Chapter 1187 - 815: One Year of Listening to the Dao

Zhang Chen suddenly felt that the Queen Mother of the West was not as simple as he had thought. After all, if she hadn’t cultivated the Primordial Spirit, how would she know about it?

At this moment, Zhang Chen was filled with doubt and wonder. It seemed that the secret of the origin of the Immortal Dao had a chance to be unveiled right in front of him. Unfortunately, the Queen Mother of the West’s strength was too high for him to verify his suspicions.

"The Queen Mother of the West treats me with such favor, bestowing upon me the mysteries of the array Dao. I cannot betray her by harming the Heaven-Opening Fire Spirit, committing such treacherous acts." Zhang Chen thought again of the Heaven-Opening Fire Spirit. The Queen Mother of the West granted him two Peaches of Immortality upon their first meeting, also imparting the true interpretation of the array Dao and planned to dedicate a year to teaching him. How could he stab her in the back?

"So be it. I have already mastered the authority of the Five Elements. The Heaven-Opening Fire Spirit is certainly good, but its absence affects me little." Zhang Chen resolved to let go of the Heaven-Opening Fire Spirit, unwilling to wrong the Queen Mother of the West.

Though Zhang Chen was not a person of both virtue and talent, he had a conscience.

"Regarding the matters of the Immortal Dao, as long as I reside in West Kunlun and stay by the Queen Mother of the West, there will eventually be a day I can uncover its root." Zhang Chen made his decision, then lowered his head to delve into the scroll on array Dao.

He had a foundation in array Dao through mastering two supreme arrays, the Nine Bends Yellow River Array and the Blood Sea Array, though he hadn’t systematically studied it. At this moment, his analysis of the two arrays proved simple, quickly leading him into a deep immersion from which he could not extricate himself.

The mysteries of array Dao exceeded Zhang Chen’s imagination: the workings of Heaven and Earth, the trajectory of sun, moon, and stars, even the entire Heaven and Earth itself was a flawless grand array.

This vast world is a complex grand array, operating according to a peculiar rule, which can be called: the Heavenly Dao.

"From the perspective of array Dao, the world is a grand array, and the Heavenly Dao is a grand array." Zhang Chen pondered the hidden truths within and found some logic to it. After all, the sun, moon, and stars form the starry array of Circulation, and the countless mountains and Dragon Veins of the earth contain innate arrays within. Saying the world is a moving grand array is not inappropriate.

"Interesting." Zhang Chen murmured to himself, as countless inspirations flowed through his Primordial Spirit, drawing him into a deep immersion.

A month later, when Zhang Chen had thoroughly finished reading the scroll in front of him, he sat cross-legged, entering a state of deep reflection, when suddenly a bell’s chime startled him out of his profound enlightenment.

Zhang Chen opened his eyes to see Lady Biyun holding the bell, looking at him with smiling eyes.

"It seems your month of contemplation has yielded great results. The Queen Mother should be pleased with you," said Lady Biyun.

"Has a month passed already?" Zhang Chen slowly stood up and respectfully greeted Lady Biyun: "Greetings, sister."

Lady Biyun put away the bell: "The month is over. Quickly cleanse yourself and follow me to pay homage to the Queen Mother. Remember not to miss the timing, or the Queen Mother will punish you."

Zhang Chen nodded upon hearing this. Outside his palace was a natural waterfall, into which he jumped to bathe, then changed clothes before following Lady Biyun to pay homage to the Queen Mother.

The same palace as before, the Queen Mother of the West remained seated on the cloud bed, as if she had never moved, unchanged even in posture.

"Greetings to the Queen Mother," Zhang Chen and Lady Biyun bowed together.

The Queen Mother of the West slowly opened her eyes, then gazed at Zhang Chen for a while before gesturing for Lady Biyun to withdraw, then she spoke:

"What are the three questions of array Dao?"

Upon hearing the Queen Mother’s question, Zhang Chen understood it was an examination. He replied, "The three questions of array Dao are three. First, Heaven. Heaven is the operation of sun, moon, and stars, the trajectory of wind, rain, thunder, and lightning..."

Zhang Chen answered fluently. He had not wasted his month, not only memorizing the text on the Golden Page but also gaining insights through cross-referencing the Blood Sea Array and the Nine Bends Yellow River Array.

Thus, when questioned by the Queen Mother, Zhang Chen replied without hesitation, flowing seamlessly.

After a full hour, the Queen Mother of the West’s questioning stopped, showing no emotional leakage, revealing no joy, anger, sorrow, or happiness, leaving ambiguous whether satisfied or dissatisfied.

After a pause of three breaths, the Queen Mother spoke again, her voice spilling profound truths as countless heavenly mysteries emerged, and the whole palace filled with golden lotuses blooming, presenting numerous marvels before Zhang Chen’s eyes.

"Truly a rain of flowers and blooming golden lotuses!" Zhang Chen gazed at the descending golden lotuses in the sky and the sweet springs emerging from the ground, his eyes full of astonishment.

He had thought ’rain of flowers and blooming golden lotuses’ was just an exaggerated metaphor from legend, but now witnessing it truly, Zhang Chen was thoroughly stunned.

