Chapter 1365: World on the Other Side

That was a magnificent building, and in the courtyard outside, lush trees flourished, with a birdcage hanging on one of them.

Zi Luan had long since been forced back into her original form, becoming a caged bird. Her former pride and past optimism were long gone, replaced by tear-filled eyes full of deep melancholy.

Chu Feng stared intently. The maidservant who had been timid at first, but later easily became arrogant, was now kept in a cage by someone, as if she were truly a common bird.

What kind of person was this?!

Anger surged in his eyes. Had that person intentionally done this, knowing Zi Luan's identity, or was it merely to flaunt their so-called 'status' and 'taste' by raising a purple luan bird?

The image flashed by quickly. It was only a partial view of a certain cave dwelling.

Chu Feng controlled his emotions and calmed himself down.

Because, after observing carefully, he understood that the cave dwelling was far from simple and must belong to a powerful individual!

“It disturbs my mind.”

He murmured, “She must be rescued.”

But he couldn't go there now. Beautiful mountain peaks surrounded the buildings, and immortal mist swirled in ribbons around them, clearly not an ordinary place. Even a large dog kept in the courtyard was a Divine King!

Even if he felt angry now, it would be useless. That might be a crucial stronghold of a sect and extremely difficult to infiltrate.

“It's not that I don't care or won't act,” he thought, “but first, I must improve myself. Once I emerge from that perilous place, my strength should increase significantly, and then I will go rescue her!”

Rather than being troubled, it was better to take practical action. He should first enhance his cultivation. Then, whether he needed to fight, kill, or break in, he would have the confidence.

Chu Feng took a deep breath, and noted down the name of the cave dwelling—Ling Shan Cave Dwelling.

He began to look up other information. First, he searched on a light-brain, and then consulted a cosmic-brain to browse through data. This device contained the accumulated wisdom of generations.

There were special studies on the history of various places in the Yang Realm, the past of certain forbidden lands, and so on, all of which were open to the public.

Chu Feng had come here to research the 'Tai Shang Eight Trigrams Furnace' terrain. He wanted to temper himself there, to undergo a transformation, and experience a grand nirvana.

He had some understanding of the Yang Realm, but he was not a native. The reason he knew this place could enhance him was from Six-Eared Macaque.

The monkey kept talking about it, almost obsessively, saying his ancestor had established important connections. He and his sister, Mi Qing, would go to the Tai Shang terrain, burn their true souls, forge immortal bodies, achieve the Great Sage status, and then aim for mythical ascension.

It was clear how eerie and dangerous that place was. If one could withstand the special flames within the Tai Shang Eight Trigrams Furnace without dying, they would ultimately undergo a terrifying transformation.

Chu Feng had a deep appreciation for this. Back on Earth, the 'knock-off' version of this terrain, which was merely a crude Eight Trigrams Furnace imitated by his predecessors, had caused him to undergo an unusual transformation and initially awakened his Fiery Golden Eyes.

The flames on Earth, and the special energies from those eight directions, were not considered rare substances at all.

In the Yang Realm, there was a true Tai Shang terrain, and this was extremely significant. One must know that such natural fields were self-generated by heaven and earth, mysterious and terrifying, with astonishing origins.

Even the stone jar had a map of this terrain's mountains and rivers. One could imagine how extraordinary it was; otherwise, why would it be recorded on the stone jar?

Therefore, Chu Feng decided to go, hoping to seize a fortuitous opportunity!

He carefully retrieved all available information about the Tai Shang terrain, studied it diligently, and his brows immediately furrowed.

“Firelight, suspected to have poured down from beyond the realm, forming a perilous land,” he read. “The firelight nurtures runes, giving rise to a supreme terrain.”

Just this single passage revealed a great deal of information, surprising Chu Feng. What kind of fire, he wondered, could roll down from beyond the realm and naturally evolve into a terrifying landscape of mountains and rivers?

Undoubtedly, the Tai Shang Eight Trigrams Furnace was a forbidden land in the Yang Realm, and like the dozen or so other forbidden lands in the Yang Realm, it was impassable.

