Chapter 114: The Great Sage Rises

The mischievous yellow ox decisively filmed this segment of the black ox and posted it on a blooper-sharing website to share the joy.

When Chu Feng received the notification to watch, he was first stunned, then burst into uproarious laughter. Seeing the black ox so infuriated was truly a delight.

"Big Black Bro, there's nothing to be angry about. A true man dares to pursue what he wants!" Chu Feng comforted it from thousands of miles away, with a hint of mischief.

"Kid, get lost! I don't want to see you!" roared the black ox.

Chu Feng was immensely pleased, feeling the Kunlun Mountains tremble even through the communicator, and cheerfully ended the call.

Moreover, he immediately informed Zhou Yitian.

Zhou Yitian, living up to expectations with his keen senses, grandly held a press conference after discovering the video online.

At the press conference, he directly released the video of the Ox King roaring in the Kunlun Mountains, which instantly caused a sensation, with all media outlets springing into action!

That was a beast king; any news related to such beings would be reported immediately and inevitably cause a sensation.

While this was originally a very serious topic, after watching the video, no one felt fear or terror towards the beast king.

People were quite amused, seeing the Ox King so infuriated and roaring repeatedly. Furthermore, no one sympathized with Zhou Yitian; they all simply laughed.

"This blockbuster is an absolute masterpiece! It's already interacting with a beast king before its release. Zhou Yitian is truly a genius, but let's hope he doesn't actually get skinned by that old ox in the end!"

"I must go see it! I have a hunch that the Ox Demon King will watch this film too, and there will definitely be even more exciting interactions afterward!"

"You're absolutely right! Let's book tickets now and go support it tomorrow!"

The Ox King's roar, it can be said, became the best pre-release publicity for the blockbuster. The video went viral everywhere, even spreading internationally.

The original cast and crew of "Rise of Doomsday" felt immense pressure and were all somewhat dumbfounded. "Where would they find a beast king?" they wondered. Interacting with such creatures was simply out of the question.

That night was far from peaceful.

Even the relevant authorities were alarmed and spoke to Zhou Yitian, urging him to calm down. Despite their strong support for him, he was absolutely forbidden from provoking beast kings again.

Feeling apprehensive, Zhou Yitian quickly pounded his chest and vowed he would never do it again.

In fact, he was quite shrewd; although he provoked the black ox, he dared not deeply offend the white snake, whom he referred to as a "fairy."

The following day, both blockbusters held their premieres consecutively.

"Rise of Doomsday" naturally had an advantage, with a dazzling array of big-name stars—kings, queens, first-tier, and super-first-tier celebrities—all gathered to interact with attendees, creating an incredibly lively atmosphere.

In contrast, the premiere of "Great Sage Ox Demon" was quite deserted. Not only were no popular stars invited to support it, but even the lead actor, Chu Feng himself, didn't attend; he had already fled.

How could he dare to show his face? He was currently at the center of a storm, and he didn't know how many people were watching, just waiting for him to appear.

The premiere of "Rise of Doomsday" made an overwhelming debut; its lavish celebrity lineup stunned everyone. The show's investors had incredibly strong connections, having invited many influential figures.

They were brimming with confidence, publicly declaring at the premiere that they would break all records and create a box office miracle, asserting that no one could stop them!

Among them, one celebrity even displayed disdain. Though he didn't name names, people knew who he was referring to when he criticized some films as poorly made, without professional actors, asking, "What could one expect?" He was very arrogant, stating that the box office determines everything, and that those "amateur productions" were merely initial hype that would be briefly popular before ultimately suffering a downfall.

In contrast, "Great Sage Ox Demon" appeared quite humble. Not a single celebrity was invited, and none of the characters from the stills, such as Jiang Luoshen, Lin Nuoyi, or King Kong, were present.

Only a few actors were present at the event.

After Ye Qingrou and Chen Luoyan arrived and saw the unfavorable situation, they decisively left.

Only Clairvoyant Du Huaijin and Clairaudient Ouyang Qing were delighted, frequently interacting with people at the event and thoroughly enjoying their moment in the spotlight.

"We don't invite celebrities; we only invite the audience. A truly unbeatable blockbuster is for the audience to review, and we will silence certain people with a box office miracle!"

