I picked up skill fragments in the demon world.

Chapter 941 Entering the Zhang Family

Zhang Chen felt that if he could use the Third Prince to open the spatial passage, and then take advantage of the chaos, he could best protect himself. After all, the scene of opening the Zhang family's secret space was too dangerous. If it weren't for the three twelfth-order gods of the court protecting him from the lightning, he would probably be the one fighting to the death with Black Impermanence. At that time, he would be forced by Black Impermanence to ascend to the Dao Fruit realm.

Black Impermanence is at the Great Luo realm, and Zhang Chen doesn't think he can withstand the final counterattack of a Great Luo realm expert.

Thinking of this, Zhang Chen used his inner spirit to examine his own tree of immortality. He saw a leaf fall from the tree and land in his hand, which he then grasped.

Zhang Chen silently circulated his magical power, recalling the runes and techniques from the Kunlun era. He formed hand seals, and then a map appeared on the leaf of the Longevity Tree in his hand.

The map was not a straightforward map, but one that Zhang Chen had 'encrypted'. Seeing that the leaves of the Longevity Tree were too fresh, Zhang Chen also added the power of time to them.

"One day can be blessed for 180 years. I only need to bless it for 10,000 years, and then I can take the opportunity to set up a scheme," Zhang Chen muttered to himself.

It was only a little over a month, enough time to complete a map from ancient times. Zhang Chen even added immortal techniques to it to make it seem mysterious, and inscribed innate characters on it. As long as Zhang Chen found an opportunity, and it 'coincidentally' fell into the hands of the Third Prince's faction, he would have accomplished his mission. The Third Prince would definitely decipher the map and discover the location of this final cycle of reincarnation. He didn't believe that the Third Prince would be able to sit still after receiving the news. The other party would definitely do everything in his power to find that cycle of reincarnation.

The Six Paths of Reincarnation is a spiritual treasure and a great supernatural power. If the Third Prince could obtain one of the powers of reincarnation, even if he could not ascend to the position of Human King, he could still establish an immortal family and become a powerful feudal lord who dominates a region.

"Hehe, once the Third Prince causes a major disturbance at Chongzheng Academy, the Human King will definitely not spare him. However, I still need to figure out whether the Six Paths of Reincarnation was placed here by the ancestors of the Great Victory royal family, or whether it was originally hidden here and its existence was not discovered by the Chai family descendants during the construction of the academy." Zhang Chen stared at the void where the Six Paths of Reincarnation was located for a long time, his measuring ruler in his sleeve twitching with anticipation. Suddenly, footsteps sounded behind him, and a familiar figure ran towards him from afar.

"Zhang Chen, something terrible has happened! An order has come from the ancestral hall that all Zhang family members in the academy must go down the mountain. You will come down the mountain with me."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Chen turned his head and saw Zhang Gaodan, who was panting heavily with sweat on her forehead.

Zhang Chen looked at Zhang Gaodan rushing towards him, a hint of surprise in his eyes: "Has the situation in the Zhang family deteriorated to this point? Even the disciples in the academy have to be recalled for reinforcements?"

Zhang Gaodan smiled bitterly upon hearing this: "We have lost the Book of Life and Death, and our ancestor was forced to commit suicide. The Zhang family's situation has reached a critical point. All Zhang family disciples must return to fight for the family."

"How is Fourth Uncle?" Zhang Chen asked seemingly casually.

“My father went to the main family to discuss matters. They are discussing how to fight the Gong family in the next battle and how to reverse the decline of the Zhang family. Our newborns cannot awaken their bloodline, and the continuation of the family is like water without a source. If we fight a war of attrition with the Gong family, we simply cannot afford it. The only plan now is to finish the job in one battle and settle things with the Gong family,” said the chubby Zhang Gaodan.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Chen looked Zhang Gaodan up and down. Zhang Gaodan was Zhang Gaqi's son, so he was trustworthy. The chubby boy was panting heavily, wiping the sweat from his forehead, and seemed quite open and honest.

Zhang Chen glanced at Zhang Gaodan, without suspecting anything, and said to Zhang Gaodan, "Let's go. I am, after all, a member of the Zhang family. Since the Zhang family is in trouble, I should go back and see. Besides, I have some things to discuss with my fourth uncle. Perhaps we can turn the tide for the Zhang family."

As the two descended the mountain, they indeed saw groups of Zhang family members heading down from the academy, their eyes filled with a murderous aura.

Hundreds of Zhang family members came and went, greeting each other and shouting as they walked together with acquaintances.

However, most of the people were from Zhang Shenqi's lineage. Although they greeted Zhang Gaodan, they ignored Zhang Chen as if they hadn't seen him at all.

"Don't mind it. We're all from the Zhang family. They'll eventually accept you," Zhang Gaodan said, following Zhang Chen into a carriage.

Seeing the cautious expression on the chubby Zhang Gaodan's face, Zhang Chen smiled and said, "Of course I don't mind. They're just a bunch of little bastards. Why would I care about them? The ones who truly deserve my attention are their parents."

