Chapter 1214 - 842: River of Fate

The golden giant eye was shattered, the scattered Thunder light surged, and the voice of The Queen Mother of the West jolted Zhang Chen out of his inner turmoil.

"Hahaha! I told you long ago, you can’t stop me!" The Queen Mother of the West stood in the void, laughing wildly, her voice full of smug delight.

She truly had reason to be pleased—after all, that was the Eye of Celestial Punishment, yet in the end it was shattered by her.

Seeing The Queen Mother of the West in such high spirits, Zhang Chen not only didn’t dare lose his temper, but instead hurried forward, fawningly saying, "Congratulations, Lady, felicitations, Lady. You have unleashed your Divine Power to shatter the Eye of Celestial Punishment; the entire world will be trampled beneath your feet."

The Queen Mother of the West turned her head and glanced at Zhang Chen, her eyes full of gratification. "The reason this palace was able to triumph over the Power of Celestial Dao this time—you are greatly to be credited. You must understand, that Purple Cloud Divine Thunder represents the Power of Celestial Punishment of the great world. Even I cannot withstand it and would surely suffer grievous injury. If not for you lending this palace a hand, I would inevitably have returned with no achievements."

In the past she had not failed to try breaking through the void to open a passage, but every attempt ended in failure due to the Eye of Celestial Punishment. Now that the trouble of the Eye of Celestial Punishment had been resolved, The Queen Mother of the West advanced singing triumph all the way, naturally meeting no obstacles.

"Your physique is indeed unique; you are actually the nemesis of Purple Cloud Divine Thunder. This palace truly has never seen the like." The Queen Mother of the West let out a soft sigh, her voice full of emotion, studying Zhang Chen with great curiosity.

Hearing this, Zhang Chen didn’t dare say much, lest The Queen Mother of the West on a whim dissect him; he could only muddle through vaguely, "This lowly one also doesn’t know why I can be immune to Purple Cloud Divine Thunder."

The Queen Mother of the West made no comment at that, merely said to Zhang Chen, "Go rest to the side, eat more Peaches of Immortality to replenish yourself. You are the lucky star of this palace—you absolutely must not die!"

Finishing speaking, The Queen Mother of the West began to adjust her breathing, whale-swallowing the energy of the outside world.

At this time, outside the sacrificial altar was already a hazy Chaos, and wherever one looked was all flowing Qi of Chaos. Zhang Chen’s eyes gazed at that Qi of Chaos, a trace of curiosity flashing in his gaze. "Could this place be Chaos?"

"Merely a lesser Chaos, formed at the world’s edge." That old ape dropped down from the tree, standing at Zhang Chen’s side, and spoke.

"Greetings, Senior." Zhang Chen quickly offered the old ape a bow.

The old ape had the bearing of a Daoist immortal; though he still retained a monkey’s form, there was an indescribable Divine feeling about him. "No need for excessive courtesy."

"Senior says this place is lesser Chaos—may I ask what that means?" Zhang Chen pressed on with a question.

"This place is the world’s boundary, the Chaos at the world’s barrier, separated from the greater Chaos beyond. Is that not precisely lesser Chaos?" the old ape said.

"Lesser Chaos? Greater Chaos?" Zhang Chen seemed to have gained new knowledge, then tentatively asked, "Does Senior know where The Queen Mother of the West’s destination lies?"

"Greater Chaos!" The old ape’s voice was full of gravity.

"Greater Chaos? Then doesn’t that mean that once we leave this world, we’ll never be able to return?" Zhang Chen asked, somewhat panicked. What kind of situation was this—if they entered greater Chaos, with the Power of Chaos forming a barrier, would he still be able to return to the future world?

"Return for what! Within Chaos there are countless opportunities and Creations. Only in Chaos do we have the chance to metamorphose into Chaos Demon Gods, truly reaching the Immortal, eternal, never-perishing realm. Why would you want to come back?" The old ape looked at Zhang Chen as though looking at a fool. "Once you enter Chaos, you can truly metamorphose into a Chaos Demon God. By then, even if others want to call you back, you won’t be willing to return."

At these words, Zhang Chen fell silent; for a moment he didn’t even know what to say. Overall he was rather dazed, in a very baffled state. He was now somewhat worried: once he went to greater Chaos, could his Primordial Spirit still return to the future world? Because within Chaos there is no up or down, no time or space—how would he go back?

Just as his heart was tangled, in the distant Chaos a Divine radiance flickered. Looking from afar, one could see a vast river with jagged ripples lying across Chaos, blocking the party’s path.

That great river surged with raging waves, its width unknown—tens of thousands of li, perhaps. Qi of Chaos billowed above it, its source unknown, its destination unknowable. The river’s waves were jagged and mysterious to behold.

"Another great river?" Seeing that river, Zhang Chen’s eyes were full of gravity. "What is the origin of this great river?"

"This is the River of Fate, also called the River of Causality." The old ape’s voice was heavy with solemnity. "All beings under Heaven and Earth are submerged and encompassed within it—even Primordial powerhouses are no exception."

The altar halted before the River of Destiny. The Queen Mother of the West opened her eyes, gazing solemnly at the river of causality before her, and murmured under her breath: "Sever Heaven’s will, cut off karma, the myriad shackles bind my true self. Though this long river of fate encompasses all the karma of the heavens, don’t even think about blocking my path."

