"Rest assured, I am already at odds with those old fellows. I won't miss any opportunity," Zhang Fan nodded, a hint of killing intent flashing in his eyes.
Although Zhang Fan understood the meaning of the Blood Clan Patriarch's words, this was precisely what Zhang Fan needed. He had accompanied Ai Lebei La to the Blood Clan not merely to find a place for secluded cultivation.
Instead, he intended to leverage the power of the Blood Clan to deal with the Arbiters of the Holy See and Pope Campbell together.
Upon receiving Zhang Fan's nod, the Blood Clan Patriarch became even more enthusiastic. He personally led Zhang Fan into a secret chamber cast entirely from alloy.
"This is the secret chamber I usually use for secluded cultivation. It might be a bit lacking for Master Zhang, but it's the best we have at the moment," the Blood Clan Patriarch said humbly.
"It's sufficient," Zhang Fan nodded, then smiled at the Blood Clan Patriarch.
The Blood Clan Patriarch, understanding him, quickly bid farewell and left the secret chamber, leaving Zhang Fan alone.
"Patriarch, Master Zhang has incurred such enmity with the Holy See. He might attract those old fellows from the Holy See. Campbell has also entered the Earth Immortal realm now. We really have no need to take the blame for him," a Blood Clan elder said to the Patriarch with a grave expression after he exited the secret chamber.
"Second Elder, while your strength is considerable, your foresight is indeed lacking," the Blood Clan Patriarch shook his head and said softly. "A long time ago, our Blood Clan's strength was not inferior to the Holy See, and was even superior."
"However, after a cataclysmic battle between our Blood Clan's Ancestor and the Arbiter-General of the Holy See, the situation gradually changed."
"Since that battle, both our Blood Clan's Ancestor and the Holy See's Arbiter-General, having sustained severe injuries, fell into a deep slumber. No one knows when they will awaken, or if they ever will."
"Without our Ancestor presiding, the peak fighting power of our Blood Clan became the three Princes who survived that great battle. Likewise, the Holy See had four Arbiters who survived."
"Before this, although the Holy See had an edge over our Blood Clan, the advantage was not significant. If they were to initiate a war, even if they ultimately won, they would undoubtedly suffer heavy losses. It would be normal for them to sacrifice two or three Arbiters."
"Therefore, before this, the Church of Light did not provoke a war. Even if there were skirmishes, they were minor frictions that did not cripple us."
"But, according to Master Zhang, Campbell has now completely entered the Earth Immortal realm. With this, the Holy See's advantage against our Blood Clan will become even more pronounced."
"The enemy of my enemy is my friend. We naturally need to win over a friend like Master Zhang. With Master Zhang's combat power, if our Blood Clan prepares well this time, those Arbiters of the Holy See who attack might suffer greatly," the Blood Clan Patriarch calculated in his mind.
"Patriarch, what if the Blood Clan doesn't track down Master Zhang's whereabouts and he doesn't come to the Ancestral Castle? Wouldn't your plan be meaningless then?" the Second Elder asked.
"Therefore, I need you to do one thing."
"Wait for a while. If the Holy See still hasn't found him, you will leak the information that Master Zhang has arrived at our Blood Clan's castle. Remember to do it discreetly. If the Holy See discovers it, they might not fall for it."
"Yes." The Second Elder understood and nodded, feeling quite excited.
After the Second Elder withdrew, the Blood Clan Patriarch, in a deep pavilion within the Ancestral Castle, paid his respects to the three Princes of their Blood Clan.
...
Zhang Fan, of course, was unaware of the Blood Clan Patriarch's actions. All his attention was focused on a treasure of the Holy See known as the 'Heart of Sacred Light'.
"Extreme light power, yet possessing numerous miraculous functions, capable of releasing plant attacks, and able to release defensive sacred light barriers to trap enemies..."
Even with Zhang Fan's extensive knowledge and research, he still could not determine what this treasure, called the 'Heart of Sacred Light' by the Holy See, truly was.
"This Holy See is truly not simple. Not only do they have the Star Compass Stone, a spatial treasure of this magnitude, but they also possess this treasure whose name I cannot even utter."
Although he could not ascertain its nature, Zhang Fan understood its preciousness. It was undoubtedly a supreme treasure for cultivators of light power.
At the same time, Zhang Fan's vigilance towards the Holy See grew. Possessing such a treasure was beyond the capabilities of indigenous cultivators on Earth.
This indicated that behind the Holy See, there must be true cultivators.
And the fact that the Blood Clan could confront the Holy See for centuries without falling also showed their extraordinary nature.
"I should enhance my strength before having a good talk with this Blood Clan," Zhang Fan shook his head, chiding himself for overthinking.
He could barely cope with the Holy See's surface-level power, let alone probe its deeper secrets.
After carefully storing the 'Heart of Sacred Light', Zhang Fan began to research how to rapidly increase his strength.
Although his current combat power was formidable, comparable to an ordinary Earth Immortal.
However, his own cultivation realm was ultimately not high enough. At best, he could only be on par with White-robed Pope Campbell, who had just entered the Earth Immortal realm.
He would need to use many of his trump cards to have a chance of killing him.
Compared to the four Arbiters of the Holy See, Zhang Fan felt immense pressure. Against the strongest Arbiter, he might not even have the ability to resist.
After all, the gap between the early and late stages of the Core Formation realm was indeed vast.
Moreover, Zhang Fan's combat power was merely comparable to the early stage of the Core Formation realm. In other aspects, he still had significant differences compared to true early Earth Immortal realm experts.
"To contend with that strongest Arbiter, I would need to reach at least the peak of the Celestial Human realm, or even enter the Core Formation realm."
As Zhang Fan was cultivating anew, he had a certain understanding of the terrifying power of late-stage Core Formation realm experts.
"Breakthroughs in divine abilities are out of the question for now. As for divine bodies, it's unlikely to achieve a breakthrough before entering the Core Formation realm. It seems the most suitable way for me to improve my strength is to enhance my cultivation."
Zhang Fan cultivated two divine eye techniques, the Thunder Fire Divine Eye and the Sky-Splitting Rhinoceros. However, unless there were very significant advancements, these two techniques had limited impact on his strength.
His divine body technique, the Myriad Prisons Suppressing Divine Body, had also reached a bottleneck, just one step away from true minor completion.
However, Zhang Fan understood that unless he could enter the Core Formation realm and use the power of the Nascent Core to temper his physical body, it would be difficult to achieve minor completion of the divine body before then.
"I'll focus on raising my strength to the peak of the Celestial Human realm first."
With this decision made, Zhang Fan flipped his hand and summoned several circular formation disks from the Star Compass Space. He casually tossed them, and the disks landed precisely in the four corners of the secret chamber.
"Formation, activate!"
Zhang Fan's hand seal appeared, connecting with the runes on the formation disks. Countless black and white lines intertwined, gradually forming an egg-shaped shell that enveloped Zhang Fan.