I picked up skill fragments in the demon world.

Chapter 846 The Real Purpose

Zhang Chen looked at his skills. His time skill alone didn't seem particularly powerful, but when combined with the sentence that followed, "and the cause and effect related to this matter," it became quite formidable.

Time-based skills not only damage individual targets, but also involve the causal relationships that the target is currently experiencing.

This [and the causal relationships related to it at this time] are worthy of much study.

After staring at the skill for a long, long time, Zhang Chen took a deep breath and realized that this skill was exceptionally overpowered.

Looking at the skill points, Zhang Chen realized that even if he swallowed several innate demon gods, he might not be able to accumulate enough points to upgrade this skill.

Then Zhang Chen looked at the Queen Mother of the West. At this moment, the Queen Mother of the West was devouring the primordial energy between heaven and earth. The spatial storm in the void was transformed into surging primordial energy by the great formation and absorbed by the Queen Mother of the West.

"It seems that crossing the River of Time must have taken a toll on the Queen Mother of the West." Zhang Chen looked up at the sky and saw a gray expanse filled with terrifying spatial storms that raged on and on, seemingly about to devour everything in the world.

Just as countless thoughts were flashing through Zhang Chen's mind, the Queen Mother of the West seemed to have recovered and looked at Zhang Chen with her eyes: "Next, you need to be prepared."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Chen's heart skipped a beat, and he stared blankly at the Queen Mother of the West: "Your Majesty, my cultivation is too low; how could I possibly be of any use?"

The Queen Mother of the West did not respond to this, but gave Zhang Chen a meaningful look before continuing to steer the altar through the void storm, stirring up terrifying gales wherever it went.

"I've really committed a terrible sin! I just hope the Queen Mother of the West won't send me out to die in vain, otherwise I'm afraid I'll be in trouble." Zhang Chen sighed softly, his heart filled with helplessness. He turned to look at the thousand golden-armored warriors behind him, and then thought about his substitution technique. Zhang Chen seemed to know the predicament he was about to face.

Just as Zhang Chen was lost in thought, he suddenly saw the spatial storm being torn apart. The Queen Mother of the West tore open the void with both hands, creating a gray passage.

The passage had just formed when purple lightning gathered in the void, large purple clouds condensed within it, and then a golden eye emerged from the purple mist.

This was the second time Zhang Chen had seen the Eye of Heavenly Punishment. The golden eyes shone with a cold and ruthless majesty, and all things in heaven and earth seemed to turn into straw dogs. Facing that Eye of Heavenly Punishment, even the majestic aura of the Queen Mother of the West seemed to turn into nothingness.

"I'm not afraid of you! I've made all the necessary preparations, and this time I'm determined to break through!" The Queen Mother of the West's voice was filled with determination as she glared at the golden eyes. The next moment, she rode the altar straight towards the golden eyes.

"Holy crap! The Queen Mother of the West is defying the heavens! She actually dares to go straight for the Eye of Heavenly Punishment? What makes her so special?" Zhang Chen's eyes were filled with incomprehension. He was thinking about why the Queen Mother of the West dared to challenge the Eye of Heavenly Punishment, but he soon found out what the Queen Mother of the West was capable of.

The next moment, a bolt of purple lightning shot out from those golden eyes. Ignoring the innate array, the purple lightning passed through the void and headed straight for the Queen Mother of the West. Just as the lightning was about to engulf the Queen Mother of the West, a booming sound came from the void. The Queen Mother of the West's eyes were filled with disdain: "Take my place!"

The lightning struck the Queen Mother of the West's body and was absorbed directly by her. The Queen Mother of the West seemed to be a bottomless pit, taking the heavenly punishment into her body.

Zhang Chen, who was watching from the sidelines, was eating melon seeds when suddenly his body trembled. The next moment, a purple lightning bolt, carrying world-destroying power and the mighty will of heaven and earth, appeared directly in his body.

"Fuck!"

Zhang Chen cursed out loud. He finally knew what the Queen Mother of the West's trump card was, and he finally understood why she had urged him to cultivate the Substitute Death Divine Power.

The Queen Mother of the West actually used him as a scapegoat, which gave her the courage to face the heavenly punishment. The reason she urged him to cultivate the scapegoat technique was probably because she was afraid he wouldn't be able to withstand the lightning punishment and would die. So she arranged for the thousand Yellow Turban warriors to die in his place.

Zhang Chen felt utterly humiliated, his eyes filled with helplessness, yet he didn't know what to say.

He knew perfectly well that the Queen Mother of the West allowed him to eat peaches of immortality at will and make any demands he wanted. How could such a good thing happen?

Fortunately, Zhang Chen possessed the Eye of Heavenly Punishment within him. Although it wasn't as powerful as the Eye of Heavenly Punishment found outside, it was still the Eye of Heavenly Punishment, and it immediately absorbed the Purple Heaven Divine Lightning for him. It's important to note that the Eye of Heavenly Punishment Zhang Chen found was in its complete, undiminished state.

After the Heavenly Punishment Lightning entered Zhang Chen's body, it was as if it had returned home, directly disappearing into the Eye of Heavenly Punishment. Then, Zhang Chen's Eye of Heavenly Punishment actually solidified a bit.