The difference was that very few beings emerged from this terrain. Generally, it never interfered with the rise and fall of the outside world, remaining quite detached.

However, there were definitely beings inside, and they were terrifying, perhaps even more powerful than the masters of other forbidden lands.

It was said that Four-Tribulation Sparrows had been incinerated there, as had great evil spirits from beyond the domain. Anyone who dared to challenge it would die a miserable death there.

Chu Feng gasped, “Great evil spirits from beyond the domain are suspected to be Immortal race members, and even such beings can be directly incinerated?”

He then read further down, and saw some shocking records. The so-called 'beyond the realm' might refer to the Thirty-Three Heavens beyond.

Chu Feng immediately paused, startled. “Are there really Thirty-Three Heavens?” he wondered. “What kind of place is that, and how is it divided?”

However, thinking of the Myriad Heavens and Worlds, he felt relieved again. Even if they were just legends or figurative expressions, they must have some basis or origin.

Chu Feng quickly flipped through the pages. There were too many annotations and records about the Tai Shang terrain. For instance, in the past, the Feather Emperor had once gone there to temper his body and achieve extreme breakthroughs.

Chu Feng frowned. Seeing the records related to the Feather Emperor didn't put him in a good mood.

Qing Yin had once said she had someone she liked, and it was the prehistoric Feather Emperor, renowned as undefeated!

Last time, when the Feather Emperor appeared, he wreaked havoc everywhere. He alone took down the overlord of Southern Zhanzhou, and even fended off the combined attacks of the old monk from Western Hezhou and others.

This person was truly too uncanny, excessively strong.

In this era, if one were to consider candidates for becoming an Ultimate Being, he was undoubtedly one of the key figures.

At the same time, Chu Feng sighed. Qin Luoyin might never be able to return to her former self, and their child, the little Daoist priest, where was he now?

“Damn it,” he muttered, “when I, Chu Ultimate, emerge, I will overturn all of you! With me here, you still dream of achieving supreme fruition? All of you will be swept away and brought to your knees!”

Chu Feng said indignantly, feeling an inexplicable surge of frustration.

He increasingly felt that his strength was insufficient. Otherwise, Qing Shi's reincarnated self, the undefeated Feather Emperor, Soul River, Tai Wu, or the Martial Lunatic—none of them would be a problem.

For six full days, Chu Feng worked tirelessly, forgetting to eat and sleep, devoting himself entirely to this task. He consulted all ancient records concerning the Tai Shang terrain, and now had a clear understanding.

Moreover, he even deduced which beings resided within.

He could sense that, although those beings disliked being disturbed by outsiders, they had not completely claimed the terrain for themselves. They permitted others to enter special areas to temper themselves, but on the condition that they were not to be awakened.

Chu Feng left this place. In the hazy night, he walked along the streets of the giant city, watching flying saucers occasionally streak across the sky, leaving trails of light. He entered a small cave dwelling that operated as a public establishment late into the night, ordered a drink, and sat quietly alone.

He was about to depart. From now on, he would embark on a journey of conquest. Blood and fire awaited him. This might be his last moment of peace; next, he would continually strive to improve himself!

The golden liquor was pure and richly fragrant. Chu Feng felt a little dazed. “Is this the Yang Realm? In a major city? Why does it feel like I've returned to Earth, to some bar?”

Then he realized he was slightly tipsy. What was called liquor could actually be described as a spiritual liquid related to evolution, which relaxed one's soul light.

Otherwise, how could ordinary alcohol make an evolver drunk?

“Ah, Chu Ultimate's supreme path is about to begin!” he mumbled. “Invincible ones, undefeated myths, Heavenly Immortals, are you ready? I'm coming! If you're dragons, you'd better coil yourselves up for me! If you're true immortals, go fold my bedding for me! And my… son?!”

He was truly drunk. He had ordered the most expensive Golden Sky-Spirit Nectar. This substance could sometimes make even Heavenly Venerables tipsy, so naturally, he couldn't quite handle it.

