Chapter 1213 - 841: The True Purpose

Zhang Chen looked at his skill; his time skill might not seem to be impressive initially, but when combined with the later statement [and the cause and effect related to it], it becomes potent.

The time skill doesn’t just deal damage to the target, but also links to the cause and effect currently related to the target.

This [and the cause and effect related to it] has a lot of research value.

After staring at the skill for a long time, Zhang Chen deeply inhaled, concluding that this skill was not just any ordinary, defiant power.

Looking at the skill points needed for its upgrade, Zhang Chen felt that even consuming several Innate Demon Gods might not be enough to accumulate the points.

Then he glanced at The Queen Mother of the West, who was currently devouring the Primordial Qi from between heaven and earth, as the space storms in the void were transformed by the grand array into torrents of Primordial Qi, absorbed by The Queen Mother.

"It seems that crossing through the river of time earlier consumed quite a bit for The Queen Mother," Zhang Chen looked towards the sky, seeing the void enveloped in a gray haze, full of terrifying space storms, which rampaged continuously as if wanting to devour everything between heaven and earth.

As countless thoughts flickered through Zhang Chen’s mind, The Queen Mother seemed to recover. She looked at Zhang Chen with her eyes: "Next, you must be prepared."

Hearing this, Zhang Chen’s heartbeat skipped a beat, staring at The Queen Mother blankly: "Your Majesty, my cultivation is low; how can I be of any help?"

The Queen Mother did not respond, merely giving Zhang Chen a meaningful glance before continuing to navigate the altar through the void storms, causing terrifying gales in her wake.

"I’m really causing trouble here! I just hope The Queen Mother won’t push me out to die for no reason; otherwise, I might be in trouble." Zhang Chen sighed lightly, feeling helpless. He turned to look at the thousand Golden Armored Warriors behind him and reconsidered his Substitute Death Technique, as if understanding his forthcoming predicament.

As Zhang Chen’s mind raced with thoughts, suddenly the space storm was torn open, and The Queen Mother split the void with her hands, revealing a gray channel.

Just as the channel formed, purple lightning gathered in the void, with large purple clouds condensing within the channel, and amidst the purple mist, a golden eye emerged.

This was Zhang Chen’s second time seeing the Celestial Punishment Eye, its golden eye radiating an aloof and relentless majesty, making everything in the universe seem like mere straw dogs. Even The Queen Mother’s immense presence seemed to dissolve into nothingness before this eye.

"I am not afraid of you! I have made full preparations, and this time, I am determined to charge through!" The Queen Mother’s voice was resolute, staring angrily at the golden eye. The next moment, she maneuvered the altar and flew straight towards the golden eye.

"What the hell! The Queen Mother is defying the heavens! How dare she charge directly at the Celestial Punishment Eye? For what reason?" Zhang Chen’s eyes were filled with confusion as he pondered why The Queen Mother dared to clash with the Celestial Punishment Eye, but he soon understood the basis for her boldness.

The next moment, a bolt of purple lightning shot out from the golden eye, ignoring the Innate Grand Array, and pierced through the void directly towards The Queen Mother. As the lightning enveloped The Queen Mother, a roaring sound echoed from the void, and disdain filled The Queen Mother’s gaze: "Substitute Death!"

The lightning landed within The Queen Mother’s body, directly absorbed by her, as if she were a bottomless pit, taking the celestial punishment within.

Zhang Chen, who was observing, suddenly trembled. The next moment, a bolt of purple lightning, carrying annihilating power and the mighty will of the heavens, appeared directly inside his body.

"Damn!"

Zhang Chen cursed openly, finally realizing The Queen Mother’s trump card and why she urged him to cultivate the Substitute Death Technique.

The Queen Mother had made him her substitute ghost, which gave her the courage to face the celestial punishment directly. She urged him to cultivate the Substitute Death Technique, probably fearing he couldn’t withstand the lightning punishment and might die, so she arranged for the thousand Yellow Turban Warriors to die in his place.

Zhang Chen felt frustrated, his eyes filled with helplessness, unsure of what to say.

He knew The Queen Mother allowed him to eat the Peach of Immortality freely and make requests at will; how could such good things happen?

Fortunately, within Zhang Chen there is the Heavenly Punishment Eye. Though his Heavenly Punishment Eye does not match the external one, it is still the Heavenly Punishment Eye, and it absorbed the Purple Cloud Divine Thunder for Zhang Chen at the first opportunity.

One must understand that the Heavenly Punishment Eye Zhang Chen found was in its complete form, unabridged.

When the Celestial Punishment Divine Thunder entered Zhang Chen’s body, it was as if returning home. It merged directly into the Heavenly Punishment Eye, and then Zhang Chen’s Heavenly Punishment Eye surprisingly became more solid.

Over there, seeing Zhang Chen suffer his eyes cast upon a complete Heavenly Punishment Eye without any harm, the Queen Mother was shocked: "How is this possible? Even if he can be immune to the Celestial Punishment Divine Thunder, this thunder is in its complete state. Shouldn’t there be a limit?"

