Chapter 1271: Out of Hiding, All with Long Legs

On the desolate, barren horizon, a crimson glow flowed, a high-level energy that reflected like a bleeding sunset.

The scene was like a setting sun dipping low, its light staining the demonic land with blood.

Chu Feng was on high alert as he spoke with Number Nine, trying every persuasion tactic. He told him that many celestial beings existed outside, and fresh recipes even included creatures like dragons and phoenixes.

He had to exert all his effort to persuade him, remaining vigilant, because failure would mean being left behind as food.

Number Nine sat on a rock, blood dripping from the corner of his mouth. The sound of him chewing leg bones was horrifying, sending shivers down Chu Feng's spine.

His hair was like withered, yellowed weeds, his skin dry and shriveled. His teeth, stark white and gleaming with a cold, sharp luster, were stained with blood. His emerald-green eyes fixated on Chu Feng, and occasionally he would gulp audibly.

In the blink of an eye, he had gnawed the nine-headed bird's leg clean, even chewing up and swallowing the bones—a truly ruthless devourer.

Blood continued to drip from his mouth, trickling onto his nearly rotting clothes, a chilling sight.

“Long, long, long ago, I ventured outside,” Number Nine suddenly began. “Oh, and Number Four went out too. The very earth was shattered, and the vast, boundless world was almost completely destroyed, left in ruins.”

His pupils were deep and green, and he spoke in a voice like a sleepwalker, uttering these surprising words.

He went out? But didn't he say last time that he would guard this place for the rest of his life and wouldn't easily leave?

Chu Feng's heart jolted with surprise. Receiving such information so suddenly left him feeling quite daunted; Number Nine seemed to have hinted at a secret, a terrible event from the past.

However, he fell silent, seemingly reminiscing, lost in his own thoughts and emotions.

He seemed unaware of the blood still dripping from his stark white teeth and the corners of his mouth.

In that moment, Chu Feng's mind raced, countless thoughts flooding him as he considered many possibilities.

Number Four, as mentioned by Number Nine, was Li's master—a formidable, unrivaled figure from the prehistoric era who personally trained someone truly exceptional, a grand schemer whose power shook all of time.

However, Chu Feng had always harbored a suspicion: that Number Four and Number Nine might, in fact, be the same person—Li's master!

This suspicion stemmed from Old Gu's reaction upon first seeing Number Nine. Old Gu had jumped up, trembling with a mixture of excitement and fear, exclaiming that Number Nine looked exactly like his elder brother's master.

Yet, this living corpse before them claimed to be Number Nine.

But could there truly be two identical people in this world? Old Gu had spent time with Li's master and was intimately familiar with him.

He simply couldn't discern any physical difference between Number Nine and Number Four.

Furthermore, Old Gu had once recalled a past event.

Li's master had personally stated that he would only consume vegetarian food in this life. He warned that if he ever began to eat meat, it would signify a cataclysm, a dramatic shift in the world.

From that moment on, he would lose his true self, abandon all familial ties, and anyone who saw him again should treat him as an enemy and attack immediately.

Otherwise, the consequences would be unimaginable.

Old Gu suspected that Number Nine was indeed Number Four, the grand master from back then, but he didn't know why his habits had changed, leading to such a horrifying mutation.

This was both bizarre and terrifying.

Number Nine had once mentioned that nine beings like him had appeared in succession.

Chu Feng and the others had also speculated that these were sequential beings, completely identical, as if created by some supreme entity.

Of course, they later also suspected that the so-called nine beings, from Number One to Number Nine, might all be the same individual undergoing a transformation, representing nine lifetimes—a truly terrifying prospect.

Later, when Chu Feng and Old Gu felt they could be eaten by Number Nine at any moment and hastily fled, they still couldn't ascertain whether it was a series of beings or just one person.

As for now, without Old Gu, the person most familiar with Number Four, by his side, Chu Feng was even more unable to determine the truth, leaving it an unsolved mystery.

As these thoughts crossed his mind, Chu Feng suddenly spoke, hoping to take advantage of Number Nine's distraction to uncover some secrets, even to learn if his true origin was indeed a single individual.

“When will Number Ten emerge?!” he asked quickly and eagerly.

“Shi Hao?” Number Nine asked in bewilderment, clearly still somewhat lost in thought, instinctively repeating the name.

“Yes!” Chu Feng quickly affirmed, awaiting his response and hoping to leave him little time to react.

“Cannot be spoken. It is a supreme taboo,” Number Nine stated coldly, his eyes flaring with intense green light as he fully snapped back to attention.

That menacing, emerald-green gaze made Chu Feng's skin crawl. He almost hurled the stone jar, ready to unleash the Samsara Soil and wooden spear, for the situation felt incredibly dangerous.

Number Nine appeared to have been struck a raw nerve, his expression hostile, revealing overt savagery towards Chu Feng.

Chu Feng realized there was a secret involved, something he shouldn't have provoked; he had touched Number Nine's sensitive spot.

Number Nine stared at him, green light emanating several feet long, tearing through the void as if an immortal sword was cleaving eternity. It was utterly terrifying.

It took a long time for him to calm down, returning to silence and becoming uncharacteristically quiet.

Chu Feng was filled with dread, realizing he truly couldn't speak so carelessly. At the same time, he regretted not asking more directly whether Number Nine was indeed a being that had undergone nine transformations.

Or if someone had created all nine of them?

“Wait, from his reaction, could there actually be a Number Ten?” Chu Feng wondered.

