I picked up skill fragments in the demon world.

Chapter 971 Eve
Zhang Chen was still somewhat curious about the story of the old friend.

He didn't have many old friends, only a handful.

Zhang Chen was seen waiting in the lobby. After a short while, a young man walked into the lobby with a big smile and bowed to Zhang Chen from afar, saying, "Brother Zhang, it has been a long time since we last met."

Zhang Chen was taken aback when he saw the person who had arrived: "Chai Chuanxin?"

To be precise, it's Tu Shan Qing!

But then I thought, even the demon clan ancestor Bai Cang has entered the core of the Great Victory Dynasty, so it's not surprising that Tu Shanqing appeared in the capital.

The key is the identity of Chai Chuanxin, whom Tu Shanqing possessed. This kid has royal blood flowing through his veins, but it's unknown how close or distant he is to the royal family.

"Please take a seat." Zhang Chen hurriedly invited Tu Shanqing to sit down. This kid's innate divine power had helped Zhang Chen a lot; otherwise, he would probably have already suffered a calamity, and he wouldn't be as carefree as he is now.

This kid is my treasure.

After the two sat down, Tu Shanqing took out a letter from his sleeve and handed it to Zhang Chen: "The reason I am here today is because Her Majesty has received some news and has specially ordered me to deliver this message to you."

Tu Shanqing, as expected, wouldn't visit without a reason. Zhang Chen's heart stirred slightly, wondering why Bai Cang wanted to send him this message. He took the letter, opened it, and was stunned: "The Great Victory Royal Family actually wants to go all out and fight the eight great families?"

Returning to the day Zhang Chen drew away the eighteenth heaven, the old relics of the royal family, seeing the anchor of the new world lost, were all distraught, as if they had lost their souls, and walked out of the passage back to the royal palace.

Ouchi royal family
The current king was sitting at his desk processing documents when suddenly footsteps sounded. A palace attendant rushed over and stood before the king, whispering:

"Your Majesty, the Ancestor requests your immediate presence, saying there is an extremely urgent matter."

While reviewing memorials, the Great Victory King suddenly felt a surge of excitement, and a look of joy appeared on his face: "Could it be that the passage to the new world has been opened, and we can enter the new world?"

The New World is related to the future development of the Great Victory Royal Family, to immortality and eternal life, and to his future interests. How could he not care?

Upon hearing this, the Great Victory King put down the memorial and walked straight to the resting place of the elders. However, after pushing open the door and entering the palace, the Great Victory King's expression darkened. He had already sensed that something was wrong with the atmosphere in the hall. The entire hall was filled with a sense of oppression, and all the elders had gloomy faces, as if someone owed them 100,000 taels of gold.

The Great Victory King approached the old man in the center and respectfully bowed, saying, "Greetings, Seventh Ancestor."

The Seventh Ancestor, the most senior among the patriarchs and the one who had questioned Zhang Chen earlier, sat cross-legged on a futon with a gloomy expression. Upon hearing the commotion of the Great Victory King, the Seventh Ancestor slowly opened his eyes, looked at the Great Victory King solemnly, and said in a low voice, "We have failed."

Upon hearing this, the Great Victory King was taken aback: "It failed? Did the passage repair fail? Or did something else fail?"

"The passage was successfully repaired, but when we attacked the world barrier together, we accidentally broke the anchor point connecting the two worlds. The new world was caught in the spatial turbulence and disappeared without a trace." The Seventh Ancestor simply recounted what had happened.

Upon hearing this, the Great Victory King was struck dumb, his eyes filled with disbelief, and his melon seeds buzzed: "How could this be? How could this be?"

"The efforts of the Chai family for thousands of years, the blood shed by countless ancestors, have all gone to waste?" The Great Victory King's voice was filled with anxiety:
"Is it possible to reconnect the anchor point of that world?"

Upon hearing this, the Seventh Patriarch shook his head: "We've reached a dead end; there's no other way."

Upon hearing this, the Great Victory King felt dizzy and his body went limp. The next moment, he collapsed to the ground, his eyes glazed over: "What should I do? What should I do?"

The Seventh Ancestor did not answer the Great Victory King's question, but sat there silently for a while. After a while, seeing that the Great Victory King had gradually regained his composure, he said, "The most crucial thing is that our lifespan is coming to an end. We old guys will not be able to enter the new world, and we can only wait to die of old age. The foundation that the Great Victory royal family has accumulated over countless years will also turn into water with the death of us old guys. At that time, it will be the greatest crisis for the Great Victory royal family. Perhaps someone will change the dynasty just like when the Great Victory destroyed the Great Xia. You must be on guard."

Upon hearing the Seventh Ancestor's words, the Great Victory King remained silent for a long while before saying, "Is there no way to reverse the lifespan of all of you Ancestors?"

“I have heard that there is a wondrous tree in the world called the Tree of Immortality. This tree can prolong our lives. If Your Majesty can find it, perhaps you can turn the tide,” the Seventh Ancestor replied.

The Great Victory King fell silent again, and after a long while, he said, "The Tree of Immortality is very likely located within the Eight Great Families. Although we cannot be certain which family it is, it is definitely inextricably linked to them. In that case, why don't we take a gamble? Since our ancestors are destined to die after exhausting their lifespans, we might as well annihilate the Eight Great Families and find the Tree of Immortality. If we can find it, we can resolve the lifespan crisis for our ancestors. If we don't find it, our ancestors will have at least used their last bit of energy to solve the final problem for the Great Victory royal family. Now that the Eight Great Families are already divided, this is the best time to annihilate them, the perfect opportunity for us to act." Hearing the Great Victory King's words, the Seven Ancestors looked at him intently: "How confident are you?"