When the Queen Mother of the West saw that Zhang Chen had withstood a complete Heavenly Punishment Eye without any harm, she was shocked: "How is this possible? Even if he is immune to the Heavenly Punishment Lightning, this lightning is the complete form of the Heavenly Punishment. This is too much! There must be a limit, right?"

But Zhang Chen's ability to withstand a complete Heavenly Punishment Lightning is a good thing for her. Why do you think that is?

The biggest drawback of the substitution technique is that in order to use this supernatural power, one must have someone who can withstand its power. Since the Queen Mother of the West had her own substitution technique, why didn't she just ask the strongman to take her place instead of choosing Zhang Chen? Because the strongman was nothing but an ant in the face of the divine lightning of heavenly punishment. If he couldn't withstand it, he would be reduced to ashes. The remaining power could not be transferred and the Queen Mother of the West would still have to bear it herself.

In her plan, Zhang Chen would take the Heavenly Punishment Lightning in his place. Even if Zhang Chen couldn't withstand the entire Heavenly Punishment Lightning, as long as he absorbed most of it, it would act as a powerful resistor. Then, with the Golden Armored General taking his place, Zhang Chen would be able to withstand the Purple Heaven Divine Lightning. However, all her plans came to nothing. Zhang Chen's physique exceeded her expectations. She saw Zhang Chen silently absorb a complete bolt of Purple Heaven Divine Lightning without any sign of being unable to withstand it.

"Good! Good! Good!" The Queen Mother of the West was overjoyed and said "good" three times in a row, her voice full of joy.

The next moment, another bolt of purple lightning struck down, and the Queen Mother of the West revealed a hint of disdain in her eyes: "You've run out of tricks, what can you do to me!"

Then, the Queen Mother of the West allowed the Purple Heaven Divine Lightning to enter her body, and then used the Substitute Death Technique to transfer the Purple Heaven Divine Lightning into Zhang Chen's body out of thin air.

Zhang Chen stood on the altar, his body trembling. His hair crackled with purple lightning. Although he had the Heavenly Eye to absorb the lightning, it still emitted streaks of electricity, making his body numb and unable to move.

"When exactly did the Queen Mother of the West plant the seed of substitution in my body? How could I not have noticed? Even my cheat system didn't react at all? As expected of a Primordial Saint, her supernatural powers are truly incredible." Zhang Chen praised inwardly, but couldn't help feeling a little uneasy.

Just as countless thoughts were swirling in Zhang Chen's mind, he suddenly stopped and looked into the distance. He saw that the Queen Mother of the West had rushed to the Eye of Heavenly Punishment. Then, she gathered a surge of divine power in her hand and struck the Eye of Heavenly Punishment. Then, a loud bang was heard, and the Eye of Heavenly Punishment was torn apart by the Queen Mother of the West.

Zhang Chen stood on the altar, watching the Queen Mother of the West tear apart the Eye of Heavenly Punishment. His eyes were filled with horror. He saw the Eye of Heavenly Punishment torn apart, and purple lightning scattered in all directions, spreading to all corners of the world. The purple lightning had dispersed and was no longer supported by the will of Heaven, losing its power to converge into one place.

"The Queen Mother of the West endured eighteen bolts of Purple Heaven Divine Lightning before arriving at the Eye of Heavenly Punishment." Zhang Chen silently calculated the numbers in his mind, and when he looked inward at the Eye of Heavenly Punishment within his body, he discovered that a strange will was gathering within it.

The Heavenly Punishment Lightning, carrying the will of the Heavenly Dao, was absorbed along with the Heavenly Punishment Lightning. At this moment, that trace of unique will was also absorbed by the Heavenly Punishment Eye. Zhang Chen felt that his Heavenly Punishment Eye seemed to have gained a trace of inexplicable will, undergoing some kind of mysterious transformation in the darkness. It was incredible and full of mysterious attributes. The Heavenly Punishment Eye opened and swept over Zhang Chen's primordial spirit. Zhang Chen finally noticed the trickery in his body. He saw that there was a strange thousand knot in his primordial spirit. The thousand knot covered all the acupoints of his body, but it was clearly different from the thousand knot in his own body.

"How did the Queen Mother of the West plant this substitute seed in my body without me noticing?" Zhang Chen's eyes showed disbelief.

Since he had mastered the art of substitution, he naturally knew how to counter this supernatural power. Now that he had already realized the method planted by the Queen Mother of the West, Zhang Chen's attempt to break it only added a little trouble.

"But should I crack it?" A thought flashed through Zhang Chen's mind.

This place is neither here nor there, and can be described as extremely vicious. If I break the thousand knots, I will be breaking ties with the Queen Mother of the West. When I lose my usefulness, how could the Queen Mother of the West forgive me?

Most importantly, if the Queen Mother of the West were to die under the Purple Heaven Divine Thunder, how would he return to Kunlun Mountain? Wouldn't he also have to be buried with the Queen Mother of the West?

Countless thoughts flashed through Zhang Chen's mind: "The Queen Mother of the West would not easily ask me to die in her place. After all, keeping me alive is more useful than killing me. Unless absolutely necessary, the Queen Mother of the West would never use me to die in her place and abandon me as a pawn."

But the thought of becoming the Queen Mother of the West's scapegoat still gave Zhang Chen a feeling of utter dismay. After all, having one's life in someone else's hands was not a pleasant experience.

(End of this chapter)