I picked up skill fragments in the demon world.

Chapter 687: Changes in the North
Wang Xifeng's voice was full of hatred. Shen Ling and Shen Qiu were her own flesh and blood. It was strange that she could tolerate being bullied like this.

Zhang Chen looked at Wang Xifeng, and after listening to the conditions proposed by the other party, Zhang Chen shook his head and rejected them categorically: "This is impossible!"

Although Zhang Gaoqiu is hateful, he is now considered half-consort of the Dasheng Dynasty. It is impossible for Zhang Chen to risk being hunted down by the three twelfth-level mysterious creatures of the Dasheng Dynasty in order to kill Zhang Gaoqiu.

It is not Zhang Chen's style to sacrifice his own family for Shen Ling.

When Wang Xifeng heard Zhang Chen's refusal, she looked at him expressionlessly, her eyes full of determination, and she had no intention of backing down at all.

Zhang Chen also looked at Wang Xifeng expressionlessly, and he did not give in at all. He just wanted to stay hidden and develop, and did not want to cause any trouble that would be disadvantageous to him.

"I want Shen Ling and Shen Qiu to be alive. Is this request not too much?" After a long time, Wang Xifeng took another step back and said to Zhang Chen.

Zhang Chen didn't say whether he agreed or not, but instead his eyes fell on Wang Xifeng's belly: "Go ahead!"

"As long as Shen Ling is alive and well, I will naturally not cause you any trouble." Wang Xifeng turned around and got on the carriage. She saw the driver wearing a straw hat and raincoat, driving the carriage away. Only Wang Xifeng's voice could be heard in the rain:

"Zhang Chen, don't forget what I said."

The Qi in Zhang Chen's hands circulated, and the rain around him kept fluctuating, gradually turning into ice cones. However, until Wang Xifeng's figure disappeared in the rain curtain, Zhang Chen did not make a move. Instead, he sighed dejectedly and restrained his skills: "Someone really caught me."

To be honest, Zhang Chen had mixed feelings about the embryo in Wang Xifeng's belly, and he felt an indescribable conflict in his heart.

Finally, Zhang Chen's figure disappeared in the rain curtain. When he reappeared, he was already in the house. However, he did not practice, but stood in front of the table and practiced calligraphy silently. At this moment, Zhang Chen had to admit that his heart was confused.

Another two hours later, Zhou Zhen walked in from the door. Seeing Zhang Chen practicing calligraphy, Zhou Zhen held up a wine pot in his hand and asked, "Would you like a drink?"

Zhang Chen put down his pen and did not refuse: "Then drink some."

After three rounds of drinking, Zhou Zhen's face flushed. He stood up and staggered away, leaving Zhang Chen sitting in the room in silence.

North
Pingbian Palace
The old and haggard King Pingbian stood in front of the desk, looking at the letter sent back from the south. He had been standing in front of the desk for two hours.

The current King Pingbian is no longer as heroic as he used to be. Bai Cang has long since drained away his energy.

Looking at the letter in his hand, Prince Pingbian came alive at some point, and two tears fell from his cloudy eyes: "Xiaohua is dead! The inheritance of Prince Pingbian's mansion is broken! What's the point of me guarding this foundation?"

"Revenge! I must take revenge! But he is the innate water god, how can I take revenge?" King Pingbian's tone was full of defeat.

After a while, King Pingbian gritted his teeth and said, "Even if I can't avenge Xiaohua, I have to do something for her. Her biggest enemy during her lifetime was Zhang Chen, so I will send him down to be buried with you."

"It's just that Zhang Chen is not so easy to kill..." King Pingbian tapped the table with his fingers: "With the experts under my command, it is not enough to take revenge."

Just when thousands of thoughts flashed through his mind, suddenly a coquettish voice came from outside the door: "Master, you should rest. I have made a tonic soup for you. Come and have a taste."

Looking at Zhang Xiaolan who walked in, an idea flashed in King Pingbian's mind, and he had an idea.

Second day

The rain was still falling, and Zhang Chen put away the recipe of Eight Treasures Locking Heart Pill in his hand: "I can find a secret place in the back mountain of the academy, and then I can try to refine the recipe of Eight Treasures Locking Heart Pill."

