I picked up skill fragments in the demon world.

Chapter 1005 An Old Friend Blocks the Way
Zhang Chen looked surprised upon hearing this. He didn't have any friends in the south, so why would anyone want to see him?
However, since the other party specifically requested to see him, Zhang Chen felt it wouldn't hurt to take a look.

The story begins a day after Zhang Chen left the capital. At the Ji family mansion, Ji Feihua was cultivating in the courtyard. A large black dog sat under a loquat tree, drooling over the unripe fruit and pondering when it would fall to the ground.

At that moment, footsteps sounded, and Grand Tutor Ji Chuan strode over, his face grave as he approached the loquat tree where Ji Feihua was.

"Grandpa, what brings you here?" Ji Feihua stopped chanting, looked up at the old Grand Tutor, and her eyes were filled with astonishment.

Ji Chuan said with a solemn expression, "You should stop cultivating. News just came from the palace that the Great Calamity of the End of Dharma has arrived. Twelfth-level experts are no longer tolerated by heaven and earth. In the next ten years or so, all laws will be destroyed and all extraordinary powers will disappear. No matter how much you cultivate, one day you will be suddenly knocked down to the mortal world and become an ordinary person."

Ji Chuan's expression was very solemn, and his voice was filled with fear of the future. This old Grand Tutor, who had accompanied three kings of Dasheng, was filled with confusion and fear about the future. His eyes were full of fear that Ji Feihua had never seen before. He no longer had the omniscient and omnipotent person he used to be who had everything under control.

"Really?" Ji Feihua paled upon hearing this. She was exceptionally talented and had the potential to become an immortal. How cruel it would be to ask her to live a life like an ordinary mortal.
Upon hearing Ji Feihua's words, the old Grand Tutor's voice became dry, as if a block of iron was rubbing against each other: "News has just come from the royal family that the Great Calamity of the End of Dharma has been confirmed. In fact, in order to deal with the upcoming Great Calamity of the End of Dharma, the royal family has begun to plot against the world and carry out assassinations against various lords, intending to create chaos in the world in order to maintain the legitimacy of the royal family."

Upon hearing this, Ji Feihua fell silent, her eyes filled with disbelief, and she stood there dumbfounded.

"I've summoned you today because there's something I want to discuss with you..." The old Grand Tutor looked at Ji Feihua, a hint of hesitation in his eyes: "If one day the great calamity of the end of Dharma affects you, I intend to form a marriage alliance with the Great Victory royal family and marry you to the Crown Prince. What do you think?"

Ji Feihua was taken aback when she heard this. Zhang Chen's face flashed through her mind, and she was about to refuse. But then she remembered that Zhang Chen was already married, and she could never be a concubine for him. So she fell silent, looking down at her toes without saying a word.

She never imagined that she would one day become a victim of a family marriage alliance. Ever since she displayed her extraordinary talent, the word "marriage alliance" was destined to be far removed from her. Unexpectedly, she has now fallen into the trap of a marriage alliance.

"The Great Calamity of the End of Dharma is coming, an unprecedented upheaval since the beginning of time. Extraordinary power will vanish, and chaos will inevitably ensue. Various warlords will rise to power, and the world will be reshuffled. My Ji family has no military power. To survive, we can only rely on the various warlords who possess their own armies. All the warlords in the world have been purged by the Great Victory Royal Family. Currently, the Great Victory Royal Family holds the most elite army in the world. Even if the Great Calamity of the End of Dharma truly arrives in the future, the Great Victory Royal Family will still be the most powerful warlord in the world. If we want to survive in this upheaval, we have no other choice but to submit to the Great Victory Royal Family." The Grand Tutor looked at Ji Feihua with his eyes: "You should think about this carefully."

After speaking, the old Grand Tutor turned and left, giving Ji Feihua time to process it. He probably knew that such a thing would be hard to accept for anyone, let alone Ji Feihua, who was once hailed as the pride of heaven.
If this happened to me, I would probably find it hard to accept; it's just too shocking.

