Chapter 1160 - 788: The Tree of Life Coffin Revealed

Zhang Chen watched Chen San’s distant figure, his eyes revealing a touch of inexplicable sentiment. He felt that Chen Sanliang was a complex person, showcasing the complexities of humanity impeccably. Yet it was precisely because of this that Chen Sanliang appeared as a person, not a lofty deity or a puppet on the path of cultivation.

"I hope Chen Sanliang’s return will enable more people to survive." Zhang Chen could only silently hope in his heart.

Then, Zhang Chen stayed in Marquis Wen’s territory for seven or eight days, watching the Dragon Tiger Escort Agency team continue on their journey, and Chen Ping remained unobtrusively in the team. However, there was a team of refugees who hired a wagon to carry their coffins, accompanying the large group into the distance.

That night

As the escort agency team set off again, Zhang Chen summoned the Fox Immortal Nannan: "Did you find anything while monitoring Chen Ping these few days?"

The Fox Immortal Nannan reported: "You instructed me to monitor Chen Ping, yet there were no abnormalities in Chen Ping."

"How is that possible? If we continue southward, we will be moving further away from Jinling City. How could Chen Ping remain inactive? Could it be you were distracted, wandering around and missing important information that ruined my major plans?" Zhang Chen questioned the Fox Spirit, suspecting it to be unreliable.

Upon hearing Zhang Chen’s words, the Fox Immortal Nannan was immediately displeased: "You can doubt my strength, but you cannot question my ability to get things done."

The Fox Immortal Nannan refuted Zhang Chen’s words.

"Strange, it shouldn’t be!" Zhang Chen’s eyes revealed disbelief. Chen Ping acquired the Tree of Life Coffin, and the Dragon Tiger Escort Agency’s transporting it was information revealed by Huang Chao personally, without error. Could Huang Chao be mistaken? Given Huang Chao’s abilities, how could he err?

Feeling incredulous, Zhang Chen instantly performed an escape technique, disappearing from the courtyard, and quickly caught up with the main body of the Dragon Tiger Escort Agency.

The situation was indeed as Zhang Chen anticipated; the Dragon Tiger Escort Agency’s large group was proceeding normally, moving along the official road, followed by tens of thousands of refugees heading toward Kyoto.

Scanning the entire escort agency team, Zhang Chen’s gaze shifted to the refugee group further away. In an instant, his body dispersed into countless Vampire Bats, silently weaving through the crowd in the night sky, before gathering as Qi Blood, reforming into Zhang Chen’s form: "Not there? It shouldn’t be, if Chen Ping is truly leaving the Northern Land, intending to escort the Tree of Life Coffin to the Northern Land, how could he not bring the Tree of Life Coffin? The escort agency’s journey to Kyoto is due to Dugu Qiu’s past promise; if they deliver the Tree of Life Coffin into Kyoto, they would gain Dugu Qiu’s support to establish a new escort agency in Kyoto. Hence, if Chen Ping is actually heading to Kyoto to seek out Dugu Qiu, he must bring the Tree of Life Coffin; the coffin is a crucial bargaining chip for rebuilding the escort agency."

"It’s not among the escort agency’s main group. Could there be a possibility that the Tree of Life Coffin is hidden among the refugees?" Zhang Chen’s eyes showed a thoughtful look; he wasn’t a fool. Since refining his Primordial Spirit, his thought processes were clear, and he had a unique perspective on evaluating situations.

After a brief contemplation, Zhang Chen directly ascended to the Extreme Realm, allowing the Law of Life to flow, entering the Dao Fruit’s realm, then carefully sensing the entire refugee group. In the next moment, he withdrew the Heaven-Reaching Jianmu, descended from the Fruit Position realm, eyes gazing into the distance, his form flickered and vanished.

Upon reappearing, he stood outside a refugee camp, watching the campfire flicker within the tent from afar, his gaze landing on a nearby simple shed, within which stood a wagon bearing a large box.

Zhang Chen’s gaze fell upon the box, a look of contemplation flashed in his eyes.

The box itself wasn’t odd; what was peculiar was this journey’s refugees all carried little luggage, so how could they have such a particularly large box with them?

"Well done, Chen Ping! I really underestimated you. If not for my mastery of the Law of Life, instantly stepping into the Fruit Position realm, I truly wouldn’t have sensed the Tree of Life Coffin hidden like this. Who would have thought to conceal a treasure among the refugees? Chen Ping must have sensed that the Gong Family people wouldn’t spare him, undoubtedly keeping a secret watch on him." Zhang Chen’s thoughts flowed rapidly, quickly deducing numerous causes and effects:

"Perhaps Chen Ping placed the Tree of Life Coffin in Jinling City long ago, then during Jinling City’s fall, joined the crowd and left."

Numerous thoughts flashed within Zhang Chen’s mind as his gaze swept over the refugee group, appearing as ordinary landlords, not noticeable amidst the crowd. Yet upon closer inspection, there were thirty strong men vaguely surrounding the large box, protecting it from all sides, including seven or eight Martial Dao strong persons who refined their Qi Blood.

