I picked up skill fragments in the demon world.

Chapter 844 Opening a Path to Heaven
It's no wonder Zhang Chen was confused; anyone else would have been confused too.

The information revealed in the Queen Mother of the West's words was so vast that Zhang Chen was completely dumbfounded. How could someone as powerful as the Queen Mother of the West have her way home blocked?

"Where is Your Majesty's home?" Zhang Chen asked cautiously.

Now that things have come to this, he is no longer afraid of angering the Queen Mother of the West, because no matter whether he angers her or not, the outcome will not change; she will not kill him.

He is a useful person to the Queen Mother of the West!

The Queen Mother of the West withdrew her gaze from the sky and looked at Zhang Chen: "A very, very far place, or perhaps a place you can never return to."

The Queen Mother of the West didn't say much, focusing on absorbing the energy of heaven and earth. Seeing this, Zhang Chen didn't dare to ask any more questions, lest he anger the Queen Mother of the West.

Time flew by, and soon Biyun Niangniang arrived at the foot of the altar with a thousand golden-armored warriors. Then Biyun Niangniang ascended the altar and respectfully bowed before Xi Wangmu: "Your Majesty, the thousand golden-armored warriors have been assembled. Please give your decree."

Upon hearing this, the Queen Mother of the West's eyes gleamed with divine light. She said to Zhang Chen, "Jia Shiba, your substitution technique has been perfected. All the thousand golden-armored warriors below are your substitutes. Let me see your supernatural powers."

Zhang Chen was shocked upon hearing this: Were all those thousand people his substitutes? What exactly did the Queen Mother of the West want him to do for her?
Although reluctant, Zhang Chen could not refuse and could only do as instructed. He flew down from the altar and arrived in front of the group of golden-armored generals. Looking at their honest faces, Zhang Chen couldn't help but mutter "What a sin!" Then, looking at the golden-armored generals before him, he saw the aura of the Queen Mother of the West descend, freezing the thousand golden-armored generals in place. Zhang Chen's divine power flickered continuously, and he gently touched the golden-armored generals with his finger. The next moment, countless red threads intertwined and wrapped around the golden-armored generals' bodies, turning into an invisible net. The net shimmered with a strange and eerie red light, shuttling through every meridian of the golden-armored generals' bodies. Before long, the meridians were covered with red threads, forming a knotted shape. Then, all the red threads disappeared without a trace.

The Substitute Death Divine Power doesn't mean you can just call someone to die in your place. Before activating this divine power, you must first plant a 'seed of cause and effect'. The web woven into the threads of cause and effect is the seed of the Substitute Death Law.

Zhang Chen followed the same method, and it took him three full days to plant the Thousand Knots on all the golden-armored generals, turning them all into puppets to take his place in death.

"Please don't blame me, I had no choice," Zhang Chen sighed softly, then returned to the altar to report to the Queen Mother of the West: "Your subordinates have already planted the seed of substitution."

The Queen Mother of the West nodded upon seeing this: "Summon the thousand golden-armored generals to the altar."

Then Biyun Niangniang went to deliver the order, and soon a thousand golden-armored generals had already ascended the altar, completely unaware that they had become mere tools, and respectfully looked at the Queen Mother of the West.

The Queen Mother of the West's gaze swept over Zhang Chen, finally landing on Lady Biyun, and then said, "You and Shun should descend the altar."

Knowing that things had reached a critical juncture, Lady Biyun quickly looked at Zhang Chen with teary eyes. Zhang Chen smiled at Lady Biyun and said, "Wait for me!"

He then looked at Shun and said, "Take good care of your mother."

Shun knelt down and kowtowed to Zhang Chen. At this moment, the innate array on the altar had already been activated, repelling Biyun Niangniang and Shun from the altar. Only Zhang Chen, Xi Wangmu, and the thousand golden-armored warriors remained on the altar.

Zhang Chen stood respectfully to the side, waiting for the Queen Mother of the West to use her supernatural powers to regulate her breathing. Time passed quickly, day after day. Finally, one day, the Queen Mother of the West opened her eyes. Her clothes rustled, and a sharp light flashed in her eyes. She raised her head and looked up at the sky: "Today, I will go home! No one can stop me from going home!"

The Queen Mother of the West formed hand seals, and the altar beneath her feet trembled violently. The Kunlun Mountain dragon vein emitted a buzzing sound: "I first severely damaged the earth's dragon vein, using its power to weaken the earth's power. Now that the balance of heaven and earth has been broken, I want to see how much of your heavenly power you can still exert. If you want to maintain the balance of heaven and earth and also block me, the slightest mistake will result in the collapse of heaven and earth. Think about it yourself."

After the Queen Mother of the West finished speaking, the Five Elements Flags around her flickered. The five flags rotated and formed an array. Then, terrifying power burst out and rushed into the distant void.

With a crisp sound in the void, space seemed to shatter into pieces like glass, forming a huge black hole. The Queen Mother of the West pointed her finger at the black hole, and countless golden lights shot out from her fingertip. Countless spatial nodes on her fingertip flickered, and in just a moment, the black hole was stabilized, forming a spatial passage.

