side with the Great Victory Royal Court, and they push me out to apologize to Prince Pingbian, I am still dead!" Zhang Chen pointed out the flaw in Xie Lingyun’s words.

Hearing Zhang Chen’s words, Xie Lingyun sighed helplessly, "No matter what choice you make, isn’t it all a dead end?"

Zhang Chen did not speak further. Instead, his mind was swirling with countless thoughts, quickly deducing various possibilities.

In truth, neither the Great Victory Royal Court nor the old geezers opposed to him would have ever thought that his greatest confidence in coming to Kyoto to resolve the consequences was not the external accolades bestowed upon him but his own Blood Dao power, his Five Elements River, and his support from the Queen Mother of the West.

His greatest confidence came from his own strength.

"There is actually another possibility, which is to pit the Eight Great Clans against the Great Victory Royal Court until both suffer heavy losses. Then, I could wipe out the Eight Great Clans en masse, and the Great Victory Royal Court thereafter. By then, everything would be settled." Zhang Chen looked at Xie Lingyun, his voice brimming with killing intent.

"Not likely!" Xie Lingyun shook her head, dismissing Zhang Chen’s hypothesis: "Whether it’s the Great Victory Royal Court or the Eight Great Clans, they maintain a stalemate without breaking the balance unless one side has an overwhelming advantage. Otherwise, they wouldn’t engage in the final confrontation. Moreover, the Eight Great Clans are not simple; their foundation is comparable to the Great Victory Royal Court. Otherwise, the royal court wouldn’t be so fearful."

"In the past, they maintained a stalemate because I wasn’t present. Now that I am here, I must spare no cost to force both sides into a mutually destructive scenario," Zhang Chen said.

"What’s your plan?" Xie Lingyun asked.

"Do you think I should first use the Great Victory Royal Court to eliminate the Eight Great Clans or first use the Eight Great Clans to eliminate the Great Victory Royal Court?" Zhang Chen asked.

"The Eight Great Clans intend to sell you directly to Prince Pingbian, then accept the territory and land from Prince Pingbian. Even if you wish to align with the Eight Great Clans, they may not give you the opportunity. Although there are elders within the Eight Great Clans who still support you, they are ultimately a small minority and are unable to change the Eight Great Clans’ will. However, if you lean towards the court, the Emperor, along with the Grand Steward, Elder Mr. Zhong, and I can intervene, possibly securing an opportunity for you," Xie Lingyun said, looking at Zhang Chen.

"However, if you eliminate the Eight Great Clans, you would face hostility from all sides with no support. We wouldn’t be able to protect you then."

"Heh, the Eight Great Clans can enlist the demon race for their use. Why can’t I?" Zhang Chen sneered faintly.

Hu Li the Immortal is his ally and definitely his steadfast supporter.

"Have you made up your mind?" Xie Lingyun looked at Zhang Chen.

Zhang Chen nodded, "I haven’t made up my mind yet. I still need to return to the Zhang Family to have a look, so that I can be completely disillusioned. Then, I’ll have a reason to tear off the facade, avoiding being labeled as ungrateful and heartless."

"But the most important thing now is that I need to establish myself openly in Kyoto and secure a reliable and credible identity!" Zhang Chen turned to look at Xie Lingyun.

"You prevented Prince Pingbian Zhang Shicheng’s Dragon Transformation in the Northern Land and made a great contribution. If Dugu Qiu and Elder Mr. Zhong, coupled with my father and I, appeal jointly to the Emperor on your behalf, then reveal your current plight, I’m convinced that the Human King wouldn’t mind keeping you alive and reviving the entire game," Xie Lingyun said.

Zhang Chen smiled, saying, "Looks like I need to visit Elder Mr. Zhong."

"That’s expected," Xie Lingyun said.

"How is Zhou Qiucheng?" Zhang Chen asked.

Zhou Qiucheng is also a Great Cultivator at the Yang God realm, having become the Seventh Scholar of the Academy, able to assist him.

Unbeknownst to him, a great force had already gathered around Zhang Chen, no longer leaving him alone.

