Chapter 1211 - 839: Paving a Path to the Heavens

It’s no wonder Zhang Chen is confused, if it were someone else, they’d be confused too.

The information revealed in the words of the Queen Mother of the West is simply overwhelming, leaving Zhang Chen dumbfounded. How could someone as powerful as the Queen Mother of the West be blocked from returning home?

"Where is your home, ma’am?" Zhang Chen asked cautiously.

At this point, he no longer feared angering the Queen Mother of the West, because regardless of whether he did, the outcome would not change; the Queen Mother would not kill him.

He is useful to the Queen Mother.

The Queen Mother of the West withdrew her gaze from the sky and looked at Zhang Chen: "A place very, very far away, or perhaps a place that cannot be returned to."

She said no more, focusing on absorbing the energy between heaven and earth. Seeing this, Zhang Chen dared not ask further for fear of provoking her.

Time passed quickly, and soon Lady Biyun led a thousand Golden Armored Warriors to the altar. Then Lady Biyun ascended the altar, came before the Queen Mother, and respectfully saluted: "Reporting to the ma’am, a thousand Golden Armored Warriors have been assembled, please give your orders."

Upon hearing this, the Queen Mother’s eyes revealed a glimmer, she said to Zhang Chen: "Jia Shiba, your Substitute Death Technique has achieved great success, those thousand Golden Armored Warriors below are all your substitutes for death. Let me see your Divine Techniques."

Zhang Chen trembled at her words: those thousand people are all his substitutes for death? What does the Queen Mother want him to do for her?

Though reluctant, Zhang Chen could not refuse and chose to comply, flying off the altar to the group of Golden Armor Divine Generals. Looking at their honest faces, Zhang Chen couldn’t help but whisper to himself: ’A sin.’ Then, as he looked at the Golden Armor Divine Generals, the Queen Mother’s qi descended, already fixing those thousand generals in place. Zhang Chen’s divine power flashed throughout his body as he gently tapped a fingertip on one of the Golden Armor Divine Generals, and in the next moment, countless red silk threads intertwined and wrapped within the general’s body, forming an invisible silk net that flashed with eerie and demonic red light, traversing through each of the general’s meridians. Before long, red silk threads filled the meridians, forming a pattern of Thousand Thousand Knots, then all the red silk threads vanished without a trace.

The Substitute Death Divine Technique does not allow you to have anyone you wish die on your behalf; before activating this technique, one must plant a ’causal seed’ in advance. The web interwoven with causal threads is the seed of Substitute Death Law.

Zhang Chen followed suit and it took a full three days to plant Thousand Thousand Knots into all the Golden Armor Divine Generals, transforming them into his substitute puppets.

"Don’t blame me, I am forced to act against my own will." Zhang Chen sighed lightly and returned to the altar to report to the Queen Mother: "The subordinates have planted the substitute death seeds."

Seeing this, the Queen Mother nodded: "Summon the thousand Golden Armor Divine Generals to enter the altar."

Lady Biyun went to relay the order, and soon a thousand Golden Armor Divine Generals ascended the altar, completely unaware that they’ve become mere tools, looking respectfully at the Queen Mother.

The Queen Mother’s gaze swept over Zhang Chen and finally landed on Lady Biyun, then said: "You and Shun may leave the altar."

Lady Biyun knew that events had reached a critical point, so she tearfully looked at Zhang Chen, who smiled broadly at her: "Wait for me!"

Then looking at Shun: "Take good care of your mother."

Shun knelt to the ground, bowing to Zhang Chen, at which point the Innate Grand Array on the altar began to operate, expelling Lady Biyun and Shun from the altar. The altar was left only with Zhang Chen, the Queen Mother, and those thousand powerful warriors.

Zhang Chen stood aside respectfully, waiting for the Queen Mother to exert her divine techniques to adjust. Time flew by, day after day, until finally one day the Queen Mother opened her eyes, her garments rustling fiercely, a brilliant light flashed under her gaze. She raised her head towards the sky: "Today, I will return home! No one can stop me from going home!"

The Queen Mother formed hand seals, causing the altar beneath her feet to shake violently, and Kunlun Mountain’s dragon vein emitted a hum: "First, I will heavily injure the earth dragon vein, using the vein’s power to weaken the power of the path. Now that the balance of heaven and earth has been broken by me, let me see how much power you, Heavenly Dao, can still exert. You must maintain the balance of heaven and earth while blocking me; a slight mishap could mean heaven cracking and earth shattering: consider carefully."

After speaking, the Queen Mother’s five elements banner flashed around her, spinning into an array, then a terrifying force erupted, rushing toward the distant void.

With a crisp sound from the void, the space shattered like glass, forming a large black hole. The Queen Mother pointed her finger at the black hole, countless rays of golden light burst from her fingertip, space nodes flashed at the fingertip, and within moments the black hole stabilized, forming a space channel.

In the space passage, colorful lights flickered, appearing splendid and dazzling, as if the legendary Immortal Realm lay on the other side of the space passage.

