The day after Lu Chen slipped back to Wuzhuang Temple, Zhen Yuanzi summoned him beneath the Ginseng Fruit Tree.
"You little rascal, what good deed have you done this time?" Zhen Yuanzi asked, pushing a cup of tea toward him without changing expression. "Word came from the Lunar Star. Changxi sent a message thanking you for sparing her last time, and for giving her two bottles of Three Lights Divine Water to heal her wounds."
Lu Chen took the tea and grinned. "Senior, don't make it sound so bad. I was simply being compassionate and cherishing beauty."
"Cherishing beauty?" Zhen Yuanzi raised an eyebrow. "Then how do you explain Changxi mentioning in her message that you left a 'Brick Mark' at the core of the Lunar Star, saying she could use it to call for help if she ever got into trouble?"
Lu Chen paused with his tea halfway to his lips.
Changxi... Why did she have to tell him everything?
"Ahem, let me explain, Senior." He set down his teacup and put on a solemn expression. "I did it for the sake of the Primordial World."
"Oh? And how does that serve the greater good?"
"Think about it." Lu Chen counted on his fingers. "The core of the Great Formation of the Stars is the Solar Star and the Lunar Star. Di Jun and Taiyi have the Solar Star locked down tight. Not even a needle could get in. But the Lunar Star is different. Changxi and Xihe may be Di Jun's wives, but they're kind by nature, and they're nothing like those bloodthirsty members of the Demon Clan."
He paused and lowered his voice. "When I went to Heaven's Court to steal the River Diagram and Luo Book last time, I saw a jade slip Changxi had left behind. She was worried about the future of the Demon Clan. That shows she isn't wholly devoted to them. So I left a mark as... a little contingency."
Zhen Yuanzi narrowed his eyes. "A contingency? Are you trying to turn the Lunar Star against them?"
"Not exactly." Lu Chen shook his head. "But when the Witch-Demon Decisive Battle reaches its critical moment, the Great Formation of the Stars will need the Lunar Star's full cooperation. If Changxi hesitates for just a moment, or makes a single 'mistake'... couldn't that change the course of the battle?"
Zhen Yuanzi fell silent.
After a long while, he finally spoke. "Lu Chen, you're playing with fire. If Di Jun catches on, Changxi will be as good as dead."
"That's why I made sure it was extremely well hidden," Lu Chen said earnestly. "The mark is concealed within the innate restrictions at the core of the Lunar Star. Unless a Saint searches carefully, nobody will find it. And I only gave Changxi permission to contact me one way. She can send me messages through the mark whenever she wants, but I can't contact her first, much less use the mark to control the Lunar Star."
It was a way out for Changxi, and a safeguard for him, too.
Zhen Yuanzi stared at Lu Chen for quite some time, then finally sighed. "Forget it. Do as you please. But Lu Chen, during a tribulation, karma entangles everything. The cause you set in motion today will surely bear fruit in the future. I hope you know what you're doing."
"I understand, Senior." Lu Chen cupped his hands.
After leaving the Ginseng Fruit Tree, Lu Chen didn't return to his lodgings. Instead, he used Brick Escape to travel to the Eastern Sea.
He was going to visit someone else: the little Golden Crow.
The little Golden Crow, born from Yuanfeng's sacrifice, had been hidden by Lu Chen deep within the Solar Star. It had been asleep for a hundred years.
The surface of the Solar Star was so hot that even Grand Unity Golden Immortals wouldn't dare approach lightly. But Lu Chen had the Morning Bell to protect him and the Chaos Brick to clear his path, so he could just barely make his way into the core.
Amid a sea of blazing Solar True Fire, he spotted a curled-up Three-legged Golden Crow.
The Golden Crow wasn't very large, only about ten feet long. Its feathers were golden all over, and Solar True Fire flowed across them. Its eyes were closed, and it appeared to be asleep, but the pressure radiating from its body had already reached the Peak Grand Unity Golden Immortal level!
"Wake up. Time to get up." Lu Chen tapped the Golden Crow on the head with the Chaos Brick.
"Gah?" The Golden Crow blinked groggily. When it saw Lu Chen, confusion flashed in its eyes before giving way to affection. "F-Father God?"
Its voice still had a childish lilt.
"How many times have I told you? Don't call me Father God. Call me big brother." Lu Chen rubbed its head. "How was your sleep? Nice and comfortable?"
"Very comfortable." The little Golden Crow rubbed against Lu Chen's hand. "I'm just a little hungry."
Lu Chen pulled a large handful of Solar Essence Crystals from the Qiankun Diagram. They were the essence naturally condensed by the Solar Star, a tremendous tonic for a Golden Crow.
