Chapter 324: Coming Out of Retirement

Chu Feng knew the root of his problem: the small black and white millstone. If its issue could be resolved, he should be fine.

He had previously found no solution until he entered the Weapon Nurturing Formation, which brought about a fundamental change in his situation.

The Yellow Ox had said that the black and white substance was transforming, aiming to condense into an artifact. If it fully formed, it could help Chu Feng purify energy, refine his blood, and so on.

This item was priceless. The Yellow Ox also possessed one, a golden-yellow mortar and pestle left behind by a Bodhisattva-level evolver.

It was very special, existing between energy and matter. Only celestial maidens and holy sons from the most prestigious orthodoxies would possess such an item; it was exceedingly rare.

In some star systems, only a handful of such items had been passed down through the ages.

The item within Chu Feng, once fully formed, would be an immense opportunity. It could refine energy and blood, enhance their quality, and dramatically boost his strength.

Furthermore, it possessed endless miraculous uses that would only become apparent at higher levels!

However, if this artifact failed to form, it would retain the properties of the black substance, acting as a poison for Chu Feng in his current state, draining his energy, and even corroding his flesh, blood, and spirit.

Now, a turning point had arrived: the Weapon Nurturing Formation could help it take shape!

Before this, Chu Feng had thought it was a defective product, a failed attempt, which was why he had reached this point.

The Yellow Ox had also told him to wait about ten days; if it still didn't work, there wouldn't be much hope, indicating the black and white millstone was flawed.

After his initial joy, Chu Feng carefully observed. Sitting within the Weapon Nurturing Formation, he genuinely felt the subtle changes.

His body was no longer dry; he could retain a small amount of energy, and the black and white millstone became increasingly solid, signifying that its flaws were disappearing and it was gradually perfecting itself.

Half a day later, the magnets and pure jade blocks surrounding Chu Feng all shattered, having been consumed.

A small Weapon Nurturing Formation could only last for half a day, consuming a significant amount of materials.

He knew that in outer realms and certain parts of Earth, there were primordial magnetic crystals and even psychic jades. If inscribed with formation symbols, such materials would be incredibly durable.

It was said that there were also primordial magnetic divine crystals, which could last for tens of thousands of years or more.

In powerful star systems, some orthodoxies possessed formations that could operate for hundreds of thousands of years, meaning their materials were even more astonishing.

"Currently, I can't find good materials, so I can only use ordinary magnets and jade blocks."

Chu Feng once again etched symbols and rearranged the Weapon Nurturing Formation. As the saying goes, practice makes perfect, and with further understanding of those special symbols, his movements became skilled and aesthetically pleasing. A new formation quickly took shape.

Chu Feng closed his eyes, feeling the energy flowing gently within him, like water reappearing in a dried-up stream, nourishing its cracked bed and bringing forth vitality.

It was a true pleasure; having lost energy and now regaining it, he understood its various benefits.

"Huh?"

He clearly felt that the energy generated within him was purer and stronger than before. This was due to the millstone, which was now beginning to show its effects.

The black and white millstone rotated, grinding down the energy entering his body, expelling most of it, and leaving only a small amount, but of extremely high quality!

The Yellow Ox said that once this item fully formed, it could furiously plunder external energy, ensuring his internal energy remained abundant and showed no signs of depletion.

However, it now seemed that while a turning point had occurred in Chu Feng's body, allowing him to retain a small amount of high-quality energy, it was still far from complete.

This phenomenon only indicated that the small millstone still had flaws and needed continuous nourishment from the Weapon Nurturing Formation to perfect itself.

By nightfall, Chu Feng remained in the Weapon Nurturing Formation, not leaving. His changes were evident; he had returned to the ranks of evolvers from being an ordinary person.

Several days passed, and he had reached the fifth stage of the Awakening Realm.

Awakening and Shackles were the two major realms currently faced by beings on Earth.

The Awakening Realm was divided into nine stages. In just five days, he became an evolver at the fifth stage of Awakening; this speed was astonishing.

