Chapter 1091: Yangtze River First

Chu Feng found the city peculiar. He couldn't shake the feeling that it was a steel jungle, a massive living entity in its entirety.

A shiver ran through him. He was still far away, observing with his Fiery Golden Eyes, and had not yet set foot in the urban zone.

"Forget it, this place is too weird. I'm not going into the city. It's nothing like what I imagined. I'll find somewhere else."

Chu Feng worried that if he, a mere youth, entered rashly, he might encounter trouble. Even if the city were normal, he would likely be subjected to curious scrutiny.

Shortly after, he found the donkey cart and recounted his observations to Jiuyou Zhi. Startled, Jiuyou Zhi said, "That place is very likely a city of the metal life race. It's best not to go. The creatures you saw are actually mechanical life forms, and the entire city might even be a single, collective entity—a mother organism."

Eventually, Chu Feng traveled through several ordinary small towns, finally encountering normal humans. He successfully obtained a false identity, as he wished, and was then able to access the network.

"Aren't there far too many restrictions in the Yang Realm?" Chu Feng sighed.

Network coverage in the Great Desolate Land was limited and often fragmented. Famous mountains and great rivers, for instance, were impossible to cover, and all signals vanished in their vicinity.

Restricted areas, of course, were entirely dead zones.

Given the numerous famous mountains and great rivers throughout the Yang Realm, the network was implicitly divided across various regions.

"Old Nine," Chu Feng said, "how about I take you for a tour around the Yang Realm's foremost restricted area? Let me just look up some information first."

Upon hearing this, Jiuyou Zhi banged his head against the coffin, yelling, "I politely decline! I still want to live for a few more years. Even if I were seeking death, I wouldn't do it like this."

"What are you saying?" Chu Feng retorted. "Don't you know my mastery of domain formations is unparalleled? I can take you in, and I guarantee you'll be perfectly safe. We can even cultivate in the Eye of Creation then."

Jiuyou Zhi sighed, "The last person to make such a claim was a renowned Domain Grandmaster in the Yang Realm. Now, the grass on his grave has already grown eight hundred zhang high."

"What nonsense are you spouting!" Chu Feng retorted, annoyed that Jiuyou Zhi would diminish his prowess. He quickly looked up information himself, only for the very first search result to be about the 'grave grass of the so-called Domain Grandmaster.'

He stared, dumbfounded, before finally exclaiming, "My goodness, why would anyone specifically record the growth of wild grass on a solitary grave?!"

"In the 9,876,358th year of the Heavenly Emperor's reign, the grave grass of the prehistoric Domain Grandmaster reached a height of 12,982 zhang."

Chu Feng was speechless. This was truly outlandish. There really was a Grandmaster's grave there, and people were still actively recording the growth of its grave grass in the present day?!

Upon closer inspection, tracing back along the timeline, he found numerous records, almost annually.

"What kind of grave is this, where even grass can grow over twelve thousand nine hundred zhang high?" Chu Feng questioned, suspecting it was a deliberate and absurd act.

To his surprise, Jiuyou Zhi sighed, "The year I died, it was only eight hundred zhang high. Time truly flows like a song, and the past fades like the wind. That grave grass has grown so tall now."

"Are you all crazy?" Chu Feng exclaimed. "Why would you bother recording a blade of grass for no reason? And is there really such a plant?!" Chu Feng refused to believe it.

In his view, it was utterly unbelievable! Where could there be grass so tall? And if it had been growing for so many years, it would surely have become a spirit or even a powerful entity by now.

"Why don't you search for yourself and see?" Jiuyou Zhi suggested.

"Good heavens, it's real!" Chu Feng exclaimed. "Is this grass? It looks like a tree!" He searched for related information, saw the images, and was left speechless. Finally, he had to concede that it was indeed a blade of grass, albeit one that had grown to an outrageous size.

"Why is it like this, and why is it specifically recorded?" Chu Feng inquired.

"Because no one has ever truly known what the first restricted area looks like," Jiuyou Zhi explained. "Anyone who approaches either vanishes or turns to dust. Absolutely no one knows the specific topography or detailed conditions of that region. Eventually, only that eccentric Domain Grandmaster investigated it once, using heaven-defying domain techniques to approach. He didn't die instantly; he actually got close to the area. But that was his limit; he still couldn't enter. He eventually ran out and died quite a distance away. Afterward, someone buried him there, and strangely, his grave grass began to grow continuously from that point on."

