Chapter 1272: Terrifying Truth and Coming Out of Retirement

Ninth Master made sweeping gestures with both hands. The distant scarlet plateau quaked with a loud rumble, and all the mist was dispersed by the tremor.

He produced a small, dark, palm-sized flag with a tattered surface from an unknown place. The sight of it sent a chill down one's spine, as if one's very soul would be drawn into it.

He suddenly flung it, and the black flag rapidly expanded in mid-air, quickly growing as tall as the sky, before crashing into the depths of the scarlet plateau.

The scene was terrifying. The great flag flapped violently, emitting monstrous energy. Thousands of mushroom clouds erupted, and a boundless, terrifying malevolent aura surged, as if the very sky was about to collapse!

The towering flag was planted there, its tattered surface stained with blood that had not yet dried.

Even from a great distance, the terrifying murderous intent emanating from the tattered flag was unbearable for Chu Feng.

The very fabric of this realm seemed on the verge of exploding!

As the tattered flag unfurled, the massive earth seemed about to shatter, the sky to split apart, and the entire realm to explode, on the brink of utter collapse.

Ninth Master made his move, inscribing one special symbol after another in the nearby void. He continuously drew them, but they all ultimately settled onto the distant great flag!

Furthermore, he unleashed a frightening energy, and various misty fogs once again submerged the great flag. The thousands of giant mushroom clouds gradually dissipated, allowing the area to stabilize.

Ninth Master injected some Grand Dao symbols into the great flag, as if empowering it and making it stronger.

"What is he doing?" Chu Feng wondered, startled and perplexed.

The great flag occasionally dispersed the mist again, as all its murderous intent and energy reached a certain balance, preventing the area from collapsing further.

"Let it guard this place for me!" Ninth Master said with a serious expression, as if entrusting the great flag with a crucial task.

The great flag flapped violently, as if embodying countless heroic spirits. It seemed to possess a life of its own, waving in the wind, dispelling various high-level energy mists, and dispersing Dao Ancestor substances.

This time, it did not destroy the surrounding void.

Moreover, Chu Feng stared ahead without blinking, gazing at a glimpse of the truth in that place!

"That is..." He was deeply shocked and incredibly surprised, feeling a chill run through his body.

Was this the deepest secret of the World's First Mountain?

The tattered flag stood before an abyss, or more precisely, a terrifyingly vast crevice.

It was a very smooth crevice, dark and profound within, immensely wide. Floating inside were endless continents, countless fragments of the Grand Dao, and even broken, unimaginable cities shrouded in the mists of time.

Naturally, there were also countless corpses of unknown races, unlike anything ever seen on the Yang Realm continent. Some were impeccably handsome, while others were so grotesque they made one's hair stand on end. There were humanoid figures and various alien forms.

Furthermore, some of the corpses were so colossal that if their eyes were to open and close, they would resemble star rivers stretching across the cosmos.

Additionally, there were stellar remains, broken warships, and damaged bells and cauldrons.

Furthermore, a divine sea existed within the vast crevice. It was as if waves crashed through eternity, and terrifying sounds of surging waters resonated through all ages, with a single splash seemingly capable of engulfing the starry sky.

Yet, upon closer listening, it was utterly quiet and deathly still.

"What is that place?!"

Chu Feng was astonished. He opened his Fiery Golden Eyes, staring intently, not wanting to miss any part of this astonishing secret.

Earlier, mist had obstructed his view, preventing him from seeing through even with his Fiery Golden Eyes. Now that the mist had temporarily dispersed, it was the rarest of opportunities.

The abyss was in fact a smooth crevice, as if it had been forcefully cleaved open by a supreme powerful being, completely severing its connection to the other side!

The cities of time, broken stellar remains, various creatures, warships, colossal cities, and the mysterious ocean all floated motionless within this immense, boundless crevice, like a world frozen in deathly silence.

Even time itself seemed solidified and utterly still. The world within the crevice was absolutely silent, as if forever frozen in that single moment!

On the opposite side of the crevice, a grand, unimaginably vast, boundless, and magnificent Grand Yin-Yang Diagram rotated, isolating everything behind it.

What lay beyond it?

Was it a vast realm?

It was isolated, its connection severed by the cleaved crevice.

Unfortunately, it was too blurry; the great Yin-Yang fish on the opposite side of the massive fissure blocked everything, revealing only a vague glimpse of what lay behind it.

Everything was hazy; he couldn't see clearly or ascertain the truth. Chu Feng could only surmise it was an immense, boundless, endless, vast, and terrifying world.

As mist surged, everything there became obscured once more.

For a long time, Chu Feng remained silent, still gazing into the distance, wishing he could tear through the mist to see everything clearly.

But he knew that even if Ninth Master were to bring him to the deepest part of the scarlet plateau, standing right next to that great flag, he still wouldn't be able to see the truth of the other side—what was there, or what kind of lost world it truly was, remained unknown.

No, perhaps their own territory was the true lost land.

