Chapter 1204 - 832: Demanding a Secret Technique

The pills Lady Biyun refined weren’t complicated, just Spirit Medicine that nourished Primordial Qi and boosted Magical Power. With Lady Biyun’s cultivation, it only took her half a month to succeed in Alchemy, after which Spirit Medicine started coming out in a steady stream. Watching from the side, Zhang Chen’s eyelids twitched nonstop, feeling like life had just screwed him over.

He no longer had to even think about Alchemy; from the moment Lady Biyun personally stepped in to refine medicine, his hopes were already shattered to pieces.

"What should I do? If I keep dragging this out, I won’t get any benefits at all!" Zhang Chen muttered inwardly.

But after quite a long time, Zhang Chen really did come up with a good idea, and that was: forget the Secret Technique of splitting the Primordial Spirit for now—go after the Peach Tree first!

As for how to go after the Peach of Immortality? Zhang Chen had one word: stall.

Stall until the next time they eat the Peach of Immortality. By then, he’d use the excuse "eating the Heaven and Earth Spirit Root can speed up cultivation" to ask the Queen Mother for more Peaches of Immortality. Wouldn’t that be a huge win?

Of course, before that, he had to create a huge contrast. What kind of contrast? Without eating peaches, his cultivation progress would be like a turtle’s pace; after eating peaches, his progress would shoot up like a rocket. Once that comparison was laid out, The Queen Mother of the West would definitely have to make a choice.

"The further you go in cultivation, the harder it is to advance. Not being able to increase even one layer in a year seems pretty normal, right?" Zhang Chen muttered to himself.

Unfortunately, he was currently trapped inside the Medicine Hall and couldn’t find out where the Peach Garden was; otherwise, he might have been able to try a lot more things.

"But there’s one prerequisite in all this, and that’s: I have to endure the pain of The Queen Mother of the West’s whipping!"

Just as Zhang Chen’s thoughts were spinning, Lady Biyun placed the refined pills in front of him. "Take the medicine."

Zhang Chen glanced at the pills, picked them up, popped them into his mouth, and then continued to sit down and cultivate.

A month later, Lady Biyun refined another batch of pills and came to Zhang Chen. "How is your cultivation going?"

Hearing Lady Biyun’s question, Zhang Chen gave a bitter smile. "Don’t even mention it. The pain in my body keeps bothering me. Even though the pills can enhance my cultivation, the pain is too intense. I can’t focus on cultivation at all."

"You haven’t broken through even one layer?" Lady Biyun’s expression changed at his words.

Zhang Chen could only give a wry smile. "It’s not like I don’t want to, but there’s just nothing I can do. You’ve seen it yourself, I’ve been diligently cultivating here the whole time, without the slightest slacking off. But my talent is just like this... Before, being able to break through eighteen layers in a hundred years was because of the pills The Queen Mother of the West refined. Now that your pills can’t match The Queen Mother of the West’s, my cultivation progress really just won’t go up."

Lady Biyun was at a loss for words when she heard this. After a long while, she finally said, "Don’t panic. Only a month of the hundred-year period has passed. Just focus on cultivating. Leave the Alchemy to me."

After speaking, Lady Biyun went off to refine medicine again, fully immersed in studying the art of Alchemy.

Lady Biyun went far away, leaving Zhang Chen sitting silently in place, quietly deducing the method of splitting the Primordial Spirit. As for cultivation? Cultivate my ass!

He, Zhang Chen, was going to eat Peaches of Immortality! Eat a whole, whole lot of Peaches!

Time flashed by in the blink of an eye; ten years went by. Zhang Chen’s cultivation had no improvement at all, making Lady Biyun so anxious she was scratching her ears and cheeks. After giving hardworking Zhang Chen a once-over, she sat back down in front of the Alchemy Furnace and continued to ponder Alchemy.

