Chapter 1097: Famous Mountains for Health Cultivation Breakthrough

Gu Chenhai shrieked. He had a profound connection with this tree. The last time the Reincarnation Hunter interrogated him about his misdeeds, he blabbed everything and confessed. He had once torn off half a branch from the Seven Treasures Ancient Tree, the fifth spiritual root of the Yang Realm, solely to present it as a gift to an old friend from the Sub-Immortal Race who wished to comprehend the Seven Treasures Divine Art. And now, he saw it again, unexpectedly!

Chu Feng had already taken action, abandoning the ruined temple. Like a bolt of lightning, he rushed towards the low mountain and quickly arrived before it. The low mountain was quite special, filled with brilliant grand dao patterns. These tangible substances encircled a section of a precious tree within.

"It's not a complete ancient tree?!" Chu Feng exclaimed in surprise.

It was merely a branch, the thickness of an arm, with several smaller twigs branching off. Its leaves were warm, moist, and lustrous, as if polished from the rarest jade. What was most special was that this branch had a total of seven types of leaves, each differing in color and slightly in shape.

"Old Nine, is this the one you broke off back then?" Chu Feng asked. The last time, in the desolate borderlands, when the Reincarnation Hunter appeared and interrogated Gu Chenhai, Chu Feng was right beside him and heard all his transgressions clearly. This fellow was an oddity; he confessed everything, holding nothing back, speaking for several hours without even finishing the list of his crimes, which showed what a menace he had been back then.

"No," Gu Chenhai replied, "Back then, I barely escaped with my life, expending immense effort just to break off a branch as thick as a baby's arm. But this one is thicker than an adult's wrist; it's truly a treasure!" The Nine-Nether Ghoul was drooling! Such a branch, belonging to the fifth chaotic spiritual root of the Yang Realm, made it envious. No wonder the area was enveloped by so many grand dao runes; it was all due to this tree.

It was widely known that the Seven Treasures Ancient Tree was quite special, considered a combat ancient tree, and contained a divine art within itself! Chu Feng had initially maintained a composed stance with his hands clasped behind his back, but now he couldn't hold back. Wiping a bit of drool, he realized that what lay before him contained the most pristine Seven Treasures Divine Art! Although he had learned it from Ying Zhexian in the foreign realm, it was likely incomplete! Because he had already discovered that almost all inheritances in the Lesser Yang Realm were offshoots of the Yang Realm, with neither breathing techniques nor divine arts being complete. Not long ago, when he met Emperor Peng, Li Jiuxiao, Fairy Phoenix, and others in the gray trading zone, Chu Feng indeed learned that not only in the Lesser Yang Realm, but even the Seven Treasures Divine Art in the Yang Realm itself had flaws; its original chapters had been lost for a long time and were only recently restored.

"Heh heh..." Chu Feng stepped forward.

"Be careful, you likely can't subdue it!" Gu Chenhai warned sternly.

Indeed, upon getting a little closer, grand dao runes roared, causing the void to tremble. Seven kinds of colorful light shot into the sky, tearing through the firmament, utterly terrifying. Fortunately, Chu Feng and the Nine-Nether Ghoul's coffin were both coated with a layer of reincarnation earth, and they were still at a distance. Otherwise, they would likely have been annihilated by the pristine secret art contained within this branch.

Chu Feng frowned; indeed, it was difficult! He wasn't being reckless; with the reincarnation earth on him, he had just resisted the pressure from Number Nine, so he didn't believe a mere branch could kill him.

"You've struck gold!" the Nine-Nether Ghoul exclaimed. "If you can comprehend the pristine secret art within this branch, this will be your capital to sweep across the world from now on!" The Nine-Nether Ghoul became unusually serious, informing Chu Feng that this branch was of immense importance. At the same time, it reminded him, "Don't just look at the branch; this pool is also extraordinary."

Chu Feng nodded and said, "I see it. This pool of liquid might just be the substance for my cultivation, the most important place on this journey!" On this low mountain, there was a pool, only about a square *zhang*. The branch of the Seven Treasures Ancient Tree was plunged into this pool, nourished by its liquid, emitting a seven-colored light mist. Dense runes encircled the area, and the incessant roaring of the grand dao made the place appear incredibly sacred!

