Chapter 1285: The World Watches as the Mad Martial Artist Awakens

The atmosphere on the three-way battlefield was strange. Number Nine had remained there for two days, seemingly settled. His occasional strolls invariably caused headaches and fear among all factions.

During this time, Chu Feng once again held a barbecue, hosting the newly joined rogue cultivators.

He was very hospitable, taking out the flesh of the Second Ancestor, publicly applying seasoning, and roasting it until the aroma spread half a camp away. The meat glowed with an astonishing golden light.

It was a true feast, yet ninety-nine percent of the attendees sat stiffly, not daring to touch their chopsticks. What a joke – who would dare to eat that?

Chu Feng was unconcerned. He hadn't invited these people for their sake, but rather to allow the Black Ox and the talented Scholar Lu Bohu, who were mingling in the crowd, to taste the delicacy.

Brothers in a past life, they were meant to share good fortune in this one too.

Naturally, his method was subtle; the delicious portions meant for his brothers were hidden among other types of meat.

As for the "feast," there were, of course, other ingredients. That day, God King Chi Feng of the Nine-Headed Bird clan went berserk, and the three-headed divine dragon Yun Tuo howled. Clearly, they had been "fleeced" again, with Cao De forcibly taking some of their leg meat.

This made them tremble with rage; they truly wanted to kill Cao De. He was treating them like mere livestock, taking cuts of meat whenever he pleased.

The rogue cultivators reluctantly ate braised meat and soup from the Dragon clan and the Nine-Headed Bird clan.

They wouldn't dare to eat the Second Ancestor's meat for anything. As a compromise, they ate the meat of the other two clans to save face for the demonic Cao De. While the food tasted delicious, their hearts pounded with trepidation.

Unfortunately, Chu Feng still couldn't communicate with the Black Ox and Old Donkey Lu Bohu, not even through secret telepathy.

This was because the powerful beings on this battlefield were exceptionally formidable; they could detect the spiritual and soul energy fluctuations of others, making even one-way communication vulnerable to interception.

Chu Feng could not, under any circumstances, allow his two brothers to be exposed and fall into danger.

That day, he once again urged Heavenly Venerate Qi Rong, stating his desire to enter the secret realm to claim his opportunities without delay.

After several rounds of communication, Heavenly Venerate Qi Rong confirmed that the secret realm was about to open. Discussions with the high-ranking officials of Zhan Province and He Province were nearly complete, and the access areas had been delineated.

"Excellent!"

Chu Feng was delighted. His moment of harvest was approaching. At the same time, he hoped to communicate and converse freely with Lu Bohu, Maiden Xi, the Black Ox, and others within the secret realm.

Furthermore, if the opportunity arose, he also wanted to venture into the secret realm of Zhan Province to meet old acquaintances like Ying Xiaoxiao.

At this moment, Chu Feng was extremely excited and couldn't wait any longer.

He knew the battlefield was volatile and could change at any moment. He needed to enter the secret realm as soon as possible while Number Nine could still suppress the area.

Everyone knew that the Martial Lunatic was destined to head south and would inevitably target Number Nine. This peerless madman was fearless; even if it were Li Zaisheng, he would still come to kill.

In fact, the outside world had been in an uproar for the past two days.

From online forums to every corner of the Yang Realm, all clans and sects were discussing it. It was truly a global spectacle, with everyone closely monitoring the three-way battlefield.

No one believed this battle could be avoided.

This was the first major clash between supreme powerhouses in recent history, destined to shake the entire Yang Realm.

Even before the war began, excitement was brewing everywhere. The world was restless, with conversations happening in teahouses, restaurants, and even skyscraper clubs; everyone was talking about it.

Some individuals had set up gambling houses, taking bets on who would win or lose.

Currently, many people were betting on the Martial Lunatic to win.

For a time, the world could not find peace. It had been a long time since a single event had captured such global attention.

In various places, especially modern cities, giant screens, posters, and projections promoting the battle were ubiquitous, hyping up the impending conflict.

Clearly, there was more than one bookmaker involved, all hoping to profit from this sensational event that stirred the entire great realm.

"The Martial Lunatic will definitely emerge from seclusion to settle things with the First Mountain Under Heaven. This is a continuation of that peak confrontation from prehistoric times!"

Many held this belief.

In the prehistoric era, the Martial Lunatic and Li were legendary, mythical beings and sworn enemies, destined to oppose each other. People believed this was a continuation of the fierce battles from that golden age, now nearing its conclusion, with a definitive outcome.

It was somewhat regrettable that Li himself would not be making a move.

However, given the profound heritage of his sect, it was believed that Number Nine's emergence would not tarnish their reputation.

Everyone in the world was anticipating and yearning for this battle. From young evolvers to the progenitors of clans, many ancient beings who were still alive had awakened.