Zhang Chen’s cultivation progressed at a snail’s pace, and Lady Biyun was helpless too. She could see that Zhang Chen really was sincerely cultivating, always sitting there in meditation, but he just wasn’t breaking through in the slightest. Tell me that isn’t infuriating?

Time flowed quickly; another hundred-year period passed. Under Zhang Chen’s deliberate control, his cultivation advanced three layers, reaching the twenty-first layer.

The amount of Spirit Medicine and pills he’d consumed could be called a tidal wave, yet his cultivation speed was still like a snail.

Looking at Zhang Chen, Lady Biyun’s face turned deathly pale. "In a hundred years, your cultivation only advanced three layers. What are we supposed to do?"

At this moment, Zhang Chen stood up, his face also ghastly pale, his body trembling with fright. "But I’ve already done my best. Cultivation in the later stages is really hard—each layer is harder than the last."

Lady Biyun said nothing; she didn’t know what she could say. She could only sigh helplessly. "Come on, let’s go face The Queen Mother of the West. I’ll do my best to plead for you."

On the altar

The Queen Mother of the West looked at Zhang Chen, then at Lady Biyun beside him, her eyes icy cold. "You’re telling me that in a hundred years you’ve only advanced three layers?"

Lady Biyun didn’t dare to speak, standing there with a face full of fear, her body trembling. Zhang Chen was also pale as a sheet, kneeling to the ground. "My Lady, this mantra is easy at the entry-level, but the cultivation gets slower and slower afterward. Plus, this humble one still has to offset the pain in my body, so I really can’t focus on cultivating. I beg Your Ladyship for mercy."

Lady Biyun, hearing this, also knelt down, kowtowed once, and said, "My Lady, this servant has watched over him for a hundred years straight. Jia Shiba truly has been tirelessly cultivating, without the slightest delay. I beg My Lady to calm your anger."

"Quell my anger? How am I supposed to quell my anger? A full hundred years of time, plus so many resources— even a pig should have cultivated to the fiftieth layer by now, and he’s only advanced three layers. How am I supposed to quell my anger?" The Queen Mother of the West’s voice was icy, and even the void froze into layer upon layer of snowflakes.

A golden whip appeared in her hand. "Jia Shiba has failed in his cultivation— thirty lashes as punishment! Lady Biyun has failed in her supervision— fifteen lashes as punishment!"

"Your Ladyship, this has nothing to do with Biyun. It is this lowly one’s dull aptitude that has implicated her. I beg Your Ladyship to punish me alone." When Zhang Chen heard that Biyun was also to be punished, his heart stirred, and he hurriedly stepped forward to plead.

Lady Biyun was responsible for supervising him; if she were dragged into the punishment as well, how could he possibly come out of this unscathed?

He’d probably be in for a disaster! If Lady Biyun decided to make him suffer for it, he’d be in real trouble.

"You want to plead on Biyun’s behalf?" The Queen Mother of the West gave a cold laugh.

"One person does the deed, one person bears the consequence. It was this lowly one who erred; I would never dare implicate another." Zhang Chen said quickly.

Upon hearing this, the Queen Mother of the West let out a chilly laugh. "It’s impossible to spare Biyun her fifteen lashes— unless you take them in her place."

Zhang Chen bowed his head without the slightest hesitation and knocked his forehead to the ground. "This lowly one is willing to bear these fifteen lashes in Biyun’s stead."

If he endured fifteen lashes for Biyun, it might spare him a great deal of future grinding. If Lady Biyun were to give him a few lashes every time she supervised him, he’d be even worse off. Even if over the course of a hundred years she whipped him just once a year, that alone would be more than he could bear.

"Very well! Then you shall take them for Lady Biyun." The Queen Mother of the West’s voice was full of cold indifference.

"Your Ladyship, this servant’s affairs do not need another to shoulder them." Lady Biyun stepped forward and bowed respectfully to the Queen Mother of the West. "He is already being delayed in his cultivation by thirty lashes. If you add fifteen more, his speed will suffer even more. Continuing like this in cycles, wouldn’t we end up in a dead loop?"

