The Sacred Ruins

The setting sun was completely round, adorned by layers of crimson clouds with golden borders; even the mountains were flooded with brilliant red.

Chu Feng was in a good mood as he gazed at the sunset. He was no longer as lethargic and bloody as he was a few days ago. On the contrary, color had returned to his previously pale countenance and he appeared rather spirited.

His body had recovered well—his heart wound had all but healed and his bones would soon follow. He could wage an intense battle even if he met more experts right now.

His silhouette against the dusk clouds was pervaded by a golden glow. The vast mountains with sparse vegetation had been stained with the scarlet glow as birds sung from time to time, adding to the peace of the scenery.

"Plucking the last strands of vitality from the twilight is even more beneficial to the body." Chu Feng walked through the tranquil forest with light steps.

He knew he was in Hubei but not the exact location. The land had undergone numerous transformations after the upheaval and the mountains and rivers were no longer the same.

He bathed in the glow of the setting sun and respired the scarlet brilliance. His mouth and nose were suffused with a light golden radiance which proceeded to enshroud his whole body in a hazy glow.

He was feeling extremely relaxed, watching the red sun and basking in its prismatic glow. He walked in leisure while taking in the luxuriant rays, feeling warm and comfortable.

At this moment, his spirit had merged into every inch of his muscles and was respiring alongside the body. It was an extremely liberating sensation.

As he stood enshrouded in the golden halo, his spirit was also bathing in the rising warmth of the red sun.

"According to Taoist theory, the spiritual energy is yin, while the blood energy is yang. Now my spirit, nourished by the yang energy, is becoming increasingly condensed and carries traces of yang aura."

Chu Feng was delighted in both body and mind as his spiritual energy became increasingly saturated and his physique relaxed. He felt that his current progress might be comparable to those in myths and legends.

But of course, those legends can’t be considered the fullest extent of progress—take the Imperial Sword Technique for example—it was recorded to be capable of moving swords but moving oneself with spiritual energy was never mentioned.

The so-called Imperial Sword Technique was only one of the many spiritual arts.

"Hu..."

Chu Feng breathed out a mouthful of hazy glowing mist. It shot out from his nose and mouth like a sharp blade and caused the air to explode resonantly.

The expired gas split the rock before him into pieces.

"Hmm, even the minute amounts of energy within my expired breath produces such power." Chu Feng felt satisfied.

Even while recuperating, he was still able to progress his strength by working on the fusion between his spiritual energy and physical body.

During the previous life and death battles in Jiangxi—from Mount Longhu to the airport and then within the woods—his opponents ranged from Schiller and the Black Dragon Crown Prince to a host of king level experts. He hopped from battle to battle with almost no rest for his spirit.

Now it was completely different. His mind was clear and spirited, and his whole body was glowing with an aura of tranquil vitality as he walked leisurely through the forest.

These two extreme situations gave him comparatively different experiences.

The dao path, life was sometimes tense and sometimes relaxed, sometimes peaceful and sometimes involved struggles for life. The scenery was ever changing along the road while emotions also underwent similar ups and downs.

Chu Feng felt the current condition to be optimal. His bones were reconnecting with greater speed and had almost fully healed.

He knew not whether it was due to his completely relaxed state after the great battle or due to the fusion of spirit and body, but he was being baptized by a shroud of radiance.

The light looked like a holy grail which had enveloped him completely.

He circulated his breathing technique and reached a peaceful and auspicious equilibrium between his physical and spiritual body. His internal energies were also becoming exuberant and his vitality had soared to new heights.

"Perhaps it’s related to my near-death experience," Chu Feng mused.

That battle had completely exhausted his energy and pushed his physical and spiritual condition to their limits. His whole body was akin to a near burnt-out lamp and had nearly died.

Such experiences along with the subsequent revival might have awakened his physical and mental willpower. Both had grown exponentially stronger after the baptism of blood and the threat of death.

Now, he was free of external enemies. During the leisurely process of rejuvenation, his body was full of vitality and was undergoing constant transformation, exceeding his previous power.

Chu Feng beheld a small hill in front of him, on which was a broken temple, bathed in the evening glow and emanating a faint golden light. It appeared rather divine.

Chu Feng climbed the hill and arrived before this small and dilapidated temple. The rays of the setting sun flooded over its long since collapsed walls.

The area was devoid of human life and had apparently been abandoned for many years. After the geographical changes of the great upheaval, even few people visited the tranquil region.

However, there was a golden bodhisattva statue within the rundown monastery. It was still able to reflect the twilight radiance despite being covered in dust and cobwebs.

In the past, Chu Feng felt nothing when seeing such things, but today, he focused his gaze and circulated his breathing technique. His spiritual and physical bodies were flourishing with vitality, truly an unusual feeling.

He gazed at the rundown temple and the Bodhisattva statue while bathing in the twilight glow. At this moment, his heart was clear and his mind, calm.

"This deity was once loved, respected, worshipped and possessed profound knowledge," Chu Feng murmured. From an evolutionary point of view, this was probably a golden and divine ancient figure whose prominence was later translated into divinity and worshipped.

He sensed its powerful spirit even through the barrier of vicissitudes. This golden statue only possessed a minuscule amount of divinity, but it was enough to explain things.

"There shouldn’t be many at this evolutionary level."

Chu Feng was suddenly dazed as he recalled the various religious literature, myths, and legends like the story about how Buddha cast away an elephant, etc.

Unknowingly, Chu Feng had switched to the Thunderous Breathing Technique, which despite being incomplete, was somehow resonating with this golden Bodhisattva statue.