"Queen Mother of the West, stop resisting stubbornly and just retreat." At this moment, the surface of the karmic river surged, a stream of water rising up and turning into a human figure. That figure’s whole body was transparent like crystal, its features vague and indistinct. It merely stood quietly upon the river, blocking the altar’s way.

"Primordial Origin Spirit, you’re just a lingering remnant now. You can’t stop me!" The Queen Mother’s voice was filled with resolve.

The figure within the River of Destiny let out a soft sigh: "Harmonization is your destined end. Only if you abandon your flesh and harmonize with the Dao—your body merging into the world—can this world accumulate enough foundation and become richer and more varied."

"Don’t you dare! I have already proven the Dao as a Primordial Daluo Golden Immortal. Even within Chaos I can roam at ease, enduring ten thousand calamities without extinction. You want to trap me in this little corner of creation? What a ridiculous dream!" The Queen Mother rebuked him, her voice burning with anger.

The figure sighed faintly, helplessness in its tone: "You slew three of the Four Spirits of Heaven Opening, suppressed the Heaven-Opening Fire Spirit, and swallowed and plundered how much Creation of this world to refine Immortal Divine Medicine? How many Innate Spirits, how many ordinary living beings died by your hand? You even gravely wounded the Earth Vein. With such vast karma, do you really think you can break free? If you turn back and accept the fate of Harmonization, then all shall be laid to rest. Otherwise, today the River of Destiny will be your burial ground."

"Stop spouting nonsense. The Earth Vein of Kunlun Mountain was suppressed by this brat! Those Four Spirits of Heaven Opening attacked me—am I not allowed to fight back? I even showed mercy and spared the Heaven-Opening Fire Spirit’s life. If you don’t thank me, fine, but to accuse me on top of that? Utterly shameless." The Queen Mother’s voice was brimming with displeasure. "As for those Spirit Medicines, yes, I refined them into pills, but how many did I actually eat? Weren’t they all eaten by this brat? If you’re looking to settle karmic retribution, go find him."

The Queen Mother stretched out her hand, pulled Zhang Chen over, and pushed him in front of herself.

Hearing this, Zhang Chen’s face instantly went dark. So after running circles for so long, he turned out to be the clown, the living scapegoat?

All the karma was dumped on him!

Zhang Chen’s face was like the bottom of a pot, his head buzzing, but faced with the Queen Mother’s accusations, he could only squeeze out a dry, stiff smile.

"And what about the billions of lives that died in your Kunlun Mountain?" Heavenly Dao spoke up.

The Queen Mother snorted coldly: "I didn’t personally kill them. What’s it got to do with me?"

"You may not have killed them yourself, but it was your personal order." The figure said.

"I was just speaking offhand. Who knew they’d obey me so literally? What can I do about that? When I speak, they listen—so you pin the karma on me? Then when I say you should step aside and clear a path for me, why don’t you listen?" The Queen Mother argued righteously.

The figure on the River of Destiny was speechless for a long time before finally saying, "Sophistry. No matter how flowery your words, no matter how reasonable you sound, I won’t listen."

"You..." Hearing this, the Queen Mother was instantly furious. No matter how she twisted the logic, the other side clung to principle. What could she do? Her eyes were full of helplessness—she was eloquent enough, but he refused to listen. Simply outrageous.

"Old geezer, are you going to move or not?" The Queen Mother was getting flustered, glaring at the figure opposite her.

The figure just stood there in the river like a statue, utterly motionless, as if it hadn’t heard a word she said.

"Old geezer, refuse the wine of courtesy and you’ll drink the wine of punishment. Today I’ll sever your River of Destiny and see how you block me then! I’ve already completed the altar—your River of Destiny can’t hold me." With a sharp shout from the Queen Mother, the next moment the entire altar cut across the void, ramming straight toward the River of Destiny.

The altar plunged into the long river, raising waves a thousandfold high. The figure upon the River of Destiny sighed lightly, and in the next instant countless chains burst out of the water, shooting toward the altar to lock it down. Some chains even pierced through the Innate Grand Array, lunging toward the Queen Mother, the old ape, the Golden Armored Warriors, and Zhang Chen.

"Cut the shackles, sever karma, let the rolling mortal dust cleanse the true self!" The Queen Mother’s voice boomed like Thunder. Her fair palm turned into a blade of light, sweeping across the countless chains. In the next instant, innumerable karmic chains were chopped apart.

"Karma cannot be severed." The being within the River of Destiny shook its head. In the next moment, even more karmic chains flew out from the river. "Look at this chain—this is the Wind Spirit of the Beginning that you killed. This chain is the Heaven and Earth Spirit you slew. This chain belongs to the Metal Spirit. This chain is the Innate Spiritual Medicine you seized for Alchemy. This one is an Innate Spirit you slapped to death back in the day..."

The being on the River of Destiny kept pointing at the chains wrapped around the Queen Mother, one by one. More and more chains rose from the river, surrounding the entire altar, turning into a tightly sealed cocoon.

"You bastard, if you want to harm me, let’s see if you’ve got what it takes! Since that’s how it is, I’ll cut apart your River of Destiny and see how your karma binds me then!" The Queen Mother leaped up. In the next moment, she slapped out, slicing through the countless chains in the void. She stretched out her hand, and the thousand‑mile altar shrank, becoming palm-sized as she took it into her grasp. Then, alone, she charged toward the River of Destiny.