I picked up skill fragments in the demon world.

Chapter 856 Earth and Sky Tremble
Zhang Chen's idea was to secretly manipulate the feng shui formation, for example, to turn the formation, which was originally meant to help the Queen Mother of the West absorb the essence and vitality of the earth, into a formation that would trap her.
"But the Queen Mother of the West is a powerful being at the Hunyuan level. What kind of feng shui formation could trap her?" Zhang Chen's eyes showed a hint of confusion.

The Queen Mother of the West is so ruthless that she wants to destroy the world by extracting the power of the earth's veins. Zhang Chen will never agree to this, not for anyone else, but for his own sake.

If the world were destroyed, who could live peacefully except for beings at the Primordial Chaos level?
All must die!

"I have to stop her, but my understanding of feng shui formations is nowhere near that of the Queen Mother of the West. To modify her feng shui formations without her noticing is an impossible task." Zhang Chen looked at the feng shui formation in his hand, at a loss for what to do.

As countless thoughts raced through his mind, a flash of inspiration struck him: "I cannot change the feng shui formation, but could the Great Free Demon who smashed the Queen Mother of the West modify it?"

A thought flashed through Zhang Chen's mind: this plan was worth trying.

As for how to find the whereabouts of that Great Freedom Demon, this fellow has hidden himself in the infinite worlds. Others may not be able to find him, but his whereabouts cannot be hidden from Zhang Chen.

"The Great Freedom Demon hides in the hearts of all living beings, residing within their seven emotions and six desires. At its peak, the Great Freedom Demon was clearly a Primordial Chaos level being. Logically speaking, once it enters this world, its seed will be planted in the hearts of all living beings, including myself..." Just as Zhang Chen was about to speak to the void, a stream of black energy flowed in front of him, and a black lotus flower appeared before him.

"Huh, is the Great Freedom Heavenly Demon really that perceptive? I barely even had a thought in my mind before it sensed it?" Zhang Chen was somewhat shocked.

Before it could speak, the black lotus twisted and transformed into the form of the Great Freedom Demon. The Great Freedom Demon chuckled, "Queen Mother of the West, you want to build a feng shui array to gather the earth's energy to repair your physical body, but I won't let you succeed. I'll bewitch this brat and have him modify your feng shui array, turning it into a place for raising corpses, turning you into a living zombie, and destroying your physical body. Then you'll only have the true spirit of a saint left. Let's see how you can compete with me then."

With the same arrogance, the same tone, and the same attitude, Zhang Chen looked at the Great Freedom Demon in front of him and felt that the other party was exactly the same as the Great Freedom Demon that he had controlled in later generations.

Most importantly, the Great Freedom Demon had the same idea as him!
But thinking about it, it makes sense. If I can think of something, why couldn't the Great Freedom Heavenly Demon of the Primordial Chaos Realm think of it?

"Huh? I am an intangible being, could this brat possibly see me?" Just as the Great Freedom Heavenly Demon was laughing triumphantly, he suddenly noticed that Zhang Chen's eyes were staring straight at him. He was startled, and his laughter stopped abruptly, like a duck whose neck had been caught.

At this moment, Zhang Chen's heart stirred, realizing that he had revealed a flaw. The Great Freedom Demon was originally an intangible and formless thing, and in theory, he should not have been able to see it. However, his body contained the golden light of a righteous god, which allowed him to directly see through the opponent's traces.

Upon hearing the other party's mutterings, Zhang Chen quickly pretended not to recognize him, staring intently into the void ahead. When the Great Freedom Demon saw Zhang Chen's appearance, it shifted its body accordingly, only to find that Zhang Chen remained seated without moving. So it reached out and pointed at Zhang Chen's eyes, seemingly intending to blind him, but Zhang Chen's eyes remained unblinking.

"So he was just spacing out. I knew this ant and bumpkin couldn't possibly have detected my presence!" The Great Freedom Demon cursed, his words full of disdain.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Chen's face darkened, and he thought to himself, "You're the bumpkin, your whole family are bumpkins. When I get back to the real world, I'll make sure you know who the real bumpkin is between us."

The Great Freedom Demon circled Zhang Chen once, its eyes fixed on the feng shui array diagram in Zhang Chen's hand. It looked thoughtful for a moment before saying, "I've got it!"

Then the Great Free Demon gently blew on the drawing, and a layer of black smoke flowed across it. As the black smoke passed, the lines and patterns on the drawing changed completely.

The feng shui formation was still the same, but many unfamiliar things were mixed in with the hidden lines within it. For example, the altar built in the pillar and the patterns carved in the wall had all changed inexplicably.

The Great Free Demon departed, leaving Zhang Chen speechless as he stared at the array diagram in his hand. Comparing it with the array diagram in his memory, he discovered that although the two array diagrams did not differ much in appearance, their internal structures had undergone a complete transformation, with extremely significant alterations made to the key parts.

“The dragon vein of Kunlun Mountain forbids all magic. Even if the Queen Mother of the West has supernatural powers that reach the heavens and the earth, she will not be able to discover the clues unless she personally breaks the altar to check. If the Queen Mother of the West activates the feng shui formation, then the situation will be completely different.” Zhang Chen sighed inwardly.