The spatial passage was filled with dazzling, multicolored light, as if the legendary celestial realm lay on the other side. "Rise!" The Queen Mother of the West formed hand seals, and the entire thousand-mile altar trembled. Accompanied by a mournful cry from the Kunlun Mountain dragon vein, the entire altar was uprooted and soared into the air, heading towards the spatial passage.

Zhang Chen, standing on the altar, looked down at the Kunlun Mountains, which had lost a thousand-mile radius in the lower realm, and a look of shock appeared in his eyes. When he first climbed the Kunlun Mountains, the Kunlun Mountains in front of him were only slightly similar in outline to the Laobie Ridge of later generations. Now, with the altar being uprooted, the terrain of the Kunlun Mountains overlapped with the Laobie Ridge in his memory by at least five-tenths.

Zhang Chen had no time to ponder the cause and effect, because at this moment, the Queen Mother of the West had already harnessed the altar and rushed towards the spatial passage.

The altar uprooted not only the altar itself, but also the reverse scale of the Kunlun Mountain dragon vein, as well as a large section of the Kunlun Mountain dragon vein that was pulled out. All of these were absorbed by the altar and merged into the thousand-mile-long altar.

"Click~"

Thunderclaps flashed in the void, blocking the altar's path. The dragon vein energy on the altar circulated, and all the lightning bolts were dissolved by the eighty-one great formations as soon as they approached the altar, becoming nourishment for this innate great formation and being refined by it.

As lightning poured in, the altar seemed to be refined, constantly shedding debris. Countless fragments fell to the ground, and the altar shrank continuously, but transformed into the form of jade. Under the power of the lightning, the earth and stone of the altar were continuously melted and transformed into glass, which then turned into jade.

The lightning, like a sudden storm, blocked Zhang Chen's vision. Only the sound of exploding lightning could be heard, and the outside world could no longer be seen.

Time and space seemed to be reversed and blurred at this moment, with mysterious forces flowing in the void. The Queen Mother of the West smiled coldly: "Unless you mobilize the River of Time itself, how can you do anything to me? Moreover, I have long since attained the Dao of Primordial Chaos, and am immortal and indestructible, with an endless lifespan. Even if you have the River of Time, you cannot do anything to me."

As the Queen Mother of the West finished speaking, the lightning in the sky disappeared, and the two had reached the end of the passage. In the distance, they could see a magnificent and vast river blocking their way.

The river meanders across the void, its width is 99,900 miles, its depth is unknown, its water is clear and unpolluted, its origin is unknown, and its destination is unknown; as far as the eye can see, its edge is invisible.

"The River of Time? You actually summoned the River of Time?" The Queen Mother of the West looked at the vast celestial river and her expression changed. Although she was not afraid of the River of Time's invasion, it would be a big problem if she accidentally fell into it. The key was that her vital essence was constantly being depleted. Once trapped in the River of Time formation, she would probably be worn down to death by a single acceleration of time.

"However, I was prepared for the River of Time! Your River of Time Formation is powerful, but it can't do anything to me! You underestimate the power of a Primordial Chaos expert." The Queen Mother of the West's body shone with divine light, and the Five Banners swirled around her. In the next moment, the Five Banners transformed into an array, mobilizing the five elements of heaven and earth and merging with the altar beneath her feet. Then, the five elements on the altar intertwined, actually reversing the five elements into yin and yang, and yin and yang reversed into chaos. The entire altar was enveloped in chaotic energy.

After absorbing the chaotic energy, the altar, which was originally smelted into jade by lightning, is now transforming into a primordial material.

"Charge!" The Queen Mother of the West activated the altar shrouded in chaotic energy, and slammed it into the River of Time, creating countless waves on its surface.

"You cannot trap me!" The Queen Mother of the West's voice was full of arrogance. Despite the erosion of time, the altar shrouded in chaotic energy remained unmoved.

However, Zhang Chen, who was standing on the altar, sensed something was wrong. Why?
Because he could sense that the power of the River of Time was still being transmitted and radiated through the great array, the flow of time and space on the entire altar seemed to be accelerating, and he could feel that his lifespan was being lost more than ten times faster.

"Your Majesty, why do I feel like I'm getting old?" Zhang Chen exclaimed to the Queen Mother of the West while standing on the altar.

Upon hearing this, the Queen Mother of the West remained expressionless, seemingly sensing the change in the flow of time. She then took out three peach trees from her sleeve and casually tossed them onto the altar. The peach trees took root and transformed into three towering peach trees, each a hundred miles tall, with enormous peaches shimmering on them.

"This is the river of time, which even chaos cannot completely stop. You eat the peaches of immortality to prolong your life, so do not disturb me!" the Queen Mother of the West instructed, and then continued to drive the altar into the depths of time and space.

Seeing this, Zhang Chen dared not say anything more. He quickly flew up the peach tree, picked a nine-thousand-year-old peach, and began to devour it. His eyes were filled with a strange look. Watching the Queen Mother of the West's back, Zhang Chen pondered, "Could I take this opportunity to tamper with the peach tree? For example, break off a branch? Or perhaps try to directly invade the peach tree's spiritual power?"

(End of this chapter)