Chapter 1103 - 731: Did Another Layer Grow on the Exquisite Tower?

What did Zhang Chen see?

He saw the Exquisite Tower!

Originally, it wasn’t strange for him to see the Exquisite Tower, but the strange thing was that the tower had suddenly grown another layer.

Originally, the Exquisite Tower had only twelve layers, but now, inexplicably, it had grown an extra layer, doesn’t that seem odd?

"One, two, three... twelve, thirteen, it is indeed thirteen layers. Has the Exquisite Tower really grown another one?" Zhang Chen’s eyes were full of confusion.

The Exquisite Tower is an Innate Spiritual Treasure, not a living thing, how could it inexplicably grow another layer?

"This shouldn’t be!" Zhang Chen’s eyes were full of astonishment.

"Well done, Zhou Qiucheng. He has grasped the essence of Incense Faith, and after turning the Exquisite Tower into a Divine Dao Magical Artifact, he has used the Power of Incense to repair the tower, and even succeeded. Given continued efforts, the complete Exquisite Tower will eventually be restored, and by then his strength will break through from the Eleventh Tier to the Twelfth Tier, becoming the fourth Sea Calming Force of the Great Victory Dynasty," exclaimed the Great Freedom Celestial Demon.

"Does the Power of Incense have this kind of effect?" Zhang Chen’s eyes were filled with surprise.

"Since the Exquisite Tower has been transformed into an Incense Fire Divine Artifact, naturally it follows the laws of Divine Dao. Do not be deceived by the fact that the Exquisite Tower has only grown one layer. Zhou Qiucheng’s strength is now far greater than before," said the Great Freedom Celestial Demon.

"Indeed, the Divine Dao is immeasurably wondrous." Zhang Chen praised: "Now that the power of Zhou Qiucheng’s Exquisite Tower has greatly increased, how does it compare to Chen Sanliang?" Zhang Chen inquired.

The Great Freedom Celestial Demon shook his head: "Chen Sanliang is the Ancestral Master who founded the Daoist lineage, undefeated in the Eleventh Tier against any peer, unless Zhou Qiucheng restores the complete Exquisite Tower and steps into the Twelfth Tier to force Chen Sanliang back."

Zhang Chen heard this and his pupils narrowed: "Chen Sanliang is indeed this strong?"

He noticed that the Great Freedom Celestial Demon spoke of pushing back, rather than defeating, suppressing, or slaying.

"He founded a great Dao, and countless beings walking upon it add strength to it, allowing Chen Sanliang to draw from every source of its power. Do you think he’s strong or not?" The Great Freedom Celestial Demon sighed deeply, his voice full of emotion.

"Gathering the strength of all beings is undeniably powerful." Zhang Chen nodded in agreement.

"What I’m worried about now is Zhou Qiucheng. The more Power of Incense this guy gathers, the greater the incense poison becomes. If it all feeds that bodily form of mine, who knows what trouble it might cause?" said the Great Freedom Celestial Demon.

"Don’t worry. I’ve now got some ideas on handling that body of yours. Don’t be anxious; once I’m ready, we’ll face the Demon," Zhang Chen comforted the Great Freedom Celestial Demon.

At this time, divine radiance flowed within Jinling City, attracting various powerful figures to secretly observe, while the people of Jinling City’s Earth Realm were all kneeling down, continuously bowing, as though worshiping a Divine Spirit, with prayers echoing throughout Heaven and Earth.

"Zhou Qiucheng has remarkable skills." Zhang Chen privately admired, setting down his wine cup and rising: "Time to go home and sleep."

Zhou Qiucheng’s strength was overwhelming, and Zhang Chen was genuinely pleased for him, especially since Zhou Qiucheng had shielded him from Yellow Heaven Dao’s Zhao Lie and others before, though Zhou Qiucheng had his own motives, Zhang Chen still felt indebted and grateful.

Zhang Chen returned home to wash away the scent of wine, took a rare day off for himself.

The next day, Zhang Chen continued his bricklaying, advancing his great undertaking, diligently working like a busy bee.

On the third day, there came a knocking at the door, and a familiar figure appeared outside—it was Huang Chao.

"You actually learned to knock today." Zhang Chen opened the door and saw that the knocker was Huang Chao, a look of surprise on his face.

Huang Chao, triumphant, raised the book in his hand: "I’ve been reading these few days, and I’ve come to understand a bit of the Dao of ’rites’. In the past, I was too discourteous. Now that I understand the reason, I certainly shouldn’t continue with discourteous acts."

Zhang Chen looked at Huang Chao in astonishment: "You’ve certainly learned well."

The two walked into the courtyard, where Huang Chao, following behind Zhang Chen, mysteriously said, "I’ve figured out the matter with the Dragon Tiger Escort Agency. It’s a big business transaction, are you in?"

"To be labeled a big business transaction by you, it certainly can’t be ordinary," Zhang Chen didn’t question Huang Chao’s capabilities, knowing this fellow’s transformations are endless, comparable to Sun Wukong, able to eavesdrop without fail.

Huang Chao being able to eavesdrop on the Dragon Tiger Escort Agency’s news did not surprise Zhang Chen at all.

However, what made Zhang Chen curious was, what kind of major business deal could possibly make Huang Chao so tempted?

It should be known that Huang Chao has now become a powerful individual holding countless lives in his hands, ordinary things would not catch his eye.

"Tree of Life Coffin!" Huang Chao said.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Chen’s pupils shrank, and he turned around abruptly, staring intently at Huang Chao: "Are you sure?"

The Tree of Life Coffin is not an ordinary tree; it is an Innate Heaven and Earth Spirit Root. If I use the Authority of Wood Element to make it root and sprout, equipping it to my Authority of Wood Element, could my Authority of Wood Element advance further?

