Chapter 1666: Isolated from the World

After becoming an Immortal King, Chu Feng didn't halt his steps. For the next hundreds of thousands of years, he continued to brave the elements, studying the patterns of nature.

He traveled to countless places, including the Great Thousand World and one spiritual-energy-depleted universe after another. His presence was felt everywhere, from mountains and rivers to forbidden lands.

Undoubtedly, this was a lonely path. For so many years, he walked alone among the dilapidated ruins, a solitary figure.

For many years, he had not interacted with any other living beings, much less engaged in conversation or dialogue.

Only when he occasionally paused and looked back at his past would he feel a surge of emotion. Behind him lay a vast mist, with nothing remaining; everyone was buried in the past.

In this world, not even a trace of them remained, and their figures no longer appeared in the entire ancient history.

Only Chu Feng remembered them, never forgetting the past.

Carrying a heavy burden, he explored the path of evolution alone. In an era where no cultivators remained in the world, during a terrifying age when the path of evolution had been completely buried and broken, he forged his own path with his very being, advancing forward alone.

His conviction never wavered.

Ever since his adopted son, Chu Kang, passed away, Chu Feng had not spoken to anyone again.

Through long ages, as seas turned into mulberry fields and races rose and fell, he stood apart from the world. While seemingly detached from worldly affairs, it was, in fact, an unspeakable loneliness.

He would sometimes pause, listening to the lingering echoes beneath the eternal silence. Yet, what he perceived was an even deeper desolation, along with the pervasive, unresolvable sorrow of ancient history.

Great mists swirled, and beneath the eternal night, only he advanced, burdened, alone, pondering the desolation and solitude that had settled from the dark ages.

Until one day, he emerged from the dilapidated ruins deep within the Great Wilderness and saw the myriad lights of homes, the brilliance of the human world, and the prosperity of mortal life. Only then did a ripple stir in his heart, tinged with sadness, and hot tears welled up in his eyes. The worldly scenes and myriad aspects of human life deeply moved him. How long had it been since he last spoke to anyone?

In the vast world, he could no longer find anyone with whom to converse or confide. Although lights shone brightly ahead, he felt detached from them, feeling as if only he remained.

"Am I being nostalgic, missing the past?" he muttered to himself. He looked back, as if seeing the brilliant grand era he once belonged to, seeing those people again, and hearing their whispers, carried across eons of time.

He yearned for those people in his heart. Chu Feng gazed into the past, and after a long time, he suddenly turned, no longer looking back, and strode forward once more!

He knew clearly what he ought to do. The brilliance of mortal life and the prosperity of the world were but sand that slipped through his fingers, flowers withered by time. He could not linger and waste time.

For over two million years in the Era of Ruined Lands, Chu Feng had traversed countless grand universes, embraced star rivers, descended into the Nine Netherworlds, and analyzed peerless dangerous lands. His strength continuously grew, reaching the late stage of Immortal Kinghood. Yet, he became increasingly silent and extremely reserved.

At the peak of the Mortal Immortal stage, he could already contend with Immortal Kings, let alone at his current level. If the Kings were to be resurrected, they would struggle to withstand suppression from just one of his hands!

Immortal Kings could already open up worlds; an invincible Immortal King, needless to say, could establish their own Dao field in chaos and manifest cosmos and star seas.

For a powerhouse like Chu Feng to reach this stage in an era when becoming an Immortal was impossible, in the age of spiritual depletion, if the Kings knew, they would be utterly astonished.

The Great Dao had crumbled, order was broken, and there was no longer any Dao in the world. Yet, Chu Feng, in this era of spiritual depletion, paved his own way with his very being. This was truly incredible.

In such arduous times, if he were to create a new universe, his very being would be the source from which laws and order originated. He could naturally make a newly opened world vibrant with life, with myriad things multiplying, spiritual energy recovering, and ushering in a brilliant age suitable for cultivation.

But he did not do so. Without eradicating the ominous land, even the birth of a Golden Age would be meaningless. If ominous beings were to arrive, could he protect that world? Clearly, he would be powerless, only adding to the bloodshed and sorrow.

That year, Chu Feng emerged from a depleted grand universe and delved deep into chaos. According to historical records, the path he took was extremely perilous, deviating too far from all worlds. Kings who reached such areas had long since become lost, unable to find their way back.

Yet, Chu Feng did not stop, continuing his journey. Besides unexpectedly collecting some chaotic spirit treasures, he also encountered some difficult-to-comprehend chaotic patterns in this primordial land.

He naturally didn't let them go, as if he were perusing a chaotic scripture to perfect his own path.

