I picked up skill fragments in the demon world.

Chapter 848 Great Luo True Spirit
With her left hand holding up the altar and her right hand holding up the Five Banners, the Queen Mother of the West was surrounded by five-colored light as she surged towards the River of Destiny.

"Even if you are a Primordial Grand Luo Immortal, you can't escape the shackles of fate." A figure appeared on the river of fate, and with a wave of his hand, countless chains, like serpents, rushed towards the Queen Mother of the West.

"I am a Primordial Golden Immortal, immortal even if the sun and moon decay, and eternal even if heaven and earth perish. Who can harm me? Even if the world is destroyed, I can continue to live in chaos. I have long since transcended the world. How can your river of fate trap me?" The Queen Mother of the West's voice was full of stubbornness. At this moment, the divine light protecting her began to recede, and Zhang Chen saw the Queen Mother of the West's true face for the first time while standing on the altar.

How to describe it?
There are poems to prove it:
The Jade Pool, a fairyland surpassing all others, possesses jade-like bones and icy skin, radiating brilliance.

Her hair, adorned with a slanted hairpin, shone with the brilliance of stars and moon; her flowing robes trailed gently in the long, misty haze.

A blue phoenix glances back, its silhouette startling; peaches hang shyly, intoxicating the Jade Emperor.

A smile that brightens the world, making even the most beautiful clouds pale in comparison.

Zhang Chen was stunned. The beauty of the Queen Mother of the West was unparalleled, like an embodiment of the Great Dao, flawless and captivating. But he was even more shocked by the power of the Primordial Golden Immortal. He saw the Queen Mother of the West surrounded by multicolored light, her slender hands carrying unique and domineering Primordial Laws, striking down at the entangled chains. The next moment, the chains were severed as easily as a flimsy straw.

The next moment, countless chains rose up again, crisscrossing and weaving together to form a single chain. This chain shimmered with a chaotic light, grew incredibly thick, and wrapped itself around the Queen Mother of the West's waist, attempting to drag her into the river of fate.

"This is the power of all living beings. All living beings are entangled in karma, and all of this karma is related to you. You can forget about escaping." The figure on the River of Fate revealed a mocking look in his eyes.

"Damn it! What kind of methods are these? I didn't see you merge and fuse all the causes and effects last time. I've never seen you have such abilities before!" A look of horror appeared in the eyes of the Queen Mother of the West.

"You were severely injured by the lightning punishment last time, so you're not worthy of me using such methods," the figure on the River of Destiny said unhurriedly, his voice devoid of any emotion.

As the Queen Mother of the West's body gradually sank into the River of Fate, she coldly snorted, "You think this can trap me? Watch me cleave your River of Fate in two!"

Then, the Queen Mother of the West was surrounded by divine light, bursting out with dazzling radiance. She took a step forward and strode towards the River of Destiny, radiating vigorous power as she charged towards the figure in the River of Destiny.

Seeing the Queen Mother of the West charging towards them, the figure on the River of Fate curled up a slight smile: "You are already bound by fate, how could you possibly be my match?"

Then, her palm slowly extended, and the River of Destiny churned, from which a long sword emerged. The sword was engraved with 365 runes, which shimmered with a wondrous luster and emitted a divine light. Then, the figure stepped into the river and charged towards the Queen Mother of the West.

"boom!"

In an instant, the river of fate surged with countless waves, space shattered, time twisted, and chaotic energy permeated the river of time. At this moment, the surging waters rose up and fell towards the altar.

"Be careful! This is the Water of Destiny. Once you are washed away, you will be cleansed from the world by the power of destiny, or you will fall into a calamity of chaotic cause and effect in the future." The old ape's voice was full of horror: "Quickly use the peach tree to hide. The peach tree is an innate spiritual root and is not tainted by cause and effect. You can use the peach tree to hide from the Water of Destiny."

The old ape grabbed Zhang Chen, and in a flash, leaped onto the peach tree, choosing a crevice to slip inside.

The peach tree was hundreds of miles tall, and any bump or dent on its bark could be considered a primitive cave, making it easy to hide.

The old ape dragged Zhang Chen into the cave, while the group of golden-armored warriors each found a crack in the bark and crawled inside, then picked peach leaves to seal the crack.

Zhang Chen watched as the old ape used peach blossom leaves to seal the cave entrance, a look of surprise in his eyes: "Even an ancestor who is a Great Luo Golden Immortal fears the power of fate?"

The old ape turned to look at Zhang Chen: "A Grand Luo Golden Immortal is merely someone who has transcended the River of Time and is not afraid of the invasion of the power of time. As for the River of Destiny? The essence of destiny is cause and effect, and even a Grand Luo Golden Immortal cannot withstand the power of cause and effect."

Zhang Chen thought of the sage from his previous life. It was said that sages were untouched by karma, so he asked, "I've heard that the Primordial Great Luo is untouched by karma, so why is the Queen Mother of the West still troubled by the power of fate?"

“It is true that a Primordial Golden Immortal is untouched by karma, but where is this place? It is the River of Destiny, a place where the karma of all beings converges. If you voluntarily jump in, it is equivalent to voluntarily getting tainted by karma. Even a saint cannot escape the calamity,” the old ape said.