Just as Zhang Chen was thinking about this, the fox fairy Nannan came out from the rain and said, "Huang Tiandao wants to confer a title on the natural spirit. I know you have a grudge against Huang Tiandao, so I came to inform you."

"I already knew about this." Zhang Chen replied, and then asked: "Let me ask you, have you found a courtyard?"

"It's a mess down the mountain right now. It's not going to be that easy." The fox fairy Nannan complained.

Zhang Chen did not urge him upon hearing this, because he knew that this was not something that could be rushed.

"There is something I want to tell you, something very important!" The fox fairy Nannan sat opposite Zhang Chen and said very solemnly.

Fortunately, Zhang Fei went to study next door early in the morning, otherwise the fox fairy Nannan would not have been able to come and inform Zhang Chen of the news.

"What's the matter?" Zhang Chen asked.

It is no small matter for the fox fairy Nannan to take such a serious matter.

"The King of Pingbian wants to surrender to the imperial court, and he is even willing to send Zhang Xiaolan to Kyoto and offer her to the King!" said the fox fairy Nannan.

Zhang Chen was stunned when he heard this: "How could this happen? Didn't Prince Pingbian want to rebel? Why did he suddenly surrender to the court?"

His voice was full of disbelief. What the other party did made no sense at all.

"Zhang Xiaohua is dead, the Pingbian Palace has lost its heir, and the old Pingbian King has no descendants. Who is he going to give his inheritance to after all his troubles?" said the fox fairy Nannan. "The Pingbian King wants to surrender to the court, but I'm afraid the court and the demon clan will never allow it." Zhang Chen asked.

"Of course the demon clan won't allow it, so the ancestor secretly sent me to pass on the message for you, asking you to find a way to stop King Pingbian." said the fox fairy Nannan.

"Why should I get involved in this mess? Who the King of Pingbian joins has nothing to do with me." Zhang Chen sneered.

"The reason why King Pingbian spread the rumor that he would surrender to the court is that he wanted to intimidate the eight major families in Kyoto and wanted the Zhang family in Kyoto to kill you. Do you think it has anything to do with you? King Pingbian is a chess piece of the eight major families in Kyoto. Now this chess piece is about to overturn the chessboard. When the chessboard overturns, too many people will be involved, and the situation in the world will change accordingly. And all this will come at the cost of your life. Do you think it has anything to do with you?" said the fox fairy Nannan.

Zhang Chen fell silent upon hearing this. He stood in the room without saying anything. After a long while, he said, "It seems that I can only ask the Great Immortal Hu Li to kill King Pingbian? Once King Pingbian dies, the forces under his command will be like headless flies. At that time, they will only be swallowed up by the demon clan."

“King Pingbian cannot die. Once King Pingbian dies, all the forces under his command will fall into Huang Tiandao’s hands. Then you will be in more trouble, and so will my demon clan. With Huang Tiandao’s control over King Pingbian’s mansion, as long as King Pingbian dies, Huang Tiandao will be able to take control of all of King Pingbian’s forces in an instant.” The fox fairy Nannan rejected Zhang Chen’s words.

Zhang Chen frowned and said, "I can't kill him. How can I persuade Prince Pingbian not to surrender to the imperial court?"

Zhang Chen's voice was filled with dissatisfaction.

"I don't know, so I came to ask you if you have any solution." Fox Fairy Nannan asked.

Zhang Chen stood there in silence. Although the matter was troublesome, he had to solve it.

If Prince Pingbian offered his own head as a condition, the imperial court would probably not refuse.

"What should I do?" Various thoughts flashed through Zhang Chen's mind.

Seeing Zhang Chen's embarrassment, Fox Fairy Nannan said, "You don't have to be embarrassed. If you really don't have a way to stop King Pingbian from joining the court, you can find a way to delay King Pingbian's joining the court. You just need to buy time for Great Immortal Hu Li, let him enter the twelfth level, and let him have the ability to fight against the Great Sage Master Huang Tiandao. Then, even if you kill King Pingbian, it won't be a problem. Or you can buy time for my ancestor. As long as my ancestor enters the palace, absorbs the luck of the Dasheng court, and confuses the emperor of the Dasheng court, then the plan of King Pingbian can be ruined."

