Chapter 1232 - 861: The Queen Mother of the West Awakens

Along with Zhang Chen’s words, Zhou Chuan and Chen Xu were shocked at heart, as they saw within the light, hundreds of thumb-thick steel ropes with countless cactus-like sharp spikes, appearing like agile snakes, rushing towards the three of them.

Those steel ropes covered in spikes were truly alarming to behold, making one wish to turn and flee immediately. Should these objects land on one’s body, wouldn’t the whole body be turned into a sieve?

However, fortunately, the two remembered Zhang Chen’s instructions, standing there without moving a bit, allowing the overwhelming steel ropes to bind them. The moment the ropes drew near, all the spikes on them disappeared, binding the three of them as if they were dumplings. Then Zhang Chen gently blew a whistle with a mysterious melody, and the dark cloud vine slowly retreated with the whistle sound.

The crisis was thus resolved!

"Such terrifying things, I feel no power to resist against this ghostly thing," Zhou Chuan stood petrified, though recognized as the ancestor of the Martial Dao in this era, he remained as powerless as an ant faced with such terror beyond the Twelfth Tier.

"This Ancient Great Tomb holds many dangers, dear brothers should tread carefully lest they court disaster and lose their lives," Zhang Chen advised the two, and then took the lead towards the white jade gate. As the trio entered the strong light, the white jade gate shut again with a thunderous sound, sealing without a trace of a gap.

At this moment, a strange wind suddenly blew in, coming from outside through the passage, revealing figures at the gate, none other than Feng family’s experts.

"Indeed, there is a grand tomb here, Zhou Chuan has already gone ahead. We must quickly find the mechanism to follow him inside. Zhou Chuan is already quite challenging to deal with, and if he acquires the Creation within the tomb, we’re bound to meet misfortune," stated a young leader to the elders beside him.

Heeding the young man’s command, the crowd hurriedly searched by the white jade door, yet found no mechanism.

"Gong Chun, this tomb is an Ancient Great Tomb, without experts in Feng Shui Grand Tombs, finding the entrance is like reaching for the stars," an elder remarked, standing by the Jade Stele: "Why not hide here and ambush Zhou Chuan upon his return, eliminate him in this very place? Inside, he is bound to bring out all the treasures; why risk entering the tomb ourselves?"

Hearing Gong family’s elder’s suggestion, the young man applauded: "Grandfather’s words are wise, let us lay a trap like a mantis catching a cicada, unaware of the sparrow behind. This time, we must strike to kill without allowing Zhou Chuan to escape. The Gong Family has a troublesome matter to deal with now, lacking the resources to confront Zhou Chuan again; we cannot allow him another chance to grow."

As the words fell, the group flew out of the tunnel to lay the trap outside.

Meanwhile, the three inside the tomb were unaware of Gong Chun’s schemes, nor of the Gong Family surrounding them outside, as they entered the Underground Palace, greeted by endless emptiness beneath a high-suspended sun and moon, illuminating the entire Heaven and Earth.

To those celestial bodies above, Zhang Chen showed no surprise, knowing they were Eastern pearls—a valueless treasure to mortals, yet offering no use to practitioners.

With the Eastern pearls’ power, they could clearly see a wide and clear passage ahead, dozens of feet tall and wide, with countless holes lining the sides, from which the dark cloud vine extended.

Looking closely at the Dark Cloud Vine then, it resembled peculiar rods grown along the passage, each protruding merely ten centimeters, showing not a sign of danger.

"Wait here, brothers. This Dark Cloud Vine counts as a treasure; once I take it, we shall move forward," Zhang Chen told the two beside him, then proceeded towards the stone wall, where authority of the Earth Element activated next. The passage tore apart, revealing a stone chamber filled with swaying ’wild grass’ extending roots—thirty meters high with numerous roots protruding, these seen as iron rods from a wall.

Seeing those many branches and roots sway, Zhang Chen mumbled something, and soon the Dark Cloud Grass rapidly contracted, the countless roots on the passage walls quickly withdrew, within moments retracting fully. Then the whole Dark Cloud Grass shrunk, finally turning into a thumb-sized copper bean in Zhang Chen’s hand.

"Is it subdued so easily?" Chen Xu saw the Dark Cloud Grass subjugated and exclaimed with amazement: "Congratulations Zhang on gaining another Guardian Dao technique; who could withstand you in the future? The Great Victory Dynasty under you would also be mere chickens and dogs."

"This thing is useful or not, depending. It can only be planted in an Earth Vein and cannot be moved, suitable for guarding homes rather than confronting enemies. Besides, it makes no distinction between friend and foe, so it’s troublesome as a guard," Zhang Chen explained:

"I merely thought, if the day comes I perish, this item will guard my tomb."