This was Zhou Yitian's bold declaration, as he had no other choice, being utterly unable to secure any celebrities for the event.

After the premieres, both blockbusters officially began their public screenings!

That day, major cinemas were packed with unprecedented crowds; people were everywhere, making it impossible to move.

Besides, even popcorn sold out. Tickets were now incredibly scarce, and scalpers outside the venues temporarily withheld sales, strategically raising prices to exorbitant levels.

Such a spectacle had never been witnessed before!

The media's assessment was simply: "Madness!"

Reporters conducted on-site interviews to understand this surge in popularity. Beyond the two blockbusters aligning with the current societal climate, there were various other reasons.

Many who liked "Rise of Doomsday" were fervent fans, primarily due to their idol worship; the film featured numerous major stars whom they adored.

As for those who wanted to watch "Great Sage Ox Demon," their main motivation was curiosity. It was simply too unconventional, featuring real battles between extraordinary individuals and terrifying beast kings—something unimaginable in the past.

Additionally, its unconventional nature was apparent in the "stolen" appearances of some actors, such as Jiang Luoshen, King Kong, the Silver Winged Heavenly God, and Lin Nuoyi.

"I want to watch the romance between the Ox King and the White Snake Fairy, haha..."

In the Kunlun Mountains, the black ox was also constantly paying attention. When it saw many people giving such reasons for watching, it nearly threw its communicator away.

"Moo! You're infuriating your grandpa ox!" It then grabbed the yellow ox and gave it a thorough beating, exclaiming, "You little rascal, how dare you secretly film me and put it online?! I'll beat you to death!"

The yellow ox grew anxious and threatened that if the black ox dared to kick it again, it would make Chu Feng release even more information, making the Ox King, the "Love Saint," famous worldwide and known to every household.

The black ox was so enraged it could only stare blankly.

Major cinemas were booming, and another very important reason for wanting to watch "Great Sage Ox Demon" was to discover the true identity of the lead actor.

This was because rumors had been circulating that the actor had an extremely close and ambiguous relationship with Jiang Luoshen.

"I want to know who that mysterious guy really is. This time, he's going to be exposed!"

"Exactly, I also want to know his background!"

A group of people were eagerly waiting, hoping to discover the identity of "Great Sage Ox Demon's" lead actor.

"Oh my God, Luoshen, you're going to watch 'Great Sage Ox Demon' instead of my 'Rise of Doomsday'? That's so upsetting!" Xia Qianyu complained.

"I want to see how they've portrayed me, so I can prepare a response," Jiang Luoshen said truthfully. She was genuinely worried, fearing that once the film was released, she would be dragged into the center of a storm.

Similarly, in Jiangning City, Lin Nuoyi also went to the cinema to watch "Great Sage Ox Demon," hoping to find answers to some questions within the blockbuster.

"Son, you're the lead actor, and you're not even watching your own movie?" Wang Jing called to Chu Feng, urging him to come along.

Chu Feng simply shook his head, refusing to go even if it killed him.

Ultimately, with no other option, Wang Jing brought Chu Zhiyuan along, and they hurried to the cinema, declaring, "Let's contribute to my son's box office record!"

As the public screenings began, both blockbusters played to full houses.

At this moment, Chu Feng quickly turned off his communicator, fearing he would be overwhelmed by too many calls.

He then simply left.

He felt that staying home wasn't safe either, so he decided it was better to go hunting outside the city—out of sight, out of mind.

Lately, he often ventured out of the city into the primeval mountain forests, returning each time with game and various berries, which improved their family's meals.

Chu Feng decided to venture a bit farther this time. He had already left a note at home, so staying in the wild for two or three days before returning wouldn't be an issue.

In the outskirts of Shuntian, fewer mutated beasts were active near villages and towns; most resided in the mountains.

Nowadays, remote villages were almost deserted, as everyone had relocated to easily accessible urban areas, which also made it simpler for the military to provide protection.

Furthermore, the reconstruction of residential areas was under discussion, with a high probability of further concentrating the population.

Relatively speaking, the area around Shuntian remained quite peaceful.

Generally, as long as one didn't venture deep into the mysterious primeval mountains, they wouldn't encounter particularly terrifying monsters.

"Huh?"

Suddenly, Chu Feng reached out and caught a pure white flower drifting down from the sky in the forest.

