Chapter 229: Crisis

Blood splattered as Schiller's head separated from his body. A searing pain overwhelmed him, leaving him filled with boundless rage and resentment, but mostly incomprehension.

For a fleeting moment, Schiller wanted to curse. That was supposedly a holy relic, yet it failed?!

Damn it!

In this final moment, besides the pain, he wanted to curse out loud even more. Why was this happening? The sword hilt in his hand, suffused with holy light, was absolutely extraordinary.

Although the remaining blade was less than three inches long, it should still possess legendary power.

As the last knight of the Holy See, he knew how terrifying mythical weapons were; holy relics, especially those from over two thousand years ago, were destined to be world-shaking.

Not to mention their ability to burn mountains and boil oceans, merely cleaving a King-level expert would be enough.

"Ah..."

In his final moments, he let out a horrific roar. Of course, this wasn't from his mouth, as his head had already left his body, flying up with a large spray of blood; this was his spirit screaming.

Chu Feng was also surprised; in his opinion, Schiller's final death throes should have been very lethal. How could he have anticipated successfully beheading him with a single stroke?!

That sword hilt? He wondered, because in the last moment, Schiller was still staring at it, believing it could turn the tide?

"Huh?!"

Suddenly, Chu Feng's pupils contracted. He realized something was wrong; the light emitted by the sword hilt had changed, quickly intensifying. Silver light pulsed, gushing out like raging flames.

He quickly mobilized all his power, striking with full force!

A startling change occurred; the ancient-style sword hilt became as dazzling as the sun, extremely blinding, making it almost impossible to open one's eyes. Accompanied by Schiller's spiritual wails, the scene was somewhat terrifying.

Chu Feng's left palm glowed as a lightning symbol condensed, unleashing the most powerful strike of thunder, directly hitting the sword hilt and also covering Schiller's remains.

Moreover, he also unleashed his flying sword, sending it forth to strike like a crimson flood dragon soaring across the sky, circling within the brilliant light.

At the same time, he retreated, leaving the area, and had already taken off the Vajra Ring, ready to hurl it at any moment.

Thunder erupted, creating a terrifying scene. Scorching lightning, shaking heaven and earth, pervaded the area, clashing with the sword hilt like an avalanche or a tsunami.

In a trance, time froze, years reversed, and terrifying scenes emerged one after another.

Were those Divine Knights of the Holy See? Squad after squad, clad in ancient luminous armor, each with a powerful aura, arrived at Longhu Mountain. For reasons unknown, they sought to conquer this place.

Finally, some Taoist priests made their move, fiercely battling the Eastern Crusade army from one or two thousand years ago. Unfortunately, the scenes were blurry, some details were lost, and the conflict ultimately turned the place upside down.

Chu Feng immediately understood that in ancient times, an Eastern Crusade army had once come to Longhu Mountain to conquer, but had failed.

This was simply unimaginable. What era was that from? There were no records of it passed down. This was a hidden truth.

Longhu Mountain is the ancestral home of Taoism, and is even known as the "Taoist Capital"!

The capital of Taoism, such a place was naturally of great significance, and the Holy See had once come to conquer it. This truly sparked endless contemplation; one deeply desired to uncover the truth of that era.

The Eastern Crusade army was annihilated, all dying here.

Those scenes flashed by and finally vanished; the sword hilt was merely a medium, recording fragments of past events.

The great explosion was terrifying. The power of the lightning unleashed from Chu Feng's palm was truly immense. This was Longhu Mountain's demon-subduing art, and after many years, it marked another confrontation between the Taoist Capital and the Holy See.

As the lightning intertwined, the flying sword was knocked away. This startled Chu Feng, as his flying sword, crimson like the evening glow, had always been indestructible, yet now it couldn't overcome a broken sword hilt?

Dazzling like the scorching sun, the sword hilt became indistinct, extremely vibrant and intense, as if a dormant holy beast had awakened.

Chu Feng did not hesitate, mobilizing all his strength. He directly hurled the Vajra Ring, injecting all the mysterious energy within him to make its power reach its peak.

Like a massive star from beyond the realm flying to collide with Earth, a feeling of heaven and earth collapsing, a violent collision occurred.

The Vajra Ring collided with the sword hilt. Boundless divine radiance covered the area, obscuring everything, accompanied by terrifying sounds like a tsunami.