After the old Grand Tutor left, Ji Feihua sat dejectedly under the loquat tree, the light in her eyes dimming, her whole being lost in thought.

He still found it hard to believe that one day supernatural powers would disappear and everyone would become ordinary mortals. This feeling was similar to how people in the 21st century couldn't believe that one day everyone's wisdom would suddenly disappear and everyone would become monkeys.

"Is there really some kind of great calamity at the end of the Dharma?" Ji Feihua turned to look at Xiaotian Divine Lord. She knew that Xiaotian Divine Lord had an extraordinary background and was someone with a great origin, so she asked.

Upon hearing Ji Feihua's words, Xiaotian Divine Lord nodded: "Of course there will be a great calamity of the end of Dharma, but what your grandfather said is inaccurate."

"How is it inaccurate? Could there be a turning point?" Ji Feihua's eyes lit up slightly upon hearing this, revealing a look of anticipation.

The Howling Heaven Divine Lord said, "The Great Calamity of the End of Dharma that your grandfather spoke of does indeed exist. However, the time he said the Great Calamity of the End of Dharma began is not accurate. In fact, the Great Calamity of the End of Dharma began hundreds of thousands of years ago. In that era when gods and demons overturned mountains and seas, the Great Calamity of the End of Dharma had already occurred. Why did those ancient gods and demons disappear? It was because of the arrival of the Great Calamity of the End of Dharma. However, the Great Calamity of the End of Dharma has changed from only targeting experts at the god and demon level in the ancient times to now affecting all beings below the god and demon level. This is an evolutionary process that has taken hundreds of thousands of years. Now the Great Calamity of the End of Dharma is nearing its end, and only experts at the god and demon level like you have been affected."

Upon hearing Xiaotian Shenjun's words, Ji Feihua was stunned. She never expected that the Great Calamity of the End of Dharma would have such an origin, and she never imagined that all the legendary experts of the Great Calamity of the End of Dharma would perish under its influence.

"With such a background, even experts at the level of gods and demons could not escape it. We ants would find it even more difficult to escape under such a calamity." Ji Feihua's eyes dimmed completely.

"That's not necessarily true." Lord Xiaotian shook his head.

"Is there really a turning point?" Ji Feihua's eyes lit up with hope.

The big black dog stroked its chin: "According to some old guys' speculation, if the Great Calamity of the End of Dharma comes to an end, perhaps one day it will be reversed. This is called the reversal of the world and the reversal of things. At that time, a brilliant golden age may come after the Great Calamity of the End of Dharma."

"A dazzling golden age?" Ji Feihua's eyes flashed with astonishment, her gaze filled with shock.

"Unfortunately, no one knows when the golden age after the Dharma-ending Age will arrive. It may be counted in tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, or millions of years. Perhaps after the spiritual energy in the world completely disappears, there will be a reversal of the world in three to five years. Or perhaps it will be counted in eras. Who can know? Time has no concept in the eyes of heaven and earth. The world is vast and the human world is ever-changing. You probably won't live to see that time and the world will change." The voice of the Howling Heavenly Lord was full of emotion.

Upon hearing Xiaotian Shenjun's words, Ji Feihua's eyes dimmed: "Will I die?"

“Of course!” said the Heavenly Lord.

"Ancestor, will you die too?" Ji Feihua asked. Xiaotian Divine Lord hesitated slightly before replying, "Probably not, right?"

"Ah? The laws of heaven and earth have been destroyed, yet the Ancestor has survived alone? Ancestor, could you lend me a hand? I am willing to serve you in the future, to be your maidservant, and I will serve you without hesitation." Ji Feihua looked at Xiaotian Divine Lord with a face full of anticipation.

Lord Xiaotian shook his head: "I have no way to achieve immortality. Under the great calamity of the end of Dharma, even I, the ancestor, will perish."