Soon Zhang Chen regained composure, quickly entering a state of enlightenment, constantly pondering the mystical musical notes of Heaven and Earth, his Primordial Spirit fully immersed.

The Queen Mother of the West narrated the path of arrays to Zhang Chen. Each phrase she uttered was profound and directly pointed to the origin, immediately bringing Zhang Chen to enlightenment.

In the first three months, the Queen Mother of the West explained higher-level transformations of arrays to Zhang Chen. For another three months, she described the creation and destruction paths of arrays to him. In another three months, she discussed the crafting techniques of arrays, and in the final three months, she directly analyzed the intricacies of various innate grand arrays for Zhang Chen.

With a flick of the finger, a year passed swiftly. When the year came to its end, the Queen Mother of the West stopped her teachings, while Zhang Chen remained deeply immersed in his state of enlightenment.

Another ten years passed, with Zhang Chen sitting in the hall in meditation for ten years before awakening from his state of enlightenment. He was startled and instinctively looked towards the Queen Mother of the West on the cloud bed, only to see that her posture was unchanged as if time in the hall had never flowed.

"I am unaware that time has passed, I beg for the Queen Mother’s mercy," Zhang Chen hurriedly apologized.

"Very good! Your talent has exceeded my expectations. I am pleased," the Queen Mother of the West’s voice was cold, without any blame: "All my West Kunlun Golden Armored Warriors have tasks, and you have two tasks."

"I ask for guidance from your majesty," Zhang Chen respectfully said.

"First, since I have now passed the way of arrays on to you, you must construct according to the array map I previously bestowed upon you within a thousand years. Failing this task, do not blame me for turning you to ashes, and those Golden Armored Warriors of your generation will be under your command. Second, should any innate grand array appear externally, you must assist the other Golden Armor Divine Generals in breaking all innate grand arrays and bringing back the innate spiritual treasures and innate divine within," the Queen Mother of the West said in a voice full of indifference:

"Of course, as I have always been clear in rewards and punishments, if you manage to break an innate grand array, I will reward you with a Peach of Immortality. If you manage to build the altar in the schematic, I will give you the subsequent techniques of ’Giant Heaven Opening.’"

Zhang Chen was startled upon hearing this; to have him break an innate grand array? Without the aid of an innate spiritual treasure, he didn’t have such ability. Although he grasped some mysterious aspects of arrays, saying he could break an innate grand array was simply overestimating him.

Fortunately, breaking an innate grand array was not a mandatory task; it was only tied to the Peach of Immortality. Having consumed two Peaches of Immortality, his lifespan was not urgently pressing. If given a thousand years to comprehend, he might have some hope of breaking the innate grand arrays.

Countless thoughts flickered in Zhang Chen’s mind. As for the altar schematic previously given by the Queen Mother of the West, it was his task, and he could not afford any negligence.

"As for the site for constructing the altar, I have already selected the location. You only need to inquire from Lady Biyun, then you will naturally know where the altar is to be placed," said the Queen Mother of the West.

Zhang Chen respectfully bowed upon hearing this and exited the hall, only to find Lady Biyun waiting outside for him.

"You spent ten years in the Queen Mother’s palace, which was beyond my expectations. The Queen Mother has instructed me to take you to the site for the altar construction, follow me," said Lady Biyun, leading the way.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Chen followed behind Lady Biyun. After leaving Kunlun by eight hundred miles, they arrived at a great mountain within the Kunlun Mountain range. Observing the surrounding landscape, Zhang Chen was taken aback, for he recognized this place as none other than the Reverse Scale.

"The Queen Mother has chosen this location. Tomorrow, I will call upon the warriors of your batch to heed your command," Lady Biyun said, "The Queen Mother places great importance on this matter, you must manage it well without any mistakes, or the Queen Mother, known for her decisiveness, will allow no one to save you."

"I understand," Zhang Chen nodded upon hearing this, "Thank you, sister, for your concern."

Lady Biyun nodded at this, "Prepare yourself here, I will summon the warriors for you."

Transformed into a stream of light, Lady Biyun departed into the distance, leaving Zhang Chen standing in place, observing the majestic Kunlun Mountain range stretching for tens of thousands of miles without end, his eyes filled with sentiment.

After watching for a while, Zhang Chen confirmed this was indeed the location of the Reverse Scale within the Kunlun Dragon Vein, he couldn’t help but be curious: "How strange! If building on this site, it will surely affect the earth vein of Kunlun Mountain, possibly even breaking its qi, causing it to leak out; why would the Queen Mother choose to construct the dragon vein here?"

Filled with disbelief, Zhang Chen’s gaze was full of astonishment. After pondering a while, unsure of the Queen Mother’s plan, he murmured, "Perhaps the Queen Mother has other arrangements."

Then he pulled out the scroll from his sleeve, carefully examining the altar the Queen Mother wanted him to build. After studying it for a long while, Zhang Chen appeared surprised and in disbelief. "This altar covers thousands of miles of mountains and rivers?"

He found it unbelievable, unable to trust his own eyes.

What kind of altar covers thousands of miles of land? It must be as large as half of China.

What a massive project this is?

"According to the schematic, constructing it carelessly might activate the Kunlun Dragon Vein and invite celestial punishment," Zhang Chen thought to himself, alarmed.

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