The Fairy: From the Traveling Merchant

Chapter 558 Five Paintings
After weighing the pros and cons, Zhao Chen rejected this possible way to quickly break the deadlock.

After all, the Meng family was not very friendly to him, the "heir of Joyful Bodhisattva". It would be so unfair if they arrested him and locked him up...

What's more, the girl from the Meng family who was going to marry Mu Zirong as a concubine was not from the direct line of the family, so they might not take her too seriously.

Shaking his head, Zhao Chen, who was sitting on the Six-Dragon Throne, stretched out his hand again and tapped the crown on his head. Then a delicate and pretty girl appeared in the hall below the steps. It was the "Yunxiao Golden Crow Crown", a magic crown.

Previously on the way to Zhangye, because an unknown strong man coveted the crown, the girl had been hiding in the "Big Sun Star Chariot" ever since, and has not had a chance to "go out" until now.

"My Lord, all is well." Upon seeing Zhao Chen, Bao Guan simply bowed, then ran up the steps, came to Zhao Chen, shook his arm and said coquettishly, "When can I go to Xuantian to play again?"

"It's not the right time yet." Zhao Chen enjoyed her closeness, but business was more important now. He took the "Eight Trigrams Mirror" from the table and handed it to Bao Guan, saying, "Help me 'calculate' what I will encounter tonight."

After obtaining the "Yunxiao Golden Crow Crown" and being granted the seventh-grade talisman, Zhao Chen can actively use the "Eight Trigrams Bright Light Mirror" to make calculations... But unfortunately, he has not yet learned any magic of divination, otherwise he would not need to rely on the spirit of the weapon in front of him.

Although the little girl Baoguan is not good at numerology, as a "Star Raft Accessory", she can communicate with the "Bagua Mingguang Mirror" to a certain extent and allow it to deduce on its own.

Seeing Zhao Chen's serious expression, Baoguan did not dare to be negligent. He took the bronze mirror in his hand, then closed his eyes and concentrated, falling into a mysterious state of silence.

After a moment, the little girl opened her eyes and said, "With its current authority, it can only deduce a few fragments... Sir, do you want to see it? The price is not cheap."

"How many star coins do you need?" Zhao Chen asked in a deep voice.

Although his star coins were almost reduced to zero after redeeming Wang Daoyi, not long ago, he sold all the various martial arts books that Zheng Qingyan had obtained from the Bai family in a family mission to Xingcha, and he finally had some assets again.

"One screen is 1000, and it can give a total of 5 screens, but there is no guarantee whether it will be useful to you."

5000 star coins... This is almost a quarter of his current wealth, but the remaining is enough to support a "Dongxuan" level of borrowing power.

After a brief consideration, Zhao Chen nodded and said, "Okay, I accept this price."

As he said that, he opened the "Jade Book" and paid.

As the balance of "Star Coins" was deducted, the several layers of compasses on the periphery of the "Bagua Mingguang Mirror" began to rotate rapidly, and the first picture on the mirror gradually took shape.

That was an aerial view of Xuancheng, with all the iconic buildings including the steam train station and Yuelai Inn. However, the color tone of the composition was extremely strange. Not only were the colors very mottled, but there was also an indescribable hazy feeling.

But before Zhao Chen could take a closer look, the picture disappeared, replaced by a night sky full of stars.

This night sky is not a normal night sky, but more like an oil painting, painted with mainly blue and black oil paints.

In the center of the night, there is a huge and deep crack. It looks ordinary, but it makes Zhao Chen feel creepy just by looking at it.

The next moment, the night faded away, and a relatively blurry shadow appeared on the surface of the "bronze mirror". It had fins, whiskers, wings and a tail, and looked like a big fish.

And because of the rapid switching between the two pictures, it seems as if the big fish jumped out from the crack in the night sky. I don’t know what the meaning is.

This fish also only appeared for a moment before disappearing completely. Immediately afterwards, a simple palace painting composed solely of lines appeared in front of Zhao Chen.

The shape of this palace looks quite ancient, but because it is too simple, Zhao Chen cannot be sure of the exact era it was built in.

“I don’t know if the calculated scene is in this style, or if the later the painting, the less information can be obtained, so it becomes so ‘abstract’…” ​​Before Zhao Chen could finish his complaint, the “palace painting” in the “Bagua Mingguang Mirror” collapsed. The messy lines seemed to be trying to combine into a portrait of a “person”, but several attempts failed until the several layers of compasses on the outer periphery of the bronze mirror stopped turning and the picture in the mirror completely disappeared.