But if so, how was Number Ten connected, and why did his reaction suggest something different from the One to Nine sequence? Chu Feng had his doubts, especially given Number Nine's terrifying expression moments ago.

“Here, Master Nine, let me offer you another rare delicacy. This was originally part of my personal collection, something I never brought myself to eat. I guarantee it will satisfy you.”

Chu Feng fawned, presenting his private stash.

This time, of course, he wasn't exaggerating; this was truly different from the dozens of cartloads of blood-food he'd offered earlier.

Because this was a portion of the flesh and blood of Chifeng, the God King of the Nine-Headed Bird tribe!

That day, when he hosted Monkey, Peng Wanli, and others, steaming and roasting nine-headed birds, it provoked Chifeng, who was enraged and sought to kill them.

At that time, God King Li Jiuxiao, Mi Hong, and others were also present. They ultimately blocked Chifeng, severely wounding him and causing parts of his flesh to explode.

Afterward, Chu Feng personally cleared the battlefield, wasting nothing. He collected all the God King's blood and meat, intending to stew it upon his return!

Such audacious behavior left Monkey and the others speechless.

In fact, Chu Feng had already used Chifeng's God King blood to write a letter at the three-way battlefield, causing trouble for the Nine-Headed Bird tribe.

Now, he realized it could serve an even greater purpose: offering a portion of the Nine-Headed Bird tribe's flesh and blood to honor Number Nine would make him appear even more sincere.

Indeed, even though it was just a small piece of meat, it originated from a Nine-Headed Bird God King and had been perfectly preserved, retaining its vitality. To Number Nine, the taste was incredibly fresh and delicious.

This was far superior to the blood-food he had offered before.

Number Nine nodded repeatedly, indicating his approval and praise.

“Senior, what do you think? The owner of this leftover leg is right outside! If you wish to savor more, come out with me!” Chu Feng actively urged.

Outside, the Nine-Headed Bird God King Chifeng, for some unknown reason, felt a bone-chilling cold, as if the entire world harbored malice towards him. He shivered intensely.

However, that peculiar premonition vanished in an instant, and he felt nothing more.

He wondered if it was a mere whim, some unique sensation, or if the proximity to the World's Foremost Sacred Mountain, with its terrifying aura, was simply unsettling his mind.

“Senior, let me tell you, what you just ate was merely blood-food from a Divine Group. Compared to the Celestial Beings, it's vastly inferior.”

Chu Feng persisted, talking incessantly until he was practically frothing at the mouth, desperately trying to entice Number Nine to leave this blood-soaked ancient land.

He truly didn't know the full extent of this vast space; he only knew that ahead lay a crimson plateau, and anything deeper was inaccessible, as Number Nine forbade passage.

“It was indeed delicious,” Number Nine conceded. “Leaving aside the Celestial Beings for a moment, the Divine Group fare was quite good. Are you certain he is outside?”

Number Nine asked. Then, with a casual reach of his hand, a black hole instantly appeared in the void. Several times, he seemed on the verge of plunging his arm into it, as if trying to grasp something.

But finally, he restrained himself, saying, “I cannot casually damage the protective barrier of the First Mountain. Am I... to walk out just this once?”

He hesitated for a moment, sending a chill down Chu Feng's spine. It sounded as if Number Nine implied that a single, casual reach, creating a black hole, could simply snatch the God Kings from the outside and drag them in.

“Senior, please don't act recklessly. Aren't you responsible for guarding this place? You mustn't disrupt the balance maintained for countless ages. It would be better if you personally accompanied me outside.”

“Senior, I assure you, the blood-food from the Divine Group is unworthy of your status. You truly deserve to feast on Celestial Beings.”

“Let me tell you, every single one of those Celestial Beings boasts multiple pairs of long, delicious legs! Don't you just adore eating legs? These creatures are practically nothing but long legs from the neck down!”

To persuade Number Nine to leave, Chu Feng went all out, spitting as he spoke, spouting wild exaggerations and employing every trick to entice him.

Number Nine remained calm and composed. Although blood still seeped from his mouth and the sound of him crushing bones was gruesome, he uttered no words, simply listening to Chu Feng speak.

It was a long time later, when Chu Feng was almost despairing and his throat was parched, that Number Nine finally spoke, his voice detached: “The Yang Realm has undergone great cycles of reincarnation, again and again, with all living beings harvested like leeks. It once shattered the ancient universe. Perhaps it is time to go out and see what the world has become.”

All of Chu Feng's lengthy persuasions about blood-food had been entirely futile. In the end, it was these deeper reflections that prompted Number Nine to venture out and observe the current era.

Chu Feng was speechless. If he had known, why would he have wasted so much effort talking? His throat was practically smoking, on fire from all the persuasion.

Number Nine had spoken those words with remarkable nonchalance, yet they sent Chu Feng's heart racing, for they contained a wealth of unsettling information.

Great cycles of reincarnation, again and again?

Furthermore, did this imply that beings Number One through Nine had all taken part in battles, or had only Number Nine himself lived through those terrifying grand eras?

Regardless, Chu Feng was utterly delighted, thrilled, and excited. Number Nine had agreed to emerge from seclusion—there could be no better news.

He could already envision certain scenes!

“Prepare to emerge,” Number Nine declared.

Chu Feng's blood surged with excitement. With Li's master—or perhaps his literal grand-uncle—by his side, who would dare to threaten or intimidate them? Who would still dare to act condescendingly and put on airs?

Before leaving, Number Nine did one more thing.