The Sacred Ruins

Meanwhile in the Southern Sea where the waves billow amidst draconic chants.

A hundred-meter tall wave rose upon its surface wherein a white figure dashed out and stood upon the waves, gazing into the distance.

It was a white-robed youth. He was quite handsome with long hair dancing in the wind, eyes that shone brightly, and forehead adorned with dragon-shaped patterns. He murmured, "Ah great continent, here I come. As the great upheaval occurs once more and the great struggle for hegemony takes place, I shall evolve into a dragon on land!"

In the Eastern Sea, a mysterious sea beast flew out from under the water and spread its wings. It was covered in golden scales while its structure resembled a divine tiger.

It roared and turned into a golden-haired man who stood on the surface of the sea, muttering, "Endless years have passed since the ancient battle. Perhaps many have already forgotten our race."

He was tall with thick brows and eyes like a tiger. A heroic aura emanated from this brilliant and formidable youth. Streams of light spilled out from his golden pupils as he sped across the ocean’s surface in large strides.

Spreading the pair of golden wings on his back, he caused the air to explode as he broke through to five times the speed of sound like a bolt of golden lightning.

"Our race is peerless. Even the dragon race cannot suppress us! Who dares contend with me for the famed mountains and great rivers?!"

His voice reverberated over the waves as his golden image disappeared over the horizon.

In the distant seas, waves wildly crashed as a beautiful silhouette emerged from within and occasionally appeared above the water. Its beautiful skin was snowy-white and almost translucent like jade.

Finally, she completely rushed out of the water and stood on the waves. Her tall and exquisitely white bosom was covered by bright colored seashells. Droplets of water clung to her violet hair and glowed prismatically as the sun shone through them.

Her fair countenance was without blemish and her beauty was stunning. Her perfectly curved body was glowing with an enchanting radiance and her purplish eyes were enshrouded in mist.

"I’m a scion of god and my forebears came from the continent. I shall return to my origins and there I will sever my seventh shackle." Her melodious voice was soothing to the ears but boundlessly confident.

Many such experts had come to the continent over time. There was a silver turtle who jumped into the air and transformed into a white-haired man who proceeded to land on the beach.

On another shore, a giant seashell released bright light whereupon a beautiful and charming lady walked out. She was glowing with a pristine radiance.

...

Many powerful experts had come to shore within these couple of days.

At the bottom of Mount Zhongnan, a slender and elegant lady was gazing up at the peak enshrouded in auspicious purple clouds. She possessed witty eyes and long, deep blue hair within which were a number of sparkling protrusions akin to dragon horns.

Someone was reporting that the experts of the marine race had come ashore in succession and that most of them were headed to Jiangxi.

"Most of them want to try their luck at obtaining the breathing technique from that Chu Feng. Do you want to go?" someone among those behind her asked. The group consisted of both men and women, all of whom were powerful individuals.

"There’s no rush. I want to observe Mount Zhongnan first before heading to Jiangxi."

There was no peace in the world this day. The marine race had come! Word was that there were several top-ranked experts among them, all of whom were exceedingly powerful with six severed shackles.

There were tyrannical old demons among them as well as young and prideful geniuses. Their strengths were astonishing.

"Will the world be thrown into chaos? The Marine Race had come to fight with us for natural fortunes." Everyone was feeling apprehensive regardless of race and gender.

Very soon, people heard news of some powerful Marine Race experts headed towards Jiangxi.

"Demon King Chu is in big trouble. There are now tyrants from the ocean after him in addition to the various kings of the continent. Things are looking rather dangerous for him."

People noticed a huge cyclone forming over Jiangxi. With the agents from various factions gathered here, an explosive event was bound to break out sooner or later.

One had to know that a single Black Dragon Crown Prince was already terrifying enough. The fight between him and Chu Feng ended with both of them sustaining grievous injuries. Now with a new batch of experts arriving, a great commotion was inevitable.

The experts who had established the earliest sects, the mighty kings of Kunlun, the Peacock King, the Golden Crow, the master of the Hollow Jade Temple in addition to the various marine race experts had all mobilized. It could be called a gathering of experts.

The gathering of kings at Jiangxi attracted the public attention.

But at this moment, Chu Feng was completely oblivious to these things as he walked the narrow line between life and death.

That night he had killed ten kills in succession and broken through the encirclement but had paid a great price in exchange.

His heart had been torn and was only a step away from falling dead. He killed a bloody path out of the killing field and fled at the highest speed he could manage.