"Senior, do you guard here year after year, watching that cleaved crevice, looking for anomalies on the other side?!" Chu Feng asked, his expression serious.

"Guarding the other side? Who could do that? It's good that it's disconnected," Ninth Master said calmly. "I just guard here, watching that crevice; my life has become bleak."

How was it disconnected?

Chu Feng's scalp tingled upon hearing this.

"What exactly is going on there, and what's inside?" Chu Feng asked urgently.

Ninth Master ignored him, clearly unwilling to discuss anything about that place.

He had only just now brought out that special great flag and empowered it; otherwise, he wouldn't have made these movements, nor would he have allowed Chu Feng to see anything.

"It needs guarding? Are there still living beings inside?" Chu Feng asked, his expression grave, finding the place too eerie and terrifying.

The World's First Mountain far surpassed common imagination; people could hardly have anticipated such a shocking secret here!

Ninth Master shook his head in denial, then turned and looked towards the outside world.

"Do not underestimate the Yang Realm, and do not underestimate the real world," he warned. "This world is a chaotic land, home to all kinds of creatures and where all manner of powerful beings have appeared. It is even connected to other domains, and various beings have descended here. Be vigilant; I must continue to guard this place."

Ninth Master, feeling some inexplicable emotion, uncharacteristically spoke a few more words. This greatly astonished Chu Feng, who, though not understanding everything, knew it must be beyond imagination.

They set off towards the outside, but not from the direction Chu Feng had entered. It turned out there was a small path on this barren land, seemingly connected to the outside world.

"Senior, how old are you, and from what era were you born?" Chu Feng asked, trying to strike up a conversation.

To his surprise, Ninth Master actually responded.

"Who remembers?" Ninth Master said calmly. "One sleep spans an epoch; a brief nap can take you beyond prehistory."

Chu Feng was speechless.

How could he have a pleasant conversation? Who would believe such words? Chu Feng certainly didn't, at least not now.

For a moment, silence fell, broken only by the sound of their footsteps on the dry, hard, dark-red, cold earth, where not a blade of grass grew.

The narrow path was long and desolate, with a few faint footprints that seemed to have been left by ancient sages long ago. They surprisingly carried an inexplicable Dao charm. Even Ninth Master stopped and observed them for a long time, as if reminiscing about a legend, an old event.

"Senior, you mentioned that many peerless monsters, both humanoid and alien, have visited the Yang Realm. What are their origins, and how powerful are they?"

Chu Feng asked again on the way, eager to "dig out" some truth from Ninth Master.

"They are very strong. As for the extent of their power, you'd understand if you walked the Road of Reincarnation and saw the traces they left behind, some of their grand projects."

Chu Feng's scalp tingled upon hearing this; the Road of Reincarnation clearly had its own stories and struggles. He recalled that when he returned from the alien realm to the Great Dream Pure Land in the Lesser Netherworld, he had seen creatures at spatial nodes still carving out paths similar to the Road of Reincarnation.

Furthermore, the mud figures, special ancient halls, and the ultimate land of soul-flesh at the very end of the Reincarnation Road he had personally traversed all bore traces of intelligent life.

In addition, there had been battles on the Road of Reincarnation!

Once, when people from the Yang Realm pursued Chu Feng, a celestial dog accidentally wandered into the purgatory beneath Kunlun, approaching the City of Light and Death, only to be instantly crushed to ashes by a large hand.

Chu Feng thought of many things, but found himself increasingly overwhelmed.

He whispered, "Senior, please enlighten me, what terrifying biological factions exist in this world now?"

He wanted to know some truths and understand some hidden secrets, feeling a void in his knowledge.

He didn't come from an ancient aristocratic family or have any connection to prehistoric Dao traditions, so his knowledge was very limited.

"As for those legendary things, let's not mention them," Ninth Master said. "But among what has manifested and is known in the Yang Realm, there should be circulating information, such as gray matter, black matter, and the Fallen Immortal King race."

Ninth Master spoke a couple of sentences casually, without elaborating further.

Chu Feng was awestruck. Gray matter? He had encountered it; his own body had been eroded by it, and it was only purged when he reached the mud figures on the Road of Reincarnation!

In his previous life, he had almost been destroyed by gray matter!

The Fallen Immortal King Race? This sounded incredibly sinister. Immortal Kings forming a race was far too terrifying; how dreadful would the exceptionally powerful individuals among them be?

Soon, he thought of the great evil spirit flowing down the Heavenly Immortal Waterfall, which was rumored to be of the Immortal race. Could it be a creature from the Fallen Immortal King Race?

Furthermore, Old Gu had mentioned the Buried Immortal Era, when the Yang Realm once fought a decisive battle with the Immortal race, which was likely this very race.

And all of this, it seemed, was merely superficial, just the tip of the iceberg.

"Back then, what level was Li?" Chu Feng asked again, seeking verification and comparison. "Could he have been invincible in the world?"