Chu Feng looked up, gazing into the distance.

His gaze sharpened as he saw a massive tree, hundreds of meters tall, so immense that even nearby hills couldn't obscure it.

Chu Feng advanced, remaining vigilant.

Upon seeing this colossal tree, he recalled the scene from when the world first began to transform.

He had once seen an ancient ginkgo tree from a train, taller than mountains, swaying amidst lightning.

He had also seen a sky-piercing vine suspended in the firmament, which pulled down an artificial satellite, causing it to crash onto the train.

When the world's changes began, many mysterious plants appeared in space, severely disrupting satellite communications.

Afterwards, Chu Feng learned that all countries had been extremely tense at the time, launching countless rockets into outer space to destroy those bizarre plants.

Simultaneously, some enormous, peculiar plants on the ground also became targets, thus disappearing later on.

After Chu Feng arrived at Jade Void Palace, he had also inquired about these matters.

At that time, old man Lu Tong had solemnly told him that those plants might have posed an even greater danger, which was why they were eliminated in advance.

In the post-civilization era, several mysterious incidents had already occurred, and nations understood many truths, which led them to act decisively and swiftly during the initial crisis.

Both Eastern and Western nations acted similarly, all launching attacks at that time.

Lu Tong told Chu Feng that after that battle, the consumption of rockets, missiles, and other armaments by various countries was so immense that their stocks were almost depleted.

Fortunately, they later worked quickly to manufacture and rapidly replenish their supplies.

Chu Feng's expression grew solemn. "This kind of gigantic plant has appeared again!"

He walked around the small hill and approached it.

This was an incredibly thick locust tree, standing five hundred meters tall. Its flowers, strung in translucent white clusters, scattered everywhere like heavy snowfall.

There was a faint floral fragrance, but Chu Feng could confirm that it was not a catalyst and could not facilitate human evolution.

He stood not far from the huge tree, his body unaffected, showing no signs of evolving.

Simultaneously, he sensed a faint will within the tree's body; it didn't seem like an ordinary plant, but rather a creature with a slight sentience.

Previously, Chu Feng's divine sense was not evident, so he hadn't grasped how terrifying the giant vine that pulled down the satellite was when he was on the train. Now, it was different.

Now a great master with astonishing divine perception, he sensed the extraordinary nature of this locust tree.

"This world is still changing; it's truly unfathomable, shrouded in mist!" Chu Feng sighed.

The world's transformation was utterly bizarre and mysterious; the truth remained elusive, shrouded in countless uncertainties.

Unfortunately, although the locust tree was extraordinary, its pollen could not promote Chu Feng's evolution and was also ineffective on other nearby mutated beings.

Chu Feng departed, embarking on a long trek to search more areas near Shuntian. Fortunately, he ultimately only discovered that single ancient locust tree.

Other plants seemed relatively normal.

Chu Feng walked farther and farther. With his astonishing physique, he felt no fatigue, and by evening, he was already eight hundred li away from Shuntian.

The evening glow spread, painting the mountain forests crimson.

This area was very quiet; he heard no wild beasts roaring and saw no fierce birds of prey soaring across the sky.

Bathed in the sunset, Chu Feng walked alone through the mountain forest, hoping to find a place to sit, rest, and eat some food.

"Whoosh..."

Suddenly, he heard a very strange sound. Though still distant, it was caught by his terrifying hearing, which far surpassed that of ordinary people.

"It sounds like breathing," Chu Feng wondered with surprise and doubt, "but how could a creature's breathing be so heavy?"

He remained cautiously vigilant, then quietly approached.

After walking several li, he encountered an extraordinary sight in the mountainous terrain!

There was an abandoned mine in the mountains, periodically emitting silver light, and the sound it made resembled heavy breathing!

Chu Feng was greatly surprised. He also saw a strange tree, not very thick but incredibly robust, its bark cracked as if an old dragon were coiled there.

This tree was rooted at the edge of the abandoned mine, about a zhang tall, with pale purple branches and leaves that glowed with fire.

"A strange tree that can make creatures evolve!" Chu Feng confirmed, this was a mysterious mutated tree.

It was surprisingly tall, far surpassing the three-foot-tall saplings of the past.

"Is this a silver mine?"

Chu Feng was startled; he felt as if this abandoned silver mine had come alive!