Only when he felt he had gone deep enough, and was certain of the desolation, did he begin to make arrangements. With a thought, brilliant patterns appeared around him, parting the heavens and earth, grinding away chaos, seemingly about to manifest a grand and brilliant world.

In reality, this was not the case. He was merely inscribing runes and setting up formations in chaos to verify the methods and paths he had comprehended.

In an instant, myriad patterns bloomed across the sky, transforming into immortal swords. They swept across, shaking heaven and earth, shattering the chaotic sea, and directly cleaving open a world!

However, the next moment, his entire body glowed like the origin of the Dao. Countless divine chains of order intertwined and spread out, reaching the six directions and eight wildernesses. With a booming sound, they directly pierced through the vast world he had just opened. Rules, like blades, sliced through the universe, causing heaven and earth to completely disintegrate, reverting to chaos.

Subsequently, countless runes appeared in the chaos, like strings of galaxies. They continuously arranged and rearranged themselves, manifesting various deadly formations. The terrifying aura they generated was enough to chill all deceased Immortal Kings to the bone.

Finally, a grand formation appeared, and endless beams of light flew forth, surprisingly shooting towards Chu Feng.

Any single wisp of these light beams was terrifying. They could annihilate an entire race and threaten the life and death of Immortal Kings. Yet, they filled the sky, densely packed, covering Chu Feng.

Within those beams were chaotic lightning bolts, comparable to the strongest heavenly tribulations, a single strike of which could cleave open a universe. There were also intertwined Yin and Yang scrolls, which, when descended, severed space-time. Moreover, there were dazzling sword lights, sweeping across, parting heavens and earth; and then...

Chu Feng remained expressionless, standing alone, enduring it with his physical body.

He pursued the path of formation evolution, not to inscribe runes or borrow external objects to kill enemies, but to achieve his own evolution through formations.

Now, he was tempering his body, testing how strong his flesh and blood truly were, seeking to forge an indestructible and invincible physique.

After all, his opponents were not just one or two, but an entire plateau. It was truly hard to say how many strange beings were within it.

Currently, there were four Ancestors and three Immortal Emperors in the ominous land. But he wouldn't forget that there was "primeval substance" at the end of the plateau, which would likely allow Immortal Emperors to ascend to the Ancestor realm.

It was truly too difficult. Whenever he thought of these things, Chu Feng felt oppressed and on the verge of suffocation. He had to elevate himself to be invincible through all ages, exhausting all his efforts.

Otherwise, there would be no need for him to go to that plateau; he would only die in vain.

In the deepest part of chaos, Chu Feng's soul light also appeared, enduring the impact of those terrifying beams. He remained motionless as lightning, sword light, and other forces descended upon him.

After a long time, the area calmed down. Chu Feng, with immense divine power, smoothed everything over, and chaos surged, engulfing all.

After 2.43 million years in the Era of Ruined Lands, Chu Feng had fully deduced and completed his path in the Immortal King realm, creating his own unique method and Dao. He sat cross-legged, scriptures spontaneously appearing and swirling around him, about to spread out and restore vitality to the depleted heavens and earth.

However, in an instant, all the scriptures dimmed. He had established the Dao with his own body; countless orders and rules converged within him, and the Dao marks no longer manifested.

No matter how strong he was, as long as he couldn't kill the Ancestors, he wouldn't expose himself, and it would be impossible for him to change the state of spiritual depletion in any withered grand world.

Several years later, after entering a dilapidated universe, he discovered an extremely peculiar terrain that was actually able to strongly threaten him.

In fact, this universe had no living beings; it had been a dangerous land even before the Era of Ruined Lands, and all its stars carried an aura of death.

After careful study, Chu Feng was astonished to find that this dilapidated land was consistent with a terrain that had once appeared on the stone jar. He had reason to suspect it was the very source.

Back then, whenever the stone jar occasionally revived and glowed, the patterns that appeared on its body included many landscapes of mountains and rivers. Today, he saw a very consistent source terrain here.

Over the years, he had seen too many complex dangerous lands. But after careful exploration, in his view, they were all ultimately... nothing special.

Now, his expression became solemn.

After all, when the stone jar revived in the past, it had revealed extremely terrifying scenes, where Emperors were swallowed, vanishing into ancient and unfathomable terrifying terrains.

He naturally knew that it was related to the ancient Underworld and to the end of the plateau. The two were closely linked.

Chu Feng halted his steps, no longer traveling afar, and began to seriously analyze this peerless dangerous land.

Having once slain Emperors, whether Quasi-Immortal Emperors or true Immortal Emperors, indicated extreme danger. Therefore, Chu Feng was very calm and cautious.