The liquid in the pool was crystalline with a hint of purple glow. Wisps of purple mist wafted from it, and its fresh, invigorating fragrance filled the air, making one feel refreshed. Its fragrance was faint and didn't give one the illusion of ascending to immortality. However, Chu Feng valued it even more because, as a "geological explorer" deeply skilled in spatial domains, he had a good understanding of substances produced in various ancestral veins. He vaguely felt that this crystalline liquid with a hint of purple glow might be unimaginably precious!

But there was a troublesome point: before he even made a move, the branch was already emitting the profound mysteries of the Seven Treasures Divine Art. If he were to truly touch it, he would very likely be obliterated by that divine art renowned throughout the Yang Realm! At the last gathering, Chu Feng had already learned from Emperor Peng and the others that the Seven Treasures Divine Art ranked eleventh among the ultimate secret arts in the Yang Realm! The ranking had remained unchanged from ancient times to the present, placing it eleventh in the entire Yang Realm, which was quite terrifying. After all, some divine arts had been completely lost, so strictly speaking, it could now rank within the top ten!

"Om Mani Chih Ha Na Gu..."

Suddenly, the sound emanating from the corpse in the ruined temple in the distance, as its mouth unconsciously opened and closed, caused a change on the low mountain: the branch began to sway.

Gu Chenhai was startled at once. Unable to sit still in the coffin, he exclaimed, "Quick, go to the ruined temple! Could that corpse have known and mastered the complete Seven Treasures Divine Art in its lifetime?"

"Let's go!" Chu Feng also realized the implications, sensing that the branch on the low mountain was deeply influenced by that corpse. In an instant, they returned to the vicinity of the ruined temple.

Bathed in a red energy glow, the dilapidated ancient temple appeared as if steeped in the afterglow of a blood-stained setting sun, radiating a strange sense of sanctity. The tiles and broken walls were all emitting a faint reddish hue with a hint of pale gold. On the altar in the courtyard, the mutilated corpse lay sprawled, unconsciously opening its mouth, still chanting those scriptures in an incomprehensible, extremely ancient language.

"This really is just pure sound," Chu Feng said, frowning in regret. "No spiritual imprint of a powerful being is emanating."

"Let me think about this ancient language," the Nine-Nether Ghoul mused. It thought for a long time but had no recollection, finally sighing that the language was probably... truly too ancient.

Chu Feng said, "What should we do? We're guarding a treasure mountain in vain! I suspect the scriptures he's chanting are the most pristine and complete Seven Treasures Divine Art!"

"Brother Dao, wake up, don't sleep anymore!" the Nine-Nether Ghoul shouted.

However, the corpse on the altar was truly stone cold; it was only because he was too powerful in life that his physical body retained some instinct, still opening its mouth and making sounds.

"This person isn't normal; are his blood vessels metal?" Chu Feng asked, surprised. He observed the old corpse, which was bald and suspected to have been a Buddhist in life. Much of its flesh had rotted away, but in the remaining parts, its blood vessels were surprisingly metallic. Not only that, but his bones and exposed internal organs were also like strange metal.

"Perhaps there's still hope," Chu Feng mused, highly suspicious. "Is this a product of mechanical civilization, not a normal flesh-and-blood creature?"

"An artificial monk, actually a technological product!" Gu Chenhai also felt he had been mistaken earlier.

After some discussion, they carefully and cautiously injected threads of energy into this bald figure, truly like trying to revive a dead horse.

"Oula Liwa..."

It actually worked; the sound from this mechanical bald figure became clearer, much grander, and more sacred.

The Nine-Nether Ghoul said, "Still can't understand it. This is a man-made robot; who knows what era's gibberish it's speaking."

"Prejudice and arrogance are common traits among lower-level evolutionaries," the mechanical entity suddenly articulated in the Yang Realm language, with perfect pronunciation and standard speech.

"Hm?!" Both Chu Feng and the Nine-Nether Ghoul were greatly surprised. Had this robot revived? And it was even uttering such preachy words.

