I picked up skill fragments in the demon world.

Chapter 854 The Queen Mother of the West Sleeps

Zhang Chen made up his mind to keep the Heavenly Fire Spirit in check and ask it to help him force out the true spirit of the peach tree.

Logically, Zhang Chen's wood-attribute authority should be the nemesis of the peach tree, but the peach tree is too big, and Zhang Chen's wood-attribute authority cannot cover the entire tree. Naturally, he cannot command the tree's true spirit. If he were to disturb the tree, it would surely alert the Queen Mother of the West, which would be a very bad situation.

Therefore, if Zhang Chen wants to capture the true spirit of the peach tree, he must first force it out.

Zhang Chen's expression turned cold: "Ancestor, don't go too far. The Heaven-Opening Spirit and the Heaven-Opening Water Spirit are my treasures, they don't belong to you, why should I give them to you?"

"Boy, you'd better think this through. When I'm dealing with the true spirit of the Peach Tree, I only need to use a little trick to wake up the Queen Mother of the West. When she realizes that it was you who was secretly causing trouble, what do you think will happen?" The Creation Fire Spirit threatened Zhang Chen in a sinister tone.

Zhang Chen's expression was gloomy and uncertain. He was so angry that his face turned from blue to purple, and his eyes revealed a hint of annoyance. But in the end, he took a deep breath, swallowed his anger, and said to the Creation Fire Spirit, "Fine! As long as you help me suppress the true spirit of that peach tree as promised, I can give you the origin of the Creation Heaven Spirit and the Creation Water Spirit."

"That's more like it! A wise man submits to circumstances! Although you may not know how you've refined me, you might not be able to control me either. You should know that my cultivation is far superior to yours. I have countless ways to harm or kill you. With just a thought, I can attack you from a thousand miles away, summoning a star to crush you or moving a mountain to kill you. You will surely die!"

"I have been cultivating in this bottomless abyss for so many years, and my temper has been greatly tamed. I have become a good person." The Fire Spirit of Creation said this with a sudden surge of emotion, boasting about his own temper.

Zhang Chen glanced at the Creation Fire Spirit without saying a word. If he weren't merely in control of the Creation Fire Spirit and unable to command it, he would have made the other party taste his own methods.

Control and command are different. Control is based on Zhang Chen's strength, using the Heaven-Opening Flame to attack the opponent. The extent of its power depends on Zhang Chen's own cultivation. Command, on the other hand, is to order the Heaven-Opening Flame Spirit to actively meet the enemy. The extent of its power depends on the Heaven-Opening Flame Spirit's own strength.

"Boy, when are we going to make our move? Now that the Queen Mother of the West has left Kunlun Mountain, it's the perfect time for us to act. Why are you delaying?" the Creation Fire Spirit asked.

“First, the Queen Mother of the West may return at any time. Your battle with the true spirit of the Peach Tree will certainly not be a short-term affair. If the Queen Mother of the West were to witness it, it would be a huge problem.” Zhang Chen held up two fingers. “Second… just wait for my news.”

“The Queen Mother of the West’s battle with the three demon gods will surely worsen her injuries. Once she returns and falls into a deep sleep, that will be our opportunity to make our move.” After Zhang Chen finished speaking, his figure flashed and he disappeared from the spot.

Zhang Chen waited in the palace for three days before a streak of colorful light flashed in the sky. Then, the figure of the Queen Mother of the West appeared in the palace, carrying a human figure in her hand. The human figure was fiery red all over, with three heads and six arms, as if it were a flame transformed into human form. The Queen Mother of the West then used some unknown means to capture an incense burner, shrink the human figure and put it inside, and then put the lid of the incense burner on top.

"The God of Fire has been suppressed by the Queen Mother of the West!" Zhang Chen's heart pounded when he saw this. The Queen Mother of the West was indeed a powerful being of the Hunyuan level. Even though she was severely injured, she was still able to suppress a primordial demon god.

However, Zhang Chen was now even more convinced that the Queen Mother of the West's condition was extremely serious. Why? In the past, when the Queen Mother of the West was at her peak, she had not been able to defeat the three innate demon gods. Yet now she had forcefully suppressed the God of Fire. This was because she wanted to use thunderous means to intimidate the demons and cover up her weakness. She must have paid a great price in the previous struggle with the Heavenly Dao.

"I heard you request an audience with me?" Just as Zhang Chen was pondering the Queen Mother of the West's ruthless methods, the Queen Mother of the West flashed and arrived at Zhang Chen's alchemy room.

"I have some questions about this building and dare not take any action for fear of damaging the Kunlun dragon vein. Please enlighten me, Your Majesty." Zhang Chen quickly took out the blueprints and asked the Queen Mother of the West about the key points of the feng shui formation.

The Queen Mother of the West glanced at Zhang Chen, but did not doubt him. Instead, she patiently answered his questions.

After about half a day, the Queen Mother of the West finished answering Zhang Chen's questions and then asked, "Are there any more doubts?"

Zhang Chen quickly shook his head: "No."

The Queen Mother of the West nodded and added, "Remember, this building must be completed within a thousand years, or I will not let you off lightly."

"Yes!" Zhang Chen bowed immediately.

"Have you condensed the Three Lights Divine Water?" the Queen Mother of the West inquired.

Zhang Chen nodded: "It has been condensed."