"You think too highly of me. How can I have any strategy to buy time?" Zhang Chen's voice was filled with dissatisfaction.

Hearing Zhang Chen's words, Fox Fairy Nannan shook her head and said, "That's all I have to say. I'm just informing you. As for whether you can come up with a solution, that's up to you."

"I didn't expect my head to be so valuable." Zhang Chen sneered.

Fox Fairy Nannan stared at Zhang Chen's neck, as if she wanted to see Zhang Chen's head fall off: "Your head is much more valuable than you think! If the court really agrees to this condition, as long as the court issues an order, the first person to ask for your head will probably be the dean of Chongzheng Academy."

Zhang Chen fell silent. The fox fairy Nannan turned around and said goodbye, leaving Zhang Chen standing alone in the room, staring at the rain in a daze.

"Everyone in this world wants my head, Zhang Chen, but they don't know that my head is not so easy to get. I have the eleventh-level Sun True Fire. Even if a twelfth-level strongman comes, I am not powerless to resist." After a long time, Zhang Chen smiled coldly. He suddenly felt that it was not safe to leave the three little ones and the stepmother in Chongzheng Academy. After all, there are always "villains who want to harm me" in secret. What if the court issued an order, asking Zhou Qiucheng to take his head? Who knows what Zhou Qiucheng will think?
These Confucianists all have some serious brain problems. They dare not gamble, and cannot afford to gamble.

"This is really a big trouble! King Pingbian hates me so much that he even wants to drag me down with him before he dies." Zhang Chen was so angry that he cursed secretly in his heart. What could he do?
He is also very helpless!

Zhang Chen stood in the room and thought for an hour, and he actually figured out a little trick:
"I can't stop Prince Pingbian's actions, but I can stop the Dasheng court from choosing not to accept Prince Pingbian's surrender."

It is difficult to achieve something, but it is much easier to do something bad.

"For Bai Cang, this matter is a great advantage. If he can enter the inner palace and absorb the dragon energy of the Dasheng Dynasty, his cultivation will surely advance by leaps and bounds and increase to an incredible level. By then, it is not impossible for him to confuse the Emperor Dasheng." Zhang Chen quickly deduced and speculated in his mind.

Zhang Chen couldn't help but twitch his mouth when he thought that Bai Cang, a male fox, had actually brought disaster to two powerful human beings, King Pingbian and Emperor Dasheng.

It’s really eye-catching!

If Bai Cang was a female fox, Zhang Chen could accept it, but it was too shocking to see Bai Cang, a male fox, taking advantage of two grown men.

"I have no influence on Prince Pingbian. The only thing I can do is to interfere with Kyoto. I have to find a way to ruin Prince Pingbian's plans and give the court a reason to refuse to accept Prince Pingbian's allegiance." Zhang Chen was lost in thought at this moment.

Inside the Pingbian Palace

King Pingbian and Zhang Xiaolan were sitting in the house. The smoke from incense was curling up in the room, and King Pingbian's face was changing in the smoke.

Compared with the King Pingbian that Zhang Chen saw at the beginning, the King Pingbian at this time was dozens of years older. His tall body was hunched over, no longer as majestic as before. He looked extremely old, like an old man in his twilight years.

King Pingbian had lost his foundation due to Zhang Xiaolan's consumption of his energy, and Zhang Xiaolan had also swallowed up 70% to 80% of the dragon energy in the north, all of which was used by Bai Cang.

King Pingbian looked at Zhang Xiaolan with a hint of reluctance in his eyes. He was really infatuated with Zhang Xiaolan, but he also really wanted revenge.

After all, he is a great leader, and he can still distinguish between women and hatred.

"Xiao Lan, I can't bear to let you go, but I have no choice! Revenge is my only hope to survive now. From today on, you are my, King Pingbian's legal wife. You will be on your way tomorrow. I hope that after you arrive in Kyoto, you can confuse the Human King and complete my revenge." King Pingbian said to Zhang Xiaolan.

(End of this chapter)