"That old guy from the Gong Family said it himself," Huang Chao replied.

Hearing this, Zhang Chen asked puzzledly, "The Tree of Life Coffin disappeared in the Northern Land back then. No one knew its whereabouts except the Grand Steward. I never expected it to fall into the hands of the Dragon Tiger Escort Agency. How did they snatch the Tree of Life Coffin from the Grand Steward?"

"It wasn’t the Dragon Tiger Escort Agency that took it from Dugu Qiu, but Dugu Qiu secretly commissioned the escort agency to transport it. It took a lot of effort to secretly transport the Tree of Life Coffin from the Northern Land. Unfortunately, the news still got leaked, and the Gong Family targeted it, so the Gong Family began to secretly intervene and plot against the Dragon Tiger Escort Agency of the Chen Family. However, due to fear of attracting attention from Dragon Tiger Mountain, they did not dare to act too boldly, only infiltrating quietly," Huang Chao explained.

Hearing Huang Chao’s words, Zhang Chen was secretly surprised, never expecting Chen Ping to have such courage to take on the Tree of Life Coffin’s escort.

Seeing Zhang Chen’s reaction, Huang Chao realized that he was overthinking and explained, "Of course, the Dragon Tiger Escort Agency didn’t know the truth. Dugu Qiu sealed the Tree of Life Coffin, making it look like an ordinary coffin, and then used the pretext of transporting a relative’s body to commission the escort agency. The Dragon Tiger Escort Agency, unaware of the truth, gladly accepted the mission, while Dugu Qiu caused a stir outside to attract attention, accompanying it back to Kyoto. Many assumed the Tree of Life Coffin had already been sent to Kyoto by Dugu Qiu. Who would have thought such a precious treasure was being transported by an escort agency?"

"Later, the Gong Family accidentally got wind of the news, but feared alarming Dugu Qiu, the Great Victory Royal Family, and various powerful individuals, so they began to plot against the Dragon Tiger Escort Agency," Huang Chao said.

"I never expected such twists and turns. Could it be that the old leader of the Dragon Tiger Escort Agency was severely injured, and the other heirs suffered accidents, all at the hands of the Gong Family?" Zhang Chen pondered and asked.

"It was Chen An’s doing, the Gong Family merely gave him a push from behind. Once the Gong Family deposes Chen Ping and elevates Chen An, acquiring the Tree of Life Coffin would be a simple matter," Huang Chao explained. "Even if the Grand Steward investigates later, they can scapegoat the Dragon Tiger Escort Agency. Without solid evidence, the Grand Steward can’t shake the Gong Family."

"How strange!" Zhang Chen remarked.

"What’s so strange?" Huang Chao asked.

"Since the Gong Family has already made a move, why not advance quickly, instead allowing Chen Ping to hop around?" Zhang Chen was puzzled.

"First, Chen Ping has Dragon Tiger Mountain behind him, and the Gong Family doesn’t want to attract Dragon Tiger Mountain’s attention. Second, the whereabouts of the Tree of Life Coffin are only known to Chen Ping for now. That’s why the Gong Family is secretly plotting. By taking over the escort agency’s leadership, they can rely on the agency’s righteousness to have Chen Ping hand over his business, smoothly finding the Tree of Life Coffin," Huang Chao explained.

"There’s a flaw!" Zhang Chen interrupted Huang Chao, gazing keenly at him: "Since Chen Ping thinks that the coffin is just an ordinary casket, why would he hide it?"

"Wasn’t it just because the Demon Race startled the snake, there was a donkey demon among them that saw Chen Ping’s group, and thus pursued the escort agency. Chen Ping had no choice but to hide the coffin and escape. The escort agency’s people died, and Chen Ping’s bloodline was also absorbed by the donkey demon. If not for the Gong Family’s people secretly intervening to scare off the donkey demon, Chen Ping would have met his end. Now only Chen Ping knows the whereabouts of the Tree of Life Coffin, don’t you think the Gong Family would be furious?" Huang Chao said with a voice full of schadenfreude:

"It’s fate, the Gong Family tracked down the information about the Tree of Life Coffin, initially wanting to intercept it secretly, but who knew the donkey demon would startle the snake. Later, when the Gong Family wanted to probe the whereabouts of the Tree of Life Coffin, it instead alerted Chen Ping, making him unwilling to reveal any information."

"What exactly happened between them, the specific details are only known to the involved parties and the Gong Family. I’ve only heard a rough idea," Huang Chao’s eyes burned as he looked at Zhang Chen:

"Zhang, are we doing this job?"

"Of course we are, but how to do it requires careful planning," Zhang Chen said thoughtfully.

The Tree of Life Coffin was something Zhang Chen was determined to get, but he was contemplating how to extract Chen Ping, or maybe take out the Dragon Tiger Escort Agency, and frame the Gong Family in the process, that would be perfect.

Huang Chao knew of Zhang Chen’s abilities, he always believed that Zhang Chen was a man of great skills. Seeing Zhang Chen say he wanted to go big, he immediately perked up: "How do we do it?"

"Let’s first observe the situation with the Dragon Tiger Escort Agency. Now, with Zhou Qiucheng suppressing Jinling City, the Gong Family doesn’t dare to make too much commotion. We also don’t have the best opportunity to act. First, monitor all movements of the Gong Family and the Dragon Tiger Escort Agency closely, if anything happens, please be sure to inform me," Zhang Chen instructed carefully.

As for the matter concerning the Tree of Life Coffin, he could only strive to find a seamless opportunity, a chance to extract all associated parties and frame the Gong Family.