I picked up skill fragments in the demon world.

Chapter 1040 I've Waited for You for 964,800 Years

Zhang Chen looked at the solitary peak in the distance. The entire mountain was shrouded in a feng shui array. Although it was the end of the Dharma era, the feng shui array was still functioning perfectly, enveloping the entire solitary peak in the earth's magnetic field.

Zhang Chen looked at the solitary peak in the distance, a hint of curiosity in his eyes: "What I really want to know right now is whether the Great Sage Teacher can still wield extraordinary power in this Dharma-ending Age."

"This... I'm afraid no one can answer this for you, because even before the Great Calamity of the End of Dharma, the Great Virtuous Teacher never left that mountain peak, and we don't know anything about the Great Virtuous Teacher's situation either." Bai He replied after a moment of surprise.

For the followers of Huangtiandao, the Great Virtuous Teacher is the supreme leader and the faith of the entire Huangtiandao. Regardless of whether the Great Virtuous Teacher has mastered extraordinary power, he is the only god within Huangtiandao.

The Great Teacher is the faith and leader of Huang Tiandao, and no one dares to betray him.

Unlike the various feudal lords, Huangtiandao gathers its followers together through faith. The Great Virtuous Teacher is the source of everyone's faith. If people betray the Great Virtuous Teacher, they are betraying their own faith. If they want to betray the Great Virtuous Teacher, they fear that their own followers will not allow it.

Zhang Chen nodded upon hearing this, then turned and walked towards the back mountain with a calm expression, showing no fear no matter how dangerous the back mountain might be.

Zhang Chen still has the power of the Five Elements to wield, so he has no fear of anyone.

On the solitary peak

As everyone watched Zhang Chen's departing figure, their eyes held unreadable expressions. Then, their gazes turned to the old Taoist priest Wu Changming. One of the twelve elders spoke up, "Brother Wu, what does this gentleman say? What are the plans for our Huangtiandao headquarters after he comes here?"

"I don't know!" Wu Changming replied expressionlessly, shutting down the elder's words.

“Brother Wu, let me tell you the truth. We’re all family, we all studied under the same master, the Great Virtuous Teacher. What grudges can’t be discussed openly? Zhang Chen can just name his conditions. As long as we can meet them, we’ll never say no. We’d even be willing to give him the position of Vice Leader of Huangtiandao. We’re willing to honor him as the Vice Leader under the Great Virtuous Teacher.” Another old man spoke up to persuade him.

In this era where the extraordinary have disappeared, electing Zhang Chen as the leader of the Yellow Heavenly Dao is not a disadvantage for anyone. Although there will be another master above them, sharing their power, with Zhang Chen in charge, the Yellow Heavenly Dao can directly suppress the White Lotus Sect, or even annex it, sweep away the human and demon races and the royal family of the capital, overthrow all the feudal lords, and establish a new unified dynasty. This is nothing to them.

Wu Changming gave a cold snort, turned his head away arrogantly, and a cold smile curled at the corner of his mouth: Now you know to beg me for help? Back then, when you were ostracizing me, you did everything you could to suppress me.

Zhang Chen followed the bluestone path through the mountains toward the solitary peak. Along the way, he saw clouds and mist flowing through the mountains, and gusts of mountain wind swept by. A light drizzle began to fall, but all the rain was pushed away by an unseen force when it came within three feet of Zhang Chen. As he admired the mountain scenery, Zhang Chen climbed to the top and arrived at the solitary peak.

The view is of sheer cliffs, and not far from the cliffs, on a rock face, stands an ordinary thatched hut. In front of the hut stands an unnamed old tree with cracks running through its branches. The tree is as thick as three people can encircle it, and its large canopy covers the hut, sheltering it from the wind and rain.

"What a strange tree species. I have never seen such a tree before. However, this tree seems to have a trace of mysterious power flowing through it, merging with the earth veins of the entire mountain and integrating with the help of the feng shui formation. But even with the support of the earth veins and the feng shui formation, it is still difficult to resist the will of the world. Its vital energy is about to be exhausted and it is not far from dying."

Zhang Chen glanced at the strange tree and secretly estimated that even if the great teacher really had extraordinary power, he was no match for him given the current situation.

Zhang Chen slowly walked forward to the thatched hut, and just as he reached out to push it open, he suddenly heard an old woman's voice coming from inside: "You've come!"

'A female voice? The Great Teacher of Virtue is a woman?' A thought flashed through Zhang Chen's mind, and he replied:
"I am coming!"

Zhang Chen withdrew his hand, then looked at the gate of the thatched cottage in front of him: "Guests have arrived, and it would be a breach of hospitality if you did not come out to greet them."

Just after Zhang Chen finished speaking, a series of loud crashes came from inside the room, as if something had fallen off the table. It felt like an ordinary person suddenly standing up and accidentally knocking over a table, causing the objects on the table to scatter all over the floor.

"Zhang Chen?" An aged voice trembled as it cautiously inquired from inside the room.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Chen fell silent. As if he had anticipated something, his body trembled violently. He reached out and pulled open the door of the thatched hut. The next moment, a withered old woman stood inside, tears welling in her eyes, her gaze fixed on Zhang Chen's still youthful face. Although the woman's appearance was terribly aged, Zhang Chen recognized her soul at first glance: "Xu Erniu!!!"

"It really is you! I've waited for you for seven million nine hundred and sixty-four thousand eight hundred years! I knew you would still be alive, and I would find you." Tears streamed down Xu Erniu's face, which was as rough as old tree bark. She trembled and tried to throw herself into Zhang Chen's arms, but she was too old and stumbled and almost fell to the ground. Fortunately, Zhang Chen was quick and caught her in his arms.