In addition, Western hymns could be heard, a sacred aura permeated the air, and brilliant light shone everywhere.

Chu Feng retreated further and further at an extremely fast speed, fearing an accident. From the brief scenes he had just witnessed, he could guess that this sword hilt had a profound origin; it was a mythical weapon from the West.

Finally, the light disappeared, and the landscape of the area became clearly visible.

Where was the sword hilt? Chu Feng was surprised; it was gone!

The Vajra Ring remained pristine white; it hadn't flown far, landing in this large pit.

Chu Feng used his spiritual energy, pulling it over with a whoosh. Holding it in his hand, he carefully observed it; it had no damage, not even a single scratch.

This made him breathe a sigh of relief. He knew that what he had just encountered was very likely a mythical weapon with a terrifying origin.

He now somewhat believed what the Yellow Ox said: that this thing was very sinister!

Now the Yellow Ox had changed its tune, thinking the Vajra Ring's material was too mysterious. It claimed that calling it ultimate scrap metal was both right and wrong, and it was hard to judge now.

"Schiller, your death is not to be regretted." Chu Feng looked at the bloodstains on the ground, feeling no sympathy.

In his final moments, Schiller's shattered body, including his severed head, completely exploded, leaving the area in a state of chaos.

"Is this a bloodbath?" The Big Black Ox and the others finally arrived, each feeling a tightness in their chest, a sense of oppression, and waves of soul tremors.

They were very uncomfortable. Longhu Mountain naturally suppressed extraordinary beings; even powerful figures like the Siberian Tiger and the Undying Phoenix King found it unbearable, wishing they could leave immediately.

If not for chasing Schiller and picking the sacred fruits on the mountain peak, they truly wouldn't have wanted to set foot here.

"Schiller was killed by you?!" The Northeast Tiger looked stunned, his appearance somewhat comical, sporting a slicked-back hairstyle like the Big Black Ox, but clad in a large red monastic robe.

"I almost died myself; this place is very sinister," Chu Feng said.

The earlier lightning had put him through hell; he still smelled like burnt meat, his whole body was charred black with flesh torn open, and his injuries were very severe.

Chu Feng was puzzled, searching everywhere, but couldn't find the sword hilt. That thing had been knocked flying by the Vajra Ring to who knows where.

"Schiller is finally dead; we can breathe a sigh of relief," the Northeast Tiger laughed heartily. Otherwise, he would have been uneasy, constantly worried about being assassinated by Schiller.

The Undying Phoenix King sighed. She had finally avenged herself, but her memories were difficult to recover, leaving her heart filled with a sense of loss.

"Take a look, what is this place?" Chu Feng asked them to examine the large pit.

Here were many skeletons of great demons, and also numerous bones and tattered armor of ancient Holy See knights.

Even more, Chu Feng was surprised to recognize that there were also skeletons of several Western dragons in this large pit. One could imagine how fierce the battle back then was if even dragons had participated.

The Taoist Capital, the capital of Taoism, once saw Western Divine Knights launch an Eastern Crusade, reaching its gates.

"Why did they come?"

When they heard Chu Feng describe what had just happened and mentioned the scenes he had seen, the Yellow Ox, Northeast Tiger, and others were all filled with doubt and surprise, making various guesses.

They searched here. In this large pit were many shattered weapons, which should have possessed extremely terrifying power in the past, but now their spirituality was completely gone, and they were all broken.

Regardless, Schiller's death made everyone breathe a sigh of relief and feel immense joy.

As for the true nature of that ancient period, there was no need to rush to investigate, as it had no significant impact on the present.

"Is it possible that a mythical weapon is truly buried beneath the mountains of Longhu?" Chu Feng wondered skeptically.

He thought of the information revealed by Qi Honglin from the Pre-Qin Research Institute: that there was a terrifying weapon, praised and coveted even by ancient mythical figures, supposedly buried in Longhu Mountain.

Next, they discussed whether they should still attack Longhu Mountain.

Although the Northeast Tiger and the Undying Phoenix King were powerful, they were suppressed here, unable to fully exert their strength, which was frustrating.

"Let's try to advance!"

Having already come this far, they were unwilling to turn back.