"Is that all? The first few are fine, but the fifth picture didn't even take shape. I can only vaguely see that you wanted to draw a woman, and you charge me a thousand star coins?" Zhao Chen complained in his mind, but did not really ask Baoguan for it. After all, he knew that the "Bagua Mingguang Mirror" should have tried its best.

And the unfinished painting that appeared at the end did reveal some information -

The vaguely appearing figure was extremely similar to the feeling Zhao Chen had when he first saw the phantom of the True Lord "Mo Yun" summoned by the "Taishi Tianmo Qin" in Wuyou Cave!
In other words, he might encounter something related to the "Magic Cloud" ancestor tonight.

“That makes sense… As a great being who is only one step away from becoming a Dao Lord, the legacy of Master Moyun would naturally be coveted… The mastermind behind the incident in Xuancheng might be targeting her!

“Moreover, Baoguan said that Master Moyun was once acquainted with a ‘candidate’, and it was even because of that ‘candidate’ that he had the opportunity to go further… Could it be the so-called ‘Five-Power God’?

"But why did the 'Five-way God' become the current 'Golden Chamber Five-way Key'?
"In addition, from the previous few pictures, we can see that the situation in Xuancheng is not optimistic. Those colorful colors may indicate that the whole city will have problems... and the night sky has become unreal, and there are big fish jumping out...

“Speaking of which, what does the big fish portend?

"By the way, when I was reading Lin Feng's memory just now, those crazy villagers in Fenglin Village seemed to be muttering 'there are fish'.

"Could it be..."

Analyzing the five paintings obtained from the "Bagua Mingguang Mirror" and combining them with the existing intelligence, Zhao Chen gradually grasped a glimpse of the truth of the incident and finally had a strategy to deal with it.

Although it was just a direction and there was no specific plan, Zhao Chen felt that it was enough. Apart from the mastermind behind the scenes, he might be the person who had the most comprehensive grasp of the situation at this moment.

Moreover, each force has its own purpose, and even the most elaborate plans are bound to encounter unexpected events. It is better to grasp the direction while being able to adapt to circumstances.

"But in order to avoid suspicion, we still have to follow the original plan and find some helpers..."

Zhao Chen made up his mind and did not delay any longer. He disconnected his mind from the "Big Sun Star Raft" and returned to reality.

He first called a hired carriage to return to the inn. On the way, he could clearly feel that the driver and the pedestrians on the roadside all looked listless, as if they were extremely tired. But it was only morning, and it shouldn't be like this... One person might say that he didn't rest well last night, but it was abnormal for everyone to be like this.

"The power enveloping Xuancheng is slowly absorbing the energy of ordinary people? Why can't I feel it?" Zhao Chen's eyebrows frowned at first, but soon calmed down, because he had figured out the reason - it was not that these people's energy was absorbed, but that they were in a "charmed" state and were extremely excited. It was normal for them to be listless about other things.

If this continues, most people in the city will probably go home to sleep in the afternoon... Zhao Chen vaguely realized that this might be related to the abnormality that might come to Xuancheng. He had a few guesses, but he couldn't stop it.

After all, he still doesn't know who the mastermind is and where he is hiding.

If he was a genuine "Dharma-situation" real person, with "Dongxu Eye" becoming a magical power and even having a status bonus, he might be able to conduct a thorough investigation and prevent this disaster in advance, but unfortunately, he is a fake with only a few seconds of "Dongxuan" combat power and does not have this ability.

"Fortunately, the mastermind behind this doesn't seem to want to kill ordinary people in the city..." After sighing secretly, Zhao Chen got off the carriage at the door of the inn and quickly returned to his room.

Ming Xueling, Feng Wan, Ning Meng, Li Wei and other friends and subordinates quickly gathered around.

Zhao Chen didn't say much to them. He just emphasized the current dangerous situation in Xuancheng, and then took everyone except Ming Xueling into the palace inside the "Fengyun Heming Ring".

It’s not that he hadn’t thought about sending Ning Meng and the others out of Xuancheng. He could even leave calmly himself since he was not affected by the “charming” power anyway.

But considering that this matter was most likely "arranged", as the saying goes, you can't escape the fifteenth if you can't avoid it. Instead of being passively involved in various accidents, it is better to take the initiative and gain more benefits.

What's more, the "Heart Realm Ruins" corresponding to Fenglin Village was his original target, and it was very likely that it had shifted to the Heart Realm area corresponding to Xuancheng, which was inseparable from the changes that happened tonight, and he was unwilling to escape.

After everyone disappeared, Zhao Chen looked at Ming Xueling, who had a cool temperament and stunning appearance, and asked with a smile:

"I plan to seek help first. Do you know if there are any other experts in Xuancheng besides the Mu family?"