"The Peach Tree is of utmost importance, and you must not neglect it," the Queen Mother of the West carefully instructed. "I know it is difficult for me to entrust you with these two tasks, but I have no other capable people at my disposal, so I can only ask you to bear with it. I will certainly reward you handsomely in the future." "It is my honor to serve Your Majesty wholeheartedly," Zhang Chen bowed even lower. "I dare not ask Your Majesty for rewards."

The Queen Mother of the West remained noncommittal upon hearing this: "Work hard, your future is as bright as that of the white ape."

After speaking, the Queen Mother of the West vanished, leaving Zhang Chen standing silently in the palace.

The construction of Kunlun Mountain was in full swing, but Zhang Chen was not in a hurry to make a move on the peach tree. He was afraid that the Queen Mother of the West was not asleep enough, or that she was still watching to see if the other two demon gods would come to attack and cause trouble. So he continued to wait patiently.

One hundred years
Two hundred years

Three hundred years later, Zhang Chen, holding a compass, stood in a cave in the Kunlun Mountains, looking at the magnificent palaces built inside, his eyes filled with doubt: "Strange, why did the Queen Mother of the West build underground palaces? I have only heard of building large tombs underground, never of building palaces for the living underground."

Zhang Chen paused here, stunned for a moment: "The Great Tomb?"

At this moment, he was filled with doubt and suspicion. He quickly took out the blueprints and examined them carefully. The more he looked, the stranger it seemed. The feng shui formation of the underground palace gathered the power of the dragon vein of the entire Kunlun Mountains in this place. This was simply a naturally blessed place.

“But that doesn’t make sense either. The Queen Mother of the West is a Primordial Saint, an immortal being. She would never die, so why would she build a large tomb for herself?” Zhang Chen immediately rejected this idea.

You must know that the Queen Mother of the West was a Primordial Golden Immortal, an immortal being who could not be buried even by the Heavenly Dao. How could the Queen Mother of the West die?

"Could it be that the Queen Mother of the West wants to seize the power of the entire dragon vein to heal her injuries?" Zhang Chen looked at the map in his hand and pondered the Queen Mother of the West's current situation, becoming increasingly suspicious.

Over the past three hundred years of construction, the feng shui power of Kunlun Mountain has been activated, and a mysterious energy is gathering from the entire Kunlun Mountain towards the location of the Dragon Pearl.

Although the gathered power is weak, it already covers the entire Kunlun Mountains. The reason why the gathered power is not strong enough at the moment is that the Feng Shui formation has not been fully completed. At this time, it only has a vague outline.

"Does the Queen Mother of the West intend to devour the entire dragon vein to heal her injuries?" Zhang Chen's eyes were filled with disbelief. He knew that Kunlun Mountain was the ancestor of all veins in this world. If the dragon vein of Kunlun Mountain had a problem, the entire operation of heaven and earth would be disrupted.

Zhang Chen pondered the blueprints for a long time, but still couldn't figure out the key to it. He could only take it one step at a time. No matter what the Queen Mother of the West was planning, he was just a pawn and had no power to resist.

"Three hundred years have passed. We can try to probe and see if the Queen Mother of the West has fallen into a deep sleep." With that thought, Zhang Chen picked up the blueprints and flew towards the Queen Mother of the West's palace. As soon as he arrived at the palace gate, he was blocked by the golden-armored general again.

Zhang Chen had no choice but to turn back. He stood expressionless before the alchemy furnace, looked at the raging flames inside, and said, "We can get started now!"

As he finished speaking, the flames in the alchemy furnace flickered slightly, and the Heaven-Opening Fire Spirit underground locked onto the location of the Peach Tree. Then, it melted a passage in the ground, and the flames surged towards the Peach Tree.

Zhang Chen pretended not to know about the actions of the Heavenly Fire Spirit and continued to sit in front of the alchemy furnace to study the blueprints. It wasn't until the next day that he got up and went to the Peach Garden. After passing through the Innate Grand Array, he arrived in front of the Peach Tree and saw that the Peach Tree was somewhat withered, and the leaves on the tree had wilted.

Zhang Chen took out a bottle of Three Lights Divine Water and poured it on the roots of the peach tree. Looking at the peach tree in front of him, a look of surprise appeared in his eyes: "Strange, I used Three Lights Divine Water to water the peach tree. Logically speaking, the peach tree should be lush and gradually recover. Why is the peach tree wilting today?"

Zhang Chen walked around the peach tree several times, seemingly unaware of the tree's ailment. He could only sigh and leave the tree to continue overseeing the construction of the feng shui formation.

Of course he had to put on an act. What if the Queen Mother of the West wasn't asleep and was secretly watching? When facing the Queen Mother of the West, no amount of caution was too much!

Life seemed to have quieted down. Besides building the feng shui array every day, Zhang Chen secretly observed the reaction of the peach tree. Although the true spirit of the peach tree had been severely injured, it had followed the Queen Mother of the West for countless years and was not to be trifled with. It actually managed to hold its own against the power of the Creation Fire Spirit, with neither side gaining the upper hand.

Zhang Chen gazed at the Peach Tree True Spirit, which was locked in a stalemate with the Creation Fire Spirit, a hint of lingering fear in his eyes: "I knew it. None of these spiritual roots that existed since the beginning of creation are easy to deal with. Although the Peach Tree True Spirit did not awaken its intelligence under the pressure of the Queen Mother of the West, its instinctive reactions are still incredibly powerful, and it is definitely not something I can contend with."

(End of this chapter)