"Hmph. Do you think I’m unaware of what you’re saying? But a state has its state laws, a household its household rules. The statutes I have laid down are not to be defied." The whip in the Queen Mother of the West’s hand stirred restlessly.

Zhang Chen closed his eyes and spoke. "This lowly one is willing to accept punishment."

"You are indeed a man of feeling and loyalty. Since that’s the case, I shall grant your wish." The whip in the Queen Mother of the West’s hand traced blurred afterimages through the air, and in the next instant a miserable scream rang out from Lady Biyun. Soon she was sprawled on the ground, curled into a ball, her entire body a bloody ruin, her life or death uncertain.

"Since you are a man of feeling and loyalty, then let Lady Biyun take your punishment for you. If you don’t want her to be punished, then cultivate properly. Otherwise... a hundred years from now, Biyun will suffer a hundred lashes in your place!" The Queen Mother of the West’s voice was frigid.

Zhang Chen was stunned on the spot. Then the Queen Mother of the West swept her hand, and Zhang Chen fell from midair, crashing down below the altar, while Lady Biyun lay on the ground, a bloody, mangled heap, unable to move.

"Take me back..." Lady Biyun’s voice was weak, her breath already as faint as gossamer.

At her words, Zhang Chen hurried forward, carefully lifting Lady Biyun into his arms, then walked toward the Medicine Hall.

Zhang Chen cradled Lady Biyun horizontally, his movements exceedingly cautious, afraid that any jolt might intensify her pain.

All the way into the great hall, Zhang Chen set Lady Biyun down on the floor. Her blood‑smeared, collapsed features twisted into a grotesque smile at him. "Don’t be afraid. I’m fine. Grind that Spirit Medicine into paste and apply it onto me."

"I’m sorry. I’ve harmed you." Zhang Chen spoke woodenly, in a daze.

He knew exactly what it felt like to have that whip strike flesh; he knew all too well how much Lady Biyun was suffering.

Lady Biyun bared her teeth in a smile at his words. "I don’t blame you. You’ve already done all you can. No one can overturn the Queen Mother of the West’s orders. From now on, just focus on cultivating hard. Don’t you dare slack off."

With that, Lady Biyun closed her eyes; she no longer even had the strength to speak.

Zhang Chen hurried forward, carefully peeling away her torn garments. When he saw Lady Biyun’s body— bloody, mangled, as if her skin had been flayed— he gently ground the medicine and applied it to her. He watched her body tremble, yet she didn’t let out a single sound.

Only after quite some time, when the herbs had been fully smeared on Lady Biyun’s wounds, did Zhang Chen release a long breath, a weight lifted from his shoulders as he let out a soft sigh. Then he rose, stood in contemplation in the palace for a long time, and only after making up his mind did he step out of the great hall, heading toward the altar.

Before long, Zhang Chen had arrived beneath the altar. Gazing up at the imposing structure, he climbed step by step, then stopped outside the Innate Grand Array and bowed respectfully. "This lowly one begs audience with the Queen Mother of the West."

"Instead of cultivating, what are you doing back here?" The Queen Mother of the West opened her eyes, a cold light in them as she looked at Zhang Chen, as if waiting for him to utter some suicidal request.

"This lowly one has come to beg Your Ladyship to bestow upon me a Secret Technique that will split my Primordial Spirit in two. That way, the two Primordial Spirits can take turns cultivating, day and night without interruption. With double the cultivation time, perhaps my speed can increase. As long as this lowly one does not rest, I will surely meet Your Ladyship the Queen Mother’s requirements." Zhang Chen said with utmost respect.

This was his way of testing the Queen Mother of the West— a test he had to attempt. He believed that with his constitution that could endure Celestial Punishment, the Queen Mother of the West would never kill him. Since she would not kill him, what did he have to be afraid of?