That Chen Ping had Martial Dao strong persons under his command did not surprise Zhang Chen. Numerous Martial Artists had drunk Demon Beast blood during the siege, breaking through the Martial Dao Qi Blood was not too difficult.

The team only had Martial Dao Qi Blood strong persons, as for those with Divine Techniques using Bloodline Power, none were present. Zhang Chen directly performed an escape technique, sticking an Invisibility Rune as he approached the simple shed without attracting any attention.

As Zhang Chen approached, his Authority of Wood Element finally sensed the aura of the Tree of Life Coffin.

"Dugu Qiu truly deserves to be a Yang God Level expert of the Great Victory Dynasty, actually using the power of Divine Artifact Judgment to subdue the aura emanating from the Tree of Life Coffin. If not for my Authority of Wood Element, even if I stood before this wooden box, sensing its aura would be challenging," Zhang Chen’s eyes revealed a hint of astonishment.

He felt the aura of judgment inside the wooden box, it was this aura of judgment that completely suppressed the Tree of Life Coffin.

"Could it be that the Divine Artifact Judgment is inside the Tree of Life Coffin? Only a Twelfth Tier mysterious item could suppress the aura of the Tree of Life Coffin and prevent it from leaking out." A thought flashed through Zhang Chen’s mind.

Zhang Chen harbored some suspicions, suspecting that Dugu Qiu also left the Judgment here to use it to suppress the aura of the Tree of Life Coffin.

However, Zhang Chen did not act rashly. In case the Judgment was indeed inside the wooden box, opening it might trigger the Judgment, which would inevitably cause a big disturbance, alarming strong individuals from all corners of the world.

After confirming that the wooden box before him concealed the Tree of Life Coffin, Zhang Chen couldn’t help but recall many things from the past; the unclear confusions he had were all answered at this moment.

Why do you think the Demon Race rampaged without intervention from the Great Victory Dynasty? When Jinling City fell, the Great Victory Dynasty stood by idly?

The Great Victory Dynasty possessed three Twelfth Tier mysterious items, one to restrain the Peacock Ancestor, another to guard the Imperial Palace, and a third to guard the Tree of Life Coffin, which wasn’t impossible.

After all, the Tree of Life Coffin involved extending lifespan, which was as important as any treasure to the nobility of the Great Victory Dynasty.

Many old folks of the Great Victory royalty were waiting for the Tree of Life Coffin to extend their lives.

After pondering for a moment, Zhang Chen ultimately chose to retreat. Such matters should be left to the Gong Family, as he would never make an appearance.

Zhang Chen quietly withdrew, traveling to a desolate place, contemplating how to inform Gong Hei about the Tree of Life Coffin.

Though Gong Hei had been possessed by the Blood God Child, he still retained his consciousness, while the Blood God Child subtly influenced his decisions. In the upcoming conflicts, Zhang Chen wanted Gong Hei to use the Gong Family’s Divine Techniques, which could better frame the Gong Family.

The Gong Family had been his old rival, and if an opportunity arose to deal a fatal blow and put the blame on them, Zhang Chen wouldn’t mind at all.

"How can I deliver this message to Gong Hei?" Zhang Chen’s thoughts flowed as he pondered for a while, yet couldn’t come up with a suitable plan, as Gong Hei wasn’t a fool. If his hint was too deliberate, it would alert Gong Hei and make him cautious.

However, after a moment of thought, Zhang Chen indeed came up with a good method.

Zhang Chen sensed the location of the Blood God Child, and in the next moment, he perceived the Gong Family’s camp, where a group disguised as refugees shadowed the Dragon Tiger Escort Agency from afar.

Zhang Chen flicked his fingers, releasing a drop of the Blood God Child, which possessed a nondescript disciple of the Gong Family.

If he reminded Gong Hei directly, it would cause Gong Hei to be secretly cautious, but if someone from the Gong Family accidentally discovered the Tree of Life Coffin’s traces, it could perfectly cover all tracks.

However, there was no rush to this matter, as haste could easily lead to mistakes.

After the Blood God Child possessed that Gong Family disciple, it quietly lay dormant. Three days later, the disciple, along with another person, walked among the crowd, and under the disciple’s guidance, deliberately drifted away from the main group, coincidentally discovering that huge box.

The two stood at a distance, watching from afar, and the Blood God Child teased the disciple seamlessly, "This box is really odd; who flees with such a large box? I think this box is almost as big as a coffin."

That other disciple of the Gong Family scrutinized it, saying, "This box sure is oddly large, bigger than our target. We could imitate this, find the target, and then transport it in a large box... a large box... to transport?"

The Gong Family disciple paused, then turned to look at the Blood God Child, whose eyes lit up, "A strange large box, and such a coincidence... If the Tree of Life Coffin is hidden inside, it would make sense, right? After all, Chen Ping hasn’t taken action all this time. If he indeed left the Northern Land or Jiangnan, he would definitely transport the Tree of Life Coffin and not leave it in Demon Race territory."

The other person’s eyes immediately brightened, "Let’s go, hurry back to report to the Ancestor."