I picked up skill fragments in the demon world.

Chapter 958 Prepare for a rainy day
Xiaotian Shenjun felt he was being foolish. Even he himself had managed to survive that catastrophe, let alone the Queen Mother of the West, who had already attained the Primordial Chaos Realm.

Since Zhang Chen has unearthed the Queen Mother of the West's elixir, he must have also unearthed the Queen Mother of the West herself. At this moment, the Queen Mother of the West has probably already awakened. His disrespectful words towards the Queen Mother of the West have been sensed by the unseen forces.

“The Queen Mother of the West is certainly very kind. Would you like to go and see her? I can show you the way.” Zhang Chen looked at Xiaotian Divine Lord with a smile.

Lord Xiaotian immediately shuddered: "No need! Knowing that Your Majesty is well is enough for me, but there's no need to disturb Your Majesty's cultivation."

The Howling Sky God Lord perfectly embodied the phrase "a dog relying on its master's power," his dog furtively glancing left and right at the void before him, his eyes filled with awe.

That's a powerful being at the Primordial Chaos Realm; a sneeze from that person could kill them.

Upon hearing Xiaotian Shenjun's words and glancing at the other party's furtive eyes, Zhang Chen couldn't help but smile. However, he didn't make things too difficult for the other party and instead said, "If you don't want to, then forget it."

"Do you still have any of the Queen Mother of the West's pills?" Xiaotian Divine Lord Doggy crept forward and asked in a low voice, "If you have any, you might as well lend me a hundred or two, and I'll pay you back later."

He also wanted to cultivate the Nine Revolutions Profound Technique, but unfortunately there was no spiritual energy in this world for cultivating immortality. If there were spiritual energy for cultivating immortality, he would have already mastered the profound technique, and how could he have been controlled by Zhang Chen?

Zhang Chen slapped Xiaotian Shenjun's dog head to the side, then stood up and walked away: "Dahei, I advise you not to think about breaking through. The great changes in the world are not over yet. Didn't you see that after the Queen Mother of the West was born, she didn't dare to show her face and just hid away?"

"What? The great changes in the world are not over yet?" Upon hearing this, Lord Xiaotian was shocked and turned to look at Zhang Chen: "The world can no longer accommodate beings of the Fruit Realm, how can the great changes not be over yet? Don't tell me you're going to destroy the Dharma!"

What is the extinction of Dharma?
That means all extraordinary powers will vanish.

Zhang Chen fell silent upon hearing this. He didn't know how devastating the great changes in the world would be in the future, but he knew it would be extremely devastating. He had to make arrangements in advance. If the destruction of the Dharma really occurred, then worldly forces would become extremely important. This was why he wanted to bring the Zhang family under his control.

Although he possessed the Heavenly Tree, he still needed to plan ahead and make preparations in order to safely weather the calamity.

Upon hearing this, Lord Xiaotian fell silent. The next moment, he suddenly shook his head and bit Zhang Chen's thigh: "You bastard, I was perfectly fine in the Thirty-Three Heavens. If it weren't for you, would I have fallen from the Thirty-Three Heavens? Hurry up and send me to the Thirty-Three Heavens to avoid the calamity of the end of Dharma!"

"You dog, why are you biting people like that!" Zhang Chen panicked when his ankle was bitten, and grabbed the big black dog's eyes and started gouging them out: "The end of the Dharma will sweep across all the heavens and myriad realms, and even the thirty-three heavens in the spiritual world cannot avoid it. Even if you hide in the thirty-three heavens, you will only delay the arrival of the calamity."

"Delay it if you can, maybe this little bit of delay will save us from disaster? Anyway, I don't care, you have to compensate me!" Xiaotian Divine Lord was unhappy and bit Zhang Chen's ankle tightly.

Zhang Chen looked helplessly at the stubborn Xiaotian Divine Lord. He couldn't possibly argue with a beast any longer: "If the great calamity of the end of Dharma really comes in the future, I will give you a peach of immortality to help you prolong your life, how about that?"

Upon hearing this, Lord Xiaotian's eyes darted around: "Peony peaches? You actually have such a good thing?"

The Heavenly Lord released his grip, his eyes fixed on Zhang Chen. Seemingly moved by Zhang Chen's sincerity, he stopped biting him and said dejectedly, "Once the end of the Dharma arrives, and all laws of heaven and earth cease, do you really think the Peaches of Immortality can prolong life? Even if the power of the Peaches of Immortality reaches you, their medicinal effects will gradually dissipate. How long can a single Peaches of Immortality prolong life? One day? A hundred days? Or perhaps a year? Three or five years?"

"By then, even a nine-thousand-year-old peach might not last three to five years! The peach will ultimately be unable to withstand the calamity! Unless you have a peach tree with an endless supply of peaches, but that's impossible. The current state of this world is no longer suitable for the growth of peach trees, and peach trees have probably already become extinct. Where would an endless supply of peaches come from? At that time, the peach tree will degenerate into an ordinary peach tree and will no longer have the title of spiritual root..." As Xiaotian Divine Lord said this, he looked at Zhang Chen with his eyes: "You have never experienced the era of the extinction of all laws, so you have no idea how terrifying the extinction of all laws is."