Zhang Chen thought of a metaphor: a sage is like a pure white glass of water, which is originally unstained, but if you soak it in it for a long time, it will eventually get stained.

The Queen Mother of the West is now essentially jumping into that colorful dye vat. If she can't get out of it quickly, she'll likely be stained with the colors, and colors that are extremely difficult to wash off.

A glint of light appeared in Zhang Chen's eyes. He seemed to have learned the secrets of the Primordial Saint; even the Primordial Saint wasn't omniscient or omnipotent. Outside, the chaotic energy swirled, and terrifying waves surged on the River of Destiny. Earth, water, wind, and fire reawakened, and the yin and yang energies rose, causing the entire River of Destiny to churn with countless waves, seemingly on the verge of collapse. At this moment, the mist of the River of Destiny enveloped the altar, obscuring Zhang Chen's vision. A torrential rain of destiny began to fall outside, and with the peach petals sealing it off, Zhang Chen could no longer see the outside world. He could only sense the altar constantly floating up and down in the void.

"The essence of the River of Destiny is the power of cause and effect, but unfortunately it is not governed by the authority of water. Otherwise, I could have further enhanced my authority of water." Zhang Chen still had the mind to think about how to strengthen his own supernatural powers.

"I wonder what the Queen Mother of the West's background is, that she can actually gamble with fate?" Zhang Chen asked the white ape tentatively.

The white ape shook its head: "I was the first white ape after the creation of heaven and earth. However, when I was born, the Queen Mother of the West had already occupied Kunlun Mountain and built countless palaces. At that time, the entire Kunlun Mountain was desolate, without a single living being. The Queen Mother of the West and I were the only living beings. Later, I was attracted by the peaches of immortality and went to steal them. I was caught by the Queen Mother of the West and became the manager of the peach orchard, responsible for managing the growth and harvesting of the peaches. At that time, Kunlun Mountain was empty, there was nothing there. Not only was Kunlun Mountain empty, but the whole world was empty..."

The white ape seemed to be lost in memories at this point, his words abruptly stopping, a hint of reminiscence in his eyes.

Looking at the white ape before him, Zhang Chen sensed that its origins were likely extraordinary, so he asked, "May I ask what your background is, senior?"

"I am the first white ape to take human form after the creation of the world, and the first being in this world to transcend the river of time," the white ape said.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Chen looked surprised. He hadn't expected that the white ape was the first being to leap out of the river of time. So he asked again, "I wonder what divine power a Great Luo Golden Immortal possesses?"

"If I jump out of the river of time and remain immortal as the years go by, does that count?" the white ape asked.

“Of course it counts!” Zhang Chen nodded. Immortality is the greatest crisis hanging over all living beings. Only by jumping out of the river of time and not being affected by time can one have enough time to comprehend the mysteries of heaven and earth.

"But how does one attain the Great Luo Dao?" Zhang Chen asked tentatively.

These are all secrets. If one can discover the scales and claws, it will be of great benefit to oneself in the future and can point one in the right direction.

Unexpectedly, the white ape glanced at Zhang Chen and then shook his head: "Your aptitude is too poor; you have no chance of attaining the Great Luo Dao."

Zhang Chen was stunned upon hearing this, his eyes filled with disbelief: "Not even the slightest chance?"

“To attain the Great Luo Dao, one needs to transform their primordial spirit into a true spirit, and only then can the true spirit have the opportunity to transcend the river of time. And you? Although you have a primordial spirit, how can a primordial spirit compare to a primordial spirit?” the white ape said.

Zhang Chen was somewhat unconvinced: "As long as I cultivate diligently in the future, I will eventually be able to transform my primordial spirit into a primordial spirit."

"Primordial spirit is innate; only innate beings possess it. I've never heard of it being cultivated later in life," the white ape scoffed.

Zhang Chen was stunned: "How could this be? Is there absolutely no hope for life after birth?"

The white ape seemed to be looking at an idiot: "You seem pretty smart, how come you're so stupid that you can't even understand this kind of thing? The primordial spirit and the primordial soul are like two different species. Can a chicken turn into a pig out of thin air? This is a difference in species, which directly determines the upper limit."

Zhang Chen fell silent upon hearing this, a chill creeping into his heart. If he truly couldn't transform into a primordial spirit, wouldn't that mean his life's limit had been reached? Would he never be able to glimpse the realm of Hunyuan?

"Is there any rare and precious material that can transform a person's primordial spirit?" Zhang Chen asked, unwilling to give up.

The white ape shook its head: "Never heard of it."

"How could this be?" Zhang Chen's eyes showed disbelief.

The white ape patted Zhang Chen's shoulder with great sympathy: "But don't worry too much. You've been favored by the Queen Mother of the West and have the Peach Tree to prolong your life. Even if you can't attain the Great Luo Dao, you can still live forever without disaster or calamity. With the Queen Mother of the West protecting you, who would dare to kill you? Didn't you see that even if I attain the Great Luo Dao, I would still treat you as an equal?"

Zhang Chen was speechless upon hearing the white ape's words. How could these be the same? Is it the same feeling to achieve immortality through one's own efforts and to rely on others for immortality?

(End of this chapter)