I picked up skill fragments in the demon world

Zhang Chen finally relaxed, his eyes surveying the nest before him. He noticed that the entire nest was woven from a unique type of rice straw, each strand as clear and translucent as jade, shimmering with a pure white light.

Most importantly, the straw emitted a unique fragrance that invigorated the mind.

"Come up quickly!" The Great自在Heavenly Demon, already on the nest, beckoned to Zhang Chen.

Zhang Chen transformed into a mist, drifting onto the nest, then resumed his original form. Standing at the edge, he peered inside and couldn't help but gasp in surprise.

Contrary to what he had imagined, the bottom of the nest was a bottomless abyss. Within the abyss, two strands of light, one black and one white, were intertwined.

"This nest..." Zhang Chen murmured, observing the structure and the intertwined black and white strands with a look of astonishment.

"Do you see those two strands of black and white light? That is the 'mystery' you seek. If you can subdue it, those mere ants will be crushed in an instant," the Great自在Heavenly Demon said.

"What is the origin of these black and white strands?" Zhang Chen asked, his voice filled with surprise.

"They are the purest Yin essence and the purest Yang essence from the beginning of creation, preserved through the interplay of Yin and Yang. However, this treasure is not yet fully formed, but it is still usable," the Great自在Heavenly Demon explained. "The old peacock settled here to protect this mysterious treasure."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Chen carefully examined the black and white strands, inquiring, "How can I obtain them?"

"It will be difficult to obtain. These two transcend the five elements, born from Yin and Yang. To acquire them, we must rely on the old peacock's Five Elements Light. Once the old peacock enters the formation, we'll suppress him with it, forcing him to yield the treasure," the Great自在Heavenly Demon said, his eyes gleaming with desire as he watched the black and white strands swim like fish. "This treasure is truly extraordinary! With it, you can go anywhere in the world."

Zhang Chen shifted his gaze from the black and white light to the nest beneath his feet. "What material is this nest made of? It looks like jade?"

He had hoped to find skill fragments, but to his disappointment, there were none within the nest.

"This is a congenital material, nourished for billions of years by the peacock's Five Elements Qi, transforming it into a secret treasure with the miraculous ability to absorb the power of the five elements. But don't even think about taking it! This thing weighs as much as a mountain and unfolds like a star. It's not something we can carry away," the Great自在Heavenly Demon explained, in high spirits.

Zhang Chen crouched down, feeling the nest's material. It felt like jade, seemingly indestructible.

As he spoke, a cry suddenly echoed from outside the formation, filled with fury.

"Be careful, the old peacock is back!" The Great自在Heavenly Demon quickly warned Zhang Chen.

Zhang Chen focused, his aura connecting with the entire formation. The next moment, a burst of five-colored light crashed into the formation.

With the power of the Nine Bends Yellow River Talisman Formation, Zhang Chen could finally see the approaching figure. Standing in the five-colored light was a peacock with silvery-white feathers. It was enormous, over ten meters tall, its feathers like cast iron. Its tail had five feathers of red, black, yellow, green, and blue respectively, standing out prominently among the silvery-white plumage.

"Ants, die!"

The silvery-white peacock glanced at Zhang Chen and, without another word, lunged at him with a claw.

The claw gleamed with a sharp, cold light, tearing through space and creating terrifying black rifts.

"Damn, what's the origin of this peacock? Its strength is definitely not twelfth-order! Great自在Heavenly Demon, you dog, you're setting me up!" Zhang Chen panicked at the sight of the peacock's attack, his eyes filled with terror.

He had seen twelfth-order 'mysteries' before, but none that could tear through space.

"Don't worry about that now! Quickly suppress him! Even the Heavenly King himself would have to kneel if he entered your Nine Bends Yellow River Talisman Formation," the Great自在Heavenly Demon urged from the side.

Fortunately, Zhang Chen had the Nine Bends Yellow River Grand Formation. As he activated it, billowing yellow sand filled the sky. The formation extended, transforming into an endless world of yellow sand, engulfing the peacock. The peacock's attack faltered, and its body was enveloped in a shimmering five-colored light, protecting it.

However, facing the refinement of the Nine Bends Yellow River Talisman Formation, the five-colored light gradually weakened, as if rusting, its brilliance fading.

