Chapter 1173: Before Fighting the Madman Wu

"Old Gu, farewell; I'll miss you!" Dong Dahu patted Old Gu's shoulder, looking somber as he saw him off.

"Bah, you big cat, can't you speak properly?" Old Gu felt repulsed, wondering if it sounded like he was being mourned.

"This feeling can be cherished as a memory, but at the time, I was utterly bewildered." Dong Dahu shook his head, lost in his own peculiar train of thought.

Old Gu, with his red lips and white teeth, roughly kicked him, saying, "Get lost, stop talking nonsense, go find your tigress!"

"Let's part amicably," Chu Feng sighed, "and have a farewell meal." He personally grilled a large mountain fowl with phoenix bloodline, while a bronze cauldron simmered several rare fish known as 'purple dragons.'

As for the fine wine, more than a dozen jars were laid out.

In this wilderness, nestled between mountains and plains, the three sat facing each other, drinking and discussing their future.

The Mutant Wasteland Tiger, an extremely powerful species, was almost completely extinct by this era; not a single one could be found. These creatures dared to fight heavenly dragons, even eating them, which speaks volumes about their past glory. However, since it originated from a mutation of white and black tigers, it was exceedingly rare and precious. Its bloodline descendants were highly unstable, and offspring rarely inherited this lineage. This was the limitation: overly powerful species appeared only occasionally and could not endure.

"The Chaotic Forest, once home to the Mutant Wasteland Tigers, is now merely ruins; not even a wild cat probably lives there. It's extremely dangerous, so you must be careful," Old Gu warned.

Dong Dahu nodded. He was going to that place to search, hoping to find the supreme secret text of the Mutant Wasteland Tiger clan.

Chu Feng patted Old Gu's shoulder, speaking earnestly, "Old Gu, where are you headed? You're not actually going to dig up corpses to eat, are you? They say if a Nine Nether Ghoul can consume ancient corpses from eons past, they can evolve rapidly. But please, eat fewer dead people. Otherwise, when you one day follow me to the pinnacle of evolution and survey all eras of civilization, this will be a stain on your entire life."

Dong Dahu nodded. "Exactly," he said, "eating corpses from eons past is utterly disgusting. They should at least be fresh; even sashimi would be better than that! Old Gu, don't be so morbid!"

Their words made Old Gu lose his appetite for the grilled meat; he felt nauseous, especially watching Chu Feng slice piece after piece of mountain delicacy. It was utterly sickening.

"I am a sacred evolved being, alright? I've already undergone mutation. As a member of the Desolate Dao race, would I eat corpses?!" he retorted, his face grim.

Dong Dahu smirked. "Pfft, give it a rest. Last time you consumed a bloodline fruit from a great serpent clan and nearly transformed into a giant worm. Is *that* the Desolate Dao race?"

Old Gu was heading to various secret realms to find the contingencies he had left behind in his lifetime, and to seek out the traces his elder brother Li had left. He still found it hard to believe that Li had truly perished.

"I truly hope my elder brother merely... faked his death, a trick like a cicada shedding its skin."

He spoke these words when he was thoroughly drunk, lost in a momentary trance.

Chu Feng was struck with awe, his heart trembling. Could such a thing be possible? If Li had faked his death, then a shocking turn of events must have occurred, forcing him to depart. What terrifying situation could have compelled even Li to retreat? Upon careful reflection, it was truly terrifying to the extreme!

Yet, Old Gu's face was filled with sorrow. "But I know that's impossible," he said. "The outcome was already determined."

"Nothing is impossible; think about it again," Chu Feng said.

"It's impossible," Old Gu replied. "A long time ago, my elder brother came to me and instructed me to watch his soul lamp. If it ever extinguished, I was to flee immediately." Old Gu was sorrowful, his face full of grief.

In this world, one thing cannot be faked: a soul lamp. No matter how great a hero or how peerless an overlord, once you fall, your soul lamp will inevitably extinguish. As long as even a sliver of life remains, the soul lamp will continue to burn, merely dimming at most.