As for the Mu family, since no one stopped the wedding of Mu Zirong and the fairy from the Meng family, it means that no one can be trusted.

Seeing the question, Ming Xueling's eyes seemed to flash with light, and then he said in a pleasant but uneven voice: "Besides the Mu family, there are three people in Xuancheng who can help you, young master.

"The first is Chen Shang, who is worshipped by the county governor and is known as the 'Five Animals Old Man'.

"This person is from Liaozhou. Although he was born as a casual cultivator, he got the fragments of the outer sect skills of the Ten Thousand Beast Sect and created the "Five Animals Training Book". He eventually cultivated the fifth-grade magical power "Bird Transformation Technique", which can transform into five kinds of terrifying evil birds!

“But it’s a pity that I only got its form, not its meaning, otherwise it would definitely be a top-three magical power.”

"The Old Man of Five Animals" Chen Shang... Zhao Chen nodded slightly. He had heard of this person's name. His ranking in "Ganzhou Chronicles" was even lower than his own. It was said that he was a loner and did not like socializing, so his influence was limited.

“However, if he really had the ‘intention’ of a demon, and no one had ‘pardoned’ him, this ‘Five Animals Old Man’ would have transformed into a demon long ago, right?” Zhao Chen sighed, “Having only the ‘form’ without the ‘intention’ is probably the most suitable for a casual cultivator like Old Chen.”

Ming Xueling nodded, but did not comment, and continued:

"The second one is the owner of the 'Yue Lai Inn' in Xuancheng, the 'Three-Headed Swordsman' Su Hanshui.

“Although this person is the confidant of the King of Liang, he is from a branch of the Jizhou Su family and is learning the Demon Slaying Sword Technique from the Su family’s Foreign Affairs Hall.

"Although the name of this technique is vulgar, it can condense the fourth-grade magical power 'Three Heads and Six Arms'. Although Su Hanshui is only a ninth-level Gangsha cultivator, he has a magical instrument that can allow him to temporarily possess the state of the 'Three Heads and Six Arms' magical power."

This person can also be regarded as a supernatural power in a short period of time... When Zhao Chen was thinking, he heard Ming Xueling open his red lips again and said lightly: "Su Hanshui just came to me and wanted to join forces with us. I told him to wait for you to come back and talk."

"Actually, you can make the decision too." Zhao Chen responded with a smile.

When the other party is looking for a partner, the first choice will definitely be Ming Xue Ling, who has top-grade magical powers!
——In the eyes of outsiders, Ming Xue Ling is actually Duan Ming Xue.

After hearing what Zhao Chen said, Ming Xueling seemed a little confused. After all, in her past life, she always followed orders and rarely made decisions on her own.

But she didn't stay stunned for too long, and soon adjusted herself and spoke again: "The third one is the Pavilion Master of Xuancheng Huanxi Pavilion, 'Plum Blossom Fairy' Bai Nongmei."

"Huanxi Baoge?" Zhao Chen was a little surprised, because as far as he knew, Huanxi Baoge was a relatively high-end brothel in Ganzhou.

It was not because he had deliberately inquired about it, but because the advertisements of Huanxi Baoge were everywhere, and even the carriage he had just taken on the way back had its promotional posters.

Ming Xueling glanced at him with an ambiguous look, and then explained: "Although Huanxi Baoge is a brothel, there are actually no girls who actually sell their bodies inside.

"Because all the girls in the pavilion are essentially illusions created by magical instruments, but ordinary people and ordinary practitioners cannot see through them."

So in essence, those who go to Huanxibaoge for fun are just having a wet dream?

Zhao Chen understood in his heart that in Ming Xueling's heart, the Pavilion Master Bai should also rely on this magical weapon to be qualified to become his helper.

"Bai Nongmei has reached the eighth level of magical power and is good at illusion and dream magic, but her origins are unknown and no one knows the techniques she practices... However, since the incident in Xuancheng this time is most likely related to the mind realm, it would be more appropriate to find her for cooperation." Ming Xueling said this with some hesitation, as if he was unwilling to recommend the other party, but had to say it due to his own principles.

"The County Magistrate's Mansion and Happy Treasure Pavilion are both in the north of the city, not too far away. After we talk to the 'Three-Headed Swordsman' in the inn, we will set off to visit them." Ming Xueling added at the end.

As soon as she finished speaking, there was a knock on the door. Apparently it was the innkeeper Su Hanshui who came again after learning that Zhao Chen had returned.

(End of this chapter)