But Zhang Chen being able to endure a full Celestial Punishment Divine Thunder was good news for her. Do you know why?

The Substitute Death Technique has a major flaw: to perform this Divine Technique, one must have a person who can withstand its power. The Queen Mother herself had the Substitute Death Technique. Why not let a Powerful Warrior substitute for her, instead of Zhang Chen? Because a Powerful Warrior faced with Celestial Punishment Divine Thunder is but an ant, easily obliterated, the remaining power could not be transferred, leaving the Queen Mother to bear it.

In her plan, using Zhang Chen to bear the Celestial Punishment Thunder, even if Zhang Chen could not endure a complete Celestial Punishment Thunder, as long as he absorbed most of it, acting as a strong resistor, then Zhang Chen could use the Golden Armor Divine General to substitute himself. Such a method should allow Zhang Chen to counteract the Purple Cloud Divine Thunder. But who knew that all of her plans would come to nothing. Zhang Chen’s resilience was beyond her expectations, silently absorbing a complete Purple Cloud Divine Thunder without any strain.

"Good! Good! Good!" With this, the Queen Mother was overjoyed, uttering three "good" words in a row, her voice filled with joy.

At the next moment, another Purple Cloud Divine Thunder descended, and a hint of disdain appeared in the Queen Mother’s eyes: "Inept fool, how can you trouble me!"

Then, the Queen Mother allowed the Purple Cloud Divine Thunder to enter her body, and performed the Substitute Death Technique, transferring the Purple Cloud Divine Thunder into Zhang Chen’s body.

Zhang Chen stood on the altar, his body trembling continuously, his hair flickering with purple lightning threads. Although he had the Celestial Eye to absorb them, wisps of lightning still shot out, causing his body to be numb and immobilized.

"When exactly did the Queen Mother plant the substitute death seed in my body? How did I not notice? Even my Golden Finger didn’t react? Truly deserving of the title as a Primordial Saint, her Divine Techniques are indeed incredible," Zhang Chen secretly praised, though he was a bit unsettled.

While Zhang Chen’s mind was racing with thoughts, suddenly his footsteps halted. His eyes looked into the distance, seeing the Queen Mother had rushed to the front of the Heavenly Punishment Eye. Her hand gathered a surge of Divine Power, and as she struck at the Heavenly Punishment Eye, a loud boom was heard as the Heavenly Punishment Eye was torn apart by the Queen Mother.

Zhang Chen stood on the altar, watching the Queen Mother tear the Heavenly Punishment Eye apart. His eyes were filled with horror, as the Heavenly Punishment Eye was shredded, purple lightning scattered and spread in all directions, no longer reinforced by the will of Heavenly Dao, losing its gathered might.

"The Queen Mother endured eighteen Purple Cloud Divine Thunders before reaching the Heavenly Punishment Eye," Zhang Chen silently calculated, observing the Heavenly Punishment Eye within his body to find out more about himself. He discovered that within his Heavenly Punishment Eye, an inexplicable will was gathering.

The Celestial Punishment Divine Thunder, carrying the will of Heavenly Dao, was absorbed by it. An inexplicable will, with the Celestial Punishment Divine Thunder, was also absorbed by the Heavenly Punishment Eye. Zhang Chen felt his Heavenly Punishment Eye gaining a faint inexplicable will, undergoing some mysterious transformation, quite wondrous, filled with mystical attributes. The Heavenly Punishment Eye opened, scanning Zhang Chen’s Primordial Spirit, and Zhang Chen finally sensed the oddities within his own body. He saw a peculiar Thousand Thousand Knots had formed within his Primordial Spirit, enveloping his hundreds of apertures, yet distinct from those within his own body.

"How did the Queen Mother plant this substitute death seed in my body without me noticing?" Zhang Chen showed a trace of disbelief in his gaze.

Since he had mastered the Substitute Death Technique, he naturally knew how to break this Divine Technique. Now that he had detected the Queen Mother’s methods, for Zhang Chen, breaking it was just a minor hassle.

"But should I break it?" A thought flashed in Zhang Chen’s mind.

This place is isolated, almost vile. If I break the Thousand Thousand Knots, it would mean a direct confrontation with the Queen Mother. Once I lose my utility, how could the Queen Mother spare me?

The most crucial thing is, if the Queen Mother dies under the Purple Cloud Divine Thunder, how do I return to Kunlun Mountain? Wouldn’t that mean I’d also have to accompany the Queen Mother in death?

Zhang Chen’s mind was a swirl of chaotic thoughts: "The Queen Mother should hardly use me as a substitute lightly, after all, keeping me alive allows her to neutralize the Purple Cloud Divine Thunder. My living proves more useful than my death. Unless absolutely necessary, the Queen Mother would never use me as a substitute, discarding me."

However, thinking about how he became the Queen Mother’s substitute target, Zhang Chen couldn’t help but feel exasperated, as having one’s life in the hands of another is indeed a bitter feeling.