lovenovelstory #426 - The missing time
#426 - The missing time
Chapter 423: The Missing Timing
In the second month, the grass grows, the orioles fly, the willows along the dike are drunk in the spring mist.
It's a pity that this scene depicts the gentle and graceful water towns of Jiangnan. In this cold northern land, the second month is merely when the earth is just beginning to recover.
However, with the arrival of the second month, the weather is indeed different. The sky begins to have a hazy mist, and wisps of rain slip from the clouds, striking the ground and stimulating the soil to emit bursts of earthy fragrance.
At this time, the bone-chilling north wind has dissipated. Although the air is slightly cool, it is already possible to take off the cotton-padded clothes.
Outside the house, the rain drizzles. Since the first day of the second month, the entire northern region has been shrouded in misty rain.
Zhang Chen stood in the house, striking a pose. An incense burner in front of him slowly emitted wisps of purple smoke, filling the entire house with a faint sandalwood fragrance.
After a long while, Zhang Chen picked up a knife and carefully practiced the martial arts techniques he had obtained from the Wuzhuang Temple, pondering the routines of assassination techniques. Of course, the Wuzhuang Temple did not lack martial arts techniques. Zhang Chen was pondering a set of saber techniques called: "Eighteen Chasing Wind Slashes." The name was ordinary, and the saber techniques were also ordinary, but they incorporated all the basic saber techniques, moves, and stances in the world, making it an excellent saber technique for basic entry.
After a long while, Zhang Chen put away his stance, then sheathed his long saber. His eyes looked out at the spring rain outside the door, and a hint of thought appeared in his eyes: "The day for the Pacifying Border King to transform into a dragon will probably have to be postponed. Although the second day of the second month in the northern region is suitable for dragon transformation due to the revival of earth energy, it is also limited by the weather. It still lacks a bit of heat to gather a heavy rain."
To transform into a dragon, there must be enough water. Now the world in the northern region is still cold, and it is not very suitable for the flow of water.
"To transform into a dragon, the right timing, favorable location, and harmony among people are essential! Now the earth vein dragon energy is rising and recovering, and the favorable location is already in place. As for the harmony among people, it can barely be considered adequate. It's a pity that the timing is a bit off. The northern region is too bitterly cold. If there is a heavy rain, although it will be rain during the day, it will condense into ice at night. The water vapor in the world is not active, so it is not suitable for dragon transformation. Transforming into a dragon at this time will require twice the effort!" Zhang Chen had a clear idea in his mind. Now he was comprehending the five elements of heaven and earth, and he had some of his own insights into the cycle of the five elements, and he also had some experience in deducing the natural changes in the world.
"However, the sudden rain in the drought-stricken northern region is indeed a fortunate thing for the people living in the drought. The chances of the people surviving the drought have increased a bit!" Zhang Chen pondered to himself.
Zhang Chen's days were still carefree. He was not afraid of the Pacifying Border King Zhang Shicheng delaying time, because for him, delaying time was beneficial. He had not yet figured out how to make the Pacifying Border King and the Yellow Sky Dao turn against each other, let alone how to profit from the chaos.
The drizzle continued for seven days. When it came to the seventh day of the second month, Chen Xu came to Zhang Chen's courtyard again.
At this time, Zhang Chen was sitting in front of the window reading a book. Seeing Chen Xu rushing over, a hint of surprise appeared in his eyes: "Why are you here?"
Chen Xu shook off the drizzle sticking to his clothes and walked into the house, lowering his voice and saying to Zhang Chen: "Big discovery!"
"What discovery?" Zhang Chen put down the book and immediately became energetic.
"In recent days, the geomantic omen of the Pacifying Border King's ancestral tomb has been fluctuating fiercely. I have finally found some mysteries. The aura in the Pacifying Border King's ancestral tomb is somewhat similar to the aura in your courtyard," Chen Xu said with a smile.
Zhang Chen knew what Chen Xu meant by the similar aura in the courtyard. The aura referred to the aura of the Ascension Pool.
"A flaw has appeared in the geomantic omen formation of the Pacifying Border King's ancestral tomb, and I have seized it. I discovered a passage. Auspicious light flows in that passage. I originally wanted to go over to investigate, but I was blocked by a perilous obstacle," Chen Xu said to Zhang Chen with a meaningful tone: "In the past, an object fell from the Immortal Realm. At that time, the aura had not been concealed. I once saw that aura with my own eyes, and it is exactly the same as the aura in the Pacifying Border King's ancestral tomb."
Zhang Chen's pupils shrank when he heard this. He knew too well what Chen Xu meant by 'the aura is exactly the same.' That so-called auspicious light must be the light brought by the Ascension Pool.
"Do you want to do something big?" Chen Xu looked at Zhang Chen with a smile. Although it was a questioning tone, he knew very well in his heart that with his understanding of Zhang Chen, this kid would never let go of the opportunity.
Zhang Chen did not immediately answer Chen Xu's words, but stood in front of the window and looked at the misty rain in the sky, constantly weighing the gains and losses in his heart. His purpose in staying in the Helu Temple now was to absorb the energy of the Ascension Pool, but now that the Pacifying Border King Zhang Shicheng was about to transform into a dragon, it was not very meaningful for him to continue staying in the Daoist temple. It would be better to find an opportunity to approach the Ascension Pool and attack the Ascension Pool first.
The reason why Zhang Chen did not attack the Ascension Pool before was because the dragon veins in the northern region prohibited all magic, and Zhang Shicheng's dragon soul was hidden within it. If he dared to escape into the earth veins, he would definitely alarm Zhang Shicheng. And if he did not use escape techniques, he would not be able to sneak in.
