I picked up skill fragments in the demon world.

Chapter 963 The Eighteenth Heaven

Zhang Chen was repairing the feng shui formation, while the elders of the Chai family and the teachers in the academy all stood behind him, watching his every move intently.

As Zhang Chen continued to bury spiritual objects, the mysterious trajectories of the feng shui array were continuously repaired, and the power of thunder and fire was constantly suppressed, retreating to the surroundings and forming a spatial passage.

It took Zhang Chen a full half month to repair the feng shui array. After half a month, Zhang Chen had repaired the fire barrier, and even the thunder barrier was 99% repaired. The last meter of the thunder barrier became the final barrier between the spiritual world and the material world.

Lightning bolts continued to fall and tumble from the void. Zhang Chen stood in the passageway, watching the falling lightning being blocked by the feng shui formation, as if a drop of rain were sliding down from mid-air and falling onto the glass.

Zhang Chen ignored the lightning and looked at the world behind it, carefully sensing it. It was not any of the realms he had ever experienced.

Zhang Chen has now explored the tenth level of heaven, but the spiritual world opposite him is not any level he has explored before.

"Hmm, this is interesting!" Zhang Chen said thoughtfully.

Although the opposite world was not one of the heavens he had explored before, he was certain that it was a spiritual world, because the thirty-three heavens were a whole, and their energy was interconnected. Zhang Chen could tell it at a glance.

"I wonder which realm is on the other side?" Zhang Chen looked around with curiosity.

"No need to think about it, it's the eighteenth heaven," said the Queen Mother of the West.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Chen was startled. The eighteenth heaven was eight levels higher than the tenth heaven he had explored, with seven heavens separating them. Most importantly, the eighteenth heaven was stuck in the middle, with thirty-three heavens above and fifteen heavens below (referring to the lower heavens; the first heaven had already been destroyed). If he were to remove the eighteenth heaven, would it cause the heavens below it to collapse?

It's like a 33-story skyscraper. If Zhang Chen removes the 18th floor, will the remaining floors be destroyed?

Zhang Chen quickly explained his worries to the Queen Mother of the West, saying that he could consult her when in doubt, as she was now his greatest encyclopedia.

Unexpectedly, after hearing Zhang Chen's concerns, the Queen Mother of the West smiled and sighed that Zhang Chen was still young and inexperienced and could not see through the changes in the world: "You compare the Thirty-Three Heavens to a thirty-three-story building, but I compare the Thirty-Three Heavens to thirty-three drawers. There is a large framework that supports the thirty-three drawers. Even if you pull out one of the drawers, it will not affect the overall framework."

The Queen Mother of the West's vivid metaphor immediately dispelled Zhang Chen's worries. After hearing the Queen Mother of the West's words, Zhang Chen felt relieved: "What should we do next?"

"You just need to continue the passage, connect the material world and the spiritual world, and anchor and lock them. When the time comes, I will naturally take action to extract the eighteenth heaven and then refine it into a small world for you." The Queen Mother of the West said, "This matter is not difficult for me. It is just a small world. The only troublesome thing is that the heaven and earth will continue to devour my essence, which will make me weak for a period of time. I will need to borrow your Tongtian Jianmu for a while."

"Your Majesty, please rest assured. After the towering Jianmu tree is planted, it will absorb one-tenth of the primordial energy each time it is planted," Zhang Chen reassured her.

The Queen Mother of the West did not refute this, because one-tenth of the innate energy was not a small amount. After all, as the Tongtian Jianmu tree grew, the innate energy would become more and more abundant.

"If you can find the Breath Soil, it will help the Tongtian Jianmu tree grow faster. Now that you have the Great Victory Dynasty as your backer, perhaps you can use the power of the Great Victory Dynasty to find the Breath Soil." The Queen Mother of the West pointed out the way for Zhang Chen.

Zhang Chen did not refuse, but stopped constructing the feng shui formation and turned to look at the ancestors of the Great Victory Royal Family who were watching behind him, as well as the teachers in the academy.

As Zhang Chen walked out of the passage, the old master saw him and immediately greeted him with a beaming smile: "Has the passage been repaired?"

Zhang Chen shook his head upon hearing this: "How could it be so easy to repair? The extent of the damage to that feng shui formation exceeded my expectations. It requires the divine object, the Breath Soil, to repair it. Therefore, I will have to ask the elders to find the Breath Soil."

"Breath Soil? What is that?" The patriarch of the Great Victory Royal Family asked with a puzzled expression.

“The soil that breathes water grows endlessly when it encounters water,” Zhang Chen said.

Upon hearing this, everyone looked at each other, none of them having ever heard of such a divine object in the world.

Upon hearing this, the patriarch of the Chai family turned to a man in black robes behind him and said, "Go tell the King that no matter the cost, he must find the Breath Soil for me. Bring me all the soil in the world that can automatically expand and grow when it comes into contact with water!"