For those at their level, advancing even a single step was incredibly difficult. Undeniably, if a being like the Martial Lunatic emerged and engaged in a spectacular duel with Number Nine, it might offer them a glimpse of the path forward.

In fact, not only were the major Daoist traditions and prestigious aristocratic families of the Yang Realm affected, but even beings within forbidden lands were stirred.

This was quite terrifying.

Some witnessed unusual activity in a certain forbidden land at midday, with creatures emerging.

In a forbidden land in the eastern region of the Yang Realm, an expedition team exploring its relatively safe outer perimeter was captured and questioned about the Martial Lunatic's impending duel with Number Nine.

Although the team was eventually released, they were still scared half to death and broke out in cold sweats.

Normally, forbidden lands were quiet, with few living beings moving about. The emergence of any creature was exceptionally rare, yet they had encountered it.

When the news spread, the world was in an uproar. People were increasingly shocked: even creatures from the forbidden lands were paying attention to the battle between Number Nine and the Martial Lunatic?!

Every forbidden land was a realm of legend and taboo, inhabited by incomprehensible beings whose species were unknown, all possessing the power to sweep across the world.

Now, they had been disturbed, and some species were reawakening, which was quite terrifying.

It was known that when a certain forbidden land caused chaos in the past, such as the overseas island with the bloodline fruit, its strongest inhabitant had commanded the Yang Realm and swept through all living beings.

In a certain prehistoric era, the inhabitants of the Yang Realm were driven to desperation and united the world's experts to campaign against and flatten that overseas island. The result was heavy losses, with at least half, or even over ninety percent, of the strong individuals who went dying before it was finally destroyed and transformed into the Blood-Stained Isle of Misfortune.

Such were the forbidden lands, not to be provoked.

Furthermore, though it was said to be destroyed, rumors persisted that forbidden lands had deeper roots and mysterious origins, making them impossible to truly eradicate.

Therefore, when signs of reawakening appeared in such places and creatures emerged to gather information, how could the Yang Realm not be alarmed?

The world was in turmoil; even forbidden lands that had been dormant for countless ages were now seeing beings emerge. This showed how astonishing the impending peerless battle was, drawing even more attention.

While the world was in an uproar, what was Number Nine doing?

He remained unperturbed, unaffected by the outside world, diligently consuming blood food.

Number Nine was silent and somber, blood dripping from his mouth, and agonizing screams occasionally emanated from his vicinity.

God King Chi Feng, the three-headed divine dragon Yun Tuo, Heavenly Venerate Chi Xu, the Twelve-Winged Silver Dragon Ancestor, and others were all brought over, their internal traces of order thoroughly cleansed.

Each of them was terrified; it was a miserable day. They regretted their past actions, feeling they truly shouldn't have provoked Cao De, a disciple of the First Mountain Under Heaven.

Their predicament was truly tragic; their thighs had been eaten multiple times in a single day!

On this day, Number Nine was quiet but also terrifying, exuding an extremely dangerous aura. Even Chu Feng dared not approach, staying far away.

Long Dayu, wanting to flatter, once secretly went behind Chu Feng's back and tried to engage Number Nine in conversation.

The result was a yelp; he arrived quickly and left even faster, scrambling away. There was a bloody claw mark on his backside, his true form almost revealed, scales shed, and a piece of flesh missing from his upper thigh and rear.

"Serves him right!" This was Chu Feng's assessment. The strange dragon had dared to meet Number Nine behind his back, attempting to establish a separate connection and ditch Ji Dade.

Shortly after, another piece of news emerged, which could be said to shake the world!

The Reincarnation Hunters, whose whereabouts and dwelling places were unknown, appeared—and not just one, but a group. They swept across the western region of the Yang Realm. Were they also here for the first great decisive battle of recent history?

People's hearts pounded with fear. These creatures were extremely terrifying and very peculiar: some were only three feet long with fox faces, human bodies, and black dragon wings, while others had flat golden faces, a single eye, and were less than five feet tall.

This group of creatures specialized in eradicating powerful beings who reincarnated with their memories intact.

"Is the world about to descend into chaos? Why are all sorts of strange demons and monsters appearing?!"

Even the ancient ancestors of various clans were bewildered, looking up at the sky with a sense of gloom and a vast shadow in their hearts. The atmosphere in the Yang Realm felt tense.

Furthermore, on that day, some heard the sound of flapping wings. Faint beings inexplicably materialized from the void, eventually taking solid form and traversing the sky.

Some elderly figures felt their scalps tingle; it was the legendary Heavenly Venerate Scavengers!

The entire world grew noisy and somewhat terrifying. Strange races and incredibly powerful beings with immense backgrounds successively appeared, causing widespread unease.