But now that Chen Xu had actually dug out a path leading to the Ascension Pool, how could Zhang Chen refuse such a god-given opportunity?
However, there was still a problem at hand, which was that his sudden departure from the Helu Temple would definitely attract the pursuit of the Yellow Sky Dao and the Pacifying Border King's Mansion. But now that it was time to overturn the table, who would care about that much?
"Let's go take a look!" Zhang Chen made a decisive decision.
He was a decisive person, and since he had already decided to tear his face with the Yellow Sky Dao and the Pacifying Border King's Mansion, why would he worry about so much?
"How are you going to go? There are armies of the Pacifying Border King's Mansion guarding outside, and there are gods watching," Chen Xu asked.
"Can a mere ant keep an eye on me?" A hint of smugness appeared in Zhang Chen's voice, and then he chanted a mantra in his heart, pinched a hand seal, and directly transformed into a wisp of energy and disappeared into the soil.
"Good technique!" Chen Xu's pupils shrank when he saw Zhang Chen's escape technique, and he praised, then transformed into a small snake as thick as chopsticks and quietly sneaked out.
No one knew that the Helu Temple was already empty.
It was not until three days later that the puzzled Fifth or Sixth Master came to check the geomantic omen formation of the Helu Temple again. The Fifth or Sixth Master stood outside the gate and knocked for a long time. After seeing that there was no response, a bad feeling rose in his heart: "Go, jump in and open the door."
The guard obeyed the order and went directly over the wall, then opened the door. The Fifth or Sixth Master quickly walked towards the backyard of the Daoist temple, anxiously calling out: "Zhang Chen! Where are you, kid?"
As soon as he entered the Daoist temple, the Fifth or Sixth Master had already noticed something was wrong. The geomantic omen formation had stopped! The aura of the geomantic omen formation had been cut off.
"How could this be?" The Fifth or Sixth Master panicked even more and rushed straight to the backyard of the Daoist temple, anxiously shouting: "Zhang Chen! Where are you, kid?"
The Fifth or Sixth Master walked through Zhang Chen's study, kitchen, and all the rooms. Looking at the empty Daoist temple, the whole person was immediately flustered. He quickly summoned his subordinates and asked them: "Where is Zhang Chen? Why is Zhang Chen gone?"
The general heard the words and looked puzzled: "Reporting to the master, Zhang Chen has always been in the Daoist temple and has never gone out."
"Are you sure he has never gone out?" The Fifth or Sixth Master asked again.
"Even a mosquito can't fly out from under our noses," the general's voice was full of certainty.
"But where is Zhang Chen? If he is not in the Daoist temple, where did he go?" The Fifth or Sixth Master took a deep breath and ordered everyone to search again, but after searching for a circle, there was still no trace of Zhang Chen. At this point, the Fifth or Sixth Master was already certain that Zhang Chen had indeed disappeared in the Helu Temple.
So he quickly sent a message to Huangli Temple, sending a document to Huangli Temple to inquire.
Zhang Chen's disappearance made the Fifth or Sixth Master nervous. He knew clearly that this kid was not an easy lamp. Now that he had slipped away from his sight, once he was out of the scope of supervision, he would cause a lot of trouble in the future.
Zhang Chen did not know the panic in the Fifth or Sixth Master's heart, but slowly appeared at the ancestral tomb of the Pacifying Border King, revealing his traces under a centuries-old tree outside his ancestral tomb, quietly observing the aura of the ancestral tomb of the Pacifying Border King's Mansion. He saw that the aura of the ancestral tomb of the Pacifying Border King's Mansion at this time was red with a trace of purple, and began to change towards an unknown direction.
Not far from the ancestral tomb of the Pacifying Border King's Mansion, there was a thatched cottage. Smoke and fire rose in the thatched cottage, apparently the tomb keeper was making a fire to cook.
The drizzle in the air fell on Zhang Chen's shoulders. He saw the aura flowing around Zhang Chen, and all the water flow automatically slid down three feet away from Zhang Chen.
Zhang Chen waited for a full hour before seeing Chen Xu's figure sneaking out of the misty rain, waving to Zhang Chen: "Come with me, I have already found the flaw in the geomantic omen formation. We only need to drill in along this flaw and we will not cause any movement."
So Zhang Chen followed Chen Xu through the wind and rain, and finally came to an inconspicuous mouse hole.
"Why did you bring me to the mouse hole? Don't you want me to drill in from the mouse hole?" Zhang Chen said unhappily.
"The deepest part of the tomb is through this mouse hole," Chen Xu said to Zhang Chen. He had no intention of joking, his voice was full of solemnity: "I can turn into a snake and drill in from this mouse hole, what about you?"
He saw Zhang Chen's previous escape technique and felt that it should not be difficult for Zhang Chen.
"You just lead the way in front, I naturally have a way to get in," Zhang Chen said.
Chen Xu did not talk nonsense, and saw his body twist, directly turning into a snake as thick as chopsticks, and drilling into the mouse hole. Zhang Chen's body turned into a drop of water, and he saw the water droplets rolling, closely following behind.
Chen Xu turned his head and glanced at the water flow transformed by Zhang Chen, a look of astonishment appeared in his eyes. He still underestimated Zhang Chen, Zhang Chen's methods once again exceeded his imagination.
The two drilled in the mouse hole for half an hour, and then came to the depths of the tomb. They saw that the tomb was brightly lit with pearls, illuminating the entire tomb without being dim. Various murals were painted on the walls of the tomb, as if recording the deeds of the Pacifying Border Kings of past generations.