His spiritual energy similarly fused into his physical body while circulating this breathing technique. Thunderous sounds reverberated throughout the area as his body began to resonate and accept the baptism of spiritual flow.

Originally, Chu Feng hadn’t planned to activate this breathing technique because the Thunderous Breathing Technique was simply too tyrannical and might prove detrimental to his wounded body.

But he realized that it no longer possessed such an untoward effect after incorporating with his mental realm. His whole body resonated with the resounding thunder and he couldn’t feel the overbearing momentum at all. On the contrary, he felt as if he was surrounded by resonant divine notes that were as clear as a bell. This sent him into a different kind of mild and peaceful mental state.

"Externally demonic yet internally divine?" Chu Feng murmured. He pondered whether the tyrannical properties of this breathing technique were only in appearance when, in fact, it was internally gentle and mild.

"Perhaps we can explain this from the Buddhist point of view," Chu Feng spoke out loud.

Buddhism emphasizes mercy, peace, and tranquility, but it was also capable of exorcising demons relentlessly and tyrannically when required.

"Perhaps the Thunderous Breathing Technique requires such a mindset to cultivate?"

Suddenly, Chu Feng was enlightened.

Yellow Ox had once told him that many people had practiced the incomplete versions of this breathing technique and harmed themselves during the cultivation.

Now, Chu Feng began to realize that the requirements were simply too specific.

He had made rapid progress in the comprehension of both breathing techniques within a short while. He also saw how profound mysteries and restrictions were hidden within seemingly simple breathing rhythms.

Furthermore, according to Yellow Ox’s explanation, many secrets behind such breathing techniques were yet to be unraveled. There should be even more stunning manifestations as they progressed.

Boom!

Thunder exploded within Chu Feng’s body with which his internal organs began to resonate. It appeared as if lightning was weaving throughout his skeleton accompanied by intense vibrations. His white and radiant bones began to echo the divine notes.

He felt no pain and, on the contrary, was feeling extremely comfortable as his spiritual and physical energies were being purified. He felt powerful strength flourishing throughout his body, and his mind was as clear as a bell after the revelation.

The sun had already set by the time Chu Feng paused this process.

He found, to his surprise, that his broken bones had all regrown and healed without any trace of the wound. The red lines which remained after the closure of this heart wound had also disappeared as if he had never been wounded before.

The large excavated wound on his chest had long since started regrowing new flesh, but now, the skin was bright red and the wound had completely healed.

"So quick!" The rate of regeneration astonished him.

Of course, the main reason was the powerful healing capabilities of the breathing technique that Yellow Ox had taught him. The Thunderous Breathing Technique, activated under the appropriate mental state, became the perfect icing on the cake.

He had already realized the miraculousness of the Thunderous Breathing Technique. If he could obtain the complete inheritance, it might actually be on par with Yellow Ox’s breathing technique.

In truth, Yellow Ox did mention such a possibility. The two breathing techniques possessed shocking origins and were extremely difficult for any outsider to obtain.

If these schools discovered that outsiders had learnt their techniques, they would certainly come to "collect" them.

"It seems three days have passed. I wonder what it’s like in Jiangxi?" Chu Feng shook his head as he gazed into the distance.

He had most likely raised a huge commotion after killing ten kings in one night and disappearing afterward. He could guess the outside world should be rocked by huge waves.

"Now that my body has thoroughly recovered, I can attempt to break my fifth shackle."

Chu Feng’s eyes were shining brilliantly. He naturally didn’t rush into it after just recovering. He was simply making the necessary preparations by accumulating his internal essence in excess of his previous levels before attempting to break through.

That night, Chu Feng left the mountains and woods to arrive at a small town where he bought a communicator and contacted his family.

Now that he was fully recovered, he didn’t fear being discovered.

"Mom, I’m fine. I was pondering about which king level entity I should eat in the recent days. I wasn’t able to make contact because my communicator was damaged. I’m as fit as a fiddle, see? Nothing happened to me since the beginning. Tell me what you guys want to eat and I’ll go hunt them down for you and bring it back after a while. Don’t worry about protected species and such, such things are no longer applicable these days."

Chu Feng spoke mischievously and reported only the good news to his mother. He didn’t dare to tell her that he had nearly died, afraid that the two of them will be worried.

This time, he had experienced a near death struggle which wounded him several times more badly than his previous encounters.

After that, he contacted Lu Tong and obtained even more information which gave him quite the shock.

He realized that the old demons and rare species of the marine race were coming ashore pell-mell and many of them were gathering in Jiangxi.

"There’s a three-eyed marine race expert looking to avenge Hei Teng? He must be tired of living; what’s his true form? Is it edible?"

Lu Tong was rendered speechless after hearing Chu Feng’s words.

"What?! He might be a human? Then tell him to scram lest I kill him on sight and throw him to one side! I’m not interested in this person. Have Hei Teng show his head; I want to eat him! Last time, I only carved 40 kilograms of meat which barely served as an appetizer, but the taste was superb!"

After hearing this Lu Tong almost cursed out loud. Look at the situation—a huge storm was already brewing in Jiangxi with all the experts gathered in one place, and a fight between the peerless was inevitable. And here this bastard was thinking about food.

"Don’t worry, I’ll go back after a few days. I’m going to kill all those bastards who ambushed me and dig up all their nests. Please do me a favor and tell the Hollow Jade Temple master not to kill them. I’m going to head back and roast them one by one; don’t even think about escaping this inevitable fate!" Chu Feng got increasingly worked up as he spoke. His prior peace and tranquility were all gone. His eyes shone brightly at the mention of vengeance and food.