Thousands of years later, although he was still in the Immortal King realm, he gradually delved deeper, exploring with his unparalleled formation techniques, entering this forbidden land.

Overall, although this dangerous land was dilapidated and its terrain had somewhat changed, it was still fatal to Immortal Kings.

If not for Chu Feng's formation techniques, which shook past and present, his Immortal King body alone would not have been able to delve into such terrifying areas.

Although it was extremely dangerous, his gains here were also immense. He deciphered too many terrifying patterns, using them to supplement his own path.

After all, to him, the Immortal King stage was still a step on the journey; he could not stop and be content. He was already preparing for the Quasi-Immortal Emperor path, and the terrain patterns here were incredibly valuable to him.

For hundreds of thousands of years, Chu Feng did not leave. Then one day, with a "plop," he fell into an ancient path as intricate as a spiderweb, and only then did he awaken.

He delved into the deepest part of the terrain, analyzing all the way, and surprisingly stumbled upon a path to the ancient Underworld!

Regarding the Underworld, there had been too many legends and conjectures in the world.

One type of Underworld path was opened by later generations, such as Desolate Heaven Emperor, who had personally excavated the ancient Underworld but could not find its end. In the end, he even personally forged a section of it.

Furthermore, strange beings had also occupied parts of the ancient Underworld path, connecting to the plateau.

In fact, no one could clearly explain the origin of the most ancient Underworld. Some said it was naturally formed by heaven and earth, connecting to the Heavens Above, to the Yang Realm, to the Great Thousand Universes, and leading to all worlds, mysterious and unfathomable.

"A discarded section of the path," Chu Feng stated, standing in the darkness and looking at the densely packed passages.

This path was quite desolate. Even the other connecting paths were the same: their patterns were blurred, many areas were completely destroyed, and they had long been abandoned.

Chu Feng slowly walked down. Along the way, he solemnly examined the residual patterns of the ancient Underworld, diligently studying and pondering them.

This was very important to him.

This journey lasted for many tens of thousands of years. Eventually, he emerged from the spiderweb-like passages and arrived at another grand universe, also in an era of spiritual depletion.

After Chu Feng emerged, he immediately sat cross-legged where he was, closed his eyes, pondering what he had seen, and diligently studying those patterns.

Then, he entered a meditative state, motionless, completely immersed in the world of the formation evolution path. He was deducing and further perfecting his own path.

One year, two years...

Hundreds of thousands of years passed, yet he never woke up, continually "evolving the Dao" within his inner world.

Time was like a blade, leveling mountains and rivers, severing lakes and seas. Amidst the transformations of the world, Chu Feng was obscured by dust, covered by soil, sinking underground, and then his original spot was buried by collapsed mountains.

Until one day, thunder rumbled and all things revived. His eyelids merely twitched slightly, but he did not wake up. In his inner world, he was building the path to the Dao Ancestor.

Many tens of thousands of years passed again. Living beings began to set foot in the desolate, uninhabited land. Only when someone drilled through this mountainous area, about to dig him out, did he finally perceive it.

Although he was still underground, buried by earth and stone, Chu Feng immediately perceived that the outside world was rich in spiritual energy and full of vitality. The era of spiritual depletion had long since passed, he didn't know when.

Several cultivators were opening up the mountain, digging through the earth, and exploring this area.

"According to ancient texts, I, your humble Daoist, have deduced that this terrain is beyond words. It nurtures extraordinary treasures of creation underground and is a place to defy destiny and change one's fate. We are very close!"

"Daoist Priest, your knowledge is profound, unmatched in the field of Feng Shui in this era. Looking back through ancient history, there are few predecessors who could stand shoulder to shoulder with you. We naturally trust and admire you. Dig!"

Chu Feng remained motionless, letting the earth and stone above him decrease. He was still contemplating deeply within his mind, carrying out the final deductions. The path to the Dao Ancestor should be considered complete.

"Heavens, we've dug up a divine creation! A treasure of heaven and earth! Is this... a human-shaped great medicine?!"

The few people sensed something beneath the soil, and an immortal fragrance wafted up, even more astonishing than the most sacred fruits of legend. Its faint fragrance made one feel as if they were about to ascend as an immortal, all their pores opening wide. And the great medicine covered by the soil... resembled a human figure sitting cross-legged.

As a peerless Immortal King, although Chu Feng was covered by soil, his body remained spotless and dust-free. Although Chu Feng had reined in all Dao marks and rules so as not to harm the people outside, the fresh scent of his immortal body had nonetheless permeated the soil over countless years and was now detected by them.