CHAPTER 296: CHAPTER 66: 12TH-TIER MYSTERIOUS (PART 2)

Facing the wildly gesticulating Great Freedom Celestial Demon, Zhang Chen sighed quietly, "Do you think it’s possible that this Nine Bends Yellow River Talisman Array was actually cultivated by me?"

The smile on the Great Freedom Celestial Demon’s face froze, then he reacted, "Impossible! First of all, you only obtained one of the three hundred sixty-five runes, not to mention the Yellow Springs water which you have no way of finding. Moreover, to successfully cultivate this grand array, you would need at least a Twelfth Tier being. Although you have some skills... tsk tsk, but it’s not that this ancestor is underestimating you, you’re not worthy!"

The Great Freedom Celestial Demon snapped back to his senses and began to mock Zhang Chen.

Then Zhang Chen controlled the Nine Bends Yellow River Talisman Array. A mysterious force pressed down on the Great Freedom Celestial Demon, who immediately changed his expression, his eyes fixated on Zhang Chen. Despite Zhang Chen standing within the Nine Bends Yellow River Talisman Array, the array couldn’t harm him in the slightest.

"How is this possible!" The Great Freedom Celestial Demon’s mind went blank, his eyes filled with disbelief.

"You mentioned just a single page of talismans... have you ever thought that the book actually contains three hundred sixty-five talismans, and if you remove the five runes including the Invisibility Rune, there are exactly three hundred sixty left." Zhang Chen said with a smile.

"Even if the book indeed has a complete set of talismans, how could you have accomplished this in just a few days? Not to mention crafting the runes, mastering even a single rune’s essence should be impossible, right?" The Great Freedom Celestial Demon’s voice was still full of disbelief, "Could it be that you’ve mastered some Illusion Technique to fool me?"

Zhang Chen ignored the deranged Great Freedom Celestial Demon and asked, "Do you know how to subdue the Mysterious? I heard that the Mysterious in this world actively seek their owners, is there a way for one to actively subdue the Mysterious?"

Zhang Chen did not think the Twelfth Tier Mysterious would automatically recognize ownership, because he had come to the stone cave many times, and just now he had personally made close contact. If the Twelfth Tier Mysterious truly recognized ownership actively, it would have already been mastered by him.

The Great Freedom Celestial Demon was somewhat befuddled, staring blankly at the Nine Bends Yellow River Talisman Array before him, seemingly not yet awakened from his shock, until Zhang Chen spoke again, then the Great Freedom Celestial Demon said, "Regarding the Mysterious recognizing ownership, theoretically, that’s indeed how it is, but you are different. You are a special existence; you have Magical Power, which nourishes and nurtures any Mysterious. You just need to inject your Magical Power into the Mysterious, it won’t resist your Magical Power. You just need to leave your mark in the Mysterious at the right moment, and it’s as good as recognized. Thereafter, you just need to continually use Magical Power to nurture and refine it daily, and the Mysterious can naturally be used by you, gradually mastered by you."

"Is it really that simple?" Zhang Chen’s eyes were full of disbelief, never expecting the matter to be so straightforward.

"Simple? What’s simple about this? You must understand, since ancient times, only you have been able to cultivate Magical Power." Said the Great Freedom Celestial Demon.

"So what exactly is the Mysterious?" Zhang Chen asked.

"The essence of the Law of Heaven and Earth condenses to form the Mysterious. Thus, the Mysterious would carry the power of the Law of Heaven and Earth, allowing one to master incredible Divine Techniques. However, you must know the cycle of the Heavenly Dao involves increase and decrease. Creatures in this world utilize the Mysterious, but without the nourishment of Magical Power, each use of the Mysterious Power results in power loss. Hence, the Mysterious has to consume the life force of creatures to sustain itself. But every creature’s life force is mixed with their Essence, Qi, and Spirit, which, after several generations, would taint the purity of the essence of the Law of Heaven and Earth with its muddled composition. The lifespan of creatures becomes a poison that the Mysterious must drink. Thus, the power of the Mysterious declines generation by generation and ultimately dissipates. Of course, some Mysterious have developed intelligence while absorbing the lifespans of creatures, and that’s something remarkable. You should be cautious if you encounter one." The Great Freedom Celestial Demon casually replied to Zhang Chen, his eyes fixated on the Nine Bends Yellow River Talisman Array as if pondering something.