He thought of the little Daoist priest, and of his parents. For a moment, he missed them dearly, and a sense of wistful melancholy filled his heart.

He was a man with parents and a child, but now they were all separated, through life and death apart. And even if their reincarnated selves reappeared, they might not be the same people.

Because he had already learned that the entire so-called cycle of reincarnation might be a vast conspiracy, not necessarily real, and potentially controlled by someone.

“Among the three unfilial acts, having no descendants is the gravest,” he mused. “Should I leave behind some bloodline? Otherwise, if I go to the forbidden land this time, and then further into battle, to more dangerous places to improve myself, what if I die?”

“Am I drunk? Why am I spouting nonsense?!”

Chu Feng felt he was losing control of himself.

Nearby, a drunken person approached, saying, “What are you talking about, brother? Leaving behind descendants? I understand, haha, I can help you with introductions…”

His tone was ambiguous, and his smile strange.

“Go away!” Chu Feng retorted. “The mother of my child must at least be a Heavenly Venerable, and normally, she should be a Heavenly Immortal! Get lost!”

Even the evolver who had approached intending to mock him was momentarily stunned and utterly speechless. Finally, he mumbled, “Beings at the Heavenly Venerable level no longer procreate!”

“If they don't procreate, I'll make them!” Chu Feng yelled.

Then he clapped a hand over his mouth and quickly ran off. He felt he was truly drunk, saying utter nonsense.

Chu Feng fled from the giant city. In his drunken state, he felt that the entire world looked different. Why were the distant mountains bleeding?

“Strange!”

Chu Feng noticed something unusual. After getting slightly tipsy, his Fiery Golden Eyes seemed extremely strange. Was it because his soul light was fluctuating intensely and unusually, causing his eyes to see things differently?

“Under special soul light frequencies, Fiery Golden Eyes undergo an anomaly,” he recalled, “allowing one to see the truth of the world in this state!”

Chu Feng's hair stood on end, because he remembered a passage he had read, which he had come across while researching information not long ago.

The Tai Shang terrain was most likely to temper one's Fiery Golden Eyes, which was why there were accumulated insights from predecessors on this topic.

He was horrified. “What is happening?”

Then he looked up, and saw that the sky was leaking, with large holes from which blood dripped. He saw the distant mountains, covered in blood, continually seeping blood, and the earth was severely damaged.

This was different from the world he saw in his normal state; ordinarily, he seemed unable to perceive this part.

“Is this the other side of the true world?!”

Then, Chu Feng saw some people, glowing with iridescent light, flying away from the horizon. Others were coming towards him. Among them, one ball of light was so brilliant it could practically illuminate heaven and earth, more dazzling than the usual sun.

“Oh, you can see me?”

The most dazzling ball of light flew closer. Within it was a person who walked with a dragon's stride and a tiger's gait, possessing innate majesty without needing to express anger, like an emperor.

“Who are you?!” Chu Feng's hair stood on end, sensing that this person was far from ordinary.

“Your face…” After approaching, the ball of light quickly retreated a few steps, as if very surprised. It stared at Chu Feng repeatedly before finally regaining composure.

In an instant, the person returned to normal, and said, “On the day the gates of the Netherworld open, I, this lonely ghost, came out to breathe some fresh air.”

“The Netherworld?” Chu Feng was stunned. This was a place connected to the Soul River, perhaps even directly linked to it. Did this person come from there?!

However, judging by his words, he seemed to be just a ghost?!

“Who exactly are you?!” Chu Feng asked.

“I was invincible for ten generations,” the emperor-like person said. “For ten generations, I reigned as king, peerless among mortals. Now, I'm out on parole, getting some fresh air, and I'll have to go back soon.”

“What… what are your true origins?!” Chu Feng asked, looking at the light figures in the distance.

The person actually responded again, saying, “We are all dead people, from several epochs ago. However, in theory, no one should be able to see us, or perceive this true world clearly.”