"I am from the Mechanical Buddhist Race, one of the world's top intelligent races and a member of the Desolate Alien Race," he introduced himself. Chu Feng and the Nine-Nether Ghoul were dumbfounded and greatly surprised. They had only known of the Buddhist Race as one of the strongest races in the Yang Realm. There was actually a Mechanical Buddhist Race? What era of creature was this? However, if it was categorized as a Desolate Alien Race, then it was not surprising. The Desolate Alien Race were evolutionaries in the Yang Realm who were powerful to the extreme; after transcending their original races, they established themselves as a new race. Such groups could all be called the Desolate Alien Race.

"You're not an artificial robot?"

The Mechanical Buddhist said, "You see metal blood vessels and metal internal organs in me, and you think I'm a robot? That's a prejudice. Perhaps I was created, but can humanity be an exception? How can you be sure that they are products of natural evolution? In terms of material, the rare metals in my body far surpass the flesh and blood in yours; even if created, they are superior."

What did he mean? Besides merely refuting prejudice, was he also hinting at something deeper? Could it be that many creatures in the world were truly artificial?

"Brother Dao, how did you come to be here?" the Nine-Nether Ghoul asked. Having actually revived this person, it naturally wanted to understand the truth.

"I don't know either; I just woke up here," the Mechanical Buddhist replied. "In my time, I once looked down on an entire era, having fully comprehended the Seven Treasures Divine Art. I never imagined waking up here one day, with my body broken and incomplete, having forgotten many past events. It's as if I experienced amnesia after a great battle, or as if I was used as an experiment and then discarded here."

The Mechanical Buddhist spoke this way, some of it his own suspicions, unsure if they were true. Such words profoundly shocked Chu Feng and Gu Chenhai, making them realize the true horror of this place. Especially, the two suspected that even if this Mechanical Buddhist wasn't the creator of the Seven Treasures Divine Art, he was at least one who greatly developed it, yet he ended up so miserably. In his life, he must have been a being of immense power, yet he still met this end.

"Alright," he said, "You've activated my last bit of consciousness. After this brief resurgence, my life will truly reach its end, and I will be completely dead from now on." After saying this, his empty eyes quickly dimmed.

Gu Chenhai shouted, "Wait, senior! The Seven Treasures Divine Art! If you close your eyes now, it will be completely lost!"

"It won't be lost," the Mechanical Buddhist said, speaking for the last time before his final demise. "I originally comprehended it from the Seven Treasures Ancient Tree; it's an innate art. My inheritance is on the low mountain; you can comprehend it yourselves." Then, he became completely motionless and silent.

This entire event was extremely bizarre. A powerful Mechanical Buddhist, who claimed to have looked down upon an entire era and endured for long years, simply died before their very eyes.

"Go comprehend it yourselves!" Chu Feng said. In an instant, he returned to the low mountain and began his painful yet joyful journey of secluded cultivation. The moment one approached that branch, it would trigger the divine art, truly aiming to destroy all things and sweep away the stars of the universe!

Fortunately, the reincarnation earth on his body played a crucial role, allowing him to gradually integrate into the environment. He wasn't destroyed upon approaching the pool, but he still endured immense pain as subtle seven-colored mists intertwined around him. "Ah..." Chu Feng was screaming, and it lasted for several months! Although he wasn't directly hit by the pristine and complete Seven Treasures Divine Art, just being brushed by that seven-colored misty light made him look ghastly, bleeding from all seven orifices. "Mmm..."

At the same time, he also felt a strange comfort. Because after entering that pool, nourished by the crystalline liquid with a hint of purple glow, his body, covered in cracks, immediately recovered.

One year, two years... Chu Feng cultivated in seclusion here, nourishing himself and improving his being with the peculiar liquid from the Number One Famous Mountain Under Heaven while comprehending the Seven Treasures Divine Art. His strength was advancing rapidly, progressing from the Carefree Realm to the Visualization Realm, and then to the Crimson Cloud Realm... This was an improvement of both body and spirit, a self-transformation, rather than an evolution forcefully stimulated by catalysts! After Chu Feng arrived in the Yang Realm, this was his first long period of secluded cultivation, where he used the Number One Famous Mountain Under Heaven to nourish himself and achieve breakthroughs!