"Mr. Zhou is preaching in the Academy, busy spreading the teachings, so busy now that his feet hardly touch the ground," Xie Lingyun said.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Chen pondered briefly: "I shall write a letter to Zhou Qiucheng."

"Alright!" Xie Lingyun brought over the pen, ink, paper, and brush, then watched Zhang Chen’s swift writing, completed in a moment, and handed the letter to Xie Lingyun:

"I have written all the causes and effects in the letter; whether to aid me is Mr. Zhou’s choice. Yet, I must not use favors to repay him nor drag him into this proactively."

"As for Grand Steward Dugu Qiu, you hold this token, and deliver the message into the Imperial Palace for me." Zhang Chen produced the token once given to him by Dugu Qiu.

Xie Lingyun accepted the token upon hearing this: "Time is of the essence. We should move now; the news of your arrival in Kyoto won’t remain hidden for long. If they come tracing after us, without time for maneuvering, it will be a considerable trouble."

Xie Lingyun personally led Zhang Chen out of the residence and onto the carriage, then ordered his trusted aides to send the letter and personally escorted Zhang Chen towards the Zhong Family residence.

"In recent years, Elder Zhong’s cultivation has advanced by leaps and bounds since proving the Yang God, and his official rank has risen, becoming the Minister of Revenue. He is now influential in the court. If he speaks for you, it will indeed lessen many obstacles," Xie Lingyun said:

"I have already prepared a gift for you; let us proceed directly for a visit."

Hearing this, Zhang Chen smiled and stopped Xie Lingyun: "You need not prepare for me, I have long prepared a gift myself. Though Elder Zhong and I share a close bond, if I want him to exert his effort for me, I need to offer a stake, which I have ready."

At this point, Zhang Chen took out three bottles from his sleeve. The bottles were made of jade, the mutton fat jade was incomparably fine, and inscriptions suppressed the mysterious Qi mechanism within.

"This bottle for you, the other for Commander Xie." Zhang Chen said.

Inside the bottle was a pill brewed by The Queen Mother of the West in the past, just the most ordinary pill. As for better pills, Zhang Chen feared they would cause the two to break through the Twelfth Tier and fall into a death calamity directly.

"What is this?" Xie Lingyun asked upon examining the two bottles.

"One pill down the abdomen is enough to break through the Yang God realm and directly reach the Tenth Tier realm," Zhang Chen replied.

"What?" Xie Lingyun’s complexion changed upon hearing this, his eyes full of shock: "Is it really so? There exists such an unimaginable treasure in this world?"

"Otherwise, what do you think I’ve been trapped in the Old Turtle Territory for so long for?" Zhang Chen’s voice was filled with pride.

"To cultivate a Yang God with jade bones, it takes at least three to five hundred years, and without major fortune and Great Creation, it’s impossible to glimpse this realm. You swallow a pill and gain such Creation, it’s truly defying the heavens! Such Creation, no one can refuse, even Elder Zhong surely cannot refuse," Xie Lingyun carefully stored the pill away, actions cautious, while inquiring again: "What Creation does the Old Turtle Territory have? I heard the Old Turtle Territory caused quite a stir?"

"The Great Creation is indescribable." Zhang Chen said.

Xie Lingyun bowed his head to look at the pill in his hand: "You can offer such a pill, then what realm is your own cultivation?"

"My realm?" Zhang Chen recalled the Eye of Celestial Punishment, the colors of Divine Thunder contained within, and then his Blood Dao cultivation. These are merely skills, not a realm; thus, he stated:

"It’s merely the Yin Spirit realm." Zhang Chen said slowly.

By realm theory, Primordial Spirit should belong to Yin Spirit, but Primordial Spirit and Yin Spirit are not the same, having some attributes of the Yang God.

So he’s not really lying, right?

"You’re just in the Yin Spirit realm? Then why haven’t you taken this pill?" Xie Lingyun asked instinctively.

"This pill is too advanced, my cultivation realm too low. If I take it, I’m afraid my Yin Spirit would explode, my body would instantly shatter." Zhang Chen spread his hands, speaking helplessly.

He now wanted to find the Big Black Dog, only finding it might he hope to find the complete Nine Revolutions Profound Skill.