I picked up skill fragments in the demon world.

Chapter 985 Melting Reincarnation
Zhang Gaoqiu knelt on the ground and begged Zhang Chen for mercy.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Chen glanced at Zhang Gaoqiu, then reached out and stroked Zhang Gaoqiu's head as if petting a puppy: "Want me to spare you?"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Gaoqiu nodded frantically: "Brother, we are all brothers of the same clan, what obstacle can't we overcome? As long as you spare me, I will serve you faithfully. From now on, I will follow your lead without question. If you tell me to go east, I will never go west. Please, spare me!"

Upon hearing Zhang Gaoqiu's words, Zhang Chen patted Zhang Gaoqiu's head and said, "I would like to spare you for the sake of our clan, but when you gained power back then, you never thought of sparing me, did you? Besides, your father, brothers and sisters are all waiting for you in the underworld. A family should be reunited together. You should go down and reunite with your family as soon as possible. How can I bear to let you endure the pain of separation?"

After Zhang Chen finished speaking, he stood up and said to the guards beside him, "Let's get started! Send them on their way."

"Zhang Chen, you son of a bitch! You are so cruel, the world will not tolerate you. You will get your retribution sooner or later!" When Zhang Gaoqiu saw that Zhang Chen showed no mercy to him and directly ordered his guards to kill him, he lost his composure in fear and couldn't help but curse loudly.

"Do you want to be torn to pieces and die?" Zhang Chen asked with a smile.

Upon hearing Zhang Chen's words, Zhang Gaoqiu's cursing stopped abruptly, and he fell silent, trembling with fear.

If you shut your mouth now, you might still have a peaceful end. At worst, you'll be beheaded. But if you're torn to pieces, it's better to just die from a single blow.

Why would an ancient minister express gratitude when the emperor swiftly and decisively ordered his execution?
Because there are many tortures that are worse than death.

Zhang Gaoqiu dared not curse anymore, and the group of retainers over there also dared not curse Zhang Chen anymore, kneeling there and begging for mercy.

Zhang Gaoqiu was simply unwilling to die like this.

Just as the executioner's blade was about to fall on his neck, Zhang Gaoqiu activated the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths Demon-Slaying Shuttle within his body. This Nine Heavens and Ten Earths Demon-Slaying Shuttle was no ordinary treasure; it was a twelfth-order innate spiritual treasure that had been severely damaged and fallen. Even with the dragon energy within the imperial city, it could not suppress the power of the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths Demon-Slaying Shuttle.

Seeing Zhang Gaoqiu transform into a streak of light and attempt to escape, Zhang Chen raised an eyebrow:
"Hmm? Interesting!"

As soon as Zhang Chen had a thought, an extremely cold aura flowed out, directly freezing the power of the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths Demon-Slaying Shuttle. The next moment, Zhang Gaoqiu was frozen into an ice block, while the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths Demon-Slaying Shuttle had already flown away. Zhang Chen's icy aura had not even had time to freeze the opponent.

"You have some skills, but not many!" Zhang Chen waved his hand dismissively, "Let's get started!"

With his command, Zhang Gaoqiu's head was severed, and he was no longer alive. The feud between the two came to an end.

"My lord, I am innocent! I was only here to deliver a message to the Third Prince's residence. Please have mercy on me!"

"My lord, I beg you! I have an eighty-year-old mother to support and a crying baby to feed. I beg you!"

"My lord, I am innocent!"

……

The group was pinned to the ground by the fierce imperial guards, struggling and begging for mercy, but Zhang Chen ignored them completely. As the executioner's blade fell, heads rolled and tumbled on the ground like balls.

In just a few moments, the Third Prince's residence was utterly annihilated, with every single survivor killed.

"Reporting to Your Excellency, all men, women, and children in the Third Prince's residence have been executed. There are no survivors. We beseech Your Excellency to see the truth." A guard stepped forward respectfully to report.

Zhang Chen used his supernatural powers to carefully sense the Third Prince's residence. After confirming that there was no sign of life within, he nodded in satisfaction and said, "Well done! Let's go back."

After Zhang Chen finished speaking, he turned and got into the carriage. Dugu Qiu watched Zhang Chen's carriage gradually leave, but he remained standing still. A rift had silently appeared between the two of them.

Zhang Chen peered back through the gap in the carriage curtain and shook his head inwardly. From this day forward, he and Dugu Qiu could never go back to yesterday; a rift had already formed between them.

“For Dugu Qiu, the most important thing is always to achieve a great victory over the royal family.” Zhang Chen silently closed his eyes, but he didn’t care about Dugu Qiu. He had twelve Blood God Sons, which were enough for him to command, so he didn’t necessarily need to win over Dugu Qiu.

Zhang Chen still wanted to accept Dugu Qiu's kindness in saving him, but he also owed Dugu Qiu a life-saving favor, so he hadn't wronged him either. Just as countless thoughts were swirling in Zhang Chen's mind, suddenly a series of frantic shouts came from ahead, and people and horses scattered in chaos. A chilling glint of light pierced towards Zhang Chen's carriage: "Zhang Chen, you treacherous dog, you dared to kill my husband, I'll make you pay with your life."

Princess Chai Wenji, wielding a precious sword, chased after them from afar, riding the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths Demon-Slaying Shuttle. Along the way, people and horses fell to the ground, and those who were hit would turn into blood mist and dissipate into the air.

