Chapter 1277 - 906: Framing and False Accusation

Who the man was, Zhang Chen didn’t know, nor did he need to know. His current task was to find Gong Chun, so he merely glanced at the man and ignored him, disappearing swiftly into the corridor.

"What is that kid doing, rushing around in such a panic?" A hint of surprise appeared in the man’s eyes. He was the patriarch of the Gong Family and also Gong Chun’s father: Gong Xufeng.

Just as he was about to chase after him for answers, a commotion suddenly erupted at the main door, drawing his attention there, causing him to frown slightly as he quickly walked towards the source.

Zhang Chen smoothly reached the outside of Gong Chun’s study, directly pushing open the door and entering, startling Gong Chun, who was reading inside: How could there be two of himself?

"Who are you!" Gong Chun questioned aloud upon seeing Zhang Chen, with confusion written all over his face.

In the next moment, Zhang Chen, transformed into Gong Chun, gave Gong Chun a strange smile and disappeared from the room using the Five Elements Escape Technique.

"What the hell?" Gong Chun stood frozen in place, baffled. How could a living person suddenly vanish? Especially with the Dragon Qi in the imperial city suppressing the Destruction of All Techniques, making the Divine Power impossible to wield. How could a person disappear?

If not for his extreme confidence in his own judgment, he might have thought he was seeing things.

"Could it be I have an unknown twin brother?" Gong Chun stood up, walked to the door, and checked.

Meanwhile, at the corner outside the Gong Family residence, Zhang Chen had transformed into a sparrow, watching quietly from the eaves. He saw the Zhang Family had surrounded the Gong Family, intending to break into the residence but were stopped by the guards. As the situation threatened to spiral out of control, a commanding voice echoed from afar:

"Why are you causing a commotion at the main door?"

"Greetings, Patriarch!"

The guards at the door saw Gong Xufeng approaching from a distance, promptly retreated, bowed respectfully, and quickly recounted the situation of the Zhang Clan trying to break into the mansion.

Gong Xufeng was surprised upon hearing this: The Zhang Clan wants to barge into the Gong Family? There’s no reason for this!

Gong Xufeng raised his eyebrows, stepped forward, and ceremoniously greeted Zhang Shenqi: "Brother Zhang, it’s been a while! Why does Brother Zhang want to intrude into my Zhang Family?"

The Gong Family and Zhang Family are both among the Eight Great Clans, with generations of marriages intertwining them, forming a deep bond as in-laws.

"Gong Xufeng, why I have come to the Gong Family to intrude into your inner residence, you shouldn’t ask me, but rather you should ask your Gong Chun." Zhang Shenqi said with a somber expression.

"Could there be some misunderstanding?" Gong Xufeng glanced at the hundreds of Zhang Family members behind Zhang Shenqi, realizing the gravity of the situation, cautiously asked.

"Gong Chun secretly infiltrated the Zhang Family and stole our ancestral treasure, the Book of Life and Death. This item is the lifeline of the Zhang Clan. Please ask your son to return the treasure." Zhang Gaqi stepped forward, directly questioning him.

"What!!!" Gong Xufeng’s face changed upon hearing this: "Brother, you can’t say such things without proof!"

Gong Xufeng wasn’t foolish; as the patriarch of the Gong Family, he understood the severity of this matter. If Gong Chun indeed stole the Zhang Family’s ancestral treasure, the Book of Life and Death, it would result in irreparable hatred, leaving no room for reconciliation between both sides.

Not only would Gong Chun end up at odds with the Zhang Family, but the entire Gong Family would find themselves in an unending feud.

Recalling Gong Chun’s earlier panic, an ominous feeling surged within Gong Xufeng’s heart. Could Gong Chun have really stolen the Book of Life and Death?

"Spouting nonsense? We witnessed Gong Chun enter your Gong Family mansion with our own eyes, pursued him from the Zhang Family to the doorstep of your Gong Family. With hundreds of pairs of eyes as witnesses, the evidence is irrefutable. Is there room for falsehood?" Zhang Shenqi stated:

"Brother Zhang, our two families are long-standing allies. If you ask Gong Chun to hand over the Book of Life and Death now, we will treat it as if nothing happened, preserving our familial ties. However, if the treasure is not returned, I’m afraid the Zhang and Gong Families will be locked in eternal conflict!" Zhang Shenqi declared.

Gong Xufeng’s expression changed repeatedly upon hearing this, and he said to the Zhang Family crowd: "Everyone, please come into the residence so I can inquire with Gong Chun personally to see if there has been any misunderstanding."

No matter what conflicts exist between the two families, as they are relatives by marriage, the Zhang Family should be invited in and then send someone to ascertain the truth of the matter.

While Zhang Chen watched the two families, the corner of his mouth curled into a smug smile. In the next moment, his figure flashed and he flew away, reappearing within the old residence of the Zhang Family.

What does the Book of Life and Death matter? The Six Paths of Reincarnation is what truly concerns Zhang Chen. He hasn’t forgotten that the Six Paths of Reincarnation is still sealed within the Zhang Family.