"With the support of the Gong family, our chances have increased. If we can force the Zhang family to submit, we'll have two more. This reversal of fortune would mean the eight great families have lost four points, while we've gained four! Now is the perfect time to act. The King of Pingbian is unable to protect the other six great families, so we might be able to achieve our goal in one fell swoop. If we succeed, the eight great families will be destroyed, becoming history. Our Chai family will be rid of a major threat, and from then on, we'll enjoy the destiny of heaven and earth alone. Even if we fail, the sacrifices of our ancestors to severely damage the six great families will surely buy time for the Great Victory Royal Family." The Great Victory King smiled confidently as he finished speaking.
"Most importantly, with two of the eight major families secured, and with us employing ruthless and decisive measures, my grandson will find no reason to fail."

"Go and do it!" The Seventh Patriarch nodded upon hearing this.

The Great Victory King returned to his palace and began secretly mobilizing his troops and summoning the Gong family to prepare for an attack on the six major families. Unbeknownst to anyone, Zhang Xiaolan had appeared outside the window at some unknown time. Listening to the Great Victory King's plans, a chilling glint flashed in Zhang Xiaolan's eyes:

"The royal family of Dasheng intends to take action against the eight great families. This is earth-shattering news and must be conveyed to Zhang Chen immediately."

Zhangjia
In the hall

Zhang Chen stared at the secret letter in his hand without speaking for a long while before finally saying, "Please thank the Ancestor for me."

"The Queen asked me to ask you what to do: either join the Great Victory Royal Family to annihilate the other six great families, or help the other six great families fight against the Royal Family." Tu Shanqing looked at Zhang Chen.

When he asked Zhang Chen about his choice, he was naturally going to determine his own stance based on Zhang Chen's choice, and then take advantage of the chaos to make preparations.

Zhang Chen tapped his fingers on the table, stared at the letter in his hand for a while, and then said, "Tell the Empress to hold back. I will make arrangements when the time comes."

As for Zhang Chen's choice?

He certainly wouldn't allow the six great families to be destroyed so easily. If they were, the Chai family would definitely not let him off the hook. His own father had caused such a huge disaster; how could the Great Victory Dynasty not settle accounts with him? If he could use the six great families to weaken the royal family, that would be perfect.

Zhang Chen already had a plan for this matter. After the six major families had exhausted the royal family, he could use the power of that corpse to further exhaust the Great Victory Royal Family and take back his Six Paths of Reincarnation.

Zhang Chen had his own plan. If he could use the Great Victory Royal Family to eliminate the six major families, and then use that corpse to weaken the Great Victory Royal Family, both sides would suffer heavy losses, which would give him a chance to develop in peace.

"If the six great families want to sacrifice me to King Pingbian, then I'll wipe you all out first. Then, when the world changes drastically in the future, King Pingbian can rise up in rebellion. Wouldn't that be wonderful?" Zhang Chen pondered his scheme.

After receiving Zhang Chen's instructions, Tu Shanqing smiled, had another drink with Zhang Chen, and then left the Zhang family.

The next day, Zhang Chen had just gotten up when he saw the Grand Eunuch Dugu Qiu arrive. Zhang Chen led him into the main hall.

"Why does Godfather have time to come looking for me?" Zhang Chen asked, his voice full of curiosity.

Upon hearing Zhang Chen's words, Dugu Qiu looked at Zhang Chen with a complicated expression: "The King has summoned you to the palace."

"It's just a summons to the palace, why bother you to come all this way?" Zhang Chen asked, though he already knew the king's scheme, he pretended not to know it.

Upon hearing Zhang Chen's words, Dugu Qiu looked at him with a complex expression. After a long while, he said, "You saved my life, and I cannot deceive you. Because the passage to the new world has malfunctioned, the patriarchs of the royal family cannot enter the new world and cannot prolong their lives. Now they are making a desperate last stand to ensure lasting peace for the Great Victory Royal Family. Your Zhang family's current position is crucial. The Human King summoned you to the palace for this very reason. If you choose to side with the Human King and help him annihilate the six great families, the Zhang family can be temporarily preserved. However, once the six great families are destroyed, your Zhang family will also be purged because of Zhang Kecheng. If you do not agree to the Great Victory Royal Family's proposal now, you may not be able to leave the Great Victory Royal Family's palace. Without you and without the supply of the Yellow Springs water, the Zhang family will disintegrate in an instant. Therefore, no matter what you choose, the Great Victory Royal Family will definitely profit."

Upon hearing Dugu Qiu's words, Zhang Chen was taken aback. He hadn't expected Dugu Qiu to reveal the whole story. He had thought that Dugu Qiu was loyal to the Dasheng royal family and wouldn't tell him the truth.

Dugu Qiu even revealed that the Great Victory Royal Family would settle accounts with Zhang Kecheng in the future, which shows that the other party was truly sincere towards him and had no intention of playing tricks.

"According to you, I should run away now?" Zhang Chen asked, his voice devoid of emotion.

"Immediately send a message to the six major families, ordering them to join forces and make a final, desperate stand. This might deter the Great Victory Royal Family from making any rash moves. Then, outlast all the old men in the royal family, and the crisis for your eight major families will be over," Dugu Qiu pointed out a clear path for Zhang Chen.

In fact, if Zhang Chen hadn't had other options, this would indeed have been a clear path forward.

(End of this chapter)