After Zhang Chen’s words, he continued down the passage, inviting them: "Follow me; the next location should hold the True Spirit of the Ancient Divine Demon Zhou desires. But I feel refining the Ancient Divine Demon soul into a Dharma Image is incredibly difficult—another misstep means destruction; brother Zhou needs to be most cautious."

Zhang Chen wanted to persuade Zhou Chuan; however, considering the current upheaval in Heaven and Earth did not tolerate those powerful beings from Ancient Times, it meant Zhou Chuan might still have a slim chance of refining the souls of Ancient Divine Demons.

In the past, The Queen Mother of the West sent countless Innate Spirits within Kunlun Mountain into the tomb to be buried as companions. These Innate Spirits could be considered on a level with Ancient Divine Demons. Although they couldn’t compare to divine and demonic beings like The Queen Mother of the West who hailed from Chaos, they were still remarkable and were counted among the Innate category.

However, with the Dragon Vein prohibiting Ten Thousand Techniques, The Queen Mother of the West gathered all the Creation within the Dragon Vein of Kunlun Mountain. The spirits trapped inside the tomb likely had their blood and flesh essence absorbed and refined by the corpse-nurturing array long ago. Whether they could continue to be preserved was highly uncertain.

Continuing on, Zhang Chen’s group passed through numerous Underground Palaces, finding that the Jade Stele buried alongside had turned into deadwood.

Seeing countless Innate Spiritual Grasses transformed into deadwood, Zhou Chuan muttered to himself, "Such a wasteful disposal! If I could consume these Immortal Grasses, I could undoubtedly soar to perfection within the Martial Dao, break through my own limitations, and transform into a Golden Body."

Next, they arrived at the Medicine Hall, where the medicines had all turned to dust, as their potency was absorbed by the Feng Shui Grand Array.

As Zhang Chen continued his search through the myriad halls, his greatest worry was Lady Biyun. He was unaware whether Lady Biyun had been captured by The Queen Mother of the West to be buried along with her. If Lady Biyun was indeed taken for burial, she was probably doomed.

Walking through hall after hall, all items from Ancient Times were decayed under the suppression of the Feng Shui Dragon Vein.

With eyes gazing into the distance, Zhang Chen’s pupils held a trace of contemplation: "We’re approaching the core palace."

"This Underground Palace is truly vast, almost like an underground world. I really wonder how those Ancient Divine Demons constructed it back then," Chen Xu remarked as he admired the beautifully carved palace structures, his eyes revealing a hint of curiosity.

Zhang Chen did not reply; he continued to walk within the palace, having figured out many things by now, like why Laobei Region, being the land of the Kunlun Ancestral Vein, seemed so ordinary. It was because the earth vein of Kunlun Mountain was largely used to nurture The Queen Mother’s corpse. As a result, in modern times, Kunlun Mountain appeared mundane and became just an ordinary Laobei Region.

"The Queen Mother of the West devoured an entire Dragon Vein; how extraordinary must her flesh be nourished? It must have reached an unimaginable level. Could anyone in our era rival her?" Zhang Chen suddenly pondered.

The primary issue was the overwhelming strength of The Queen Mother of the West; she could effortlessly crush him with a flick of her finger and fly off into the Spiritual World if need be.

As thoughts swirled in Zhang Chen’s mind, the three of them navigated through layers of mechanisms and suddenly saw a square in the distance, prompting Chen Xu to exclaim:

"So many bones! And they’re all jade bones, indicating these beings were incredible during their lifetime."

Zhang Chen looked around and saw the jade-like gleaming white bones on the ground, emitting an astonishing brilliance and Qi Mechanism.

"Quite interesting," Zhang Chen noted, observing that the white bones, under the assault of time and erosion, had lost their essence.

Most crucially, Zhang Chen, proficient in Feng Shui Grand Arrays, sensed that the Feng Shui Grand Array was still operating in the void, constantly siphoning the remnants of essence from the bones and transporting it to unknown realms.

Under the plundering of the Feng Shui Grand Array, it was impossible for resentful spirits to arise or for any Innate Spirits to survive across countless eras.

"Among these bones, many were remarkably powerful Innate Spirits during their lifetime; unfortunately, they don’t contain the True Spirit of Divine Demons that Zhou wants!" Zhang Chen scanned the myriad bones before him, applying the Soul Hooking and Soul Stealing skill, watching information stream past, but sadly, all Innate Spirits had turned to dust under the forces of time and the Feng Shui Grand Array, becoming nourishment for The Queen Mother of the West, leaving Zhou Chuan with nothing.

However, for Zhang Chen, it didn’t matter if the Divine Demon bones were wasted, as he knew there was still a significant Creation that could aid Zhou Chuan in refining his supreme Martial Dao Golden Body.

After all, there was once a mighty Fire God that The Queen Mother of the West had notably captured and suppressed within the Tripod Cauldron, implying that this Innate Fire God was also brought into the tomb for burial.