The feng shui formation is still the same feng shui formation, but with subtle changes and modifications to its hidden parts, the entire formation has undergone tremendous changes.

“Once inside the dragon vein, the power of the Queen Mother of the West will be suppressed, and I’m afraid it will be difficult to discern the key points of the two formations with the naked eye.” Zhang Chen was secretly shocked. The Great Freedom Heavenly Demon had studied the feng shui formations so thoroughly, which was truly beyond his expectations.

"However, the actions of the Great Freedom Demon are in my best interest. If I follow his arrangements, and if any changes occur in the future and the Queen Mother of the West discovers it, I can directly shift all the blame onto the Great Freedom Demon."

Thinking this, Zhang Chen quietly put away the feng shui formation and walked towards it, beginning to instruct the warriors to modify it. However, when Zhang Chen arrived at the construction site of the underground palace, he was taken aback: "Such a fast construction speed! It's already more than half completed, but it can be modified a little."

Looking at the layout of the underground palace, Zhang Chen knew that some parts needed to be modified. So he began to patiently correct everyone. After working for half a day, Zhang Chen guided everyone to add some key points before going back to continue to ponder the feng shui formation.

For Zhang Chen, time was now quite leisurely. Apart from cultivation, he was studying the feng shui formation. The Queen Mother of the West's seclusion was actually a good thing for him, as it saved him a lot of trouble.

Fifty years later, time flew by, and the white ape returned to Kunlun Mountain, bumping into Zhang Chen who was patrolling the mountain, which startled Zhang Chen.

"Ancestor, you're back?" Zhang Chen was secretly relieved. It was fortunate that the white ape returned late. If it had been fifty years earlier and he had encountered the peach tree being attacked by a fire-attribute true spirit, he would have been in trouble.

"I request an audience with the Queen Mother of the West." The white ape replied, "How have you been in Kunlun?"

When Zhang Chen heard that the white ape requested to see the Queen Mother of the West, his heart skipped a beat. If the white ape woke the Queen Mother of the West, would she notice the clues about the feng shui formation? Would she notice the clues about the peach tree? Would she also notice the clues about the Creation Fire Spirit?
Zhang Chen was terrified, but his expression remained unchanged. He raised the blueprint in his hand and said, "The Queen Mother of the West asked me to build a structure. I'm so busy that I don't even have time to rest. It's not like the Ancestor who can go out and enjoy himself."

At this point, Zhang Chen casually asked, "Ancestor, is there something you wish to see the Queen Mother of the West about?"

The old ape said, "When I was searching for the Great Freedom Demon, I discovered that the God of Strength and the Star Shifter seemed to be showing signs of joining the Great Freedom Demon, so I must consult the Queen Mother of the West before I can continue my work."

Zhang Chen was taken aback when he heard this. The Great Freedom Heavenly Demon and the two innate demon gods had actually joined forces. But thinking about it, it made sense. Neither the Great Freedom Heavenly Demon nor the two demon gods were a match for the Queen Mother of the West, so it was only natural that they would unite to fight against her.

“My ancestor’s return is unfortunate; the Queen Mother of the West has already gone into seclusion. I have visited her several times to request an audience, but I have been turned away each time,” Zhang Chen said.

The white ape was taken aback: "The Queen Mother of the West has gone into seclusion? That's really troublesome!"

Zhang Chen nodded upon hearing this: "I encountered some perplexing issues while constructing the Feng Shui formation, and I originally intended to consult the Queen Mother of the West, but unfortunately, I was unable to see her."

Upon hearing this, the old ape scratched his head, unsuspecting: "In that case, I can only go and gather information first, and then report back after the Queen Mother of the West emerges from seclusion. By the way, do you know when the Queen Mother of the West will emerge from seclusion?"

“The Queen Mother of the West ordered me to build this altar within a thousand years. I expect that once I have completed the altar, the Queen Mother of the West will surely emerge from seclusion,” Zhang Chen replied calmly.

"Then I'll wait until the Queen Mother of the West emerges from seclusion before returning." After saying this, the white ape transformed into a streak of light and disappeared from Zhang Chen's sight.

Zhang Chen secretly breathed a sigh of relief: "Thank goodness! We've gotten rid of that old ape. Otherwise, if we had really alarmed the Queen Mother of the West, who knows what kind of trouble it would have caused."

Zhang Chen muttered to himself, then returned to the pill room, used his fire escape technique to descend underground, and checked on the progress of the Heaven-Opening Fire Spirit. He was getting a little anxious.

Upon arriving at the underground flames, he saw the Primordial Fire Spirit assisting its primordial spirit in refining the true essence of the Peach Tree. Seeing Zhang Chen's true form arrive, it asked in surprise, "Why are you here?"

"How much longer will it take to refine the true essence of this peach tree?" Zhang Chen asked.

Upon hearing this, the Creation Fire Spirit held up two of its fingers: "Two hundred years!"

Zhang Chen pondered for a moment upon hearing this, then shook his head: "You must help me refine it within a hundred years, because I still need my primordial spirit to enter the peach tree to adapt, which will probably take quite a while. You must leave me this time, otherwise if the Queen Mother of the West discovers anything amiss, I will surely die."

"Within a hundred years? Why don't you just fly to the heavens!" The Creation Fire Spirit retorted instinctively upon hearing this.

(End of this chapter)