Under the stress produced by traveling at four times the speed of sound, all his wounds had completely opened up and blood was spraying out from several places. His heart had nearly been torn in two.

On several occasions, Chu Feng thought he would die. Hope was flimsy at best.

At those times, he would utilize spiritual energy to forcefully close the wound on his heart and prevent it from being torn apart.

Similarly, he reconnected certain vessels together and even had to control the blood flow to certain areas that had suffered too much damage.

He had never suffered such intense wounds. His body was mostly torn and tattered.

The most critical wound was, of course, his heart. The organ was the source of the body’s hemodynamic action. He would be drained of all energy without blood flow.

But it was at that moment that he attempted using spiritual energy to manage his physical wounds and came upon some unexpected findings.

His body was too badly wounded after continuous battles, and the energy stores within his body had almost been exhausted completely. In the end, he could only attempt to circulate his spiritual energy and send it towards his bones and limbs.

He unexpectedly realized that it generated a certain amount of physical energy like the final radiance of the setting sun and allowed him to recover some of his vitality.

But he soon realized that it was the result of spiritual energy intersecting with physical energy.

It was also at that moment that the kings in pursuit lost track of him and could no longer sense him even with active divine instinct.

Additionally, Chu Feng was still fleeing with his life on the line and dared not reduce his speed in the least. He disappeared into the distance and left the area.

Chu Feng simply kept on running at high speed, numb to tiredness and exhaustion. He himself knew not how far he had run and only reduced his speed after nearly collapsing in exhaustion. He immediately dived into a dry mountain cave and blocked the entrance with rocks before falling limp.

He kept himself awake with great effort, circulating the breathing technique and healing his injuries aided by his powerful spirit.

But he only lasted for a while before passing out.

He was simply too tired—overdrafted in both body and soul—he was like a nearly extinguished lamp flickering in the breeze.

In his dreams, he vaguely felt himself circulating the breathing technique. His body was performing it subconsciously perhaps because he would’ve died otherwise.

The moment he woke up, one day and night had already passed. He awoke at dawn the following day, oblivious of the waves shaking the outside world, and oblivious to the experts of various powers gathering at Jiangxi to hunt him down.

Chu Feng struggled to push open the rock he had previously used to block the cave opening. He realized that his physical condition was terrible; he was almost drained of all energy and in pain all over his body, especially his heart.

He felt slightly better after breathing in the fresh morning air and bathing himself in the morning sun.

"At least I’m still alive!" He sighed. It was truly a miracle to have survived this mortal calamity.

Dozens of king level entities had attacked him together while he was badly wounded. It was a frightening and difficult situation.

He was no longer certain of the situation in the outside world because his communicator had shattered amidst the intense struggle.

He knew, however, that a huge commotion was inevitable if news of him killing ten great kings in one night was spread. Certain people would probably be having a headache by then. Supporting himself on the cliffside, Chu Feng sat at the cave entrance and circulated his breathing technique while facing the rising sun.

At that moment, his body was devoid of all energy, and his cold body was hungry for the sun’s warmth.

White mist circulated around his mouth and nose as golden radiance fluctuated like water, enshrouding his whole body. This made him feel incomparably comfortable.

"Things don’t look good." Chu Feng opened his eyes after ending his breathing technique. His internal sense revealed his body was almost completely ruined within.

The heart had almost been torn apart—he would’ve died long ago if he hadn’t been protecting it with spiritual energy.

"Now’s not the time to worry about severing the fifth shackle. I should focus on recovery."

Chu Feng stared at the dark glow around his heart. This residual energy left by the Black Dragon Crown Prince was interfering with his heart’s ability to recuperate. Normally, he would require several weeks to erase this energy so as not to further damage the heart.

"Maybe I should just stake it all and deal with it in one go!" Chu Feng decided to be cruel to himself.

In any case, the heart was already torn and was reliant on his spiritual energy to stay intact.

Pfft!

He released the spiritual energy and let the heart split apart. It was almost torn in two with fresh blood wildly spurting out. He was so weak that he almost passed out from the unbearable pain.

Thump!

The membrane-covered hole in his chest burst open once again as a black light shot out from within.

Chu Feng used every ounce of strength he had left to extract the foreign energy and swiftly closed the heart afterwards. His face was drained of color as he leaned on the cave wall, shivering all over.

"Finally, I extracted it in one go!"

He faced the sun’s rays and once again started to circulate his breathing technique. The torn heart swiftly closed and the chest wound was tingling ever so slightly as a thin membrane began to form over it.

"So fast?!" Chu Feng was surprised.