He came from the primordial era and experienced countless eons of that era. He knows how cruel the era of the extinction of all laws truly is. No matter how much you prepare, when the great calamity of the extinction of laws arrives, it will all be in vain.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Chen sighed slightly, a look of confusion and worry appearing in his eyes. When the great calamity of the destruction of the Dharma arrives, will the preparations he has made still be of any use?

He didn't know! All he could do was try to prepare as much as possible.

The big black dog turned and left, looking away listlessly, leaving Zhang Chen standing in the courtyard, staring at the flowers in the corner.

"My husband seems troubled?" Zhong Xiang stepped out of the house, looking at the figure standing in the corner, feeling a sense of desolation about him. Zhang Chen turned to Zhong Xiang: "What do you think would happen if one day all laws of heaven and earth were to perish?"

Zhong Xiang was stunned upon hearing this, a look of fear appearing in his eyes: "Impossible! How could there be an end of Dharma in the world?"

"In the distant ancient times, there were countless beings who surpassed the twelfth rank. Why did they suddenly become extinct? Those beings had already lived to an endless lifespan, impossible to destroy by heaven or bury by earth. How could they suddenly disappear without a trace now?" Zhang Chen asked.

Zhong Xiang was startled by these words and stood there speechless for a long while before looking at Zhang Chen with a horrified expression: "My husband means..."

She understood what Zhang Chen meant, but she still couldn't quite believe it.

Zhang Chen sighed softly, his voice filled with helplessness: "I have found the signs of the coming of the end of Dharma. The world we live in is transitioning from the destruction of Dharma to the end of Dharma. I'm afraid the great calamity of the end of Dharma will come soon, and immortality will become an illusion."

"Is that really so?" Zhong Xiang was stunned upon hearing this, his eyes filled with astonishment.

Zhang Chen nodded upon hearing this: "Indeed! Just like the ancestor of the Zhang family, and the ancestor of the Chai family hidden in the academy, weren't they all products of this kind of calamity? The fact that those gods and demons built great tombs to avoid calamities all corroborate my reasoning."

After pondering for a long time, Zhong Xiang asked, "Is there a way to avoid this calamity?"

Zhang Chen shook his head: "I don't know!"

He didn't say no, he just said he didn't know, because he didn't know if his method of avoiding the calamity would work.

Zhong Xiang pondered for a long time after hearing this before looking at Zhang Chen and saying, "If the great calamity of the end of Dharma truly arrives one day, we need to prepare early. At that time, the military forces in the secular world will become the fundamental force that dominates everything."

"So I made preparations in advance and subdued the Zhang family," Zhang Chen said.

“That’s not enough. At least we need our own territory, our own land, and our own army.” Zhong Xiang said with a serious expression, “But having our own territory is no easy task. All the land in the world already has owners, and the Great Victory King is so wary of us. If we act rashly, we might provoke him. The best way is to secretly subdue and control a local lord, and then take his place.”

“I’ve also considered this matter. It’s simple to have our own territory. Isn’t the territory of the King of Pingbian ready? After I resolve the current troubles, I’ll find a way to swallow up the King of Pingbian’s territory, and then we’ll have our own territory,” Zhang Chen replied.

Since he knew all along that the great calamity of the end times was coming, how could he not have made preparations in advance?
“The territory of the King of Pingbian is surrounded by demons. It might not be very safe for us to take it over, and our development would be severely restricted…” Zhong Xiang hesitated slightly: “The territory of the King of Pingbian is not a good choice.”

“It’s not a great choice, but that’s only relative to others. It’s quite good for me because I’m very familiar with the leaders of the demon race!” Zhang Chen smiled smugly. “What’s troublesome for others is a form of protection for me.”

Upon hearing this, Zhong Xiang's eyes lit up as he looked at Zhang Chen, sparkling as if stars were twinkling in them. He was amazed by the power of Zhang Chen's actions and the skill of his methods.

"You'll be in charge of all the affairs at home. If you need any help, just let me know." Zhong Xiang's eyes were filled with affection: "What life is without death? Even if you live for a thousand or several thousand years, in the end, you'll still only die. If I can be with you, even if the great calamity of the end times really comes one day, I won't be afraid!"

Upon hearing Zhong Xiang's words, Zhang Chen hugged Zhong Xiang and said, "Don't be afraid. If the sky falls, there will be tall people to hold it up. Even if there really is a great calamity of the end times, I will protect you and keep you safe for life!"

Was Zhang Chen afraid of the great calamity of the Dharma-ending Age?

He was not afraid at all, because his Five Elements Authority was not suppressed by the Great Thousand World. Even if the Great Calamity of the End of Dharma came, Zhang Chen's Five Elements Authority would still be invincible!
Moreover, he also has the Six Paths of Reincarnation. As long as the Six Paths of Reincarnation are in his own hands, there will eventually be a glimmer of hope.

With the end of the Dharma era approaching, we can't just abandon the cycle of reincarnation, can we?
"I still need to find the Six Paths of Reincarnation as soon as possible, but how should we deal with the Corpse Ancestor? Perhaps we can give him as a gift to the Great Victory Royal Family. If I kick the Corpse Ancestor from the spiritual world into the capital of Great Victory, there will definitely be an earth-shattering battle then," Zhang Chen said thoughtfully.

(End of this chapter)