However, after walking some distance uphill, before reaching halfway up the mountain, the Yellow Ox's expression changed. He felt geomagnetic fluctuations; this area had strange energy fields.

"Formations and fields are the same thing," the Yellow Ox said, a headache forming. "They're extremely terrifying, miraculous places created based on terrain, capable of easily trapping and killing powerful beings."

There were mysterious energy fields in this area, which Chu Feng and the others understood as 'magic formations'.

"The energy fields here are astonishing, not easy to break through!" the Yellow Ox said very seriously.

As expected, they paid a price for it next. The Northeast Tiger suffered heavy injuries, and the Undying Phoenix King coughed blood.

In a gully on the mountainside, solar fire essence erupted, burning the Northeast Tiger and causing him to scream repeatedly. If not for the protection of his monastic robe, he would have likely lost half his life.

The Undying Phoenix King, being a master of fire arts, thought she could get through, but she never expected to be attacked by lightning drawn by geomagnetism, causing her to be sent flying and almost breaking her bones and tearing her tendons.

Both powerful beings who had broken six shackles were wounded, so they could only stop and descend the mountain along the original path.

They sighed. This place was too difficult to ascend; it truly lived up to its reputation as the ancestral home and capital of Taoism, with its complex underground, abnormal geomagnetism, and terrifying energy fields.

"Schiller is dead?!"

Down the mountain, Xiong Kun and the others exclaimed, extremely shocked.

Chu Feng, the Yellow Ox, and others were disappointed and filled with regret for failing to ascend the mountain, but those at the foot of the mountain felt entirely different.

The White Tiger and Lu Shiyun exclaimed in admiration that Schiller, such a formidable peerless expert, had ultimately died at Chu Feng's hands; it was truly astonishing.

Lin Nuoyi also walked over to bandage Chu Feng and treat his injuries. She couldn't remain calm; Schiller had actually died in battle here.

Not far away, Aman was utterly despondent, completely despairing. Now that Schiller was dead, who could save him, unless the god behind him descended.

But as far as he knew, that god still couldn't cross over yet, dared not act rashly, and needed time!

"There's a god behind you? Tell us everything you know!" The Yellow Ox personally interrogated him. It was very concerned because it also came from beyond this realm and wanted to know which world that person came from.

Aman had already collapsed. He told them everything he knew, revealing all he understood. Unfortunately, he was just a pawn, a person from this world merely serving that god, and didn't know much at all.

Finally, the Big Black Ox gave him a quick death, wielding the purple-bronze long blade in his hand and severing his head.

Two days later, Lin Nuoyi left, summoned by people from Sky God Biotech, seemingly for an urgent matter.

On the third day, the Undying Phoenix King bid farewell. She wanted to return to the West to search for her memories. Now that her great vengeance was satisfied, she didn't want to stay any longer.

She had also tried to ascend Longhu Mountain, suffering injuries several times and failing each time. Further attempts would be meaningless.

Five days later, the Northeast Tiger suffered heavy injuries again while climbing the mountain. This life-loving fellow, after a slight recovery, immediately fled, booking a flight to the West, planning to take his monastic robe and seek out an old lama to atone.

"Brothers, let's go," said the Northeast Tiger. "Follow the main force from Kunlun Mountain to the Himalayas to explore that ancient temple with the thunderous echoes. Don't waste any more time here."

These were the Northeast Tiger's words before he left, urging Chu Feng and the two oxen to travel west with him.

During this period, Clairvoyant, Clairaudient, Ye Qingrou, and Chen Luoyan also arrived, but after witnessing the dangers and horrors on Longhu Mountain, they sighed and finally left together with Xiong Kun, the White Tiger siblings, and others.

Only Chu Feng, the Yellow Ox, and the Big Black Ox remained here.

They decided to observe for a while longer, and if it didn't work out, they would retreat.

Meanwhile, Chu Feng transmitted the lightning symbol to the two oxen, asking them to contemplate and study it to see if they could use it to ascend the mountain or if it was some kind of key.

It was at this moment that an astonishing piece of news spread, causing considerable ripples.

Some people said that Chu Feng possessed a mysterious breathing technique, hailed as peerless, which was why his combat power was terrifying, allowing him to overpower experts of the same level.

Although it had just started to spread, when Chu Feng learned of it, his expression immediately became extremely serious; he felt someone was planning something big!