He realized, after some thought, that it might be due to his heart regaining unhindered circulatory function after the Black Dragon Crown Prince’s invasive energy was removed. The most important factor here was that his spiritual and physical energy had fused together; they were now circulating in synchrony.

This type of fusion likely promoted his vitality and increased his physical vigor.

Chu Feng suddenly remembered about how he had asked Yellow Ox about the most powerful beings of the other world.

Yellow Ox replied that those terrifying beings could revive even if a single arm was left behind.

Chu Feng didn’t comprehend how one could revive after losing his head and consciousness.

Now he understood that these people had probably fused their spiritual energy with the corporeal body. It was as if the remaining arm had some remnant consciousness within and could gradually revive with the help of certain rare medicines.

"That means I took the correct path when I fused my spiritual consciousness with my bones and muscles out of desperation?" Chu Feng mused.

He was soon reminded of several other things.

"Yellow Ox had repeatedly emphasized that the breathing technique was not limited to the physical body but also applies to spiritual respiration."

Chu Feng reckoned that his previous cultivation path might’ve been incorrect. He had previously made attempts at synchronizing his spiritual and physical energy fluctuations.

Now it seemed that perhaps a complete fusion of spirit and body was the correct way to synchronize breathing.

He made continuous attempts at fusion and finally, his body began to release a translucent glow while radiating vigorous life force.

"Yellow Ox is still very young and had obtained this inheritance by chance with no mentor to point things out to him. It appears he’s also trying to figure things out. But I guess I’ve found the correct path this time." Chu Feng revealed a delighted expression.

He could feel his wounds healing at a visible rate.

Furthermore, now that his spiritual energy was distributed throughout his muscles, organs, and bones, he could sense his physical condition even more clearly.

As an example, through the mass of spiritual energy accumulated in his heart, he could make out the extent of the wound within. Some places were glowing with light and beginning to slowly grow back amidst surging vitality.

"If I can boost my healing with this method, maybe I can use the same method to sever my fifth shackle!"

Chu Feng guessed his breathing technique and power should now be even more powerful than before. When the time comes, he might be able to break through without the help of divine pollen.

"Those beast race members and corporations, just you wait!"

While he was recuperating, Chu Feng naturally remembered the people who had tried to kill him. Killing intent raged within whenever he did.

Dozens of kings actually ganged up against a single person! How strong a lineup was that?

At the same time, he pondered on how he had struggled to kill the half-dead Ash Wolf King as an awakened realm warrior. Now he had already become a king.

"If only the Ash Wolf was alive, he would probably be a local tyrant by now," Chu Feng mused.

The number of king level entities were on the rise with the revival of myriad mountains and rivers while the earlier experts were becoming increasingly powerful.

"The Peacock King was heading south when last I heard of him. He should probably be in Jiangxi by now." Chu Feng’s pupils constricted; he knew he had to recover with haste and become stronger.

He had no idea how tense the atmosphere in the outer world had become with the experts of various races rushing over to the region.

Chu Feng got up, half a day later, to hunt a deer and fill his hungry stomach.

He then left the place and traveled due west.

He feared he would be discovered if he stayed in one place for too long.

Ever since he had merged his spirit into the physical body and attained fusion, Chu Feng was astonished to find that others couldn’t easily detect him without the need to actively isolate his aura.

Chu Feng hurried on his way while circulating his breathing technique. His physical body was able to function perfectly as long as he didn’t activate his maximum strength.

He rested several times on the way until twilight was upon him. He sensed his essence energy had been replenished greatly while the wound on his heart had contracted by half.

This rate of healing was truly astonishing. At this rate, his heart would be healed completely in one more day.

None discovered Chu Feng as he traversed the vast mountainous woods through the night like a wandering spirit—graceful and silent.

"It should be quite difficult to find me at this point," Chu Feng thought. All traces of him should’ve been terminated if no beast race members sensed his presence along the way.

One day later, his heart had almost completely recovered while the large wound on his chest had been covered by new tissue.

His fractured bones had all but reconnected. Bone materials had merged together and were fast recovering.

"I’ll be as good as new within a few days at this rate!"

Much to his surprise, Chu Feng found himself within Hubei borders after one more day had passed.

"This should be good. I’ve left the dangerous lands far behind and no one should be able to find me for the time being. I’ll take this time to completely recover and attempt to break through my fifth shackle!" Chu Feng’s eyes burned with flames of passion.

He truly wanted to recover and breakthrough, after which he would visit his enemies to settle the scores.