Seeing his protective divine light being eroded, the peacock finally sensed danger. It flew around in the void, trying to escape the Nine Bends Yellow River Talisman Formation, but the formation had transformed into a world, constantly twisting space and time. No matter how powerful the peacock was, it couldn't escape the endless yellow sand.

"Who are you?"

The peacock stopped struggling, standing in the yellow sand as it spoke. Its voice was hoarse, with an ancient tone, as if it were a god from an ancient era, filled with vicissitudes.

"I am who I am!" Zhang Chen appeared not far from the peacock, his eyes fixed on it.

"I have no grievances with you, why do you want to harm me?" The peacock's form twisted, transforming into a handsome young man, clad in a five-colored cloud garment. His eyes were fixed on Zhang Chen, filled with bewilderment.

"Indeed, I have no grievances with you, but I have taken a liking to the treasure in your nest. Would you be so kind as to retrieve it for me?" Zhang Chen inquired.

"That treasure is not yet fully formed. Taking it out now will only diminish its spirituality. What you'll get is just a premature, flawed product. If you want that treasure, it's not impossible to discuss. How about you let me out, and the treasure is yours?" The peacock said, a hint of temptation in his voice.

"I don't have that much time to wait. Even if it's a flawed product, I'll take it! Please retrieve the treasure," Zhang Chen said to the peacock.

But before he could finish speaking, the peacock had already transformed into a stream of light, pouncing in front of Zhang Chen. Its cold eyes were now filled with icy intent. "Mere ant, relying on some unknown means, you dare to harm me? Once I capture your true form, I will flay you alive and light the sky with your soul!"

The peacock stretched out a claw, and the world seemed to freeze. Zhang Chen was frozen in the void, but fortunately, this was Zhang Chen's Nine Bend Yellow River Talisman Formation. Zhang Chen's body directly turned into yellow sand and dissipated, causing the peacock's claw to miss.

At this moment, Zhang Chen's figure appeared deep within the Nine Bend Yellow River Talisman Formation. Without saying a word, he directly activated the Nine Bend Yellow River Talisman Formation, wanting to suppress the peacock.

Now that they had already made a move, it was either you die or I die.

This peacock's strength was too terrifying; it was simply not something Zhang Chen could provoke.

"That peacock is actually angry. It seems the power of the Nine Bend Yellow River Talisman Formation has invaded its feathers, damaging its origin, making it anxious. You little brat stirred up its liver fire!" The Great自在Heavenly Demon looked at the peacock flying around in the formation, his voice filled with joy.

"What is the strength of this peacock? It's definitely not just twelfth order! If you don't give me an explanation today, I'll let you taste the power of the Nine Bend Yellow River Talisman Formation!" Zhang Chen turned his head to look at the Great自在Heavenly Demon.

"This fiend's strength is unfathomable, most likely already surpassing twelfth order, having obtained the legendary 'Fruit.' But what use is that? In your Nine Bend Yellow River Talisman Formation, there's no difference," The Great自在Heavenly Demon chuckled dryly.

"What is the 'Fruit'?" Zhang Chen asked, this being the key information.

"I can't say. Obtained is obtained, not obtained is not obtained." The Great自在Heavenly Demon shook his head, his voice very sincere: "There's no way to describe it in words."

Zhang Chen heard this and had no way to force the Great自在Heavenly Demon to explain, so he asked: "What realms are there above the twelfth order?"

"You can say there are realms, or you can say there aren't," The Great自在Heavenly Demon stared at the peacock in the yellow sand, casually explaining.

"What do you mean?" Zhang Chen didn't understand.

"Twelfth order is indeed the pinnacle of cultivation, but there are those with amazing talent who can condense a 'Fruit' above the pinnacle, and their strength will undergo earth-shattering changes. However, condensing a 'Fruit' is extremely difficult. Even Taiyin Wangshu and Eastern Emperor Taiyi never condensed a 'Fruit,'" The Great自在Heavenly Demon said.

Zhang Chen's mind flashed upon hearing this, not knowing what he was thinking.

"Quickly increase the power output, eliminate its protective barrier, and directly suppress its physical body," The Great自在Heavenly Demon urged Zhang Chen, seeing the peacock's light becoming increasingly dim in the formation.