As soon as the little princess approached Zhang Chen's carriage, she saw an extremely cold current flow through her, and the little princess and the Demon-Repelling Shuttle were instantly frozen into an ice sculpture, suspended in mid-air.

“Even the King of Men gives me some leeway, how dare you come looking for trouble?” Zhang Chen looked at the little princess with a disdainful smile in his eyes. The next moment, he blew a breath at the little princess, and the ice sculpture turned into dust and disappeared into the air. Only the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths Demon-Slaying Shuttle fell down and was caught in Zhang Chen’s hand.

This time he was prepared, so the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths Demon-Slaying Shuttle had no chance of escaping!

After examining the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths Demon-Slaying Shuttle in his hand for a moment, Zhang Chen smiled and said, "As long as there is sufficient innate energy, it is not impossible to repair it."

As Zhang Chen spoke, he put the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths Demon-Slaying Shuttle into his sleeve. At that moment, a shout came from afar: "Show mercy!"

It was Dugu Qiu who caught up with them!
Previously, the little princess received a message from Zhang Gaoqiu using the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths Demon-Slaying Shuttle. She flew all the way to the palace and saw Zhang Gaoqiu's corpse. She then directly rode the shuttle to chase after Zhang Chen. When Dugu Qiu saw this, he knew that something was wrong, so he hurriedly went to chase after him. However, he could not use his supernatural powers in the imperial city. How could a mortal body catch up with the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths Demon-Slaying Shuttle?
By the time he arrived, the little princess had already turned to dust.

"Where is the little princess?" Dugu Qiu asked, blocking the carriage. As he asked, he looked around. He had just seen the little princess chasing after Zhang Chen, but how could she have disappeared in the blink of an eye?

Zhang Chen chuckled softly upon hearing this and pointed to the blood-red powder beside him: "The person you're looking for is over there!"

Not only was the little princess frozen into powder by the extreme cold, but all her clothes and hair ornaments also turned into powder.

"How dare you kill the little princess?" Dugu Qiu was shocked.

"I was sitting in the carriage when someone suddenly tried to assassinate me. I didn't have time to think and immediately activated my supernatural powers. Who knew the opponent was so weak? He didn't even last one move and was turned into dust." Zhang Chen spread his hands helplessly.

Upon hearing Zhang Chen's words, Dugu Qiu was furious. He stared intently at Zhang Chen for a long while before saying, "You act so domineeringly and arrogantly, and you have no tolerance for others. The Dasheng royal family will never sit idly by. You'd better watch yourself. I just hope you won't regret it when disaster strikes in the future."

After speaking, Dugu Qiu turned and left immediately, having lost all desire to communicate with Zhang Chen.

Watching Dugu Qiu's departing figure, Zhang Chen couldn't help but shake his head inwardly. It was as if he could resolve the conflict between himself and the Dasheng royal family. Even if he wasn't so domineering and arrogant, the Dasheng royal family would never forgive him and would definitely launch a fatal attack on him if given the chance.

Zhang Chen drove his carriage back to his family residence, where he found that all the members of the Zhang clan had already returned and were gathered in the old house, discussing among themselves. When they saw Zhang Chen return, they all greeted him with admiration.

"Master, your methods are truly remarkable. You have actually managed to make the Great Victory Royal Family bow down. Under your leadership, the Zhang family will surely enter an unprecedented era of glory." Zhang Gaqi stepped forward with burning eyes.

Zhang Chen, however, was too lazy to listen to Zhang Gaqi and the Zhang family's flattery. He said indifferently, "Tell everyone to disperse and take good care of the family business. Don't cause any trouble. The capital is in chaos right now, and there are many opportunists taking advantage of the situation. We need to be careful to protect our family business and not let anyone set their sights on us."

"Master, the Dasheng royal family is not to be trifled with. I wonder how confident you are in dealing with them?" Zhang Gaqi asked.

"Just focus on doing your job well; the matter of defeating the royal family is not for you to worry about."

After giving his instructions, Zhang Chen ignored Zhang Gaqi and walked towards the backyard. He went to his own house, took out the Six Paths of Reincarnation Disc, and then summoned the reincarnations he had collected later. When the two reincarnations met, the two reincarnations flew out and embedded themselves into the Six Paths of Reincarnation Disc. The six reincarnations on the Six Paths of Reincarnation Disc were then pieced together, transforming into a perfect Six Paths of Reincarnation.

Just as the Six Paths of Reincarnation were being pieced together, the laws of the Great Thousand Worlds trembled slightly, attempting to resonate with the Six Paths of Reincarnation Disc in Zhang Chen's hand and integrate it into the rules of the Great Thousand Worlds. But how could Zhang Chen allow such a thing to happen?

Zhang Chen suppressed the Six Paths of Reincarnation Disc, raised his head to look at the vast world: "You want it? But I can't give it to you!"

He already knew that the Great Thousand World was a huge pit, and that the ancient beings wanted to use the fragments of their souls to crush the laws of the Great Thousand World. How could he possibly thwart the ancient plans of those ancient beings?
Now that Zhang Chen has also stood on the opposite side of the Great Thousand World, it is even more impossible for him to make the laws of the Great Thousand World operate. So he directly sent the Six Paths Reincarnation Disc into his own Small Thousand World.

(End of this chapter)