Old Gu had personally witnessed that soul lamp extinguish. Afterwards, he fled with it and guarded it for ten thousand years before falling into slumber, only to awaken in this era. The soul lamp remained extinguished for ten thousand years, perpetually lifeless. Eventually, the lamp itself disintegrated into ash, signifying that even reincarnation had failed.

"Never to transcend this life!" Old Gu's eyes were bloodshot. He had drunk too much, revealing the secret in his heart. It was a profound sorrow.

"Ah, so there's a belief like that? Can it truly be deduced?" Dong Dahu asked, surprised.

"That soul lamp was refined using a special secret method. My elder brother also worried about the day his body and dao would perish. In case of reincarnation, this lamp could be used to find him. But... the lamp itself was destroyed, meaning he can never appear in this world again."

"Forget it," Chu Feng said. "When a person dies, it's like a lamp going out. How... fitting. Old Gu, don't dwell on it. Ultimately, people must rely on themselves. Don't count on your elder brother anymore. In this life, I, Brother Chu, will protect you and let you be a scion."

"Go to hell!" Old Gu snapped, shaking off his sorrow and glaring at Chu Feng. That little rogue was absolutely no good.

Dong Dahu said shamelessly, "Old Gu, how about we just join you and dig up all the treasures your elder brother left behind during his lifetime?"

Chu Feng shook his head. "No, let's go our separate ways," he said. "If the opportunity arises later, we can reunite and share our fortunes. But going together like this, it would be bad if we all get wiped out at once. Besides, true powerhouses should forge their own paths. Always relying on opportunities and luck will ultimately make them nothing more than bean sprouts in a greenhouse, easily crushed in the end!"

Old Gu was surprised. "You have such courage!" he exclaimed. "From what you're saying, you intend to undergo life-and-death tempering?"

Chu Feng nodded resolutely. "Exactly," he said. "I'm going to a place to fight a bloody war against the world. If I live, I'll be above dragons; if I die, I'll be below worms. When I reappear, I'll be invincible. Even if the Martial Lunatic from my own age were to resurface, I'd beat him until he had no fight left!"

The other two gaped in astonishment. Was his goal to surpass the Martial Lunatic? That's somewhat deranged!

"You're not planning to cultivate the Seven Deaths Body, are you? I'm telling you, I don't have that technique here. That method will kill you if you practice it!"

Chu Feng replied, "Don't worry, I have my own path, my own dao. To fight the Martial Lunatic to the death, I must first set a small goal for myself: during my youth, I will cultivate a truly unprecedented, supreme body that matches my age. I'll achieve the ultimate, without relying on pollen or exotic fruits, refining myself until I'm like a Buddha walking among mortals!"

This path, it is rumored, has been successfully walked by only a handful of individuals throughout history; it is exceedingly rare.

Dong Dahu and Old Gu were both speechless. This fellow's ambition was far too grand; he just blurted out that he wanted to fight the Martial Lunatic to the death.

"You... think too much!" Old Gu said.

"Old Gu, are you underestimating me?" Chu Feng asked, dead serious. "In this world, besides the Martial Lunatic, there are also great evil spirits, and evolved beings that your elder brother feared, ultimately leading to his unexplained death. There are transcendent reincarnation hunters, and the Great Netherworld, and matters beyond the path of reincarnation... There's certainly no shortage of masters. How can I not set a goal for myself?"

"That's a rather ambitious goal!" Old Gu grumbled.

"I already said," Chu Feng reiterated, "first I'll set a small goal for myself. Before I fight the Martial Lunatic of my age group, I'll first become a Buddha walking among mortals, cultivating a truly unprecedented body without the aid of pollen or exotic fruits!" Chu Feng raised his voice, then added, "And the name of this 'small goal' is: Before I Fight the Martial Lunatic!"

Both Dong Dahu and Old Gu were sorely tempted to exclaim: "Chu the Madman!"

Chu Feng stood up. "Alright, it's time to set off," he said. "I'm going to that place, where I'm destined to make history. When we meet again, by my true name, Chu Feng, I will sweep away all enemies in the Yang Realm!"