"Martial Lunatic Patriarch, please emerge! Suppress and kill the great demon from the First Mountain Under Heaven!"

At this moment, within the northern mountain gate, stained red with the Second Ancestor's blood, countless people prayed, devoutly kowtowing towards the extreme north.

The entire world was now focused on this matter, and all living beings were awaiting the outcome. The lineage of the Second Ancestor was both furious and fearful, hoping that the Martial Lunatic would emerge immediately to slay their great enemy.

However, two days had passed, yet there was still no movement.

Those from the Second Ancestor's lineage worried: could it be that the Martial Lunatic Patriarch had truly met with an accident, already... passed away? Such rumors had persisted since recent antiquity!

At this time, many powerful individuals from the Martial Lunatic's lineage, such as Heavenly Venerate Tai Wu and other branch masters, gazed northwards, awaiting their progenitor's re-emergence after eons to suppress the Yang Realm.

The Yang Realm was vast, without end.

What was currently referred to as "the entire world" or "globally watched" only encompassed the explored regions. In reality, there were far vaster secret realms and undeveloped, even more terrifying, lands.

Now, even many barren lands showed unusual activity.

After many years, the beings from the First Mountain Under Heaven and the Martial Lunatic were on the verge of a grand confrontation, drawing the attention of many powerhouses.

Ultimately, evolvers from the Martial Lunatic's lineage converged from all directions towards the extreme north. Like pilgrims, they kowtowed almost at every step, approaching the legendary secluded cultivation place of the Martial Lunatic.

On this day, Heavenly Venerate Tai Wu arrived, bringing several of his direct descendants to pay respects to the Martial Lunatic.

Upon arriving, his heart pounded. He immediately saw his master, a white-haired woman with a young and stunning face. She was the Martial Lunatic's youngest and last disciple.

As for the Second Ancestor's lineage, they had arrived two days earlier, carrying the blood-soaked, dismembered Second Ancestor, kneeling to beg their progenitor to emerge from seclusion.

What was horrifying was that there were other beings, whose status and identity were as high as the Second Ancestor and Tai Wu's master, shrouded in primordial chaos energy, also prostrating themselves silently on the ground.

A vast, dark throng of figures, the lowest of whom were God Kings, were all praying and undertaking a pilgrimage, kowtowing with every step as they came from afar to seek an audience with this patriarch.

Many were visiting for the first time, including Heavenly Venerate Tai Wu, who was relatively "young and vigorous" among Heavenly Venerates. This was their first time cautiously approaching this place.

In the past, they wouldn't have dared, nor did they even know this place existed!

It was only recently, after interacting with their respective masters, that they gradually learned the true location of their progenitor's death seclusion.

And only in recent times did they confirm that the Martial Lunatic was indeed still alive, not having perished over the ages.

Even earlier, Tai Wu's master couldn't be certain if the Martial Lunatic was truly alive, only holding a deep conviction that he was invincible in the world, destined to be immortal and unperishing, an unconquered force across the river of time!

This was a place of silence, with sparse vegetation. Ahead, gray mist billowed, profoundly oppressive, making one's soul tremble with intense unease.

Even powerful figures like Tai Wu were terrified, prostrating themselves on the ground, afraid to move.

No one knew what kind of area lay within the gray mist ahead. While the Martial Lunatic was in seclusion, not even his few disciples dared to approach, nor had they ever entered.

"Please, Master Martial Lunatic, awaken and slay the strong ones from Master Li's sect!"

Someone prayed softly—it was one of his disciples, leading everyone in worship, burning a special kind of incense.

Since prehistoric times, the three characters "Martial Lunatic" had become a revered title, a symbol of respect, representing invincibility and dominance throughout the ages. Thus, even his disciples referred to him as such, though adding the words "Master."

As the incense burned, fragments of the Great Dao emerged, causing the heavens and earth to roar, a somewhat terrifying sight. A clear fragrance permeated half the sky, and wisps of smoke slowly drifted towards the gray mist ahead.

This was a special incense, containing fragments of a certain rule refined by the Martial Lunatic himself in the past. Only with this could he be safely awakened.

Otherwise, if other beings approached, they could explode into bloody mist and be annihilated in a single breath!

At first, it was silent. After an unknown period, a terrifying pulsation emerged, making everyone feel as if they would suffocate.

Then, with a "thump," like a celestial drum beating, it made everyone's blood churn, their ears ring, and their vision blur.

Following that, a "thump-thump" sound began to emanate slowly but rhythmically, gradually increasing in frequency.

It sounded like... a heartbeat!

However, its vibration was too terrifying. All the God Kings present coughed up mouthfuls of blood, their faces pale, feeling as though their bodies would explode!

Had they not been protected, they certainly wouldn't have survived.

The Martial Lunatic was awakening!