"I have already found the Beast Dao, Hungry Ghost Dao, Asura Dao, and Beast Dao within the Six Paths of Reincarnation. The Heavenly Dao and Human Dao are yet to be gathered. Now that the Human Reincarnation is appearing in the Zhang Family, I must not give up. I must seize the Human Dao to complete my Human Reincarnation." Zhang Chen revealed his true form under a large tree in the Zhang Family, then stuck an Invisibility Rune on himself. All Zhang Family members passing by Zhang Chen failed to notice him.

"The Invisibility Rune is really useful," Zhang Chen praised silently, his eyes scanning the chaotic Zhang Family. Countless servants were cleaning up the ruined buildings, some collecting clothes and others repairing collapsed houses—the entire Zhang Family was in complete disarray.

Zhang Chen stood on a rooftop, his eyes scanning the Zhang Family’s ancestral estate, which spanned over two thousand acres—truly a grand and luxurious family estate.

"But where has the Human Reincarnation been hidden within the Zhang Family?" Standing on the rooftop, Zhang Chen carefully sensed but did not perceive the Human Reincarnation’s presence. Thus, he flipped his palm to reveal the Heaven and Earth Treasure Mirror in his hand.

"The Heaven and Earth Treasure Mirror is an Innate Spiritual Treasure, resistant to the decay of the Origin Essence Qi in the world, and is much stronger than cultivators," Zhang Chen silently chanted the Heaven and Earth Treasure Mirror’s incantations. In the next moment, dozens of strands of Innate Qi were drawn and infused into the mirror, followed by Zhang Chen pointing to it:

"Open for me, Heaven and Earth Treasure Mirror!"

With Zhang Chen’s command, the Heaven and Earth Treasure Mirror opened, emitting a gray light that swept over the entire Zhang Family, finally landing in the direction of the Zhang Family’s ancestral shrine. The mirror’s image then twisted and blurred, revealing a chaotic and indistinct spatial form above the ancestral shrine.

"Oh, there’s actually a hidden space inside the Zhang Family. Indeed, as a clan inheriting the Daluo lineage, its depth is unfathomable." Zhang Chen stored the Heaven and Earth Treasure Mirror, stepping towards the Zhang Family shrine. He saw the shrine in chaos, numerous descendants organizing and rearranging tablets according to the family tree, momentarily plunging the Zhang Family into a chaotic mess.

"Should I act now, it would definitely alarm those organizing the tablets." A hint of hesitation flashed in Zhang Chen’s eyes, but now that the Zhang Family’s experts had been lured away, it was undoubtedly the best moment for him to act.

"However, the Six Paths of Reincarnation have always been associated with those old folks. After splitting the Six Paths, they used them to suppress their Qi Mechanism. Could the Zhang Family’s Six Paths also suppress a deeply mysterious old relic?" Zhang Chen stood outside the ancestral shrine, feeling some hesitation.

While those old ones are in slumber, none are to be trifled with, and should any be provoked, it would mean immense trouble for him.

"No rush, with the loss of the Book of Life and Death, the Zhang Family and Gong Family are bound to have a confrontation. Then I have two choices: actively stand out during the Zhang Family’s crisis to legitimately take control of the Six Paths of Reincarnation. The second choice is to convey the news to the Gong Family and prompt them to attack the Zhang Family, which, without the Book of Life and Death, cannot contend with the Gong Family. Once the Gong Family enters the Zhang Family’s lair and opens the secret space, if an ancient relic is indeed hidden inside, then let the Gong Family suffer the old one’s wrath. Once the relic is drained by Heaven and Earth and perishes, I will seize the Six Paths." Zhang Chen pondered these two strategies, deciding which was more reliable.

"There must still be some diehard supporters within the Zhang Clan; they mustn’t be entirely eliminated. I can use the Zhang Family as my blade, wielding it against the other great families and leveraging it to wipe out the Eight Great Clans." With this thought, Zhang Chen flashed towards the Zhang Family’s treasury. Since he has come, how could he not empty the Zhang Family’s treasury?

Only by emptying the Zhang Family’s treasury and ensuring their losses mount will Zhang Shenqi’s guilt increase correspondingly.

"Thinking you could use me to take the blame, offering me to appease Prince Pingbian, you old ones are dreaming." Zhang Chen stepped into the Zhang Family treasury, the Ba Snake Space expanding to devour all Spirituality within.

As for how Zhang Chen located the Zhang Family treasury?

The Heaven and Earth Treasure Mirror flickered; with the entire Zhang Family beneath its gaze, what secrets could remain hidden?

As one of the Eight Great Clans, the Zhang Family’s foundation was substantial. Zhang Chen profited greatly and then glanced at the gold and silver. Unfortunately, these mundane treasures couldn’t be taken by his Ba Snake Space, but the fact that he couldn’t take the gold and silver doesn’t mean he would leave them for the Zhang Family. With the activation of his Authority of the Five Elements, all gold and silver instantly turned to dust, dissipating into the air.

Watching the billowing dust, Zhang Chen shook his head: "Such efforts are thankless, but what choice do I have, given my feud with the Zhang Family? If they don’t suffer misfortune or engage in battles with other families, they’d start troubling me."

Having completed this, Zhang Chen muttered a few words, then casually tapped a few times. The old residence of the Zhang Family was engulfed in flames, billowing skyward, plunging the entire Zhang Family into chaos.

Previously, the strong winds had already stirred unease in the Zhang Family; now with the fire, the chaos intensified.