"How do I leave a mark in the Mysterious?" Zhang Chen inquired.

"That’s actually simple too, transmit a thread of your Essence, Qi, and Spirit through your Magical Power, and that’s leaving a mark. Later, you need to infiltrate your Essence, Qi, and Spirit mixed with Magical Power into the Mysterious, like sprinkling sand." The Great Freedom Celestial Demon said.

"I understand, you may return." Zhang Chen held a bottle in his palm, his eyes looking at the Great Freedom Celestial Demon.

The Great Freedom Celestial Demon turned his head, his eyes intensely locked on Zhang Chen, filled with disbelief, "Kid, did you really cultivate this Nine Bends Yellow River Talisman Array yourself?"

"Cultivated it myself." Zhang Chen said proudly.

How could his heart not be filled with joy seeing this old creature Great Freedom Celestial Demon so thwarted?

Ecstatic to the extreme.

The Great Freedom Celestial Demon took a deep breath upon hearing these words, gave Zhang Chen a deep look, then another glance at the Nine Bends Yellow River Talisman Array, before turning into black smoke and returning to the bottle.

Zhang Chen put away the bottle, then looked at the Twelfth Tier Mysterious, contemplating, "Next is to infuse it with Magical Power."

Zhang Chen’s form transformed into water flow, flowing once again into the stone chamber, then morphing into mist, hovering close to the bead, circling around it, then slowly drawing near, finally clinging to it like dew, with Magical Power circulating inside, pouring into the bead.

In his mist form, Zhang Chen could manipulate Magical Power, after all, his Magical Power could also drive skills, couldn’t it?

As Magical Power flowed into the bead, a thread of Zhang Chen’s Essence, Qi, and Spirit imbued within it, poured into the bead, and suddenly Zhang Chen felt a faint sense of connection with the bead. Then, in a flash of light, he found himself inside a vast and mysterious world where countless chains intersected, forming intricate, indescribable chains of order.

Looking closely, weren’t those chains? They were clearly countless runes linked together, forming an immensely large net of order.

At a glance, the order net was densely packed, immeasurable in number, likely reaching billions.

But on the countless order nets, was a covering of mixed auras, making the originally bright chains seem polluted, its brilliance turning obscure and dim.

"That must be the Essence, Qi, and Spirit of the previous owners of this bead, but the Essence, Qi, and Spirit from those owners didn’t cover many chains, just a scant three." Zhang Chen surmised, "Perhaps a few tainted chains mean this Mysterious has gone through several owners."

The next moment, the external mist gathered, transforming into Zhang Chen’s form, while at the same time the bead’s light gradually gathered, becoming an earthen-colored bead. Its material was like jade, engraved with intricate symbols and lines, appearing extraordinary.

"Does this treasure have no name?" Zhang Chen stretched out his hand to take the bead, musing.

The bead now recognized its owner, its Divine Power already internalized, and as for the potential power it could wield in the future, it depended on Zhang Chen’s intimacy in sacrificial refining the bead.

Ordinary people, without Magical Power, upon being recognized by the Mysterious, would gradually increase its power as their integration with the Mysterious enhanced, progressing from the first tier to the peak of the Mysterious level.

For instance, the Fox Spirit’s Seventh Tier Mysterious, if the Fox Spirit relied solely on developing the Mysterious, its future limit would be the Mysterious’s limit, which is the Seventh Tier.

Zhang Chen’s Twelfth Tier Mysterious, once recognized and integrated, its owner’s future limit would be the Twelfth Tier.

And with Zhang Chen relying on Magical Power to sacrificially refine, how many tiers it can exert depends on Zhang Chen’s refining speed.