"Li also struggled to be invincible," Ninth Master replied. "He would have needed to contend with the creatures causing trouble on the Road of Reincarnation. Additionally, there's the Great Netherworld, creatures that arrived when other civilization nodes emerged, and the old monsters dwelling in the famous mountains and great rivers of the Yang Realm. If Li were truly unrivaled, he wouldn't have died or disappeared."

Chu Feng pondered for a long time, then continuously sought advice, but Ninth Master ignored him, remaining silent and offering no response.

Subsequently, Chu Feng changed his approach, asking him about cultivation methods, how to achieve ultimate power, and how to forge the strongest path.

Without a doubt, if Ninth Master were willing to offer guidance, every word would be invaluable, allowing Chu Feng to avoid many detours.

"The path that suits you is the strongest path," Ninth Master said calmly.

"What mature paths exist in this world? How does one achieve ultimate evolution, and how can one progress rapidly?" Chu Feng asked, hoping for a general direction.

"No one dares to claim their path is mature; we are all still on the journey," Ninth Master said. "Even if someone considers themselves an ultimate being, they might find they are still en route, for the path has no end."

Ninth Master spoke, his voice low, though he did admit that perhaps some beings had reached the end of their path.

It's just that those who came after were too far behind to catch up or find their traces, like the solitary, desolate figures of legend.

Chu Feng involuntarily turned his head, looking into the depths of the scarlet plateau. Perhaps the other side of that crevice held all the answers, and those beings!

"Senior, do you have any warnings for me? Please point me to a clear path," Chu Feng asked, his eyes burning with eagerness.

"The path I point to is only my path, not yours," Ninth Master replied. "There are countless paths; you must forge ahead by yourself."

Chu Feng was speechless. He had simply wanted to reference the experiences of ancient sages, but Ninth Master, being of such a profound nature, was discussing concepts of evolution, which were on a completely different wavelength than his own understanding.

Ninth Master gave an example, saying there was once a being who single-handedly embarked on nine ultimate paths, found none suitable for himself, and resolutely turned back to explore and forge new ones.

Upon hearing this, Chu Feng couldn't help but look at Ninth Master, wondering if he was referring to himself.

If so, was Fourth Master perhaps one of his failed attempts?

Thinking of this, Chu Feng felt a surge of confidence. Taking Ninth Master out, perhaps they could truly contend with the Martial Lunatic, or even defeat him.

The small path wasn't very long; it led to an area of dense light, and passing through it would bring them to the outside, away from the interior of the World's First Mountain.

"Master Nine, my name outside is Cao De, don't call me by the wrong name," Chu Feng whispered. Then his body crackled, transforming into Cao De's appearance.

This was not merely a change in flesh and blood, but also a transformation of his soul-light aura.

Ninth Master led the way, and the dense light automatically parted to either side. An invisible domain surrounded his body, making him truly invulnerable to all laws as he stood within it.

Chu Feng quickly followed, knowing that the nearby light curtain could pulverize any external creature; it was incredibly terrifying and difficult to traverse.

Calmly crossing the dense light curtain, Chu Feng now had the leisure to look around and observe everything.

"There's a grave there!" Chu Feng exclaimed in surprise. It was a bare, large grave, eerily silent, yet dense radiance emanated from within it.

He was greatly shaken, realizing that the light curtain and that radiance were from the same source!

Could it be that the light curtain here was formed by light emanating from that great grave?!

"That's Third Master's grave, and there's another one in the distance, Sixth Master's grave," Ninth Master replied calmly.

Good heavens!

Chu Feng was instantly dumbfounded, his mind racing with countless thoughts. In the end, he seemed utterly disheartened and absent-minded, even walking ahead of Ninth Master without realizing it. From First to Ninth, were there really nine individuals? He let his imagination run wild, then reconsidered, thinking it wasn't necessarily true; perhaps the graves of Third and Sixth Master only contained their shed skin and residual bones. He couldn't be sure.

At this moment, Chu Feng walked out first, along the parted light curtain.

Immediately, someone spotted Cao De appearing and instantly took action, shouting, "Indeed, Cao De is trying to escape! He changed direction inside the World's First Mountain and emerged from here!"

Someone immediately cast a secret talisman, covering the small area to imprison Cao De and prevent his escape.

"Heh..."

From other directions, people sneered, and upon hearing the shouts, they all rushed towards this spot.

"Cao De, you actually deceived the Celestial Venerables, hoping to use this path to escape far away. Unfortunately, you came out too early; the eighteen broken mountains outside are all blockaded!"

The Nine-Headed Bird Clan, Dragon Clan, and others arrived, ready to attack.

"I guess it's hard to stay long inside the World's First Mountain," someone speculated. "Even if he has something peculiar or special artifacts, he could only rush out to escape."

In the distance, God King Chifeng arrived.

Celestial Venerable Qi Rong and others also arrived.

Some acquaintances also arrived, with Monkey, Mi Qing, and others showing worried expressions on their faces.