"Rise for me!" The Queen Mother of the West formed hand seals, and in the next moment, the entire thousand-mile altar trembled. Accompanied by a mournful cry from the Kunlun Mountain Dragon Vein, the entire altar was uprooted and soared towards the direction of the space passage.

On the altar, Zhang Chen looked at the lower realm where the thousand-mile scope of Kunlun Mountain was missing, and a trace of shock appeared in his eyes. When he first ascended Kunlun Mountain, the Kunlun Mountain before him and the future Old Turtle Ridge only had a slightly similar outline. As the altar was uprooted, at least fifty percent of the terrain of Kunlun Mountain overlapped with his memory of Old Turtle Ridge.

Zhang Chen couldn’t afford to contemplate the cause and effect because by now, the Queen Mother of the West was already driving the altar, rushing towards the space passage.

What was uprooted with the altar wasn’t just the sacrificial platform but also the reverse scale of the Kunlun Mountain Dragon Vein, along with a large section of Kunlun Mountain Dragon Vein drawing out, all absorbed into the thousand-mile altar.

"Crack~"

In the void, dazzling thunder flashed, blocking the path of the altar. Dragon Vein Qi circulated over the altar, and as every thunder bolt approached the altar, they were dissolved by the eighty-one grand arrays, becoming nourishment for the Innate Grand Array and refined by it.

As the thunder glow poured in, the altar seemed to undergo refinement, constantly shedding material; countless stone fragments fell to the earth. The altar kept shrinking, yet transformed towards a jade-like form. Under the power of lightning, the soil and stone of the altar were continuously smelted, turning into glass, which further transformed into jade.

The lightning was like a storm, obstructing Zhang Chen’s view, leaving him only able to hear the explosion sounds of thunder glow, with no sight of the outside.

Time and space seemed inverted and blurred at this moment; mysterious powers circulated in the void. The Queen Mother of the West coldly laughed: "Unless you mobilize the body of the Time River, how could you harm me? Besides, I have long proved the Primordial Immortal, with endless longevity. Even if you have the Time River, you can’t harm me a bit."

With the fall of the Queen Mother of the West’s words, the overwhelming thunder glow disappeared, and the two had reached the end of the passage, where a majestic and vast river was seen blocking their path.

The river meandered across the void, spanning ninety-nine thousand nine hundred miles wide, its depth unknown, its waters clear and unsullied by dust, its origin unknown, and its direction an enigma, with no edge seen from afar.

"Is it the Time River? You’ve truly summoned the Time River?" The Queen Mother of the West’s face changed slightly as she looked at the magnificent heavenly river. Although she wasn’t afraid of the Time River’s invasion, falling into the Time River would be a big trouble. The crux is her Essence Qi Origin continuously dwindles; once trapped in the Time River Array, a single Time Acceleration could drain her to death.

"However, I have long been prepared for the Time River! Your Time River Array may be formidable, but it can’t harm me! You’re underestimating the means of a Primordial Powerhouse." The Queen Mother of the West’s divine light circulated, Five Directions Banner revolving around her. In the next moment, the Five Directions Banner transformed into an array, mobilizing the Five Elements Origin of Heaven and Earth, merging with the altar beneath, causing the altar to intertwine with Qi of the Five Elements, reversing Five Elements to Yin and Yang, Yin and Yang reversing to Chaos, wrapping the entire altar in the Qi of Chaos.

After absorbing the Qi of Chaos, the altar, initially smelted into jade under lightning, seemed to transform into the Innate.

"Charge for me!" The Queen Mother of the West propelled the altar shrouded in the Qi of Chaos, fiercely crashing towards the Time River, raising a thousand layers of waves on the Time River.

"You can’t confine me!" The Queen Mother of the West’s voice was filled with arrogance, allowing the wash of the Time River, yet the altar wrapped in the Qi of Chaos remained unmovable.

But Zhang Chen standing on the altar, at this moment, noticed something amiss. Do you know why?

Because he could detect the power of the Time River still transmitting through the grand array, its radiation coming over, causing the flow of time on the entire altar to seem accelerated. He could feel that his lifespan was draining tenfold faster.

"Lady, why do I feel like I’m about to grow old?" Zhang Chen cried out to the Queen Mother of the West while standing on the altar.

Upon hearing this, the Queen Mother of the West’s face remained unchanged, as if sensing the change in time flow speed. She then pulled out three Peach Trees from her sleeve and casually tossed them onto the altar. The Peach Trees landed and took root, transforming into three hundred-mile-high Peach Divine Trees, each adorned with large, flashing Peaches of Immortality.

"This is the Time River; even Chaos cannot completely block it. Eat the Peach of Immortality to renew your life and do not disturb me!" The Queen Mother of the West instructed, then continued maneuvering the altar into the depths of time and space.

Zhang Chen saw this and dared not speak further. He quickly flew up the Peach Tree, picked a nine-thousand-year-old Peach of Immortality, and began devouring it. His eyes were filled with inexplicable thoughts as he watched the Queen Mother of the West’s back, contemplating in his heart: "Can I take this opportunity to make a move on the Peach Tree? For example, break off a branch? Or perhaps devise a plan to intrude upon the spirituality of the Peach Tree?"