Looking at the old and frail Xu Erniu, Zhang Chen's eyes seemed to see the little beggar in the dilapidated temple years ago, who had painstakingly saved 271 copper coins, but used them all to buy medicine for himself.

"Zhang Chen, where have you been all these years? I've been looking for you so hard!" Xu Erniu's voice was filled with sorrow, yet also with joy. She hugged Zhang Chen tightly, refusing to let go.

"I never imagined I'd actually see you again." Zhang Chen's eyes also reddened. Hearing Xu Erniu's questioning, he explained to her:

“I suffered divine punishment in the past, and the power of that punishment actually brought my soul to this time and space.”

"You actually traveled through time and space?" Xu Erniu's eyes widened, filled with curiosity. Then she complained, "You bastard, you didn't even send me a message before you left, making me search for you everywhere. The Peacock Ancestor said you were dead, but I didn't believe it. I had a feeling that you were still alive, so I traveled all over the world. I joined forces with the Peacock Ancestor to wipe out the Longevity Temple and searched all over the world just to find your trace. Luckily, I cultivated the supreme secret technique that can prolong life, otherwise I really wouldn't have been able to wait until today."

With tears in her eyes, Xu Erniu then recounted to Zhang Chen what happened after Zhang Chen disappeared in the lightning punishment. After the lightning punishment disappeared, the Peacock Ancestor led a large army and joined forces with Xiu Liu to wipe out the Changsheng Temple. The Peacock Ancestor was wary of Zhang Chen's soul mark. Since the soul mark in his own soul had not disappeared, he knew that Zhang Chen was still alive, so he simply kept Xu Erniu by his side as a hostage and raised her like a daughter. In addition, with the care of Xiu Liu, the Blood God Child at the Dao Fruit Realm, Xu Erniu lived a very good life.

After Zhang Chen disappeared, Xu Erniu searched for him frantically. Fortunately, Xiu Liu and the Peacock Ancestor both assured her that Zhang Chen was still alive; otherwise, Xu Erniu would have gone mad. She searched the entire Qingcheng Mountain, but unable to find any trace of Zhang Chen, she unleashed her fury on Wuzhuang Temple, launching a frenzied massacre that left Wuzhuang Temple devastated, its disciples scattering in all directions.

Later, Xu Erniu achieved great success in cultivating the Herbal Rejuvenation Pill. Under the inversion of Yin and Yang, the Herbal Rejuvenation Pill actually reversed and transformed into a seed, which evolved into a ginseng fruit tree and advanced to a primordial being. As a result, Xu Erniu's combat power exploded and her lifespan increased infinitely. She began to go down the mountain to search for Zhang Chen's whereabouts.

Xu Erniu traveled across mountains and rivers, searching for Zhang Chen for 100,000 years in the mortal world. Suddenly, one day, the world underwent a great change, and the energy concentration in the world dropped drastically, making it impossible for beings at the Dao Fruit realm to survive. As a result, cultivators from all walks of life sought immortality and to avoid the calamities that had befallen the world. Some followed ancient gods and demons to set up feng shui formations, hoping to use them to escape the calamities. Others discovered a new and mysterious world with abundant spiritual energy and wished to ascend to it.

Xu Erniu and the Peacock Ancestor had become like family over the past 100,000 years. They were more like father and daughter than father and daughter. As the changes in the world became more and more intense, the Peacock Ancestor opened up a great tomb of gods and demons, set up a primordial array and a feng shui array, and hid in it with Xu Erniu to avoid the calamity.

Then, over a long period of time, Xu Erniu sensed something was wrong. The calamities in the world were becoming more and more terrifying. Even with the Great Tomb of Gods and Demons as a cover, it was still difficult to suppress her aura. She and the Peacock Ancestor had no choice but to fall into a deep sleep.

Xu Erniu transformed into a ginseng fruit tree with innate spiritual roots, and had long since achieved immortality. Even after countless years, she had never died. However, Xu Erniu's cultivation level steadily increased amidst the great changes in the world.

However, even in her slumber, Xu Erniu never gave up searching for Zhang Chen. She cut out a wisp of her essence and entered the cycle of reincarnation to search for Zhang Chen's whereabouts. However, under the suppression of Mo Fa, that clone gradually sank into the cycle of reincarnation, having long forgotten its mission and sinking into self-destruction.

Later, a lucky person accidentally unearthed Xu Erniu's sleeping tomb a hundred years ago, and dug out Xu Erniu and the Peacock Ancestor. That person was the Great Virtuous Teacher, but he had died a few years earlier because he could not survive the great calamity.

The Great Master became Xu Erniu's disciple and created the vast Huangtiandao organization, intending to find Zhang Chen's whereabouts. Unfortunately, his disciples fought for power and profit, and after sixty years, with the death of the Great Master, they had long forgotten the task entrusted to them by the Great Master.

Xu Erniu had been suppressing her aura in the thatched hut for many years and had never come down the mountain, so she had never heard of Zhang Chen's name.

As for the big tree that Zhang Chen saw outside, it was Xu Erniu's true form: the Ginseng Fruit Tree.

However, under the great calamity of the end of the world, even her innate spiritual root could only rely on the earth veins and the feng shui formation to prolong her life, and she was not far from exhausting her source.

Holding the frail and elderly Xu Erniu in his arms, Zhang Chen was overwhelmed with emotion, tears welling in his eyes. He couldn't believe that the young girl from back then had grown so old.

(End of this chapter)