Zhang Chen knew that his previous outburst at the Zhang family ancestral hall, in which he pointed at a group of elders and berated them, had damaged his reputation. Many members of the Zhang family were ashamed to associate with him and, influenced by their elders, would be hostile towards him. However, Zhang Chen didn't care at all.

"How is the situation in the Zhang family now? What does Uncle Zhang have to say?" Zhang Chen asked Zhang Gaodan from inside the carriage.

Zhang Gaodan shook his head: "Don't ask me, I don't know anything. I've been cultivating in the academy. When the Zhang family suddenly sent a message, I rushed to find you. This summons from the Zhang family is of the highest level; if you don't meet the deadline, you'll be expelled from the family. I was afraid my second uncle was playing some kind of trick, so I rushed to find you. If you can't get back in time because no one can relay the message, he might find an excuse to expel you." Hearing this, Zhang Chen patted the chubby boy's shoulder, said "Thank you," and began chatting with him. The chubby boy's eyes darted around excitedly when he talked about Zhang Chen and Zhong Xiang's marriage: "Big brother, what were you thinking? Marrying that female tyrant Zhong Xiang? That woman has no feminine grace whatsoever; she's practically a tigress! Countless students in the academy have had their legs broken by her. You're going to suffer a lot if you marry her."

"Although that woman comes from a good family, has high cultivation, and is beautiful, she is just a man in a woman's skin. You should never mess with her!" Zhang Gaodan kept complaining about Zhong Xiang.

Zhang Chen turned to look at Zhang Gaodan, and said thoughtfully, "Did she offend you?"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Gaodan's face flushed red: "That's all in the past, why bring it up again?"

Zhang Chen glanced at Zhang Gaodan, thinking that the chubby boy had probably suffered a great loss at Zhong Xiang's hands.

The carriage drove all the way to the Zhang family's old residence. Zhang Chen followed Zhang Gaodan off the carriage and saw countless Zhong family disciples walking into the gate from outside, converging in the direction of the Zhang family ancestral hall.

Zhang Chen's eyes were fixed on the Zhang family's old house. His ears twitched slightly, and suddenly a strange smile appeared on his face as he gave Zhang Gaodan a meaningful look.

"Zhang Gaodan, come here, I have something to say to you!" Just then, a member of the Zhang family called out to Zhang Gaodan.

Zhang Gaodan paused, turned to look at the Zhang family member: "The patriarch has summoned the Zhang family members to assemble. We can discuss anything else later. If you delay, you'll be in for a beating."

"It's an extremely urgent matter concerning your little lover. Don't blame me if you miss this opportunity," said the Zhang family member.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Gaodan hesitated for a moment, but finally said to Zhang Chen, "Brother, you go in first, don't worry about me."

After speaking, he pulled the disciple aside, and the two began to whisper among themselves.

Seeing this, Zhang Chen remained silent and walked expressionlessly towards the Zhang family's old residence. However, as he looked at the Zhang family members who had gathered there, he noticed something amiss: they were all disciples of Zhang Shenqi's lineage. He couldn't see a single familiar face among the elders and younger members of his own lineage.

"Zhang Shenqi is up to something again!" Zhang Chen's ears twitched incessantly as he activated the Law of Sound. As he strolled through the corridor, his figure gradually became blurred, disappearing without a trace after a few breaths. When he reappeared, he was already in a house in the backyard.

Two servants of the Zhang family stood idly in front of the gate, guarding the door to the room. Suddenly, two flashes of fire appeared, and the two servants turned to ashes in an instant.

Zhang Chen removed the invisibility talisman, pushed open the door and entered the room. Sure enough, he saw Zhang Gaqi, who was bound by iron chains, his mouth gagged, and struggling back and forth while chained to a pillar.

Upon seeing Zhang Chen enter, Zhang Gaqi's struggling movements faltered. Zhang Chen smiled, and with a thought in his mind, the chains binding Zhang Gaqi turned to dust and fell to the ground.

Zhang Gaqi pulled the towel off his mouth and urged urgently, "Zhang Chen, you must leave! This family gathering is a conspiracy against you. These people have gone mad. They want to capture you and hand you over to the Prince of Pingbian so that he can rebel and delay the Great Victory Court. Then the Zhang family will use all its strength to wipe out the Gong family."

Zhang Gaqi kept urging Zhang Chen to leave.

Zhang Chen remained unfazed upon hearing this. The moment he stepped into the Zhang family compound, he had already heard the conversations in some hidden corners of the backyard through the law of sound waves. Those conspiracies and schemes were no longer a mystery to him.

“Run away? Why would I run away?” Zhang Chen looked at Zhang Gaqi with a smile: “The fact that they organized this gathering is exactly what I wanted. However, it’s not very kind of them not to invite our people. How about I trouble you, Fourth Uncle, to invite those who support me? I also have some things I want to announce to the public.”

Zhang Gaqi was taken aback upon hearing this, then hesitated: "Your best option is to leave as soon as possible. If you invite those elders in the clan who support your father, the Zhang family will be in turmoil today. It is possible that before the Gong family can make a move, our family will be torn apart."

“I have already arrived at the Zhang family ancestral home. The old house is now heavily guarded. Do you think I can still leave?” Zhang Chen sneered.

(End of this chapter)