Chu Feng finally understood. The first restricted area was so terrifying that no one could explore it. The act of recording that single blade of grave grass served as the only means of observing the forbidden zone.

"Didn't your elder brother investigate it back then?" Chu Feng suddenly asked.

"Of course he investigated it!" Jiuyou Zhi replied proudly.

Chu Feng immediately brightened. "He truly is the most audacious person of all time!" he exclaimed. "He actually dared to meddle with such a deadly place. What was the outcome?"

"There was no outcome," Jiuyou Zhi replied flatly.

Chu Feng looked puzzled. "No outcome? That can't be right, can it? He participated personally. Even if he didn't fully explore it, the fact that he didn't die is already astonishing. He must have sensed something."

"He didn't sense anything at all," Jiuyou Zhi calmly responded, then added, "He seized the opportunity to attack a very formidable opponent, throwing that clan's leader into the first restricted area. But after waiting a long time, there was no feedback or sound whatsoever, so he reluctantly left."

Chu Feng was speechless. This madman truly was... just as he'd always been, always looking for an opportunity to strike from behind. It must be unfortunate to become his enemy.

Chu Feng sighed, "If I were in the same era as your elder brother, I'd either strike first and kill him, or I'd spend my entire life hiding from him, never to be seen!"

Then he asked, "Did your elder brother have any plans after that? Did he prepare to explore it again?"

"Of course he did!" Jiuyou Zhi replied. "He planned to secretly attack five thousand years later and throw that martial lunatic, who would have become even stronger by then, into it as well."

Chu Feng was dumbfounded. What more could he say? He felt that anyone living in the same era as this elder brother would consider themselves cursed for eight lifetimes. He was impossible to guard against, always scheming against others.

"Fortunately, your elder brother died and didn't live to see this era," Chu Feng said, wiping a cold sweat. He truly felt it was a blessing for many of the evolved beings in the current world.

Otherwise, living in the same era as such a person would require constant vigilance and would be a tragedy for many.

"How dare you speak like that?!" Jiuyou Zhi retorted, displeased.

"Alright, let's just move on and not talk about this anymore!" Chu Feng quickly changed the subject.

"Are you still planning to go to the first restricted area?" Jiuyou Zhi asked.

"Then... let's go somewhere else," Chu Feng said, still unwilling to concede. "Let's choose the World's Foremost Mountain and River!" If he couldn't enter the first restricted area, he'd pick another top-ranked place.

He began searching online, gradually looking perplexed, as the more he read, the more something felt amiss.

This "foremost mountain" was completely bare, not a single blade of grass, utterly barren and dead silent.

Moreover, even the mountain peaks had been leveled, and the broken mountains were almost flush with the ground. Had he not looked closely, he wouldn't have even distinguished the layers of shattered rock.

"What kind of 'World's Foremost Mountain' is this?" Chu Feng exclaimed, displeased and deeply disappointed. "It's been completely leveled! If I went there now, I could frolic, ride a donkey, and walk a dog without any issue!"

Jiuyou Zhi sighed, "People who say such things, their grave grass..."

Chu Feng, annoyed, cut him off, "Are you going to say they're eight hundred zhang high? No, wait, over twelve thousand nine hundred zhang high, right?"

Jiuyou Zhi shook his head. "Wrong. For people who say such things, their grave grass has been completely leveled, even barer than these broken mountains."

"You old ghost, if you try to tease me again, I'll sell your coffin!" Chu Feng threatened. "Now tell me, is this World's Foremost Mountain truly worthy of its name? Can I actually go in?"

Jiuyou Zhi sighed, "It is indeed worthy of its name. Countless people wish to enter it. Alas, my elder brother's master actually climbed out of there back in the day."

"Wait, say that again, slowly!" Chu Feng was utterly stunned; this news was simply too astonishing.

Of course, he was more concerned about whether he himself could actually go. He didn't want to talk for so long only for the old ghost to tell him it was impossible.

"Never mind anything else for now," Chu Feng urgently pressed, "just tell me: can I go to this place?"

"Of course you can!"