The little Golden Crow swallowed them in one gulp and burped contentedly.
"By the way, there's something I need to tell you." Lu Chen crouched and looked seriously at the little Golden Crow. "Your father... Di Jun may be up to something big soon."
The little Golden Crow's eyes dimmed. "Is... is Di Jun going to war again?"
"Yeah." Lu Chen nodded. "The Witch-Demon Final Battle is just around the corner. The Great Formation of the Stars will be activated at full power, and it'll need an endless supply of energy from the Solar Star. Di Jun might draw on the Solar Star's origin to empower the formation. If he does, your hiding place won't be safe."
The little Golden Crow panicked. "What should I do?"
"Don't worry. I have a plan." Lu Chen took out a jade talisman and hung it around the Golden Crow's neck. "This is the Star Shifting Talisman. I deduced how to make it from the River Diagram and Luo Book. If Di Jun starts drawing on the Solar Star's origin, the talisman will activate automatically and send you to the Lunar Star. I've already spoken to Changxi. She'll protect you."
The little Golden Crow looked down at the talisman, gratitude flashing in its eyes. "Thank you, big brother."
"What's there to thank me for?" Lu Chen stood up. "Remember, no matter what happens, staying alive is what matters most. When you're strong enough, I'll take you away from the Primordial World and out into Chaos."
"Okay!" The little Golden Crow nodded firmly.
After settling the little Golden Crow, Lu Chen hurried back to the battlefield at Buzhou Mountain.
The Witch-Demon War was still raging, but it had reached a stalemate.
Both sides had suffered horrific casualties. Only nine of the Witch Clan's eleven Ancestral Witches remained—Qiangliang and Tianwu had fallen in the earlier fighting. Of the Demon Clan's ten Great Demons, six were dead, and more than half its soldiers had been lost.
Buzhou Mountain had become a sea of blood and corpses, with resentment rising to the heavens.
Lu Chen crouched on a secluded mountaintop, looking down at the devastation with a deep frown.
"This is taking too long..." he muttered. "At this rate, they could fight for another hundred years without a winner. Time to add a little something."
Hun Yuanzi floated beside him. "What does the true self have in mind?"
"Force Gonggong and Zhu Rong's breakthrough." A gleam appeared in Lu Chen's eyes. "They've been practicing that modified cultivation method for fifty years. It's time for their 'inner demons' to act up."
He pulled a black bell from the Qiankun Diagram. It was a replica of the Heavenly Demon Heart Bell from Luohu's treasury, made specifically to stir up inner demons.
"Go. Find an opportunity to 'lose' this bell near the cave where Gonggong and Zhu Rong are cultivating in seclusion." Lu Chen handed it to Hun Yuanzi. "Make it look natural, like you dropped it by accident."
Hun Yuanzi took the bell and vanished in a wisp of green smoke.
Three days later.
Sure enough, a black bell "happened" to appear outside the cave where Gonggong and Zhu Rong were cultivating in seclusion.
Zhu Rong found it first. He picked it up and sensed the "Devil Dao laws" within. His brow furrowed. "This thing... It seems to resonate with the cultivation method we've been practicing."
Gonggong took it and examined it. Suddenly, his eyes lit up. "It's the Heavenly Demon Heart Bell! I've seen it mentioned in ancient texts. It can help someone break through the inner demon trial quickly. Our cultivation method has reached a bottleneck. Maybe this can help us break through in one go!"
Neither of them suspected anything. They took the bell back into the cave and began cultivating with its help.
What they didn't know was that Lu Chen had tampered with the bell. Once activated, instead of helping them break through, it would intensify their inner demons and drive them completely out of control.
Half a month later.
Two furious roars suddenly rang out from the cave!
"Dijiang! What gives you the right to keep me beneath you?"
"The Witch Clan needs a new leader!"
Gonggong and Zhu Rong burst out of the cave, their auras surging. Both had broken through to the Ancestral Witch peak! But their eyes were blood-red, filled with ferocity and madness.
Their inner demons had completely taken over.
The two charged out of the cave and headed straight for the center of the battlefield—not to attack the Demon Clan, but to charge at Dijiang, who was fighting Di Jun!
"Dijiang! Give up your position!"
Zhu Rong slashed at Dijiang's back!
The balance of the battlefield shifted in an instant.
Crouched on the mountaintop, Lu Chen watched the "brothers turning on each other" drama he had orchestrated and smirked.
"Go on, fight. The messier, the better."
He hoisted the brick onto his shoulder and set off for the edge of the battlefield to keep scavenging "junk."
The final chapter of the tribulation was finally reaching its climax.
And the one who had set it all in motion was already prepared with snacks and a seat, ready to enjoy the show.
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