"What did the ancestor just say..." Ji Feihua asked, puzzled.

"Although I cannot survive this calamity, I know of one who is very likely to do so. He began his preparations in secret long before the Great Calamity of the End of Dharma descended. If anyone in the world can survive this calamity, it is undoubtedly him. Therefore, I, the Ancestor, intend to seek refuge with him." As Lord Xiaotian spoke, he looked up at the unripe loquats on the loquat tree, a hint of helplessness in his eyes. Perhaps this year's loquats would not be available.

"Who has such ability?" Ji Feihua was shocked upon hearing this, seemingly unable to believe that anyone could survive the cataclysmic disaster.

Thinking of the peaches of immortality in Zhang Chen's hands, and his unpredictable and mysterious abilities, Lord Xiaotian licked his lips: "Who else could it be but Zhang Chen! Don't you like Zhang Chen? Marrying him as a concubine might be the best way to get through this calamity."

"It's unbelievable that he has such abilities. I should go and persuade Grandpa that the Ji family shouldn't rely on the royal family, but should directly rely on Zhang Chen instead." Ji Feihua's eyes darted around.

The big black dog slowly shook its body: "I'll wait for you for one day. After one day, I'm going to find that brat Zhang Chen. You'd better go and persuade your grandfather."

The big black dog sensed something was amiss; the changes in the energy of the world made him feel uneasy.

Upon hearing this, Ji Feihua nodded, then flashed off and chased after her grandfather.

At this moment, Grand Tutor Ji Chuan had not gone far. Ji Feihua had caught up with the old master in just over thirty breaths: "Grandpa, your grandson has something to say."

Ji Chuan stopped in his tracks, turned to look at Ji Feihua, his eyes full of expectation: "Have you perhaps come to a realization?"

Upon hearing this, Ji Feihua shook her head: "With the great calamity of the end of the world approaching, perhaps Zhang Chen has a way to avoid the calamity. Why don't we go and seek refuge with Zhang Chen?"

Grand Tutor Ji Chuan was taken aback: "Zhang Chen has a way to avoid calamity? What makes him think he can avoid calamity?"

Upon hearing the old grand tutor's words, Ji Feihua said, "That's what Lord Xiaotian said."

Upon hearing the words "Soaring Heaven Divine Lord," the Grand Tutor's expression turned serious. He knew that Soaring Heaven Divine Lord was a man of great origin, and very likely an old fellow who had lived from the Primordial Era to the present. Hearing that it was Soaring Heaven Divine Lord who spoke, the Grand Tutor's expression became serious: "How confident are you?"

"No matter how confident we are, do we have any other choice? We have to take a gamble, right?" Ji Feihua said in a low voice.

The old Grand Tutor remained silent for a long time before saying, "We have been building our business in Dasheng for generations. This is our foundation. How can we abandon it without at least a 50% chance of success? However, we cannot miss this opportunity. You should lead a portion of your clansmen and secretly go to the north to seek refuge with Zhang Chen."

The Grand Tutor, a veteran of three reigns, knew that one should not put all their eggs in one basket. He believed that as long as there was a sliver of opportunity, one should always strive for it for the sake of the family.

"Go to the north to seek refuge with Zhang Chen?" Ji Feihua was taken aback upon hearing this.

The old Grand Tutor said, "Zhang Chen has already led the entire Zhang family north."

Ji Feihua was taken aback upon hearing this, and then said, "I will go ahead first, and Grandpa will send someone to follow behind."

Ji Feihua turned around and went to pack her things, leaving the old Grand Tutor standing under the veranda, pondering the flaws and trying to find and fix them.

In this great calamity of the Dharma-ending Age, we must seize any opportunity, no matter how small. Nothing in this world is absolute; what if Zhang Chen really does have a chance?

We must never give up even if there is only a sliver of hope.

(End of this chapter)