Chu Feng discovered that the quality of his current internal energy was much higher than before, extremely pure. His strength at this level was now considerably greater than it had been previously!

This was absolutely astonishing, a transformation every evolver dreamed of!

Especially in outer realms, some ancient orthodoxies, their divine sons and saintesses, cared most about this, striving to be transcendent among their peers. This was their tireless pursuit.

Because it concerned their future cultivation achievements.

Currently, Chu Feng didn't know the situation in other star systems, but this present change made him realize its immense significance!

He realized that this black and white millstone was truly extraordinary. No wonder the Yellow Ox had once said it was an opportunity for becoming a saint or an ancestor.

Even in worlds with very dense energy, only the inheritors of the most top-tier orthodoxies might possess such a secret artifact left by a Bodhisattva-level evolver; it was exceptionally rare.

Chu Feng's millstone was self-condensed, not left by a great ancient evolver after their demise, nor was it gifted by others, making it even more precious.

Chu Feng stepped out of the Weapon Nurturing Formation. The energy in his body did not dissipate; he could retain it and operate breathing techniques. When the Great Thunderous Sound Technique resonated, his body hummed and glowed, which was quite astonishing.

However, after the sixth day, he found his progress had slowed, and materials like magnets were running low.

The Old Grandmaster was very pleased upon learning of Chu Feng's situation. Seeing his hope for recovery, he immediately went down the mountain again to help him gather materials.

The elder was highly efficient. To achieve this, he used some rarely-tapped connections, asking several King-level powerhouses to assist him in the collection.

He returned quickly, bringing a large pile of magnets and pure jade blocks for Chu Feng to use.

Chu Feng's movements became increasingly skilled; he could complete a small Weapon Nurturing Formation in an instant. However, its effectiveness was diminishing.

In the first five days, he recovered to the fifth stage of Awakening, but from the sixth to the tenth day, he only managed to raise his strength to the sixth stage of Awakening.

He frowned, clearly realizing that the small Weapon Nurturing Formation's nourishing effect on the black and white millstone had sharply decreased.

"The flaws in the black and white millstone are diminishing, so it requires a more powerful Weapon Nurturing Formation to improve and fully perfect its shape," Chu Feng conjectured.

He believed there were two ways to solve this: first, set up a large Weapon Nurturing Formation, but that was currently too difficult for him.

The other way was to find higher-quality materials, which would create a more powerful formation.

Among the materials the Old Grandmaster brought back, there were some magnets with a warm luster and some rare beautiful jades, which Chu Feng specifically selected.

He then used these materials to set up a formation, and the results were obvious.

On that very day, the black and white millstone became more perfect, causing the energy it refined to be even purer, and Chu Feng's strength increased to the seventh stage of Awakening.

"Just as I thought, my conjecture proved true." Chu Feng craved good materials, but it would clearly be difficult for the Old Grandmaster to find them. If he had the backing of a large consortium, it wouldn't be an issue at all.

Unfortunately, there was only a small amount of special magnets and other such materials, and they were quickly used up.

"No, I need to leverage the power of those major forces to help me break free from this cage!" Chu Feng declared.

Indeed, in the following days, he used up a large amount of ordinary materials, but only recovered to the eighth stage of Awakening.

The Old Grandmaster went down the mountain again, but the ordinary materials he brought back were completely useless to Chu Feng; they had to find another solution.

During this period, the flying sword on Chu Feng's person was remarkably nurtured, becoming increasingly vibrant red and lustrous, with its quality notably improving, which was truly astonishing.

At the same time, he noticed that a common dagger he kept nearby for experiments had also undergone significant changes, becoming exceptionally hard and sharp.

In just over ten days, this dagger could cut through daggers of similar material; although it suffered considerable damage itself, it did not break.

The improvement was clear!

"I can cooperate with those consortiums and help them nurture weapons. Oh, right, I heard they've always wanted to refine flying swords and have found many rare materials, even refining some semi-finished products. I can definitely help them go further."