The man in black robes accepted the order and left. The old ancestor then looked at Zhang Chen again: "You wait here. I will definitely find this for you."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Chen bowed and said, "Then I will await the good news from the Ancestor." After speaking, Zhang Chen turned and walked back into the passage, continuing to outline and even improve the feng shui array, wanting to make it more stable. Zhang Chen was somewhat dissatisfied with the feng shui array set up by the original owner of this passage, feeling that it was too crude.

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Great Victory Palace
The Great Victory King looked at the black-robed man before him and, upon hearing his report, frowned: "The Breath of Earth? What is that? I have never heard of it before."

"Your Majesty, just order your men to search for it. It doesn't matter if you've never heard of it before, as long as you find it," the old patriarch of the Chai family replied.

Upon hearing this, the Great Victory King nodded and instructed a shadowy figure in the corner, "Order the Inspection Division to find the Breath Soil at all costs."

The guards obeyed and left, but news arrived within half a day. Xie Xuan personally entered the palace to report: "Your Majesty, the Inspectorate has discovered clues about the Breath Soil, but..."

"But what?" King Dasheng asked after hearing the other party's words.

"The Breath Soil is in the hands of the Marquis of Dongbo. It won't be easy to get the Breath Soil from him!" Xie Xuan replied.

Marquis Dongbo is one of the four great vassal lords. He controls the largest territory among all the vassal lords and has countless experts serving under him. He is a first-class vassal king.

Upon hearing this, the King of Men said, "I don't believe that old guy won't be tempted by offering him a spot to enter the new world."

Xie Xuan accepted the order and left.

Just as Zhang Chen was making modifications to the feng shui formation, time flew by, and another three days passed. On this day, a series of hurried footsteps were heard, and a man in black robes carrying a box that was one meter in size and shimmered with golden light walked in from outside the passage: "The Breath Soil has been found!"

The Great Victory Dynasty possesses the entire world. As long as there is the Breath Soil in the land of China, it cannot escape the ears and eyes of the Great Victory Dynasty. Of course, for the Great Victory royal family, there is no need to seize by trickery or force. They only need to give up some quotas to enter the new world to accomplish everything.

Zhang Chen's eyes lit up when he saw the delivered Breath Soil. He accepted it without making a sound. Meanwhile, the ancestor of the Great Victory Royal Family looked at Zhang Chen and said, "I have found the divine object you wanted. But how long will it take to repair your feng shui formation? I don't have that much time to wait for you any longer."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Chen lowered his head and pretended to make a calculation, saying, "In three more days, the feng shui formation will definitely be repaired."

"Alright! Then I'll wait for you for three more days! If you can repair the feng shui array within three days, the ancestor will reward you handsomely." The black-robed ancestor began to promise Zhang Chen a lucrative reward.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Chen didn't say much, but simply bowed respectfully again before carrying the Breath Soil into the passage.

After entering the passage, he silently stored the Breath Soil within the Bashe Space and then continued to repair the Feng Shui formation.

This time, Zhang Chen didn't resort to tricks. As time passed quickly, three days later, the entire feng shui formation suddenly trembled. The last meter of lightning was pushed aside, and then a divine light flashed past. The entire passage seemed to come alive, with countless golden patterns appearing on it and mysterious runes flowing within. The entire passage began to solidify, transforming from a transparent energy wall into a jade-like form, as if it could solidify into jade at any moment.

Inside the passage

Zhang Chen stood at the end of the feng shui passage, looking around. As the lightning disappeared, there was nothingness in front of him. Looking into the distance, it seemed that a mysterious world appeared before him. The world seemed to be close at hand, yet it also seemed to be far away.

Zhang Chen knew that the feng shui formation had not yet connected with the eighteen heavens. Once the feng shui formation was fully transformed, a portal would form in the void before him, transforming from ethereal energy into a solid gate. At that time, people from the Great Thousand Worlds would be able to enter through the portal.

After taking one last look at the portal, Zhang Chen turned and walked out of the passage. He wasn't in a hurry to make a move. First, the portal wasn't fully anchored and linked yet. Second, even if the portal did form, it wouldn't be easy for those people to enter. He had plenty of time to collect the eighteenth level of heaven.

He also wanted to give those old guys the opportunity to study the New World Portal, to let them confirm that the other side was the New World, so that he could clear himself of all suspicion. Then he could secretly take the opportunity to strike them, deliver a fatal blow, and drive those ancestors of the Great Victory Dynasty to their doom, causing them to die of old age.

"What a clever little devil I am!" Zhang Chen secretly praised himself. The later he acted, the more lifespan those old guys would lose, and the less time they would have to prepare. Once he put away the Eighteen Heavens, those old guys would have less chance to react and wouldn't have time to find new life-extending items.

The feng shui array was repaired, emitting a strong fluctuation. This sudden change immediately startled the onlookers, who crowded around to observe the changes in the feng shui wall. Just then, Zhang Chen walked out of the passage, and the Master asked, "With such a commotion, is it done?"

“Once that energy channel solidifies into a jade channel, it will be considered complete.” Zhang Chen bowed respectfully with both hands: “I have successfully completed the mission of the Ancestor. The rest is no longer my concern. All of you Ancestors are welcome to go forward and investigate. How to enter the channel is up to you Ancestors to decide.”

(End of this chapter)