"That peacock's strength is extraordinary; how can it be easily suppressed? I've already controlled the formation's power to its limit," Zhang Chen replied.

"This friend, please stop for now. I have something to say."

At this time, the peacock's protective light in the formation was becoming increasingly dim, already precarious like a candle in the wind, seeming like it could be extinguished at any moment. Finally, it couldn't hold on any longer and shouted into the vast yellow sand.

"What does Your Excellency have to say?" Zhang Chen flashed and appeared a hundred meters away from the peacock.

"May I ask for Your Excellency's name? With such incredible means, Your Excellency must not be an unknown figure," the peacock asked Zhang Chen.

His name wasn't a secret, so Zhang Chen didn't hide it: "I am Zhang Chen."

The peacock's mind turned, having lived from the beginning of time until today, it had never heard of this name: "I have no grudges with Your Excellency. Today, I admit defeat. My cultivation has been painstakingly cultivated for countless eons, and it didn't come easily. Please, Daoist friend, show mercy and let me live. How about leaving this secret treasure for Daoist friend? To be honest, this secret treasure is useless to me. I only wanted to take the opportunity to comprehend the mysteries of Yin and Yang. Let's end our grievances here, how about it?"

"Kid, if you believe his words, you're a fool! Once he escapes, breaking your Nine Bend Yellow River Talisman Formation will be a snap of the fingers. Then you'll have no place to cry. We don't want his life, but to eliminate his cultivation. As long as I enter his heart, with his foundation, it won't take a thousand years to re-cultivate his cultivation. You must not have any compassion at this time. Moreover, his emotions are fluctuating, and his mind has been shaken. I've already found an opportunity. You must persevere."

The Great自在Heavenly Demon was afraid that Zhang Chen, having lived a short life, would be bewitched by the other party's words, so he hurriedly came out to remind him.

Moreover, the peacock's voice was pleasant to the ear and had a bewitching power. He was afraid that Zhang Chen would be tricked.

While speaking, the Great自在Heavenly Demon rushed straight towards the peacock, transforming into a black lotus, constantly shuttling around the peacock's essence, energy, and spirit.

"Your Excellency's strength is earth-shattering. What I rely on is only the talisman formation in front of me. If Your Excellency breaks out of the formation and goes back on your word, how can I survive?" Zhang Chen replied, staring at the peacock's surroundings, hoping that the peacock could unleash some skills under the attack of the yellow sand, so that he could make a big profit.

"How can I put your mind at ease?" The peacock looked at Zhang Chen opposite him, gnashing his teeth in hatred. The other party was just a mere ant. With such shallow cultivation, he would usually feel disgusted just by looking at him. But who knew that he would be careless for a moment and actually fall into the hands of this ant. The peacock's heart was filled with滔天hatred, and an indescribable sense of humiliation arose in his heart. Even his heart, which had been calm for billions of years, began to ripple.

"When I catch him, I must extract his soul and torment him to death," the peacock secretly vowed.

Just when his heart was filled with hatred, the lotus transformed by the Great自在Heavenly Demon flickered and actually entered his body.

That lotus ignored the defense of the five-colored divine light, ignored the peacock's physical body, and directly entered the peacock's essence, energy, and spirit.

Zhang Chen saw this scene clearly from the side, and his heart couldn't help but be secretly frightened: "This Great自在Heavenly Demon is simply too terrifying. As long as there are slight fluctuations in his heart, he will be taken advantage of. It's truly terrifying."

At this time, the peacock also seemed to sense something was wrong. After all, he was an old fellow who had lived for billions of years. He immediately felt that his own mind was not right and quickly checked his own essence, energy, and spirit. The next moment, the five-colored divine light returned inward, illuminating his spiritual world, and the black lotus actually appeared under the illumination of the five-colored divine light.

"What is this thing!"

The peacock looked at the purple-black lotus in his spiritual world and couldn't help but be shocked. The next moment, the five-colored light flickered, turning into a sharp blade, directly cutting the black lotus out. Then, the five-colored light brushed over, and the black lotus directly turned into powder.

"What means is this?" The peacock looked at Zhang Chen opposite him, a hint of horror in his eyes, thinking that Zhang Chen wanted to harm him and secretly played tricks.