Chu Feng muttered to himself, a smile on his face.

Of course, if an acquaintance heard him, they would surely mutter under their breath, "Why would he help consortiums? He must be up to no good!"

Chu Feng asked the Old Grandmaster about the outside world, wanting to understand the movements of the major powers and considering cooperation with them.

"Experts are emerging in droves, and new super-kings are appearing frequently. The outside world is very lively, with some overlord-level powerhouses rising," the Old Grandmaster said.

Upon learning Chu Feng wanted to leverage the power of consortiums, the elder seemed to recall something and said, "In a few days, there will be a grand gathering in Jiangning Great City."

He informed Chu Feng that those people had also invited him to attend, with invitations sent from Jiangning Great City.

In the past, Chu Feng would have certainly declined, and the Old Grandmaster, accustomed to this, hadn't even planned to tell him.

"Good, this time I accept the invitation!" Chu Feng decided to leave the mountain.

At the same time, he asked the Old Grandmaster about the nature of this gathering and its purpose.

"With more and more powerful individuals emerging, conflicts frequently arise between some super-kings. Some are disputes of pride, vying for supremacy, while others are over famous mountains, leading to constant clashes. This gathering aims to bring all parties together to discuss strategies, reduce conflicts, and urge everyone to collectively address threats from outer realms," the Old Grandmaster explained. With new and old kings constantly succeeding and opposing each other, the world had recently become very chaotic, as top experts competed for dominance.

Chu Feng was surprised. Calculating the time, it had been over three months since he withdrew from those conflicts due to his physical issues, and the ice and snow had long melted.

This also meant he had been out of the public eye for over three months.

"Are those people very strong?" Chu Feng asked.

"The younger generation is formidable; some individuals are indeed quite extraordinary," the Old Grandmaster nodded.

Nearby, a young Daoist acolyte told Chu Feng that in the past three months, at least five groups of people had visited Mount Wudang, attempting to claim ownership of the place.

One could imagine the situation outside: some overlords had risen and successively challenged the Old Grandmaster, intending to seize his dojo—how arrogant of them.

Fortunately, those groups ultimately returned in defeat.

After understanding the situation, Chu Feng felt an impulse, truly wishing to recover immediately and reappear in the outside world, to see who dared to challenge the Old Grandmaster's position, and to personally deal with them!

"I've been away too long, I truly miss it. I'd like a passionate battle to sweep away those so-called overlords," Chu Feng said, his eyes gleaming.

A Daoist acolyte nodded like a pecking chick and said, "Brother Chu, please recover quickly. Those people are so annoying, each one conceited, deluding themselves into thinking they can drive us away. Although the Old Grandmaster can still suppress them, constant challenges are not a good solution. What if something goes wrong one day?"

"Mhm, this time, after I go out, I'll find a way to solve my own problems and bring peace back here later," Chu Feng said.

He hadn't expected the outside world to change so rapidly in three months, with a large number of experts rising and some super-kings constantly coming to Mount Wudang to challenge the Old Grandmaster, seeking to overthrow him.

In the following days, Chu Feng remained focused on studying formations, as he needed to prepare for his departure from the mountain.

"Can it make people lose their souls? These tadpole script characters are good."

Chu Feng dismantled some special symbols from a certain offensive formation model in the Heavenly Book, discovered their other miraculous uses, and was delighted, proceeding to engrave some magnets.

Several days later, he and the Old Grandmaster set off and traveled all the way to Jiangning Great City.

Jiangning, known as one of the Four Ancient Capitals, had a long history; many dynasties had established their capitals there in the past, making it glorious and splendid.

The headquarters of Heavenly Deity Biology was located here, and Bodhi Gene also had important laboratories and industries in the area, with its high-level personnel residing there long-term.

After three months, Chu Feng finally left the mountain. Upon arriving here, he would once again appear before the eyes of the world.